Agenda, decisions and minutes

None

None

Minutes of the meeting held on 14 April 2015

The minutes of the last meeting were approved and signed as a correct record.

None.

Report of the Cabinet Member Development and Safety

The Cabinet Member Development and Safety introduced the report and explained that the council’s current street trading policy had been approved by Council on 22 February 2013 and came into effect on 1 April 2013. He reported that a review of the policy had recently been undertaken by officers which included officers from the Cheltenham Development Task Force and the County Council. The Cabinet Member made particular reference to Appendix 2 and explained how the approval process would be simplified-applicants would be aware of how to make an application in advance and have a clearer understanding of what would be acceptable. In addition there would be a more prescriptive approach to street trading activities in different areas which had previously been undertaken on an ad hoc basis. Members were reminded that they were being asked to approve this policy for the purposes of consultation.

RESOLVED THAT

1.    the amendments to the current policy be noted.

2.    the draft amended policy attached at Appendix 2 be approved for consultation.

Report of the Cabinet Member Housing

The Cabinet Member Housing introduced the report and explained that it was proposed that an Affordable Housing Partnership be formed comprising the three Local Housing Authorities across the JCS area to oversee the delivery, allocation and management of affordable housing delivered on the Strategic Allocations. The aim of the Affordable Housing Partnership would be for the three authorities to work collaboratively to oversee the delivery of new affordable homes and to agree cross-boundary lettings arrangements. There would be one port of call and it was hoped that affordable housing provision would be maximised and standards would be raised in those communities. The Cabinet Member referred to the terms of reference laid down in Appendix 2. He believed that this was a positive move for affordable housing in the town.

The Leader concluded by highlighting the extremely difficult task of providing affordable housing. Working in partnership was a positive development to take this forward.

RESOLVED THAT

1.    an Affordable Housing Partnership be established with Gloucester City Council and Tewkesbury Borough Council to oversee the delivery of affordable homes across the Strategic Allocation Sites within the Joint Core Strategy area over the JCS Plan Period.

2.    a list of preferred providers of affordable housing be established for a period of up to 5 years across the Strategic Allocation Sites within the Joint Core Strategy Area jointly with Gloucester City Council and Tewkesbury Borough Council.

3.    authority be delegated to the Lead Commissioner, Housing Services to evaluate and select Preferred Providers for the delivery and/or management of new affordable housing on the Strategic Allocation Sites, noting that the selection will be carried out jointly with Gloucester City and Tewkesbury Borough Councils and that the Councils will enter into a memorandum of understanding with the preferred providers.

Report of the Cabinet Member Finance

The Cabinet Member Finance introduced the report and explained that as part of the War Memorial restoration project a conservator had been commissioned to review the state of the Memorial, identify options for its restoration and recommend the most appropriate approach to take. He reported that the conservator had now submitted his report to the project team with recommendations and estimated costs.

The Cabinet Member explained that the report had identified that a rigorous cleaning regime over the years had caused damage to the memorial and therefore a more sensitive regime for cleaning had been recommended. He also highlighted the recommendation that more work was required on testing the techniques used for restoring and clarifying the existing lettering. New inscriptions on the memorial had also been considered following work undertaken by Gloucestershire Family Archives and a local historian. The project team were therefore recommending including the inscription of additional names for those who lived in the borough with its current boundaries as opposed to as it stood in 1918. The project team were also recommending that women on active service who had lost their lives were also included.

The Cabinet Member Finance informed members that officers had consulted with a number of key stakeholders including the War Memorials Trust who would consider the application for a grant to facilitate the work. The WMT acknowledged the report from the conservator which was deemed to be sensitive, proportionate and evidenced.

The Cabinet Member reported that the next stages would be to commence restoration of a trial area andprocure a contractor to undertake the overall work. The contract for the restoration work would be awarded in accordance with CBC procurement guidelines and would be project managed by Odgers Conservation Consultants in accordance with their contract with CBC.

The Cabinet Member explained that the war memorial restoration project had received a warm response from the public. He was encouraged by the positive progress to date. He explained that the intention was for completion of the project before 2018 and the anniversary of the end of WW1.  He highlighted that an educational project would complement the work.

Finally, the Cabinet Member wished to put on record his thanks to Jane Stovell, project manager and Hannah Wright.

RESOLVED THAT

1.    a tender process be undertaken to procure a contractor to restore the War Memorial based on the recommendations made in the conservator’s report.

2.    additional names be inscribed on the War Memorial using proposed eligibility criteria detailed in the conservator’s report and as outlined in section 4.2.2 of this report.

3.    the basic maintenance works programme as outlined in the conservator’s report be endorsed.

The Cabinet Member Development and Safety referred members to the two briefing notes circulated with the agenda.

The Late Night Levy statement outlined how the fees raised in 2014/15 were spent. Total levy income amounted to £77k and projects receiving funding were as follows :

·         Purple flag

·         St Pauls Streetwatch

·         Hub Bistro

·         Hello Cheltenham

·         Info Buzz

·         University Community Street Patrol

The Cabinet Member believed the levy was having a positive impact on the town.

In terms of the briefing note on the Stray Dogs Scheme he reported that following a review in early 2014 the contract was transferred from Shelter to Worcestershire Regulatory Services which had generated a £10k budget saving. He highlighted that all performance targets had been achieved.

The Cabinet Member Housing reported that in the context of St Pauls Phase 2 the affordable homes had now been completed and all were let. There was high demand for private properties. He informed members that a report on transformation works would be forthcoming.

The Cabinet Member Healthy Lifestyles reported that CBC was supporting the Rugby World Cup legacy with a £10k allocation of funds to Local World, the parent group of Gloucestershire Echo to run a rugby world cup legacy programme.

The Cabinet Member Corporate Services informed Members that confirmation had been received from the Cabinet Office that the joint ICT Shared Service PSN submission had been accepted which meant the service was accredited until June 2016. He thanked officers who had been involved in the project.

The Leader referred to a meeting of Leadership Gloucestershire held that day at which those present were keen to take advantage of the Government’s initiative for more power and funding to be devolved to local areas. A letter would be submitted as an expression of interest from the councils across Gloucestershire. He believed that all members should be briefed on current thinking and a debate would be held at the July Council meeting.

The following Cabinet Member decisions had been taken since the last meeting of Cabinet :