Agenda and minutes

Apologies were received from Councillor Nelson (Councillor Babbage substituting), Councillor Beale (Councillor Willingham substituting) and Councillor Fifield.

No interests were declared, although Councillor Harvey subsequently declared a non-prejudicial interest in Item 8 Culture Board, as a trustee of Cheltenham Trust.

Minutes of meeting held on 5 June 2023

The minutes of the meeting held on 05 June were approved as a true record, with the following amendments:

-       Councillor Willingham asked that his attendance for Item 7 be noted.

There were none.

Briefing from Councillor Hay, Leader

Objective: An update from the Cabinet on key issues for Cabinet Members which may be of interest to Overview and Scrutiny and may inform the work plan

In the Leader’s absence, the Deputy Leader attended the meeting but did not have anything to report.  There were no Member questions.

There were none.

Objective : Looking back on 2023 festival: what were the successes and lessons learnt ?

Louis Krog (Head of Public Protection), Inspector Mike Yates from Gloucestershire Police

The Head of Public Protection (HPP) ran through his briefing note, which set out the additional measures undertaken during Race Week 2023, to reduce the significant anti-social behaviour seen in 2022. These included a reduction in daily capacity at the racecourse, additional marshals, police and PCSOs between the racecourse and town, additional toilets and the ‘war on wee’.

He said it was difficult to measure whether or not these measures could be regarded as a success, but there were fewer complaints about ASB, which mostly relating to the town centre, suggesting the ‘war on wee’ was a success.  There was a small spike in the amount of illegal street trading, particularly on Evesham Road, but overall it was felt that this year’s event was better managed than last year’s.

Regarding lessons learnt, the additional toilets displaced the issue, and some areas of town continued to be badly affected. The hydrophobic paint offer was taken up by some residents and businesses but needs to be rolled out earlier, properly funded and more widely applied for full benefit.  Feedback from BID suggested a new location for bus pick-ups in the High Street needed to be found, as the current situation can cause anti-social and aggressive behaviour, caused an obstruction of the High Street and issues with widespread litter - GCC needs to be consulted. Parking and traffic management remain issues to be dealt with by GCC and the racecourse, and the lack of parking enforcement, with cars parked and causing obstruction in taxi ranks, pavements and walkways, also needs to be addressed. 

Giving the police perspective on the event, Inspector Mike Yates said that race week is by far the biggest and most complex event his force has to deal with, concerning public order, safety, traffic management and community impact, around the racecourse and across the whole town. He highlighted the following points:

-          the police worked with the racecourse and colleagues from neighbouring teams, bringing in extra resource particularly for the evenings;

-          the biggest change was the traffic management plan, involving partial closure of Evesham Road.  This worked well on quieter days, but caused some challenges towards the end of the week, with people spilling onto the road beyond the closure, causing congestion and public safety concerns.  There is still learning to be had here, with regard to how long the closure remains and the impact it has on residents.  Traffic management isn’t a police issue, but is still something they have to deal with;

-          reducing anti-social behaviour is a big part of the operation, with the objective for police to be very visible and to engage in a positive manner.  Some PCSOs faced challenging situations, trying to deal with intoxicated people with little support, and it was vital that police were present to give support;

-          positive engagement, messaging in advance of race week, and more toilets appeared to result in fewer issues, but it isn’t possible to cater for all circumstances - drunk people often behave badly  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

Objective : To understand the final version of the strategy, how it will be implemented and how success will be measured.

Richard Gibson (Head of Communities, Wellbeing and Partnerships), Ali Mawle (Chair of the Culture Board), Andrew Lansley (Culture Board Co-ordinator)

The Head of Communities, Wellbeing and Partnerships said his report sets out the progress undertaken over the last couple of years to develop a culture strategy for Cheltenham, in partnership with the Culture Board.  He acknowledged that more work is needed on the action plan, but said that for the first time there was a real sense of direction of travel.

Ali Mawle (Chair of the Culture Board)  said this is the first time the town has come together to think about how a wide range of cultural organisations and the wider infrastructure can work together collaboratively on achieving its collective aims for Cheltenham.  The growing trust and networking between partners is massive.  The Culture Board can act as a first point of call for artists, liaise with developers (including the MX and Golden Valley teams) to ensure opportunities are fairly shared, develop projects together, and improve communication and consultation by working with Marketing Cheltenham, to not only reach visitors but also Cheltenham residents.  She said there is still a way to go, and funding is challenging as always, but with an action plan, together with good will, trust and hope, these are brave steps for the good of the town, and she feels privileged to be part of it.

The following responses were provided to Members’ questions:

-       whilst it’s true that Cheltenham already enjoys a cultural and artistic programme that is the envy of many towns, funding for the arts is low and the strategy aims to increase this, to reach large sections of the town which currently don’t engage, and to tap into grass roots talent.  It is about pushing beyond for the greater good, increasing participation and bringing more excellence to the town;

-       the restrictions placed on live music venues situated in conservation areas, listed buildings, or noise-sensitive premises is an important and challenging question, highlighting the need to balance community, a broad range of music, creative opportunities and the environment.  Sharing specialisms is key, as demonstrated by the recent re-opening of The Bottle of Sauce as a music venue, with advice from the Music Venue Trust, a national organisation which understands the challenges in that environment.  The Culture Board can bring cohesion to this sort of project.  A Member commented that it would be helpful if the Culture Board could speak to Licensing Committee about this at some point;

-       without local press or engagement from supermarkets or schools, some areas currently receive very little or no information about events, but the Culture Board is working on communication to ensure events are publicised all over the town;

-       the Culture Board is working to ensure that groups representing our ethnically and culturally diverse communities in Cheltenham are represented and engaged in its work;

-       engaging with young people is also a high priority, and the Culture Board is waiting for the Cheltenham Trust to establish its young creatives’ board  to ensure their work can be dovetailed in an effective way.  Improving youth engagement across  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

The Gloucestershire Economic Growth O&S Committee, Gloucestershire Police and Crime Panel and Gloucestershire Health Scrutiny Committee have not met since the last O&S meeting.

No meetings had taken place since June, so there was nothing to report.

There are currently no active scrutiny task groups.

There was nothing to update on this occasion.

Members were invited to suggest items for future meetings by forwarding them to the sub-committee.

4 September 2023

The next Overview and Scrutiny meeting is scheduled for 04 September 2023.

The committee is recommended to approve the following resolution:-

“That in accordance with Section 100A(4) Local Government Act 1972 the public be excluded from the meeting for the remaining agenda items as it is likely that, in view of the nature of the business to be transacted or the nature of the proceedings, if members of the public are present there will be disclosed to them exempt information as defined in paragraph 3, Part (1) Schedule (12A) Local Government Act 1972, namely:

Paragraph 3; Information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular

person (including the authority holding that information)

Paragraph 5; Information in respect of which a claim to legal professional privilege could be maintained in legal proceedings

RESOLVED THAT:

“That in accordance with Section 100A(4) Local Government Act 1972 the public be excluded from the meeting for the remaining agenda items as it is likely that, in view of the nature of the business to be transacted or the nature of the proceedings, if members of the public are present there will be disclosed to them exempt information as defined in paragraph 3, Part (1) Schedule (12A) Local Government Act 1972, namely:

Paragraph 3; Information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular

person (including the authority holding that information)

Paragraph 5; Information in respect of which a claim to legal professional privilege could be maintained in legal proceedings

Exempt minutes of the meeting held on 17 April 2023

Exempt minutes of the meeting held on 5 June 2023

The exempt minutes of the meetings held on 17 April and 5 June were approved and signed as a correct record.

A Member expressed his dissatisfaction in terms of the responses to his questions to Gloucestershire Airport who attended the June meeting.

Objective : Project learning, benefits realisation.

Verbal Update from the Chief Executive

Members considered the findings of the Internal Audit report on the project and had the opportunity to ask questions.

Objective : Update on progress with the Municipal Offices

Presentation by the Executive Director Finance, Assets and Regeneration, Paul Jones

Members received a presentation from officers on the redevelopment proposals for the Municipal Offices and were given the opportunity to ask questions.