Agenda and draft minutes

Apologies were received from Councillors Joy and Garcia Clamp.  In Councillor Joy’s absence, Councillor Chelin took the Chair.

There were none.

Minutes of the meeting held on 13^th January 2025.

A typing error was brought to the committee’s attention.  The minutes were approved, with two abstentions from Members who were not present at the meeting.

There were none.

Briefing from Councillor Hay, Leader (if she has an update, or if O&S Members have questions for her)

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

The Cabinet Member for Major Development and Housing Delivery gave the Leader’s apologies, and said that there was nothing to add to her briefing on devolution at Council. 

The Cabinet Member for Waste, Recycling and Public Realm was present to update Members on the closure of the Household Recycling Centre (HRC).  He  made the following points:

-       the HRC closed on 10 January and residents have been using GCC sites since then;  there will be more information available as to the effect of  the closure at the end of the financial year;

-       GCC has declined CBC’s request to take on responsibility for the HRC; a petition organised by Cheltenham’s MP has been presented, but it seems unlikely that the county will change its decision.  It has, however,  agreed to open the Wingmoor Farm site on Wednesdays;

-       over Christmas and New Year, all recycling streams other than food waste were down;

-       following reports of bring banks being full and recycling being left alongside them when they are full, these are now being emptied more regularly with anything left beside them removed.

-       fly-tipping was a concern across the county before the HRC closed and has been discussed at the Gloucestershire Waste and Recycling Partnership for some time. January is historically the worst month for this, but there has been no fly-tipping at the gates of the HRC since it closed, which is a positive.

In response to Members’ questions, the Cabinet Member for Waste, Recycling and Public Realm confirmed that:

-       he will be able to give a better idea about any trends and statistics for fly-tipping at the end of the financial year.  It is more of an issue for rural councils, and regrettable that Prestbury is having a problem as Wingmoor Park is so close by. He confirmed that work is ongoing with the neighbourhood team to resolve fly-tipping incidents more quickly; 

-       the range of items that could be taken at the HRC was controlled by Environment Agency; 

-       the council could not legally charge people to use a public site, but if they could, based on the number of visitors to the HRC, the charge would be approximately £5 per visit, and increase if the number of visitors went down;

-       regarding tetra packs, the council is looking to include these in roadside recycling,  but in the mean time they can be taken to Sainsbury’s on  Tewkesbury Road or Church Piece in Charlton Kings.  This facility is government supplied and operated, and the question is whether they would still be serviced if they were to be moved;

-       it was not part of the council’s long-term plan to close the HRC; this only became necessary when new Environment Agency requirements came into force which would require additional expenditure of £1m.  This funding would have had to be taken from other services. 

Councillor Tailford confirmed that he would attend the committee to give regular updates on the on-going position with the HRC.

Gloucestershire Health O&S Committee – Meeting held on 28^th January update from Councillor Bamford.

Gloucestershire Economic Strategy Scrutiny Committee – Meeting held on the 23^rd January update from Councillor Orme

Gloucestershire Police and Crime Panel– Meeting held on 4^th February update from Councillor Atherstone – to follow.

The reports had been circulated and were noted for information.  None of the representatives were present to answer questions. 

The Vice-Chair said that, for clarity, representatives will be asked how they would like to receive questions arising from their reports if they cannot be present at O&S to answer the questions directly.

There were none.

Objective: Identifying factors to develop a workable balance between protecting heritage and implementing environmental solutions (retrofit); Receiving feedback from the community retrofit project and other initiatives to meet our climate net zero targets.

Frances Crick - Climate, Flooding & Decarbonisation Manager

Chris Gomm - Head of Development Management, Enforcement & Compliance 

The Vice-Chair thanked the officers for attending, and for the responses to her questions.  

Frances Crick (Climate, Flooding and Decarbonisation Manager) said the O&S request had come at an opportune moment, as officers have been working for some time on ways to reconcile heritage and retrofit issues. She highlighted the key issues as set out in the report, including  the challenges and barriers faced by owners of listed buildings, the help on offer from the council and its partners, the different approaches to retrofit that can be taken by homeowners, and systems being implemented by other local authorities to support this type of work. 

She said the latter part of the report is an overview of what can and is being done at CBC, having identified the challenges, including retrofit initiatives such as Future Fit Homes and Furbnow, the appointment of a CBC retrofit engagement officer, and looking at ways to provide training for installers. acknowledging the financial implications for the council. 

With reference to a question about Local Listed Building Consent Orders (LLBCO) she confirmed that the council will need to work with Historic England and other stakeholders if it decides to go down that route.

Chris Gomm (Head of Development Management, Enforcement and Compliance), in response to a written question, confirmed that a large proportion of enforcement cases relate to listed buildings, but not generally to unauthorised retrofit interventions.  Typically these complaints relate to unauthorised exterior work, interior works being more difficult to detect.  He said there is no evidence to suggest that unauthorised works to listed buildings are due to difficulties in getting planning permission or listed building consent; the majority stem from a lack of understanding about what does or doesn’t need consent.  He added that there is a cost implication around enforcement action – it brings no income, and while retrospective planning applications carry a fee, listed building applications do not - but it remains a very necessary function of the planning service as a whole.

The Vice-Chair invited Members’ questions and comments:

-       in response to a comment that external wall insulation (EWI) is more difficult for a period property and that the additional considerations may put some people off doing the work, the officer said that pre-app advice is available and would help ensure that home-owners have clear and correct advice from the start of their project;

-       external wall insulation is a very tricky intervention with listed buildings, and must be assessed on a case-by-case basis.  In many cases, it will not be acceptable, in view of the implications of bringing the walls out, although there are exceptions where it can be achieved.  Homeowners are encouraged to seek pre-app advice, and the planning team is looking to offer a more focussed retrofit pre-app service;

-       it is clear that many people don’t know where to start and the journey can be fraught with difficulties if work is not carried out correctly.  There is an increasing amount of information available on  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

Scrutiny Topic request form received from Councillor Chris Day

The Vice-Chair referred the committee to the Monitoring Officer’s report and invited Members’ comments.   The following points and questions were raised:

-       it is important that O&S has the opportunity to input at this early stage in the development of the plan, its main focus on what preventative measures are being in put in place – investment, ongoing maintenance – to deal with any issues and avoid any unexpected closures of council-owned facilities.  It is more worthwhile, convenient and cost-effective to consider this in a planned way before the event rather than after, and important that O&S works alongside officers and keeps an eye on progress, rather than being presented with the finished product which may not measure up to expectations and need to be re-worked;

-       the description of the risk in the officer response doesn’t capture the costs and effects of a single catastrophic event, or encourage any investment in mitigation for that particular aspect, referring more to a general maintenance programme.  It is a big risk and at the very least needs to be insured;

-        we should be considering these issues in tandem with the delivery of key strategic sites, not only Golden Valley but also the huge developments coming forward elsewhere, including Swindon Village.  These not only have CIL funding but also S106 agreements in place, and it would be worth considering not just a playground or a track but a whole dedicated facility such as a play centre or leisure centre to take the stress off other venues, particularly when maintenance needs to be carried out;

-       there is an issue with the maintenance of council assets, with the council renting many buildings to community groups and voluntary organisations who are responsible for the building’s maintenance.  There can be serious consequences if they do not keep on top of essential maintenance, but it doesn’t seem reasonable to chase limited companies and volunteers for vast amounts of money for maintenance that they haven’t been able to carry out;

-       with a sizeable proportion of the population inactive, it would be worth investing in programmes fit for the modern age and a wide variety of people, to encourage them to use leisure centres and sporting facilities. This would not only enhance funding and increase usage, but also bring those facilities more to public attention and scrutiny; 

-       the Prince of Wales Stadium is home to Cheltenham Harriers, attracting people from 3-4 counties and producing athletes of national quality, yet the track is not fit for purpose.  The right model neds to be put in place to fund not only its replacement but to also provide sustained investment for future maintenance.  Without it, clubs such as this could be lost;

-       all Members’ comments lead back to the need for more funding – for insurance, maintenance, developing programmes – and it may be useful to take these to the Cabinet Member for Economic Development, Wellbeing and Culture at the work planning session on 20 March.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 9.

Members made the following comments and suggestions:

-       the issue of the climate impact of waste disposal and emissions from Javelin Park is already on the work plan, but it would be helpful to talk to officers and raise some issues before it comes to O&S as a briefing note. The Vice-Chair confirmed that the Chair often speaks to people who are going to come to committee beforehand, but there is no reason why a Member cannot join the discussion.  She said this can be arranged; 

-       the issue of National Express moving all but four of its coach services from Royal Well to Arle Court Hub, where there are no transport facilities (buses, taxis) after 10.00pm, raises concerns for people’s safety.    The Vice-Chair said that although this is more of a county council issue, it is a concern for Cheltenham residents, and there is no reason why the county cannot be invited to brief O&S. Officers will take the matter away to work out where it best sits.

The Vice-Chair confirmed that there is an Overview and Scrutiny planning meeting on the 20 March and encouraged members of the committee to attend and/or make suggestions.

There were none.

The next meeting will be held on 31^st March 2025.

The meeting due to be held on the 28^th April will be moved due its proximity to the County Council Election it will now be held on the 19^th May 2025.

31 March 2025.

Physical activity and sports action plan briefing note – TO FOLLOW

(Briefing notes provide information to keep Members informed of matters relating to the work of the Cabinet or a committee). 

A briefing note had been circulated and was noted by Members.