Agenda and draft minutes

Apologies were received from Councillors Chandler, Beale and Holliday.

There were none.

Minutes of the meeting held on 21^st October 2024.

The minutes of the meeting held on 21 October 2024 were approved as a true record (with one or two minor typos noted).

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 Leader reported that interviews for the post of Director for Housing – Investment, Repairs and Decarbonisation were taking place this week, boosting the transition of housing services back to CBC.  She had no further updates, but was happy to take questions.

The Chair said that in view of the complex issues and public interest surrounding the proposed closure of Swindon Road Household Recycling Centre, she was considering adding it to the workplan for January and possibly forming a scrutiny task group to consider the transition.  The Leader said that there was no decision to permanently close the HRC, and the report made a recommendation that scrutiny measures were undertaken throughout the review of all the options.

Objective : Exploration of air quality in Cheltenham, including national context, measurements, actions to address them, and future actions. Impact of role of Air Quality Education Post and feedback from DEFRA on annual report.

Gareth Jones, Senior Environmental Health Officer and Hannah Leatherland,  Air Quality Education Projects Officer

Gareth Jones, Senior Environmental Health Officer, and Hannah Leatherland, Air Quality Education Projects Officer, introduced their work briefly, the details of which were set out in the report.  They were happy to take questions.

Members were impressed with the report and very pleased with the progress being made, particularly with the schools project.  They were also given an opportunity immediately before the meeting to examine the equipment being used and to ask questions in relation to it.  In response to questions, officers confirmed that:

-       although particulate matter from electric vehicles is nowhere near as bad as that from diesel, it is acknowledged in most reports as it is still a source of PM2.5;

-       they were unsure whether road-sweeping vehicles have extra filtration to protect drivers from the particulate matter picked up from the roads;

-       regarding air pollution at  the junction of Gloucester/Shelburne/ Lansdown Roads, this area sees peaks from short-term traffic and trains, but data from monitoring close by – where the housing starts – shows that levels do not give undue cause for concern and fall within national legal limits.  The council doesn’t have many of the monitors which measure short-term peaks but could consider deploying one in this area;

-       identifying which of the different sources of PM2.5 - including diesel and wood-burning fires or stoves - are worse for the environment and for individuals is expensive and requires specific expertise that equipment that CBC cannot access, so unfortunately we cannot undertake closer examination of this.

A Member thanked officers for the update and good progress made, particularly the education initiative.   He would like O&S to be involved in the creation of the new Air Quality Strategy and the review of the smoke control zones, and felt that the update would benefit from some further definition of environmental pollution, which for air pollution purposes relates mostly to NO2 and PM.

In response to further questions from Members, GJ confirmed that:

-       there is overlap between his work and that of the climate change team, who will be presenting to O&S in the new year and explain further;

-       regarding the positioning of monitoring stations and the suggestion that monitoring air pollution for safety and for climate change reasons would be useful in the Kingsditch Lane area, officers try not to move these around too much in order to maintain continuity of data. There is currently a monitoring station for NOX on Swindon Road which cannot be moved, and one near St Paul’s Medical Centre, which indicates that NOX is decreasing.  This is significant because it is easy to measure and a proxy for other pollutants, therefore helpful in identifying areas of concern;

-       regarding the possibility of introducing a clean air zone in Cheltenham, as has been done in Bath, this would have to be a collaborative initiative between CBC and GCC, and would probably not work in a town of this size, scale and lay-out.  The main aim of the Boots Corner  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

Objective: Understanding performance, current trajectory, challenges to housing enabling including through the planning process and opportunities to delivery. Reflecting on ‘best practice’

Tracey Birkinshaw,  Director of Communities and Economic Development and Martin Stacey,  Housing Strategy and Partnerships Manager and Ewan Wright,  Senior Housing Strategy and Engagement Officer.

Ewan Wright, Senior Housing Strategy and Enabling Officer, thanked Members for the opportunity to present this critical area of the council’s work, meeting local housing needs, supporting residents to reach affordable home ownership, and creating thriving communities.  The report has been jointly produced with colleagues in planning policy and the major developments and regeneration teams.

He highlighted the following:

-       the government definition of affordable housing is very wide, and covers homes for rent, discounted market sale and affordable home ownership.  Rent means social and affordable rent delivered largely by the council and housing associations; this definition is found in the latest National Planning Policy Framework;

-       the Corporate Plan includes a key corporate objective to deliver 450 affordable homes between 2023/24- 2027/28, and key planning policy requirements around affordable housing are also set out in the JCS, polices SD12 and SD11;

-       the 2020 Gloucestershire Local Housing Needs Assessment tells us CBC should deliver 194 affordable homes per year up to 2041, and the housing register shows that the number of households needing affordable housing has risen from 2,200 in 2018-19 to 2,667 this year. CBC and housing associations delivered 477 affordable homes between 2018 and 2024, so it will clearly be a challenge to meet our targets;

-       the key issues holding us back are broadly:

o   planning – delivering large sites is problematic and takes a long time, there are issues with S106 delivery both locally and nationally. Updating the JCS through the Strategic and Local Plan is a huge piece of work, requiring much internal work and work with GCC and TBC;

o   financial – issues are preventing CBC from delivering more homes through the HRA, and there are many pressures on housing providers to improve the quality of existing homes, for example by remedying damp and mould and improving energy efficiency;

o   construction – due to inflation, costs associated with this have spiralled, and viability issues mean affordable housing sometimes cannot be delivered on site.  In addition, Net Zero objectives, while laudable, come at a cost, and are another of the issues holding back affordable housing delivery;

He said there are, however, opportunities to address the issues:

-       continuing to focus on additionality – ie CBC and housing associations working to provide affordable homes delivery above and beyond what the market would normally deliver through our affordable housing policies;

-       delivery of affordable housing on S106 sites – policy requirement is generally 40%, with 35% on strategic allocations – and looking to stalled sites such as Pittville School;

-       Planning policies give a great opportunity to improve existing policies and add new ones, such as updating the Strategic and Local Plan, JCS Affordable Housing Guidance Note, and First Homes Technical Advice Note;

-       there is a lot of positive talk nationally about delivering affordable housing, with a new affordable housing programme promised for Spring 2025, an outstanding NPPF consultation, and talk of higher housing targets.  It remains to be seen how all this will pan  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

Objective : To consider the draft Annual Scrutiny report 2023-2024 prior to submission to Council on 16 December 2024

Cllr Tabi Joy, Chair of Overview and Scrutiny

Councillor Chelin took the chair, and presented the report.  She said it included an explanation of how the structure of O&S fits in the council’s governance, a foreword from the Chair, a list of activities undertaken over the previous year, including scrutiny working groups and task groups.  She invited questions and comments from Members.

One Member welcomed the report, saying it was well put together and accurately summarised the work of the committee.  Another Member also found the report useful and had a question relating to the Strategic Flood Risk Assessment – is this a live risk assessment which is monitored regularly?  The Vice-Chair confirmed that there is a lot of activity in this area, and the paragraph would be updated to make this clear.

Members voted unanimously to recommend the report to Council.

Gloucestershire Health O&S Committee – https://glostext.gloucestershire.gov.uk/mgCommitteeDetails.aspx?ID=772 please see attached report from Cllr Bamford with regard to the 15^th October meeting.

No update from Gloucestershire Economic Strategy Scrutiny Committee https://glostext.gloucestershire.gov.uk/mgCommitteeDetails.aspx?ID=892 as the next meeting is 28/11/24

Gloucestershire Police and Crime Panel 1/11/24https://glostext.gloucestershire.gov.uk/mgCommitteeDetails.aspx?ID=650  – update from Councillor Atherstone to follow.

The Vice-Chair confirmed that Councillor Bamford had provided his usual comprehensive report from the Gloucestershire Health O&S Committee.   A Member noted that the wait for elective procedures was 65 weeks – a high figure but showing improvement – and asked whether patients know that if they have to wait more than 18 weeks for treatment, they have the right to choose, and their healthcare provider has to provide private options. The Vice-Chair said this question would be passed on to Councillor Bamford.

There was no update from the Gloucestershire Economic Strategy Scrutiny Committee, as the next meeting of that group is on 28 November 2024. 

Councillor Atherstone’s report from the Gloucestershire Police and Crime Panel was added as a supplement.

Any questions or comments on any of the above will be welcome.

The Vice-Chair thanked everyone who had fed into the workplan, and hoped it accurately reflected what had been discussed.

The Monitoring Officer said that the presentation from the Cheltenham Trust, previously due in the January meeting, had been rescheduled.  She advised that, in its absence and depending on the outcome of the Cabinet meeting on Tuesday 26 November, the Chair proposed considering the terms of reference for a task group around the closure of the Household Recycling Centre. Members agreed that this would be a timely addition.

There were none.

The next meeting will be on 13^th January 2025.

The next meeting is scheduled for Monday 13 January 2025.