Agenda item

The Cabinet Member Healthy Lifestyles reported that she had met with community workshops on 3^rd July, and they had done a good job in bringing together community organisations and building a supportive system. She also thanked colleagues at GCHQ for supporting this by providing data and analysis of what exactly needed doing.

She noted that a significant piece of artwork was soon to be installed at Honeybourne Place, and suggested that local primary schools could arrange visits to inspire creativity. She also reported that the council’s cultural partners were keen to be prime movers in reigniting Cheltenham’s economy, and added that she would meet the leaders of the Holst Birthplace Museum on 8^th July to discuss their plans for the exterior of the building in the future.

The Cabinet Member Clean and Green Environment updated members on the situation with play areas and outdoor gyms, which reopened on 4^th July. He thanked Ubico and the parks department for keeping them all as clean and safe as possible. He reminded residents with children to continue observing social distancing guidelines, and noted that the vast majority of the increasing number of people using parks and gardens as lockdown eases had done so responsibly.

However, there had also been some unacceptable behaviour from a small minority, including leaving rubbish and behaving noisily and antisocially. He stressed that CBC would not stand for that, and was working with police to crack down on it. He also praised the recent ‘don’t be a tosser’ advertising campaign, which was carried out both through flyers and over social media, and was supported by members and officers. The council needed to make clear that it was on the side of the vast majority of residents who use the parks considerately and responsibly, and the communications team was working to ensure this.

The Cabinet Member Finance updated members on the situation with the discretionary grants for businesses. In total, the council received 191 grant applications from local businesses, and distributed funding from the 9^th June onwards according to their five criteria of need.

The first of these was the shared workspace criteria, which applied to 68 applications totalling £605,000. Just one application related to the market traders criteria, and they received £5,000. Four applications fulfilled the B&B criteria, and received £20,000 between them, while five charities received £50,000 between them.

A further 17 applicants received £425,000 in funding, meaning that in total, £1,105,000 was allocated to 95 businesses. Some applications were rejected, while others were still being considered, with a remaining pot of £23,000 as of the 8^th July.

The Cabinet Member Housing noted that government announcements regarding the recovery had included interesting points relating to housing, but lacked firm guidance on the topic. CBH and CBC’s housing officers remained on standby for more detail. He hoped that central government would not overlook local authorities as a delivery mechanism for housing, which would form a key part of any recovery.

The Cabinet Member Development and Safety added that the town centre team had been working with businesses in Montpellier and Regent Street on a scheme to narrow the highway. By reducing parking, the space available for tables and chairs would increase, which should make social distancing easier. He echoed the Cabinet Member Housing’s point that they were still waiting on more detailed guidance from central government.

The Cabinet Member Finance added some feedback that the discretionary grant program has received from businesses helped by the funding. She emphasised that the council did the right thing by proactively distributing the funding, and thanked officers for their help in getting it done.

The Leader of the Council added that a special Cabinet meeting would take place at the end of July to consider the outturn report, ahead of the special Council meeting on the same topic.

He added that in keeping with the rest of the country, Gloucestershire County Council had published its outbreak contingency plan. He clarified that any issues around that were managed by the Health Protection Board, which would now meet weekly in order to consider the key data and react accordingly. The political oversight of that process would be carried out by the Outbreak Engagement Board, which met for the first time on 6^th July and was a cross-party group including county councillors, district leaders, parish councillors and police representatives. He noted that the OEB would meet monthly or as required, and would receive regular data updates on the crisis as it developed. The more data that is made public, the better, and residents should be helped to understand the situation.

He also reported that the last meeting of the Cheltenham Development Task Force would take place soon, after ten years of work. He placed on the record his thanks to Graham Garbutt for his chairing and expertise, as well as Jeremy Williamson for his essential background work.