Agenda item

The Leader invited Cabinet Members to share recent briefings.

The Cabinet Member for Economic Development, Wellbeing and Culture shared information on a number of items:

-         a recent community event held by CBC focussed on strengthening local communities through grants the council receives from the NHS and disperses as health and wellbeing grants for local groups.  Last year, £100k was distributed, mostly in grants of under £10k, and used to fund some amazing projects and extraordinary work, connecting people to their communities, encouraging them to be active, healthy and creative, and making a huge difference to individual. The next funding round will distribute £170k, starting in September.  This fantastic success story is led by Richard Gibson, Head of Communities, Wellbeing and Partnerships, who does an exceptional job leading his team of officers;

-       congratulations to Cheltenham Festivals on the conclusion of another successful event, the Cheltenham Music Festival, and to Gloucestershire Cricket Club on the recent cricket festival, which was enjoyed by many;

-       the Cheltenham Paint Festival will take place on 27-28 July, and The Suffolks Sunday Market on 28 July;

-       The Wilson is currently hosting the extraordinary and exceptional Radev exhibition, connecting to the Bloomsbury Group, British art history, LGBGT history and more.

The Cabinet Member for Major Developments and Housing Delivery said he has picked up work on the social baggage strategy and hopes to bring a document to Cabinet at the end of the summer.  He is also working on housing delivery, and will be sharing draft documents with colleagues soon, about how this can be accelerated.

The Cabinet Member for Waste Services, Recycling and Public Realm hoped that people would be enjoying Cheltenham’s amazing parks and greenspaces over the summer, and was happy to report that seven parks across the town had all retained their green flag status.  Pittville Park has also received green heritage site accreditation, supported by Historic England, in recognition of its management of its historic features.  This is a testament to the dedication of volunteers, Friends of groups, Ubico and the Green Space team who work hard all year round to ensure everyone can get out and enjoy the parks.  He thanked them for all their work.

The Cabinet Member for Finance and Assets thanked the finance team and former portfolio holder for the incredible amount of work they have done to produce the outturn report presented to Council on 22 July, which, she said, was testament to a year of dedicated and sensible fiscal decision-making.

The Cabinet Member for Planning and Building Control said he was lucky to have been invited to the opening of the Arle Court Transport Hub earlier in the day which is now completely open for business.

The Leader noted that BID has sponsored the painting of seven utility boxes which make a big difference and help deter graffiti.  She also mentioned that the Cabinet Member for Major Development and Housing Delivery will soon be shaving his head and beard to raise funds for Cheltenham’s food pantries; donations can be made via his Just Giving page.

The Cabinet Members for Climate Emergency and for Housing and Customer Services did not haves any briefings to share on this occasion.