Agenda item

The Cabinet Member for Climate Emergency took the opportunity to highlight an exciting event taking place on Tuesday 27 June – the CheltenhamZero Sustainable Travel Showcase, 9am-1pm at the Park Campus.  There will be talks, demos, and exhibitors, including CBC.  The event is free, and tickets are available from Eventbrite.

The Cabinet Member for Economic Development, Culture, Tourism and Wellbeing reported that:

-       the #FeedCheltenham leisure pass was launched a few weeks ago, enabling families to enjoy sports and leisure activities free of charge or at reduced rates.  So far, 12 families have registered, but there is capacity for up to 600, so he encouraged those registered with the food bank to take advantage and register for this very positive scheme;

-       Cheltenham Open Studios is underway, with 200 local artists displaying their wonderful artwork in a wide range of venues.  He thanked Niki Whitfield for organising the launch event, and commended it to everyone;

-       Cheltenham Science Festival recently took place, where he attend the launch of the DataFace scheme, sponsored by CBC among others, which explores creative ways to use digital information and data, and encourages young people to this career pathway with marketable skills for the job market of the future;

-       he recently attended an event at The Love Food Hub in Charlton Kings, where Nadine and Amy are doing good work to sustainably offer meals to people in need.  Last week was the latest Cynam event, which focussed on a key priority of CBC - using cyber security to solve climate crisis – and was a fascinating evening;

-       Cheltenham resident Mike Newby recently because World Shin-Kicking Champion 2023 – congratulations to him.

The Cabinet Member for Waste, Recycling and Street Services reported that hundreds of fish in Pittville Park Lake have died, due to hot weather conditions and to flash floods washing pollutants from roads into the lake.  The oxygenators are being switched on for longer than usual to improve levels,  but it is worth noting that Pittville Park Lake is normally a very healthy environment, as demonstrated by the fact that there are now otters living on the island.  He was confident that the ecology of the lake would be restored, but felt that the current situation was a result of climate change.

The Cabinet Member for Finance and Assets confirmed that the property team is working on financial out-turn report and close-down position, and will have a report to consider next month.

The Cabinet Member for Housing said she had been really impressed by the videos produced by CBH, in partnership with CBC’s comms team, which break down the HRA business plan into a digestible format.  In this way, the key objectives – including sustainable homes, stronger and more resilient communities – can be communicated to a wider audience.

The Leader said she had made a video to highlight the sixth anniversary of the Grenfell Tower fire, saying it was important that organisations learnt from the disaster.  CBH works closely with its tenants to ensure their health and safety, and that all measures are adhered to.