Agenda item

Questions must be received no later than 12 noon on Friday 5 September

There were no petitions.  One public question and one Member question had been received. The responses had been published and were taken as read.

1.  Public Question from Richard Lawler to Cabinet Member for Economic Development, Wellbeing, Culture and Public Realm Open Space, Councillor Izaac Tailford 

In Swindon Village, graffiti is a visible issue in our laneways, tunnels, and on public utilities. While enforcement alone may not address the root causes, there is an opportunity to turn this into a positive for the community. 

Will the council consider supporting a graffiti artist outreach programme in Swindon Village — one that: 

·           designates the Windyridge underpass as a safe and legal space for graffiti art; 

·           encourages artists to contribute to the community by helping residents with projects such as fence painting or mural creation; 

·           works with local partners to connect interested graffiti artists to apprenticeships, training, or career pathways in painting, decorating, or related trades. 

This could help address the appearance of our public spaces, foster positive engagement with young people, and build community pride while creating real opportunities for skills development. 

Might the council also consider asking Andy Davis, who runs the street art programme, to advise on the best way to implement this? 

Cabinet Member response:

Thank-you, Mr Lawler, for your question and I agree art activities such as those which are undertaken via the Cheltenham Paint Festival are positive in addressing areas of graffiti, contributing to a sense of place and to positively engage communities.  

The tunnel you are referring to is managed and maintained by Gloucestershire County Council and any works would need to gain their approval both for the  artwork and for health and safety provisions whilst any works are undertaken. To date, the County Council has been supportive and helped facilitate the works of the Cheltenham Paint Festival. 

The type of activity you have suggested may be a suitable project funded by neighbourhood Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL).  The Windyridge Tunnel actually falls within the Prestbury Parish area, but there is a close relationship with the wider areas of Swindon Village.  Both Prestbury and Swindon Village parishes receive CIL funding direct and are responsible for the award of projects for the funds available for the Neighbourhood CIL arising from within their parishes.  I would be very happy to make the introduction to enable this conversation.   

In areas outside the parished areas for which the council manages neighbourhood CIL receipts, allocations have been made previously to support the work of the Cheltenham Paint Festival.  This included an allocation of £45,000 in July 2023 for £15k to be spent per year over three years, together with a further £7,500 in July 2025 for murals on the Honeybourne Line £7,500. The images below are those funded by the Honeybourne Line project: 

Supplementary question:

Based on the council’s own records or those of its partners such as Gloucestershire County Council, the police, or the Cheltenham paint festival, how many individuals are thought to be responsible for the repeated graffiti tagging in Swindon Village?  Of these incidents, what proportion of offenders have been identified?  Does the council, either directly or in partnership, maintain a tagging database to record signature graffiti tags for possible future prosecutions or, equally, to support diversionary programmes that could help prevent reoffending?

Cabinet Member response:

Thank you for the question.  I don’t have this information to hand, and feel that the police are best-placed to provide it.  I will speak to colleagues in other portfolios and to officers, and get back to you.

2. Member Question from Councillor Beale to Cabinet Member for Planning and building Control, Councillor Mike Collins

I am receiving a lot of feedback from residents about the availability and quality of GP care. It is quite clear to me that Leckhampton Surgery is under extreme pressure and this seems to be leading to an empathy gap between patients and doctor. For elderly patients in Warden Hill, this surgery is one of the nearest to residents following the relocation of many other local surgeries to Swindon Road. On top of this, we have 350+ houses currently in development - which will increase the pressure further.?

Please can you assure me that CIL money is being reserved to enable new doctors' surgeries to be built in Cheltenham? 

Cabinet Member response 

Thank you, Councillor Beale, for your question, for reference I have provided the link to the publishedConstituency data: GPs and GP practices.My apologies in advance for the length of response; the funding for health provision in the context of planning is not straightforward.  

The Gloucestershire Integrated Care Board (ICB) plays a central role in monitoring and managing GP capacity. Working with NHS partners and local authorities, the ICB assesses current pressures and future demand to ensure resources are directed to the right locations. This process includes developing business cases for new or extended GP premises, securing developer contributions where appropriate, and embedding primary care within wider community health networks. 

Each Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) Charging authority has a statutory requirement to publish annually, as part of its Infrastructure Funding Statement, the document that reports on s106 developer contributions and CIL, a list of specific projects or types of infrastructure that its CIL Infrastructure fund receipts may be spent on.  The current published Infrastructure list (Cabinet report 17 December 2024) includes as a pipeline project NHS GP surgeries.  This was included on the list in recognition of the demands for services across Cheltenham.   

The Cheltenham, Gloucester and -Tewkesbury Strategic Local Plan Team and the CIL Strategic Infrastructure Planning Manager are currently working across all parties to review the Infrastructure Delivery Plan (IDP) the evidence base document that tracks the infrastructure needs associated with growth, and also separately the content of the Infrastructure List as an update to the Infrastructure Funding Statement that will be considered by Cabinet later this year. 

These receipts are not ringfenced for specific purposes in advance. The CIL Joint Committee is the decision-making body in regard to the strategic allocation of CIL from the CIL Infrastructure Fund receipts. This is reliant on the availability of CIL receipts for consideration for allocation to projects, and when a CIL funding bid round is open, the appropriate bodies submitting clear and costed proposals for consideration of allocation of CIL receipts to a project, informed by the assessment process.  

There is currently no CIL Funding bid round open. In the event that a future CIL funding bid round is opened, this would not prevent the ICB from submitting a funding bid request. The CIL Joint Committee process would determine if any project were considered for funding support or not, and if it is, to what value.  Liaison with the ICB will continue to determine any future bids for funding. 

Alongside CIL, the SLP team are preparing a new IDP which seeks to address the issues you have raised through forward planning, ensuring health provision is aligned with planned housing and demographic change. This involves identifying where additional capacity may be required, either through the expansion of existing surgeries or the delivery of new primary care facilities in areas of significant growth. 

In respect of planning applications, the local planning authority ensures health infrastructure is properly considered through consultation with the ICB and other health bodies. Where capacity impacts are identified, mitigation is often secured via Section 106 agreements, enabling financial contributions from developers to support the improvement or expansion of GP services, where this can be justified and meets the three statutory tests for securing planning s106 obligations. While CIL receipts can be used to support infrastructure requirements also part funded through planning obligations, in practice s106 agreements and direct NHS funding streams are typically more effective and reliable in delivering the necessary health infrastructure to support growth. 

By combining strategic infrastructure planning through the IDP, the ICB’s operational role in managing capacity, and the development management system’s ability to secure contributions and respond to consultee input, a coordinated approach is achieved. This framework is to help ensure GP surgeries in Cheltenham can continue to meet patient needs as the town grows. 

       Source: Constituency data: GPs and GP practices 

The above shows that 11,011 patients are registered at Leckhampton. To determine capacity/accessibility issues further consultation will be required with the ICB.