Agenda item

Report of the Cabinet Member Sustainability

The item was introduced by Councillor McKinlay, Cabinet Member Built Environment as Councillor Whyborn, Cabinet Member Sustainability was not in attendance at the meeting and had given his apologies. The report highlighted that the Friends of Imperial Square Heritage and Conservation (FISHAC) had started to raise the substantial funds required to restore the historic railings to Imperial Gardens. The intention was that Cheltenham Borough Council would then procure and subsequently deliver the works, in three phases. In order for the project to progress to its construction phases it was a requirement that FISHAC entered into a legal agreement with Cheltenham Borough Council which would require funding raised by them to be provided to the Authority.

The Cabinet Member Built Environment stated that the report was not about the design or whether there should be any railings. He said that the purpose of the report to Council was to help Members decide whether to allocate a budget for external funding. This was necessary due to the amount involved and it was therefore, effectively, an emergency item. If passed, the Council would enter into a procurement phase and may have to pay out some of the money before the money is received from FISHAC.

A Member asked about the phasing of the works and questioned whether the payments would also be in three separate phases. The Cabinet Member Built Environment responded that this was detail still to be worked out. He said the work would only be carried out if the money was raised and that money wouldn’t be spent unless there was a guarantee that the money would be received.

One Member suggested there could be a risk that only half the park was  completed if the remaining funds could not be raised.

Another Member thanked Councillor McKinlay for the report and urged him to give the project his support.  

A Member stated that he could not support the recommendation as felt the decision to install railings around an open space such as Imperial Gardens was the wrong one to take. They acted as a barrier to the gardens and ruined the vista. He suggested that it was a good thing that this had taken a year to get through planning as there had been a debate to be had. He said that in Victorian times the railings had been there to help keep undesirables out, however this was not the approach that should be taken in the 21^st century. There was also the potential that people may get their head or limbs stuck in between the railings as the width between each bar is quite large. He told members that he was pleased that the height of the railings had been altered, but stated that ‘we could sleep walk into changing the nature of our best gardens’.

Another Member informed the meeting that getting an agreement from Council was important to FISHAC as it meant they could go forward and get funding from charitable bodies.

One Member expressed the benefits of the railings – they helped keep children safe within boundaries and they mean that people would use the designated paths and were less likely to run out on to the roads. Flowers could also be placed in the corners of the park, where at present people may walk on them.

The Cabinet Member Built Environment summed up the debate. He said that how the railings changed the park – either positively or negatively, was a matter of opinion. The Friends of Imperial Gardens would however be given a boost if the resolution were to be passed by Council. He said that a decision should be made in order to allow the project to progress.

Upon a vote it was:

RESOLVED that the budget for the project and the budget for the external funding within the Authority’s capital programme be allocated.

Voting: CARRIED with 2 abstentions.