Agenda, decisions and minutes

82.1           The evacuation procedure, as noted on the Agenda, was taken as read.  

83.1           An apology for absence was received from Councillor M Dean. There were no substitutions for the meeting.  

84.1           The Committee’s attention was drawn to the Tewkesbury Borough Council Code of Conduct which was adopted by the Council on 26 June 2012 and took effect from 1 July 2012.

84.2           There were no declarations of interest made on this occasion.

To receive any questions, deputations or petitions submitted under Rule of Procedure 12.

(The deadline for public participation submissions for this meeting is 3 March 2016).

85.1           There were no items from members of the public on this occasion.  

To agree the way forward for the Spring Gardens/Oldbury Road site, including the preparation of development proposals, and to identify any areas that may be declared surplus to service requirements whilst taking account of the current and future requirements for car parking in the Town Centre and the Tewkesbury Town Centre Masterplan: Strategic Framework Document.  

That the Finance and Asset Management Group Manager, in consultation with the Deputy Chief Executive, be instructed:  

1.    to prepare development proposals for the areas edged red on the plan attached to the report, and the wider environment, having regard to the Tewkesbury Town Centre Masterplan: Strategic Framework Document and the primary considerations as highlighted in Paragraph 5.4 of the report;

2.    having regard to the current and future requirements for car parking in the town centre, the Tewkesbury Town Centre Masterplan: Strategic Framework Document and the primary considerations highlighted in Paragraph 5.4 of the report, to identify areas within the sites edged red on the plan attached to the report which may be declared surplus to service requirements; and

3.    to return to a future meeting of the Committee with the information required by Paragraphs 1 and 2 of this resolution.

86.1           The joint report of the Finance and Asset Management Group Manager and the Development Services Group Manager, circulated at Pages No. 1-8, provided information about the areas known as Spring Gardens and Oldbury Road. Members were asked to consider the information provided and instruct the Finance and Asset Management Group Manager, having regard to the Tewkesbury Town Centre Masterplan: Strategic Framework document, to prepare development proposals and identify those areas that may be declared surplus to service requirements, taking into consideration the future requirements for car parking in the town.

86.2           The Finance and Asset Management Group Manger explained that this report was intended to acknowledge the current and future under-utilisation of assets and to give authority to Officers to investigate the best way forward for the sites. It was intended that as much discussion as possible would be held in ‘open’ business as this would ensure the public knew what the intentions were which would hopefully allay their fears about what would happen following the closure and demolition of Cascades. There would be some commercially sensitive information which would need to be considered in confidential business but, as far as possible, this would be kept to a minimum.

86.3           In terms of the sites referred to, the Finance and Asset Management Group Manager explained that the Borough Council was the freehold owner of both the Oldbury Road and the Spring Gardens car park sites; which included the lease of land to the Swimming Bath Trust for the Cascades leisure facility. Both sites were key strategic sites within Tewkesbury town centre and yet the quality of ‘place’ in both locations was currently poor and did not generate a positive contribution towards the overall attractiveness of the town. Both sites were extensively used for providing hardstanding car parking facilities with Spring Gardens providing 286 spaces on non-market days and Oldbury Road providing a total of 96 spaces. A large proportion of the Spring Gardens site was currently leased to the Swimming Bath Trust and, in addition to that use, it also hosted a twice weekly market and a large part of the annual Mop Fair which had historic roots within the town. In July 2012 the Council had adopted the Tewkesbury Town Centre Masterplan: Strategic Framework document which included the Spring Gardens and Bishop’s Walk Design and Development Principles document. Those documents identified both sites as being suitable for mixed use development whilst also concentrating on re-establishing the historic grain of Tewkesbury town as well as preserving and enhancing the character of the town; maintaining and mending the continuity of building frontages; improving the quality of the public realm; and maintaining sufficient levels of car parking.

86.4           Following the failure of the contract of sale for the Oldbury Road car park with McCarthy and Stone, and the development of a new leisure on the public service centre site, there was now an opportunity for the Council to review the options for both sites as a wider scheme. In terms of  ...  view the full minutes text for item 86.

To approve the Customer Care Strategy and action plan.

That the Customer Care Strategy and action plan be APPROVED.

87.1           The report of the Communications and Policy Manager, circulated at Pages No. 9-23, set out the Customer Care Strategy and action plan which Members were asked to approve. 

87.2           Members were advised that, in the Council Plan, a promise was made that the Council would put the needs of its customers at the heart of what it did and would listen to what they said, treating people fairly and without bias. The Customer Care Strategy was an important step to making this a reality as it detailed how the Council planned to deliver customer care and outlined the organisational commitments it would make to its customers. In addition, the action plan showed where the Council wanted to be and explained how it would monitor and report its progress in achieving those pledges. In addition, as part of its commitment to customer care, the Council would encourage the adoption of common customer care standards across the authority. The Strategy had been considered by the Overview and Scrutiny Committee where it had been endorsed and recommended to the Executive Committee for approval.

87.3           The Communications and Policy Manager explained that, whilst the standards were not unique, the Council had not had them before. They had been developed with Managers at all levels and, as such, were fully supported throughout the authority. For some teams this would be a considerable culture change but there was a commitment from Managers who had wanted to put into place something achievable and effective. The Customer Care Strategy aimed to: introduce a set of customer service standards for staff to follow; make it easier, simpler and more convenient for customers to interact with the Council when requiring a service; use feedback from the residents’ survey to help shape future service delivery; make sure staff were equipped with the skills to deliver high quality customer service; promote approaches to delivering services that were more convenient for customers and less expensive to deliver for the Council; utilise technology to better manage and serve the changing access needs of customers in line with the Council’s emerging digital strategy; and work with partners in the public services centre to ensure customers experienced a seamless and worthwhile experience when visiting the offices.

87.4           Referring to the standards as attached to the Customer Care Strategy, a Member noted that, in terms of responding to emails and telephone calls, the timescales were not very specific but in respect of letters they were. She was of the view that responding ‘as soon as possible’ did not really demonstrate good customer care. In response, the Communications and Policy Manager explained that the number of emails and telephone calls received by the Council was extremely significant and as such it was very difficult to put a time limit on responses; there was, however, a commitment to respond as soon as possible which was of the utmost importance. In respect of the telephone, the main changes being introduced were that, if there was not a member of  ...  view the full minutes text for item 87.