Agenda and minutes

60.1           Apologies for absence were received from Councillors A J Evans, B C J Hesketh, T A Spencer (Deputy Mayor) and P E Stokes.  

61.1           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.

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

To approve the Minutes of the meeting held on 5 December 2017.

62.1           The Minutes of the meeting held on 5 December 2017, copies of which had been circulated, were approved as a correct record and signed by the Mayor.

1.   When the continuous alarm sounds you must evacuate the building by the nearest available fire exit. Members and visitors should proceed to the visitors’ car park at the front of the building and await further instructions (during office hours staff should proceed to their usual assembly point; outside of office hours proceed to the visitors’ car park). Please do not re-enter the building unless instructed to do so.

      In the event of a fire any person with a disability should be assisted in leaving the building.  

2.   To receive any announcements from the Chair of the Meeting and/or the Chief Executive.

63.1           The evacuation procedure, as set out on the Agenda, was advised to those present.  

63.2           The Mayor introduced the Chair of the Council’s Independent Remuneration Panel along with the other Panel members who were in attendance – they were all present for Item 7 on the Agenda, Member Allowances Scheme 2018/19.

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

(The deadline for public participation submissions for this meeting is 17 January 2018).

b)   To receive any petitions submitted under the Council’s Petitions Scheme.

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

To receive any questions submitted under Rule of Procedure 13. Any items received will be circulated on 23 January 2018.

(Any questions must be submitted in writing to Democratic Services by, not later than, 10.00am on the working day immediately preceding the date of the meeting).

65.1           The following questions had been received from Councillor Graham Bocking to the Lead Member for Built Environment.  The answers were given by the Lead Member for Built Environment, Councillor Elaine MacTiernan, but were taken as read without discussion.

Question:

Now that the Innsworth and Twigworth planning application appeals have been successful, primarily due to their inclusion in the Joint Core Strategy (JCS) and s106 has already been discussed and CIL is due to be at a reduced rate as they are JCS sites, how does this Council plan to fund and deliver the infrastructure highlighted as required in the JCS? 

Answer:

As CIL was not yet in place, the contributions from the site to infrastructure would come from s106 arrangements that had been determined as part of the appeal decision and negotiated through the subsequent detailed reserved matters applications.

The Council would continue to work with infrastructure providers and funders, such as the GFirst LEP, Gloucestershire County Council and Highways England, to progress the development of infrastructure projects as necessary. 

Question:

As this housing is to be built on appeal and it is possible that we will receive no new homes bonus on either site. Will the Council be putting a contingency plan in place to enable a smooth updating of its Medium Term Financial Strategy to compensate for this?

Answer:

The government had previously discussed proposals to potentially remove the eligibility for Councils to receive New Homes Bonus payments from schemes which had been granted planning permission at appeal; however, as yet, those proposals had not been implemented. Therefore the Council would receive New Homes Bonus payments from those sites.

Question:

As these plans were opposed as unsound on flooding grounds by the Council, what contingency plans have we put in place, and what funding have we put aside, to deal with the predicted flooding in the area?

Answer:

The Council’s flood risk objections at the public inquiry were made on the basis that the outline applications had not demonstrated how the proposals would have an acceptable impact in terms of flood risk. The Council did not object to the principle of development on the sites which were, of course, included in the Joint Core Strategy. The Secretary of State accepted the advice of the Appeal Inspector who took a different view to the Council and considered that those were matters which could be dealt with by the imposition of appropriate planning conditions. Officers would work closely with the developers and the Lead Local Flood Authority to ensure that the sites would be developed in line with the aspirations contained in Policy SA1 of the Joint Core Strategy.

Innsworth and Twigworth Site specific detail question

Background and reasons to ask the questions:

There are two main problems with the Innsworth and Twigworth sites – traffic and flooding.

On the flooding issue, in the approved Minutes of Tewkesbury Borough Council on the 31/01/2017 section 95.13:

“Planning Policy Manager advised that the Innsworth and Twigworth sites were very much interlinked  ...  view the full minutes text for item 65.

To determine the Scheme of Allowances to take effect on 1 April 2018 until 31 March 2019 having regard to the recommendations of the Independent Remuneration Panel.  

66.1           The report of the Head of Democratic Services, circulated at Pages No. 14-28, attached the report of the Independent Remuneration Panel following its consideration of the Council’s Member Allowances Scheme.  The report set out two proposed minor amendments made by the Panel which the Council was asked to consider when agreeing its Scheme of Allowances for 2018/19.

66.2           The Mayor invited the Chair of the Panel to address the Council. The Chair thanked Members for inviting him to the meeting and advised that the current Panel had been in place since 2014 and he had been Chair for much of that time. Since the Panel had been in operation it had spoken to around 30 Councillors and that information gathering had been invaluable in helping it to understand the hard work and level of commitment shown by Members to their local communities. The Panel had analysed a large amount of comparison data and had noted that, whilst Tewkesbury Borough Councillors had some of the highest Basic Allowances in the country, its Special Responsibility Allowances had previously been on the low side in comparison to others which was why increases had been recommended. Having reviewed current data, the Panel had taken the view that it would not be fair to cut the Basic Allowance but that the current level should be retained for 2018/19 and reviewed again for 2019/20. It had also felt that the Special Responsibility Allowances were now at a more comparable level and therefore should remain unchanged for the forthcoming year but reviewed again in 2019/20. There were two minor amendments to the wording of the Scheme which were proposed and could be found at Page No. 27 within the Panel’s report. Those amendments were suggested to offer clarification and to ensure the Scheme was explicit in its definitions.

66.3           The Leader of the Council thanked the Panel members for their hard work in reaching the conclusions which had been placed before the Council and, accordingly, it was

                  RESOLVED          1.  That the recommendations of the Independent                                                         Remuneration Panel for the 2018/19 Scheme of Allowances                                  be AGREED as follows:

·      That the Scheme of Allowances for 2018/19 be unchanged from the 2017/18 Scheme except for the following two minor amendments:

Ø  Special Responsibility Allowances section to be amended so that, in Schedule 1 after Leader and Deputy Leader, a line be inserted to read ‘(inclusive of Lead Member role)’; and

Ø  Paragraph 2.1 of the Dependents’ Care Scheme be amended to read “The maximum rate payable by way of reimbursement has been fixed at £7.20 £7.50 per hour, in line with the living wage, with no overall daily maximum. This will be reviewed on an annual basis. This will remain unchanged for the period of the Scheme.

2. That Officers continue to make provision for increases in the Member Allowances budget within the Medium Term Financial Strategy in order that there should be flexibility to increase allowances if appropriate during the next annual review of the Scheme.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 66.

To recommend the appointment of Civic Heads for the Municipal Year 2018/19.

1.    Mayor  

It is usual practice that the current Deputy Mayor be appointed Mayor for the ensuing Municipal Year.

2.    Deputy Mayor

To receive nominations for the appointment of Deputy Mayor for the ensuing Municipal Year.

(Potted biographies for the nominations received will be placed in the pigeon-holes prior to the start of the meeting).

                  Mayor

67.1           Upon being proposed and seconded, it was

                  RESOLVED          That Councillor Terry Spencer, be appointed Mayor for the                                            ensuing Municipal Year.

                  Deputy Mayor

67.2           Upon being proposed and seconded, it was

                  RESOLVED          That Councillor Ruth Hatton be appointed as Deputy                                           Mayor for the ensuing Municipal Year.      

To receive a presentation from the Lead Member for Health and Wellbeing, Councillor Julie Greening.  

68.1           The Mayor invited the Lead Member for Health and Wellbeing, Councillor Julie Greening, to make her presentation to the Council.

68.2           The Council covered the following main points:

·         Overview – Operational Housing and Homelessness; Future Developments in the Service; Warm and Well; and Community Development.

·         Rehoused Households through Choice Based Lettings (CBL) – There had been 361 social housing allocations through CBL over the past 12 months. The lettings were predominantly into one and two bedroom properties and 88% of lettings were to Tewkesbury residents in emergency, urgent or significant housing need. In terms of the bandings, emergency: family to non-family; this was awarded to those under-occupying to free up family homes. Emergency: immediate medical/welfare needs; this was awarded for a health condition which required immediate rehousing on medical grounds – most likely to be when an applicant had a major incident, was in hospital or other emergency provision and was unable to return home. Gold: downsize – family to smaller family; this was offered to enable the best use of social housing stock and to assist households affected by the ‘bedroom tax’. Gold: full statutory homeless duty accepted; this was for households who had applied for homeless assistance and the authority had investigated their circumstances and agreed a full homeless duty to rehouse permanently. Gold: Major overcrowding; this banding occurred when a household was lacking two bedrooms in their current accommodation - one bedroom was required for an adult couple, a person aged 16 years or over, two children up to 16 years old of the same sex and two children aged up to ten years old of different sexes – so, potentially, this could apply to either a couple with three small children in one bedroom or three adults (not including a couple) in one bedroom. Gold: move on/ multi-agency/ succession; this was awarded when a move-on from supported accommodation was agreed by the local authority - there were two conditions, the supported accommodation provider had confirmed the resident was ready for independent living and the local authority had been involved in the move-on planning. Gold: left in occupation and succession; occurred when a tenant died but members of the family were still living within the home - most social housing tenancies had one right to succession which meant that the remaining adult within the property had the right to be granted the tenancy; however, if the property was too big or too small for the remaining family member(s), irrespective of whether they had a right to succession, they could be required to move to a more suitable property (normally from a family home to a flat as it was generally a middle aged child left in the property) - in those circumstances the remaining resident was awarded gold banding to prioritise their move and free up the property for a suitable household. Gold: prohibition notice – disrepair/overcrowding; occurred where an Environmental Health Officer had inspected the property and served a Prohibition Order on it prohibiting its  ...  view the full minutes text for item 68.

At its meeting on 3 January 2018 the Executive Committee considered the Council Tax Reduction Scheme and RECOMMENDED TO COUNCIL that the Scheme for 2018/19 be ADOPTED.  

69.1           At its meeting on 3 January 2018, the Executive Committee had considered a report which set out a Council Tax Reduction Scheme for 2018/19. The Executive Committee had recommended to Council that the Scheme be adopted.

69.2           The report which was considered by the Executive Committee had been circulated with the Agenda for the current meeting at Pages No. 29-32.

69.3           The Chair and Vice-Chair of the Committee proposed and seconded the recommendation and it was   

                  RESOLVED          That the Council Tax Reduction Scheme for 2018/19 be                                     ADOPTED.

To adopt a Schedule of Meetings for the 2018/19 Municipal Year.  

70.1           The report of the Head of Democratic Services, circulated at Pages No. 33-36, set out the proposed Schedule of Meetings for 2018/19. Members were asked to adopt the Schedule as set out at Appendix 1 to the report.  

70.2           Accordingly, it was

                  RESOLVED          That the Schedule of Meetings for 2018/19, as set out at                                     Appendix 1 to the report, be ADOPTED.

To agree the nominations for the Council’s representation at the Royal Garden Party in May / June 2018.

The dates provided are Tuesday 15 May, Thursday 31 May and Tuesday 5 June 2018.

Nominations MUST be made by Friday 26 January 2018 at the latest.

71.1           It was 

                  RESOLVED          That Councillor Mel Gore and guest accompany the Mayor                                            and Mayoress as the Council’s nominees at the Royal Garden                                Party in May/June 2018.

71.2           It was agreed that Councillor John Evetts be nominated as a reserve to attend in the event that Councillor Gore should be unable to make the date.

In light of a Motion approved by Cheltenham Borough Council, Councillor Hollaway will propose and Councillor Gore will second that:

“This Council, mindful of the distress, concern and inconvenience to residents, that would ensue should the Cheltenham Accident and Emergency (A&E) Department close, opposes any proposed closure or downgrading of A&E facilities at the hospital. The Council recognises the high esteem in which residents hold the A&E Department and the staff who work there.

The Council calls upon the Trust to confirm that any proposals in relation to the future of Cheltenham’s A&E Department will be the subject of wide consultation to include the Council and its residents.

In addition, the Council calls on the Member of Parliament for Tewkesbury to support the retention of a full range of A&E services at Cheltenham Hospital”

72.1           The Mayor referred to the Notice of Motion set out on the Agenda and indicated that, in accordance with the Rules of Procedure, it was necessary for the Council firstly to decide whether it wished to debate and determine the Motion at the evening’s meeting, or whether it wished to refer the Motion, without debate, to a Committee for consideration with authority either to make a decision on the matter or to bring a recommendation back to Council. Upon being put to the vote, it was agreed that the Motion would be determined at the current meeting.

 72.2          In light of a Motion approved by Cheltenham Borough Council, Councillor Hollaway proposed and Councillor Gore seconded that:

                  “This Council, mindful of the distress, concern and inconvenience to residents, that would ensue should the Cheltenham Accident and Emergency (A&E) Department close, opposes any proposed closure or downgrading of A&E facilities at the hospital. The Council recognises the high esteem in which residents hold the A&E Department and the staff who work there.

                  The Council calls upon the Trust to confirm that any proposals in relation to the future of Cheltenham’s A&E Department will be the subject of wide consultation to include the Council and its residents.

                  In addition, the Council calls on the Member of Parliament for Tewkesbury to support the retention of a full range of A&E services at Cheltenham Hospital”

72.3           Upon being put to the vote, it was unanimously

                  RESOLVED          That the following Motion be AGREED:

“This Council, mindful of the distress, concern and                           inconvenience to residents, that would ensue should the           Cheltenham Accident and Emergency (A&E) Department close,      opposes any proposed closure or downgrading of A&E facilities      at the hospital. The Council recognises the high esteem in       which residents hold the A&E Department and the staff who            work there.

                                                The Council calls upon the Trust to confirm that any proposals                                in relation to the future of Cheltenham’s A&E Department will                                be the subject of wide consultation to include the Council and                             its residents.

                                                In addition, the Council calls on the Member of Parliament for                            Tewkesbury to support the retention of a full range of A&E                                      services at Cheltenham Hospital”

73.1           The Chair proposed, and it was

RESOLVED          That, under Section 100(A)(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public be excluded from the meeting for the following items on the grounds that they involve the likely discussion of exempt information as defined in Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act.

(Exempt –Paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972 –Information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person (including the authority holding that information))

To receive an update on the Council’s Commercial Property Investments.

(Exempt –Paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972 –Information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person (including the authority holding that information))

74.1           The Council received an update on its commercial property investments and agreed that a further sum be added to the capital programme to finance further purchases in line with the Commercial Investment Strategy. The Council also agreed that authority be delegated to the Head of Finance and Asset Management to amend the Council’s Treasury Strategy and Prudential Indicators to reflect the borrowing requirements of the Commercial Investment Strategy.