Agenda, decisions and minutes

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.

17.1           The evacuation procedure, as set out on the Agenda, was taken as read.

17.2           The Vice-Chair in the chair welcomed Councillor P W Awford, as Chair of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee, who was in attendance for Item 7 – Performance Management Report – Quarter Four 2016/17.  

18.1           An apology for absence was received from Councillor D J Waters (Chair). There were no substitutions for the meeting.  

19.1           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.

19.2           The following declaration was made:

19.3           There were no further declarations made on this occasion.

To approve the Minutes of the meeting held on 7 June 2017.

20.1           The Minutes of the meeting held on 7 June 2017, copies of which had been circulated, were approved as a correct record and signed by the Chair.  

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

(The deadline for public participation submissions for this meeting is 6 July 2017)

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

To consider the Committee’s Forward Plan.  

That the Committee’s Forward Plan be NOTED.  

22.1           Attention was drawn to the Committee’s Forward Plan, circulated at Pages No. 13-17. Members were asked to consider the Plan.

22.2           Accordingly, it was   

To receive and respond to the findings of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee‘s review of the quarter four performance management information.  

That the Overview and Scrutiny Committee’s comments on the Performance Management Report for Quarter Four of 2016/17 be NOTED.   

23.1           The report of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee Chair, circulated at Pages No. 18-55, asked Members to review and, if appropriate, take action on the observations of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee following its review of the 2016/17 quarter four performance management information.

23.2           Attention was drawn to the observations made by the Overview and Scrutiny Committee, attached to the report at Appendix 1, and to the Council Plan Performance Tracker, attached at Appendix 2 to the report.

23.3           The Overview and Scrutiny Committee Chair explained that progress on Council performance during the fourth and final quarter of the year was generally good with some key areas of excellent performance. Of particular note were the launch of a new Economic Development and Tourism Strategy; a five year extension to Gloucestershire County Council’s leases in the Public Services Centre; and the procurement of a new £3.5 million waste and recycling vehicle fleet. Members were also made aware of areas that had not progressed as planned which included rolling out a programme of customer services training for staff across the Council; undertaking a discretionary trade waste service review to ensure it was operating on a viable commercial level; and delivering phase 2 of the planning and environmental health service review. He felt Members had done an excellent job of scrutinising the report and, as a result, there had been a wide range of questions asked; the full list of those questions, and the subsequent responses from Officers, had been attached as an Appendix to the current report. A Member had asked what was happening with the J9 area as well as what pieces of work were being commissioned and, in response, the Head of Development Services had advised that Officers were trying to understand the future potential of the area; especially given the Ministry of Defence plans for the Ashchurch camp had changed. It had been explained that there were currently three pieces of work being carried out which included looking at what interventions could be used; undertaking a visioning exercise looking at the aspirations of the area; and looking at what could be achieved through masterplanning. Those three pieces of work would help to ensure the whole site was properly planned which was important for the entire Borough as well as the growth zone itself. A Member had asked what was meant by a ‘change in direction’ for the regeneration of Spring Gardens and, in response, the Head of Finance and Asset Management had explained that, originally, the Council had intended to develop the site itself but this was no longer a viable option; a report would be submitted to the Executive Committee to ask Members to confirm the position they wished to take going forward. Another Member had questioned how many members of staff were undertaking NVQ qualifications and whether they were internally or externally assessed. The Communications and Policy Manager had explained that all staff undertaking NVQs were externally assessed. Whilst not all Customer Services staff had  ...  view the full minutes text for item 23.

To recommend to Council that the public consultation on the proposed Statement of Modifications be approved and that the Deputy Chief Executive be authorised to compile and submit responses to the Community Infrastructure Levy examiner for examination.

That it be RECOMMENDED TO COUNCIL:

1.      That the Community Infrastructure Levy Proposed Statement of Modifications, as attached to the report at Appendix 1, be APPROVED for public consultation.

2.      That authority be delegated to the Deputy Chief Executive, in consultation with the Lead Member for Built Environment, to amend the proposed Statement of Modifications and prepare any further statements of modification that may be required following the JCS hearings and/or any further viability assessments undertaken.

3.      That the Deputy Chief Executive be authorised to agree the date of public consultation(s) with Cheltenham Borough and Gloucester City Councils.

4.      That the Deputy Chief Executive, following the conclusion of the public consultation(s), be authorised to compile and submit responses received to the CIL examiner for examination.

24.1           The report of the Head of Development Services, circulated at Pages No. 56-71, attached a Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) Proposed Statement of Modifications and asked Members to recommend to Council that it be approved for public consultation. In addition, the report recommended that authority be delegated to the Deputy Chief Executive, in consultation with the Lead Member for Built Environment, to amend the Statement and prepare any further statements of modification following the JCS hearings and/or any further viability assessments undertaken; that authority be delegated to the Deputy Chief Executive to agree the date of public consultation with Cheltenham Borough and Gloucester City Councils; and, following the conclusion of the consultation, that the Deputy Chief Executive be authorised to compile all responses received and submit them to the CIL Examiner for examination.

24.2           In introducing the report, the Deputy Chief Executive explained that the Joint Core Strategy (JCS) authorities (Tewkesbury Borough, Cheltenham Borough and Gloucester City Councils) had been working towards adopting a CIL alongside the JCS. The CIL would allow the Councils to raise funds from developers undertaking new developments for a wide range of infrastructure that was needed to support them e.g. road improvements and schools. CIL would replace the majority of Section 106 planning obligations; however, Section 106 would still be used to deliver affordable housing provision and site specific mitigation measures for strategic allocations. The majority of required infrastructure would continue to be funded through the Section 106 planning obligations process. The proposed CIL rates were set out within the draft CIL Charging Schedule which had been submitted to the Planning Inspectorate for Examination on 29 July 2016. The CIL charges were set out within each authority’s CIL Draft Charging Schedule which provided details on the CIL charges for different types of development. The independent Planning Inspector who was dealing with the JCS had also been appointed to preside over the Examination into the CIL Charging Schedule and the CIL Hearings would take place sometime after the JCS Hearings had been completed.

24.3           The variations made to date on the JCS had seen three sites taken out that had originally been included and three sites that were not originally included being put in. With this in mind, the CIL now needed modification before its examination could take place. The JCS authorities had received legal advice setting out the most appropriate way forward which was to produce a ‘Statement of Modifications’ to each draft Charging Schedule before the examination and to consult on those statements for a period of four weeks; the Statement, attached to the report at Appendix 1, included modifications to add/delete the strategic allocations as recommended by the JCS inspector; included maps showing the boundaries of the strategic allocations; and included a section setting out how the CIL charge would be calculated. Once the three Councils had each approved the Statement of Modifications for their respective Draft Charging Schedules and, assuming all went to plan, it was anticipated that the examination would be  ...  view the full minutes text for item 24.

25.1           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 12(A) 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 consider the disposal of open space at Lincoln Green Lane, Tewkesbury.

(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))

26.1           The Committee was asked to consider the disposal of open space at Lincoln Green Lane, Tewkesbury.  Following a lengthy discussion it was agreed that the site be offered for disposal but that some of the receipt be used for community facilities. It was also felt that any agreement should include a restriction in terms of access points to the site.

(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 consider the disposal of a garage site at Back Lane, Winchcombe.

(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))

27.1           Members considered the disposal of a garage site at Back Lane, Winchcombe but agreed that the item be deferred to enable a full options appraisal to be undertaken and the results reported to Members for a decision.