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.  

40.1          The evacuation procedure, as noted on the Agenda, was advised to those present.

41.1          Apologies for absence were received from Councillor J R Mason.  Councillor R J E Vines would be a substitute for the meeting. 

Pursuant to the adoption by the Council on 24 January 2023 of the Tewkesbury Borough Council Code of Conduct, effective from 1 February 2023, as set out in Minute No. CL.72, Members are invited to declare any interest they may have in the business set out on the Agenda to which the approved Code applies.

42.1          The Committee’s attention was drawn to the Tewkesbury Borough Code of Conduct which was adopted by the Council on 24 January 2023 and took effect on 1 February 2023. 

42.2          There were no declarations made on this occasion.

To approve the Minutes of the meeting held on 6 September 2023.

43.1          The Minutes of the meeting held on 6 September 2023, 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 3 November 2023)

44.1          There were no items from members of the public. 

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

That the findings of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee’s review of the quarter one 2023/24 performance management information be NOTED.    

45.1           The report of the Chair of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee, circulated at Pages No. 14-75, asked Members to review and respond to the findings of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee’s review of the quarter one 2023/24 performance management information.

45.2          In the absence of the Chair and Vice-Chair of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee, the Director: Corporate Resources advised that the performance information had generated questions across a broad range of issues and activities as exemplified in the report.  Members had raised particular queries regarding the cessation of the trade waste service, an update on which was due to be provided at the Transform Working Group meeting the following week, as well as complaints with the annual complaints report subsequently being presented to the last meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee which had demonstrated that the authority received a low number of formal complaints given the amount of customer transactions.  The Committee had been particularly concerned regarding the Key Performance Indicator (KPI) around the number of planning appeals overturned and that it may at some point exceed the government threshold of 10%.  During the discussion, Members had been informed that over £600,000 had been spent on appeals in 2022/23 against a budget of £60,000.  This had led to the unusual step of the Chair raising the matter with the Leader and Deputy Leader of the Council and offering the Overview and Scrutiny Committee’s support in undertaking any additional investigations felt necessary.  It would be interesting to see whether performance had improved during quarter two and it was possible the Committee may ask for a separate report in relation to this matter.

45.3           A Member drew attention to Page No. 15 of the report which indicated that the Committee had discussed the action around ensuring that Council Tax remained in the lowest quartile nationally and asked whether Members were aware there was a limit in terms of how much Council Tax could be increased without a referendum.  The Executive Director: Resources advised that those discussions had begun at the Overview and Scrutiny Committee and would continue at the Medium Term Financial Strategy seminar which would be arranged for all Members in due course.  With regard to Page No. 37 of the report and the action around working with Cotswold Tourism and Visit Gloucestershire to promote the borough, the Member was aware that a lot of visitors came from America and Asia and she felt that care needed to be taken in terms of how this action was achieved given that the Council had declared a climate emergency.  The Executive Director: Place felt it would be worth contacting the Local Visitor Economy Partnership (LVEP), which carried out benchmarking against categorisation of visitors and destinations and had historically set targets in relation to this, to establish whether it had reviewed its position due to climate emergency objectives and priorities.  The Member went on to draw attention to Page No. 39 of the report, KPI 8 in relation to the number  ...  view the full minutes text for item 45.

To receive feedback from the Chair of the Audit and Governance Committee on matters discussed at the last meeting.

That feedback from the Chair of the Audit and Governance Committee on matters discussed at its last meeting be NOTED. 

46.1          The Vice-Chair of the Audit and Governance Committee provided feedback from the last meeting of the Audit and Governance Committee held on 27 September 2023.

46.2          The Vice-Chair of the Audit and Governance Committee advised that the Committee had received training in relation to the Statement of Accounts prior to the meeting and the accounts had subsequently been approved at the meeting.  A range of Officers had been in attendance to answer questions in relation to the various items of business along with a representative from Grant Thornton who had advised that no significant issues had been identified during its audit of the accounts which was a positive outcome for the authority.  It was noted that Grant Thornton was yet to complete its work on the value for money element of the audit which was due by the end of December but no significant risks were expected.  It was clear that local authorities were finding it difficult to get audit work completed so it was a considerable achievement for Tewkesbury Borough Council to have done this in line with the expected timescales.  It was noted that Bishop Fleming had been appointed as the Council’s external auditor going forward.  The Committee had been presented with the corporate risk register and several suggestions had been made around improving its presentation.  The Head of Service: Audit and Governance had presented the internal audit monitoring report around work undertaken to date, which included audits of garden waste and Disabled Facilities Grants (DFGs), as well as the plan for the next six months.  The Annual Governance Statement had been approved by the Committee with suggestions made regarding its layout, style and accessibility for those who were not on the Committee.  Based on the reports presented, the Vice-Chair of the Audit and Governance Committee was confident the authority was in a good place.

46.3           A Member noted that Grant Thorton was being replaced by Bishop Fleming as the Council’s external auditor and asked who had made that decision.  In response, the Executive Director: Resources advised that Grant Thornton was coming to the end of its second five-year contract with the authority.  Public Sector Audit Appointments (PSAA) was used to procure a contract on behalf of the majority of local authorities, including Tewkesbury Borough Council - Grant Thornton had no  particular interest in smaller district audits and, as a result, more players had entered the market including Bishop Fleming which had picked up many of the districts in the South West including all of those in Gloucestershire.

46.4           It was

To recommend to Council that the Strategic and Local Plan Consultation Document be approved for consultation under Regulation 18 of the Town and Country Planning (Local Planning) (England) Regulations 2012 and that authority be delegated to the Associate Director: Planning, in consultation with the Lead Member for Built Environment, to prepare diagrams illustrating the general location of development options for inclusion in the consultation document, and to make any other necessary minor amendments, corrections and additions to the document prior to publication for consultation.

That it be RECOMMENDED TO COUNCIL:

1.    That the Strategic and Local Plan Consultation Document (Appendix 1) be APPROVED for consultation under Regulation 18 of the Town and Country Planning (Local Planning) (England) Regulations 2012.

2.    That authority be delegated to the Chief Executive, in consultation with the Lead Member for Built Environment, to prepare diagrams illustrating the general location of development options for inclusion in the consultation document, and to make any other necessary minor amendments, corrections and additions to the document prior to publication for consultation. 

47.1           The report of the Interim Planning Policy Manager, circulated at Pages No. 76-122, attached, at Appendix 1, the Strategic and Local Plan Consultation Document which was proposed to be used for public consultation on broad spatial options and policy issues in line with the relevant legislation.  Members were asked to recommend to Council that the Strategic and Local Plan Consultation Document be approved for consultation under Regulation 18 of the Town and Country Planning (Local Planning) (England) Regulations 2012 and that authority be delegated to the Associate Director: Planning, in consultation with the Lead Member for Built Environment, to prepare diagrams illustrating the general location of development options for inclusion in the consultation document, and to make any other necessary minor amendments, corrections and additions to the document prior to publication for consultation.

47.2           The Lead Member for Built Environment advised that, as Members were aware, the Council had agreed to formally work together with Cheltenham Borough and Gloucester City Councils on a Strategic and Local Plan (SLP).  This was the start of a long journey and, as had been discussed many times, there would be important decisions and choices to make on the way.  The formative Regulation 18 stage was about asking people what they thought the plan should contain and obtaining views on broad policy options and issues – it was about big questions such as how and where to respond to the needs of a growing population and how to address climate change and nature recovery through the planning system.  It was therefore proposed that the draft document, attached at Appendix 1 to the report, be published to form the basis of a wide ranging round of public consultation and engagement starting in December.  This included a draft vision and strategic objectives which had been discussed at various points with Tewkesbury Borough Council’s Planning Policy Reference Panel, and equivalent Member panels across the partnership.  It also set out a range of issues and posed 31 questions to start the conversation with communities and the development industry.  The Planning Policy Reference Panel recently met jointly with the Member Working Groups from Cheltenham Borough and Gloucester City Councils and a large number of helpful comments and suggestions were made on an earlier version of the document. To a large extent, these were reflected in the revised draft consultation document set out in the Committee papers.  She reiterated that one of the recommendations was that the document be further refined before being published in December. This would include concept diagrams, which were currently being drawn up, which will attempt to generally illustrate – without showing site details – the patterns of development that would arise from the various growth options presented in the document.  Gloucester City Council’s Cabinet had approved the document the previous night and Cheltenham Borough Council will be considering the document at its Council meeting on 11 December 2023.  It was proposed to launch the consultation immediately after Tewkesbury Borough Council’s meeting on 12 December 2023,  ...  view the full minutes text for item 47.

To recommend to Council that the Interim Housing Position Statement be approved and published to explain the Council’s approach to decision-making on planning applications involving the provision of housing and that authority be delegated to the Associate Director: Planning, in consultation with the Lead Member for Built Environment, to make any necessary minor amendments and corrections to the document prior to publication.

That it be RECOMMENDED TO COUNCIL:

1. That the Interim Housing Position Statement be APPROVED and published to explain the Council’s approach to decision-making on planning applications involving the provision of housing.
2. That authority be delegated to the Associate Director: Planning, in consultation with the Lead Member for Built Environment, to make any necessary minor amendments and corrections to the document prior to publication. 

48.1           The report of the Interim Planning Policy Manager, circulated at Pages No. 123-135, attached, at Appendix 1, a draft Interim Housing Position Statement to provide informal guidance in clarifying the Council’s approach to decision making for applicants and the community in the absence of being able to demonstrate a five year housing land supply.

48.2           The Lead Member Built Environment indicated that this Agenda item was in response to the recent Planning Inspectorate appeal decisions that confirmed Tewkesbury Borough Council was now unable to demonstrate a five year housing land supply.  Members had previously received informal briefings on this issue, including discussing the consequences of applying the “tilted balance” to planning decisions on housing applications, in line with the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) rules; however, this was a highly technical area and one which often gave rise to confusion and concern amongst communities, members of the public and even some developers.  The situation was often mischaracterised as one where the local plan policies were out of date and planning permissions for housing had to be granted but the truth was much more measured. The NPPF certainly introduced a presumption in favour of granting sustainable development for many - although not all - housing applications as a result of the shortfall.  This meant that policies on matters such as settlement boundaries were to be treated as out-of-date and the overall outcome must be that more approvals were given in order to generate the deliverable sites to make up the shortfall.  Nevertheless, the starting point for making decisions was the policies in the development plan, many of which remained fully up to date. In judging whether in an individual case the adverse impacts would “significantly and demonstrably” outweigh the benefits, it was still necessary to consider the Joint Core Strategy, Tewkesbury Borough Plan and relevant Neighbourhood Development Plan policies which were an important part of that balancing exercise.  This meant looking carefully at important matters such as highway safety, unneighbourly amenity impacts, design and layout, accessibility, harm to valued landscapes and so on.  With all this in mind, it was considered it would be helpful to publish an Interim Housing Position Statement clarifying the position in some detail, and this was set out at Appendix 1 to the report.  One of its purposes was to confirm there was a housing shortfall, and to acknowledge the need to remedy that, but it also highlighted the types of location and housing schemes which were more likely to be considered acceptable by the Council, and by appeal Inspectors, in making up the shortfall under the tilted balance.  The document also pointed to actions the Council could take, and encourage others to take, in approving and building out suitable housing schemes as quickly and effectively as possible, for example, encouraging early engagement with Parish Councils and seeking pre-application advice from Planning Officers as well as considering attaching conditions to planning permissions requiring development to be commenced more quickly than the standard timescales.  It was  ...  view the full minutes text for item 48.

To consider the Committee’s Forward Plan.  

That the Executive Committee’s Forward Plan be NOTED.     

49.1          Attention was drawn to the Executive Committee’s Forward Plan, circulated at Pages No. 136-151, which Members were asked to consider.

49.2          Accordingly, it was

The Chair will move the adoption of the following resolution:

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

50.1          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. 

To approve the separate Minutes of the meeting held on 6 September 2023. 

51.1          The separate Minutes of the meeting held on 6 September 2023, copies of which had been circulated, were approved as a correct record and signed by the Chair.