Agenda for Council on Tuesday, 26 May 2015, 6:00 pm
Agenda and minutes
Venue: Council Chamber
Contact: Democratic Services Tel: 01684 272021 Email: democraticservices@tewkesbury.gov.uk
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Declarations of Interest Pursuant to the adoption by the Council on 26 June 2012 of the Tewkesbury Borough Council Code of Conduct, effective from 1 July 2012, as set out in Minute No. CL.34, Members are invited to declare any interest they may have in the business set out on the Agenda to which the approved Code applies. Minutes: 7.1 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. 7.2 There were no declarations of interest made on this occasion. |
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To approve the Minutes of the meeting held on 14 April 2015. Minutes: 8.1 The Minutes of the meeting held on 14 April 2015, copies of which had been circulated, were approved as a correct record and signed by the Mayor. |
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Announcements 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 (staff should proceed to their usual assembly point). 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 Chairman of the Meeting and/or the Chief Executive. Minutes: 9.1 The evacuation procedure, as noted on the Agenda, was advised to those present. 9.2 The Mayor advised that he had allowed a change in the order of Agenda Items so Item 9(2), Report of the Leader of the Council, would now be taken before Item 9(1), Membership of Committees. 9.3 At the invitation of the Mayor, the Leader of the Council thanked those members of staff that had been involved in running the election and count so successfully earlier in the month. He felt it was a credit to the Council that the process had worked exceptionally well throughout. |
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Items from Members of the Public 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 19 May 2015).
b) To receive any petitions submitted under the Council’s Petitions Scheme. Minutes: 10.1 There were no items from members of the public on this occasion. |
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Member Questions properly submitted in accordance with Council Procedure Rules To receive any questions submitted under Rule of Procedure 13. Any items received will be circulated on 26 May 2015.
(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). Minutes: 11.1 There were no Member questions on this occasion. |
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Election of Leader of the Council To elect the Leader of the Council (who will also be the Chairman of the Executive Committee) for the ensuing Municipal Year. Minutes: 12.1 Upon being proposed and seconded it was RESOLVED That Councillor R J E Vines be elected as Leader of the Council, and therefore Chairman of the Executive Committee, for the ensuing Municipal Year. 12.2 Councillor Vines thanked the Council for its endorsement in his leadership and indicated that he would continue to do his best for the Borough during the year ahead. |
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Election of Deputy Leader of the Council To elect the Deputy Leader of the Council (who will also be the Vice-Chairman of the Executive Committee) for the ensuing Municipal Year. Minutes: 13.1 Upon being proposed and seconded it was RESOLVED That Councillor D J Waters be elected as Deputy Leader of the Council, and therefore Vice-Chairman of the Executive Committee, for the ensuing Municipal Year. |
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Membership of Committees, Lead Members and Appointment to Outside Bodies PDF 84 KB Any papers available prior to the meeting will be circulated to all Members. 1. To determine the Membership of the:
o Employee Appeals Committee o Employee Appointments Committee o Housing Allocations and Homelessness Review Committee 2. In accordance with the Constitution, to receive a report from the Leader of the Council and a. to confirm the number of Lead Members on the Executive Committee and the scope of their Portfolios b. to determine the areas for which a Member Specialist is required and appoint accordingly. c. to determine any other proposals put forward in the Leaders’ report. 3. To determine: a. the Outside Bodies to which the Council should make appointments and the representation on those Bodies. b. the Council’s appointments to the Gloucestershire Police and Crime Panel, the shared Legal Services Joint Monitoring and Liaison Group and the Shared Building Control Joint Monitoring and Liaison Group. 4. The Membership of the Board of Severn Vale Housing Society runs for the term of the Council. Members are therefore asked to agree the Membership of the Board (the Lead Member for Health and Wellbeing plus one other). 5. The Council will at this stage adjourn for a brief period to allow each Committee, as set out below, to hold a formal meeting to conduct the business set out in the enclosed Agenda:
1. Overview and Scrutiny Committee 2. Audit Committee 3. Planning Committee 4. Licensing Committee 5. Standards Committee Additional documents:
Minutes: Report of the Leader of the Council 14.1 The Leader of the Council indicated that, as part of the Constitution, he was required to report at the Annual Council meeting on the number of Lead Members and scope of their Portfolios for the coming year, the number of Specialist Members and the specialist areas to be covered, and any other matters in relation to the political management of the Council. 14.2 Accordingly, he proposed that the number of the Executive Committee be reduced from 10 Members to nine Members and that there be nine Portfolios with the Leader of the Council taking on a Corporate Portfolio with eight other Portfolios covering: Customer Focus Organisational Development Finance and Asset Management Built Environment Clean and Green Environment Community Economic Development/Promotion Health and Wellbeing He also proposed that each Portfolio Holder should have a Support Member from the same Political Party who would attend the Portfolio Holder Briefings in order to be fully informed of what was happening within the Portfolio. The Support Member would not represent the Portfolio Holder at meetings or deal with the press in relation to Portfolio matters. 14.3 The Leader indicated that there were a number of Working Groups, Boards and Panels that needed to be established under the new Council but in light of the composition of the Council he proposed that authority be delegated to the Borough Solicitor, in consultation with the Leader and Deputy Leader, to review the constitution/composition of the following and establish them if required: Community Infrastructure Levy Working Group Planning Policy Reference Panel Leisure Facility Member Reference Group Member Development Working Group Flood Risk Management Group Grants Working Group Junction 9 Area Member Reference Panel Transform Working Group Joint Staff Consultative Group The Horsford Trust Chief Executive Appraisal Panel Tree Panel 14.4 Members agreed and, accordingly, it was RESOLVED That the Leader’s report be NOTED and authority delegated to the Borough Solicitor, in consultation with the Leader and Deputy Leader, to review the constitution/composition of the Groups set out in Minute No. 14.3 above and establish them if required. Membership of Committees 2015/16 14.5 Upon being proposed and seconded it was RESOLVED That the following Committee Memberships be AGREED:
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Mayor of Tewkesbury's Appeal Fund To appoint three Members of the Council as Trustees of the Mayor of Tewkesbury’s Appeal Fund for the ensuing Municipal Year. The Trustees for 2014/15 were:
Councillors P W Awford, J R Mason and D J Waters.
The Mayor and Chief Executive are automatically Trustees and as such Councillor Allen cannot be one of the named Trustees for this year.
NB: The Fund is officially called the Mayor of Tewkesbury’s Appeal Fund but this does of course refer to Tewkesbury Borough. Minutes: 15.1 It was proposed, seconded and RESOLVED That Councillors P W Awford, J R Mason and D J Waters be appointed as Trustees of the Mayor of Tewkesbury’s Appeal Fund for 2015/16. |
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Honorary Aldermen The Council is asked whether it wishes to recommend the award of the distinction of Honorary Alderman to appropriate immediate past Members of the Council. Minutes: 16.1 It was proposed, seconded and RESOLVED That an Extraordinary meeting of the Council be convened, on a date to be agreed, in order to confer the honour of Honorary Alderman upon former Councillors Brian Calway, Brian Jones, Allen Keyte, Tony Mackinnon, Margaret Ogden, Jude Perez, Audrey Ricks, Gordon Shurmer, Bill Whelan and Claire Wright. |
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Notice of Motion - Car Parking in Tewkesbury Councillor M G Sztymiak will propose and Councillor P N Workman will second that: 'this Council acknowledges the importance of car parking in Tewkesbury and the adverse impact a shortage of car parking can have on the vitality of the town's businesses. The Council also recognises the significant contribution made by small businesses and retailers to the local economy and seeks to support local commerce. The new car parking price structure introduced in April this year is intended to help local trade by encouraging shoppers and visitors to stay longer in the town than the previous charging policy by offering better value parking over one hour. This Council accepts that the town centre car parks are the most convenient for the majority of shoppers. It also accepts that the new car parking charges should mean increased use of the car parks which would affect the capacity of the car parks to support extra and longer visits. The Council therefore resolves not to sell the Oldbury Road car park for a minimum of 12 months but to keep it as a car park so that the impact of the new charging structure on the capacity of the town’s parking can be assessed’. Minutes: 17.1 The Worshipful 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 this 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. 17.2 Councillor M G Sztymiak proposed and Councillor P N Workman seconded that: 'This Council acknowledges the importance of car parking in Tewkesbury and the adverse impact a shortage of car parking can have on the vitality of the town's businesses. The Council also recognises the significant contribution made by small businesses and retailers to the local economy and seeks to support local commerce. The new car parking price structure introduced in April this year is intended to help local trade by encouraging shoppers and visitors to stay longer in the town than the previous charging policy by offering better value parking over one hour. This Council accepts that the town centre car parks are the most convenient for the majority of shoppers. It also accepts that the new car parking charges should mean increased use of the car parks which would affect the capacity of the car parks to support extra and longer visits. The Council therefore resolves not to sell the Oldbury Road car park for a minimum of 12 months but to keep it as a car park so that the impact of the new charging structure on the capacity of the town’s parking can be assessed’. 17.3 In speaking to the Motion, Councillor Sztymiak expressed the view that the Council should remember that part of the reason for wanting to sell the Oldbury Road car park was the fact that it was underutilised. However, since that decision was taken a new Car Parking Strategy had been introduced which sought to encourage people to stay longer in the Town by revising the charges which now meant that it was more attractive and better value for money for visitors to stay longer than an hour. For this reason, he felt it was essential that the Council waited for 12 months before selling the car park as this would allow an assessment of the effect of the new parking charges and strategy on the Town and its car parks. The car park was a valuable public asset which was vital to businesses and the organisations that operated in the Town. In seconding the Motion, Councillor Workman advised that the future of the Oldbury Road car park was one of the biggest decisions to affect the Council in recent years. He felt that the Car Parking Strategy would have the effect that the Council was hoping for; in encouraging visitors ... view the full minutes text for item 17. |
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Separate Business The Chairman 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. Minutes: 18.1 The Chairman 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. |
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Separate Minutes To approve the separate Minutes of the meeting held on 14 April 2015. Minutes: 19.1 The separate Minutes of the meeting held on 14 April 2015, copies of which had been circulated, were approved as a correct record and signed by the Mayor. |