Agenda and minutes

72.1           An apology for absence was received from Councillor V D Smith.  

73.1           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.

73.2           The following declarations were made:

73.3           There were no further declarations made on this occasion.

To approve the Minutes of the meeting held on 18 February 2016.

74.1           The Minutes of the meeting held on 18 February 2016, copies of which had been circulated, were approved as a correct record and signed by the Mayor.  

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

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 13 April 2016).

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

76.1           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 19 April 2016.

(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).

77.1           There were no Member questions on this occasion.  

To receive a ‘State of the Borough’ presentation from the Leader of the Council, Councillor R J E Vines   

78.1           The Mayor invited the Leader of the Council, Councillor R J E Vines, to present his ‘State of the Borough’ report.

78.2           The presentation covered the following key points:  

·         Introduction – 2016 had been a successful and challenging year and had marked the end of the Council Plan. Against a backdrop of challenges, the Council had made significant savings whilst still delivering services that cost less but provided the same level of support for customers. The Council had also become more agile and flexible; successfully working together with partners, staff and Councillors following its ethos to be better for customers, better for business.

·         The Council Plan 2012-16 – The current Council Plan had included significant achievements including a successful peer review; the establishment of the public services centre; the near completion of the leisure centre; the introduction of the place programme; a management restructure; and a number of successful service reviews. It was felt that the Council should be proud of its achievements with performance remaining impressive.

·         Year Four Refresh – Use Resources Effectively and Efficiently – 2015/16 had seen the Council face further financial challenges with a grant reduction of 15.6%; despite this it froze the Council Tax for the fifth year in a row. The Transform Working Group had helped the Council to manage its budget proposals and transform the way it did things with successful projects including the Council Offices refurbishment, the new leisure centre and various service reviews. In addition, a new Customer Care Strategy and Standards had been introduced which clearly set out what its customers could expect if they contacted the Council. The new complaints system had been introduced in April and had made it much clearer and easier for its customers to advise when it had not performed as it should have done. It also meant that monitoring and learning from customer feedback would be improved.

·         Year Four Refresh – Promote Economic Development – The Government had given approval for the Council to spend the remaining £220,000 of flood grant funding to support business marketing which had resulted in the launch of the new ‘Discover Tewkesbury’ branding. There had also been the launch of a new £1.4million scheme called LEADER which was aimed at boosting the rural economy across the Forest of Dean and Tewkesbury Borough; this would support rural jobs and growth. The Council’s economic development team had been working with partners to support around 500 businesses through start-ups, training and mentoring, seminars, networking events and enterprise clubs. There was currently an Overview and Scrutiny Working Group in place which was reviewing the Economic Development and Tourism Strategy and looking at various key areas that would inform the new Strategy, including liaising with representatives from the Local Enterprise Partnership and ensuring the new Strategy linked into the new Council Plan. In addition, the Tewkesbury Regeneration Partnership continued to oversee various projects to enhance the regeneration of the town and, in July, had secured the ‘missing link’ on the east side of  ...  view the full minutes text for item 78.

To consider the Overview and Scrutiny Committee’s Annual Report.  

79.1           Attention was drawn to the report, circulated at Pages No. 10-39, which set out the draft Annual Overview and Scrutiny Report 2015/16. Members were asked to consider and adopt the report.  

79.2           The Chair of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee, Councillor P W Awford, was pleased to present the 2015/16 Overview and Scrutiny Annual Report. He explained that this was the first year of the Committee following the elections in May 2015 and, thanks to the able and committed group of Councillors involved, he felt the Committee had been at the heart of the Council’s decision-making process and had successfully acted as a ‘critical friend’ to the Executive Committee. He explained that, not only was it a requirement of the Council’s Constitution to report the activities of the Committee on an annual basis, but it was also good practice. This year’s annual report demonstrated the broad coverage of activities that the Committee had scrutinised and reviewed during the year. That coverage had been undertaken through a combination of progress reports from Officers on the delivery of key strategies and policies; quarterly performance management reporting; Working Groups which reviewed specific areas of interest; presentations from Officers and external organisations; and scrutiny review of new strategies and policies. Looking ahead there were opportunities for the Committee to continue supporting the Council through its future challenges and alongside a new Council Plan. It was also intended that the Committee would have more external bodies attending its meetings such as the Fire and Rescue Service and Healthwatch Gloucestershire. The Committee’s 2016/17 work plan was contained within the annual report and the Chair highlighted that this was a ‘live’ document that was subject to change throughout the year. As the Council moved forward into the new Council Plan period further scrutiny works would be carried out and further items would be added to the work plan such as the review of financial inclusion; an update report on enviro-crimes; and information on Ubico related activities all of which would be added following the last meeting of the Committee. The Chair thanked his Committee Members, and particularly his Vice-Chair, Councillor Mrs Gill Blackwell, for their contributions and the support they had given him in his first year as Chair of the Committee. He also thanked those Members who reported to the Committee from Outside Bodies such as the Gloucestershire Police and Crime Panel and the Health and Care Overview and Scrutiny Committee.

79.3           The Leader of the Council offered his thanks to the Overview and Scrutiny Committee and its Chair and indicated that he appreciated the work undertaken by Members of that Committee.

79.4           Accordingly, it was

                  RESOLVED          That Overview and Scrutiny Committee’s 2015/16 Annual                                  Report be ADOPTED.

At its meeting on 6 April 2016 the Executive Committee considered a report which detailed the updated Council Plan and RECOMMENDED TO COUNCIL that the Council Plan be ADOPTED.

80.1           At its meeting on 6 April 2016 the Executive Committee had considered the 2016-2020 Council Plan and had recommended it to the Council for adoption.

80.2           The report that had been considered by the Executive Committee had been circulated with the Agenda for the current meeting at Pages No.40-58.

80.3           The recommendation from the Executive Committee was proposed and seconded by the Chair and Vice-Chair of the Committee.

80.4           A Member indicated that, at the Council Plan workshop which had been held for Members, he had raised concerns that the Plan did not give sufficient prominence to the environment with it seeming to bring the economy to the fore at the expense of environmental issues. He felt that climate change was of particular importance to everyone and, in his view, the new Council Plan did not do anything to address the issues surrounding this extremely important issue. He proposed, and it was seconded, that a statement be included in the Council Plan that the Council would ‘deliver houses that are carbon neutral’. The Member indicated that a third of carbon emissions came from housing stock and, in order to address this situation, the Council had to start with new dwellings being carbon neutral. In response to a query as to the Member’s definition of ‘carbon neutral’ he indicated that there had been many definitions through the years, however, a starting point was the level six sustainable homes definition. There were other definitions about developments offsetting carbon and he was happy to accommodate those in his proposal if Members so wished. A number of Members felt that this was not really something for the Council Plan as it was a national issue. It was suggested that, whilst carbon neutral homes would be a nice aspiration, it was not something that could be insisted upon. Another Member felt that the Council Plan as drafted was an excellent document and he endorsed the focus on economic development. He also drew attention to the fact that the document referred to the building of ‘sustainable communities’ which he considered covered the point made previously. 

80.5           The proposer of the amendment indicated that one of the biggest mistakes made was in thinking that the economy and the environment were exclusive which, in his opinion, they were not. He felt that the Borough should not have homes which would result in high energy prices for occupants and it had been demonstrated by Cardiff University that the costs to developers in building carbon neutral homes did not have to be higher than the cost of normal affordable properties. Upon being put to the vote the amendment was lost. Accordingly, the recommendation from the Executive Committee, which had been duly proposed and seconded, was voted upon and it was

                  RESOLVED          That the Council Plan be ADOPTED.

To consider and approve the Protocol for Member/Officer Relations.

81.1           The report of the Monitoring Officer, circulated at Pages No. 59-73, attached a revised Protocol for Member/Officer Relations which Members were asked to consider and approve.

81.2           The Chair of the Standards Committee explained that, at its meeting on 12 October 2015, his Committee had considered a report which detailed a proposed work programme for the Committee for 2015/16. At that time it had been agreed that the Member/Officer Relations Protocol would be reviewed and, in order to complete that task, it was decided that the whole Committee would meet as a Working Group and seek the views of Members and senior Officers on the effectiveness of the Protocol and what, if any, changes would improve it. The Working Group had developed the revised Protocol over a number of meetings and, having spoken to a range of Members and Officers, at its meeting on 21 March 2016 the Committee had recommended a revised Protocol to the Council for approval. The Chair thanked those who had been involved in the review and had taken the time to provide their views and, accordingly, he proposed, and it was seconded, that the revised Protocol be approved.

81.3           Accordingly, it was

                  RESOLVED          That the revised Protocol for Member/Officer Relations, as                                            attached at Appendix 1 to the report, be APPROVED.

To agree that public consultation be undertaken on the Tewkesbury Borough CIL Draft Charging Schedule (DCS) prior to independent examination.

82.1           The report of the Development Services Group Manager, circulated at Pages No. 74-95, sought to draw together all of the relevant threads of information which informed the revisions to the Community Infrastructure Levy Draft Charging Schedule, taking account of consultation responses received to the Preliminary Draft Charging Schedule along with further detailed viability assessment work. Members were asked to approve the undertaking of public consultation on the Tewkesbury Borough Community Infrastructure Levy Draft Charging Schedule prior to independent examination.

82.2           The Deputy Chief Executive indicated that approximately one year ago, the Council had approved the Community Infrastructure Levy Preliminary Draft Charging Schedule for public consultation. The Community Infrastructure Levy was a relatively new model which would be used to capture developer contributions for infrastructure and it was different to the traditional Section 106 contribution model. The Community Infrastructure Levy was not a negotiation it was instead a fixed charge which would be payable on any development regardless of its size and was the mechanism for gaining developer contributions which was favoured by the government. In order to set a charge there was a need to gather a high level of evidence on viability in the area as the charge must be neutral i.e. the charge could not encourage or discourage economic development in the Borough and had to be affordable to developers. As such a lot of work had been undertaken to understand the different typologies of development in the area and the viability of development.  

82.3           The first stage of consultation on the Preliminary Draft Charging Schedule had taken place in the summer of 2015 and the results of which had been fed into the additional viability work undertaken. Much of the work to date had been undertaken with the other Joint Core Strategy Authorities; the reason for this was that, although the charge would be individual to each Council, it would be aligned with growth across the Joint Core Strategy area and to reduce the Council’s costs. The report before Members represented the culmination of the work undertaken which had resulted in an evidence-based and defensible Draft Charging Schedule. Following the consultation period, the Schedule would go through the process of an independent examination; this would not be of the scale of the Joint Core Strategy examination but was likely to be either paper-based or involve a one day hearing at most.

82.4           The charges for residential, non-residential and Joint Core Strategy strategic sites (residential only) were set out at Paragraph 3.2 of the report and accounted for affordable housing requirements as well as mitigation measures on large sites. The charges demonstrated that development for the Borough would remain viable and affordable housing levels would remain sustainable with 40% affordable housing outside of the large strategic allocations and 35% on the strategic sites. Throughout the process to date Officers had worked closely with Members, consultants, Town and Parish Councils and Parish Clerks.  In addition, due to the technical nature of the work to develop the Charging Schedule,  ...  view the full minutes text for item 82.

83.1           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.

The Council is asked to consider and determine separate recommendations of a policy nature arising from the Executive Committee as follows:-   

(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))

At its meeting on 6 April 2016 the Executive Committee considered a report which requested the use of capital funds for collapsed bank repairs.

                  (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))

84.1           The Council considered a recommendation from the Executive Committee on the use of capital funds for collapsed bank repairs at the Grange, Bishop’s Cleeve. Members resolved in line with the recommendation from the Executive Committee that the funding as requested be approved and that the work shown in option two of the report be pursued.

(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))

At its meeting on 6 April 2016 the Executive Committee considered a report on the Tewkesbury Town Regeneration and made a recommendation to Council thereon.

(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))

84.2           The Council considered a recommendation from the Executive Committee on proposals for the way forward in respect of Tewkesbury Town Regeneration. Members resolved in line with the recommendation from the Executive Committee that the broad regeneration proposal, and the financing of the capital expenditure, be approved as set out within the report.