Agenda item

To receive an update from the Council’s representative on matters considered at the last meeting.

24.1          Members received an update from the Council’s representative on the Gloucestershire Economic Growth Scrutiny Committee on matters discussed at the last meeting held on 20 June 2018.

24.2          In noting the outcomes of locally-held meetings at Tewkesbury Borough Council and Cotswold District Council, the Committee had agreed to review the processes and issues raised at the meetings and to discuss the arrangements for future ‘district held’ meetings at the next Gloucestershire Economic Growth Scrutiny Committee meeting.  The review would be prior to the meeting scheduled to take place at Cheltenham Borough Council on 31 October 2018.

24.3          The Gloucestershire Economic Growth Joint Committee had requested the Scrutiny Committee to consider the aspiration by the Cotswold Conservation Board to establish a National Park in the Cotswold Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and the Committee had engaged in a detailed discussion on its merits, as well as the feasibility of the request.  The Chair of the Joint Committee and the Chief Executive of Tewkesbury Borough Council had attended the meeting to respond to questions and to provide details of the Joint Committee’s forward plan.  With a slight majority, it had been agreed that the Scrutiny Committee would seek approval from the County Council’s Overview and Scrutiny Management Committee to establish a task group to consider the impact of obtaining National Park status for the Cotswold Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.  In response to comments that had been made by the Government’s Environment Secretary pending a national review of National Parks and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, it had been suggested that the scope of the review could be extended to include other areas within Gloucestershire that might have an interest in obtaining National Park status.  A meeting between the Chair/Vice-Chair and senior officers would be held in early August to draft a one-page strategy for the proposed review.  The draft document would be shared with Gloucestershire County Council lead opposition Members before seeking views from the Economic Growth Scrutiny Committee and submitting to the Overview and Scrutiny Management Committee for approval – if approved, the first meeting of the task group would be arranged in the autumn.

24.4          In terms of the work plan, Members were advised that a request had been made for a task group to be established to consider some of the specific implications relating to Brexit.  It had been noted that the Gloucestershire Economic Growth Joint Committee and the Local Government Association were both involved in aspects of this work and – taking into consideration the national position – it was considered that it may not be an appropriate time for such a review and it had subsequently been agreed that the viability of setting up a task group be reviewed periodically.  A suggestion had been made to invite the Leader of the Council, or a representative from the Local Government Association, to give an update at a future meeting of the Joint Committee on current issues and the potential implications of Brexit post-March 2019; it was agreed that Members of the Gloucestershire Economic Growth Scrutiny Committee should be invited to that meeting.  Another request had been made for the Committee to receive a presentation from mobile phone providers and an update on mobile phone coverage/connectivity in rural areas.  It had since been suggested that an all-Member briefing be arranged on a non-Committee meeting day.  It had also been agreed that a presentation from the Cotswold Water Park Trust be added to the work plan for future consideration.  In response to concern about the demise of city centres and the impact of large scale retail business moving to out of town locations, the Chief Executive of GFirst Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) had offered to arrange a presentation from the GFirst LEP Board which was agreed.  A similar suggestion made on behalf of the Joint Committee was for the Scrutiny Committee to consider the sustainability and economic growth of market towns in Gloucestershire as part of the Committees’ visit to local authorities.

24.5          The Vice-Chair of the Gloucestershire Economic Growth Scrutiny Committee indicated that the Forest of Dean District Council had been interested in obtaining Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty status and had put this forward during the discussions around National Park status.  With regard to the LEP, he advised that funding for all of the Growth Hubs would be in place by September.  The Chief Executive clarified that there were two Tier 2 hubs – one in Cirencester which would be opening within the next week or so, and the one located at Tewkesbury Borough Council which would have a soft launch shortly followed by a formal launch in September.  Work was ongoing in relation to a Tier 2 hub in Cheltenham and there were a number of Tier 3 hubs which would also be opening – the Tewkesbury Borough Growth Hub remained the only Tier 2 hub to be located within a local authority office.  In response to a query regarding the launch date, the Chief Executive advised that, although a date had not yet been set, the formal launch would be arranged for September following the completion of the office refurbishment work which was on target to complete within the agreed timescales.

24.6          It was

RESOLVED          That the Gloucestershire Economic Growth Scrutiny Committee update be NOTED.