Agenda item

To recommend the Council Plan 2020-24 to Council for adoption.  

That it be RECOMMENDED TO COUNCIL that the Council Plan 2020-2024 be ADOPTED subject to some of the more business-related photographs being replaced by photographs of tourism/environment related areas.  

66.1           The report of the Head of Corporate Services, circulated at Pages No. 63-84,  attached a new Council Plan for 2020-2024 which Members were asked to consider and recommend to Council for adoption.

66.2           Members were advised that the Council Plan was the key strategic document which established the overarching vision for the Borough and set out, in broad terms, the priorities, objectives and actions that the Council would focus on to work towards its vision. The current plan had been approved in 2016 and was due to end this year therefore a new Plan was required. A Member Workshop had been held on 5 November 2019 which had discussed the shape of the new priorities and what the supporting objectives may look like. The workshop had been very well attended with Members positively engaged. They had been generally happy to retain the current four priorities and to add two new priority areas of ‘Garden Communities’ and ‘Sustainable Environment’ – it was noted that the word ‘sustainable’ had been used a lot at the workshop but was limited within the Council Plan as it was felt that overuse may dilute its meaning. The six priority areas had been subject to a two-week public consultation period during which time 345  responses had been received and those were summarised at Appendix 2 to the report – the comments received had not affected the substance of the Plan.  

66.3           Following the Member workshop, the Heads of Service and Operational Managers had discussed the draft Council Plan and much of it had been populated in consultation with those Officers. The document had then been considered by Group Leaders and the Green Party Member with some comments received about the photographs within the Plan being too focused on manufacturing rather than on the environment of the Borough. In addition, comments had been made about the use of the phrase ‘low Council Tax’ with some Members having the view that it should refer to a ‘fair Council Tax’. Management Team had agreed that whilst a low Council tax could be evidenced, a fair Council tax was a very subjective phrase as what was fair to some would not be seen that way by others.

66.4           The Chair had been impressed with the work undertaken on the Plan and he hoped the comment made about the photographs within the Plan could be addressed as this appeared to be a valid point. Other Members agreed and suggested some of the Borough’s tourist attractions, such as Tewkesbury Abbey, Sudeley Castle, Cleeve Hill Golf Club and the Cheese Roll, could be included. The Head of Corporate Services undertook to address this. In terms of the low/fair Council Tax remarks, some Members felt the phrase should be changed and that the use of the word ‘fair’ could be quantified with some thought. Other Members were of the view that ‘fair’ was too subjective and dependent on the social spectrum which could lead to divides in the community. One Member questioned whether the phrase needed to be included at all and, in response, the Chair expressed the view that the Council Plan set out the direction of the Council for the next four years and its intention with the Council Tax was both an important reference point for its performance and also fundamental in its financial planning.

66.5           One Member felt the Council Plan did not go far enough in terms of the climate change emergency or the unresolved issues in respect of potential flooding following the development of the Garden Town. In response, the Chair indicated that this was the reason for their inclusion as priorities in the Plan as it meant the Council was devoting resources to getting it right. In response to a query about the regeneration schemes which were noted within the Plan, and were quite Tewkesbury specific, the Head of Corporate Services reminded Members that the Plan was a ‘live’ document which would be refreshed annually, as such, new actions would be included as others were delivered. In terms of residents understanding the gap between development and infrastructure, the Chief Executive advised that there was a reference to infrastructure within the body of the Council Plan; it was difficult to go into too much detail within the Plan whilst still making it easy to read and understand.

66.6           Accordingly, it was