Decisions

That the progress and changes made to the Tewkesbury Area Draft Concept Masterplan, which are now included in the Tewkesbury Garden Town ‘Evolution of the Concept Plan’ (July 2021 attached at Appendix 1 to the report), be NOTED.  

a.       That authority be delegated to the Head of Community Services, in consultation with the Leader of the Council, to respond to the Home Office consultation on extending the Police and Crime Commissioners’ Power of Competence.

b.       That the response indicate that there should be no extension to the existing powers of the Police and Crime Commissioner.  

That it be RECOMMENDED TO COUNCIL:

1.       That the default Council Tax Reduction Scheme be ADOPTED with effect from 1 April 2022, with a minor revision to the national working age regulations to allow for a de minimis tolerance for income changes of £10 or less per week.

2.       That authority be delegated to the Head of Finance and Asset Management, in consultation with the Lead Member for Finance and Asset Management, to agree the uprating of the working age regulations incorporated into the local Council Tax Reduction Scheme in line with those announced by the Department for Work and Pensions.

3.       That options for the working age Council Tax Reduction Scheme for 2023/24 are formally reviewed during the 2022/23 financial year.

4.       That the following Council Tax discounts be ADOPTED effective from 1 April 2022:

·        The discount for unoccupied and substantially unfurnished properties is 25% for a maximum period of six months.

·        The discount for properties which are vacant and require major repair work to render them habitable is 25% for a maximum period of 12 months.

·        The discount for unoccupied furnished properties (second homes) is zero.

·        An empty homes premium of an additional 100% is levied on properties that have remained unoccupied and substantially unfurnished for at least two years, but less than five years.

·        An empty homes premium of an additional 200% is levied on properties that have remained unoccupied and substantially unfurnished for at least five years, but less than ten years.

·        An empty homes premium of an additional 300% is levied on properties that have remained unoccupied and substantially unfurnished for at least ten years.

That it be RECOMMENDED TO COUNCIL that the refreshed Homeseeker Plus Policy be ADOPTED in early 2022 at the management board’s discretion (of which Tewkesbury Borough Council is a member).  

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

That the Committee’s Forward Plan be NOTED.  

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

REMOTE MEETINGS

The Chair advised that the meeting was being held under the emergency provisions of the Coronavirus Act 2020 and, specifically, the Local Authorities and Police and Crime Panels (Coronavirus) (Flexibility of Local Authority and Police and Crime Panel Meetings) (England and Wales) Regulations 2020.  The meeting was being broadcast live via the internet, it was not being recorded by the Council but, under the usual transparency rules, it may be being recorded by others.