Agenda and minutes

Venue: Chew Valley Secondary School - Chew Magna. View directions

Contact: Mark Hayward 01225 396975  Email: mark_hayward@bathnes.gov.uk

Items
No. Item

1.

B&NES Budget Fair including Question and Answer session

The Chew Valley Area Forum is hosting one of the Council’s Budget Fairs.  This year there will be five meetings which are open to the public and are each being hosted by the Connecting Communities Area Forums.  The Budget Fairs provide an opportunity to hear about the Council’s financial plans for the next four years.  There will be an opportunity to ask questions and feed into the discussions on the budget proposals.

Minutes:

Several comments were made about the presentation not demonstrating any expenditure within the Chew Valley other than those already committed (Bishop Sutton Primary School).  The Council has a new challenge to analysis financial information relating to the Forum areas and will consider how best to present this in the future.

 

Question 1 – Why does the Council think that acquiring property is more beneficial than selling it?

Response – Revenue funding pays for all the services and this is under pressure.  Using capital funding to acquire property will enable future income streams to be off set against the revenue expenditure.  It is important that the Council grows its income by investing in the rights things to give a good return.  We have increased our revenue already by £1million.

Question 2 – Do you believe the Council is better at managing property than the private sector?

Response – The Council has a good track of managing commercial property and working with the private sector.  Our staff are very experienced, many of whom have private sector property backgrounds.

Question 3 – Does this mean the Council will not sell any of its assets in the future?

Response – The Council continues to review its portfolio of assets and will consider whether it needs to reinvest elsewhere to obtain a higher return.

Question 4 – How does the Council protect itself through interest rate rises?

Response – The Council is able to get very competitive rates and any borrowing is based on a fixed rate.  A review of the Council’s existing loans has been completed and a better rate is now been realised.

Question 5 – A reference was made to £2.25 million investment into super-fast broadband. Will the Chew Valley benefit?

Response – This investment in Bath will create an opportunity for income generation to the Council.  BT were committed to improving 90% of the coverage, unfortunately they were unable to deliver on their commitment. 

(Comment from Chris Head – The Forum will be hosting a discussion about Broadband in February.  This was identified by the Forum as a priority issue in their Action Plan.  Andrew Pate said that the feedback from this meeting would be very helpful.)

Question 6 – The Council has reduced the Parish Council grants.  As this will impact on our budgets, will the Council be freezing or capping the precept rates that parish councils’ receive?

Response – Over a number of years’ parish council grants were subsidised by the Council.  This was due to the implementation of a new system of council tax support which created a shortfall in grants.  The subsidies have been reduced on a sliding scale.  The Council does not have the power to freeze or cap the rate of council tax collected.  This decision will be made by the Government. 

Question 7 – Why is planned expenditure increasing, can we have more details? 

Response – There are a number of reasons.  Adult and social care pressures from an aging and growing population, employers  ...  view the full minutes text for item 1.

2.

West of England Joint Spatial Plan including Question and Answer session

The West of England’s Joint Spatial Plan and Transport Study will set out a prospectus for sustainable growth that will help the area meet its housing and transport needs for the next 20 years.  Estimates state that to maintain its current prosperity, the area needs at least 85,000 new homes by 2036, nearly 30,000 more than the number already planned, as well as the transport and other infrastructure needed to support this level of growth.  Officers from Planning Services will give a presentation to the Forum and update them on Placemaking.

Minutes:

 

Question 1 – How can we bring forward brownfield sites that are owned by developers, rather than development being forced onto greenfield sites? 

Response – Not in all cases, however some brownfield development is costly due to the contamination issues, poor access etc.  For developers it’s much easier to develop greenfield sites.  The Local Authority is measured on its delivery of housing numbers.  The Council works with developers and agents however the Local authority cannot force developers to bring forward their sites.

Question 2 – There is a known brownfield site in Whitchurch that has been vacant for over 28 years.  How can we make sure these sites are developed first?

Response – Developers are known to ‘land-bank’.  The Government are looking at introducing a tax on sites that have planning permission.

Question 3 – Why is there no proposed expansion in Bath?

Response – The Inspector felt that there was already enough development in Bath with the MOD site and Western Riverside and took out the site in Weston.

Question 4 – In Chew Stoke a new bus stop has been installed however we have no regular service.  How can we improve local services and infrastructure in the future?

Response – It will be possible to use CIL monies to enhance local services and infrastructure in rural communities.  It has been important that the JSP considers housing, employment and transport together to ensure a more holistic approach is taken.  The Chew Valley Transport Strategy and Total Transport bid will be looking at local solutions.

Question 5 – What extent will other infrastructure such as GP services be considered?

Response – The Council and the CCG (Clinical Commissioning Group) have been working more closely together to ensure future infrastructure is better planned.

Question 6 – The Council has a duty to co-operate with other local authorities in the West of England, does this include Wiltshire and Mendip and do they also have requirements to co-operate with B&NES?  

Response – Yes.  The housing allocation goes beyond the Core Strategy allocation.  All local authorities will have to co-operate with each other.  The Council is having active discussions with Mendip.

Question 7 – Will an individual’s response be just as valid as a Parish Council?

Response – Yes, they hold equal weight.