Meeting documents

44 WELCOME AND INTRODUCTIONS

The Chair was taken by Councillor Francine Haeberling, Leader of the Council.

The Chair welcomed everyone to the meeting.

45 EMERGENCY EVACUATION PROCEDURE

The Chair drew attention to the emergency evacuation procedure as set out on the Agenda

46 APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE

There were none.

47 DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST UNDER THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT ACT 1972

There were none.

48 TO ANNOUNCE ANY URGENT BUSINESS AGREED BY THE CHAIR(PERSON)

There was none.

49 QUESTIONS FROM PUBLIC AND COUNCILLORS

There were 15 questions.

Members of the public: Chris Lamb; Michelle Drew; Roger Crouch; Gail Coleshill

Councillors: Alan Hale; Ian Gilchrist (2); Nathan Hartley; Tim Ball; Nicholas Coombes (4); Nigel Roberts; Eleanor Jackson

[Copies of the questions and responses, including supplementary questions and responses if any, have been placed on the Minute book as Appendix 1 and are available on the Council's website.]

50 STATEMENTS, DEPUTATIONS OR PETITIONS FROM PUBLIC AND COUNCILLORS

Councillor Ian Gilchrist made a statement in which he said that any increases to charges for parking permits should be proportional and only after consultation. He reminded Cabinet members that when the charges had originally been introduced, residents were promised that the charges would be self-financing only and would not be used as a source of revenue for the Council. He presented a petition of 35 signatures entitled "Petition Against the Proposed 700% increase in Special Parking Permits Fees".

The Chair referred the petition to Councillor Charles Gerrish for his consideration and response in due course.

Councillor Charles Gerrish asked Councillor Gilchrist whether he was aware that any decision eventually made would form part of the Budget presented to Council. Councillor Gilchrist confirmed that he was aware of this.

Jane Briggs made a statement [a copy of which is attached to the Minutes as Appendix 2] in which she said that smaller guest houses, operating at the budget end of the market, would suffer most if increases were in line with the proposals. She did not believe that a sliding scale would be any more acceptable for guest houses with 5 or less permits. She felt that smaller guest houses would be penalised by the proposals. Her business used 4 permits and did not pass on the cost to guests.

Ron Pharo made a statement [a copy of which is attached to the Minutes as Appendix 3] in which he said that Bath must remain competitive if it was to retain its blue chip position as a tourist venue. He said that charges for guest house parking permits must remain fair but that the current proposals were excessive and unreasonable. His business used 4 permits and did not pass on the cost to guests.

Leslie Redwood made a statement [a copy of which is attached to the Minutes as Appendix 4] in which he expressed his concern about the viability of smaller guest houses operating on wafer thin profit margins. He compared the charges made in Bath to those in other towns and cities. He did not believe that increasing the charges would solve the parking problems in the city. His business used 3 permits and did not pass on the cost to guests.

Jill McGarrigle made a statement [a copy of which is attached to the Minutes as Appendix 5] in which she objected to the proposed increases in parking permit charges and asked that the Pulteney Gardens Guest House Association should be included in consultation about future proposals. Her business used 5 permits and did not pass on the cost to guests.

Alun Morgan made a statement [a copy of which is attached to the Minutes as Appendix 6] in which he said that any increases in redidents' and visitors' parking permits should be based on cost of living increases or else to increases in Council Tax. The proposed reduction of passes for people aged over 60 from 200 to only 100 would penalise those most in need. He believed that residents in the central zone should be eligible for passes.

Councillor Charles Gerrish asked whether Alun Morgan was aware of the transponder service and Mr Morgan confirmed this.

Scott Morrison made a statement [a copy of which is attached to the Minutes as Appendix 7] in which he argued that there was an inconsistency between the Council's zero waste policy and the Waste Partnership plans for incineration of waste. He pointed to the outcome of the public consultation conducted by the Council which rejected incineration as a sustainable solution. He appealed for plans to be based round smaller, more flexible facilities which he felt would be more environmentally sound.

Councillor Roger Symonds made a statement [a copy of which is attached to the Minutes as Appendix 8] in which he said that the proposal by the Waste Partnership to move to incineration was short-sighted, unsustainable and unnecessary.

Councillor Eleanor Jackson made a statement [a copy of which is attached to the Minutes as Appendix 9] in which she argued that the outline planning permission granted to Norton Radstock Regeneration / Bellway for the former GWR land and Foxhills, Radstock should be revoked by the planning committee or else referred to the secretary of State. She warned that there might be a legal challenge if the plans for a supermarket (in contradiction of the Local Plan) went ahead.

Councillor Malcolm Hanney asked Councillor Jackson whether she did not consider it better to address her comments to the planning committee. Councillor Jackson confirmed that she had already written to the Assistant Director, Planning and Transport Development, and to the Chair of Development Control Committee but had received no replies.

Virginia Williamson made a statement [a copy of which is attached to the Minutes as Appendix 10] in which she reminded Cabinet members that 2008 marked the centenary of the establishment of the first statutory allotment in Bath. She invited members to attend the first of a series of events to celebrate the centenary.

51 MINUTES: WEDNESDAY 7^th November 2007

On a motion from Councillor Francine Haeberling, seconded by Councillor Charles Gerrish, it was

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting held on Wednesday 7th November 2007 be confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chair(person) subject to a minor amendment.

52 CONSIDERATION OF SINGLE MEMBER ITEMS NOW REQUISITIONED TO COUNCIL EXECUTIVE

There were none.

53 CONSIDERATION OF MATTERS REFERRED BY OVERVIEW AND SCRUTINY BODIES

There were none.

54 COUNCIL PERFORMANCE REPORT - JULY TO OCTOBER 2007 (Report 11).

Councillor Tim Ball made a statement in which he congratulated some Cabinet members whose portfolios had performed well but he expressed concerns to Councillor Chris Watt about the closure of Odd Down Youth Centre because of the loss of facility for local clubs and organisations; he emphasised that the cheap sale of alcohol throughout the area was increasing and asked Councillor Vic Pritchard to say what steps were being taken to curb the sale of alcohol to minors; he acknowledged that the Resources portfolio had performed reasonably well but asked Councillor Malcolm Hanney what progress was being made to improve the score of two items on page 29 of the report (Equality Standard and Race Equality).

Councillor Steve Hedges made an ad hoc statement in which he said he was puzzled that the Cabinet intended to close youth clubs but planned to spend large amounts on other projects.

Councillor Eleanor Jackson in an ad hoc statement said that the youth needs in Norton Radstock had been underestimated. She invited Councillor Chris Watt to join her on a visit to meet young people on the street corners.

Councillor Roger Symonds in an ad hoc statement said that he had recently visited Fox Hills and had seen that there were no youth facilities. He asked how the Council could have youth outreach workers without any buildings.

Councillor Francine Haeberling, in proposing the item, said that the report was good overall and very good in places. She drew especial attention to paragraph 7.7 which showed the improvement in test results of children in care. She also pointed out that the unannounced inspection at Maple Grove had led to an "excellent" rating. She congratulated the people with learning difficulties who had worked together on the "Feel Good Food" project highlighted in paragraph 7.13 which had been very impressive when she had visited. Finally Councillor Haeberling wished to congratulate staff who had recently received Excellence Awards.

Councillor Malcolm Hanney in seconding the proposal agreed with Councillor Haeberling. In reply to the comments made by Councillor Tim Ball, he said that it was critical for the Council to have good information on equalities; the Cabinet and the Strategic Directors Group were aware of this and wanted to improve the situation so as to meet all the objectives of the Council. He expressed disappointment that only 15 councillors had attended the Equalities Theatre last summer.

Councillor Charles Gerrish said that although the Customer Services headings showed downward trends in some areas, some of the data was already out-of-date and did not reflect recent actions taken to improve performance. He pointed out that the Council was ahead of its targets on composting; and was ahead of targets to encourage more people to recycle.

Councillor Vic Pritchard said that the report was very encouraging. Social Services dominated the successes and he wished to congratulate those staff who had contributed to this. He replied to the points made about alcohol abuse by saying that he had never personally been in favour of the relaxation of licensing laws which in his view had made the problem worse. He did not agree with Councillor Tim Ball that the city centre problems were spreading to outlying areas. Sales to underage people continued to be monitored and although it might seem an impossible task at the moment, efforts would continue.

Councillor Chris Watt said that none of the previous speakers had referred to the four indicators relating to youth provision. All four indicators were stable or improving and he attributed that to the changes in the youth service. He responded to the points about the closure of youth centres by saying that even if the Council had more funds available it would not be spending them on buildings but on a higher level of youth outreach work. He felt it was significant that all the previous speakers had gained their experiences from outreach work, not by going into youth clubs. He also wished to say that there was a significant improvement in Early Years provision, which had been identified too late to appear in the report, but which deserved recognition because the team had been acknowledged as class leading in the areas of "Narrowing the Gap for Children at Age 5" and "Community Play Rangers".

Councillor David Hawkins pointed out that all the Major Projects items were on time and within budget; in addition, all current developments were on schedule and within budget, including Bath Western Riverside and Southgate projects. He pointed out that the performance of Development and Major Projects, listed on page 23 of the report, showed achievements across the authority's area.

Rationale

This report is a key part of the Council's performance management framework.

Other Options Considered

None.

On a motion from Councillor Francine Haeberling, seconded by Councillor Malcolm Hanney, it was

RESOLVED (unanimously)

(1) To note the contents of this second quarter report for 07/08 performance;

(2) To approve corrective actions;

(3) To consider in light of the corrective actions identified whether additional actions are required to improve performance.

55 REVENUE AND CAPITAL BUDGET MONITORING, CASH LIMITS AND VIREMENTS - APRIL TO NOVEMBER 2007 (Report 12).

Councillor Tim Ball made a statement in which he asked Councillor Charles Gerrish to explain how much revenue had been raised by the bus gate. He also said that, should the Diamond Card Scheme be restricted to 9:30am start (from 9am) this would disadvantage a large number of people who had early morning appointments.

Councillor Malcolm Hanney proposed the item by congratulating the Resources department who had ensured that the Council operated within its budget. Because of this, there would be less pressure on the budget for future years. He noted that the youth service budget had been increased, as promised, despite the very challenging economic circumstances.

Councillor Francine Haeberling seconded the proposal.

Councillor Charles Gerrish replied to the comments about the Diamond Card Scheme by saying that he had considered with officers the possibility of bringing the scheme into line with government proposals but that the potential savings would be offset by the increased costs of administering a scheme independently of the Partnership.  He had not felt that there would have been any benefit from changing the scheme, so no changes would be made to start times.  He did not have to hand the figures about revenue from the Bus Gate, so offered to reply to Councillor Tim Ball within 7 days.

Rationale

The report is presented as part of the reporting of financial management and budgetary control required by the Council.

Other Options Considered

None.

On a motion from Councillor Malcolm Hanney, seconded by Councillor Francine Haeberling, it was

RESOLVED (unanimously)

(1) That Strategic Directors should continue to work towards managing within budget in the current year for their respective service areas, and to manage below budget where possible by not committing unnecessary expenditure, through tight budgetary control;

(2) To note this year's revenue budget position;

(3) To note the capital expenditure position for the Council in the financial year to the end of November and the year end projections;

(4) To approve the 2007/08 proposed virements;

(5) To note the changes in the capital programme.

56 CONSIDERATION OF THE NEED FOR FURTHER AIR QUALITY MANAGEMENT AREAS IN BATH (Report 13).

Patrick Rotheram made a statement [a copy of which is attached to the Minutes as Appendix 11] in which he expressed deep concern about the levels of air pollution in Bath and reminded the Cabinet of the Council's responsibility to tackle pollution and its statutory duty to bring levels of NO₂ below the limit by 2010.

Councillor Ian Gilchrist made a statement in which he opposed the recommendations and urged that the Cabinet should adopt Option 2 as shown in paragraph 7.5 in the report.

Councillor Caroline Roberts made a statement as Chair of the Safer and Stronger Communities Overview and Scrutiny Panel, in which she pointed out that some of the options and information available to the Cabinet in the report had not been included in the report to the Panel. She said that the Panel members who represent wards in the Norton Radstock area wanted to know what would be done for their areas and she also asked how long it would be before the benefits of an Air Quality Management Area became evident.

Councillor Nicholas Coombes in an ad hoc statement said that he had been elected with a manifesto promise to campaign for a ban on HGV traffic in the city. He wanted to know whether this was still being considered and whether there were any firm proposals to introduce such a ban.

Councillor Steve Hedges in an ad hoc statement expressed concern that Overview and Scrutiny Panels were being ignored. He agreed with Councillor Caroline Roberts that a plan should encompass the whole of the area.

Councillor Charles Gerrish, in proposing the item, replied to Councillor Caroline Roberts that he understood that the Overview and Scrutiny panel had originally been offered 2 options but had decided to recommend something different from either option. He said that the report under consideration at this meeting was a response to the panel's recommendations. He felt that the recommended option would enable a solution to be found to the air quality problems caused by the major routes into the city.

Councillor Gerrish wished to assure Councillor Coombes that he was seriously considering the challenge posed by HGV traffic in the city and that existing HGV restrictions would be reviewed to see if they were supporting the Council's aims. He said that a total ban would have an impact on surrounding areas and that this approach could not be undertaken without the agreement of neighbouring authorities.

He was pleased to confirm that the review of the Bus Gate had shown that it had contributed to an improvement in the air quality in the immediate environs. The possibility of issuing signage and a code of practice for tour buses was being considered. Any improvement in local air quality could only be delivered over a long period of time and the Council was dependent on government for any major funding requirements.

Councillor Chris Watt seconded the proposal. He felt that the whole area should be considered when addressing the issue, not only hot spots. It would not make sense to chase hot spots round the city as they moved in response to various AQMA schemes.

Councillor Vic Pritchard observed that some speakers seemed to believe that if their area were identified as a hot spot, they would see immediate improvement in air quality but that would not be the case - the benefits would take time to become evident across the area.

Councillor Malcolm Hanney emphasised the need to work with neighbouring authorities to tackle this problem. However, this Council had quite rightly reserved its position to act in the best interests of its residents and the obligation was to protect the local air quality for the next 20 years.

Councillor Charles Gerrish replied that attempts had been made at the West of England Partnership meeting earlier that day to invite Wiltshire County Council to participate.

Rationale

The rationale behind recommending that the entire major road network in Bath is declared an Air Quality Management Area is that this provides a more comprehensive solution to reducing the levels of traffic related pollution across the city. There are economies of scale in that similar measures will need to be taken for each area and that some of the schemes can be combined.

Other Options Considered

Other options considered include:

(1) Not to declare an additional management area or areas. This is not an option as the Council would be in breach of the air quality regulations;

(2) Just declaring the "Hot Spots". This has been dismissed as it would be inefficient and ineffective as the traffic related pollution is transboundary;

(3) The option, suggested by the Safer and Stronger Communities Overview and Scrutiny Panel, of declaring the whole of Bath an AQMA has been dismissed as there are large areas of the city where the levels of traffic related pollution do not exceed the government's guidelines. To declare the whole of the city would leave the Council open to challenge, which could not be defended in those areas with "good" air quality. To declare the whole of the city would also put extra financial pressure on the Council as this would require additional mitigating measures to be introduced.

On a motion from Councillor Charles Gerrish, seconded by Councillor Chris Watt, it was

RESOLVED (unanimously)

(1) That an Order is made, under section 83(1) of the Environment Act 1995, designating an Air Quality Management Area for the "major road network", as outlined in the map in Appendix B of the report;

(2) That an Air Quality Action Plan will be brought back to the Cabinet within 12 months of the Order, which specifies what actions the Council can take to reduce pollution within the Air Quality Management Area.

57 FUTURE OF VICTORIA HALL, RADSTOCK - UPDATE REPORT (Report 14).

Councillor Tim Ball made a statement in which he said that he had listened to the debate about Victoria Hall since 1994 (under Avon County Council). This Council had now been responsible for Victoria Hall for the 10 years of its existence but no action had been taken to safeguard the building from decay. He said that while the building in itself was not spectacular, it nevertheless occupied a unique position in the centre of the town and in the minds of local people. He agreed with others that urgent repairs should immediately be started to save the building for the community.

Gary Dando made a statement [a copy of which is attached to the Minutes as Appendix 12] in which he agreed that a long-term solution for Victoria Hall, Radstock, should be worked out between the Council and Radstock Town Council but he emphasised the urgency of addressing the issues raised in the building surveyor report of 2005. He warned of increasing ongoing deterioration of the building which would at some point endanger its viability and appealed for immediate remedial action, in advance of the longer term discussions.

Councillor Malcolm Hanney, in proposing the item, said that the report under consideration was an update report and that a further report would be brought to March Cabinet in recognition of the urgency of the need to protect the fabric of the building. In order to make the right decision, a lot of preparatory work must be conducted. He had visited Victoria Hall 3 times in the last month, in addition to meetings with Councillor Hall, NRR, Radco and meetings with officers to discuss options. He confirmed that a copy of the building surveyor report given to him by Gary Dando has been passed to the Assistant Director, Property.

He insisted that the eventual solution must be in line with the needs of the community although he recognised that previous Council decisions had set some constraints on what could be done. He confirmed his intention to give the issue his urgent attention and said that there was now an opportunity to get local landowners (including this Council) and other interested parties (including the Town Council) into meaningful and fruitful discussions.

Councillor Chris Watt seconded the proposal.

Rationale

Discussions have identified a commitment for all the interested parties to work together to find resolution to the issue. This requires further planning and investigative work to future the vision and business case, which will involved other external bodies and interested stakeholders.

Other Options Considered

None.

On a motion from Councillor Malcolm Hanney, seconded by Councillor Chris Watt, it was

RESOLVED (unanimously)

(1) To note the progress made;

(2) That a report will be prepared for the March Cabinet setting out proposed objectives and a delivery programme in relation to Radstock town centre.