Meeting documents

CouncilExecutive

Wednesday13th July 2005

CouncillorPaul Crossley                     - Leader

CouncillorFrancine Haeberling           - Social Services

CouncillorSir Elgar Jenkins OBE       - Transport and Highways

CouncillorJonathan Gay                     - Children's Services

CouncillorGerry Curran                      - Sustainability and the Environment

CouncillorColin Darracott                   - Economic Development

CouncillorMalcolm Hanney                 - Resources

CouncillorNicole O'Flaherty                - Tourism, Leisure and Culture

CouncillorVic Pritchard                       - Community Safety, Housing & Consumer Services

35          WELCOME AND INTRODUCTIONS

                  Councillor Paul Crossley welcomed everyone to themeeting.  He made a statementregarding the recent tragic events in London and stated that the Council stoodfirmly with leaders of all faiths and all communities in hoping that anyfall-out from this event would not affect harmonious relationships in Bath &North East Somerset.

                  Councillor Francine Haeberling echoed the abovesentiments and expressed sympathy for those families still waiting to hear news.

36          EMERGENCY EVACUATION PROCEDURE

TheChair(person) drew attention tothe emergency evacuation procedure as set out on the Agenda.

37          DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

Councillor Malcolm Hanney declared apersonal, non-prejudicial interest in item 9 "Bath Western Riverside : AReview" as Chair of the Primary Care Trust.

38          TO ANNOUNCE ANY URGENT BUSINESS AGREED BY THECHAIR(PERSON)

Councillor Paul Crossley announcedthat he would be changing the order of items due to the need to move into exemptsession for item 9, which was taken last.

39          QUESTIONS FROM PUBLIC AND COUNCILLORS

There were no questions from thepublic or Councillors.

40          STATEMENTS, DEPUTATIONS OR PETITIONS FROMPUBLIC AND COUNCILLORS

There were no statements,deputations or petitions from public or Councillors.

41          "FUTURE FOR BATH"

Councillor Colin Darracottintroduced this report and explained the need for a strategic long term view forBath & North East Somerset to enable the Council to participate meaningfullyin regional and sub-regional discussions and to secure the long-term prosperityof the region.  Councillor Darracottreferred to the other Plans and Strategies which affected the region andhighlighed the need for a specific vision for the City of Bath. Councillor Darracott stressed that this was at high level planning stagebut there were some key themes which could inform other stragegic planningdocuments.   The next stage wasfor a Business Plan to be constructed to see if this would be deliverable. Councillor Darracott explained that he hoped for some of the money tocome from the South West Regional Development Agency.

This was welcomed by other ExecutiveMembers; Councillor Gerry Curran raised the issue of environmental regenerationand hoped that future reports would take this into account. He looked forward to working with the Major Projects team to address thepromotion of sustainable development and environmental improvement.

                  Rationale

                  It is considered that the Council should be proactiveand adopt a leadership stance in the creation of a focussed vision for thefuture of Bath, and ensure the right conditions to realise the vision.

                  Other Options considered

                  The option of proceeding without a long-term vision,strategy and framework for action has been considered. This option is not recommended because a long-term co-ordinated approachis essential to the future success and development of the city.

                  On a motion from Councillor Colin Darracott, secondedby Councillor Malcolm Hanney, it was

                  RESOLVED

(1)         To adopt the "Future for Bath" as the basisof a themed approach to the future development of Bath, subject to furtherexamination and testing by way of business and spatial planning studies, and bywider consultation, during the course of 2005 and 2006;

(2)         To support the preparation of a Business Planstudy to report in April 2006;

(3)         To recommend to Council that the Council fundsthe study and seeks a contribution from the RDA at a cost of up to £150k frombalances;

(4)         To receive further update reports to reviewoverall progress (6 monthly); and

(5)         To authorise a wider consultation in the autumnand a final report in the spring/summer of 2006.

42          COMBE DOWN STONE MINES PROJECT - PROCUREMENTSTRATEGY

Councillor Colin Darracottintroduced this item and explained the reasons for recommending independentproject management and the benefits this would bring.

Rationale

A well thought through procurementstrategy can establish a framework for successful delivery of this project. An independent project management/quantity surveyor will provide thestrong management and cost control required. Packaging of the contracting will protect the Council and fulfill therequirements of the funders.

Other Options considered

Four options were identified forProject Management;

1.     Council manage the project in-house;

2.     Appoint independent Project Managers andQuantity Surveyors;

3.     Appoint a contractor on a design and buildcontract;

4.     Integrated team with Designer, Project Managerand Quantity Surveyor

The reasons for recommending option2 are set out at paragraphs 7.2 to 7.6 of the report.

Four options were identified for theprocurement of the main scheme contractor;

1.     Appoint one main contractor to carry out allthe works;

2.     Staged release of multiple packages with onlyone main contractor on site at any one time (each section awarded on aperformance basis to minimise risk);

3.     Appoint one overall main contractor to carryout a Design and Build solution;

4.     Specialist contractors carrying out specificworks for which they are most skilled and able, or in geographically distinctareas.  Sectional contract award alsoapplies as in Option 2 (depending on performance monitoring).

The reasons for recommending aparticular option are set out at paragraphs 7.8 to 7.10 of the report and inAppendix 2.

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

                  RESOLVED

(1)         That independent project management/quantitysurveying services are secured to deliver the Combe Down Stone Mines project onbehalf of the Council, as outlined in paragraphs 4.1 - 4.4 of the report; and

(2)         That the approach to the appointment ofsuitable contractors to execute the scheme and ensure Best Practice and Valuefor Money, be as outlined in paragraph 4.5 of the report.

43          EDUCATION 4 MONTHLY PERFORMANCE REPORT

On a motion from Councillor PaulCrossley, seconded by Councillor Sir Elgar Jenkins, it was

                  RESOLVED

(1)         that the report be noted;

(2)         to approve the progress and achievements of theEducation Service, particularly the progress towards the Corporate priorities ofimproving the learning environment and, through the reduction in 'NEETs'(not in education, employment or training), improving life chances for thevulnerable.

44          SOCIAL SERVICES 4 MONTHLY PERFORMANCE REPORT

On a motion from Councillor PaulCrossley, seconded by Councillor Sir Elgar Jenkins, it was

                  RESOLVED that thereport be noted.

45          COMMUNITY SAFETY AND DRUG ACTION TEAM 4 MONTHLYPERFORMANCE REPORT

On a motion from Councillor PaulCrossley, seconded by Councillor Sir Elgar Jenkins, it was

                  RESOLVED that thereport be noted.

46          RESOURCES 4 MONTHLY PERFORMANCE REPORT

On a motion from Councillor PaulCrossley, seconded by Councillor Sir Elgar Jenkins, it was

                  RESOLVED that thereport be noted.

47          BATH WESTERN RIVERSIDE: A REVIEW

This item started in open sessionwith an introduction from Councillor Colin Darracott. Councillor Darracott explained that this project had to be viewed withinthe context of the city, the region and the sub-region. Discussions with all interested parties would be taking place over thenext few months in an effort to close the significant viability gap. This paper had been brought to the Council Executive today to get a steerfor starting the negotiations in earnest.

Councillor Darracott then ranthrough some of the key upcoming dates in the timetable.

Councillor Paul Crossley commentedthat the Bath Western Riverside Project was one of the most important long-termprojects facing the Council and wished to publicly thank the team for their workon this so far.

48          EXCLUSION OF THE PUBLIC

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

RESOLVED

that, inaccordance with the provisions of Section 100 (A) (4) of the Local GovernmentAct 1972, the public be excluded from the meeting for the following item ofbusiness because of the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined inparagraph 9 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act.

[CouncillorColin Darracott abstained.]

49          BATH WESTERN RIVERSIDE: A REVIEW

Each Executive Member commented ontheir preferences with regard to the priorities for the Council in deliveringthe Bath Western Riverside project.

Councillor Colin Darracott wished torecord his thanks to the Officer team who had managed to bring this item to theExecutive before the summer recess and also applauded the co-operativecross-party working that had been a feature of this project to date.

Rationale

To identify, clarify and agreestrategies and actions to move forward the project in a pragmatic fashion withthe development partners.  Theproposed strategies are crafted to deliver the optimum between risk, programmeand commercial positioning.

Other Options considered

These are set out in the OptionsAppraisal which is one of the exempt appendices to the report.

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

                  RESOLVED

(1)         To note the key relationship and linkagesbetween the proposed processes and timetables for the 'Future for Bath'initiative and the Bath Western Riverside Master Plan and planning application;

(2)         To note the current iteration of the draftMaster Plan including high level design principles and indicative land uses,which will be developed in more detail and presented to a meeting of the CouncilExecutive, targeted for October 2005, for approval to be released to the public;

(3)         To note the Council's proposed planningprocess and proposed draft strategic timetable leading to the approval of an SPDand the submission of a planning application for Bath Western Riverside,targeted for April 2006, which is currently under discussion with the MasterDevelopment Partners;

(4)         To note the Council's key priorities and keyrequirements for Bath Western Riverside within the current approved Policy andBudget framework in order of preference to help guide the negotiations, takinginto consideration the comments made by Executive Members during debate;

(5)         To note the BWR Risk analysis and associatedoptions paper.

The meeting ended at 11.50am

Chair(person)...............................................................................................

Date Confirmed andSigned........................................................................

Prepared by Democratic Services