Meeting documents

77 WELCOME AND INTRODUCTIONS

The Chair welcomed everyone to the meeting and explained how it would be conducted.

78 EMERGENCY EVACUATION PROCEDURE

The Chair(person) drew attention to the emergency evacuation procedure as set out on the Agenda.

79 DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

Councillor Hanney declared a personal, non-prejudicial interest as Chair of the Primary Care Trust, due to a reference to St Martin's Hospital in one of the questions.

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

There were no items of urgent business.

81 QUESTIONS FROM PUBLIC AND COUNCILLORS

The following people had given the appropriate notice of their request to ask a question of an Executive Councillor. The text of the questions and responses is contained in a Q&A document which is attached to the minutes electronically, once finalised.

Chris Blagden

82 STATEMENTS, DEPUTATIONS OR PETITIONS FROM PUBLIC AND COUNCILLORS

Notice had been given before the meeting of 11 statements. All statements made are listed under the St John's site item (minute number 86 below refers). (Copies of the statements, when provided, have been placed on the Minute book.)

83 MINUTES: 6TH OCTOBER 2004

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

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting held on 6^th October 2004, including the separate exempt minute, be confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chair(person).

84 CONSIDERATION OF SINGLE MEMBER ITEMS NOW REQUISITIONED TO COUNCIL EXECUTIVE (Report 9).

There were no such items on this occasion.

85 CONSIDERATION OF MATTERS REFERRED BY OVERVIEW AND SCRUTINY BODIES (Report 10).

Councillor Martin Veal informed the meeting about the Overview & Scrutiny Communications Review which had now been completed and submitted to Councillor Paul Crossley for a response to the Panel's recommendations.

86 THE REPLACEMENT OF ST JOHN'S CATHOLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL, BATH AND THE SEARCH FOR A NEW SITE (Report 11).

Chris Blagden made a statement in defence of the Englishcombe Lane site (a copy has been placed on the Minute book).

Helen Woodley from the Allotments Association made a statement against any proposal to remove green open space.

Lisa Brown made a statement on behalf of the Old Culveryhaysians against the use of the Glasshouse site.

Kant Mann made a statement on behalf of the Glasshouse Residents Association opposing the use of the Glasshouse site.

Helen Self made a statement opposing the use of green community spaces and calling for consideration of a brownfield site.

Julie Beck made a statement calling for Moorlands Park to be preserved for the children of Moorfields Estate.

Christopher Denes had given notice that he wished to make a statement but stated that most of his comments had been covered by earlier speakers, except to make a plea for the Executive to take a long-term view.

Andrew Peters made a statement regarding the effect of a new school on the transport infrastructure and opposing the use of the Glasshouse site.

Paul Rogers made a statement against the use of the Glasshouse site and calling for this to be included in the Primary school review process.

Robert Wilkins made a statement also calling for this to be included in the Bath South School Review and referring to the small number of Catholic pupils involved, in his view.

Andrew King, Governor at St John's Catholic Primary school, made a statement stressing the urgency of finding a new site and outlining the extra spending that had been necessary, and the ongoing health and safety issues.

The following statements for which no notice had been given were permitted by the Leader;

Councillor Steve Hedges queried why the Odd Down site had now been added to the list for consideration without being included in the paperwork, or the Ward Members being consulted.

Councillor Tim Ball made a plea that those sites which were not for serious consideration could be rejected today, to remove the uncertainty for many people.

Councillor Dine Romero made a comment regarding brownfield sites.

Councillor Shaun McGall mentioned the 200 plus submissions he had received on this subject and asked why the Overview & Scrutiny Panel recommendation for a smaller school was rejected.

Councillor Gerry Curran urged pressing ahead to a full consultation period and asked Members to keep in mind the Council's Play Policy.

Agnes Melling commented that there was inadequate provision in the Local Plan for educational development and called for no further delay.

Ann Barrett, Deputy Headteacher of St Gregory's school, made a plea that the school's playing field should not be used.

Brian Gane made a statement regarding the history of the Lymore Avenue site.

Peter Duppa-Miller, Clerk to Combe Hay Parish Council, asked for confirmation that Councillor Jonathan Gay had received his letter. Councillor Gay confirmed that he had received and taken account of it.

Duncan Fleet, Headteacher of Culverhay, complained about the poor dissemination of information and commented that the school would be under its minimum playing field size should the Glasshouse site be used.

Bob Coleman, Headteacher of St John's Catholic Primary School, mentioned the financial costs of delay and stressed the health & safety problems of the school.

Before moving to the debate, Councillor Paul Crossley asked the Executive Members to confirm that they had taken due notice of the discussion responses that had been received, which they did.

Councillor Jonathan Gay opened the debate by thanking all those who had made representations to him. He pointed out that this issue had been out for discussion and not yet for consultation. Councillor Gay explained the difficulty with identifying sites in Bath and acknowledged that each site would be unpopular for some people.

Councillor Gay explained that officers had been working up until the day of the meeting to prepare the relevant information and, although it was not desirable that information needed to be added at the last minute, it was his duty to act upon all relevant information.

Councillor Gay explained that he would be proposing that some sites would be dismissed today; Lymore Avenue, St Gregory's School and Englishcombe Lane, as the various different constraints on these sites made them not viable.

Councillor Gay went on to explain that Odd Down Playing fields now needed to be added to the list of sites. This site had not originally been considered as a viable option but information had recently come to light that demonstrated that this site was now a possibility. Therefore, Councillor Gay would be proposing that further information was prepared on the Glasshouse site, the Park & Ride annex and Odd Down Playing fields.

Councillor Paul Crossley thanked all those who had contributed and apologised to St John's School for the delay up until now. Councillor Crossley outlined the reasons for rejecting the Lymore Avenue site, as set out below;

- this public open space is in the most crowded part of the Authority and is virtually the only one available to this community;

- there is a covenant on this land

- there is a successful Care home on the site for which expansion has been granted.

Councillor Crossley explained that one of the reasons for rejecting the St Gregory's Playing field site was that it was particularly constrained. As far as the Englishcombe Lane site was concerned, Councillor Crossley confirmed the difficult features of this site and mentioned the tragic incident a few years ago and that traffic had increased since then.

In order to decide on one, two or three sites, the Executive would need further information on the educational, financial, transport, planning and environmental impact aspects of each site.

Councillor Crossley expressed his unease at the late addition of the Odd Down site, but understood why this had been the case.

Councillor Francine Haeberling confirmed that she had taken into account all the correspondence that she had received on this subject and acknowledged the commitment and patience of the Governors of St John's school. Councillor Haeberling was keen to see the report back with further information as soon as possible.

Councillor Malcolm Hanney echoed the need for further information and hoped that the matter could be progressed as swiftly as possible.

Councillor Sir Elgar Jenkins echoed the comments of his Executive colleagues regarding the urgent need to move forward on this matter, but wished to record his reservations regarding the Park & Ride site. As the main Park & Ride site was well used and might require expansion, any use of that land for other purposes would need very careful consideration.

Councillor Colin Darracott stressed the especially difficult situation in Bath regarding lack of available land and mentioned the other competing demands there were on sites in Bath from the commercial sector. He hoped the further information would address what would happen to the land that the school vacated. He commented that a cross service view was needed.

Councillor Vic Pritchard commented that it was right that the Executive would be eliminating those sites that were not viable, and reminded the public that consultation was yet to take place.

Councillor Rosemary Todd applauded the cogent arguments from the speakers, who she hoped would recognise the full range of factors that the Executive would need to balance in selecting a site or sites to take forward.

In summing up, Councillor Jonathan Gay explained that whichever site was chosen, the school would not take up the entirety of the site, and that the St John's school community would prove to be good neighbours.

On a motion from Councillor Jonathan Gay, seconded by Councillor Paul Crossley, it was

(1) That the Council is committed to finding a site for the replacement of St John's school, and the selection and offer of a site to the Governors and the progression of this project is of critical importance;

(2) that, for the reasons stated in the debate, the following sites are rejected:

(3) that further information is required on the following sites in respect of the educational, financial, transport, environmental and planning impacts, to be brought to the January 12^th 2005 * meeting of the Council Executive owing to the urgency of the matter;

(4) that, following consideration of this matter at the January 12^th 2005 * Executive meeting, full consultation will be undertaken on one or more of the sites;

(5) that all costs associated with the design of the school are met by the Council until such time as planning permission is received; and

(6) that the Executive will decide whether to offer assurances to the Governors regarding home to school transport once it had considered recommendations from the Overview and Scrutiny Panel who are due shortly to review home to school transport.

[*Following the meeting, it was subsequently agreed by the Director and Executive Member for Life Long Learning to bring forward the consideration of this item to a special meeting to be held on December 15^th at 10am in the Guildhall. However, a call-in was then received regarding the inclusion of the Odd Down Playing Fields site so the 15^th December Special meeting is in question]

87 RECESS

The Executive adjourned for a 15 minute break and resumed the meeting at 1pm.

88 BATH & NORTH EAST SOMERSET LOCAL PLAN INCLUDING MINERALS & WASTE POLICIES REVISED DEPOSIT DRAFT 2003 - FURTHER PRE-INQUIRY CHANGES (Report 12).

Councillors Charles Gerrish and Caroline Roberts queried various aspects of the report. Councillor Rosemary Todd responded to those in her introduction to the report. She explained that this would be tested at the Public Inquiry stage.

Councillor Todd welcomed that speakers in the debate on the previous item had made reference to the Draft Local Plan suggesting a degree of ownership of it already. She reminded Councillors of two presentations soon to take place on the Draft Local Plan and welcomed any other suggestions about how to publicise it over and above the usual Council routes.

Councillor Todd explained that the further changes that had been required as a result of the Retail study had delayed the process by one month.

Councillor Colin Darracott applauded the work by officers to incorporate the retail issues but questioned whether Bath had the ability to deliver this retail element.

Rationale

Section 4 of the report sets out the rationale.

Other options considered

In relation to the recommended retail related pre-Inquiry changes, an alternative option considered was to propose a simpler pre-Inquiry change. This was only to amend table 1 in the shopping chapter to refer to the projected floorspace requirements for the period to 2011, not to have detailed how this requirement would be met and to have relied on the existing policy framework to determine any proposals coming forward. However, there were a number of reasons why this approach was not pursued and these are summarised below;

On a motion from Councillor Rosemary Todd, seconded by Councillor Colin Darracott, it was

(1) To note the conclusions and recommendations of the 2004 City and Town Centre Study and Supplementary Appraisal of Retail Opportunities;

(2) To approve the further pre-Inquiry changes for use for Development Control purposes;

(3) To agree that the Head of Planning Services, in consultation with the Executive Member for Sustainability and the Environment, be given delegated authority to agree responses to representations on any Pre-Inquiry Changes; and

(4) To recommend these proposals to Council for its approval.

89 PLANNING SERVICES IMPROVEMENT PLAN (Report 13).

Councillor Peter Metcalfe, Chair of the Planning, Transportation, Economy and Sustainability Overview & Scrutiny Panel, thanked officers and the Executive Member for making reference to the work of the Overview & Scrutiny Panel in the report. He referred to the increasing development control caseload and the lack of extra resources to address this. He also mentioned the question of democratic accountability should the two Development Control Committees be merged into one. Councillor Metcalfe asked that when the response was sent back to the Minister this issue could be addressed, and the letter forwarded to Councillor Metcalfe and the other Members of the Overview & Scrutiny Panel.

Councillor Rosemary Todd outlined the requirements from the ODPM and the Planning Development grant that would be available should certain targets be met. Councillor Todd explained the internal changes that would be made including a better use of information technology, a streamlined consultation procedure, a requirement for better quality planning and more decision making done by officers. Councillor Todd explained that, although the ODPM suggest fewer Development Control Committees, this was not compatible with our way of working, particularly with the current pilot Area Committee. There were new sub-regional work pressures and she would be looking at additional budgetary needs in future years.

Rationale

There is a requirement to make a decision at this time in order to meet the Government requirements, and the Improvement Plan is based on the recommendation of the consultants, together with the issues arising out of the Best Value Review and the accompanying Action Plan.

On a motion from Councillor Rosemary Todd, seconded by Councillor Vic Pritchard, it was

(1) To approve the Improvement Plan;

(2) To request the Chief Executive to endorse the Plan as required by the Minister; and

(3) To note the recommendations of the Planning, Transportation, Economy and Sustainability Overview & Scrutiny Panel and draw their attention to the specific `Action' in the Improvement Plan and other factors which addresses the issues they have raised.

90 COUNCIL PERFORMANCE REPORT (Report 14).

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

RESOLVED to note the report.

91 ENVIRONMENT 4 MTHLY PERF REPORT (Report 15).

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

RESOLVED to note the report.

92 CUSTOMER 4 MONTHLY PERFORMANCE REPORT (Report 16).

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

RESOLVED to note the report.

93 RESOURCES 4 MONTHLY PERFORMANCE REPORT (Report 17).

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

RESOLVED to note the report.

94 SOCIAL SERVICES 4 MONTHLY PERFORMANCE REPORT (Report 18).

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

RESOLVED to note the report.