Meeting documents

50 WELCOME AND INTRODUCTIONS

Councillor Paul Crossley welcomed everyone to the meeting.

51 EMERGENCY EVACUATION PROCEDURE

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

52 DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

Councillor Colin Darracott declared a personal, non-prejudicial interest in item 13 (Sub-Regional Spatial Strategy) as a member of Friends of the Earth.

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

There were no items of urgent business.

54 QUESTIONS FROM PUBLIC AND COUNCILLORS

Chris Beezley had submitted a question regarding green belt land. Chris was not at the meeting so it was agreed the response from Councillor Gerry Curran would be sent to him.

Ian Thorn had submitted a question regarding the cost of the Save Church Hill House campaign. Ian was not at the meeting so it was agreed the response from Councillor Colin Darracott would be sent to him.

Councillor Nigel Roberts had submitted 3 questions regarding; - impact of the court cases for back pay due to the delay in paying single status, the total cost of paying single status and mis-use of the one way system at Odd Down Park and Ride. Councillor Roberts was not present at the meeting so it was agreed the responses from Councillors Malcolm Hanney (single status) and Sir Elgar Jenkins would be sent to him.

Councillor Tim Ball asked a question, and a supplementary question, regarding a review of Somer sheltered housing stock. Councillor Vic Pritchard responded.

[Copies of the questions and responses have been placed on the Minute book and are available on the Council's website.]

55 STATEMENTS, DEPUTATIONS OR PETITIONS FROM PUBLIC AND COUNCILLORS

Notice had been given of 3 statements which are mentioned at the relevant minute below (61). [Copies of these statements have been placed on the Minute book.]

56 MINUTES: WEDNESDAY 29TH JUNE 2005

Councillor Gay raised a point of clarification on the minutes and read out the following statement to be added as a note of annotation to the minutes of 29^th June 2005:-

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

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting held on Wednesday 29th June 2005, including the note of annotation described above, be confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chair(person).

57 MINUTES: WEDNESDAY 13TH JULY 2005 (SPECIAL MEETING) (Report 9).

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

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting held on Wednesday 13^th July 2005, including the exempt minute, be confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chair(person).

58 CONSIDERATION OF SINGLE MEMBER ITEMS NOW REQUISITIONED TO COUNCIL EXECUTIVE (Report 10).

There were no such items on this occasion.

59 CONSIDERATION OF MATTERS REFERRED BY OVERVIEW AND SCRUTINY BODIES (Report 11).

There were no such items on this occasion.

60 SURVEY OF UNMET DEMAND OF HACKNEY CARRIAGE VEHICLES IN BATH (Report 12).

Councillor Steve Hedges made a statement welcoming the outcome of the survey which recognised the high quality of the service provided.

Councillor Gitte Dawson reminded the Executive of her comments in April regarding the investigation of the use of rickshaw taxis and wondered whether any progress had been made about their use.

David Redgewell from Transport 2000 made a statement regarding the demand for taxis at peak times, the need for night buses and for the needs of the 24 hour economy to be met. Mr Redgewell requested that taxi provision could be looked at on a wider basis than currently, covering Greater Bristol/Bath.

Councillor Vic Pritchard explained that the survey had indicated there was no significant unmet demand and thanked the consultants.

Councillor Paul Crossley, in seconding the motion, thanked all those who had submitted correspondence on this issue and also the Consultants who had worked efficiently to a tight deadline. He supported Councillor Dawson's suggestion to explore the use of rickshaw taxis. He also welcomed the suggestions from David Redgewell and agreed they merited further investigation.

Councillor Sir Elgar Jenkins commented that care should be taken about setting criteria for accessible vehicles to meet different accessiblity needs.

Councillor Nicole O'Flaherty hoped that taxi drivers would appreciate the vital role they played as ambassadors for the city.

Rationale

It is considered that the Council's prime objective is to ensure the safety and protection of the public and to maintain an effective and efficient public transport system, of which hackney carriages form an integral part.

The Executive considers it is in the interest of consumers ie; residents, visitors and business for the service in Bath to be limited by number.

Other options considered

Other options were to partially or totally delimit and the implications of these actions are set out in the report.

On a motion from Councillor Vic Pritchard, seconded by Councillor Paul Crossley, it was

RESOLVED

(1) To note the findings of the consultants report, as summarised in Annex A to the report;

(2) To establish a policy of limiting the number of hackney carriage vehicle licences in zone 1 (Bath) to 108;

(3) To agree that the Licensing Act 2003 Committee and Taxi and Private Hire Sub-Committee only accepts fully accessible vehicles for any new application for a hackney carriage vehicle licence and that the criteria for fully accessible vehicles be determined by the Head of Environmental and Consumer Services; and

(4) To note that a further unmet demand survey needs to be undertaken in 3 years.

61 SUB-REGIONAL SPATIAL STRATEGY FOR THE WEST OF ENGLAND - FIRST DETAILED PROPOSALS (Report 13).

David Redgewell, Transport 2000, made a statement about the public transport elements. David also responded to questions from Members.

Scott Morrison, Bath Friends of the Earth, made a statement urging the extension of green belt land. In response to questions from Members, Scott also discussed the creative use of high density housing.

Deborah Porter, Somer Valley Friends of the Earth, made a statement calling for targets and indicators for issues such as recycling, reuse and rebuild.

Councillor Gitte Dawson made a statement supporting various elements of the Friends of the Earth statements. She proposed siting housing along railway lines and re-opening rural stations. She commented that Bristol airport should not be allowed to develop further unless they provided adequate public transport to support more air traffic.

Councillor Gerry Curran thanked the contributors for their statements and acknowledged the points made. Councillor Curran explained how it had been a difficult process to reach agreement by the West of England Partnership but that it was crucial that a joint submission be put in to allow some control to be retained over the location and nature of future housing development.

Executive Members thanked the officer team for their extremely hard work.

Councillor Sir Elgar Jenkins commended the joint working that had taken place to enable these First Detailed proposals to be agreed. Councillor Jenkins also noted the transport problems that were caused by developers not considering the transport implications of a development site.

Councillor Colin Darracott gave his support to this going forward but objected to the way in which this had been imposed. Councillor Darracott also commented that, although Bath was a beautiful but dense city, it could accommodate some imaginative development on brownfield sites.

Councillor Francine Haeberling commented on the need, over the next few years, to protect the individual settlements such as Bristol, Keynsham and Bath and not allow them to be merged into an urban sprawl.

Councillor Paul Crossley mentioned the already existing infrastructure deficit and that any proposals would need to address this. Councillor Crossley also gave his commitment while being a Member of the Executive that any development proposed for green belt land would only take place after genuine consultation.

Councillor Malcolm Hanney welcomed the fact that this issue was to be referred to Council to allow all Members to comment and to achieve full Council support.

Councillor Vic Pritchard, although supporting the recommendations, expressed dissatisfaction about the way the process had been imposed.

Councillor Nicole O'Flaherty agreed with the comments made by her Executive colleagues but suggested that this process could attract investment priorities for cultural, sport and leisure activities.

Rationale

The report seeks approval of the West of England Sub-Regional Spatial Strategy First Detailed Proposals so that they can be submitted to the South West Regional Assembly (SWRA). It is important that these proposals are approved so that the SWRA can see that good progress is being made in developing a strategy for the West of England and that the sub-region is able to work well together in partnership.

Other options considered

The consequence of not agreeing and forwarding First Detailed Proposals is that the Regional Assembly would have to set out their own proposals for the sub-region based on the information available to them.

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

RESOLVED

(1) That the Council Executive;

(a) Approves The West of England Joint Study Area First Detailed Proposals for submission to the South West Regional Assembly.

(b) Notes the next stages of public consultation set out in the report; and

(c) Refers the report to Council for its views and recommendations to guide and inform future negotiations and discussions.

62 ANNUAL COMPLAINTS REPORT (Report 14).

The Executive welcomed the drop in complaints during the year 2004/05 whilst recognising the need to strive for further improvement in the future.

Rationale

The rationale for complaints monitoring is to make sure processes are effective and benefit the customer and to monitor trends and themes raised by customer feedback.

Examples of lessons learned or actions taken by services as a result of complaints received include the importance of improving communication with the customer, maintaining staff awareness of customer requirements through new or refresher training, improving cross service communication, and ensuring complaints monitoring is part of the day to day management process. Details are in Appendix A to the report.

Other options considered

None.

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

RESOLVED

(1) To note the contents of this report;

(2) To welcome the continuing reduction in complaints; and

(3) To include this information in the next Leaders report to Full Council and the next edition of Inside Out.

63 FINANCIAL PLANNING PROCESS 2005/06 ONWARDS (Report 15).

Councillor Malcolm Hanney explained the pressures the Council was facing and the need to focus on priority services. He urged careful consideration be given by all Executive Members regarding any additional spending above agreed priorities.

Councillor Paul Crossley noted Councillor Hanney's comments but suggested that this need not prevent looking ahead and planning for the future.

Councillor Vic Pritchard urged a business approach to service delivery to maximise available resources.

Rationale

This report sets out the current known background and context for the review of the financial plan.

Other options considered

This report contains information about the Council's financial outlook. Alternative options to meet the targets will be considered as part of the service planning and consultation process. Options considered at the time of setting the 2006/07 budget will be concerned with the level of changes to the level of Council tax and the level of services provided by the Council

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

RESOLVED

(1) To note the background and key issues and pressures to be taken into consideration when recommending a financial plan and budget to Council in February 2005, as set out in Appendix 1;

(2) To agree the timetable and process for revising the Financial Plan and setting the 2006/07 Revenue and Capital Budget, as set out in Appendix 4;

(3) To agree the proposed strategic approach, as set out in Appendix 1 (section 4); and

(4) To agree to defer any additional spending on capital schemes unless there is certainty around funding sources for these works.

64 REVENUE AND CAPITAL BUDGET CASH LIMITS AND VIREMENTS (Report 16).

David Redgewell from Transport 2000 referred to the £40,000 underspend in the Transport & Highways portfolio. He commented that funding was needed for local bus services as well as the infrastructure, and urged the Executive to ensure this sum remained within the budget in future years.

Councillor Malcolm Hanney explained the issues contained within the report and the need to achieve financial balance over the year.

Councillor Sir Elgar Jenkins explained that he would be working to ensure that, by the end of the year, all capital monies allocated would be spent. He acknowledged the serious problem with the bus services and referred to the contributory factor of the soaring cost of running bus companies.

Rationale

This 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 Paul Crossley, it was

RESOLVED

(1) To agree that the expenditure and income position for the Council in the financial year to the end of June and the year end projections detailed in Appendices 2 and 3 of this report are noted.

(2) To agree that the virements listed in Appendices 4 are approved and the changes in the capital programme listed in Appendix 6 are noted.

(3) To agree that the current position of available capital resources is noted.

(4) To agree that the Income Sustainability Budget (£250,000) is deleted from the 2005/06 capital programme.

(5) To agree that an initial budget for the cost of the Spa claims settlement team at £1,594,250 is approved, made up of a virement of £352,000 from the main Bath Spa Project budget and the remainder (£1,242,250) from the capital programme contingency, within which full provision was made in 2005/06 for expenditure of this nature and to note that a further report will be made to the Council Executive later in the year.