Meeting documents

Apologies: - Councillor Malcolm Hanney

38 WELCOME AND INTRODUCTIONS

The Chair welcomed everyone to the meeting.

39 EMERGENCY EVACUATION PROCEDURE

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

40 DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

Councillors Jonathan Gay, Rosemary Todd and Sir Elgar Jenkins each declared an interest in item 18, as Trustees of the Bath Recreation Ground Trust. This interest was declared when the agenda item was reached.

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

There were no items of urgent business but the Chair took this opportunity to announce his intention to bring forward the Combe Down Stone Mine item, and to announce the withdrawal of item 13 "Equality Commitment and Equal Opportunities Policy" from this agenda.

42 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.

- Councillor Colin Barrett had submitted 4 questions regarding street cleaning but was not present at the meeting so had asked to receive the answers in writing.

- Terry Reakes asked a question regarding possible improvements to the Victoria Hall, Radstock.

- Councillor Chris Watt had submitted a question regarding Aquaterra charging policy. Councillor Watt was not present so will receive the answer in writing.

- Councillor Gitte Dawson had submitted a question regarding the commitment of £400,000 for further feasibility and assessment work toward a bid in the Local Transport Plan. Councillor Dawson was not present so will receive the answer in writing.

43 STATEMENTS, DEPUTATIONS OR PETITIONS FROM PUBLIC AND COUNCILLORS

All statements made are referred to under the relevant agenda item.

Copies of the statements (when provided) have been placed on the Minute book.

44 MINUTES: WEDNESDAY 30TH JUNE 2004

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

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting held on Wednesday 30th June 2004 be confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chair(person), subject to a minor addition to the first sentence of minute 9.

45 MINUTES: MONDAY 5TH JULY 2004 (Report 9).

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

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting held on Monday 5th July 2004 be confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chair(person).

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

There were no such items on this occasion.

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

There were no such items on this occasion.

48 HOUSING STRATEGIC PLANNING FRAMEWORK (Report 12).

Councillor Betty Perry made a statement regarding the Affordable Housing Strategic Working Group and the amount of influence the Council has over the partner organisations.

Councillor Chris Cray made a statement regarding the availability of brownfield land and also supported Councillor Perry's comments.

Councillor Vic Pritchard introduced the report and outlined the new approach that was being proposed. Councillor Pritchard explained that the Strategy should be completed by the end of this year, or early next year.

Other Executive Members supported the partnership approach that was being recommended.

Rationale

Such an approach would provide a structure which would allow greater partnership engagement with the process of developing the Housing Strategy and associated Delivery Plans. It would be possible to establish a fully integrated Housing Strategy which set out clear strategic direction for all housing issues with implementation supported by the detailed Delivery Plans. The proposed approach would enable greater joined up thinking, greater joined up planning and consequently greater joined up delivery of services for the benefit of people living in the communities of Bath and North East Somerset.

The proposals would also better fit with the development of sub-regional partnerships and would enable a more co-ordinated approach to resources bidding and allocation at a local level.

Other options considered

Consideration had been given to reviewing the Housing Strategy 2002-2011 to ensure compliance with the Fit for Purpose criteria. The Housing Strategy would then be presented for Council for agreement. However, this option did not take advantage of the opportunities presented by the establishment of a Community Strategy and Local Strategic Partnership for Bath and North East Somerset. In turn, opportunities to strengthen links to sub-regional partnerships and plans would be lost.

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

RESOLVED

(1) To support and recommend the Housing Strategic Planning Framework, set out in paragraphs 4.10-4.17 of the report, to full Council as a change to the Policy Framework.

49 EQUALITY COMMITMENT AND EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES POLICY (Report 13).

This item was withdrawn from this agenda and will be submitted to the October 6^th Executive meeting.

50 COMBE DOWN STONE MINES PROJECT MAIN SCHEME FUNDING (Report 14).

David Dunkerley, Combe Down Stone Mines Community Association, made a statement in support of option 1b, stressing the safety aspects over any commercial considerations and calling for full stabilisation to be achieved.

Councillor Roger Symonds, Ward Member, made a statement urging the Council to accept the offer of investment from English Partnerships.

Councillor Chris Cray made a statement urging Councillors not to take the Council into an expensive scheme which was not of benefit to the whole Council area. Councillor Cray also commented that he thought the decision should be made by full Council, not the Executive.

Jill Chollaton, a Combe Down resident, outlined her own experience of trying to arrange a stabilisation scheme through her Insurance company and explained that this issue was not one that could be addressed by individual householders but needed a more strategic approach to address the serious issues of health and safety.

Councillor Betty Perry also supported the view that this item should be decided at full Council, and that full and comprehensive reports should be included when it was presented to Council.

Terry Reakes suggested that the Council should accept any financial assistance that was offered.

Neil Kirkbride, Vice-Chair of the Combe Down Stone Mines Community Association, mentioned the specific support that was available to those affected by coal mines (as had been mentioned by some earlier speakers) which was not available to those affected by stone mines.

Councillor Colin Darracott explained that the main objective was for the Council to be in a confident position to respond, should an offer from English Partnerships be received. Councillor Darracott stated that this was potentially the largest land stabilisation project in the country and acknowledged there were still many unknown aspects of the project. It was important to assess and mitigate the risks through careful management. Councillor Darracott explained that his reason for recommending option 1b was that it was the simplest and involved no change in ownership and added that he would also be recommending a cap of £2.5 million for the monitoring and maintenance functions.

Councillor Jonathan Gay agreed that the mine should be made safe but said that some of the costs for this should be borne by those who would benefit from the stabilisation through increased house prices. He attempted to move an amendment to this effect, but it was not seconded.

In summing up, Councillor Colin Darracott paid tribute to the miners working in difficult conditions and thanked the officers for their work and the Combe Down Stone Mines Community Assocation for their constructive and co-operative approach.

Other options considered

The Land Stabilisation Programme is an unrepeatable opportunity of funding the stabilisation of Combe Down. A successful scheme would overcome the worsening health and safety risks as well as ending the perceived blight on the properties affected. The Council had the option to withdraw from the project providing that it could demonstrate it had done all that could be considered to be reasonably practicable.

On a motion from Councillor Colin Darracott, seconded by Councillor Paul Crossley, it was

RESOLVED to seek Council's approval;

(1) To proceed with the Combe Down Stone Mines project subject to acceptable terms and conditions being agreed;

(2) To delegate the negotiation of and the decision as to whether to accept the terms and conditions of offer of investment from English Partnerships to the Project Sponsor (the s 151 officer), the Chief Executive, and the Monitoring Officer, in consultation with the Group Leaders and the Executive Member for Economic Development;

(3) To note the likely costs and risks over the lifetime of the project set out at section 3 and Appendix 2 of the report and to make provision for these in the review of the Financial Plan;

(4) To note the position with regard to the Emergency Works to date and authorise the Chief Executive to agree the current terms offered by English Partnerships for funding of these;

And further RESOLVED;

(5) To recommend to Council option 1b for monitoring and maintenance (section 5.5 of the report), with a cap of £2.5 million;

(6) To authorise the project sponsor to set in train Mineral Workings Act legal proceedings or engineering amendments to exclude properties from the scheme in order to maintain the progress of the project, should refusal or withdrawal of individual consents prove likely to cause unacceptable delays, having followed appropriate procedures pursuant to resolution (7) below;

(7) To confirm the Council's commitment to the development of a community engagement strategy to be adopted for the main stabilisation scheme;

(8) To note the continuation of the emergency stabilisation works and existing contracts up to the commencement of the main stabilisation scheme, subject to funding;

(9) To note that any temporary loss of funding from delays to English Partnerships approvals or other events will trigger demobilisation costs which are being managed within the current English Partnerships approved budget;

(10) To confirm the continued use of the Entry Hill Corporation Yard as the existing location of the emergency works batching plant;

(11) To note the submission of an interim funding application for the continuation of the emergency works up to January 2005;

(12) To approve the Council's project team and the mine management team being available on an emergency 24 hour call-out basis;

51 MOBILE COMMUNICATIONS INFRASTRUCTURE PROVISION IN BATH CITY CENTRE (Report 15).

Helen Woodley from the Allotments Association made a statement, a copy of which has been placed on the Minute book.

Councillor Colin Darracott explained that his rationale for recommending this was primarily to meet the demand of the area without having to have very powerful stations, and secondly, to improve the aesthetic of this World Heritage Site area as the lower power masts are less visibly intrusive.

Other Options considered

Other options include the status quo. The consequences of doing nothing are that the Authority would be faced with increasing pressure from the mobile operators to identify traditional higher power antenna sites within the city centre. Visually intrusive systems might have to have been considered. The economic development opportunities afforded by this infrastructure would be delayed.

On a motion from Councillor Colin Darracott, seconded by Councillor Paul Crossley, it was

RESOLVED to agree that

(1) The BT Microconnect system offers advantages, unique to this product, in terms of protecting the World Heritage Site of Bath, enhancing the competitiveness of the area and offering public benefit; and

(2) The Head of Economic Development be given delegated authority to conclude negotiations and agree contract terms with BT, and to enter into negotiations regarding extending the area.

52 HERITAGE SERVICES LONG TERM BUSINESS PLAN FUNDING (Report 16).

Councillor Nicole O'Flaherty introduced this report by explaining that the Council had a special responsibility to look after, and invest in, its unique treasure of the Roman Baths and Pump rooms.

Councillor Colin Darracott endorsed Councillor O'Flaherty's comments regarding the need for investment and hoped that the VAT issues would be sorted out in future business planning.

Other Options considered

Three options were considered, of which two were included in the detailed financial modelling exercise described in the report;

B7 To transfer the Service to the private sector. This would be controversial and difficult to justiy following the Service's Best Value `excellent' rating, as well as its already favourable comparison with private sector visitor attractions on a range of quality and financial indicators. Without NNDR rate relief and exemption from VAT on admission charges, financial performance would be highly unlikely to achieve the current level of return to the Council.

B7 To transfer to a non-profit distributing organisation (NPDO), ie; a charitable trust. This would reduce Council control to 20%, be time consuming and, following detailed analysis, is not expected to produce significantly greater returns to the Council.

B7 To do nothing but continue with the current modest levels of revenue investment and minimal capital investment. Following detailed analysis, this was thought not to be sustainable in the long term, as concluded by the Best Value Review in 2002.

On a motion from Councillor Nicole O'Flaherty, seconded by Councillor Colin Darracott, it was

RESOLVED to approve

(1) the retention of Heritage Services as an in-house service, with a significant increase in ongoing investment in buildings and facilities financed via planned increases in income;

(2) the proposal that the Council should borrow to finance major investment in the Roman Baths and Pump Room, subject to a detailed annual business case including prudent provision for the costs of borrowing and VAT implications;

(3) the proposal for an informal Advisory Board and its draft Terms of Reference; and

(4) The proposal for the Service to operate within rolling 5 year profit targets, to be set by Council and included in the Corporate and Financial Plan, with financial performance measured by fully inclusive accounts.

53 DRUG MISUSE SERVICES (Report 17).

Councillor Vic Pritchard referred to the updated report that had been circulated to Members and the public, with additions to paragraph 4.7 of the report. Councillor Pritchard explained the rationale for this proposal was to consolidate drug misuse services to provide a more holistic approach.

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

(1) Note the recent changes to the structure of services and welcome the improvement in performance that has resulted; and

(2) Endorse the Annual Treatment Plan for 2004 - 2005.

54 2004/2005 CAPITAL MONITORING REPORT - 1ST QUARTER (Report 18).

Worthy Gilson made a statement regarding the Bath Recreation Ground, a copy of which has been placed on the Minute book.

Margaret Stewart from the Springs Foundation made a statement regarding remedial works to the spa water boreholes, a copy of which has been placed on the Minute book. Councillor Nicole O'Flaherty undertook to write to Margaret Stewart to address the questions she had raised.

Terry Reakes made a statement urging Members to give serious consideration to the delegated powers being proposed in recommendation 2.1 c).

Councillor Colin Darracott made a statement regarding the sum of unallocated funds which had been partly used for improvements to Keynsham Town Hall following the fire.

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

(1) To note the current position of the 2004/2005 capital programme;

(2) To approve the adjustments to and incorporation of additional funding to the 2004/2005 programme, as detailed in paragraph 4.1 of the report;

(3) To approve delegated authority to the Chief Executive, in consultation with the Executive Member for Resources (or his nominated substitute from the Executive) and the Executive Member for Tourism, Leisure and Culture, to draw down up to £3.4m from the general risk reserve for remedial works to the Spa Project, subject to any draw down from the reserve being reported regularly to the Executive as an `officer decision' report;

(4) To approve the basis for spending on the Spa Project as set out in paragraph 4.4 of the report;

(5) To note the proposed draw down of £750,000 from the capital programme risk reserve in respect of the acquisition of Bath Sports Centre from the Bath Recreation Ground Trust, which will be the subject of a report to Council later this month;

(6) To approve the allocation of a sum of up to £35,000 funding from slippage for potential remedial works to the spa water boreholes and the virement of £150,000 from the Western Riverside project budget for a city centre retail impact study; and

(7) To note the current position of available resources.

55 COUNCIL REVENUE BUDGET MONITORING 2004/2005 (Report 19).

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

(1) To note the expenditure and income position for the Council in the financial year to the end of June and the year end projections detailed in Appendix 1 of the report;

(2) To approve the virements listed in Appendix 2 of the report; and

(3) To recommend to Council the allocation of £100,000 from revenue balances to provide funding for the remainder of 2004/05 for a Council project team in respect of the Council's input to the Southgate development.

56 PSA PERFORMANCE REPORT (Report 20).

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

57 HOUSING AND SUPPORTED LIVING FOUR MONTHLY PERFORMANCE REPORT (Report 21).

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

58 TRANSPORT FOUR MONTHLY PERFORMANCE REPORT (Report 22).

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