Meeting documents

35 WELCOME AND INTRODUCTIONS

Councillor Paul Crossley welcomed everyone to the meeting. He made a statement regarding the recent tragic events in London and stated that the Council stood firmly with leaders of all faiths and all communities in hoping that any fall-out from this event would not affect harmonious relationships in Bath & North East Somerset.

36 EMERGENCY EVACUATION PROCEDURE

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

37 DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

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

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

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

39 QUESTIONS FROM PUBLIC AND COUNCILLORS

There were no questions from the public or Councillors.

40 STATEMENTS, DEPUTATIONS OR PETITIONS FROM PUBLIC AND COUNCILLORS

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

41 "FUTURE FOR BATH"

Councillor Colin Darracott introduced this report and explained the need for a strategic long term view for Bath & North East Somerset to enable the Council to participate meaningfully in regional and sub-regional discussions and to secure the long-term prosperity of the region. Councillor Darracott referred to the other Plans and Strategies which affected the region and highlighed the need for a specific vision for the City of Bath. Councillor Darracott stressed that this was at high level planning stage but there were some key themes which could inform other stragegic planning documents. The next stage was for a Business Plan to be constructed to see if this would be deliverable. Councillor Darracott explained that he hoped for some of the money to come from the South West Regional Development Agency.

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

Rationale

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

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

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

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

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

42 COMBE DOWN STONE MINES PROJECT - PROCUREMENT STRATEGY

Councillor Colin Darracott introduced this item and explained the reasons for recommending independent project management and the benefits this would bring.

Rationale

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

Other Options considered

Four options were identified for Project Management;

1. Council manage the project in-house;

2. Appoint independent Project Managers and Quantity Surveyors;

3. Appoint a contractor on a design and build contract;

4. Integrated team with Designer, Project Manager and Quantity Surveyor

The reasons for recommending option 2 are set out at paragraphs 7.2 to 7.6 of the report.

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

1. Appoint one main contractor to carry out all the works;

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

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

4. Specialist contractors carrying out specific works for which they are most skilled and able, or in geographically distinct areas. Sectional contract award also applies as in Option 2 (depending on performance monitoring).

The reasons for recommending a particular option are set out at paragraphs 7.8 to 7.10 of the report and in Appendix 2.

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

RESOLVED

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

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

43 EDUCATION 4 MONTHLY PERFORMANCE REPORT

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

RESOLVED

(1) that the report be noted;

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

44 SOCIAL SERVICES 4 MONTHLY PERFORMANCE REPORT

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

RESOLVED that the report be noted.

45 COMMUNITY SAFETY AND DRUG ACTION TEAM 4 MONTHLY PERFORMANCE REPORT

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

RESOLVED that the report be noted.

46 RESOURCES 4 MONTHLY PERFORMANCE REPORT

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

RESOLVED that the report be noted.

47 BATH WESTERN RIVERSIDE: A REVIEW

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

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

Councillor Paul Crossley commented that the Bath Western Riverside Project was one of the most important long-term projects facing the Council and wished to publicly thank the team for their work on this so far.

48 EXCLUSION OF THE PUBLIC

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

RESOLVED

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

49 BATH WESTERN RIVERSIDE: A REVIEW

Each Executive Member commented on their preferences with regard to the priorities for the Council in delivering the Bath Western Riverside project.

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

Rationale

To identify, clarify and agree strategies and actions to move forward the project in a pragmatic fashion with the development partners. The proposed strategies are crafted to deliver the optimum between risk, programme and commercial positioning.

Other Options considered

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

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

RESOLVED

(1) To note the key relationship and linkages between 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 draft Master Plan including high level design principles and indicative land uses, which will be developed in more detail and presented to a meeting of the Council Executive, targeted for October 2005, for approval to be released to the public;

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

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

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