Meeting documents

1 WELCOME AND INTRODUCTIONS

The Chair was taken by Councillor Haeberling in the absence of Councillor Crossley.

The Chair welcomed everyone to the meeting.

2 EMERGENCY EVACUATION PROCEDURE

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

3 DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

Councillor Colin Darracott declared a personal and non-prejudicial interest relating to Agenda Item 11, as a Governor (LEA) of Beechen Cliff School.

Councillor Jonathan Gay declared a personal and non-prejudicial interest as Executive Member for Children's Services so that he would refrain from taking part in discussions relating to Beechen Cliff School playing fields (Agenda Item 11) although he would participate in the discussion regarding other aspects of the item.

Councillor Gay also declared a personal and non-prejudicial interest, as a Governor of Bath Spa University and a member of Court of the University of Bath, in relation to Agenda item 13 given that the impact of student accommodation numbers was referred to during the debate.

Councillor Sir Elgar Jenkins OBE declared a personal and non-prejudicial interest, as a member for life of Court of the University of Bath, in relation to Agenda item 13 given that the impact of student accommodation numbers was referred to during the debate.

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

There was none.

5 QUESTIONS FROM PUBLIC AND COUNCILLORS

There were 17 questions from the following people; Councillor Nigel Roberts; Councillor David Hawkins; Councillor Colin Barrett (6); Councillor Bryan Chalker; Councillor Caroline Roberts; Jan Molyneux (2); Councillor Shirley Steel; Councillors Chris Watt and Shirley Steel (jointly); Councillor Sharon Ball; Councillor Tim Ball; Councillor Steve Hedges.

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

6 STATEMENTS, DEPUTATIONS OR PETITIONS FROM PUBLIC AND COUNCILLORS

Due notice had been given of 7 statements. All speakers indicated that they wished to speak before the item to which their statement referred.

[Copies of the statements, when provided, have been placed on the Council's Minute book and are available on the Council's website.]

7 MINUTES: WEDNESDAY 3^RD MAY 2006

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

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

There were no such items on this occasion.

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

There were no such items on this occasion.

10 BATH & NORTH EAST SOMERSET LOCAL PLAN: INTERIM INSPECTOR'S REPORT (Report 11).

Councillor Charles Gerrish made a statement during which he said that the Inspector's assertions about transportation links to Keynsham were incorrect and were therefore not a sound basis for her conclusions.

Roger Nunn (Greenway Lane Residents' Association) made a statement in which he objected that the Inspector had substituted her own judgement over that of the Local Authority. He said that her proposal for greenfield sites to be surrendered for housing was against the Local Plan and that the Beechen Cliff lower field proposals were unsupportable.

Chris Beezley (Federation of Bath Residents' Associations) made a statement (a copy of which is attached to the minutes as Appendix 1). He called upon the Executive to commission an environmental assessment on the 40 acres of land at the University of Bath to inform any final decision on its possible removal from the green belt.

Deborah Porter made a statement (a copy of which is attached to the minutes as Appendix 2). She urged the Executive to accept the Inspector's recommendation with respect to the Radstock Railway Land.

Lynn Royse made a statement (a copy of which is attached to the minutes as Appendix 3) in which she asked the Executive to decide that no housing at all should be allowed on the Radstock Rail Land in order that the ecological and historic value of the land could be protected.

Gael Doswell made a statement in which she appealed to the Executive to ensure that the number of houses on the Radstock Rail Land should not exceed 50 by 2011 and should never exceed 80. She said that she believed a rail link from Radstock, via Frome, to Bath and hence to Bristol would be viable.

Councillor Adrian Inker made an ad hoc statement in which he referred to the green belt land to the south west of Keynsham. He believed that the proposed housing should be distributed across Keynsham, not all in one place; and he felt that this was feasible because it would not present the acute access problems inherent in one large development.

Councillor Gerry Curran introduced this report and pointed out that the Inpector had in fact agreed with 85% of the Local Plan. The Inspector's recommendations would go out to public consultation in the autumn and there would in addition be further opportunities to speak at Executive meetings and at Council and he believed the Executive should now allow the Inspector's Report to go forward for public consultation. He moved the recommendations as printed in the officer's report.

Councillor Nicole O'Flaherty explained that she had received many representations from local residents and that she believed that Greenway Lane should be removed from the list in paragraph 2.1(c). She offered this to the mover and seconders as an amendment to the moved recommendations and her amendment was accepted by both.

Councillor Jonathan Gay, during the debate, explained his reasons for believing that the proposals relating to housing in the Radstock area failed to recognise the need for local employment and would in fact make the problem worse.

Rationale

To ensure swift adoption of the Local Plan and that any modifications to the Local Plan are made in line with the Local Plan strategy and the Council's corporate objectives. The removal of Greenway Lane from the list was by reason of the fact that the Inspector's recommendation to include this was based on out-of-date information available at the time to the Inspector.

Other options considered

The Inspector recommended options for meeting the housing land requirement. These were set out in the appendices to the report along with the reasons for the preferred option.

a. Policy HG.1 is modified to increase the housing provision from 6200 dwellings to 6855 dwellings within the District by 2011 (Response 1 in Appendix 1 of the report);

b. Policy GDS.1 is modified to amend the housing contribution for the Plan period from the following existing development sites as set out in Appendix 2 (Response 2):
Bath Western Riverside (site B1), MoD Foxhill (site B2), Lower Bristol Road (site B12), and Paulton Printing Factory (siteV3) but that the contribution from Radstock Railway Land (site NR2) remain unchanged pending the results of further work;

· In Bath: land rear of 89-123 Englishcombe Lane;

· In Keynsham: Land at South West Keynsham;

[The underlined section in resolution (1c) above was proposed by Councillor Nicole O'Flaherty and accepted by the mover and seconder of the motion.]

11 BISHOP SUTTON FOOTBALL FIELD - PROPOSAL TO GRANT A LONG LEASE TO THE PARISH COUNCIL (Report 12).

Councillor Colin Darracott, in introducing this report, said that he now wished this issue to be resolved after numerous earlier opportunities for discussion.

During the debate Councillor Sir Elgar Jenkins OBE expressed his view that the length of lease should be 21 years and that there should be a "break clause" of 2 years on either side. He offered this to the mover and seconder as an amendment to the moved recommendations but the mover did not accept the amendment.

Rationale

If a long lease is granted to the Parish Council this will give them assurance over the pitch being maintained for use by the local football team and for a wider community use.

The Council can gain the benefit of the consideration for the long-lease, whilst maintaining an over reaching interest in the property to ensure that no developments take place on the land to which it would object.

A sub lease can be granted to Bishop Sutton Football Club which will be at a rental level that they can sustain and is of a length which will allow them to gain the benefit of available grants and funding to improve the facilities.

The inclusion of a "break clause" of 2 years on either side would allow latitude for either party should circumstances change.

Other Options Considered

On a motion from Councillor Sir Elgar Jenkins OBE, seconded by Councillor Jonathan Gay, it was

RESOLVED (unanimously)

(1) That officers be asked to negotiate a lease of 21 years to include a break clause for a period of up to 2 years for either side; and

(2) That the lease restricts the use of the land for recreation and open space only to prevent the development of the site for any other purpose.

[Note: A motion from Councillor Colin Darracott, in which he moved the recommendations as printed in the report, was not adopted]

12 BATH WESTERN RIVERSIDE DRAFT SUPPLEMENTARY PLANNING DOCUMENT (SPD) (Report 13).

David Knight (Downstream South) made a statement (a copy of which is attached to the minutes as Appendix 4) in which he referred to the impact of the expansion of student accommodation into local communities and appealed to Executive members to do all in their power to minimise any student accommodation on Western Riverside.

The Council Solicitor reported that correspondence had been received late the day before the Executive meeting from the developers of Southgate requesting amendments to the proposals. He confirmed that copies had been provided to all Executive members in attendance and advised them to take fully into account the views expressed in the letter when considering this report but indicated that in his view the matters raised should be considered as part of the consultation process.

Councillor Gerry Curran introduced the item and pointed out that there was in this report no proposal for student accommodation. It was about the agreement of a Supplementary Planning Document for the Bath Western Riverside project and he believed that it was important to get this into public consultation.

Councillor Colin Darracott, during the debate, said that following adoption of this document, it would be up to the Director of Development and Major Projects to negotiate with the biggest developer, a development agreement which accords with as much as possible of the Supplementary Planning Document but that ultimately the matter was one which needed to be determined on the planning merits of any application on the site.

Rationale

In order to enable development of the Bath Western Riverside site to be delivered as part of a comprehensive framework and in accordance with key Council and Government objectives.

Other Options Considered

Not preparing an SPD would prejudice the Council's ability to allow development at the site to come forward as part of a comprehensive framework. The absence of a detailed, site specific policy framework for BWR would increase the risk of development occurring in a piecemeal manner.

Different policy approaches within the SPD itself have been assessed as part of the Sustainability Appraisal process. The SPD itself has been amended in order to address the key recommendations of the Sustainability Appraisal. The separate Sustainability Appraisal report will form part of the public consultation process.

On a motion from Councillor Gerry Curran, seconded by Councillor Colin Darracott, it was

RESOLVED (unanimously)

(1) That the draft Supplementary Planning Document and accompanying documents are published for public consultation for a period of six weeks.

13 REVENUE AND CAPITAL OUTTURN 2005/06 (Report 14).

Councillor Francine Haeberling introduced the report. She was pleased that this was the third consecutive year that the Council had come in well under budget. She was also delighted that her own portfolio, Social Services, had this year come in underspent.

Councillor Nicole O'Flaherty, during the debate, reminded the Executive that she had said 2 years ago that she would support an enquiry into the handling of the Spa project. She asked the Chief Executive to say whether any action had been taken to set up an enquiry so that lessons could be learned.

The Chief Executive replied that he had raised this with the Council's external auditors some time ago and had asked them to give advice on how a review might be carried out and what the timescales might be. They had confirmed that they would carry out a review, once the project was completed but after all legal claims had been settled. They had already looked at the Council's claims strategy and subsequent project management and had said that they were broadly happy with these.

Rationale

The decision is based upon the Budget Management Scheme and a consideration of the Council's latest financial position and reserves strategy.

Other Options Considered

Appendix 4 of the report lists all options that can be considered in making a decision on carry forwards and write offs from 2005/06 to 2006/07.

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

RESOLVED (unanimously)

(1) To note the provisional revenue budget outturn for 2005/06 as set out in Appendix 2 of the report at £1,727,000 under spent or 1% of the Council's revenue budget for 2005/06;

(2) To agree the carry forward proposals in the tables in Appendix 4 of the report as exceptions to the budget management scheme;

(3) To delegate to the Council's Section 151 Officer the authority to carry forward any underspending in respect of Training services in future years to the extent this reflects the difference between academic and financial years;

(4) To agree, at this stage, not to write off overspends in Education and Transport as shown in Appendix 4 Table 5 (Section 2) of the report, but to create earmarked reserves to cover these overspends subject to reports on Home to School Transport and Transport & Highways to minimise the impact in 2006/07 and future years;

(5) To agree the creation of earmarked reserves of up to £95,000 for the additional costs of the Coroners Service in 2006/07. (Appendix 1 paragraph 1.10 of the report);

(6) To note the potential costs involved in dealing with issues relating to the Recreation Ground and to agree that up to £100,000 of the 2005/06 surplus should be transferred to an earmarked reserve and to delegate approval to spend from this reserve to the Leader of the Council and the Executive Member for Resources;

(7) To agree that any resulting surplus arising from decisions made should be returned to unallocated general fund balances;

(8) To approve the revenue virement listed in Appendix 6 of the report;

(9) To note the final position of the 2005/2006 capital programme (Appendix 5 of the report);

(10) To approve the adjustments to and incorporation of additional funding to the 2005/2006 capital programme as detailed in Appendix 1 paragraph 1.11 of the report;

(11) To delegate agreement of the carry forward of capital under and over spends arising in 2005/06 to the Council's Section 151 Officer in consultation with the Chief Executive and Projects Programme Board. (Appendix 1 Paragraph 1.14 of the report);

(12) To note that as a result the Council's Reserves Strategy is on target (Appendix 1 paragraph 1.27 & 1.28 of the report);

(13) To note the implications of the outturn 2005/06 in 2006/07 and future years (Appendix 1 paragraphs 1.15-1.22 of the report); and

(14) To note the Treasury Management Outturn position (Appendix 8 of the report).

14 LOCAL AREA AGREEMENT: PROGRESS REPORT AND OUTCOMES FRAMEWORK (Report 15).

Councillor Nicole O'Flaherty introduced the report and welcomed the opportunity to get extra funding for specific projects.

Rationale

Bath & North East Somerset Council is the accountable body for the Local Area Agreement and, through its Community Leadership role, has a key interest in ensuring that the Local Area Agreement outcome framework is robust. It is important therefore that the Council Executive determines the draft outcomes framework at this stage.

Other Options Considered

None.

On a motion from Councillor Nicole O'Flaherty, seconded by Councillor Sir Elgar Jenkins OBE, it was

RESOLVED (unanimously)

(1) That the revised LAA project timetable set out in Appendix 1 of the report be noted;

(2) That the report of the Project Board on the initial draft Outcome Framework (Appendix 2 of the report) be adopted for the purpose of developing the first draft of the Local Area Agreement;

(3) That the Project Board be requested to continue engagement with partners and local communities to build on this framework and produce a further report on progress on the draft LAA for consideration by the Executive in September; and

(4) That the Project Board be requested to provide information to the Executive in September on prioritising and refining the Outcomes framework.

15 RISK AND OPPORTUNITY MANAGEMENT STRATEGY (Report 16).

Councillor Colin Darracott in introducing the report emphasised that the title indicates the Council's determination to identify opportunities along with risks where on balance there would be a benefit to the delivery of improved services.

Councillor Sir Elgar Jenkins during the debate pointed out that the Risk and Opportunity Register was an ongoing register to which items will be added as they arise and from which items will be removed as they become resolved.

Rationale

The proposals will promote the adoption of best practice and assist in the Council identifying and managing its business risks and opportunities.

Other Options Considered

On a motion from Councillor Colin Darracott, seconded by Councillor Sir Elgar Jenkins OBE, it was

RESOLVED (unanimously)

(1) To approve and adopt the revised Risk & Opportunity Management Strategy;

(2) To approve the proposed methodology for maintenance of the Corporate Risk Register and reporting to Directors Group and the Executive;

(3) To approve the risk management processes to be included in the Councils Performance Management System;

(4) To confirm that the Executive has reviewed the risks contained in the Corporate Risk Register at its informal meeting on 24th May 2006.

16 STATEMENT ON INTERNAL CONTROL 2005/06 (Report 17).

Councillor Francine Haeberling introduced the report.

Rationale

The Statement on Internal Control represents good governance practice in its own right as well as being a statutory requirement.

Other Options Considered

None.

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

RESOLVED (unanimously)

(1) To note the progress on the 2004/5 Statement on Internal Control; and

(2) To confirm that the Executive has considered the reported issues and to recommend that the Leader of the Council and Chief Executive sign the Statement on Internal Control 2005/06 which will include those significant issues contained in Appendix 3 to the report.

17 ANNUAL REPORT ON THE HEALTH OF THE POPULATION OF BATH & NORTH EAST SOMERSET (Report 18).

Councillor Francine Haeberling introduced the report and welcomed to the meeting Doctor Kieran Morgan (Director of Public Health, Bath & North East Somerset Primary Care Trust), who answered a number of questions raised by Executive members.

Rationale

Public Health is one of the three components of the Council/Primary Care Trust integration project. Bringing this report to the attention of the Executive is to raise awareness and highlight ways in which the Council can contribute to overall health improvement.

Other Options Considered

None.

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

RESOLVED (unanimously)

That the Council Executive:

(1) Welcomes the latest Annual Report on the Health of the Population from Bath & North East Somerset Primary Care Trust with its overall good news for health in our community; and

(2) Notes with some concern the continued presence of health inequalities and recommends that the Local Area Agreement should include targets that address these inequalities and emerging health risks in partnership with other key agencies and representatives of the voluntary and community sectors.