Issue - meetings

The Foxhill Regeneration and Development Charter, developed by the Homes and Communities Agency Advisory Team for Large Applications (ATLAS) in conjunction with Bath and North East Somerset Council and Curo, aims to firmly set the high level ambitions of both organisations for the regeneration of Foxhill.

The draft charter has undergone a period of independent consultation with the community and stakeholders and the outcomes of this consultation have been reviewed and incorporated into the Charter Ambitions as part for the development of the final version of the charter for adoption later this summer.

The Cabinet are asked to agree that:

1)  The consultation outcomes for the Foxhill Regeneration and Development Charter are noted.

2)  The Foxhill Regeneration and Development Charter 2016 is approved.

3)  The Charter is reviewed and updated periodically and changes to be approved by Single Member Decision.

David Bevan in a statement [a copy of which is attached to the Minutes as Appendix 6 and on the Council's website] expressed his concern to changes in the Charter and asked the Cabinet to hear comments from the residents of Foxhill before approving this Charter.

Councillor Cherry Beath gave an ad-hoc statement by saying that the Charter would be a very useful tool in working with Curo, though the document as such was a high level document.  Councillor Beath said that Foxhill residents were not against the development but that they felt that the development would need to blend in with the area. 

Councillor Bob Goodman gave an ad-hoc statement supporting the Charter but also supporting residents’ views on the development.

Councillor Liz Richardson thanked everyone who was involved in drafting the Charter. The Foxhill Regeneration Charter had been developed over a series of 3 workshops between November 2015 and January 2016 run by ATLAS with Cabinet, Ward members and senior officers from the Council and the Curo Senior Management team.  The purpose of the workshops and the resulting Charter was to establish a baseline of understanding of the issues surrounding regeneration of Foxhill, the opportunities for intervention created by the development of Mulberry Park, and to agree a set of underlying ambitions for the area.

Councillor Liz Richardson moved the recommendations.

Councillor Tim Warren seconded the motion by welcoming this joint Charter.

The charter sets out shared ambitions for both the development of Mulberry Park and the regeneration of the existing Foxhill estate and would give a framework for continued engagement with Curo and the community. Councillor Warren also said that he would be looking forward to seeing how the Charter evolves and develops over time as the Housing Zone progresses.

The rest of the Cabinet also supported the Charter, in particular that it had undergone a period of independent consultation with the community and stakeholders and had also been supported twice at the Council’s Planning, Homes and Economic Development Scrutiny Panel.

RESOLVED (unanimously) the Cabinet agreed that:

1)  The consultation outcomes for the Foxhill Regeneration and Development Charter are noted;

2)  The Foxhill Regeneration and Development Charter 2016 is approved;

3)  The Charter is reviewed and updated periodically and changes be approved by Single Member Decision.

The draft charter has undergone a period of independent consultation with the community and stakeholders and the outcomes of this consultation have been reviewed and incorporated into the Charter Ambitions as part for the development of the final version of the charter for adoption later this summer.

Councillor Rob Appleyard handed the role of Chairman for this item to his Vice-Chair Councillor Barry Macrae.

Councillor Macrae commented that a previous report to the Panel regarding the Charter had been received positively.

The Team Manager for Enabling & Development explained that the draft charter has undergone a period of independent consultation with the community and stakeholders and the outcomes of the consultation have been reviewed and incorporated into the Charter Ambitions as part of the development of the final version of the charter for adoption later this summer.

She reminded the Panel that at the heart of the draft Charter were four ambition themes (Communities, Connections, Housing Choice and Quality of Place) that will guide decision-making about regeneration and development.

She highlighted changes to the wording of the ambitions to ensure delivery, including:

• Ensure that a range of housing types in all tenures will allow for changes in needs and lifestyles as people’s circumstances and ages change, so they can still remain fully included in their neighbourhood

• Ensure that any new housing in the estate is of the same high quality as Mulberry Park.

• Actively promote opportunities to work from home or work close to home.

• Creating 3 separate ambitions around standards, distinguishing between the quality of new build homes, improving standards in the retained Curo housing stock and retained owner occupied homes.

She stated that the final version of the Charter would be presented for adoption by the Cabinet in September 2016 and that she was seeking the support of the Panel with regard to the revised Charter and its ambitions.

Councillor Lisa O’Brien commented that she was not happy with the length of time allocated to the original consultation that took place in February / March 2016. She said that of the 863 households that could be accounted for in Foxhill feedback forms were completed by 15 of the 40 attendees at the consultation workshop.

The Team Manager for Enabling & Development replied that the decision regarding the consultation timescales were taken in the context of an established project plan. She added that all parties were made aware of the consultation. She said that the purpose of the Charter is supposed to be a high level document that sits above the masterplan which is also underway.

The Cabinet Member for Homes & Planning thanked officers for their work on this matter as the Council was not required to carry out this level of detail for the project.

Councillor Barry Macrae commented that he was happy with the work so far and called for the project to remain person focussed.

The Team Manager for Enabling & Development said that the Council has a role in supporting Curo and testing them at the same time. She informed them that additional posts were being assigned to the project to work with the local community. She added that she would be happy to bring further reports to the Panel regarding the project.

Councillor Rob Appleyard asked if all households were notified on the consultation  ...  view the full minutes text for item 9