Agenda and minutes

Apologies had been received from Councillor Cherry Beath.

The Cabinet have been asked under the Council’s Special Urgency provisions to consider a report entitled “West of England Planning Toolkit”.  The Chair of the relevant PDS Panel has agreed to the urgency, following advice from the statutory officers.

The Chair announced that an item to consider the West of England Planning Toolkit had been added to the agenda under the Special Urgency provisions in the Council’s constitution, with the agreement of the Vice-Chair of the Planning, Transport and Environment PDS Panel.  The report had been published with the Agenda and the Cabinet would consider the issue at Item 21.

At the time of publication, one item had been submitted

There were 6 questions from the following people: Councillors Colin Barrett, Tim Warren (2), Geoff Ward, Martin Veal; Member of the Public Hugh Mackay.

[Copies of the questions and response, including supplementary questions and responses if any, have been placed on the Minute book as Appendix 1 and are available on the Council's website.]

At the time of publication, 6 items had been notified

Councillor Brian Simmons made a statement and presented a petition of 54 signatories relating to parking at St John’s Court, Keynsham.  He was concerned that there appeared to be no enforcement of the signs put up by Somer, who owned the road, and appealed to the Cabinet to take steps to adopt the road and to put in a suitable parking scheme which the police can enforce.

The Chair referred the statement and petition to Councillor Roger Symonds for consideration and response in due course.

Hugh Mackay made a statement relating to Haycombe Crematorium [a copy of which is attached to the Minutes as Appendix 2 and on the Council's website] during which he presented a petition of 4862 signatories who objected to the removal of the cross from the window of the crematorium.

The Chair handed two further petitions, supporting the same view, containing a total of 34 signatures, and asked the Democratic Services Officer to add these to the petition pack.  He referred the statement and petition to Councillor David Dixon for consideration and response in due course.

Graham Duke (Pastor, Stepping Stones Church) made a statement relating to Haycombe Crematorium [a copy of which is attached to the Minutes as Appendix 3 and on the Council's website] in which he referred to the rich Christian tradition of the city of Bath and observed that the cross was a potent symbol of hope for many people, especially in times of loss.  He urged Cabinet not to allow it to be removed from the crematorium window.

The Chair assured the speakers that there would be a cross in the crematorium after the renovations.  He referred the statement to Councillor David Dixon for consideration and response in due course.

Councillor Eleanor Jackson made a statement on the subject of the handling of the many petitions about Radstock which have been presented to Cabinet and Council. She felt that the petitions had not been given the attention which the large number of signatories should have warranted.  She also observed that there had been no road traffic safety audit before the works which were due to start the following Monday.

The Chair referred the statement to Councillor Roger Symonds for consideration and response in due course.

Julie Trollope (Chairman, Bathwick Estate Residents' Association) made a statement [a copy of which is attached to the Minutes as Appendix 4 and on the Council's website] expressing her concern about the proposed cycle route along the passageway between Bathwick Street and Powlett Road.

The Chair referred the statement to Councillor Roger Symonds for consideration and response in due course.

Cynthia McNally made a statement [a copy of which is attached to the Minutes as Appendix 5 and on the Council's website] in which she expressed her objection to the proposal to allow cyclists to use the passageway between Bathwick Street and Powlett Road.  She felt that the safety of pedestrians would be at risk if  ...  view the full minutes text for item 171.

On a motion from Councillor Paul Crossley, seconded by Councillor Nathan Hartley, it was

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting held on Wednesday 8th February 2012 be confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

This is a standard agenda item, to cover any reports originally placed on the Weekly list for single Member decision making, which have subsequently been the subject of a Cabinet Member requisition to the full Cabinet, under the Council’s procedural rules

The Leader and Cabinet have indicated that most decisions will be taken by the full Cabinet, at its public meetings.  This report lists any Cabinet Single Member decisions taken and published since the last Cabinet meeting.

The Chair observed that the report showed a Single Member decision taken by Councillor Roger Symonds under the Special Urgency provisions in the Council’s Constitution relating to the purchase of Travel Smart Cards.  He confirmed to Cabinet that the Vice Chair of the relevant PDS Panel had agreed the urgency of the issue, following advice from the Council’s Monitoring Officer, Section 151 Officer and Chief Executive.

The Cabinet agreed to note the report.

To agree the award of contracts for Bath Park & Ride services operating from sites at Newbridge, Lansdown, and Odd Down.

Councillor Neil Butters in an ad hoc statement thanked the Cabinet for extending the Park and Ride service to Sunday opening.  He emphasised the importance of late night opening too and appealed to Cabinet to conduct a feasibility study to explore this.

The Chair referred to Appendix A of the report, which had been the subject of a Public Interest Test.  He asked the Cabinet to agree that the document was exempt from publication.

On a motion from Councillor Paul Crossley, seconded by Councillor Roger Symonds, it was

RESOLVED (unanimously)

(1) To AGREE that Appendix A is an exempt item and is not for publication, by virtue of paragraph 3 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972.

[The Chair then asked Cabinet members to agree not to refer to the exempt appendix during the debate and all agreed.]

Councillor Roger Symonds introduced the report.  He observed that the 8-year contract on offer had attracted a number of bids.  He referred to paragraph 5.1 of the report, which explained that the basis of the contract had been changed from gross to net, which bidders had also found attractive.  The proposals would ensure no fare increases until April 2013, and never longer than 15 minutes between buses.  He promised to explore the request made by Councillor Neil Butters and explained that, although late night service would not prove too expensive, it would require planning permission and would take some time to arrange.

Councillor Symonds moved the recommendations, which he said were a good deal for local people, especially for those who lived in north east Somerset who would benefit greatly from the improved Park and Ride service.  He thanked the report author, Richard Smith (Senior Public Transport Officer) for the work he had done towards achieving the best deal.

Councillor David Dixon seconded the proposal.  He felt that this was a very good deal, which would save the Council £200K and at the same time would deliver extra facilities, especially during special events.

On a motion from Councillor Roger Symonds, seconded by Councillor David Dixon, it was

RESOLVED (unanimously)

(2) To NOTE the tender prices received as set out in Appendix A; and

(3) To AGREE the award of contracts as recommended in the report.

A government announcement on the Bath Transportation Package at the end of 2011 means that bus shelter infrastructure improvements on 9 bus routes throughout Bath can proceed. This amounts to about 90 replacements for existing shelters and about 90 at stops where there is currently no shelter. An exercise of engagement with the public and key bodies on shelter design has now concluded.

Councillor Roger Symonds introduced the report by explaining that the cost of the proposed shelters would be met by the funding from the Bath Transportation Package.  The number of shelters had been doubled to 180, all of which would have proper seating.  He thanked all those who had responded to the consultation about the design. He moved the recommendations from the report.

Councillor Tim Ball welcomed the upgraded bus shelter style and seconded the proposal.

Councillor David Dixon proposed an amendment to the recommendations, the effect of which would be that consideration would be given to installing litter bins at or near to each bus stop.  The amendment was accepted by the proposer and seconder.

On a motion from Councillor Roger Symonds, seconded by Councillor Tim Ball, it was

RESOLVED (unanimously)

(1) To CONFIRM that the preferred shelter design options identified in the public consultation namely, green shelters, sloped roofs and bench style seats are to be procured for installation on the 9 bus routes which form a part of the Bath Transportation Project; and

(2) To AGREE that consideration should be given to installing or re-installing a litter bin at each bus stop, in conjunction with neighbourhood services, to match the design of the bus shelter.

[Clause 2 was the result of an addition proposed by Councillor David Dixon and accepted by the proposer and seconder of the primary motion].

There are concerns about the impact of high levels of Houses in Multiple Occupation in Bath.  A mixture of planning controls and housing-led solutions is to be considered by Cabinet.

[The Chief Executive, John Everitt, left the meeting at this point]

Jacqui Darbyshire read a statement on behalf of David Cox (Policy Officer, National Landlords Association) [a copy of which is attached to the Minutes as Appendix 7 and on the Council's website] in which he argued that additional licensing would not work; Article 4 Direction would reduce house prices and increase competition among tenants; enforcement should be concentrated on rogue landlords; but supported the idea of landlord accreditation

Councillor Tim Ball asked Jacqui whether she believed everyone had a right to live in a quality home.  Jacqui replied that she did believe this, and that it included students and families.

Councillor June Player in a statement appealed to Cabinet to do all in its power to ensure that Bath would retain community spirit in mixed communities of HMOs and local families, without a clash of lifestyles.

Councillor Tim Ball asked Councillor Player to describe the community spirit in areas of high HMO presence.  Councillor Player said that her experience was of a very much reduced sense of community spirit.  She praised those students who did voluntary work during their stay in Bath but was despondent about the lifestyle clashes which made life unhappy for some families.

Mark Rose (Planning Consultant for University of Bath) made a statement [a copy of which is attached to the Minutes as Appendix 8 and on the Council's website] emphasising that HMOs are an essential source of housing for young people including graduates, young professionals, key workers and contract workers as well as students.  Any action by the Council which might force these groups of people to live outside the city would have an adverse effect on the local economy.  The university’s position was that the issue was about the management of properties, and this issue could be resolved with cooperation between the Council, universities and other stakeholders and did not require an Article 4 Direction.

Naomi Mackrill (Vice-President, Community and Diversity, University of Bath Students Union) in a statement [a copy of which is attached to the Minutes as Appendix 9 and on the Council's website] objected to the apparent blame being put on students for problems being caused by the lack of housing in the city.  She said her student colleagues would make statements which together would present the view of students from both universities.

Chris Clements (Vice-President, Sport, University of Bath Students Union) argued in a statement [a copy of which is attached to the Minutes as Appendix 10 and on the Council's website] that the solutions proposed in the report would not in fact solve the social and community cohesion problems but in some cases would tend to make matters worse.  He said that this was acknowledged in the report, which undermined the report’s recommendations.

Councillor Tim Ball asked Chris whether he believed it was right to turn a family home into dormitory style accommodation.  Chris replied that the right thing would  ...  view the full minutes text for item 178.

The Localism Act was enacted in November 2011 and has introduced new planning duties which come into effect in April 2012. These facilitate community-led planning in the form of Neighbourhood Plans, Neighbourhood Development Orders and the Community Right to Build and bring new requirements on the Local Authority to resource and support this new tier of Neighbourhood Planning.  In order to respond to these new duties, a protocol called "My Neighbourhood: A Neighbourhood Planning Protocol for B&NES" has been produced for public consultation.  If adopted, this document will supersede the current Statement of Community Involvement for Planning.

Mark O’Sullivan (Federation of Bath Residents’ Associations) in a statement [a copy of which is attached to the Minutes as Appendix 18 and on the Council's website] welcomed the proposals but warned of the risk that the protocol might be abused, not least by those seeking short-sighted development.  He said that there would be room for sharpening some aspects of the procedures and that the Federation would respond during the consultation period.

Jane Brown read a statement on behalf of Joanna Robinson (Bath Preservation Trust) [a copy of which is attached to the Minutes as Appendix 19 and on the Council's website] which welcomed the consultation, especially the commitment to keep the protocol under review.  She reminded the Cabinet of the Council’s obligation to protect the status of Bath as a World Heritage Site.

Councillor Tim Ball said that he was delighted to have such wide dialogue.  He moved the recommendations which would start the consultation process on the protocol.

Councillor Paul Crossley seconded the proposal.

Councillor David Dixon observed that the issues were reasonably clear for parished areas, but more complex for non-parished areas and care was needed to get this right.

Councillor Tim Ball summed up by acknowledged that there were some issues still to be resolved, and that the mitigation of costs for the Council was one such area, but the consultation should still proceed.

On a motion from Councillor Tim Ball, seconded by Councillor Paul Crossley, it was

RESOLVED (unanimously)

(1) To AGREE the "My Neighbourhood: A Neighbourhood Planning Protocol for B&NES" for public consultation;

(2) To DELEGATE responsibility to the Divisional Director of Planning & Transport, in conjunction with the Cabinet Member for Planning and Housing, to make graphic and minor textual amendments prior to publication of the NPP for public consultation, and

(3) To ASK that the protocol for neighbourhood planning be kept under review so that opportunities to link this process with other community engagement are fully considered.

A Sustainable Construction and Retrofitting Supplementary Planning Document has been prepared for public consultation.  The guidance within the document is aimed at householders and small scale house builders and includes practical advice, tips and information including planning, building control and historic buildings advice, based around a series of annotated diagrams to make it easy and practical to use. It also seeks to clarify the Council’s approach to how particular energy saving measures would be viewed by the Local Planning Authority.  Cabinet is being asked to agree to release the document for a formal consultation period.

Jane Brown read a statement from Joanna Robinson (Bath Preservation Trust) [a copy of which is attached to the Minutes as Appendix 20 and on the Council's website] supporting the proposals.  The Trust would have liked to see a greater emphasis on reducing energy consumption.  She promised to respond in detail to the proposals.

Councillor Tim Ball thanked the Bath Preservation Trust for their involvement in the preparation of the draft document so far.  He moved the recommendations.

Councillor David Dixon seconded the proposal.

On a motion from Councillor Tim Ball, seconded by Councillor David Dixon, it was

RESOLVED (unanimously)

(1) To AGREE the Sustainable Construction and Retrofitting Supplementary Planning Document: Consultation Draft for a six week public consultation in March-April 2012;

(2) To DELEGATE responsibility to the Divisional Director of Planning and Transport to make graphic and minor textual amendments prior to publication of the Supplementary Planning Document for public consultation.

Government has appointed the national organisation Locality to lead on delivering a national programme to recruit and train Community Organisers across England who will work to enable people to take action on their own behalf to tackle the issues that are important to them. The report provides an update on the programme as it is being introduced in Bath and North East Somerset

Councillor Paul Crossley proposed the recommendations.  He said that the proposals were a response to the Big Society agenda launched by government.  The Council’s aim was to help some community organisers become more effective.

Councillor Simon Allen seconded the proposal.

On a motion from Councillor Paul Crossley, seconded by Councillor Simon Allen, it was

RESOLVED (unanimously)

(1) To WELCOME the introduction of five community organisers into Bath and North East Somerset as part of the national scheme;

(2) To ENCOURAGE action to Regenerate Community Trust (RE:generate) as the local host for the scheme to work closely with local elected members, community groups, parish councils and other local forums and public service bodies to maximise the effectiveness of the initiative;

(3) To AGREE that the Council enter into a Co-operation Agreement with RE:generate as set out in the report;

(4) To ASK Officers to work with the scheme to identify service improvements and potential cost savings from improved working with the local community; and

(5) To AGREE that feedback and learning from the Community Organisers Programme and its impact locally will be used to identify opportunities for linking to existing or emerging forms of community engagement.

The report will consider the impact of the proposed Council Staff Volunteering Scheme in relation to the Council’s Vision and Strategic objectives; and the policy direction and resource implications prior to formal approval required by the Council’s Employment Committee.

Councillor Paul Crossley moved the recommendations, emphasising that volunteering was an important aspect of community life.

Councillor David Dixon welcomed the report and said he was very pleased to second the proposals.  He suggested that Councillors might join in with staff in volunteering through the scheme, so as to inspire others.

On a motion from Councillor Paul Crossley, seconded by Councillor David Dixon, it was

RESOLVED (unanimously)

(1) To ENDORSE the Staff Volunteering Scheme; and

(2) To NOTE that the Employment Committee will consider the proposal for a Council scheme at their meeting in April 2012.

This report sets out the current proposals for developing the Bath City Liaison Forum into a new Bath City Conference recommending Terms of Reference and outlining plans for the first Bath City Conference

Councillor Paul Crossley moved the recommendations.  He congratulated the Divisional Director, David Trethewey, for his lead on the issue.  The proposals would offer a way of enabling the council to engage with all the residents of Bath.

Councillor David Dixon in seconding the proposal, said that he was looking forward to the conference planned for 2^nd May which would involve residents, businesses, visitors and other organisations with an interest in the city.

On a motion from Councillor Paul Crossley, seconded by Councillor David Dixon, it was

RESOLVED (unanimously)

(1) To ADOPT the emerging approach to the future development of the Bath City Conference, to be kept under review so that opportunities to link this process with other community engagement are fully considered;

(2) To ESTABLISH a Steering Group with the membership as set out in the report; and

(3) To AGREE the involvement of the Council on the basis of the Terms of Reference , to be kept under review; and

(4) To AGREE that the membership and working arrangements of the forum be presented for approval at the first meeting of the Bath City Conference.

In March 2011 the Youth Service review decided to focus some resources on targeted youth work as well as the more traditional open access work.  The Youth Service then looked at ways to support the Voluntary Sector to meet any gaps in provision and provide a diverse range of provision to meet young people’s ever changing needs. To this end the Youth Service vision and the Young People’s Pledge have been updated.  These documents will help Youth Service staff communicate with young people and other interested parties.

Councillor Nathan Hartley introduced the report by emphasising the Council’s reputation for a building commitment to young people.  He said that there had been wide consultation with young people, the youth service and other partners during the preparation of the report.  There was a commitment to work closely with the voluntary sector in delivering the pledge.  He moved that the vision and pledge be adopted as Council policy.

Councillor David Bellotti seconded the proposal.

On a motion from Councillor Nathan Hartley, seconded by Councillor David Bellotti, it was

RESOLVED (unanimously)

(1) To ADOPT the Youth Service Vision and Young People’s Pledge; and

(2) To AGREE that both the Youth Service Vision and Young People’s Pledge can be used as part of the publicity campaign to effectively communicate to young people, their parents and wider stakeholders what we aim to achieve when working with young people in Bath and North East Somerset Youth Service and the outcomes we plan to deliver and the approach we will take.

A new scheme is being introduced nationally to issue standard blue badges for disabled drivers.  All blue badge issuing authorities must implement the new scheme and may charge for blue badges.  This report sets out proposals for the Council's approach to the new scheme.

Councillor Roger Symonds, in moving the proposals, explained that the Council had consulted Equality BANES and the group had raised no objections but had supported that the aim of reducing fraudulent use of Blue Badges.

Councillor Paul Crossley seconded the proposal.

On a motion from Councillor Roger Symonds, seconded by Councillor Paul Crossley, it was

RESOLVED (unanimously)

(1) To AGREE that a £10 fee will be charged for the issue of a blue badge for all new applications, renewal applications and replacements due to loss or theft processed from 1st April 2012 and this fee will contribute to external fees and internal administration costs;

(2) To AGREE that the basic service will be used and none of the additional options including the data entry, secure posting and fast track posting service will be specified; and

(3) To AGREE that the additional income received is used to for the enforcement of Blue Badge abuse service using a specialist company.

The West of England Local Enterprise Partnership Board asked the Infrastructure and Place Group to consider ways of overcoming negative perceptions of the planning process to the benefit of all parties, including the identification of procedures which could be applied more consistently. The IPG have recommended the publication of a planning toolkit to promote a positive and consistent approach to handling large scale planning applications.  The Cabinets of all four WoE authorities are asked to endorse the toolkit in time for their next meeting in April.  In order to meet this timetable, the report is being brought to Cabinet under the Special Urgency (Rule 16) provisions in the Council's Constitution, with the agreement of the Chair of the relevant PDS Chair and Leader of the Council, and following advice from the statutory officers.

Councillor Tim Ball moved the recommendations.  He explained that this was an enabling decision, which would allow the 4 authorities to work together on preparing a toolkit.

Councillor Roger Symonds agreed that the 4 authorities must be able to work together on a common toolkit, and seconded the proposal.

On a motion from Councillor Tim Ball, seconded by Councillor Roger Symonds, it was

RESOLVED (unanimously)

(1) To ADOPT the West of England Planning Toolkit and report its agreement to the next West of England Infrastructure and Place Group meeting.