Agenda and minutes

The Chair was taken by Councillor Paul Crossley, Leader of the Council.

The Chair welcomed everyone to the meeting.  He announced his intention to hear item 15 (Community Infrastructure Levy) immediately after item 11.

At this point in the meeting declarations of interest are received from Members in any of the agenda items under consideration at the meeting. Members are asked to indicate:

(a) The agenda item number in which they have an interest to declare.

(b) The nature of their interest.

(c) Whether their interest is a disclosable pecuniary interest or an other interest,  (as defined in Part 2, A and B of the Code of Conduct and Rules for Registration of Interests)

Any Member who needs to clarify any matters relating to the declaration of interests is recommended to seek advice from the Council’s Monitoring Officeror a member of his staff before the meeting to expedite dealing with the item during the meeting.

Questions submitted before the deadline will receive a reply from an appropriate Cabinet member or a promise to respond within 5 days of the meeting.  Councillors may ask one supplementary question for each question they submitted, up to a maximum of two per Councillor.

There were 24 questions from Councillors and 4 questions from members of the public.

[Copies of the questions and responses, 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.]

Councillors and members of the public may register their intention to make a statement if they notify the subject matter of their statement before the deadline.  Statements are limited to 3 minutes each.  The speaker may then be asked by Cabinet members to answer factual questions arising out of their statement.

Elizabeth Derl-Davis in a statement [a copy of which is attached to the Minutes as Appendix 2 and on the Council's website] spoke of her love of libraries.  She was concerned that the Radstock Library might be squeezed into a corner of the supermarket with no room for future expansion and asked Cabinet to reconsider its decision.

Lesley Mansell in a statement [a copy of which is attached to the Minutes as Appendix 3 and on the Council's website] expressed concern about the process which had led to the decision to move the library because the report had recommended moving the library before the consultation had been undertaken.  She asked Cabinet to look carefully at the information available and highlighted that the move would result in a 25% loss of space.

Councillor Paul Crossley observed that the Council had not closed a single library, despite the fact that many other councils had felt obliged to do so.

Councillor David Dixon asked Lesley Mansell whether she was aware that an item to make the final decision on this matter was already on the Cabinet Forward Plan.  Lesley Mansell said she believed the decision had already been taken.

Susan Charles in a statement [a copy of which is attached to the Minutes as Appendix 4 and on the Council's website] asked Cabinet to make provision for fully accessible warm water swimming for people of all ages and all levels of disability.

Councillor Simon Allen asked Susan Charles whether she was aware of the number of people who would require such facilities.  Susan said that although she did not have numbers, it was evident that there was a long waiting list for use of the existing hydro therapy pool.  A lot of these were young people.

Councillor David Dixon asked Susan Charles if she could forward to him the details of funding schemes she had referred to.  Susan said she would arrange for this to be provided.

Alexander Jones-Grech, a young person, in a statement [a copy of which is attached to the Minutes as Appendix 5 and on the Council's website] said how much he loved swimming in the hydrotherapy pool at Three Ways, where he had learned to swim really well.  It was the only exercise he got.  He appealed to Cabinet to continue to provide warm water swimming.

Simeon Wakely, in a statement read by Susan Charles, supported the need for a warm water pool for all ages with dignified access.

Eamon McClelland (WWISE member) in a statement [a copy of which is attached to the Minutes as Appendix 6 and on the Council's website] observed that many people were prevented from engaging in sporting activity.  In a survey, 37% of disabled people said that they had met with barriers to exercise.  He urged Cabinet to consider provision for those with disabilities.

On a motion from Councillor Paul Crossley, seconded by Councillor David Dixon, it was RESOLVED that the minutes of the Cabinet meeting held on Wednesday 11th June 2014 be confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

On a motion from Councillor Paul Crossley, seconded by Councillor David Dixon, it was RESOLVED that the minutes of the Special Cabinet meeting held on Thursday 10th July 2014 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

This is a standing agenda item (Constitution rule 14, part 4D – Executive Procedure Rules) for matters referred by Policy Development and Scrutiny bodies.  The Chair of the relevant PDS Panel will have the right to attend and to introduce the Panel’s recommendations to Cabinet.

There were none

The Chair announced that at the time of printing the agenda, there had been no such decisions.

He observed however that Councillor Katie Hall had recently made decision E2677 Naming of Streets in Keynsham Redevelopment which had been Called-in.  A meeting of the Planning, Transport and Environment Panel would in due course consider the Call-in.

The Community Infrastructure Levy Draft Charging Schedule, the Draft Regulation 123 List and the revised Draft Planning Obligations SPD have been prepared for public consultation

Councillor Tim Ball, in proposing the item, expressed disappointment that so few Councillors had attended this debate, which followed the adoption of the Core Strategy.  He thanked Kaoru Jacques (Planning Officer) for the hard work and excellent technical ability she had brought to the task.  He explained that the proposals would be presented to the Inspector and would then return to Cabinet in March 2015 following statutory public consultation.  The rewards to the Council would be in the region of £12M-£17M.

Councillor Ben Stevens seconded the proposal.  He referred to table 3.7.A of the document which demonstrated continued support for youth apprenticeships.  He agreed with Councillor Ball that the adoption of the policy would bring tangible benefits to the community.

Councillor Paul Crossley said that following adoption of the Core Strategy at a recent Council meeting, it was possible for Cabinet to move ahead by adopting the Community Infrastructure Levy to enable communities to play a part in their own future.  He observed that the Bath Western Riverside Supplementary Planning Document Appendix C was being updated to take the new arrangements into account.  As an aside, he took the opportunity to congratulate Crest Nicholson for recently winning two building awards and he was delighted that the plans had included all kinds of buildings, including social housing.

On a motion from Councillor Tim Ball, seconded by Councillor Ben Stevens, it was

RESOLVED (unanimously)

(1) To APPROVE the draft charging schedule and the draft Regulation 123 List for public consultation;

(2) To APPROVE the revised draft Planning Obligations SPD for public consultation;

(3) To APPROVE the timeline for the public consultation period on the above documents from 24/7/14 to 18/9/14;

(4) To APPROVE the update to Appendix C to the Bath Western Riverside SPD for Development Management purposes; and

(5) To DELEGATE authority to the Divisional Director for Development in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Homes & Planning to:

a) make minor textual amendments to the consultation documents prior to publication; and

b) make minor amendments to the CIL draft Charging Schedule, revised Planning Obligations SPD and the Regulation 123 list following public consultation and submit to the Secretary of State for examination.

To seek approval for inclusion in the 2014/15 schools capital programme improvement projects at two primary schools

Councillor Dine Romero introduced the item by referring to the various elements of the planned investment.  She was delighted to move the proposals.

Councillor David Dixon seconded the proposal.  He felt that the proposals would increase pride in the schools.  He was especially pleased to see the proposal to invest £170K on improving the kitchen facilities to enable the delivery of free school meals to all infant children.  He knew that 43 school kitchens had been inspected over 5 months and all would be ready for September, following the proposed investment.

Councillor Tim Ball was delighted because St Michael’s was in his ward and he knew that the children were excited about getting hot meals from September.

Councillor David Bellotti reminded Cabinet that there was a sound evidence base for the policy because young children who eat proper lunches perform better in the afternoon.  In future, all youngsters would benefit in this way.  He also pointed out that the policy would bring a saving of £400 pa for parents.

Councillor Paul Crossley thanked Ashley Ayre (Strategic Director, People) for drawing up the plans to deliver the scheme.  He was delighted that the area had very good schools with excellent educational outcomes.  He felt that the policy was one of the most exciting policy changes this government had implemented and he hoped to see it extended to Junior children in the future.

On a motion from Councillor Dine Romero, seconded by Councillor Tim Ball, it was

RESOLVED (unanimously)

(1) To APPROVE for inclusion in the 2014/15 Capital Programme:

 (a) Capital Maintenance funding of £150,000 for improvements at Southdown Junior and Southdown Infant schools;

 (b) Capital Maintenance funding of £50,000 for improvements at  Peasedown St John  Primary School;

 (c) Capital Maintenance funding of £170,000 to add to funding received from the Government for works required to enable the provision of free school meals for all infant pupils from September 2014; and

(2) To AGREE the change in use of the Basic Need funding for Saltford Primary school to provide temporary classrooms whilst a permanent solution is developed.

The Local Authority has a statutory responsibility to produce an annual Youth Justice Plan setting out work to be undertaken to prevent youth offending and re-offending across Bath and North East Somerset and was approved by the multi-agency Youth Offending Service Management Board on 24 June 2014

Councillor Dine Romero introduced the proposals by reminding Cabinet that the Council had a statutory responsibility to maintain a plan to prevent youth offending and re-offending.  The plan had recently been approved by the multi-agency Youth Offending Service Management Board.  She moved the proposals for Cabinet to recommend the Plan to Council for adoption as part of the Policy and Budget Framework and submission to the Youth Justice Board.

Councillor Katie Hall seconded the proposal and reminded Cabinet that the work being done with young people was of huge benefit.  In the last 6 years, the number of people in the area entering the Youth Justice system had fallen from 179 to 80.

On a motion from Councillor Dine Romero, seconded by Councillor Katie Hall, it was

RESOLVED (unanimously)

(1) To RECOMMEND that Council agrees that the Youth Justice Plan fulfils the requirements of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 and can be submitted to the Youth Justice Board; and

(2) To RECOMMEND that Council agrees that the Youth Justice Plan be adopted as part of the Council’s Policy and Budget Framework and can be accommodated within the Council budget.

This report seeks approval to publish a statutory notice proposing the amalgamation of Southdown Infant and Junior schools into a primary school

Councillor Dine Romero moved the proposal to amalgamate the two schools.  She observed that the schools had already federated; they had a single Governing Body and a single Head Teacher.  Amalgamation was the next natural step, which would provide a stable and secure transition from Key Stage 1 to Key Stage 2.  The plans included a small expansion from 315 to 420 pupils.

Councillor Paul Crossley seconded the proposal.  He explained that he had been a Governor at the Infants school until September 2013 and he felt it was a fantastic school.  The proposals would work very well and he knew that the community was very supportive of the move.

On a motion from Councillor Dine Romero, seconded by Councillor Paul Crossley, it was

RESOLVED (unanimously)

(1) To APPROVE the publication of a statutory notice proposing the closure of Southdown Junior school and the expansion and change in upper age range of Southdown Infant school in order to create an all through 420 place primary school.

The report presents the revenue and capital outturn for 2013/14, highlighting an underspend of £83,000. This represents a significant achievement in the context of the government’s public sector deficit recovery plan which resulted in a revenue savings requirement of over £11 million for 2013/14.

Councillor David Bellotti introduced the item by observing that the Council had operated within its budget for the 3^rd consecutive year.  Not only that, but it had been possible to put £149K into unearmarked reserves.  This was alongside that fact that the Cabinet had not increased Council Tax during the 3 years.  He thanked the officers who had managed their budgets so well.

Councillor David Dixon seconded the proposal.  He felt he must observe that the suggestion put by Councillor Brian Webber in question #M22 of the Q&A document would be a false economy.

Councillor Tim Ball referred to the increase in planning applications over the period.  He thanked Development Control staff for coping with the increase, and pointed out that staffing levels in this very important team were now back to the levels prior to being slashed by the previous administration.

Councillor Paul Crossley said that not only had the previous 3 years been within budget, but the current year was also well on track to being within budget.  He listed a number of projects which the Cabinet had delivered across the area.

Councillor David Bellotti summed up by saying that the Cabinet had taken care to spend the available funds on those things which were the Council’s priorities.

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

RESOLVED (unanimously)

(1) To NOTE the revenue budget outturn underspend of £83,000 for 2013/14;

(2) To APPROVE the revenue carry forward proposals and write-off requests;

(3) To AGREE transfers to Earmarked Reserves;

(4) To APPROVE the revenue virements for 2013/14;

(5) To NOTE the resulting reserves position and that unearmarked reserves remain at the target level of £10.5m;

(6) To NOTE the provisional outturn of the 2013/14 capital programme and funding;

(7) To APPROVE the capital rephasing and write-off of net underspends;

(8) To NOTE the adjustments to the 2013/14 to 2018/19 capital programme; and

(9) To NOTE the final capital programme for 2013/14.

Cabinet approval is sought for the programme of cycle/pedestrian schemes

Councillor Caroline Roberts moved the proposals.  She emphasised the Cabinet’s view that walking and cycling could work well together and therefore the schemes were being considered as a whole.  She briefly introduced some of the schemes being proposed and recommended them to the Cabinet for adoption.

Councillor David Dixon seconded the proposal.  He referred to the success of the Two Tunnels project.  He asked if some consideration could be given to the repair of potholes in cycle tracks, which in his experience could cause damage and inconvenience to riders.

Councillor Paul Crossley referred to a suggestion he had received by tweet, asking for the Council to invest £16 per head for cycling infrastructure.  He responded that the Council continued to seek new ways to improve cycle and pedestrian schemes but that he was not able to give a cost per head.  He thanked Councillor Nigel Roberts, who had done some of the preparatory work on the proposals.

Councillor Tim Ball welcomed the proposals which would be money spent where it should be spent.  He felt that there was a need to de-clutter the pavements and asked that further thought be given to this.

Councillor Caroline Roberts summed up by saying that there were other funding sources which would be used to improve schemes such as Seven Dials.

On a motion from Councillor Caroline Roberts, seconded by Councillor David Dixon, it was

RESOLVED (unanimously)

(1) To AGREE the Funding Allocation breakdown across cycling and walking for 2014/15;

(2) To APPROVE the £250k budget for cycling and walking schemes for 2014/15 for which provisional funding approval was included within the Council’s February 2014 budget report;

(3) To DELEGATE the Divisional Director Environmental Services and the Service Manager Highways to alter the programme, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Transport, as may prove necessary during 2014/15.  Any alterations will be within the overall budget allocation and take into account any additional funding streams that become available.

The Council on 9th April 2014 approved the Draft Fit for Life strategy for formal consultation prior to adoption. This consultation has now been undertaken and final changes made.  Cabinet is now asked to adopt the Policy.

Councillor David Dixon introduced the item by emphasising that fitness must not be only about leisure centres but was about lifestyle.  He said that the proposals before Cabinet would build on the work done by the Get Active Partnership.  He moved that Cabinet adopt the Fit for Life Strategy.

Councillor Simon Allen seconded the proposal.  He felt that the strategy would reap benefits for years to come.  He agreed that the proposals were not just about facilities but about lifestyle choices.  He regretted that 10% of the entire NHS budget was spent treating diabetes when 20 minutes activity per day would be more beneficial.

Councillor Dine Romero welcomed the investment in sports facilities but agreed that the important thing was to foster the normalisation of getting and staying fit through lifestyle.  She welcomed the fact that the strategy would link into other strategies and other partners.

Councillor Paul Crossley said that the proposals were essentially about enjoyable ways of staying well.  He referred to Appendix 6 of the Strategy which showed that Bath & NE Somerset outperformed the national average in every performance measure.  He also welcomed the news that the smoking cessation agenda was working and that smoking had been reduced to 16%.

Councillor David Dixon summed up by welcoming the “Park Runs” recently started by a member of the public and felt that this was an example of how the strategy worked best.

On a motion from Councillor David Dixon, seconded by Councillor Simon Allen, it was

RESOLVED (unanimously)

(1) To ADOPT the ‘Fit for Life’ strategy.