Agenda and minutes

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

The Chair welcomed everyone to the meeting.

As a mark of respect to those who had lost their lives and to the injured and bereaved following the road tragedy in Weston, Bath, the Chair led a one-minute silence.

The Chair will draw attention to the emergency evacuation procedure as set out in the Notes

Apologies had been received from Councillor David Bellotti, as a result of sickness.  The Chair sent the best wishes of the meeting to Councillor Bellotti.

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 15 questions from Councillors and 1 question from 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.

The Chair welcomed Councillor Robin Moss (Chair, Economic and Community Development PDS Panel) to the meeting and asked him to introduce his Panel’s recommendations relating to disability access to Keynsham Leisure Centre.

Councillor Moss in a statement [a copy of which is attached to the Minutes as Appendix 2 and on the Council's website] explained that the Panel had been petitioned by residents about the issue.  The Panel regretted that opportunities to resolve the issue had been missed in the past.  He emphasised to Cabinet the shared responsibility to ensure disability access.

The Chair thanked Councillor Moss for his statement and promised to respond to the Panel’s recommendations.

Jonathan Rich (Peasedown St John Parish Councillor) made a statement [a copy of which is attached to the Minutes as Appendix 3 and on the Council's website] relating to the Junction of A367 and Bath Road in Peasedown St John.  He presented a petition of 1422 signatures asking for additional s.106 money to be allocated to the proposed budget so that urgent safety improvements could be made at the junction.

The Chair thanked Jonathan for his statement and assured him that the petition would inform the debate leading up to Budget council.

Lesley Mansell (Chair, Radstock TC) made a statement [a copy of which is attached to the Minutes as Appendix 4 and on the Council's website] supporting the petition presented by Jonathan Rich and reminded Cabinet that the recent Resources Panel had also recommended to Cabinet that road safety measures at the junction should be looked at.

The Chair thanked Lesley for her statement and confirmed that the issue would be addressed in the lead up to Budget council.

Gerald Chown in a statement [a copy of which is attached to the Minutes as Appendix 5 and on the Council's website] asked for a 20mph speed limit for the whole of Widcombe Hill.

The Chair thanked Gerald for his statement and promised to respond to the petition as soon as possible.

Fiona Bell (Chair, The Volunteer Centre, Bath) in a statement [a copy of which is attached to the Minutes as Appendix 6 and on the Council's website] appealed to Cabinet to allocate additional funding support of £10K to enable the Volunteer Centre to continue to operate while it secures other funding sources.

The Chair thanked Fiona for her statement and promised to give urgent attention to her request.

[Later in the meeting, Councillor Crossley indicated that the Cabinet would give consideration to provision of funds of £10K from the current year’s budget to support the Volunteer Centre until it could secure other funding.  This would avoid making any change to the proposed budget for the coming year.]

Bleddyn Phillips (Trustee, Keynsham Dial-a-Ride) in a statement [a copy of which is attached to the Minutes as Appendix 7 and on the Council's website] relating to Item 19 on the Agenda (Funding for Community Transport) asked that Cabinet  ...  view the full minutes text for item 116.

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

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting held on Wednesday 3^rd December 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.

The Chair welcomed Councillor John Bull (Chair, Resources PDS Panel) to the meeting.  He said that Councillor Bull would address Cabinet immediately before the Budget item to introduce his Panel's Budget recommendations.

This report lists Cabinet Single Member decisions taken and published since the last Cabinet meeting.

Councillor David Dixon took the opportunity to remind Cabinet of some of the decisions he had taken in the recent period.  He was particularly pleased that he had been able to initiate a 3-month consultation on whether to introduce a Public Space Protection Order to address the issue of amplified buskers in parts of the city.  The final decision on whether to introduce the PSPO would be taken by the incoming administration.  He had also been delighted to agree capital expenditure of £250K for renovation works in Sydney Gardens.  To ensure the funds were used effectively, there would be a public consultation, including discussions with the Sydney Gardens Steering Group.

Councillor Caroline Roberts took the opportunity to highlight the safety improvements she had been able to introduce; in particular a number of 20mph zones across both the city and rural area.  She was also very pleased that the Lansdown Road School Safety Project was being implemented and that local children would soon have a new crossing point on their journey to school.

The Cabinet agreed to note the report.

This report gives details of performance against the Council’s Treasury Management Strategy and Annual Investment Plan 2014/15 for the first nine months of 2014/15.

Councillor Paul Crossley introduced the item and referred to the Council’s sound financial management.  He paid tribute to the Council’s Finance team.

He moved the proposals.

Councillor David Dixon seconded the proposal.  He too thanked the Council’s Finance team for their excellent work.

Councillor Ben Stevens drew attention to the prudent decision, taken when the administration came into office, to pay down £50M of existing high-interest debt.

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

RESOLVED (unanimously)

(1) To NOTE the Treasury Management Report to 31st December 2014, prepared in accordance with the CIPFA Treasury Code of Practice; and

(2) To NOTE the Treasury Management Indicators to 31st December 2014.

This report presents the financial monitoring information for the Authority as a whole for the financial year 2014/15 to the end of December 2014

Councillor Eleanor Jackson referred to paragraph 2.11 of Appendix 1 of the report, relating to the Norton Radstock Infrastructure which she said was 3 weeks behind schedule.  She referred to paragraph 2.14 relating to Radstock Regeneration and thanked the Cabinet particularly for the new roofs at Writhlington School and at Radstock Methodist Church.

Councillor Paul Crossley in moving the item referred to paragraph 5.3 of the report which indicated an underspend of 0.35% of the entire budget for the year.  This amounted to £1.638M.

Councillor David Dixon seconded the proposal.  He referred to the small overspend on the Parks budget and expressed his gratitude to the Friends of the Parks.  He expressed his delight to see the Civic Centre in Keynsham and had been particularly impressed by the new Library there.  He listed a number of other projects which he had been pleased to see completed, including the Café in Victoria Park, which he hoped would sell fajitas, among other things.  He had also overseen the successful toilet improvement programme which had been widely welcomed in the community.

Councillor Caroline Roberts said that as ward member, she had been most impressed by the rowing club shower and toilet block.  This would encourage a new generation of young rowers, particularly girls.  As Cabinet Member for Transport, she welcomed the delivery of the Bath Transport Package schemes.  She felt that particular thanks should go to Kelvin Packer and his colleagues who had delivered the Kelston road repairs in such a timely way.

Councillor Tim Ball thanked Councillor Roberts for the Traffic Calming in his ward, and for the delivery of the Gypsy and Travellers Site in his ward.

Councillor Simon Allen said the Radstock Regeneration had been a great success.  Although he regretted the 3-week delay over the pavements referred to by Councillor Jackson, he assured her that she would be delighted once they were completed.

Councillor Paul Crossley in summing up said that the Odd Down Sports Centre had been a great achievement for the Council

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

RESOLVED (unanimously)

(1) To ASK Strategic Directors to continue to work towards managing within budget in the current year for their respective service areas, and to manage below budget where possible by not committing unnecessary expenditure, through tight budgetary control;

(2) To NOTE this year’s revenue budget position detailed in the report;

(3) To NOTE the capital expenditure position for the Council in the financial year to the end of September and the year-end projections detailed in the report;

(4) To APPROVE the revenue virements listed in the report; and

(5) To NOTE the changes in the capital programme listed in the report.

This report presents the Cabinet's draft medium term financial plan, and revenue and capital budgets for the 2015/16 financial year together with a proposal for a Council Tax level for 2015/16

Councillor Charles Gerrish in an ad hoc statement said that his Group would have a number of amendments which would be put to Full Council; but he had been advised by Officers that none of the proposals was substantial.  He did however wish to raise one issue which had been discussed at Resources Panel, relating to the list of further potential community asset transfers in appendix 5 of the report.  He asked that The Paddock, Keynsham, be added to the list.

Wera Hobhouse in an ad hoc statement congratulated the Cabinet for proposing a Council Tax freeze for another year.  She was confident that householders would appreciate this.  She was pleased to see the road between Peasedown St John and Wellow included in the budget. She thanked Cabinet for indicating that attention would be given to safety on the A367 at Peasedown.

David Redgewell in an ad hoc statement raised 3 issues.  He asked the Cabinet to ensure that the devolution clause would be included in the Metro West agreement; that Cabinet would give attention to cleaning in Bath city centre; and that the issue of support for cross-boundary bus services be resolved with North Somerset Council.

Councillor Eleanor Jackson in an ad hoc statement apologised that there had been no formal statement from the Housing and Major Projects PDS Panel.  The Panel however had asked that no further cuts should be made to support staff for PDS Panels.  She complimented the Cabinet on the probity of the budget proposals but was alarmed at the proposed £1.3M cuts to Children’s Services and the effect on Children’s Centres.  She felt that over all, Midsomer Norton was getting a fair deal from the proposals but asked why Radstock was not getting new Town Council offices.

Councillor Jeremy Sparks in an ad hoc statement reminded Cabinet that the need for road safety measures in Clutton had become even more urgent since the start of the new development of 45 houses.

Sally Bailey, a volunteer youth worker in the area and a member of St Nicholas PCC, referred to the planned 5-hour parking limit in Radstock and asked that this be reduced to 2 hours so as to encourage local shoppers.  She presented a petition of 133 signatures.

The Chair said that the petition would be given prompt consideration and would be fed into the consultation process about the proposals.

The Chair asked Councillor John Bull (Chair, Resources PDS Panel) to introduce his Panel's Budget recommendations.  Councillor Bull referred to the Notes from the recent meeting, copies of which had been placed in the public gallery before the meeting [and a copy of which is attached to the Minutes as Appendix 9 and on the Council's website].  He said that the Panel’s main recommendation was for the inclusion of a safety scheme for the A367 at Peasedown and said that he had already been encouraged by what he had heard earlier in the meeting.

Councillor Bull then spoke as Leader of the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 123.

This report meets the Council’s obligation to have regard to both the CIPFA Treasury Management in Public services Code of Practice and the Department for Communities and Local Government revised guidance on local authority investments.  The report will be scrutinised by the Corporate Audit Committee at the 26th March 2015 meeting, following which any recommended amendments to the strategy will be reported back to Cabinet.

Councillor Paul Crossley said that the papers were self-explanatory and he moved the recommendations.

Councillor David Dixon seconded the proposal.

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

RESOLVED (unanimously)

(1) To RECOMMEND to Council that the Council approves the actions proposed within the Treasury Management Strategy Statement;

(2) To RECOMMEND to Council that the Council approves the Investment Strategy;

(3) To RECOMMEND to Council that the Council approves the changes to the authorised lending lists;

(4) To NOTE the Treasury Management Indicators detailed in the report; and

(5) To DELEGATE authority for updating the indicators prior to approval at Full Council on 17th February 2015 to the Chief Finance Officer & Divisional Director – Business Support and Cabinet Member for Community Resources, in light of any changes to the recommended budget as set out in the Budget Report elsewhere on the agenda for this meeting.

The report seeks permission to explore the development of a Cooperation Agreement with the Trustees of the Gateway Centre to secure a venue for the delivery of community activities and service delivery for the Snow Hill/London Road area of Bath.  Broader consultation work will also be done to ascertain if there are other agencies/groups wishing to engage in such a development.

Councillor Dine Romero briefly introduced the item and moved the proposals.

Councillor Simon Allen seconded the proposals which he felt showed the Council’s commitment to working closely with community groups.

Councillor David Dixon said the discussion around community venues was long-standing.  He had known the Riverside Youth Centre, off London Road, since his youth and spoke highly of the service it had delivered.  He asked for an assurance that not one element of the Youth Centre would be lost in the move.

Councillor Romero assured Councillor Dixon that the proposals did not denigrate the service provided at Riverside over a number of years.

On a motion from Councillor Dine Romero, seconded by Councillor Simon Allen, it was

RESOLVED (unanimously)

(1) To ASK the Strategic Director (People) to explore a possible cooperation agreement with the Snow Hill Gateway Trust; and

(2) To ASK the Strategic Director (People) to consult community groups in the Snow Hill/London Road area about interest in developing a community venue.

This report seeks Cabinet and then Council approval of the B&NES Community Infrastructure Levy and the associated Regulation 123 Infrastructure List. It also seeks Cabinet adoption of the revised Planning Obligations Supplementary Planning Document.

The Examiner’s final report was received on 30/1/2015 and he has recommended approval of the CIL, with modifications. An update report will therefore be tabled at the Cabinet meeting since the Council can only adopt the CIL if it accepts the Examiner’s modifications.

[The Chair referred to the update documents which had been published as a supplementary agenda despatch and on the Council’s public website, and copies of which had been placed in the public gallery before the meeting.]

Wera Hobhouse in an ad hoc statement welcomed the fact that 15-25% of the proceeds from the levy would be returned to the local community.  She emphasised the need to ensure that these funds would be used in their entirety to improving infrastructure.

Councillor Tim Ball, in introducing the item, acknowledged the excellent work done, against tight deadlines, by Kaoru Jacques, Simon deBeer and the team.  He outlined briefly the 3 changes to the charging schedule requested by the Inspector and shown in the update report.  He said that Cabinet fully accepted the Inspector’s recommendations and that as a result he would be moving an amended recommendation.  In addition, the papers presented to Full Council would include the Inspector’s amendments.

He moved the amended proposals.

Councillor Ben Stevens seconded the proposal, saying he was delighted to see that the proposals were for a 0% levy on office space.

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

RESOLVED (unanimously)

(1) To RECOMMEND to Full Council that:

  (a) the B&NES Community Infrastructure Levy (Attachment 1 from the update report) along with modifications made by the Examiner, is approved with a commencement date of 6th April 2015;

  (b) the CIL charging schedule is kept under review and any proposed adjustments to the charging schedules are reported to Cabinet before 6th April 2017 for recommendation if appropriate to Council; and

  (c) responsibility is delegated to the Divisional Director for Development, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Homes and Planning, to make any minor amendments and to correct any errors to the documentation.

(2) To ADOPT the revised Planning Obligations Supplementary Planning Document (Attachment 3), to become effective alongside CIL on 6th April 2015;

(3) To ADOPT the Regulation 123 Statement (Attachment 2 from the update report);

(4) To DELEGATE authority to the Divisional Director for Development, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Homes and Planning, to:

  (i) give notice that ‘Discretional Exceptional Circumstances Relief’, ‘Payment in Kind’ and ‘Infrastructure Payments' will be made available in the District

  (ii) implement a payment instalment policy as set out in the report

  (iii) finalise the commuted sum formula for off-site affordable housing contributions

  (iv) make any minor amendments and to correct any errors to the documentation.

(5) To DELEGATE authority to the Divisional Director for Development, in conjunction with Cabinet Member for Homes and Planning, to amend the Regulation 123 List in the event that any current planning applications fail to be concluded until after 6th April in order to ensure the timely provision of the necessary infrastructure and that there is no overlap between CIL charges and Section 106 contributions.

The current Alcohol Harm Reduction Strategy was adopted by the Council 2012. A Joint Scrutiny Inquiry Day in October 2013 and its subsequent recommendations have informed this Strategy refresh, alongside national and local developments since 2012.

Councillor Patrick Anketell-Jones in an ad hoc statement observed that young men drinking too much were putting themselves in great danger.  He asked whether the strategy could mention this.

Councillor Simon Allen introduced the item.  He agreed with Councillor Anketell-Jones about the dangers of young men drinking too much and confirmed that the Public Health teams were working closely with the Universities on this issue.  He was aware that alcohol abuse was costing £45M per year.  He was pleased that the strategy was making such good progress.  The key was to provide education to those who were drinking just above the recommended levels.  He explained that systematic screening, single point of access and support for detox were all in place.

He moved the proposals.

Councillor Dine Romero seconded the proposal.  She told Cabinet that alcohol education was being delivered in schools.

On a motion from Councillor Simon Allen, seconded by Councillor Dine Romero, it was

RESOLVED (unanimously)

(1) To ADOPT the Draft Alcohol Harm Reduction Strategy for Bath and North East Somerset (2014–2019);

(2) To AGREE the key priorities.

Funding applications have been received from voluntary sector bodies for the provision of community transport services in 2015-16. This Report gives details of those applications with recommendations on the allocation of funding.

Councillor Caroline Roberts introduced the item.  She referred to paragraph 5.3 which showed that journeys were up 5.9% and the cost per passenger mile had fallen.  She assured Bleddyn Phillips that his points would be considered by the Divisional Director who was being given delegated authority to make some changes to the funding during the year if appropriate.

She moved the proposals.

Councillor Paul Crossley seconded the proposal.  He very much appreciated the volunteer drivers who kept the service going.

On a motion from Councillor Caroline Roberts, seconded by Councillor Paul Crossley, it was

RESOLVED (unanimously)

(1) To APPROVE the funding proposals, subject to decision of the Council on the budget for 2015-16.

(2) To DELEGATE authority to the Divisional Director for Environmental Services to reallocate funds, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Transport, from approved projects that become unviable owing to the level of funding allocated or to a change in circumstances of the applicant group, should such situations arise during the year.

The report introduces the Heritage Services Business Plan 2015-2020 that has been prepared following the annual in-depth review of business activity. The report also seeks formal adoption of 3-year forward plans for the Roman Baths and Victoria Art Gallery and two additional museum policies which are required for the museums to renew their Accreditation status with Arts Council England.

Councillor Patrick Anketell-Jones in an ad hoc statement referred to paragraphs 5.9 and 5.10 of the report which showed that the Saver Ticket and Discovery Card schemes would both be extended to include the Victoria Art Gallery.  He felt this was excellent news and congratulated the Cabinet for taking this step.

Councillor Ben Stevens moved the proposals.  He gave his thanks to the Heritage Team for their achievements.  He mentioned the risks inherent in any Heritage Service which at any time might be disrupted by events outside of the control of the Council.  These were laid out in the report.

Councillor David Dixon was delighted to second the proposal.  He had known as a boy the special privilege of living in a city with such a heritage.  He still felt it was so.  He was excited that the archway project would open up a new education centre for the roman Baths, from which young people would walk through a Roman tunnel under the road, to appear in the Baths themselves.  He was confident that this would catch the imagination of young people.

Councillor Paul Crossley said that the heritage of the area was tremendous.  He was aware of the risks, laid out in the report.  He agreed with Councillor Anketell-Jones that the extension of the Saver and Discovery Cards to include the Victoria Art Gallery was good news and he was delighted about this.

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

RESOLVED (unanimously)

(1) To APPROVE the Heritage Services Business Plan 2015-2020;

(2) To APPROVE the Roman Baths Museum Forward Plan;

(3) To APPROVE the Victoria Art Gallery Museum Forward Plan;

(4) To APPROVE the Museum Documentation Policy

(5) To APPROVE the Care and Collections Policy;

(6) To NOTE that the February 2015 Council Budget Report recommends that both the £1m capital budget for East Baths Development, to be delivered in 2015/16 and 2016/17, and the £100k capital budget for Roman Baths infrastructure works to be delivered in 2015/16, be fully approved;

(7) To NOTE the proposed capital project to commence the refurbishment of the Roman Baths site and its Retail outlets in 2019/20 at a cost of £1.15 Million, for consideration as part of the 2016/17 budget process.

(8) To NOTE that the February 2015 Council Budget Report approves the re-phasing of the £100k capital budget for the Retail module of the Visitor Management System from 2014/15 to 2015/16.

(9) To NOTE that the February 2014 Council budget included the development of the Archway Centre as an emerging capital project for which a Council contribution of £650-750k should be sufficient to satisfy the Heritage Lottery Fund

(10) To CONFIRM that Cabinet wishes Heritage Services to continue to work to the business principles agreed by the Council Executive in 2004 as amended.