Agenda and minutes

The Chair welcomed everyone to the meeting.

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

Councillor Martin Veal had sent his apologies for this meeting.

Councillor Patrick Anketell-Jones left the meeting at 5pm due to other engagements.

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 25 questions from Councillors and 3 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.

Rosemary Naish (National Neighbourhood Planning Champion) in a statement [a copy of which is attached to the Minutes as Appendix 2 and on the Council's website] said that policies in all three made plans in B&NES had been breached in recent decisions.

Keith Betton (Chair of Stowey Sutton Parish Council) said that the Cabinet had approved Stowey Sutton Neighbourhood Plan (NP) in September 2015.  Stowey Sutton Parish Council had considered 19 planning applications since October 2015 and planning officers made reference to NP in only one application.  Keith Betton said that the Council, Parish Councils and community had invested considerable time to support the NPs.  The Council had had a legal duty to make reference to NPs when considering planning applications.  Keith Betton asked the Cabinet to ensure that officers give the NPs the importance that they deserve when they consider planning applications.

Councillor Karen Warrington in a statement [a copy of which is attached to the Minutes as Appendix 3 and on the Council's website] said that some planning decisions had ignored the NPs and asked that appropriate training regarding Neighbourhood Plans is undertaken for all officers and Members who were involved with any planning decision-making.

Councillor Alison Millar in a statement [a copy of which is attached to the Minutes as Appendix 4 and on the Council's website] said that the Cabinet should consider a number of points before making their final decision on Park & Ride and that the Meadows were no place for a park and ride - especially one that cannot be justified as a solution to Bath’s traffic problem.

David Redgewell in a statement [a copy of which is attached to the Minutes as Appendix 5 and on the Council's website] spoke about public transport cuts, budgets and on transport impact that the Devolution deal would have on the area.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting held on Wednesday 13^th July 2016 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.

A list of Cabinet Single Member decisions taken and published since the last Cabinet meeting to note (no debate).

The Cabinet agreed to note the report.

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.

This report gives details of performance against the Council’s Treasury Management Strategy and Annual Investment Plan 2016/17 for the first three months of 2016/17.

The Cabinet are asked to note:

1)  The Treasury Management Report to 30th June 2016, prepared in accordance with the CIPFA Treasury Code of Practice; and

2)  The Treasury Management Indicators to 30th June 2016.

Councillor Paul Crossley made an ad-hoc statement by saying that report had given an interesting review of the European state post EU referendum.  Councillor Crossley asked for detailed analysis on the post EU referendum impact on the Council and also detailed analysis on our economy in regards of Hinkley Point.

Councillor Charles Gerrish said that he would ask the relevant officers to include this information in a future report.

Councillor Charles Gerrish said that this was a routine report which sets out the satisfactory position of the Council.  Councillor Gerrish highlighted that the average rate of investment return for the first three months of 2016/17 was 0.50%, which was 0.09% above the benchmark rate.  Councillor Gerrish also summarised borrowings and returns; strategic and tactical decisions; future strategic and tactical issues and budget implications.

Councillor Charles Gerrish moved the recommendations.

Councillor Michael Evans seconded the motion by saying that investments returns continue to be ahead of the benchmark rate; investment rates continue to reflect the Bank of England’s policy on maintaining low interest rates, which decreased to an historical low in August; and, the Council continues to not hold any direct investments in countries within the Eurozone.

RESOLVED (unanimously) that the Cabinet agreed:

1)  The Treasury Management Report to 30th June 2016, prepared in accordance with the CIPFA Treasury Code of Practice, is noted;

2)  The Treasury Management Indicators to 30th June 2016 are noted.

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This report presents the financial monitoring information for the Authority as a whole for the financial year 2016/17 to the end of July 2016.

The Cabinet agrees that:

1)  Strategic Directors should continue to work towards managing within budget in the current year for their respective service areas and develop an action plan of how this will be achieved, including not committing any unnecessary expenditure and stringent budgetary control.

2)  This year’s revenue budget position as shown in Appendix 2 is noted.

3)  The capital expenditure position for the Council in the financial year to the end of July and the year end projections detailed in Appendix 3 of this report are noted.

4)  The revenue virements listed for approval in Appendix 4(i) are agreed.

5)  The changes in the capital programme listed in Appendix 5(i) are noted.

Councillor Robin Moss asked the following questions: was the Council up to date with Sirona and other health providers within Adult Social Care and Health area; clarification on use of Adult Social Care and Health reserves; and, details on capital spending in improving services and revenue.

Councillor Paul Crossley asked about the progress on Bath Quays.

Councillor Charles Gerrish responded to questions from Councillors Moss and Crossley by saying that; the report would incorporate any external issues within Adult Social Care and Health budget; use of Adult Social Care and Health reserves was always within the budget; and, the Council was half way into the Bath Quays South project, with the residential part in waiting to be resolved within planning services.

Councillor Charles Gerrish said that the report was presented as part of the reporting of financial management and budgetary control required by the Council.  Councillor Gerrish also said that for revenue budgets which were forecast to be overspent, the Divisional Directors would be expected to seek compensating savings to try and bring budgets back to balance. The report had highlighted any significant areas of forecast over and under spends in revenue budgets and outlines the Council’s current revenue financial position for the 2016/17 financial year to the end of July 2016 by Cabinet Portfolio.  The current forecast outturn position is for an overspend of £2,219,000, which equates to 0.72% of gross budgeted spend (excluding Schools).  There had been an overspend forecast at this stage in each of the past four financial years.  The Council's financial position, along with its financial management arrangements and controls, were fundamental to continuing to plan and provide services in a managed way, particularly in light of the medium term financial challenge.  Close monitoring of the financial situation had provided information on new risks and pressures in service areas, and appropriate management actions were then identified and agreed to manage and mitigate those risks.

Councillor Gerrish moved the recommendations.

Councillor Paul Myers seconded the motion by saying that, like many others across the country, this Council would be facing a tough financial situation.  This year, in addition to the financial pressures prepared for, the Council would be also faced with a number of new challenges, such as increases in the cost of managing Housing Benefit and Welfare Reform.  Despite all these pressures, this Council remains committed to helping our most vulnerable residents.  The Cabinet would continue to monitor Council expenditure very closely, and if pressures continue into mid-year the Cabinet would take action to bring the budget back into line at the year-end.

RESOLVED (unanimously) the Cabinet agreed that:

1)  Strategic Directors should continue to work towards managing within budget in the current year for their respective service areas and develop an action plan of how this will be achieved, including not committing any unnecessary expenditure and stringent budgetary control;

2)  This year’s revenue budget position is noted;

3)  The capital expenditure position for the Council in the financial year to the end of July  ...  view the full minutes text for item 37.