Agenda and minutes

The Chairman drew attention to the emergency evacuation procedure as set out on the agenda.

There were no declarations of interest made.

Councillor Eleanor Jackson raised an issue regarding the use of names and titles in the minutes and called for titles and full names to be used.  The issue was referred to the Democratic Services Manager to take up with Group Leaders.

On a motion from Councillor Paul Crossley, seconded by Councillor Francine Haeberling, it was RESOLVED that the minutes of;

·  10^th May 2012

·  18^th June 2012 (1pm)

·  18^th June 2012 (6pm)

be confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman, subject to a minor amendment to the minutes of 18^th June (6pm) to record Councillor Sharon Ball’s attendance at the meeting.

The Chairman made the following announcements;

1.  He asked everyone to turn their phones to off/silent and reminded members of the public that some Councillors were accessing their meeting papers on their iPads.

2.  He referred to the agenda timings, and asked everyone to keep contributions relevant and not to repeat comments already made.

3.  Indicated that he proposed to waive Council Rule 37 so as not to permit Councillors seconding motions or amendments being able to reserve their right to speak until later in the debate, but to require all seconders, if they wished to speak, to do so when they seconded the motion or amendment. The Council indicated its agreement.

There were no items of urgent business; however, the Chairman took the opportunity to recognise that this would be the last Council meeting which John Everitt, the Chief Executive, would attend before retirement.  He thanked John for his service to the organisation and asked the Council to thank John with a standing acclamation.

Statements to the meeting were made by the following people (where provided, copies will be added to the Minute book and the electronic record);

·  Steve Wilcox made a statement regarding affordable housing in villages and called upon the Council to make rural development a priority of the Core Strategy.  Councillor Paul Crossley deferred his question to Councillor Tim Ball who made reference to the largest brownfield site in Clutton being barely in use and, if not converted to housing, the alternative being that it would become a full industrial site again.  Councillor Ball asked Mr Willcox if he thought this was appropriate, in the context of Clutton Parish Council and Clutton residents trying to cut down on HGV movements through the village.  Mr Willcox responded that the industrial site was still active; policy would not permit development until the site had been inactive for 2 years. Councillor Doug Deacon asked whether further development would not lead to urban sprawl in years to come.  Mr Willcox responded that was not the case.  The green belt had been introduced to prevent Bristol, Bath, Saltford and Keynsham from merging which had not happened and what he was calling for was modest development.  Mr Willcox’s statement was referred for consideration to the Cabinet Member for Homes and Planning. [A copy of the statement is available on the Minute book.]

·  Peter Duppa-Miller made a statement regarding the Corporate Plan and assured Council that the Parish and Town Councils were most eager to continue to work in partnership with the Council to pursue and achieve the objectives of the Corporate Plan. [Mr Duppa-Miller made his statement when the item was reached. A copy of Mr Duppa-Miller’s statement is available on the Minute book.]

·  Peter Duppa-Miller made a further statement regarding the new Standards regime.  He welcomed the fact that the Council will continue to hold the Register of Interests for, and deal with complaints made against, Parish and Town Councillors.  He added that discussions were ongoing regarding the Code of Conduct that Parish and Town Councils would adopt, which would be broadly similar to the B&NES one. [Mr Duppa-Miller made his statement when the item was reached. A copy of Peter’s statement is available on the Minute book.]

·  Adrian Inker presented a petition of over 560 signatures calling for the introduction of free 2 hour parking in Keynsham Town Centre in order to make it a more attractive destination for shoppers and thereby improving the viability of the local shops.  Speaking in support of the petition, Mr Inker added that there had been a street stall in the High street and conversations with residents demonstrated their general concern about the effect of the redevelopment and in particular the loss of free parking spaces behind the Town Hall.  Councillor John Bull asked whether Adrian Inker considered it was a good start to reinstate the free 30 minute spaces which had been lost.  Mr Inker responded that it was right to do something as soon as  ...  view the full minutes text for item 31.

This report introduces the Corporate Plan 2012 - 2015 for Council approval.

The Council considered a report seeking approval for the Corporate Plan 2012 – 2015.

Councillor Paul Crossley introduced the report and commended the report to Council as the vision through to 2015.

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

RESOLVED that the Bath & North East Somerset Corporate Plan 2012 – 2015 be approved for publication.

This report invites Council to consider the written submissions and points raised by those involved in the consultation, the content of the Sexual Entertainment Venue policy and to adopt Schedule 3 of the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1982.

The Council considered a report inviting them to consider the written submissions and points raised by those involved in the consultation on the Sexual Entertainment Venue policy, the content of the policy and to adopt legislation to enable greater regulatory control.

In introducing the report, Councillor Dixon pointed out 2 small amendments that would be made to the final version; amending the date in the title to read ‘2012’ and including a condition for 2 SIA registered door staff at premises.

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

RESOLVED

1.  To adopt Schedule 3 of the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1982;

2.  To adopt the Sexual Entertainment Venue policy, provided in Annex B; and

3.  To delegate authority to the Licensing Committee to determine applications for new licences.

Following discussions with the Standards Committee Members, this report presents to Council a draft Code of Conduct for approval.

The Council considered a report which introduced to Members a new Code of Conduct and rules for registration of interests.  Members were invited to adopt the Code.  During the debate, Members acknowledged the valuable contribution of the independent Members.

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

RESOLVED that the Code of Conduct be approved.

In February 2012, the Council adopted the 2011 edition of the CIPFA Treasury Management in the Public Services: Code of Practice, which requires the Council to approve a Treasury Management Strategy before the start of each financial year, and to receive a mid year report and an annual report after the end of each financial year.

This report gives details of performance against the Council’s Treasury Management Strategy and Annual Investment Plan for 2011/12.

The Council considered the 2011/12 Treasury Management Annual report, which gives details against the Council’s Treasury Management Strategy and Annual Investment Plan for 2011/12.

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

RESOLVED

1.  To note the 2011/12 Treasury Management Annual report to 31^st March 2012, prepared in accordance with the CIPFA Treasury Code of Practice; and

2.  To note the 2011/12 actual Treasury Management Indicators.

The Resources Policy Development and Scrutiny Panel held a facilitated workshop on the 14th December 2011 which provided the opportunity to review how the recent local government elections went and identify any issues that may have arisen from the operation or process. A mixture of Council/Parish Members, Officers and Election Agents were invited to the session.

The findings from the workshop were presented to the Resources Panel at its meeting on the 12th March 2012 and it was agreed that any recommendations would go to full Council during 2012. The key findings from the workshop session and recommendations are attached as Appendix 1 to the report.

This report presents the findings of the Resources Policy Development and Scrutiny Panel following a review of the recent local government elections.  The report was presented by Councillor John Bull, Chair of the Panel.

On a motion from Councillor John Bull, seconded by Councillor Manda Rigby, it was

RESOLVED

1.  Electoral Services could identify wards with care/residential homes and contact them to find how if/when any of their residents were planning to vote at their local polling station and then speak to relevant Presiding Officers to ensure that all their additional support needs are met in a timely and appropriate manner.

2.  Training for Poll Clerks/Presiding Officers should include how to deal sensitively with voters who require additional support.

3.  The Council’s website could be utilised to provide a link to the Electoral Commission’s ‘How to Stand as an Electoral Candidate’ permanently rather than just in the run up to an election.

4.  The Council, through Electoral Services, should capture feedback from new candidates to find out whether additional information could be provided in future.

5.  The Council should seek clarification and guidance from the Council’s Monitoring Officer on signing of nominations, which could provide a better understanding for new candidates and help to improve the process.

6.  The Council should write to the Electoral Commission asking them to ensure that the verification procedure for any future referendums does not slow up the counting process or declaration of results.

7.  At the count, candidates and agents should be told by the Deputy Returning Officer at the counting centre which counting system is going to be used and kept informed of how the count is going at each stage of the process

8.  Electoral Services should investigate the options suggested for future polling stations at Keynsham East and Midsomer Norton.

9.  Electoral Services should consider whether Timsbury or Wellow have the facilities to host the counts for Bathavon West and Bathavon South

10.Electoral Services to undertake future research in order to identify the different languages spoken in our Local Authority area and the impact that this may have on their voting experience.

The motion set out in the attached paper will be moved by a member of the Conservative Group.  It asks the Council to request that Cabinet investigate and seek to implement on a trial basis throughout the town centre redevelopment, two hours’ free parking at Ashton Way car park.  Such arrangement to be alongside the creation of a number of chargeable long-stay parking spaces at Ashton Way car park, so as to reduce parking pressure on nearby residential roads and mitigate the cost of free short-stay parking.

A motion was presented on behalf of the Conservative group regarding free short-stay parking in Keynsham.

On a motion from Councillor Marie Longstaff, seconded by Councillor Kate Simmons, it was

RESOLVED

1.  to request that Cabinet investigate and seek to implement, on a trial basis thoughout the Keynsham Town Centre redevelopment, two hours’ free parking at Ashton Way car park.  Such arrangement to be alongside the creation of a number of chargeable long-stay parking spaces at Ashton Way car park, so as to reduce parking pressure on nearby residential roads and mitigate the cost of free short-stay parking; and

2.  to request that, in addition, Cabinet takes immediate action to ensure that the free 30 minute spaces which will be lost as part of the redevelopment of the Town Hall site are reinstated elsewhere in a central part of the town.

[Note 1: The above wording in resolution 2 was proposed by the Labour group and accepted by the mover and seconder of the motion, thereby becoming part of the substantive motion.]

There were no items from Councillors.