Decisions

In accordance with the delegation of approvals set out in the Cabinet Decision E3122, the Director of Economy and Growth, in consultation with the Leader, Chief Executive and S151 officer approve the award of contract to Legal & General Holdings Ltd and duly authorise entry to a Development Agreement for the delivery of Bath Quays North. This forms the contract between the Authority and the Developer to deliver a new office led mixed use development including infrastructure development works funded through a grant agreement with WECA following completion of the procurement procedure.

To fully authorise sealing of a Contract between Legal & General Holdings Limited and Bath and North East Somerset Council to enable the developer to deliver a new office led mixed use development

In June 2019 the head teacher of St Nicholas School formally submitted a proposal to develop a resource base on their school site for children with SEND. This proposal utilised existing space within the school and did not incur any additional capital costs.
A copy of the school's proposal is attached to this decision.
To develop this provision, the school and the LA must follow statutory DFE guidance on Making Prescribed Changes to Maintained Schools. In line with this guidance, the school has carried out a full and consultation with parents/carers, the local community, and with other schools. The overall response to this proposal has been positive and welcomed.
The LA has, therefore accepted the school's proposal without modification. The proposal creates additional provision for a growing area of need in our local education community.

This decision formally approves the school's proposal to open a SEND Resource base for ten pupils on their school's site in September 2019.
This decision is also supported by the Lead Member for children's services, Cllr Kevin Guy

The Community Run Library Programme objectives were set out in the Cabinet paper E3000 dated 23/11/2017. The application has shown that it meets the relevant criteria and is beneficial to the local community.

PRA will operate the community library in St Johns Community Hall. They have opted for Option B (700 books) which includes the click and collect service. The community space is currently being used for coffee mornings, social events, activities, public meetings and fundraising events. The community library will operate three half days per weeks (including Saturday). PRA have recruited 22 volunteers who will help run the facility, they will be managed by a volunteer co-ordinator.

As there are a number of community buildings in the village, PRA has provided an options analysis setting out their rationale for choosing the location which included dedicated space to run the community library and significantly reduced running costs as the building has been offered free of charge.

As part of the assessment process equalities issues were considered. PRA has demonstrated that they had given consideration to equalities issues within their policy and proposal submitted. They will receive Equalities Training as part of the package of training support provided by the Council as well as on-going support through the libraries network.

PRA has undertaken a consultation with their local community. A survey was sent to all households in the Autumn of 2018. This includes a series of questions to gauge the level of interest and information about local residents needs. As a result a number of local residents came forward to volunteer.

An application from Peasedown St John Residents Association (PRA) to run a Community Run Library has been received and has been assessed against a number of criteria which includes: governance, equalities, and community consultation. The application which includes a one off grant of £5,000 has been approved. The funding will be used to purchase new equipment and associated library costs. The final terms of the agreement will be finalised in due course.

Keynsham Town Centre acts as a local service centre offering retail, leisure and sporting facilities as well as employment opportunities for the immediate and surrounding population. The public realm improvements to Keynsham's retail core will be designed to safeguard and enhance the town’s status as a socio economic hub. The improvements are proposed to increase attractiveness and accessibility of Keynsham High Street through a number of key interventions:

• Enhancing the quality of the built environment through upgrading footway materials;
• Co-ordinating the provision of street furniture, signage & wayfinding.
• Improving perceptions of safety & security through lighting provision.
• Increasing accessibility for all residents through provision of pedestrian, cycle and bus friendly infrastructure.
• Rationalising parking and delivery arrangements whilst retaining and enhancing disabled parking provision.

The project aims to create a high quality well connected public space to encourage & enhance retail and other economic activity, improve accessibility by sustainable transport modes and increase the number of journeys to the High Street by theses modes.

Town centres nationally are facing significant challenges in the form of increased online shopping, an over reliance on retail premises and reduced footfall which all threaten the vitality and viability. Evidence from professional & industry bodies case studies shows that public realm intervention and accessibility improvements have a positive impact on footfall, consumer expenditure and economic performance.

The scheme is required to enable B&NES to meet its corporate objectives to support economic growth and improve air quality in Keynsham, the latter of which is also a legal obligation.

It is expected to stem the perceived decline in footfall, business turnover and employment in the High Street as reported in the business consultation, but also enhance the High Street’s economic contribution to the local economy.

A complementary scheme will be managed alongside the main scheme and will focus on improving publicly accessible private land which is adjacent to the High Street, in order to create a cohesive broader scheme that attracts the greatest active mode travel benefits.
This project forms part of the wider improvement programme for the High Street. Other interventions may take place in the future depending on availability of funding.

Consultation took place with stakeholders (including ward members, the Keynsham Town Council and special interest groups in the town) in November 2018. New ward and Cabinet members are being briefed on the benefits of the scheme.

A public consultation event took place alongside the Local Plan consultation and a survey was available for completion online and in the library. Draft proposals were presented and the feedback received lead to a preferred design. The scheme was approved by Cabinet in February 2019.

WECA approved £1.5m for the project on the 14th June 2019. At this meeting, Councillor Wait (Keynsham East) said that these improvements would make Keynsham a more vibrant and successful town.

To fully approve capital amounting to £1,743k (£1.500k WECA funding, 193k Charlton Park Highway contribution S106 & £50k towns & local centres CIL) from the provisional capital programme item Keynsham High Street Public Realm Scheme.