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Agenda, decisions and minutes

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Contact: Democratic Services 

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Items
No. Item

272.

Apologies

To receive any apologies for absence. The quorum for Cabinet is 3 members.

 

Additional documents:

Decision:

There were no apologies for absence

Minutes:

There were no apologies for absence.

273.

Declarations of Interest

To receive any declarations of interest from Members and Officers, relating to items to be considered at the meeting.

Additional documents:

Decision:

Councillor Claire Bloomer declared an interest in respect of Agenda item 8, as she rented a property from the Council. Councillor Bloomer stated this was pecuniary and that she would be leaving the room for the item.

Minutes:

Councillor Claire Bloomer declared an interest in respect of Agenda item 8 as she rented a property from the Council. Councillor Bloomer stated that this was a pecuniary interest and that she would be leaving the room for the item.

 

There were no declarations of interest from Officers.

 

274.

Minutes pdf icon PDF 256 KB

To approve the minutes of the previous Cabinet meeting on 4 April 2024.

Additional documents:

Decision:

It was explained that on page 8, the third bullet point on the Fixed Penalty Notice Policy had been amended to state “Fixed penalties can be an effective and visible way of responding to environmental crimes and provide a quicker and proportionate alternative to prosecution through the courts. They allow the person believed to have committed an offence the opportunity to discharge their liability to conviction for that offence by the payment of a fixed penalty”.

 

RESOLVED that, subject to the amendment on page 8 the minutes of the meeting held on 8 April 2024 be approved as a correct record.

 

Voting Record

 

8 For, 0 Against, 0 Abstention, 0 Absent/Did not vote

 

Minutes:

The minutes of the Cabinet meeting on 4 April 2024 were presented as part of the document pack.

 

It was explained that on page 8, the third bullet point under the Fixed Penalty Notice Item, an amendment to the wording had been requested so that the wording read as follows:

 

“Fixed penalties can be an effective and visible way of responding to environmental crimes and provide a quicker and proportionate alternative to prosecution through the courts. They allow the person believed to have committed an offence the opportunity to discharge their liability to conviction for that offence by the payment of a fixed penalty”.

 

RESOLVED that, subject to the amendment on page 8 the minutes of the meeting held on 8 April 2024 be approved as a correct record.

 

Voting Record

 

8 For, 0 Against, 0 Abstention, 0 Absent/Did not vote

 

For

Against

Abstention

Absent/Did not vote

Claire Bloomer

 

 

 

Joe Harris

 

 

 

Juliet Layton

 

 

 

Lisa Spivey

 

 

 

Mike Evemy

 

 

 

Mike McKeown

 

 

 

Paul Hodgkinson

 

 

 

Tony Dale

 

 

 

 

275.

Leader's Announcements

To receive any announcements from the Leader.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Leader then made the following announcements:

 

  • The Leader addressed an issue which had been raised to a number of Councillors regarding the closure of the Kingshill Meadow roundabout in Cirencester. Whilst not being an issue within the responsibility of the Council the following points were made:

-       It was not an acceptable situation that the closure of the roundabout had been in place for such a long time.

-       Communication from Gloucestershire County Council was not sufficient and needed to be better.

-       This closure was having a material impact on the economy in Cirencester.

-       Reassurance to residents was provided that the Council would continue to lobby the County Council to resolve the situation as soon as possible.

 

 

276.

Public Questions

To deal with questions from the public within the open forum question and answer session of fifteen minutes in total. Questions from each member of the public should be no longer than one minute each and relate to issues under the Cabinet’s remit. At any one meeting no person may submit more than two questions and no more than two such questions may be asked on behalf of one organisation.

 

The Leader will ask whether any members of the public present at the meeting wish to ask a question and will decide on the order of questioners.

 

The response may take the form of:

a)       a direct oral answer;

b)      where the desired information is in a publication of the Council or other published work, a reference to that publication; or

c)       where the reply cannot conveniently be given orally, a written answer circulated later to the questioner.

Additional documents:

Decision:

There were no public questions.

Minutes:

There were no public questions.

277.

Member Questions

No Member Questions have been submitted prior to the publication of the agenda.

 

A Member of the Council may ask the Leader or a Cabinet Member a question on any matter in relation to which the Council has powers or duties or which affects the Cotswold District. A maximum period of fifteen minutes shall be allowed at any such meeting for Member questions.

 

A Member may only ask a question if:

a)       the question has been delivered in writing or by electronic mail to the Chief Executive no later than 5.00 p.m. on the working day before the day of the meeting; or

b)      the question relates to an urgent matter, they have the consent of the Leader to whom the question is to be put and the content of the question is given to the Chief Executive by 9.30 a.m. on the day of the meeting.

 

An answer may take the form of:

a)       a direct oral answer;

b)      where the desired information is in a publication of the Council or other published work, a reference to that publication; or

c)       where the reply cannot conveniently be given orally, a written answer circulated later to the questioner.

Additional documents:

Decision:

There were no member questions.

Minutes:

There were no member questions.

278.

Issue(s) Arising from Overview and Scrutiny and/or Audit and Governance

To receive any recommendations from the Overview and Scrutiny Committee or to consider any matters raised by the Audit and Governance Committee.

Additional documents:

Decision:

The purpose of this item was to consider any recommendations from the Overview and Scrutiny Committee and/or any issues arising from the Audit and Governance Committee.

 

There was one recommendation from the Overview and Scrutiny Committee meeting to Cabinet which was tabled:

 

That Cabinet considers the necessity to increase resourcing for ecology, given our goal (green to the core), declared climate and ecological crisis and increased legal monitoring obligations.

 

The Leader stated that the Overview and Scrutiny Committee had met two days prior to the Cabinet, and that they would therefore require more time to consider a response. The response would be deferred to the June meeting of Cabinet, scheduled to be held on Thursday 6 June 2024. The Leader explained that the Cabinet would aim to respond informally to the Members of the Committee before this date.

 

Minutes:

The purpose of this item was to consider any recommendations from the Overview and Scrutiny Committee and/or any issues arising from the Audit and Governance Committee.

 

There was one recommendation from the Overview and Scrutiny Committee meeting to Cabinet which was tabled:

 

That Cabinet considers the necessity to increase resourcing for ecology, given our goal (green to the core), declared climate and ecological crisis and increased legal monitoring obligations.

 

The Leader announced that Cabinet would defer its response to the June meeting in order to provide adequate time to formally respond. However, it was confirmed that there would be an informal response to the Overview and Scrutiny Committee before that meeting.

 

279.

Asset Management Strategy pdf icon PDF 158 KB

Purpose

To agree to adopt the Asset Management Strategy to provide a clear strategy for future decision making and investment in the Councils land and property assets.

 

Recommendations

That Cabinet resolves to:

1.    Adopt the Asset Management Strategy attached at Annex B.

2.    Instruct its consultants Carter Jonas to review its existing assets in line with that Strategy.

Additional documents:

Decision:

The purpose of the report was to agree to adopt the Asset Management Strategy to provide a clear strategy for future decision making and investment in the Councils land and property assets.

 

The Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Finance introduced the report, highlighting the following points;

  • The list of assets at Annex A contained some minor errors, eg. Northleach was a town not a parish. Officers would be making these changes.
  • Principles of managing these assets was listed on page 12 of the report.
  • Commercial opportunities for the Council’s assets were also highlighted in the document

 

Members of the Cabinet welcomed the report, and raised the following points;

·         Internal works were being undertaken to Cirencester Leisure Centre

·         The list of assets was valuable in order to decarbonise the Council’s assets as soon as possible

·         The strategy and its objectives were clear, but that adequate member involvement would be needed to ensure its successful implementation. The Leader stated that this feedback has been given to senior officers, but would also be raised at a future meeting of the constitution working group.

 

The recommendations were proposed by Councillor Mike Evemy and were seconded by Councillor Joe Harris.

 

RESOLVED: That Cabinet

 

1.    AGREED to adopt the Asset Management Strategy attached at Annex B.

 

2.    AGREED to instruct its consultants Carter Jonas to review its existing assets in line with that Strategy.

 

Voting Record

 

7 For, 0 Against, 0 Abstention, 1 Absent/Did not vote

 

Minutes:

Having declared a pecuniary interest, Councillor Bloomer left the room before the item was introduced.

 

The purpose of the report was to agree to adopt the Asset Management Strategy to provide a clear strategy for future decision making and investment in the Councils land and property assets.

 

The Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Finance introduced the report, and highlighted the following points;

 

  • The Overview and Scrutiny Committee had examined the report in advance of the meeting and had provided various feedback.
  • It was noted that this strategy was focussed on land and property owned by the Council.
  • The current valuation of the assets was around £64 million in total and £5.4 million of those were commercial investments purchased under the previous Conservative administration. 
  • The list of assets at Annex A contained some minor errors, e.g. Northleach was a town council and not a parish council. Officers would be making these changes after the meeting.
  • The strategy at Annex B set out the Council’s current position on assets and the management going forward which included the principles of managing these assets being;

-       Fit for purpose, cost effective and well utilised

-       Sustainable and efficient

-       Commercially managed

  • It was noted that those investment properties within and outside of the District were also covered within the strategy including further opportunities for these assets.
  • A Strategic Estates Board as a sub group of the Cabinet Transform Working Group would be created to look at opportunities in relation to assets.

 

Members of the Cabinet welcomed the report, and raised the following points;

  • Internal works were being undertaken to Cirencester Leisure Centre.
  • The list of assets was valuable in order to decarbonise the Council’s assets as soon as possible.
  • The strategy and its objectives were clear but adequate member involvement would be needed to ensure its successful implementation. The Leader stated that this feedback had been given to senior officers and would also be raised at a future meeting of the Constitution Working Group.

 

The recommendations were proposed by Councillor Mike Evemy and were seconded by Councillor Joe Harris.

 

RESOLVED: That Cabinet

 

1.    AGREED to adopt the Asset Management Strategy attached at Annex B.

 

2.    AGREED to instruct its consultants Carter Jonas to review its existing assets in line with that Strategy.

 

Voting Record

 

7 For, 0 Against, 0 Abstention, 1 Absent/Did not vote

 

For

Against

Abstention

Absent/Did not vote

Joe Harris

 

 

Claire Bloomer

Juliet Layton

 

 

 

Lisa Spivey

 

 

 

Mike Evemy

 

 

 

Mike McKeown

 

 

 

Paul Hodgkinson

 

 

 

Tony Dale

 

 

 

 

280.

Disposal of Property in Bourton on the Water pdf icon PDF 103 KB

Purpose

To request a decision to dispose of former Visitor Information Centre building in Bourton on the Water.

 

Recommendations

That Cabinet resolves to:

1.    Approve the recommendation to dispose of the former Visitor Information Centre building in Victoria Street Bourton on the Water

2.    Delegate authority to the Deputy Chief Executive and Chief Finance Officer, in consultation with the Deputy Leader and Cabinet member for Finance to approve the final terms of the sale including sale price.

 

Additional documents:

Decision:

The purpose of the report was to request a decision to dispose of former Visitor Information Centre building in Bourton on the Water.

 

The Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Finance introduced the report, explaining the background to the item;

  • The property was a visitor information centre which had been closed.
  • The property was therefore vacant, and the preferred option was to sell this, which would generate an estimated capital receipt of £235,000.
  • If the Council chose to keep the property it would incur costs to manage it.

 

The recommendations were proposed by Councillor Evemy and were seconded by Councillor Joe Harris.

 

RESOLVED: That Cabinet

 

1.    APPROVED the recommendation to dispose of the former Visitor Information Centre building in Victoria Street Bourton on the Water

 

2.    DELEGATED AUTHORITY to the Deputy Chief Executive and Chief Finance Officer, in consultation with the Deputy Leader and Cabinet member for Finance to approve the final terms of the sale including sale price.

 

Voting Record

 

8 For, 0 Against, 0 Abstention, 0 Absent/Did not vote

Minutes:

The purpose of the report was to request a decision to dispose of former Visitor Information Centre building in Bourton-on-the-Water.

 

Councillor Bloomer returned to the meeting at the start of this item.

 

The Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Finance, Councillor Evemy, introduced the report and made the following points:

  • The background to the property was that the visitor information centre has been vacant since February 2024 after closing down.
  • The property was therefore redundant and after taking advice, it was identified that there was no strategic use for the building for the Council. Therefore, it was recommended that the Council disposes of the asset.
  • A net capital receipt of £235,000 after costs of selling the property was accounted for. 
  • Holding on to the property would bring its own costs in maintaining of the property.

 

There were no questions or comments from Cabinet.

 

The recommendations were proposed by Councillor Evemy and were seconded by Councillor Joe Harris

 

RESOLVED: That Cabinet

 

1.    APPROVED the recommendation to dispose of the former Visitor Information Centre building in Victoria Street Bourton on the Water

 

2.    DELEGATED AUTHORITY to the Deputy Chief Executive and Chief Finance Officer, in consultation with the Deputy Leader and Cabinet member for Finance to approve the final terms of the sale including sale price.

 

Voting Record

 

8 For, 0 Against, 0 Abstention, 0 Absent/Did not vote

 

For

Against

Abstention

Absent/Did not vote

Claire Bloomer

 

 

 

Joe Harris

 

 

 

Juliet Layton

 

 

 

Lisa Spivey

 

 

 

Mike Evemy

 

 

 

Mike McKeown

 

 

 

Paul Hodgkinson

 

 

 

Tony Dale

 

 

 

 

281.

Legal Services Partnership Agreement pdf icon PDF 131 KB

Purpose

To seek authority to enter into a formal partnership agreement for a shared legal service with Forest of Dean and West Oxfordshire District Councils and to note progress on the Legal Services Transformation programme to date.

 

Recommendations

That Cabinet resolves to:

1.    Delegate authority to the Chief Executive, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for the Economy and Council Transformation, to enter into the formal Legal Services Partnership Agreement with Forest of Dean and West Oxfordshire District Councils with immediate effect.

2.    Note progress and the direction of travel for the Legal Services Transformation Programme to date.

Additional documents:

Decision:

The purpose of the report was to seek authority to enter into a formal partnership agreement for a shared legal service with Forest of Dean and West Oxfordshire District Councils and to note progress on the Legal Services Transformation programme to date.

 

The Cabinet Member for Economy and Council Transformation introduced the item, highlighting the following points;

  • Cadence had carried out a review of the Council’s legal processes.
  • The key outcomes of the review were to formalise informal partnership agreements, and the procurement of the Iken case management system.

 

Cabinet Members welcomed the proposals and particularly the procurement of the case management software, which would allow the Council’s legal teams to better monitor their caseloads.

 

The recommendations were proposed by Councillor Tony Dale and were seconded by Councillor Mike Evemy.

 

RESOLVED: That Cabinet

 

1.    DELEGATED AUTHORITY to the Chief Executive, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for the Economy and Council Transformation, to enter into the formal Legal Services Partnership Agreement with Forest of Dean and West Oxfordshire District Councils with immediate effect.

 

2.    NOTED progress and the direction of travel for the Legal Services Transformation Programme to date.

 

Voting Record

 

8 For, 0 Against, 0 Abstention, 0 Absent/Did not vote

 

Minutes:

The purpose of the report was to seek authority to enter into a formal partnership agreement for a shared legal service with Forest of Dean and West Oxfordshire District Councils and to note progress on the Legal Services Transformation programme to date.

 

The Cabinet Member for Economy and Council Transformation, Councillor Dale, introduced the item and outlined the following points:

  • The Legal Services provision for Cotswold District Council, West Oxfordshire District Council and Forest of Dean District Council had been done on an informal agreement since 2016.
  • A review had been carried out by Cadence to look at all aspects of the informal agreement.
  • The recommendation was for Cabinet to agree to enter into a formal agreement under S.113 of the Local Government Act 1972.
  • The agreement would confirm the current governance arrangements of a Steering Board involving the Council’s Monitoring Officers, the Head of Legal Services and the Legal Services Change Manager.
  • The new Iken case management software had been rolled out which would help to track cases and the software would integrate with existing Council ICT services.
  • It was hoped that the new arrangement would be a successful shared services model for the Council.

 

Cabinet welcomed the report and specifically the case management system which would help to manage the workload of legal services staff.

 

The recommendations were proposed by Councillor Dale and were seconded by Councillor Evemy.

 

RESOLVED: That Cabinet

 

1.    DELEGATED AUTHORITY to the Chief Executive, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for the Economy and Council Transformation, to enter into the formal Legal Services Partnership Agreement with Forest of Dean and West Oxfordshire District Councils with immediate effect.

 

2.    NOTED progress and the direction of travel for the Legal Services Transformation Programme to date.

 

Voting Record

 

8 For, 0 Against, 0 Abstention, 0 Absent/Did not vote

 

For

Against

Abstention

Absent/Did not vote

Claire Bloomer

 

 

 

Joe Harris

 

 

 

Juliet Layton

 

 

 

Lisa Spivey

 

 

 

Mike Evemy

 

 

 

Mike McKeown

 

 

 

Paul Hodgkinson

 

 

 

Tony Dale

 

 

 

 

282.

Grant Offer - On-Street Residential Charge Point Scheme pdf icon PDF 78 KB

Purpose          

To acknowledge the successful grant application and request the Council includes £383,200 in the Capital Programme and supports the match funding of up to £191,600.

 

Recommendations

That Cabinet resolves to:

1.            Note the successful grant application of £191,600;

2.            Recommend to Council to include £383,200 in the Capital Programme and that the Council supports match funding of up to £191,600

Additional documents:

Decision:

The purpose of the report was to acknowledge the successful grant application and request the Council includes £383,200 in the Capital Programme and supports the match funding of up to £191,600.

 

The Cabinet Member for Climate Change and Sustainability introduced the report, highlighting the following points;

  • The proposals were deemed as timely, due to the previous summer being the second UK’s hottest on record, which was an impact of climate change.
  • Transport was the District’s biggest contributor to its carbon footprint, and cars made up a significant proportion of this. Electric Vehicle use would therefore help with the achievement of the Council’s Climate Change objectives.
  • The proposals would see 66 chargers installed across 11 car parks.

 

Members of the Cabinet welcomed the recommendations and encouraged residents to utilise electric vehicles. It was also clarified that the Council did not run on-street car parks despite the title of the report. The report title reflected the name of the grant.

 

The recommendations were proposed by Councillor Mike McKeown and seconded by Councillor Tony Dale

 

RESOLVED: That Cabinet

 

  1. NOTED the successful grant application of £191,600;
  2. AGREED to recommend to Council to include £383,200 in the Capital Programme and that the Council supports match funding of up to £191,600

 

Voting Record

 

8 For, 0 Against, 0 Abstention, 0 Absent/Did not vote

 

Minutes:

The purpose of the report was to acknowledge the successful grant application and request the Council includes £383,200 in the Capital Programme and supports the match funding of up to £191,600.

 

The Cabinet Member for Climate Change and Sustainability, Councillor McKeown introduced the report, highlighting that:

  • The climate was continuing to change with warmer temperatures expected without action.
  • Transport emissions was Cotswold’s biggest contributor to its carbon footprint.
  • 30-40% of homes did not have off-street parking which required EVCPs in nearby locations.
  • The Council would need to utilise its assets to install points and work with partners.
  • The proposal was for 66 chargers across 11 car parks.
  • Due to the change required to the Capital Programme, it needed the final approval of Full Council.

 

Cabinet welcomed the recommendation and encouraged residents to take up electric vehicles and use the chargers provided.

 

It was clarified that the report title was in respect of off-street car parking facilities but that the title of the report reflected the name of the grant being received.

 

It was noted that this was an aspiration that had been worked on since the Liberal Democrat administration first came into office in 2019.

 

Cabinet thanked officers for their work in delivering the report.

 

The recommendations were proposed by Councillor McKeown and seconded by Councillor Joe Harris.

 

RESOLVED: That Cabinet

 

  1. NOTED the successful grant application of £191,600;
  2. AGREED to recommend to Council to include £383,200 in the Capital Programme and that the Council supports match funding of up to £191,600

 

Voting Record

 

8 For, 0 Against, 0 Abstention, 0 Absent/Did not vote

 

For

Against

Abstention

Absent/Did not vote

Claire Bloomer

 

 

 

Joe Harris

 

 

 

Juliet Layton

 

 

 

Lisa Spivey

 

 

 

Mike Evemy

 

 

 

Mike McKeown

 

 

 

Paul Hodgkinson

 

 

 

Tony Dale

 

 

 

 

283.

Schedule of Decisions taken by the Leader of the Council and/or Individual Cabinet Members

To note the decisions taken by the Leader and/or Individual Cabinet Members.

 

None have been taken prior to the publication of the agenda.

Additional documents:

Decision:

There were none taken before the publication of the agenda.

Minutes:

There were none taken before the publication of the agenda.