Agenda
PDF 556 KBVenue: the Council Chamber - Council Offices, Trinity Road, Cirencester, GL7 1PX. View directions
Contact: Democratic Services
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Apologies To receive any apologies for absence. The quorum for Council is 9 members.
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Declarations of Interest To receive any declarations of interest from Members relating to items to be considered at the meeting. |
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Minutes To confirm the minutes of the meeting of Council held on 24 February 2025. |
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Announcements from the Chair, Leader or Chief Executive To receive any announcements from the Chair of the Council, the Leader of the Council and the Chief Executive. |
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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 Council’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 Chair 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. |
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Member Questions A Member of the Council may ask the Chair, the Leader, a Cabinet Member or the Chair of any Committee 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 Chair 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.
The following questions were submitted prior to the publication of the agenda:
Question 1: Councillor Blomefield to Councillor Layton, Cabinet Member for Housing and Planning Despite increasingly wet weather, this country faces growing water shortages making it essential to better conserve this precious resource. Currently, per capita water consumption is approximately 150 litres per day but could be reduced to 100 litres by using new technology, like Danish Flowloop and Dutch Hydroloop shower systems, as well as rainwater harvesting. In Belgium, where rainwater harvesting is mandatory, the water is used for laundry and toilets. New properties are now fitted with water meters, even better are smart meters which offer live usage tracking and leak detection—particularly important since 30% of leaks occur within properties. Reducing mains water consumption and increasing rainwater harvesting would not only help the environment but also lessen the load on the sewage system, reducing overflows into rivers and onto streets during heavy rainfall. Given this, can the council provide an update on the progress and actions taken in response to Cllr Judd’s motion on Grey Water, approved in September 2023? Additionally, what steps is CDC taking to encourage water-saving plumbing fixtures, smart water meters, and rainwater harvesting systems in all new homes?
Question 2: Councillor Stowe to Councillor Harris, Leader of the Council Has CDC stopped installing new street signs?
Question 3: Councillor Daryl Corps to Councillor Juliet Layton, Cabinet Member for Housing and Planning Many new, unadopted housing developments in the district are experiencing ongoing and often drawn-out problems with management companies regarding open spaces on new developments. These include the quality of the maintenance work carried out and the lack of transparency over charges which can change every year and are unlimited. Stratford-on-Avon District Council have adopted a new “Open Space Supplementary Planning Document” whereby all future Public Open Space as part of ... view the full agenda text for item 6. |
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Publica Transition Plan - Phase 2 Purpose To consider the document Publica Transition: A Plan for Phase 2 of Council Services (“Phase 2 Transition Plan”), to note its contents and to approve the recommendations therein.
Recommendations That Council resolves to:
Additional documents: |
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Community Governance Review - Upper Rissington Purpose To approve the final recommendation of the Community Governance Review for Upper Rissington.
Recomendations That Council resolves to:
Additional documents: |
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Pay Policy Statement 2025 Purpose To consider the Council’s Pay Policy Statement for 2025/26.
Recommendation That Council resolves to: 1. Approve the Pay Policy Statement for 2025/26. Additional documents: |
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Amendments to the Constitution - Report of the Constitution Working Group (March 2025) Purpose To consider proposals from the Constitution Working Group for amendments to the Constitution.
Recommendations That Council resolves to:
Additional documents: |
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Devolution and Local Government Reorganisation Purpose To note the work underway across Gloucestershire in response to the formal invitation received from Government to develop proposals for local government reorganisation (LGR).
Recommendation That Council resolves to: 1. Note the work taking place across Gloucestershire in response to the formal invitation from Government to develop proposals for Local Government Reorganisation 2. Note the Gloucestershire letter to Government on interim proposals. Additional documents: |
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Motion A: Farmers Motion In accordance with Council Procedure Rule 12, the following Motion has been received:
Farmers Motion Proposer: Councillor Julia Judd Seconder: Councillor Joe Harris
This Council notes that we currently only produce 60% of the food that we need here in the UK. Food imports already outnumber exports by £33.2 billion. A reduction in the food that we produce will only increase our vulnerability to international factors outside our control - we have already felt this impact in the energy market.
This Council also notes that: · According to the NFU: 7,419 people are directly employed in agriculture in Gloucestershire, that’s 12.1% of the South West’s farm workers · Gross Output = £318 million, GVA = £128 million · Of the 85,397.1 Hectares of arable farmland, 63.2% (53,965.1Ha) is cereal crops, that’s 24.1% of Gloucestershire’s farmed area and 18% of all the South West’s cereal production. · The National Farmers Union calculates that 75% of commercial family farms will fall above the £1 million threshold across the UK. · Over the past 60 years the proportion of household income spent on food in the UK has halved, from 33% in 1957, 11.8% in 2022. Food prices have come down, farmers' income from food production has come down and supermarket profits have ballooned. · neither DEFRA, the Government’s own department, nor industry experts in the farming sector were consulted before the chancellor made her announcement. DEFRA did not even know about the decision until after the chancellor’s announcement.
This Council believes that · proper consultation with farmers and industry experts could have led to fairer and more appropriate solutions that are not detrimental to family farms or the wider industry. The changes were rushed out and have not been subject to due diligence or proper consideration. · If hard-pressed farmers are forced to sell their farms because they can’t afford to carry on due to a huge tax burden, the land is less likely to stay in food production. · Large farms are being bought by businesses so that they can take advantage of the 20% tax advantage, and small pockets of land which farmers sell off to cover tax burdens are often re-purposed for example dog walking fields, equestrian or amenity land such as re-wilding, but not put back into food production · Tax discount to businesses or individuals buying agricultural land to avoid tax should be abolished
This Council resolves to :
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Next meeting The next meeting of Council will be held on 21 May 2025 at 6.00 pm. |