Agenda
PDF 580 KBVenue: the Council Chamber - Council Offices, Trinity Road, Cirencester, GL7 1PX. View directions
Contact: Democratic Services
Media
| No. | Item |
|---|---|
|
Apologies To receive any apologies for absence. The quorum for Council is 9 members.
|
|
|
Declarations of Interest To receive any declarations of interest from Members relating to items to be considered at the meeting. |
|
|
To confirm the minutes of the meeting of Council held on 23 February 2026. |
|
|
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. |
|
|
Unsung Heroes Awards Purpose: To announce the Unsung Heroes awards for this quarter. |
|
|
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. |
|
|
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 Member Questions have been submitted for response: Question 1: Cllr Tom Stowe to Cllr Juliet Layton, Cabinet Member for Housing and Planning. Please could you confirm the current number of open Planning Enforcement cases and does the current level of staffing and resources within the Planning Enforcement team allow Cotswold District Council to deliver an effective and timely service? Question 2: Cllr Tony Slater to Cllr Mike Evemy, Leader of the Council. Following the O&S briefing on the latest LGR position I am concerned that the LGR work is taking too much time from our senior officers, who as a result, cannot dedicate their service to Cotswold District Council. CDC seems to have more of its officers leading workstreams and programmes of work than other district and city councils. While it is pleasing that our officers have the advanced skills to be picked for this important work, it distorts the fair share of costs between the other contributors. As with the Publica transition, the estimated costs of £1.5m (already equivalent to around 900 band D taxpayers) do not account for the significant officer time, and the taxpayers of the Cotswolds are therefore paying more than their fair share for the reorganisation, and at the same time losing out on service that should be provided. Please can you explain how these role allocations are weighted for fairness, and what additional backfill costs are envisaged to fill the void when officers are working on LGR? Question 3: Cllr Tom Stowe to Cllr Mike Evemy, Leader of the Council. Does Cotswold District Council own a camera drone? If so, how much did it cost and what ongoing/recurring costs to the council are there? Question 4: Cllr Tony Slater to Cllr Andrea Pellegram, Cabinet Member for Environment and Regulatory Services. Litter along our roads and lanes has become intolerable ... view the full agenda text for item 7. |
|
|
Constitution Working Group recommendations Purpose: To present recommendations from the Constitution Working Group arising from meetings on 7 October 2025 and 13 February 2026 in relation to: • Disclosable interests • Standards Hearings Sub-Committee Procedure Rules • Committee Membership
Recommendations: That Council resolves to: 1. Agree to amend the Planning Protocol to include the new paragraphs drafted by the Head of Legal Services about the declaration of disclosable pecuniary interests, as shown in Annex A. 2. Agree to amend the Standards Hearings Sub-Committee Procedure Rules following a review, as shown in Annex B. 3. Agree to amend Article 5 to remove the rule that says the Chair and Vice-Chair of the Council cannot both serve on the Planning and Licensing Committee. Additional documents: |
|
|
Review of political proportionalities on committees Purpose: To review the political proportionalities on committees following receipt of a notice that a member has joined a group.
Recommendations: That Council resolves to: 1. Agree the political proportionalities as set out in Annex A. 2. Appoint to any vacant seats on committees in accordance with the wishes of the political group to which the seat has been allocated, as expressed at the meeting |
|
|
Appointment of Independent Members to the Audit and Governance Committee Purpose: To appoint one/extend the other appropriately skilled and experienced members of the public to be “independent members” of the Audit & Governance Committee.
Recommendations: That Council resolves to: 1. Appoint Nick Craxton to the Council’s Audit & Governance Committee commencing immediately, until 31 March 2028. 2. Extend Christopher Bass’ appointment to the Council’s Audit & Governance Committee until 31 March 2028. |
|
|
Community Governance Review Purpose: To approve the final recommendations of the Community Governance Review.
Recommendations: That Council resolves to: 1. Approve the final recommendations in relation to the Community Governance Review for Cirencester, Cutsdean, Fairford, Moreton-in-Marsh, Southrop, Tetbury, as set out in the table at para. 5.1. 2. Authorise the Head of Legal Services to make a Reorganisation of Community Governance order to implement the changes agreed by Council. Additional documents: |
|
|
Change to Full Council meeting date Purpose: To consider a change to the June Extraordinary Full Council meeting date.
Recommendation: Council is recommended to agree to move the date of the 17 June 2026 Full Council meeting to 12 August 2026, at 6.00pm.
|
|
|
In accordance with Council Procedure Rule 12, the following Motion has been received:
Motion A: Climate and Ecological Transformation in Cotswold District and Gloucestershire Proposed by: Councillor Angus Jenkinson Seconded by Councillor Mike McKeown
Motion: The motion addresses the urgent need for local action to support sustainable and regenerative agricultural practices in response to escalating climate and ecological challenges. Council notes:
Recognising the significant potential of local agriculture to contribute positively to climate and ecological recovery, and the need for coordinated local and regional support to enable this, Council resolves to: 1) Request that the Chief Executive and the Leader propose the following when representing the Council on the work to prepare for local government reorganisation: a) That the LGR Programme formally adopts Food and Farming as an active element within its climate planning work - whether as its own strand or as a sub?strand as officers determine as most effective; and b) That the LGR Programme uses Climate Leadership Gloucestershire’s Food and Farming track as a convening mechanism.
2) Request that the Chief Executive and the Leader report back to the July 2026 meeting of the Council with an update on the development of the Future Operating Model(s) of the new unitary council(s) and how Food and Farming is being considered within them and including the following: a) who will take ownership of it (political and officer leads), b) what the early priorities are, and c) which partners could be involved (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, catchment partnerships, Environment Agency, National Landscapes, Farming and Wildlife Advisory Group, National Farmers Union, and others as appropriate). |
|
|
Next meeting The next meeting of Council will be held on 20 May 2026, starting at 6.00 pm. |