Resolution status:Carried
RESOLVED that the minutes of Full Council 21 January 2026 were approved as a true and accurate record.
Council RESOLVED to:
1. Appoint Councillor Helene Mansilla to the role of Chair of the Audit and Governance Committee for the remainder of the municipal year.
Amendment status:Rejected
RESOLVED that Council APPROVED :
1. the Medium-Term Financial Strategy set out in Annex B
2. the Budget Pressures and Savings for inclusion in the budget, set out in Annex C
3. the Council Tax Requirement of £7,419,716 for this Council
4. the Council Tax level for Cotswold District Council purposes of £163.93 for a Band D property in 2026/27 (an increase of £5)
5. the Capital Programme, set out in Annex D
6. the Annual Capital Strategy 2026/27, as set out in Annex E
7. the Annual Treasury Management Strategy and Non-Treasury Management Investment Strategy 2026/27, as set out in Annex F
8. the Strategy for the Flexible use of Capital Receipts, as set out in Annex H
9. that £2m is set aside in a new earmarked reserve Council Priority: LGR Transition through the releasing of £2m of the balance currently held in the Financial Resilience Reserve.
10. the balances and reserves forecast for 2026/27 to 2029/30 as set out in Section 7 of the report.
Subject to confirmation of Gloucestershire County Council’s precept, Council RESOLVED to:
1. Agree for the purposes of the Local Government Finance Act 1992 Section 35(2), that there are no special expenses for the District Council in 2026/27;
2. Note that, using their delegated authority, the Deputy Chief Executive calculated the Council Tax Base for 2026/27:
a. for the whole Council area as 45,261.49 [item T in the formula in Section 31B of the Local Government Finance Act 1992, as amended (the “Act”)]; and
b. for dwellings in those parts of its area to which a Parish Precept relates as in the attached Schedule 1.
3. Agree that the Council Tax requirement for the Council’s own purposes for 2026/27 (excluding Parish Precepts) is £7,419,716.
4. Agree that the following amounts be calculated for the year 2026/27 in accordance with Sections 31 to 36 of the Act:
a. £52,952,023 being the aggregate of the amounts which the Council estimates for the items set out in Section 31A (2) of the Act, taking into account all precepts issued to it by Parish Councils and any additional special expenses.
b. £39,934,694 being the aggregate of the amounts which the Council estimates for the items set out in Section 31A (3) of the Act.
c. £13,017,510 being the amount by which the aggregate at 4(a) above exceeds the aggregate at 4(b) above, calculated by the Council, in accordance with Section 31A(4) of the Act, as its Council Tax requirement for the year (Item R in the formula in Section 31B of the Act).
d. £287.60 being the amount at 4(c) above (Item R), all divided by Item T (1(a) above), calculated by the Council, in accordance with Section 31B of the Act, as the basic amount of its Council Tax for the year (including Parish Precepts and Special Expenses);
e. £5,597,794 being the aggregate amount of all special items (Parish Precepts and Special Expenses) referred to in Section 34(1) of the Act as per the attached Schedule 2.
f. £163.93 being the amount at 4(d) above less the result given by dividing the amount at 4(e) above by Item T(2(a) above), calculated by the Council, in accordance with Section 34(2) of the Act, as the basic amount of its Council Tax for the year for dwellings in those parts of its area to which no Parish Precept or special item relates;
g. the amounts shown in Schedule 2 being the amounts given by adding to the amount at 4(f) above, the amounts of the special item or items relating to dwellings in those parts of the Council’s area shown in Schedule 2 divided in each case by the amount at 2(b) above, calculated by the Council, in accordance with Section 34(3) of the Act, as the basic amounts of its Council Tax for the year for dwellings in those parts of its area to which one or more special items relate;
h. the amounts shown in Schedule 3 being the amounts given by multiplying the amounts at 4(f) and 4(g) above by the number which, in the proportion set out in Section 5(1) of the Act, is applicable to dwellings listed in a particular valuation band divided by the number which in that proportion is applicable to dwellings listed in valuation Band D, calculated by the Council, in accordance with Section 36(1) of the Act, as the amounts to be taken into account for the year in respect of categories of dwellings listed in different valuation bands;
5. Note that for the year 2026/27 the Gloucestershire County Council and the Police & Crime Commissioner for Gloucestershire have issued precepts to the Council, in accordance with Section 40 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992, for each category of dwellings in the Council’s area as indicated below:
Valuation Band
Gloucestershire County Council
Police and Crime Commissioner
£
A
1,175.64
227.05
B
1,371.58
264.90
C
1,567.52
302.74
D
1,763.46
340.58
E
2,155.34
416.26
F
2,547.22
491.95
G
2,939.10
567.63
H
3,526.92
681.16
6. Agree, in accordance with Sections 30 and 36 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992, to set the aggregate amounts shown in Schedule 4 as the amounts of Council Tax for the year 2026/27 for each part of its area and for each of the categories of dwellings.
7. Agree the Council’s basic amount of Council Tax for 2026/27 is not excessive in accordance with principles approved under Section 52ZB Local Government Finance Act 1992.
8. Authorise the following Council/Publica Officers: Deputy Chief Executive, Interim Director – Resident Services, Director of Governance and Development, Legal Executive, Business Manager – Environmental, Welfare and Revenues, Revenues Manager, Revenues Lead and Senior Recovery Officer to:
a. collect and recover any National Non-Domestic Rates and Council Tax; and
b. prosecute or defend on the Council’s behalf or to appear on its behalf in proceedings before a magistrate’s court in respect of unpaid National Non-Domestic Rates and Council Tax.
Council RESOLVED to
1. APPROVE the Pay Policy Statement for 2026/27.
RESOLVED that, subject to the amendment on fees and charges item 186, the minutes of the meeting of the Cabinet held on 8 January 2026 be approved as a correct record
Cabinet resolved to APPROVE the attached Asbestos Management Policy.
Cabinet resolved to AGREE to :
1. enter into a Common Service Agreement with Ubico as described in this report, and
2. delegate authority to the Director of Communities and Place in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Environment and Regulatory Services to agree the final terms of the agreement with Ubico.
RESOLVED that Cabinet considered the budget report and approved for recommendation to Council:
Cabinet approved delegation to the Council’s Deputy Chief Executive, in consultation with the Chief Executive, Leader, and Cabinet Member for Finance
11. To agree changes to the General Fund Summary arising from the Final Local Government Finance Settlement and the Business Rates Retention Scheme estimates prior to submission to Council.
RESOLVED that the minutes of Full Council 26 November 2025 were approved as a true and accurate record.
Full Council RESOLVED to appoint:
1. Councillor Joe Harris to the vacant Liberal Democrat seat on the Planning and Licensing Committee (previously Councillor Tristan Wilkinson) for a term of office expiring at the next Annual Meeting of the Council.
2. Councillor Paul Hodgkinson to the vacant Liberal Democrat seat on the Audit and Governance Committee (previously Councillor Tony Dale) for a term of office expiring at the next Annual Meeting of the Council.
Following the resolutions of the Planning and Licensing Committee on 14 January 2026, Council RESOLVED to:
Full Council RESOLVED to:
1. Note the Council’s Treasury Management performance for the period 1 April 2025 to 30 September 2025 and the Quarter 2 Prudential Indicators.
2. Approve the Treasury Management Mid-Year Report 2025/26.
Motion status:Carried
Full Council resolved to:
RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting of the Cabinet held on 20 November 2025 be approved as a correct record.
RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting of the Cabinet held on 26 November 2025 be approved as a correct record.
Resolved that Cabinet:
1. Approved the replacement of vehicles in line with the updated Capital Fleet Replacement Programme (Paragraph 5.3) up to a total of thirty-one vehicles.
2. Approved steps towards the decarbonisation of waste services through the purchase of one electric kerbside-sort vehicle (one of the thirty-one vehicles identified above) and a shift to using Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO) as a replacement to diesel.
3. Agreed to include the reprofiled capital expenditure for 2026/27 in the Capital Programme that will be considered by Cabinet and Council in February 2026.
1. Approved the Carers Leave Policy and Procedure
a. and
2. Approved the Dogs at Work Policy
1. Approved the Equality, Diversity, Inclusion and Equity Policy and Procedure, which had been rewritten to incorporate the Supreme Court Ruling.
2. Approved that ‘care experienced’ be treated as if it were a protected characteristic as many care-experienced people face discrimination, stigma and prejudice.
3. Delegated authority to the Chief Executive Officer to make minor and necessary amendments to the EDIE Policy, enabling timely updates that would not alter the policy’s strategic intent.
1. Approved and adopted the Corporate Enforcement Policy attached to the report.
2. Delegated authority to the Chief Executive to approve future minor amendments to the Policy, in consultation with the Leader of the Council, Head of Service Counter Fraud and Enforcement Unit, Relevant Heads of Service and the Head of Legal Services.
1. Approved the process to undertake a procurement exercise to appoint enforcement agent services for the council.
2. Noted that the procurement exercise would be undertaken via a Dynamic Purchasing System; and in partnership with five other Local Authorities.
1. Endorsed the rationale for revising fees and charges as set out in the report;
2. Approved the delegation of future decisions regarding the setting of Special Area of Conservation Fees to the Head of Planning Services in consultation with the Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Housing and Planning;
3. Approved the changes to car parking arrangements detailed in section 4 of the report to align with the Car Parking Strategy approved on 20 November 2025; and
4. Approved the implementation of the revised fees and charges for 2026/27, as detailed in Annex A, from 1 April 2026.
1. Reviewed and noted the financial position set out in this report.
2. Approved the additional transfers to earmarked reserves as set in paragraph 4.13 of the report.
3. Endorsed the principle to transfer 100% of any year-end Planning Fee income (over and above the budgeted level) to the Planning Appeals earmarked reserve, as set out in paragraph 4.24 of the report.
4. Approved the reallocation of the UKSPF capital budget as follows:
a. £0.229m to Rural England Prosperity
b. £0.060m to UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF Capital)
1. Reviewed the Strategic Risk Register and mitigation measures.
2. Endorsed the proposal for the strategic risk register to be included in the work programme for the committee with a quarterly review frequency.
1. Agreed to allocate funding for the following bids, as set out in Table 4:
a. Cycle parking Cotswold National Cycle Network (GCC with Walk Wheel Cycle Trust)
b. Farmor’s School 3G Pitch (Farmor’s School)
c. Redesdale Hall Phase 2 (Redesdale Hall Trust)
2. Delegated authority to the Assistant Director Planning Services in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Housing and Planning, to progress the funding bids subject to the Assistant Director of Planning Services, Legal Services, and the Finance Service undertaking the required due diligence to ensure a formal agreement is in place prior to the release of funding in accordance with the CIL funding guidance notes.
RESOLVED that the minutes of Full Council 24 September 2025 were approved as a true and accurate record.
1. Appoint Jane Portman to the role of permanent Chief Executive Officer with effect from 1 January 2026 on an annual salary of £140,000 with an additional one-off allowance of up to £8,000.
2. Appoint Jane Portman as the Council’s Head of Paid Service for the purposes of Section 4 of the Local Government and Housing Act 1989 with effect from 1 January 2026.
3. Appoint Jane Portman as the Council’s Returning Officer and Electoral Registration Officer for the purposes of Section 35 of the Representation of the Peoples Act (1983) and Regulation 4 of the Parish & Community Meeting (Polls) Rules (1987).
Resolved that Council APPROVED the recommendations of the Independent Remuneration Panel with regards to Special Responsibility Allowances (SRA’s):
Council also APPROVED
Council also NOTED
Council resolved to :
1. Agree the increase to income bands as detailed within paragraphs 3.2, 3.3 and Annex A of this report from 1 April 2026.
2. Agree that any balance remaining in the earmarked reserve ‘Hardship Fund’ be made available in 2026/27 financial year for reasons detailed in paragraphs 3.6 and 3.7 of this report.
Council resolved to:
APPROVE and ADOPT the Terms of Reference and Draft Proposals for consultation for the Community Governance Review (CGR).
1. Agree the programme of meetings from June 2026 to May 2027 as set out in Annex A and Annex B.
2. Delegate authority to the Director of Governance and Development (Monitoring Officer), in consultation with Group Leaders, to make changes to the programme of meetings in the event that there is any future decision of Council to change the committee structure or committee remits that impacts the programme of meetings.
3. Delegate authority to the Head of Democratic and Electoral Services to set the meeting dates for the Performance and Appointments Committee, member training and briefing sessions, any working groups established by the Council and any meetings of the Licensing Sub-Committee (Licensing Act 2003 Matters) and the Standards Hearings Sub-Committee (if required).
4. Agree that the meeting start times will be rolled forwards from 2025/26.
1. Request that the Cabinet proposes the single unitary council for Gloucestershire in response to the minister’s invitation on 5 February 2025
2. Request that the Leader sends an accompanying letter to the minister indicating the reasons for this decision based upon the debate at this meeting and at Cabinet
3. Request that the Cabinet and Officers continue their work to prepare for LGR in advance of a decision by the government that is expected in June or July 2026.
RESOLVED that the minutes of Full Council 19 March 2025 were approved as a true and accurate record.
RESOLVED that the minutes of Annual Council 21 May 2025 were approved as a true and accurate record.
RESOLVED that the minutes of Extraordinary Council 26 June 2025 were approved as a true and accurate record.
Council RESOLVED to APPROVE the appointment of Nikki Clark, Nick Craxton, David Hindle and Graham Russell to the Council’s Independent Remuneration Panel (IRP).
RESOLVED that Council REQUESTS that the Leader writes to the Chancellor of the Exchequer expressing concerns that the proposed changes to Inheritance Tax rules as they relate to farms will have unintended consequences that could have far-reaching implications for the viability of the farming sector of the Cotswolds.
Council is recommended to AGREE to merge the two ongoing Local Plan projects:
and
into a single comprehensive Full Local Plan Update in conjunction with incorporating work of the Gloucestershire Strategic Plan, where appropriate, with a view to submission in 2026 and adoption in 2027.
© Cotswold District Council