Agenda and minutes

To receive apologies for absence.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Edmunds, Gray, Haydn Jones, Mossman, Oxley, Prenter and Ryder.

The Chair confirmed that due to the public interest in the Motion regarding the former Ship Inn site this item would be brough forward on the agenda and would be taken after Item 3.

The Chief Executive was invited to make a brief announcement where it was advised that she had received the resignation of the Leader of Council. The changes to Political Balance as a result of the new Political Group would be discussed under Agenda Item 4.

To receive declarations of interest.

There were none.

To approve the minutes of the meeting held on 19 May 2022.

This Council Notes:

1.    The former Ship Inn site is a canal-side piece of land adjacent to the A419 in Stonehouse.

2.    The former pub (The Ship Inn) was demolished in 1997. Gloucestershire County Council (GCC) had planning permission refused for a pupil referral centre (2001) and then in 2002 GCC had planningrefused for residential development by Stroud District Council (SDC) upheld after appeal.

3.    In 2005, in response to Cotswold Canals request for additional financial support with the Canal Restoration, GCC donated this piece of land along with two others, as part of the County’s agreement to contribute land which would benefit the Cotswold Canals project.

4.    In 2016 this council took the decision to sell the Ship Inn site from the General Fund to the HRA, with the resulting receipt being used on the canal project In 2018 the plan for 9 dwellings (down from initial plans of 10) were discussed at an SDC DCC meeting and after much discussion, councillors voted against the development and the application was withdrawn.

5.    Having watched the failed attempts to acquire planning permission twice on this site, Stonehouse Town Council in October 2021 conducted a survey, asking for residents’ views on the site. The response rate from residents was substantial, in total 598 people from all over the town took part in the survey (all verified by officers) which equates to 9% of Stonehouse residents over working age.  The overwhelming majority, 91%, did not want to see council-built housing on the site; with 95% wanting to see community facilities. A small minority wanted both. Stonehouse Town Council is now seeking further engagement with SDC.

Therefore, this Council resolves to:

As landowners task officers with finding a suitable use for the former Ship Inn site in Stonehouse that:

1.    Rules out Housing

2.    Considers our Canal Strategy

3.    Follows on from the good work conducted by Stonehouse Town Council noted above.

Following this work officers will then present their findings and recommendations to Council by the end of Spring 2023.

Councillor Housden introduced the Motion regarding the former Ship Inn site and explored the history of the site from 1997 to present day. He advised that:

·         The site had been purchased in 1997 to allow for the widening of the road, work which had begun in 1999.

·         Following the completion of the work, Gloucestershire County Council (GCC) applied for planning permission twice however this was rejected and upheld on appeal.

·         In 2005 GCC agreed to transfer Capel Mill, Wallbridge and the Ship Inn Site to the British Waterways.

·         In 2013 the Strategy and Resources Committee considered the disposal of the site.

·         In December 2015 the decision was made to transfer the site to the Housing Revenue Account.

·         In May 2017 a proposal for 10 dwellings was considered and a public consultation held, the scheme was revised in 2018 to 9 dwellings.

·         In 2018 a planning application was taken to Development Control Committee but was refused.

·         Over £54,000 had been spent on the site over the last 10 years.

·         The site had been inactive since 1997, the Motion was not aimed at following one direction but instead asked Officers to begin to explore the feasibility of other options.

Councillor Ross introduced her amendment to the Motion which included a paragraph regarding ensuring that value is received though housing or an appropriate valued receipt. The amendment proposed carried on from Paragraph 5 of the original Motion as below:

‘6.  That there is a requirement to ensure value is received from the Council’s property assets, and as the site sits in the Housing Revenue Account this needs to be either through housing or an appropriately valued receipt. Decisions upon the site should be taken by the Housing Committee.

Therefore, this Council resolves to:

Request the Head of Property Services to report to Housing Committee by the end of Spring 2023 on options for a suitable use for the former Ship Inn site in Stonehouse that:

1.    Considers non-housing uses

2.    Builds upon the District Council’s Canal Strategy and this Council’s previous consultations for all its canalside sites in this area and, in light of the Stonehouse Town Council survey, continues to engage with the community and other stakeholders in exploring potential future uses for the site

3.    Invests any value from the site, if the site is not used for council housing, into affordable housing in the local area.’

Councillor Ross advised that they should consider non housing uses for the site provided that any value was used for social housing. Councillor Brine seconded the amendment.

Councillor Housden advised that he was happy to accept the changes to the resolution however he would not be able to accept the inclusion of paragraph 6 as he did not believe it was relevant to the decision. Councillor Ross advised that they wanted to ensure that any assets from this site remained in the HRA and with the tenants of Stroud. Councillor Brine advised that the income from the site needed to be  ...  view the full minutes text for item CL.016

To update the allocation of seats in accordance with the Local Government and Housing Act 1989 and appoint changes to membership of committees and appointments with effect from 21 July 2022.

The Chair confirmed that Members had been provided with a hardcopy of the appendix for this item which highlighted the changes to Committee allocations or Political Groups in red. It was confirmed that a new Political Group called the Community Independents had been formed and that the Group Leader was Councillor Cornell.

Councillor Catherine Braun was nominated for the position of Leader of Council. Councillor Natalie Bennett was nominated for the position of Deputy Leader of Council.

The changes to committee allocations and positions were agreed as set out below:

Audit and Standards Committee (9 Members)

Community Services and Licensing Committee (12 Members)

Development Control Committee (12 Members)

Environment Committee (13 Members)

Housing Committee (12 Members)

Strategy and Resources Committee (13 Members)

Health and Care Overview and Scrutiny Committee (Gloucestershire)

Councillor Helen Fenton (Lead)

Councillor Natalie Bennett (Substitute)

Police and Crime Panel (Gloucestershire)

Councillor Martin Pearcy (Lead)

Councillor Chris Brine (Substitute)

Gloucestershire Economic Growth Scrutiny Committee

Councillor Chloe Turner (Lead)

Councillor Ashley Smith (Substitute)

Appointment of three Mental Health Champions

Councillors Victoria Gray, Jenny Miles and Tricia Watson

Appointment of five Members to the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Working Group

Councillors Natalie Bennett, Robin Drury-Layfield, Jonathan Edmunds, Norman Kay, and Gill Oxley.

Appointment of two Military Covenant Champions

Loraine Patrick and Chair of Council

Appointment to Standards Sub Committee

Chair of Audit and Standards Committee

Vice-Chair of Audit and Standards Committee

Chair of Constitution Working Group (Cllr Keith Pearson)

Parish Council Representative (Muriel Bullock)

Independent Person (Phyllida  ...  view the full minutes text for item CL.017

To receive announcements from the Chair of Council, Leader of Council or Chief Executive.

The Chair made the following announcements:

·         The Council had recently learnt of the death of Mike Beale the Councils Senior Developer. The Chair offered condolences to his family and colleagues and confirmed that the flag would be flown at half-mast at Ebley Mill as a mark of respect and appreciation for his contribution to the work of the Council.

·         All Members had received a copy of the Inspired Cookbook from Stroud Women’s Refuge which was the Councils charity of the year. Members were encouraged to use the book to raise awareness of the Refuge and any funds raised could be donated.

·         Congratulations were offered to Councillor Housden on the birth of his daughter and Jenna Day (Senior Democratic Services and Elections Officer) for her upcoming wedding.

The outgoing Leader of Council was asked to speak following her resignation. She stated that she had been appointed as Leader of Council in January 2018 and had been proud to put the interests of the people of the District first. She confirmed that she had submitted her resignation earlier that afternoon and was as a consequence of leaving the Labour Party. She further confirmed that her group was in total support of Councillor Braun and Bennett as Leader and Deputy Leader and that they supported the progressive values of the current administration and the delivery of the Council Plan. She offered thanks to everyone who had contacted her in support during the last few weeks.

Councillor Braun, Davies and Tucker all offered their support and best wishes to Councillor Cornell and welcomed Councillor Braun into the role.

The Chair of the relevant Committee will answer questions from members of the public submitted in accordance with the Council’s procedures as set out in the Constitution.

There were none.

To consider Our Service Standards for approval and adoption.

The Chair confirmed that this item had been brought forward on the Agenda. Councillor Brine introduced the report and confirmed that the Service Standards had been considered by a cross-party working group and had been discussed at Committees. He advised that 10 days would be the maximum response time and that they hoped to achieve lower response times. He asked Members to report any responses that were longer than 10 days to help them monitor progress.

Proposed by Councillor Brine and seconded by Councillor Aldam.

Councillor Aldam thanked Officers and Members who had worked on the document as it would help to ensure that Residents received the help they needed when they contacted the Council.

Councillor Kay advised that they had worked hard to ensure the document was easily comprehensible and available to the public. He offered his thanks to the Community Access and Engagement Manager for working to produce the document.

On being put to the Vote the Motion was carried unanimously.

This report sets out the recommendations of the Independent Remuneration Panel’s review of the Members’ Scheme of Allowances.

The Chair introduced Kim Hawkins a member of the Independent Remuneration Panel (IRP) to introduce their report and recommendations. Kim Hawkins highlighted the following:

·         The purpose of the IRP was to review Members Allowances to ensure they were fit for purpose and reduce any financial barriers to being an elected Member.

·         The last full review of the Stroud District Council’s Members’ Allowance Scheme took place in 2016, a review of the Members ICT allowance had taken place in 2021.

·         A survey had been sent to all Members seeking feedback on the current scheme of allowances. 22 responses had been received and interviews were then held with 11 Members from each Political Group including members in receipt of a Special Responsibility Allowance (SRA).

·         All recommendations made by the panel were based on the feedback received from Councillors and the consideration of other issues.

It was confirmed that the Panel wished to put in a robust structure of allowances that recognised:

·         The heavy responsibilities and workload that Stroud District Councillors undertook;

·         The difficulty and sensitivity for Councillors in managing challenging service delivery;

·         The community’s growing expectations of its Councillors; and

·         The potential financial barrier to people from all sectors standing for the Council.

Kim Hawkins advised that the IRP had made a total of 30 recommendations which have been summarised on page 17 of the document pack. She proceeded to highlight some of the key recommendations of the panel including:

·         The Basic Allowance for 2022/23 to be set at £5,976 with an incremental increase of £250 per year for the next three years and that the annual pay award would not be applied during this period.

·         Special Responsibility Allowances to be set as a percentage of the Basic Allowance and the SRA’s of the Audit and Standards and Development Control Committee Chairs and Vice Chairs to be brought in line with the SRA’s of the policy committee Chairs.

·         The role of the Deputy Leader to be formally recognised in the Scheme of Allowances and that the allowance for this position should be robust enough to represent the strategic nature of the role. 

·         Every Group Leader to receive a governance allowance plus another remuneration that was dependent on the size of the group.

·         Asked that Council put in place an agreed Member Champion framework to ensure greater understanding of the role of the Member Champion.

·         Updates made to the dependent care expenses

·         Updates made to the list of approved duties

·         The IRP will carry out a light touch review on an annual basis.

Councillor Pearson proposed an amendment due to the delay in the IRP carrying out the review which was originally due in 2020 and had been postponed due to the Covid Pandemic:

‘Council RESOLVES:

a)    To consider the report of the Independent Remuneration Panel and approve the recommendations summarised in section 4 of this report, and set out in full in the Panel’s report (Appendix A),(subject to the amendment set out in b) below); and

b)    To agree to  ...  view the full minutes text for item CL.021

To appoint a permanent Monitoring Officer.

The Chief Executive introduced the report and confirmed that the role of Monitoring Officer would be shared with Cheltenham Borough Council. The final interviews had been held on 11 July 2022 and the panel unanimously agreed to offer the role to Claire Hughes. The Chief Executive offered her thanks to Stephen Taylor for carrying out the role during the interim period.

In response to Councillor Studder-Kennedy the Chief Executive confirmed that the new Monitoring Officer would be working for Stroud District Council for more hours than the current Monitoring Officer.

Proposed by Councillor Braun and seconded by Councillor Green.

On being put to the vote, the Motion was carried unanimously.

To consider the draft UKSPF Investment Plan.

The Leader of Council invited the Strategic Director of Resources to introduce the report. He advised that the report gave the background of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) which had been launched in April. He confirmed that the bid was non-competitive however they needed to submit an investment plan by 1 August 2022 in order to show how they would meet the priority areas of the UKSPF. They had tried to ensure that engagement had been undertaken with partners across the whole of the District including the Local Enterprise Partnership, the County Council, Parish and Town Councils and Charities. He further advised that they did not need to commit to which projects would receive the funding however in section 4 they had set out provisionally which of the three priority themes the funding would be used for.

Proposed by Councillor Braun and seconded by Councillor Turner.

Councillor Turner confirmed that she was pleased to see the level of engagement that they had managed to find time for with very tight timescales.

Councillor Davies offered his thanks to Officers for putting it together and hoped that they were successful in securing government funding.

Councillor Braun confirmed that there had been a lot of interest in the fund and that it would be an opportunity to support communities, local businesses and help support people through the cost-of-living crisis.

On being put to the Vote the motion was carried unanimously.

The Council RESOLVES to:

a. Approve the development of the UKSPF Investment Plan

b. Approve the next steps and outlined plan prior to submission of the plan

c. In consultation with the Leader and Deputy Leader, agree to the Strategic Director of Resources making minor amendments to the plan as required and then submitting the UKSPF Investment Plan bid by August 1st 2022.

To seek approval to the acquisition of a brownfield development site in Stroud.

The Leader, Councillor Braun, introduced Councillor Cornell to present the report. Councillor Cornell confirmed that the report had been discussed during an exempt session at Strategy and Resources Committee but had been published in the public domain for the Council meeting. She highlighted the following key points:

·         The purchase of the site had been included as part the Levelling Up Fund bid.

·         Planning permission had been granted for 47 2-bedroom flats and a small amount of retail space, however it had not yet been brought forward for development.

·         Newland homes acquired the site in 2017.

·         Officers approached Newland Homes regarding the site following a review of Brownfield sites in the District.

·         Section 3 set out the due diligence that had been carried out on the site.

·         If the Levelling Up bid was unsuccessful officers would seek alternative funding, there were currently funding streams available for Brownfield sites.

·         The site gave the Council the opportunity to deliver additional social, economic and environmental benefits.

·         A new capital budget was required for the purchase of the site, Strategy and Resources had recommended to Council that this was agreed.

In response to questions received from Members the following answers were given:

·         The Council was in a position to fund the site, if they did not receive the funding required they would look to borrow the necessary funds and costs would need to be recovered from sales from the site. It had not yet been decided if this would need to be internal or external borrowing.

·         The reports referred to in paragraph 3.1 of the report had been viewed by officers and reviewed by independent consultants who had been instructed to look at the site and all of the information. Officers were aware that the site posed challenges but solutions were available.

·         The scale of affordable housing had not yet been agreed but the Council currently aimed for 30% on most sites. Officers would look at what level of affordable housing could be achieved whilst ensuring the scheme was still viable.

·         Any offer made for the site was subject to contract.

Proposed by Councillor Cornell and seconded by Councillor Braun.

Councillor Cornell thanked the officers for the work completed in raising awareness of Brownfield sites. She stated it was a great central site and hoped they would win the levelling up bid.

Councillor Pearson stated that he was sceptical about the site and raised concerns due to his knowledge of previous landslips and the difficulties with building the banks of the canal in this area.

Councillor Hurst expressed concerns regarding the short timescale to agree to purchase the site and the stability of the land, he stated that the site had been through at least 3 different ownerships and none of those developers had brought the site forward for development. He confirmed that he would not be able to vote for the proposal and stated that if the Levelling Up Bid was not granted the council may need to fund this using its own resources.  ...  view the full minutes text for item CL.024

To advise on the treasury management activities in 2021/2022, in accordance with the Council’s Treasury Policy Statement. To report on actual 2021/2022 Prudential Indicators in accordance with the requirements of the Prudential Code.

Councillor Studdert-Kennedy, Chair of Audit and Standards Committee, introduced the report and highlighted the following key points:

·         The table in paragraph 4 showed a net debt position of £33,064m

·         Paragraph 5 highlighted the importance of security, liquidity and yield in placing investments. Ethical considerations would be advised on the near future.

·         Paragraph 10 showed the increase of internal borrowing.

·         Page 106 included the external borrowing lenders.

·         Highlighted the interested earned in paragraph 15.

·         The Council has an investment risk reserve of £310k to cover any fall in value of the long term funds

·         The treasury advisors had produced an economic report included on page 117

·         Report showed a successful year for treasury management.

Proposed by Councillor Studdert-Kennedy and seconded by Councillor Pearson.

On being put to the vote, the motion was carried unanimously.

The Annual Report of the Chair of the Audit and Standards Committee (the Committee) summarises the Committee’s activities during 2021/22 and sets out its plans for the next twelve months.

This report provides independent assurance that the Council has in place:

      i.        Adequate and effective governance, risk management and internal control frameworks;

     ii.        Internal and External Audit services; and

    iii.        Financial reporting arrangements that can be relied upon and which contribute to the high corporate governance standards that this Council expects and maintains.

Councillor Studdert-Kennedy, Chair of the Audit and Standards Committee, introduced the report and confirmed that the role of the Committee was to oversee and assess the internal control governance and risk management environment and instruct Council on the adequacy and effectiveness of those arrangements. Reports on planning and planning enforcement had been requested by the Committee in addition to the normal work programme and he acknowledged the work undertaken by Officers and Internal Audit to produce these reports. The reports provided a good foundation and progress would be followed up. He confirmed that work was ongoing to procure a new system which would allow Members to directly access the risk management system.  Councillor Studdert-Kennedy conveyed his thanks to all the Members of the Committee and the officers at Stroud District Council and within internal Audit for their work over the past year.

Proposed by Councillor Studdert-Kennedy and seconded by Councillor Davies.

Councillors Davies and Kay thanked Councillor Studdert-Kennedy for his Chairing of the Committee.

On being put to the vote, the Motion was carried unanimously.

See Agenda Item 6 deadlines for submissions.

Member questions were submitted by Councillor John Jones. The answers to the questions and supplementary questions asked were published on the Councils website here and listed below:

Question 1

Earlier this year, planning permission was given at Development Control Committee to develop 286 acres of land in Moreton Valence and Whitminster Parishes for a Solar Farm. This follows permission previously given to develop a Solar Farm of 118 acres in Longney Parish a couple of years earlier. There is already built and in operation a Solar Farm in the village of Cambridge, a short distance away. In addition, plans have been submitted for another Solar Farm of 153 acres in Arlingham Parish, and yet another application for an Environmental Impact Assessment Screening Opinion for a Solar Farm of 185 acres in Frampton on Severn Parish, recently confirmed as needed. All of these sites are within a 10-kilometre radius of each other in the Severn Vale, not including some other, smaller sites operating in close proximity in the District. If all of these proposals come to fruition in the near future, it will mean that around 850 acres of good productive agricultural will be lost for a long time for badly needed food production, which I understand to be a key driver in this Council’s ongoing strategy. This is not brash, stony limestone land that is found in the Cotswolds, it is fertile, lowland land that has maintained farming families for generations over many centuries for all types of farming.

What Policies does this Administration propose to put in place to prevent the complete saturation of the Severn Vale in the District, between the A38 road and the River Severn, by Solar Farm development, when other options could be available?

Response

It is both national policy and local policy to support the generation of energy increasingly from renewable sources.

Our Local Plan (adopted by Council in November 2015) states that: “the Council will support proposals that maximise the generation of energy from renewable or low carbon sources, provided that the installation would not have significant adverse impact (either alone or cumulatively) and includes an impact statement that demonstrates the following factors: 1. The impact of the scheme, together with any cumulative impact (including associated transmission lines, buildings and access roads), on landscape character, visual amenity, water quality and flood risk, historic features and biodiversity.” (Local Plan, Delivery Policy ES2, officer emphasis in bold).

Individual decisions on planning applications are thereby made by the local planning authority having regard to the cumulative impact of proposals on the local area and detailed assessment of impacts are carried out through the planning process to meet EIA regulations and national and local planning policy.

National planning practice guidance encourages the effective use of land by focussing large scale solar farms on previously developed and non-agricultural land, provided that it is not of high environmental value. Whilst national policy does not prevent the use of agricultural land for large scale solar farms, the guidance states  ...  view the full minutes text for item CL.027