Agenda and minutes

To elect a chairman of the Council for the municipal year 2015/16.

RESOLVED:  to appoint Councillor Mike Badcock as chairman of the council for the ensuing year.

CouncillorBadcock read out the oath of office, signed his declaration of acceptance of office and made an acceptance speech.

He welcomed newly elected councilors to the Council.

He thanked his escort, Councillor Marilyn Badcock, and Councillor Eric Batts, his Vice-Chairman for the past two years, for their support. He thanked Karen Claridge, Yvonne Cutler-Greaves, Clare Kingston and the Corporate Strategy team and Julia Leppard for their support in fund raising for his charities. £4,082.61 was raised for his chosen charities during the past year. He presented the Royal British Legion Poppy Appeal with a cheque for £2,500 at the meeting. He advised that his charities for the forthcoming year were Helen and Douglas House and the Royal British Legion Poppy Appeal.

To appoint a vice-chairman of the Council for the municipal year 2015/16.

RESOLVED:  to appoint Councillor Reg Waite as Vice-Chairman of the council for the ensuing year.

The Chairman presented Councillor Reg Waite with the Vice-Chairman’s chain of office.

CouncillorReg Waite read out the oath of office, signed his declaration of acceptance of office and made an acceptance speech.

Councillors Vicky Jenkins, Mohinder Kainth, Chris McCarthy, Julia Reynolds and Henry Spencer sent their apologies for absence.

To adopt and sign as a correct record the council minutes of the meeting held on 18 February 2015.

RESOLVED: to adopt as a correct record the minutes of the Council meeting held on 18 February 2015 and agree that the chairman signs them.

None.

The Chairman thanked Councillor Jenny Hannaby for her attendance and assistance with fundraising for the Poppy Appeal at Dalton Barracks.

The Chairman noted that the council’s standing orders did not provide for public participation at the annual meeting of Council.  However, with the agreement of Council he had agreed to take one item of business to consider a petition relating to the outdoor pool in Abingdon because consideration of this item at the next meeting in July would be beyond the consultation period.

None.

To elect a leader of Council, in accordance with the council’s executive arrangements agreed at the special council meeting on 8 December 2010, for a four year period ending on the day of the next post election annual meeting.

The leader of Council will report on:

• the appointment of the deputy leader of Council
• the membership of the Cabinet and the allocation of portfolios

RESOLVED: to elect Councillor Matthew Barber as leader of the Council for a four year period ending on the day of the next post election annual meeting.

Councillor Matthew Barber appointed Councillor Roger Cox as the deputy leader of Council and Councillors Eric Batts, Charlotte Dickson, Sandy Lovatt, Mohinder Kainth, Mike Murray and Elaine Ware as Cabinet members with portfolios as follows:

Councillor Matthew Barber                 Leader, finance, economic development and                                    property

Councillor Eric Batts                           HR and technical services

Councillor Roger Cox                         Deputy Leader, planning (development management and enforcement), assets of community value, housing and environmental health

Councillor Charlotte Dickson              Leisure

Councillor Sandy Lovatt                     Legal and democratic services, including community safety

Councillor Mohinder Kainth                IT

Councillor Mike Murray                      Planning policy, including the local plan

Councillor Elaine Ware                         Corporate strategy, including grounds maintenance and waste

To consider the report of the head of legal and democratic services on the appointment to those committees required to be politically balanced together with the Licensing Acts Committee, area committees and joint committees  (to follow). 

Council considered the report of the head of legal and democratic services on the appointment of those committees and joint committees which are required to be politically balanced together with the Licensing Acts Committee, area committees and appointments to joint bodies.

RESOLVED: to

1.    appoint the following committees and panels for the 2015/16 year and to appoint the membership, substitutes and chairmen and vice-chairmen as indicated to sit on them:

2.    appoint all local members representing the wards covered by the relevant area committees as set out in the map attached to the report of the head of legal and democratic services to the annual meeting of Council on 20 May 2015 to those committees for the 2015/16 municipal year with the following chairmen and vice chairmen:

·         Abingdon – Mike Badcock (Chairman) Edward Blagrove (Vice-Chairman)

·         Faringdon – Simon Howell (Chairman) Eric Batts (Vice-Chairman)

·         Wantage – St John Dickson (Chairman) Ben Mabbett (Vice-Chairman)

3.   appoint Monica Lovatt as the council’s representative on the Oxfordshire Joint Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee and Gervase Duffield as substitute;

4.appoint Chris McCarthy as the council’s representative and  ...  view the full minutes text for item 10.

A petition has been handed in to "Save Abingdon Outdoor Pool".  The petition has in excess of 2,200 signatures in support.

The council’s Petition Scheme states the following regarding petition debates at Council meetings:

When petitions containing more than 500 signatures are submitted, the petition organiser will be given five minutes to present the petition and the petition will then be discussed by councillors.  Council will decide how to respond to the petition at this meeting.

In response to a petition, Council may decide to

·       take the action the petition requests;

·       not to take the action requested for reasons put forward in the debate;

·       to commission further investigation into the matter, for example by a relevant committee;

·       make recommendations to Cabinet, where the issue is one on which the Cabinet is required to make the final decision.

Council is invited to make any recommendations on these issues to the Cabinet for it to take into account in the future.

Ms Naomi Richardson presented a petition to save the outdoor pool in Abingdon.

In her address she referred to the outdoor pool as a vital outdoor amenity for Abingdon and the surrounding area. She highlighted the health and safety benefits of providing an alternative swimming option to the River Thames, the health benefits for children and the wider economic benefits to the town arising from increased visitor numbers attracted to Abingdon by the outdoor pool.

Councillor Barber, Leader of the council, responded that there was no intention to close the facility. He reported that initial responses to the public consultation on the future of the Abbey Meadows indicated over 80% of respondents were in favour of retaining the outdoor pool. £500,000 of funding had been identified to invest in the future of Abbey Meadows.

A number of other councillors spoke in support of the facility and welcomed the petition. The pool was a popular attraction, required investment to undertake repairs and bring the facility up to date and was an asset to Abingdon.    

Council agreed to refer the petition to Cabinet to consider as part of its deliberation on the future of Abbey Meadows.

RESOLVED: to refer the petition to Cabinet for consideration as part of its consideration on the future of Abbey Meadows.

(1)       Urgent cabinet decisions

In accordance with the overview and scrutiny procedure rules, a cabinet decision can be taken as a matter of urgency, if any delay by the call-in process would seriously prejudice the council’s or the public’s interest.  Treating the decision as a matter of urgency must be agreed by the chairman of the Scrutiny Committee and must be reported to the next meeting of the council, together with the reasons for urgency.

The leader of the council will report that on 23 February 2015 Councillor Mike Murray took a decision to undertake a Regulation 18 issues and scope consultation for the Science Vale Area Action Plan. The chairman of the scrutiny committee agreed to waive call-in to allow the consultation process to begin recognising that the committee had commented on the plan.

On 13 March 2015 Councillor Matthew Barber took a decision to transfer £45,000 from the capital contingency budget within the provisional capital programme to the approved capital programme and to create a capital budget for the purchase of new polling booths for the May 2015 elections. The chairman of the scrutiny committee agreed to waive call-in to allow a formal order before the end of the financial year and to ensure delivery in time for the elections.

On 17 March 2015 Councillor Matthew Barber took a decision to claim grant money from the Department of Communities and Local Government Building Foundations to fund the construction of the Milton Bioscience Research and Innovation Centre. The chairman of the scrutiny committee agreed to waive call-in because any delay caused by the call-in process could prejudice both the council's and the public's interests.

 (2)      Delegation of cabinet functions

To receive details of any changes to the leader’s scheme of delegation. 

(3)       Matters affecting the authority arising from meetings of joint committees, partnerships and other meetings

To receive the report of the leader (if any). 

The leader of the council provided an update on the move to the temporary council offices in Milton Park and thanked officers for their continued positive reaction to the situation following the fire at the Crowmarsh council offices in January 2015.

In accordance with the overview and scrutiny procedure rules, Council noted that the following decisions were taken as a matter of urgency since the last Council meeting:

·         on 23 February 2015 Councillor Mike Murray took a decision to undertake a Regulation 18 issues and scope consultation for the Science Vale Area Action Plan. The chairman of the scrutiny committee agreed to waive call-in to allow the consultation process to begin recognising that the committee had commented on the plan.

·         On 13 March 2015 Councillor Matthew Barber took a decision to transfer £45,000 from the capital contingency budget within the provisional capital programme to the approved capital programme and to create a capital budget for the purchase of new polling booths for the May 2015 elections. The chairman of the scrutiny committee agreed to waive call-in to allow a formal order before the end of the financial year and to ensure delivery in time for the elections.

·         On 17 March 2015 Councillor Matthew Barber took a decision to claim grant money from the Department of Communities and Local Government Building Foundations to fund the construction of the Milton Bioscience Research and Innovation Centre. The chairman of the scrutiny committee agreed to waive call-in because any delay caused by the call-in process could prejudice both the council's and the public's interests.