Agenda and minutes

To record apologies for absence.

Apologies for absence were submitted on behalf of Councillors Edward Blagrove, Stuart Davenport and Dudley Hoddinott.

To adopt and sign as a correct record the Council minutes of the annual meeting held on 17 May 2017 attached and the special meeting held on 29 June 2017 attached. 

RESOLVED: to approve the minutes of the annual meeting of Council  held on 17 May 2017 and the special Council meeting held on 29 June 2017 as correct records and agree that the Chairman sign them as such.

To receive any declarations of disclosable pecuniary interests in respect of items on the agenda for this meeting.  

None.

To receive notification of any matters which the chairman determines should be considered as urgent business and the special circumstances which have made the matters urgent, and to receive any announcements from the chairman. 

The chairman provided housekeeping information.

To receive any questions or statements from members of the public that have registered to speak. 

1.    Ms Naomi Richardson made a statement in support of a petition in respect of Abbey Meadows and particularly the perceived lack of toilet facilities suitable for disabled children which could restrict equality of access.  She welcomed the investment in Abbey Meadows and the children’s playground. However, she stated that no consideration had been given to the needs of disabled children. She made the following points:

·         Visits to the playground are time limited due to the lack of adequate toilet facilities.

·         The toilets are not accessible for electric chairs or the larger, specialised chairs used by most disabled children.

·         There is no room for any kind of carer assistance.

·         There are too few toilets - a reduction from six toilets in traditional stalls and a disabled toilet to four individual cubicles is a massive downgrade.

·         The proposed provision poses a threat to child safeguarding and safety.

The chairman thanked Ms Richardson for her statement and advised that officers would contact her about how the petition would be dealt with.

2.    Honorary Alderman Joyce Hutchinson made a statement in respect of the Wantage and Grove Leisure Centre. She questioned the size of the proposed facility which will be just over half the size of the Abingdon Tennis and Leisure Centre for a similar population size. There would also be a disparity in the facilities provided with no badminton, sauna, squash or tennis provision and a lack of a crèche. She stated that there is an opportunity to provide a 50-metre swimming pool to make the Vale a centre for competitive swimming and address the current situation where swimmers need to practise out of the county.

She asked the following questions of Councillor Charlotte Dickson, the Cabinet member for leisure, who undertook to provide a written response.

A.           Is the size of the proposed leisure centre restricted by the available finance?

B.           What financial or other compensation is Vale Academy offering for the takeover of the existing leisure centre? and

C.           Why isn’t the council applying for any grant for the new leisure centre when the White Horse Tennis and Leisure Centre in Abingdon attracted a grant.  

Cabinet at its meeting on 4 August 2017 considered the report of the head of development and housing on a proposal to provide better temporary housing accommodation.  Cabinet agreed the approach which require Council’s approval to amend the capital programme allocation.  The proposal includes deleting the capital budget to purchase four homes in Abingdon and instead creating a capital budget to convert the council’s two existing hostels into self-contained units.  This proposal would reduce the projected revenue costs by £25,000 per annum. 

Recommendation: to

1.    delete the current capital budget provision of £920,000 for the estimated costs of purchasing four two-bedroom houses in Abingdon; 

2.    create a capital budget of £885,000 to convert the council’s two hostels into self-contained units; and

3.    note that by approving recommendation (b) above, this will result in a reduction in the revenue budget of £25,000 per annum. 

Council considered Cabinet’s recommendation, made at its meeting on 4 August 2017, on temporary housing accommodation provision to 2022.

Cabinet had agreed an approach which required Council’s approval to amend the capital programme allocation.

Council expressed its thanks to officers in the housing team for their work on this project. The Leader of the council agreed to write to the team on behalf of Council.

RESOLVED:

1.    delete the current capital budget provision of £920,000 for the estimated costs of purchasing four two-bedroom houses in Abingdon;              

2.    create a capital budget of £885,000 to convert the council’s two hostels into self-contained units; and

3.    note that by approving recommendation 2 above, this will result in a reduction in the revenue budget of £25,000 per annum. 

Cabinet, at its meeting on 6 October 2017, will consider the report of the head of finance on the outturn performance of the treasury management function for the financial year 2016/17.

The report of the head of finance, which Cabinet will consider on 6 October 2017, is attached. The Joint Audit and Governance Committee considered the report at its meeting on 25 September 2017. It welcomed the report and made no recommendations to Cabinet. The recommendations of Cabinet will be circulated to all councillors.

Council considered Cabinet’s recommendation, made at its meeting on 6 October 2017, on the outturn performance of the treasury management function for the financial year 2016/17.

The Joint Audit and Governance Committee and Cabinet had considered the head of finance’s report and were satisfied that the treasury activities had been carried out in accordance with the treasury management strategy and policy.

RESOLVED: to

1.    approve the head of finance’s treasury management outturn report for 2016/17;

2.         approve the actual 2016/17 prudential indicators within the head of finance’s report.

To receive the Scrutiny Committee Annual Report attached.

Councillor Hallett, Chairman of the Scrutiny Committee, presented her annual report and thanked democratic services officers for their support.

On behalf of Council the chairman thanked Councillor Hallett for her report.

(1)       Urgent cabinet decisions

In accordance with the 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.

To receive any details of urgent Cabinet decisions taken since the last ordinary meeting of the council, (if any).

(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 updates on the following:

·         Didcot Garden Town had been put forward as the county’s first choice bid to the Government’s Housing Infrastructure Fund (HIF) as part of a package of investment to deliver the transport infrastructure necessary to allow for housing development. If successful, the bid would bring significant benefits to Vale residents and support the delivery of the Local Plan.

·         Vale had submitted a bid for funding to accelerate the delivery of the Wantage Eastern Link Road.

·         The intention for the council to move back to the previous site at Crowmarsh Gifford. The option of redeveloping Crowmarsh is the most cost-effective solution and Crowmarsh remains a suitable location for the council’s headquarters, as it was before the fire.  Council meetings would be held at venues within the Vale.

·         The work of the Oxfordshire Growth Board including consideration of the Oxford to Cambridge Express Way and the Joint Spatial Plan. Reports on both issues will be submitted to the Scrutiny Committee.

To receive the following questions from councillors in accordance with Council procedure rule 33. 

1.    Question from Councillor Catherine Webber to Councillor Roger Cox, Cabinet member for Planning.

Please can the Cabinet member for Planning tell us how many electrical car charging points have been in planning applications that were approved in the last two years? Of those, how many have been delivered? If there’s a gap, please can you tell us what action Enforcement are taking to remedy it?

2.    Question from Councillor Debby Hallett to Councillor Charlotte Dickson, Cabinet member for Waste.

Over the past several months, service from Biffa in my ward has been reliably poor. Repeated instances of missed service have brought in complaints from residents to me, to Biffa, to the Vale and to our local MP. In 2016, I was told the poor service in my ward was due to staff shortages. In 2017, I’ve been told it is due to old lorry stock. Please can the Cabinet member tell us how many complaints have been received so far this year (since 1 May 2017) in my ward of Botley and Sunningwell. What is the penalty to our contractor for such poor service? If we received such poor service from a private company, most of us would ask for our money back. How do residents apply for a refund for services paid for but not delivered?

3.    Question from Councillor Catherine Webber to Councillor Elaine Ware, Cabinet member for Environmental Protection.

It was widely reported in September 2015 that nearly 200 councils in England and Wales exceeded the NO2 limits in 2013; Vale is sadly one of them. Approximately 50 Vale residents die prematurely each year due to air pollution. We've heard before that solutions are difficult and take cross-boundary cooperation. What actions are Vale taking and how is council actively working with other authorities to improve our air quality? What is Vale's current position with respect to any moral obligation to do all we can to reduce the impact of our poor air quality on the mortality rate of our residents?

4.    Question from Councillor Debby Hallett to Councillor Eric Batts, Cabinet member for Facilities.

Does the Cabinet member for Facilities agree with me that the front door to our council offices building sets the tone of the districts' professionalism for people who come to call on us? Paper signs are blu-tacked up telling people the doors don’t work and to close them behind you, which contradict the other signs saying ‘automatic doors’. Council staff working nearby suffer by having to repeatedly get up and close the doors. This has been going on since we moved into the building. Is this Vale’s responsibility or Vinci’s? Please can the Cabinet member tell us when will these doors be properly functional?

5.    Question from Councillor Emily Smith to Councillor Mike Murray, Cabinet member for Property.

Old Abbey House in Abingdon has been empty for some time, and concern is  ...  view the full agenda text for item 33.

1.    Question from Councillor Catherine Webber to Councillor Roger Cox, Cabinet member for Planning.

Please can the Cabinet member for planning tell us how many electrical car charging points have been in planning applications that were approved in the last two years? Of those, how many have been delivered? If there’s a gap, please can you tell us what action Enforcement are taking to remedy it?

Answer

Councillor Cox responded that the current adopted Local Plan and saved policies do not include for the provision of electric charging points.  As there is no current policy basis for electric car charging points, this is not something the council currently monitors.  However, the following sites have, through conditions, secured electric charging points on the market units:

·         P16/V3224/FUL – Land off Sheepstead Road Marcham – 47 new houses in total – 31 market units.

·         P16/V1705/FUL – Land at Manor Farm, Drayton – 57 dwellings – 38 market units.

·         P15/V0612/FUL – Land West of Hyde Copse Marcham – 61 dwellings – 40 market units.

·         P14/V1976/O – Land off Packhorse Lane, Marcham – 37 dwellings – 25 market units.

·         P17/V0050/O – Land at North Abingdon – resolution to grant planning permission subject to the signing of the S106 (aiming to complete by end of the month) – 950 new houses in total.  618 market units.

         As electric charging points are not something the council monitors no checks are undertaken as to whether these are being delivered on sites.  Therefore, in relation to enforcement action, this is not something the enforcement team has investigated.

Supplementary question

In response to a supplementary question asking why Vale of White Horse did not follow the example of South Oxfordshire, which requires the provision of electrical car charging points, Councillor Cox referred to the LPP2 Supplementary Papers issued for Council on Wednesday 27 September 2017 at page 8 which positively addressed this point.

2.    Question from Councillor Debby Hallett to Councillor Charlotte Dickson, Cabinet member for Waste.

Over the past several months, service from Biffa in my ward has been reliably poor. Repeated instances of missed service have brought in complaints from residents to me, to Biffa, to the Vale and to our local MP. In 2016, I was told the poor service in my ward was due to staff shortages. In 2017, I’ve been told it is due to old lorry stock. Please can the Cabinet member tell us how many complaints have been received so far this year (since 1 May 2017) in my ward of Botley and Sunningwell. What is the penalty to our contractor for such poor service? If we received such poor service from a private company, most of us would ask for our money back. How do residents apply for a refund for services paid for but not delivered?

Answer

In response Councillor Dickson stated that the council had received six formal complaints relating to the waste service across the district one of which relates to Councillor Hallett’s ward of Botley and  ...  view the full minutes text for item 33.

To consider motions from councillors in accordance with Council procedure rule 38. 

Motion to be proposed by Councillor Bob Johnston, seconded by Councillor Jenny Hannaby.

Council requests Cabinet as part of the 2018/19 budget-setting process to bring forward to Council a new scheme for councillors’ community grants, giving each member £4000 to spend as they see fit on not-for-profit community improvements in their ward.

Motion proposed by Councillor Bob Johnston and seconded by Councillor Jenny Hannaby.

“Council requests Cabinet as part of the 2018/19 budget-setting process to bring forward to Council a new scheme for councillors’ community grants, giving each member £4000 to spend as they see fit on not-for-profit community improvements in their ward”.

A number of councillors spoke in support of the motion. Such a scheme would allow ward councillors to support small projects and allow those projects to benefit from further sources of funding. The current grant scheme funds schemes over £1000 and therefore does not cover many of the smaller projects which would benefit from the proposed scheme.

However, the majority of councillors opposed the motion on the grounds that the current area committee arrangements worked well and allowed each ward councillor to be fully involved in the debate and consideration of grants submitted by voluntary groups. There would be additional costs associated with such a scheme including the need to appoint an additional officer to administer the scheme.

On being put to the vote the motion was declared lost.

To consider whether to exclude members of the press and public from the meeting for the following item of business under Part 1 of Schedule 12A Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972 and as amended by the Local Government (Access to Information) (Variation) Order 2006 on the grounds that:

(i)        it involves the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraphs 1, 2, 3 and 4 Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act, and

(ii)       the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information. 

RESOLVED: to exclude members of the press and public from the meeting for the following item of business under Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972 and as amended by the Local Government (Access to Information) (Variation) Order 2006 on the grounds that:

i.      it involves the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraphs 1, 2, 3 and 4 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act, and

ii.     the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information.

To adopt and sign as a correct record the confidential Council minutes of the  special meeting held on 29 June 2017 to follow. 

RESOLVED: to approve the confidential minutes of the special Council meeting held on 29 June 2017 as a correct record and agree that the Chairman sign them as such.