Agenda and minutes

The Chairman reported that he and the Vice Chairman had attended 43 events to date. In particular he made mention of the fact that he had been able to visit Helen House, his chosen charity, the day before. He was able to see first hand the phenomenal work they were doing with the children and their families in very difficult circumstances.

The Chairman also encouraged all Members to enter the Chairman’s quiz which would take place on the 19^th November 2015. The event would be used to raise funds for his charity.

The Chairman drew Members’ attention to the fact that a Special Council meeting would be held on the 5^th November 2015 at St Bartholomew’s School to discuss the Housing Site Allocation Development Plan Document.

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The Chairman will make presentations to former councillors to recognise their service to West Berkshire Council.

The Chairman noted that the May 2015 elections brought many changes to West Berkshire Council. The authority gained new fellow Councillors with different skills and fresh ideas but it also lost a number of long-standing, hard working and extremely committed Councillors. He welcomed the former Councillors to the meeting and thanked them for the support and hard work they had given to both the Council and their constituents.

The Chairman presented each of the following former Councillors with a certificate as a token of the Council’s gratitude:

The Chairman also thanked the following former Members who were unable to attend the meeting

·         David Allen

·         John Horton

·         David Rendel

·         Keith Woodhams

The meeting was adjourned from 8.10pm to 8.16pm.

The Chairman to sign as a correct record the Minutes of the Council meetings held on 2 July 2015 and the special meeting on 20 July 2015.

The Minutes of the meetings held on 2 July 2015 and the special meeting on 20 July 2015 were approved as true and correct records and signed by the Chairman subject to the following amendment to the 20^th July 2015 minutes:

Item 46 (A339/Fleming Road Junction Compulsory Purchase Order) insert the underlined text (Councillor Alan Macro declared a personal and prejudicial interest in Agenda Item 4 by virtue of the fact that he was an Officer of an organisation in a negotiation with another company on the site but was not actually involved in the negotiation...)

There were no declarations of interest received.

There were no petitions submitted to the meeting.

Members of the Executive to answer the following questions submitted by a member of the public in accordance with the Council’s Constitution:

(a)         Question to be answered by the Leader of the Council submitted by Mr Tony Vickers:

“Do you agree that parish and town councils have an important role to play in the creation and development of local communities and that they should therefore reflect a distinctive and recognisable community of place?”

(a)  Question submitted by Dr Tony Vickers to the Leader of the Council:

A question standing in the name of Dr Tony Vickers on the subject of the role of parish and town councils was answered by the Leader of the Council.

A full transcription of the public questions and answers session is available here.

The Monitoring Officer to advise of any changes to the membership of Committees since the previous Council meeting.

The Deputy Monitoring Officer advised of the following changes to the membership of Committees since the previous Council meeting:

The Membership of the Governance and Ethics Committee had been amended post the 02 July decision to merge the Governance and Audit and Standards Committees:

·                     Steve Ardagh-Walter,

·                     Jeff Beck,

·                     Graham Bridgman,

·                     James Cole,

·                     Rick Jones,

·                     Lee Dillon,

·                     Anthony Pick,

·                     Quentin Webb,

·                     Chris Bridges, (Non-voting Parish Council representative)

·                     Barrie Dickens (Non-voting Parish Council representative)

·                     Sheila Ellison (substitute)

·                     Billy Drummond (substitute)

·                     Tim Metcalfe (substitute)

Advisory Panel

·                     Adrian Edwards

·                     Richard Crumly

·                     Mollie Lock,

·                     Alan Macro

·                     Tony Renouf,

·                     Darren Peace

Western Area Planning

Dennis Benneyworth had replaced Jeremy Bartlett as a member on this Committee.

James Fredrickson had replaced Lynne Doherty as a substitute on this Committee

Eastern Area Planning

Sheila Ellison had replaced Rob Denton-Powell as a substitute on this Committee

Appeals Panel

Tony Linden had replaced Richard Crumly as a Member on this Panel

The Council is asked to note that since the last meeting of the Council, the Licensing Committee has not met. Copies of the Minutes of previous meetings can be obtained from Strategic Support or via the Council’s website.

The Council noted that, since the last meeting, the Licensing Committee had not met.

The Council is asked to note that since the last meeting of the Council, the Personnel Committee has not met.  Copies of the Minutes of previous meetings can be obtained from Strategic Support or via the Council’s website.

The Council noted that, since the last meeting, the Personnel Committee had not met.

The Council is asked to note that since the last meeting of Council, the Governance and Ethics Committee met on 24 August 2015 and 3 September 2015.  Copies of the Minutes of these meetings can be obtained from Strategic Support or via the Council’s website.

The Council noted that, since the last meeting, the Governance and Ethics Committee had met on 24 August 2015 and 3 September 2015.

The Council is asked to note that since the last meeting of the Council, the District Planning Committee met on 8 July 2015.  Copies of the Minutes of this meeting can be obtained from Strategic Support or via the Council’s website.

The Council noted that, since the last meeting, the District Planning Committee had met on 8 July 2015.

The Council is asked to note that since the last meeting of the Council, the Overview and Scrutiny Management Commission has not met.  Copies of the Minutes of previous meetings can be obtained from Strategic Support or via the Council’s website.

The Council noted that, since the last meeting, the Overview and Scrutiny Management Committee had not met.

To seek Council’s approval to approach the Local Government Boundary Commission in order to have a planned Electoral Review prior to the next District Council elections in May 2019.

The Council considered a report (Agenda Item 14) which outlined the processes involved in having an Electoral Review undertaken of the District.

MOTION: Proposed by Councillor Gordon Lundie and seconded by Councillor Graham Jones:

That the Council:

‘1.        Seek approval to approaching the Local Government Boundary Commission to undertake an Electoral Review of the District in time for the next District elections in 2019.

2.         That the review be undertaken by the Council as opposed to the two Political Groups.’

Councillor Lundie in introducing the item noted that the time had come for a boundary review to be undertaken. As part of the Administration's Manifesto there was a pledge which related to having a boundary review undertaken by the time the next District Council elections were held in May 2019.

The Local Government Boundary Commission (LGBC) would be asked to provide a view on whether any changes were required. The Leader noted that there had been significant growth in housing numbers since the commencement of the Racecourse development and other major sites such as Sandleford would also be developed in the near future. The LGBC would be asked to look at a number of areas including the total number of Councillors, the purpose of Councillors, existing boundaries, the number of wards and the balance between electors and their representatives.

A Members working group would be set up to ascertain the issues the Council would seek to raise with the LGBC.

Councillor Alan Macro stated that his group supported the initiative as it had been a number of years since a review had taken place. He was however concerned that his group’s concerns might not be included in the final report. He also noted his group’s preference to return to the Committee System and requested that this be factored into the proposals. Councillor Macro asked for clarification on proposed timescales.

Councillor Anthony Pick stated that he would like the review to look at parish council boundaries to ensure that the interests of each parish could be properly considered.

Councillor Graham Jones explained that he had participated in the previous review. He noted that at that time both the Council and the Opposition had submitted proposals and in fact many of the Opposition’s proposals had been adopted. While he hoped for unanimity in the response the Liberal Democrats would not be precluded from submitting their own proposal should they wish to do so.

Councillor Lundie stated that the working group would be set up shortly and it was envisaged that they would report back to the December 2015 Council meeting. The proportionality rules would not be applied to the working group and it would therefore be a cross party group although as mentioned by Councillor Jones this work would not prevent the Liberal Democrats from being able to submit a minority report should they wish to do so. The proposal to return to the Committee System would not be supported by the Conservative Group.

The Leader reassured Members that the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 61.

Members of the Executive to answer the following questions submitted bya  Councillor in accordance with the Council’s Constitution:

(a)          Question to be answered by the Executive Member for  Property, Culture, Customer Services, Environmental Health, Trading Standards, Countryside, Cleaner & Greener, Waste submitted by Councillor Alan Macro:

“What action is the Council planning to do to get the Shaw House Park and Garden restored so that it can be removed from Historic England's Heritage at Risk Register?”

(a)          A question standing in the name of Councillor Alan Macro on the subject of the Shaw House Park and Garden restoration was answered by the Executive Member for Property, Culture, Customer Services, Environmental Health, Trading Standards, Countryside, Cleaner & Greener, Waste.

A full transcription of the Members questions and answers session is available here.