To report any issues with the information below please email executivecycle@westberks.gov.uk.

Agenda and minutes

Venue: Council Chamber Council Offices Market Street Newbury. View directions

Contact: Democratic Services Team 

Items
No. Item

23.

Chairman's Remarks

The Chairman to report on functions attended since the last meeting and other matters of interest to Members.

Minutes:

The Chairman welcomed Councillor Jason Collis to the Council.

The Chairman reported that he and the Vice-Chairman had attended 25 events since the last Council meeting.

The Chairman was also delighted to report on the success of the recent Stratfield Mortimer Neighbourhood Development Plan referendum which was held on Thursday 22 June 2017. He noted that 50.1% of the electorate turned out and 88.8% voted in favour of the plan.  He suggested that this was a perfect example of local democracy, with the community helping shape local housing for the future.

 

24.

Minutes pdf icon PDF 162 KB

The Chairman to sign as a correct record the Minutes of the Council meeting held on 9 May 2017.

Minutes:

The Minutes of the meeting held on 09 May 2017 were approved as a true and correct record and signed by the Chairman subject to the inclusion of the following amendment which was proposed by the Chairman and seconded by Councillor Graham Jones:

Item 10, Proposed New Model for Scrutiny, Page 12 –

 

“He also stated that the decision to increase the threshold for calling items in from four to five hampered the ability to hold the Executive to account.” Post meeting note: The threshold for calling items in has remained at five since the Constitution was introduced in 2001.

Councillor Alan Macro commented that the amendment accorded with his recollection of what he said at the meeting and he apologised for inadvertently misleading Members.

 

25.

Declarations of Interest

To remind Members of the need to record the existence and nature of any personal, disclosable pecuniary or other registrable interests in items on the agenda, in accordance with the Members’ Code of Conduct.

Minutes:

There were no declarations of interest received.

26.

Petitions

Councillors may present any petition which they have received. These will normally be referred to the appropriate body without discussion.

 

Minutes:

There were no petitions presented at the meeting.

 

27.

Public Questions

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

(a)         Question to be answered by the Deputy Leader of the Council and Portfolio Holder for Planning, Housing and Leisure submitted by Ms Judith Bunting:

Can Members of the Council please reassure residents of Newbury and West Berkshire that sufficient sprinklers are provided, or will be required, to protect families, staff and children in the case of serious fire, such as the recent blaze at Grenfell Tower, in local schools and in social and affordable housing developments such as the multi-storey blocks at the Racecourse development, the urban village planned for the Market Street area, and the high rise blocks currently being considered for the Stirling Cables site?

(b)         Question to be answered by the Leader of the Council submitted by Mr Simon Pike:

What methodology and data has the Council used to predict the substantial reductions in the electorate in some polling districts (e.g. Catmore 35% reduction and Falkland 17% reduction) in 2022, that it provided to the Local Government Boundary Commission (LGBC) in December 2016 as part of the Boundary Review?

(c)         Question to be answered by the Leader of the Council submitted by Mr Simon Pike:

“How does the Council’s proposed ward pattern that is built out of current polling districts, which are arbitrary subdivisions of the existing ward pattern, meet the objective of the Local Government Boundary Commission that ‘Ward patterns should – as far as possible – reflect community interests and identities’?”

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

What impact will the major revision of District wards within the towns of Newbury and Greenham have on town council wards and the way in which town councillors are divided among the new wards?”

Minutes:

A full transcription of the public question and answer session is available from the following link: Transcription of Q&As.

a)              A question standing in the name of Ms Judith Bunting on the subject of  the provision of sprinklers in schools, social and affordable housing developments and high rise blocks was answered in full by the Deputy Leader of the Council and Portfolio Holder for Planning, Housing and Leisure but as Ms Bunting was unable to attend the meeting she would receive a written response.

b)              A question standing in the name of Mr Simon Pike on the subject of  the methodology and data the Council used to predict reductions in the electorate in some polling places when they made their submission to the Local Government Boundary Commission in December 2016 was answered by the Leader of the Council.

c)               A question standing in the name of Mr Simon Pike on the subject of ward patterns was answered by the Leader of the Council.

d)              A question standing in the name of Mr Tony Vickers on the subject of the impact of the revisions to district wards on town council wards was answered by the Leader of the Council.

28.

Membership of Committees

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

Minutes:

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

Governance and Ethics Committee

Councillor Jason Collis had replaced Councillor Garth Simpson as a substitute on the Governance and Ethics Committee.

Overview and Scrutiny Management Commission

Councillor Jason Collis had replaced Councillor Garth Simpson as a member of the Overview and Scrutiny Management Commission.

 

29.

Licensing Committee

The Council is asked to note that since the last meeting of the Council, the Licensing Committee has not met.

Minutes:

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

 

30.

Personnel Committee

The Council is asked to note that since the last meeting of the Council, the Personnel Committee has not met. 

Minutes:

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

31.

Governance and Ethics Committee

The Council is asked to note that since the last meeting of Council, the Governance and Ethics Committee met on 19 June 2017.  Copies of the Minutes of this meeting can be obtained from Strategic Support or via the Council’s website.

Minutes:

The Council noted that, since the last meeting, the Governance and Audit Committee had met on 19 June 2017.

 

32.

District Planning Committee

The Council is asked to note that since the last meeting of the Council, the District Planning Committee has not met.

Minutes:

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

 

33.

Overview and Scrutiny Management Commission

The Council is asked to note that since the last meeting of the Council, the Overview and Scrutiny Management Commission met on 16 May 2017.  Copies of the Minutes of this meeting can be obtained from Strategic Support or via the Council’s website.

Minutes:

The Council noted that, since the last meeting, the Overview and Scrutiny Management Commission had met on 16 May 2017.

 

34.

Local Government Boundary Review (C3319) pdf icon PDF 55 KB

Purpose: To update Members in relation to the review of the district’s boundaries and to the need to review some of the previously approved warding patterns based on greater clarity of the projections used to inform the predicted total number of electors.

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

(Councillor Mollie Lock left the meeting at 7.32pm)

The Council considered a report (Agenda Item 13) which sought to update Members in relation to the review of the district’s boundaries and to alert them to the need to review some of the previously approved warding patterns based on greater clarity of the projections used to inform the predicted total number of electors.

MOTION: Proposed by Councillor Graham Jones and seconded by Councillor Lee Dillon:

That the Council:

1.     “rescind the decision of Council on  23 March 2017 in relation to proposed new warding patterns and new ward names, in accordance with the Council Rules of Procedure 4.9 and 4.16.

2.     submit the new warding patterns and names (Appendix C refers) to the Local Government Boundary Commission in accordance with Phase 2 of the Boundary Review based on a further review of the electorate forecast figures.

3.     notwithstanding the proposed changes, reaffirm that it would still like the Local Government Boundary Commission to look at whether the Greenham Ward should be two single Member Wards based on a view that there would be two distinct communities of the Racecourse development and the proposed new Sandleford development.”

Councillor Graham Jones thanked the Members of the Working Party and Officers for supporting this process. He noted that Map 26 referred to the Tilehurst/Calcot Ward but that it should make reference to Tilehurst South and Holybrook. Councillor Jones commented that forecasting the future was not an exact science and these predictions were based on a range of assumptions.

Councillor Jones explained that since the submission of the forecast figures in December 2016 there had been a number of factors that had led the Council to have to review them. The original number of elector figures was taken as at September 2016. The ratio applied to future electors per household was 1.75 at this point. Since submitting the forecasts in December 2016 the number of electors on the electoral role had increased from 124,492 to 130,217 and the ratio now used was 1.8. A further significant change related to the Lakeside development in Theale which was approved on appeal in February 2017 which would increase Theale’s electorate by 585 electors.

Councillor Jones commented that the decision to reduce the number of councillors to 42 plus or minus one constituted a dramatic change. He appreciated that Members had built up relationships with their communities. To some extent it was easier to sub-divide urban areas as that was already the case and he recognised that it could be more problematic in rural areas. Rural wards tended to base their sense of communities on a number of factors including school catchment areas, shops, geographical features and arterial roads.

Councillor Jones stated that the proposed submission was, in his opinion, as best a compromise as could be achieved. He accepted that Members, Parish and Town Councils and residents might be able to come up with other compromises and he encouraged them to make their own submissions to the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 34.

35.

New Arrangements for Licensing Sub-Committees (C3308) pdf icon PDF 53 KB

Purpose: To increase the number of Members on Licensing Sub-Committees from three to four with no substitute required.

 

Minutes:

The Council considered a report (Agenda Item 14) concerning a proposal to increase the number of members on Licensing Sub-Committees from three to four with no substitute required.

MOTION: Proposed by Councillor Graham Bridgman and seconded by Councillor James Cole:

That the Council:

1.    “agrees that the Panel for future Licensing Sub-Committee meetings will consist of four Members with no substitute required.

2.    agrees that the necessary changes be made to the Council’s Constitution.”

Councillor Graham Bridgman noted that those Members of the Licensing Committee who were in attendance at the informal meeting in March 2017 agreed, in principle, with the proposal to increase the number of Members sitting on a Licensing Sub-Committee from three to four (with no substitute required). The genesis of this proposal was the Council’s Monitoring Officer, Sarah Clarke, and he thanked her for her proactive approach.

Councillor Bridgman outlined the way the Licensing Sub-Committees operated for those Members that were not familiar with the processes. He explained that the substitute was required to sit through the pre-meeting and the whole of the meeting in case an unexpected conflict arose. Officers had confirmed they could not recollect an instance when they had to be used. The substitute was however not permitted to take part in the decision making deliberations.

This proposal would ensure that all Members of the Committee had the opportunity to sit and gain experience on Licensing Sub-Committees. It would also reduce the frustration of Members acting as substitutes who had to sit through a whole meeting but then not take part in the decision making process. He noted that as the substitute was already required to attend the meeting there would not be any additional budgetary implications associated with this proposal. He also noted that a decision could always be made as the chairman would have a casting vote.

Councillor James Cole commented that the matter had been discussed by the Governance and Ethics Committee who had unanimously supported the proposal. The Committee had also commented that as the Appeals Panel operated on similar basis, Officers would be asked to apply a similar approach to that Committee too. A paper would therefore come to a future Council meeting for approval.

The Motion was put to the meeting and duly RESOLVED.

 

36.

Notices of Motion

(a)               The following Motion has been submitted in the name of *:

“*”.

(b)               The following Motion has been submitted in the name of *:

“*”.

Minutes:

There were no Motions submitted.

37.

Members' Questions

There were no Member Questions submitted in relation to items not included on this  agenda.

 

Minutes:

There were no Member questions submitted to this meeting.