Agenda and minutes

To approve as a correct record the Minutes of the meeting of the Executive held on 20 December 2018.

The Minutes of the meeting held on 20 December 2018 were approved as a true and correct record and signed by the Deputy Leader.

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.

Councillor Graham Bridgman declared an interest in Agenda Item 4(n) by virtue of the fact that the public questioner was a personal friend, but reported that, as his interest was a personal or an other registrable interest, but not a disclosable pecuniary interest, he determined to remain to take part in the meeting.

Members of the Executive to answer questions submitted by members of the public in accordance with the Executive Procedure Rules contained in the Council’s Constitution.

A full transcription of the public and Member question and answer sessions are available from the following link: Transcription of Q&As.

“What are the reasons behind the Planning Department allowing over 9 months for Bloor Homes and Donnington Homes to have their linked applications for the Sandleford Park development to be determined, especially given the original time frame given was 13 weeks and the delay is causing unnecessary costs and stress for nearby residents of the development?”

A question standing in the name of Mr Adrian Abbs on the subject of the determination of the applications for the Sandleford development was answered by the Executive Member for Planning, Housing and Waste.

“What is the total income from the garden bin charge since it was introduced?”

A question standing in the name of Ms Carolyne Culver on the subject of the income from the green waste charge was answered by the Executive Member for Planning, Housing and Waste.

“What requirements does West Berkshire Council have for new developments in West Berkshire to provide their own onsite renewable energy?”

A question standing in the name of Ms Carolyne Culver on the subject of the Council’s requirements for developments to be zero carbon was answered by the Executive Member for Planning, Housing and Waste.

“Why is the Council spending £88k to turn Newbury Football Ground from a venue that consultation has shown previously met the needs of the community (organised team football) into a facility that the community have not requested or been consulted on (turn-up and play any sport)?”

A question standing in the name of Mr Lee McDougall on the subject of the refurbishment of Newbury football ground was answered by the Executive Member for Health and Wellbeing, Culture and Leisure.

“Can Councillor Boeck outline the table of events that could lead to the Newbury Football Ground being ready for development in December 2019, as he stated, given it is a protected green space within WBC’s own Core Strategy?”

A question standing in the name of Mr Lee McDougall on the subject of development of Newbury football ground was answered by the Executive Member for Corporate Services.

“What is West Berkshire Council doing to encourage the retrofitting of social and private housing to improve energy efficiency?”

A question standing in the name of Ms Carolyne Culver on the subject of retrofitting housing for energy efficiency was answered by the Executive Member for Planning, Housing and Waste.

“What is the total area of roofing across West Berkshire Council buildings including schools?”

A question standing in the name of Mr Steve Masters on the subject of the area of roofing on Council owned properties was answered by the Executive Member for Finance, Transformation and Property.

“In what ways does the Council’s Executive group plan to share with the public their learning – corporate and in terms of governance - from the mistakes made from the unlawful deal with St Modwens?”

A question standing in the name of Dr Julie Wintrup on the subject of learning from the deal with St Modwens was answered by the Executive Member for Corporate Services.

“When is the Council’s Executive going to apologise to the council-tax-payers of Newbury and West Berkshire, for wasting public money on agreeing an unlawful deal, while continuing to make financial cuts to public health services, some of which will cease to exist?”

A question standing in the name of Dr Julie Wintrup on the subject of spending on an unlawful deal alongside proposed reductions to public health services was answered by the Deputy Leader of the Council.

“Would the next phase of £300k proposed cuts to health and care services “that will impact the public” be unnecessary had the council not spent £363k in legal expenses unsuccessfully defending in court their unlawful deal with St Modwens?”

A question standing in the name of Dr Julie Wintrup on the subject of whether public health service reductions would be necessary had money not been spent on the deal with St Modwen was answered by the Executive Member for Finance, Transformation and Property.

“Taking into account suitable orientation requirements, what percentage of West Berkshire Council roofing are utilised for solar power generation?”

A question standing in the name of Mr Steve Masters on the subject of use of Council roofing for solar energy generation was answered by the Executive Member for Finance, Transformation and Property.

“What action is the council taking to follow the advice of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence that, for public health reasons, new and upgraded roads should prioritise pedestrians, cyclists and public transport over motorised vehicles?”

A question standing in the name of Mr David Marsh on the subject of the prioritisation of pedestrians, cyclists and public transport was answered by the Executive Member for Highways and Transport.

“The large spectator stand at Newbury's main football ground in Faraday Road has been there for 25 years, so when the council states that it has always been a tenant fixture, how did it pass through 2 defunct tenants to the last tenant when none of these clubs co-existed while the council owned the property all that time?”

A question standing in the name of Mr Jon Stewart on the subject of the stand formerly at Newbury football ground was answered by the Executive Member for Health and Wellbeing, Culture and Leisure.

“In October's Executive meeting, Councillor Fredrickson stated that the Playing Pitch Strategy would be approved and adopted by the Council and published on the Council website in early January. Can you provide a progress and status update please including confirmation that the recommendations will be adhered to by the Council?”

A question standing in the name of Mr Jason Braithwaite on the subject of the Playing Pitch Strategy was answered by the Executive Member for Health and Wellbeing, Culture and Leisure.

“How does West Berkshire compare to other South Eastern Local Authorities in regards to the amount of CO2 emissions per Capita?”

A question standing in the name of Mr Steve Masters on the subject of West Berkshire’s CO2 emissions per capita was answered by the Executive Member for Community Resilience and Partnerships.

“Following the Appeal Court ruling with respect to the legal challenge against the Development Agreement (DA) between West Berkshire Council and St Modwen Developments Limited who in the Council will be responsible to ensure that the necessary governance is put in place to ensure that “the unlawful direct award of contracts” cannot and will not happen in the future?”

A question standing in the name of Mr Paul Morgan on the subject of who will be responsible for the governance of contract awards was answered by the Executive Member for Corporate Services.

“Would it not make sense to allow Newbury Community Football Group (NCFG), a legally recognised Community Interest Company (CIC) to run Newbury Football Ground on behalf of the community as a bookable facility for organised football teams for the community to hire at no cost to the public purse and as a not for profit operation, until the outcome and timing of either planning applications is determined?”

A question standing in the name of Mr Paul Morgan on the subject of a request to allow Newbury Community Football Group to run the football ground until the determination of relevant planning applications was answered by the Executive Member for Health and Wellbeing, Leisure and Culture.

“With the council estimate of rough sleepers from October at 26, what is the figure now and is there sufficient provision for those numbers once SWEP is active?”

A question standing in the name of Mr Tom Tunney on the subject of the number of rough sleepers was answered by the Executive Member for Planning, Housing and Waste.

“How has the council spent the £210,000 rough sleepers grant received in June?”

A question standing in the name of Mr Tom Tunney on the subject of the projects funded by the Rough Sleepers Initiative funding was answered by the Executive Member for Planning, Housing and Waste.

“With the Commitment by the council to spend £80,000 on the football club, would it be protecting the campsite from eviction during any construction works?”

A question standing in the name of Mr Thomas Tunney on the subject of the homeless encampment was answered by the Executive Member for Planning, Housing and Waste.

“Compared with the same period of 2017, has there been an increase in the amount both on weight and cost being sent by West Berkshire to landfill?”

A question standing in the name of Mrs Amey Tunney on the subject of waste sent to landfill was answered by the Executive Member for Planning, Housing and Waste.

“What is the councils strategy for increasing the percentage of plastics that can be collected and recycled such as trays and yoghurt pots?”

A question standing in the name of Mrs Amey Tunney on the subject of plastic recycling was answered by the Executive Member for Planning, Housing and Waste.

Councillors or Members of the public may present any petition which they have received. These will normally be referred to the appropriate Committee without discussion. The following petition is expected to be presented at the meeting:

·         Petition to be presented by Mr Steve Masters, requesting that the Council declare a climate emergency and work towards West Berkshire becoming net zero carbon by 2030.

Steve Masters presented a petition containing over 1700 signatures concerning a request for the Council to declare a climate emergency and work towards West Berkshire becoming net zero carbon by 2030.

In presenting the petition, Steve Masters advised that the community had got behind the campaign to place West Berkshire at the heart of fighting the ‘impending climate disaster’. Recent reports from the world’s leading scientists had shown that the UK was failing on a national and international level to meet the targets agreed in the Paris accord.

In November 2018 Bristol City Council voted to declare a climate emergency and bring Bristol’s CO2 emissions target forward by 20 years; West Berkshire was urged to do the same. He stated that declaring a climate emergency would be the first step and requested that a dedicated executive portfolio should be created to coordinate the Council’s actions around climate change.

Transport was the UK’s most polluting sector and in Newbury congestion at peak times contributed to carbon emissions. A fully integrated and sustainable public transport network were central to the transport needs of West Berkshire.

It would be essential to engage with businesses to reach the 2030 goal and there was more to be done to ensure buildings were energy efficient. He called upon the Council to declare a ‘Climate Emergency’.

Councillor Hilary Cole accepted the petition on behalf of the Executive.

(CSP: HQL & HQL1, MEC & MEC1)

Purpose: To consider the transfer of the freehold of Moorside Community Centre, Urquhart Road, Thatcham, RG19 4RE and adjacent playing field, by way of devolution to Thatcham Town Council.

This item was withdrawn from the agenda prior to the meeting.

A full transcription of the public and Member question and answer sessions are available from the following link: Transcription of Q&As.

“Does the Leader of Council agree that to ensure complete transparency in the LRIE Review, no Member that has been directly involved in any decisions regarding LRIE should chair the investigation?”

A question standing in the name of Councillor Lee Dillon on the subject of the London Road Industrial Estate investigation was answered by the Deputy Leader of the Council.

“Can the Leader of Council outline what service areas have had an impact assessment completed in the event of a no deal Brexit and when will these be made public?”

A question standing in the name of Councillor Lee Dillon on the subject of Brexit was answered by the Deputy Leader of the Council.