Agenda and minutes

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

The Chairman reported that he had attended the following events since the last Council meeting:

•         WBC Citizenship Ceremony

•         The High Sheriff’s Reception

•         The Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service Award Ceremony

•         Newbury in Bloom Presentation

•         Lord Lieutenant’s Awards Ceremony

•         The official opening of the Goldwell Park pump (cycle) track

•         West Berkshire Macmillan event

The Vice-Chairman had also attended the United Nations Flag Raising in the Chairman’s absence.

The Chairman to present Councillor Billy Drummond with his long service award.

The Chairman made a long service presentation to the Vice-Chairman Councillor Billy Brummond for 20 years service as a Councillor.

The Chairman to sign as a correct record the Minutes of the extraordinary Council meeting held on 20 July 2023 and the ordinary meeting held on 20 July 2023.

The Minutes of the extra ordinary meeting held on 20 July 2023 were approved as a true and correct record and signed by the Chairman.

The Minutes of the ordinary meeting held on 20 July 2023 were approved as a true and correct record and signed by the Chairman, subject to the addition from Councillor Culver that with regards to the Hedgehog Petition she mentioned that the country was in the bottom 10% of 240 countries with regards to the depletion of nature and thus ‘most’ depleted be added to the minutes.

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.

There were no declarations of interest received.

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

None received.

Members of the Executive to answer questions submitted by members of the public in accordance with the Council 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.

The Council to agree any changes to the membership of Committees.

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

Councillor Nigel Foot be a member of the Health Scrutiny Committee replacing Councillor Owen Jeffery who will replace Councillor Foot as a substitute.

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

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

The Council is asked to note that since the lastordinary meeting of the Council, the Personnel Committee met on 11 September 2023. A copy of the Minutes of this meeting can be obtained from Democratic Services or via the Council's website when available.

The Council noted that, since its last ordinary meeting, the Personnel Committee had met on 11 September 2023.

The Council is asked to note that since the lastordinary meeting of the Council, the Governance Committee met on 25 September 2023. A copy of the Minutes of this meeting can be obtained from Democratic Services or via the Council's website.  When available.

The Council noted that, since its last ordinary meeting, the Governance Committee had met on 25 September 2023.

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

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

The Council is asked to note that since the lastordinary meeting of the Council, the Scrutiny Commission met on 14 September 2023. A copy of the Minutes of this meeting can be obtained from Democratic Services or via the Council's website. When available.

The Council noted that, since its last ordinary meeting, Scrutiny Commission had met on 14 September 2023.

The Council is asked to note that since the lastordinary meeting of the Council, the Health Scrutiny Committee met on 12 September 2023. A copy of the Minutes of this meeting can be obtained from Democratic Services or via the Council's website. When available.

The Council noted that, since its last ordinary meeting, the Health Scrutiny Committee had met on 12 September 2023.

The Council is asked to note that since the lastordinary meeting of the Council, the Health and Wellbeing Board met on 3 October 2023. A copy of the Minutes of this meeting can be obtained from Democratic Services or via the Council's website when available.

The Council noted that, since its last ordinary meeting, the Health and Wellbeing Board had met on 3 October 2023.

The Council is asked to note that since the lastordinary meeting of the Council, the Joint Public Protection Committee met on 2 October 2023. A copy of the Minutes of this meeting can be obtained from Democratic Services or via the Council's website when available.

The Council noted that, since its last ordinary meeting, the Joint Public Protection Committee had met on 2 October 2023.

Purpose: To inform Members of the feedback received from the consultation on the Draft Council Strategy 2023 – 2027 and to request that the Strategy (amended in response to the consultation feedback and including the Council Strategy Delivery Plan) is adopted by the Council. A new strategy is needed to set the Council’s direction for the next four years by defining new priority areas based on changes to the external and internal intelligence about residents’ needs, including the feedback received from our residents’ surveys, consultations and the results of the local elections.

The Council considered a report (Agenda Item 17) concerning feedback received from the consultation on the Draft Council Strategy 2023 – 2027 and to request that the amended Strategy be adopted by the Council.

MOTION: Proposed by Councillor Jeff Brooks and seconded by Councillor Martin Colston:

That the Council:

“Adopts the West Berkshire Council Strategy for 2023 – 2027, including the Council Strategy Delivery Plan, (see Appendix B) which includes the changes proposed within this report as a result of feedback from consultation”.

Councillor Brooks informed Council that he was proud to introduce the Administration’s first Council Strategy. For the first time the Council Strategy also included a clear delivery plan that was published and would be updated annually. There were five priorities, and these were:

• Services we are proud of.
• A Fairer West Berkshire with opportunities for all.
• Tackling the climate and ecological emergency.
• A prosperous and resilient West Berkshire.
• Thriving communities with a strong local voice.

The role of every Council was to provide great services and make communities stronger.  Residents were consulted on what mattered to them and the Strategy demonstrated how delivery would be achieved. Not all targets may be met but it was important to be transparent. 

When the Liberal Democrat Group took control of the Council in May it was known that the budget had been set but what was not known was the level of pressures in service areas and where some areas had been under budgeted or overspending for a number of years.  There was surprise at the lack of controls and thus controls were being putting in place, such as a weekly review of spend and on recruitment. The financial constraints would put the Strategy under strain in the early years and it would be necessary to cut the Council’s cloth accordingly, but the plan would be delivered. He thanked officers for all their hard work over the summer to help put the plan together and the work of Councillor Martin Colston. Councillor Brooks commended the Strategy to the Chamber.

Councillor Martha Vickers said that she wanted to highlight how part of the Environment Advisory Group had been opened up to the public which was part of the Administration’s desire to be free and open.

Councillor Carolyne Culver mentioned that she supported the Strategy and the opening up of forums to the public. She welcomed the emphasis on infrastructure and advised that she was currently chairing a Task and Finish Group for Health Scrutiny that would be looking at the provision of health care within new developments, especially in rural locations. As well as healthcare provision it was also important to consider water infrastructure as part of new developments. The Environment Agency and Thames Water had been invited to the next meeting of the Scrutiny Commission as the public were concerned about sewage and fresh water infrastructure. It was important to have water saving measures in new developments. There were some good points about climate change in the Strategy but there  ...  view the full minutes text for item 36.

Purpose: to propose changes to the Council’s climate emergency declaration (made in July 2019).  The changes that are sought will enhance, strengthen and bring clarity to the original declaration following the initial 4 years of delivery and all that has been learnt in that period.

Council considered the report (Agenda item 18) concerning the proposed changes to the Council’s climate emergency declaration (made in July 2019). The changes sought would enhance, strengthen and bring clarity to the original declaration following the initial four years of delivery.

MOTION: Proposed by Councillor Owen Jeffery and seconded by Councillor Martha Vickers:

That the Councilapprove the following enhancements to the original climate emergency declaration:

• The ecological emergency is recognised through the new declaration being a ‘climate and ecological emergency’.

• Changing the language used in the declaration from ‘carbon neutral’ to ‘net zero’ to bring us in line with Government and business terminology.

• Clarification of targets within the declaration with the following being the Council’s focus in relation to reducing emissions:

Achieving net zero by 2030 for the Council’s operations and activities.

Facilitating, influencing, promoting and encouraging a reduction in emissions across West Berkshire to enable net zero to be achieved as soon as practicable for the District.

The proposed new wording for the declaration and recommended actions relating to the ecological emergency are included in section 8 of this report.

Councillor Jeffery said that he was pleased that this Council had previously unanimously approved a Declaration of Climate Emergency and he wanted to strengthen this by adding the term ecological. The Council was in a position to go against the trend of rolling back on climate change targets. There had been plenty of scientific evidence supporting that ecosystems were declining due to habitat loss and climate change. Declaring an ecological emergency would highlight the importance of preserving our local flora. Air quality and water pollution also had a negative impact on public health. Declaring an ecological emergency would provide a legal and policy framework that the Council could follow and allocate appropriate resource.

Councillor Carolyne Culver mentioned that she had proposed an ecological emergency back in September 2021 so she was pleased to see this being proposed. There was further work to be done and there would need to be cross reference with the Council Strategy, however consideration was also needed for biodiversity net gain as well as the obligation under the Environment Act for local nature strategies and networks. A local hedgehog positive campaign, as promised at the last Council meeting, also needed to be included. She encouraged the new Administration to consider things such as embedded carbon, that the Environmental Delivery Plan did not have biodiversity as a key theme and more local environmental groups needed to be included. She also recommended that more collaboration could be done with parish councils and would encourage more parish councils to be involved with the Parish Climate Forum. There was also a need to work with local land owners and farmers.

Councillor Ross Mackinnon said that the report was asking Council to declare an ecological emergency but there was no evidence supporting the need within West Berkshire. He was not saying that there was not a need but the report needed to have supporting evidence as the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 37.

Purpose: To seek approval of the submission of the Hermitage Neighbourhood Development Plan (NDP) for independent examination.

Council considered the report (agenda item 19) that sought approval of the submission of the Hermitage Neighbourhood Development Plan (NDP) for independent examination.

MOTION: Proposed by Councillor Tony Vickers and seconded by Councillor Heather Codling to resolve that the Hermitage NDP could be sent for independent examination under Regulation 17 of the Neighbourhood Planning (General) Regulations 2012.

Councillor Tony Vickers in introducing the report said that it was important to remember that the working groups were carried out on the basis of administrative boundaries and not necessarily settlement boundaries. It had been agreed about a year ago that the Council would have to look at our administrative boundaries and it was not known what affect this would have on neighbourhood plans. It was still right that the Council adopted neighbourhood plans post being rightly initiated and led throughout by local communities, not just local councils but also volunteers on steering groups. The plans had to come to Council at set points for approval and involved a lot of officer time. It was sensible to undertake a tendering process for a number of plans that were going through the process. The Parishes would retain their right to choose their examiner from within the group of consortiums that won the tender. Over the last few years in Hermitage there had been a lot of development so there was no additional allocation of residential or employment land in the report. The final report would be brought back to Council for approval to go out to referendum.

Councillor Carolyne Culver mentioned that there had recently been a referendum on the Compton Neighbourhood Development Plan and she appreciated how much hard work went into them from volunteers in the community and officers. As she had raised many times at the Western Area Planning Committee, she highlighted the importance of addressing housing mixture and introducing more affordable housing and social rent housing. There was also a need for smaller properties for young people or the elderly who wished to downsize. She mentioned that in paragraph 6.1 there was a word missing and went on to welcome that they had identified six green spaces to protect. She was pleased to see the cycle out was being extended and it was hoped that this could go from Newbury into Oxfordshire. The report mentioned that road and traffic issues could not be included in the plan but they had been included in the Cold Ash one, it was recommended that it was made clear to our volunteers what could or could not be included so we had consistency across the plans.

Councillor Heather Codling in seconding the motion said that she thought it had been Hermitage’s choice not to look at traffic. She commended the work they had done as the plan captured the diversity of the village. It was a large village with a lot of new housing, it was in the countryside and AONB. Although the village had grown it was important to maintain its character along  ...  view the full minutes text for item 38.

Purpose: To seek approval for the submission of the Cold Ash Neighbourhood Development Plan (NDP) for independent examination.

Council considered the report (agenda item 20) seeking approval for the submission of the Cold Ash Neighbourhood Development Plan (NDP) for independent examination.

MOTION: Proposed by Councillor Tony Vickers and seconded by Councillor Heather Codling that the Cold Ash NDP could be sent for independent examination under Regulation 17 of the Neighbourhood Planning (General) Regulations 2012.

Councillor Tony Vickers introduced the report and said that the process for producing this report was identical to the previous item and they had the same contractor.  They had a keen steering group and he expected they were well known to Councillor Codling.

Councillor Carolyne Culver welcomed the report and congratulated everyone involved as it was a well-researched document that she enjoyed reading. She welcomed theinclusion of green buffer zones between villages and that they talked about carbon neutrality, nature recovery and water and air quality. The report encouraged residents to ask for more tree protection orders and protected woodland. As a Member of the Western Area Planning Committee, she welcomed the isometric drawing that showed the impact development had on surrounded areas. She appreciated the detail they had gone into with regards to sunken lanes and that they had included hedgehog highways. It also mentioned the Woodlands Trust Emergency Tree Plan saying that removed trees should have three planted in their place and this should be considered for the Local Plan. It was good to see smaller housing included and that flooding had been considered as well as the cumulative impact that developments could have on flooding.

Councillor Clive Taylor welcomed the report and said he would be recommending that his steering group looked at it as an example of good work. He liked the inclusion of the photographs and maps. The whole document was well presented and easy to read.   The report covered both the rural and urban areas, and he also liked the mention of sunken lanes. The plan identified local needs and community aspirations.

The Motion was put to the meeting and duly RESOLVED.

Purpose: an annual summary of the activities of the Governance & Ethics Committee for the 2022-23 municipal year. The report is intended for Full Council to provide a summary of key areas that the Committee has considered during the Municipal Year 2022-23 as well as some of the actions and changes that have occurred due to the Committee’s activities.

Council considered the report (agenda item 21) which provided an annual summary of the activities of the Governance and Ethics Committee for the 2022-23 municipal year.

MOTION: Proposed by Councillor Jeff Brooks and seconded by Councillor Erik Pattenden to resolve that Council notes the report.

Councillor Jeff Brooks introduced the report and said that this was an annual report and he highlighted that there had been a lot of work done by the Constitutional Task Group.  The Constitution was a living document and there was more work to be done so the task group would be reconvened in the new year. There would also be a community governance review at the appropriate time.

Councillor Erik Pattenden commended the report.

Council noted the report.

Purpose: To inform Council of the results of the Local Elections held in May 2023 and any issues concerning the conduct of the elections.

Council considered the report (agenda item 22) that informed Council of the results of the Local Elections held in May 2023 and any issues concerning the conduct of the elections.

MOTION: Proposed by the Chief Executive, Nigel Lynn, as Retuning Officer to resolve that Council notes the report.

The Chief Executiveinformed that the Coronation of the King had compressed the time to undertake the count and it was ambitious to do it in a day but he was pleased to report that this had been achieved. Staffing of the elections continued to be an issue but the voter ID ran smoothly and 99.8% of electorates brought their ID. An issue that continued to cause a problem was the Royal Mail and officers continued to engage with them to make improvements. He thanked all staff for their excellent efforts in running a successful election process.

Councillor Jeff Brooks thanked the Returning Officer and all the staff that worked on the elections. It was an excellent job getting the district and parish elections counted and results given on the same day. With regards to voter ID, there had been a lot of tax payers money spent on promoting this new system. He felt that this was not required as it sought to solve a problem that was not there, he did not support the introduction of voter ID. He also reiterated the concern that the Royal Mail had let down some voters.

Councillor Dominic Boeck reiterated the excellent job that had been done on the elections. He said he had been involved in many elections and the staff performed extremely well providing advice in advance, running the elections on the day and performing the count with due diligence.

Councillor David Marsh said that he agreed with the comments made so far and especially the Elections Team that did an excellent job. The polling stations in his ward were very busy and the staff did a very good job helping people with voter ID but the report did highlight a number of voters that were not able to vote because of this and was concerned how many did not vote because of voter ID. This was a national issue that had been highlighted and had affected local voters. He recommended that this be raised with our local MPs, the LGA and the Electoral Commission.

Councillor Nigel Foot raised the issue of postal votes and said that it was a scandal that some votes had arrived late and thus had not been counted and as Councillor Marsh had said there was also the issue of non-voters because of voter ID. Some of the voters that had been disenfranchised may have been residents with mobility issues who could not get to their local polling stations.

Councillor Tony Vickers congratulated the elections team and staff who worked on the elections as they had done an excellent job. It was unfortunate that we would not know the number of voters who were put off because  ...  view the full minutes text for item 41.

Purpose: To provide an update on any local and national issues relating to ethical standards and to bring to the attention of Members a summary of complaints or other problems within West Berkshire.

Council considered the report (agenda item 23) which provided an update on any local and national issues relating to ethical standards and to bring to the attention of Members a summary of complaints or other problems within West Berkshire.

MOTION: Proposed by Councillor Jeff Brooks and seconded by Councillor Patrick Clark to resolve that:

Members note the content of the report.

It was proposed that the report be circulated to all Parish/Town Councils in the District for information.

Councillor Jeff Brooks introduced the report and explained that while there had been some tricky situations in the chamber over the years, Members generally treated each other with respect. Complaints had increased but this could be as a result of moving toward the elections earlier in the year. He went on to mention his experience of having a complaint made against him and although not upheld it was an unpleasant experience, but he was confident that the system was robust. He believed that any councillor who stood for election did so to do good work and although we may disagree on the best way of achieving this we could always treat each other with respect.

Councillor David Marsh said unfortunately he felt that the Code of Conduct was no longer fit for purpose as it did not keep up with social media. He had sat on some complaint panels and a lot of them were trivial spats between rival parties that could have been resolved with a simple conversation. He raised concerns about vexatious complaints that used up a lot of officer time. He asked that during the review of the Constitution the task group could also review the Code and complaints procedure to make them fit for purpose.

Councillor Jeff Brooks summed up by saying that the current code was fit for purpose and he encouraged those that did not think so to discuss it with the Monitoring Officer. He invited Councillor Marsh to join the Constitutional Working Party to address his views.

The motion was put to the vote and RESOLVED

Please note that the list of Motions is shown under Item 24 in the agenda pack.

The Council considered the under-mentioned Motion (Agenda item 24) submitted in the name of Councillor Denise Gaines relating to asylum seekers.

MOTION: As amended proposed by Councillor Denise Gaines and seconded by Councillor Laura Coyle.

That the Council note:

1.             “As a result of the government’s asylum process and its efforts to reduce the backlog of asylum decisions, we are seeing increased demand for homelessness prevention services in West Berkshire.

2.             The home office has reduced the move-on period from 28 to 7 days, the time an asylum seeker must transition from their temporary accommodation to become independent. This is an unacceptably short period of transition.

3.             As a result of the Government’s decision to drastically reduce this move-on period there has been an escalation of homelessness and rough sleeping here in West Berkshire.

4.             The Government has effectively abdicated the responsibility for asylum seekers granted leave to remain and passed responsibility to local authorities.

5.             We have inherited the responsibility, from the Home office, to accommodate and support any person, given the status of right to remain, and currently residing in West Berkshire.

6.             This has placed a heavy burden on this authority and created an impossible target for us to source accommodation and house people within a very narrow time period of just 7 days. This burden comes without any additional funding from central government.

7.             We are committed, as an authority, to playing our part in welcoming and safeguarding the welfare of all people in our communities, including people granted right to remain.

8.             In an area the size of West Berkshire, rental properties and temporary accommodation is at a premium and having this additional pressure could make costs for this accommodation spiral in an already inflated market.

This Council therefore resolves to request that the Leader:

1.             Write to the Home Secretary to request that the Government:

- extend the transition period to a more realistic time period of 8 weeks to enable local authorities and the newly recognised refugees sufficient time to have all the official documentation in place to apply for work and to find accommodation;

- provide Local Authorities with emergency funding to support those who have a right to remain.

2.             Request the LGA as the national voice of local govt to lobby relevant ministers on the plight facing Local Authorities

3.             Ask the three MPs within the Council area to support this Motion and to raise at the highest levels of government.”

The Chairman advised that Council would debate the Motion this evening in order to facilitate the discharge of business in accordance with Procedure Rule 4.9.8.

Councillor Denise Gaines introduced the motion and informed that the Government had failed West Berkshire and other Councils who opened their doors to asylum seekers.  The country always had a reputation of welcoming people in need and there were many conflicts in the world and many people suffering persecution. When an asylum seeker had been granted leave to remain, they still required  ...  view the full minutes text for item 43.

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

Members agreed to receive written responses which can be found via the following link.