Agenda and minutes

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

The Chairman and Vice-Chairman reported that they had attended 24 events since the Annual Council meeting.

As he attended several different military events, the Chairman discussed the theme of warfare, its fallout, and peace-making. Some of these events included the D-Day Service at Greenham Common, the Annual Armed Forces briefing of our Reserves and Cadets at Sandhurst, the Armed Forces Week flag raising, and a parade for the 200^th anniversary of the three Survey Squadrons of the Royal Engineers – notable as the Chairman was a former Military Survey Officer.

In addition, the Chairman also highlighted upcoming plans for a Jubilee Year Walk, starting at Holybrook Linear Park and going into central Reading, as well as a VJ80 celebration where he encouraged people with a connection to the theatre of World War II to attend and share their stories.

The Vice-Chairman added that she had attended the opening of the Northcroft Leisure Centre, with the support of Nitro the Gladiator, and informed Council that the event was a great success.

The Chairman to sign as correct records the Minutes of the Council meetings held on 15 May 2025 and 10 June 2025.

MOTION: Proposed by Councillor Tony Vickers and seconded by Councillor Jeff Brooks:

“That the Minutes of the meeting held on 15 May 2025 be approved as a true and correct record and signed by the Chairman.”

The Motion was put to the meeting and duly RESOLVED.

MOTION: Proposed by Councillor Tony Vickers and seconded by Councillor Billy Drummond:

“That the Minutes of the meeting held on 10 June 2025 be approved as a true and correct record and signed by the Chairman.”

The Motion was put to the meeting and duly RESOLVED.

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 Janine Lewis declared an interest in relation to Agenda Item 10, as she was employed by Cross Country Trains. However, as she believed that this did not prejudice or influence her judgement of the public interest, she determined to remain in the meeting to debate and vote on the item.

Petitions may be presented to Council. These will normally be referred to the appropriate body without discussion.

Councillor Antony Amirtharaj and Mr Gary Cheesbrough presented a petition containing 230 signatures relating to the request that Grove Road, Newbury, receive traffic calming measures. They also noted that Speen Parish Council could contribute to any permanent measures.

Councillor Nick Carter presented a petition on behalf of Wokefield Parish Council containing 29 signatures relating to the request that there be a reduction in the speed limit at Grazeley Green from 50 miles per hour to 40. It was noted that the signatories amounted to a significant proportion of local residents.

Councillor Nick Carter also presented a petition of which the majority of 350 respondents agreed to the request that the speed limit in Stratfield Mortimer be reduced from 30 miles per hour to 20.

The Chairman thanked the Members and residents for presenting the petitions and confirmed that officers would review them and confirm within ten working days what action would be taken.

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.

Details of the public and Member question and answer sessions are available from the following link: Q&As.

As the permitted time for public questions had elapsed, it was agreed that question O, standing in the name of Mr Richard Garvie, would receive a written response.

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

MOTION: Proposed by Councillor Jeff Brooks and seconded by Councillor Denise Gaines:

“That Council approve the following changes to the membership of Committees:

-       That Ms Catherine Hobbs be appointed to represent the Roman Catholic Church as a co-opted Member of the Children and Young People Scrutiny Committee.

-       That Mr Tony Wilson be appointed to represent the Church of England as a co-opted Member of the Children and Young People Scrutiny Committee.

-       That Councillor Alan Macro and Councillor Martin Colston swap positions on the Children and Young People Scrutiny Committee so that Councillor Macro becomes a full Member of the Committee and Councillor Colston becomes a substitute Member of the Committee.”

The Motion was put to the meeting and duly RESOLVED.

To note Motions which had been presented to a previous Council meeting.

There were no motions from previous meetings needing updates.

That Council is informed about the meetings held since the last ordinary meeting of Council. The minutes of these meetings will be available on the Council’s website. 

A)       The Licensing Committee met on 7 July 2025

B)       The Personnel Committee met on 15 July 2025.

C)       The Governance Committee has not met.

D)       The District Planning Committee met on 16 July 2025.

E)       The Resources and Place Scrutiny Committee met on 1 July 2025.

F)       The Children and Young People Scrutiny Committee met on 5 June 2025.

G)      The Health and Adult Social Care Scrutiny Committee met on 12 June 2025.

H)       The Health and Wellbeing Board met on 10 July 2025.

I)        The Joint Public Protection Committee met on 9 June 2025.

Council noted the meetings that had been held since the Annual meeting of Council as laid out in Agenda Item 9.

Purpose: To present the Local Transport Plan (LTP4) for adoption.  It is a statutory requirement that, as the Local Transport Authority, West Berkshire Council has a Local Transport Plan. This plan will cover the period 2025-2040.

Council considered a report (Agenda Item 10) concerning the Local Transport Plan 4.

MOTION: Proposed by Councillor Stuart Gourley and seconded by Councillor Nigel Foot:

“That Council adopts the Local Transport Plan 2025-2040 (LTP4).”

Councillor Gourley introduced the report and highlighted that the Plan had undergone regular consultation with transport operators, neighbouring authorities, town and parish councils, residents, and the Council’s internal Transport Advisory Group.

He went on to provide several highlights of the Plan. These included renewed investment in rural roads, increased standards for road maintenance, tripling the white line painting budget, reducing depths of potholes before they were filled in, rolling out more 20 mile per hour zones, increasing electric vehicle infrastructure, and building on the School Streets programme. Council also noted that the Plan sought to balance the needs of rural and urban infrastructure, and dealt with societal shifts in transport use. In addition, the Plan was a living document which could be amended over its 15-year life, with a scheduled refresh every five years. 

Some Members questioned whether residents would be accepting of additional 20 mile per hour zones but were assured that these would only be implemented where it was clear that the local community wanted them.

In addition, some concerns were raised about the e-scooter provision in the Plan, noting that there had been some issues with them in the places where they had been tried. Members agreed that this should be kept under review and potentially looked at through the Council’s Policy Development Group.

An error was highlighted on page 85 of the report. As Reading was not a city, Council agreed that this section should be amended.

Members also highlighted several areas where the Plan could be expanded upon, such as over accessibility for the mobility impaired and disabled, better joining up of infrastructure like bus stops and pavements, building on bus services in rural areas, and looking to speed up the process of assessing the need for speed limit changes or traffic calming measures.

Council also noted that work had been done to encourage HGVs not to pass through Newbury and that the Council had been working with the local Member of Parliament to lobby for safety improvements to the slip roads onto the A34 which were considered to be very dangerous.

Although some Members questioned why the feedback from the public consultation was not being treated in the same way as other feedback, such as over three weekly bin collections, overall Council was encouraged that the public were generally supportive of the Plan.

Overall, as Council were satisfied that the LTP4 would bring real improvements to the transport infrastructure to the district and help keep residents safe and healthy, they agreed to approve the recommendations.

The Motion was put to the meeting and duly RESOLVED.

Purpose: To provide the annual report on matters relating to standards and conduct and to bring to the attention of Members a summary of complaints or other problems within West Berkshire. The report highlights that standards of conduct by councillors in West Berkshire remains high.

Council considered Agenda Item 11 concerning the annual Monitoring Officer’s report about conduct and ethics in the district for 2024/25.

MOTION: Proposed by Councillor Jeff Brooks and seconded by Councillor Denise Gaines:

“That Council is informed about the contents of the Monitoring Officer’s Annual Report 2024/25 – Conduct and Ethics, and that it will be circulated to all Parish and Town Councils in the District for their information.”

Councillor Brooks introduced the report and highlighted that it indicated that Member conduct across the period had been positive, with only six complaints being received in relation to District Councillors and only three received in relation to Parish Councillors.

Council highlighted the costs associated with bringing in an independent person to investigate complaints and stressed that, whatever the outcome of the investigation, Members should follow those recommendations.

In addition, it was made clear that there had been no evidence of inappropriate gifts or hospitality received by Members and that if any Member were found to have taken an inappropriate gift, it would be a very clear breach of the Code of Conduct.

Council agreed to note the report.

Purpose: The Annual Report provides a summary of the work of the West Berkshire Health and Wellbeing Board in 2024/25. It outlines progress made in working towards the strategic objectives of the Joint Local Health and Wellbeing Strategy for Berkshire West and implementation of the Delivery Plan for West Berkshire. It demonstrates how the Board has continued to assess the health needs of the local population. It also shows how the Board has sought to improve integration of Health and Social Care through the Better Care Fund.

Council considered the annual report of the Health and Wellbeing Board for 2024/25 (Agenda Item 12).

MOTION: Proposed by Councillor Heather Codling and seconded by Councillor Patrick Clark:

“That Council is informed about the contents of the Health and Wellbeing Board Annual Report 2024/25.”

Councillor Codling introduced the report and highlighted that it was the second such annual report produced which outlined the past year’s work of the Board. In 2024/25, the Board worked to oversee all the different bodies involved in public health and examined the efficacy of the work being done.

Council noted that the Board planned to be more proactive in changing the direction of health outcomes in the upcoming year, making the meetings more practical and less formal. Members welcomed the desire to make the Board more efficient and thanked them for their work over the past year.

Council agreed to note the report.

Purpose: The Annual Scrutiny report for 2024/25 provides a summary of the work of the Scrutiny Commission, and Health Scrutiny Committee, as well as the Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire West Joint Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee.

Council considered the annual report from the Council’s Scrutiny Committees for 2024/25 (Agenda Item 13).

MOTION: Proposed by Councillor Carolyne Culver and seconded by Councillor Christopher Read:

“That Council is informed about the contents of the Annual Scrutiny Report 2024/25.”

Councillor Culver introduced the report and highlighted that the report was based on the work of the now reorganised Scrutiny Commission and Health Scrutiny Committee.

The Commission had spent a significant amount of time scrutinising the Council’s finances over the year, which continued to be a priority with the new Resources and Plance Scrutiny Committee. In addition, they had done extensive work around Children Services and Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) provision.

Members were satisfied that the Scrutiny Commission and Health Scrutiny Committee had effectively held the Executive to account, ensured good governance, and provided meaningful recommendations, despite the majority of seats on those bodies being filled by Members of the Administration.

Council also thanked the Chairman of both bodies for their leadership and effectiveness over the past year, as well as thanking those Officers that supported the Scrutiny function of the Council.

Although the Council now had a new Scrutiny structure, Members were satisfied that the positive work would be continued and expanded into areas such as Local Government Reorganisation, Libraries, and cross-working with other authorities’ Scrutiny Committees on areas that involved multiple local authorities.

Council agreed to note the report.

To receive any Motions submitted in accordance with the Council Procedure Rules contained in the Council's Constitution.

There were no Motions submitted.

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.

Details of the public and Member question and answer sessions are available from the following link: Q&As.