Agenda, decisions and minutes

No declarations were made on this occasion.

To approve as a correct record the minutes of the meeting held on 21^st June 2017.

The minutes of the meeting held on 21^st June 2017 were confirmed and signed by the Chair as a correct record.

There were no questions from members of the public.

To receive any petitions or deputations provided that no such petition or deputation is in relation to:

·         Matters relating to individual Council Officers, or

·         Matters relating to current or pending legal proceedings

There were no petitions or deputations.

Any Member of the Council may ask the Leader of the Council or any Cabinet Member any question without prior notice, upon:

·       Any matter relating to the Council’s administration

·       Any matter relating to any report of the Cabinet appearing on the summons

·       A matter coming within their portfolio of responsibilities

Only one supplementary question is allowed per question.

There were no questions to the Cabinet from Councillors.

To consider the report of the Cabinet Member for Housing and Planning seeking approval of the Community Infrastructure Levy – Draft Charging Schedule: Proposed Statement of Modifications for public consultation purposes.

RESOLVED:

(1)       That The Community Infrastructure Levy Proposed Statement of Modifications at Appendix 1 be approved for public consultation.

(2)       That Cabinet delegates authority to the Corporate Director/Head of Planning, in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Housing and Planning to amend the Proposed Statement of Modifications at Appendix 1 and prepare any further statements of modification that may be required following the Joint Core Strategy hearings and/or any further viability assessments undertaken.

(3)       That the Corporate Director/Head of Planning be authorised to agree the date of public consultation(s) with Cheltenham Borough and Tewkesbury Borough Councils.

(4)       The Corporate Director/Head of Planning, following the conclusion of the public consultation(s), be authorised to compile and submit responses received to the Community Infrastructure Levy Examiner for examination.

Cabinet considered the report of the Cabinet Member for Housing and Planning which sought approval of the Community Infrastructure Levy – Draft Charging Schedule: Proposed Statement of Modifications for the purposes of public consultation.

The Cabinet Member for Housing and Planning noted that the modifications had been made as a consequence of the changes recommended to the Joint Core Strategy by the Inspector. He drew Members’ attention to the proposed modifications detailed in Appendix 1 of the report and advised that the supporting evidence was being finalised by consultants.

He outlined the risks associated with failure to adopt a Community Infrastructure Levy detailed in Section 11 of the report.

RESOLVED:

(1)       That The Community Infrastructure Levy Proposed Statement of Modifications at Appendix 1 be approved for public consultation.

(2)       That Cabinet delegates authority to the Corporate Director after consulting with the Head of Planning, in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Housing and Planning to amend the Proposed Statement of Modifications at Appendix 1 and prepare any further statements of modification that may be required following the Joint Core Strategy hearings and/or any further viability assessments undertaken.

(3)       That the Corporate Director after consulting with the Head of Planning be authorised to agree the date of public consultation(s) with Cheltenham Borough and Tewkesbury Borough Councils.

(4)       The Corporate Director after consulting with the Head of Planning, following the conclusion of the public consultation(s), be authorised to compile and submit responses received to the Community Infrastructure Levy Examiner for examination.

To consider the report of the Cabinet Member for Communities and Neighbourhoods which provides an update on the activities in the community and neighbourhood teams, to include our work on community building, social prescribing and VCS grants.

RESOLVED that the report be noted.

Cabinet considered the report of the Cabinet Member for Communities and Neighbourhoods which provided Members with an update on activities within the community and neighbourhood teams including work on community building, social prescribing and Voluntary and Community Sector grants.

The Cabinet Member for Communities and Neighbourhoods outlined the report and noted that Gloucester was the first local authority in the country to adopt Asset Based Community Development and strengths based working and that decision was influencing many other local authorities in the country.

RESOLVED that the report be noted.

To consider the report of the Cabinet Member for Environment updating Cabinet on the performance of the enhanced recycling service that was introduced on 16^th January 2017.

RESOLVED:

(1)       The performance of the new recycling service be noted and

(2)       To endorse the ongoing and proposed work that aims to further reduce the amount of household waste sent to landfill within Gloucester City.

Cabinet considered the report of the Cabinet Member for Environment which provided Members with an update on the performance of the enhanced recycling service that was introduced on 16^th January 2017.

The Cabinet Member for Environment outlined the increase in tonnage from 4,499 tonnes between January and April 2016 to 5,341 tonnes in the same period this year. He noted the increase of 842 tonnes which if extrapolated over twelve months would increase the recycling rate from 39 per cent to 44 per cent and would divert a further 2,500 tonnes from landfill.

He referred to the ongoing “Recycle More for Gloucester” campaign detailed at paragraphs 3.6 and 3.7 of the report.

In conclusion, he anticipated a further £500,000 income from recyclables dependent on market prices.

The Cabinet Member for Performance and Resources stated that potential income from recyclables should be treated with caution as the market prices could fluctuate. He applauded the efforts that had produced the welcome increases.

RESOLVED:

(1)       That the performance of the new recycling service be noted and

(2)       To endorse the ongoing and proposed work that aims to further reduce the amount of household waste sent to landfill within Gloucester City.

To consider the report of the Cabinet Member for Culture and Leisure which presents the findings of a review into the viability and operation of the City’s Museums Service and sets out the actions taken to date to respond to the issues raised in the review report.

RESOLVED:

(1)       That the Review into the City’s Museums Service be received and welcomed and that Jill Shonk be thanked for her work in undertaking the review

(2)       That agreement in principle be given to the transfer of the Gloucester Life Museum site and subject to contract and  delegated authority be given to the Corporate Director, after consultation with the Cabinet Member for Culture and Leisure, the Head of Policy and Resources and the Council Solicitor to agree the terms and details of the transfer and  complete the transaction; and

(3)       The Head of Cultural and Trading Services be authorised to pursue proposals for a bid for Heritage Lottery Fund Resilience Funding and other funding options and actions necessary to implement the findings of the review and in particular those matters set out in paragraph 3.4 to this report.

Cabinet considered the report of the Cabinet Member for Culture and Leisure which:-

a)    presented the findings of a review into the viability and operation of the City’s Museums Service and set out the actions taken to date to respond to the issues raised in the review report;

b)    sought agreement in principle, and subject to contract, for the transfer of the Gloucester Life Museum site; and

c)    sought endorsement of proposals to develop a bid for Heritage Lottery Funding Resilience Funding to take forward other significant elements of the review report’s recommendations.

The Cabinet Member for Culture and Leisure referred to paragraph 3.9 of the report and advised that it was proposed that the Gloucester Life Museum be transferred to Gloucester Historic Buildings Ltd.

She confirmed that should the proposed transfer not proceed, the Gloucester Life Museum would not close but an alternative solution would be sought.

She advised Cabinet that the first weekend of the Dinosaur Exhibition had been very successful with over 500 visitors and the gift shop had taken over £600.

The Cabinet Member for Housing and Planning believed that the proposals for the future of the building were the right way to proceed as the maintenance cost of such an historic building were high.  He believed that there had been an incredible amount of work undertaken to stage the Dinosaur Exhibition which would draw large crowds.

The Cabinet Member for Performance and Resources commended the work undertaken on a challenging project by the Cabinet Member for Culture and Leisure with the support of officers.

The Deputy Leader of the Council commented that at a time when many local authorities were closing museums, Gloucester’s museums were improving. She believed that an asset based approach, such as that adopted for Llanthony Priory where groups of passionate people were involved, would be the key to the future.

RESOLVED:

(1)       That the Review into the City’s Museums Service be received and welcomed and that Jill Shonk be thanked for her work in undertaking the review

(2)       That agreement in principle be given to the transfer of the Gloucester Life Museum site, subject to contract, and  delegated authority be given to the Corporate Director, after consultation with the Cabinet Member for Culture and Leisure, the Head of Policy and Resources and the Council Solicitor to agree the terms and details of the transfer and  complete the transaction; and

(3)       The Head of Cultural and Trading Services be authorised to pursue proposals for a bid for Heritage Lottery Fund Resilience Funding and other funding options and actions necessary to implement the findings of the review and in particular those matters set out in paragraph 3.4 to this report.

To consider the report of the Cabinet Member for Culture and Leisure presenting proposals receiving from Marketing Gloucester Ltd (MGL) for events and activities to mark the 375^th Anniversary of the siege of Gloucester and the 1100^th Anniversary of the death of Aethelflaed, Lady of Mercia in 2018, which would form part of the 2018 City Events programme.

RESOLVED:

(1)       That the proposals received from Marketing Gloucester Limited for events and activities to mark the two anniversaries in 2018 are welcomed and endorsed.

(2)       That Gloucester Culture Trust be invited to consider what they could add to the proposals as part of a wider consideration of how the events could fit within a broader programme of activity in 2018 which would optimise the availability of Great Place funding, deliver key cultural strategy objectives and make a significant contribution towards Gloucester’s ambition to be City of Culture in 2025.

(3)       To work with a 2018 Anniversary Steering Group comprising representatives from Gloucester Culture Trust, Marketing Gloucester Ltd, the History Festival, the Heritage Forum, the Civic Trust and the City Council to coordinate activity to celebrate the anniversaries.

Cabinet considered the report of the Cabinet Member for Culture and Leisure which presented proposals by Marketing Gloucester Ltd for events and activities to mark the 375^th anniversary of the Siege of Gloucester and the 1100^th anniversary of the death of Aethelflaed.

The Cabinet Member for Culture and Leisure noted that 2018 would also mark the centenary of the end of the First World War the introduction of votes for women and bicentenary of the birth of Karl Marx. She welcomed the proposal for a steering group as detailed in paragraph3.8.4 of the report. She believed that the proposed events had the potential to help make Gloucester a credible candidate for the City of Culture 2025.

The Cabinet Member for Environment believed that festivals and events brought visitors to the City.

The Deputy Leader of the Council believed that every year was a special year for Gloucester and the Council was able to bring people together to do great things. She believed that Gloucester was an ambitious city and should apply to become the City of Culture 2025.

RESOLVED:

(1)       that the proposals received from Marketing Gloucester Limited for events and activities to mark the two anniversaries in 2018 are welcomed and endorsed.

(2)       that Gloucester Culture Trust be invited to consider what they could add to the proposals as part of a wider consideration of how the events could fit within a broader programme of activity in 2018 which would optimise the availability of Great Place funding, deliver key cultural strategy objectives and make a significant contribution towards Gloucester’s ambition to be City of Culture in 2025.

(3)       to work with a 2018 Anniversary Steering Group comprising representatives from Gloucester Culture Trust, Marketing Gloucester Ltd, the History Festival, the Heritage Forum, the Civic Trust and the City Council to coordinate activity to celebrate the anniversaries.

To consider the report of the Cabinet Member for Culture and Leisure which provides a general update on the work of the Gloucester Culture Board and the establishment of the Gloucester Culture Trust.

RESOLVED that the report be welcomed and noted.

Cabinet considered the report of the Cabinet Member for Culture and Leisure which provided Members with an update on the work of the Gloucester Culture Board, the establishment of Gloucester Culture Trust and the successful Great Place funding bid.

The Cabinet Member for Culture and Leisure advised that the interviews for the remaining places on the Gloucester Culture Board had taken place earlier in the day. She believed that the Board had an incredibly strong membership and had been fortunate in appointing Hollie Smith-Charles as Director.

She advised that Hollie Smith-Charles was the Project Manager for the Great Place scheme and leading a team of seven strand leads working on inter-dependent work streams.

The Cabinet Member for Housing and Planning believed that this was a huge project made possible by partnerships and an example of how great things could happen when people with great ideas were brought together under the right leadership,

RESOLVED that the report be welcomed and noted.