Agenda and minutes

To receive from Members, declarations of the existence of any disclosable pecuniary, or non-pecuniary, interests and the nature of those interests in relation to any agenda item. Please see Agenda notes.

There were no declarations of interest.

To declare if any issues to be covered in the Agenda are under party whip.

There were no declarations of party whipping.

To approve as a correct record the minutes of the meeting held on 28^th March 2022.

124.1  The Chair indicated that he was happy to approve the minutes as a correct record. However, he highlighted a typing error at 119.13 relating to the CLS Energy action plan and it was agreed that this error would be amended ahead of the next meeting.

RESOLVED - That the minutes of the meeting held on 28^th March 2022 be corrected with the above amendment for approval at the next Overview and Scrutiny Committee meeting on 6^th June 2022.

To receive any questions from members of the public provided that a question does not relate to:

·       Matters which are the subject of current or pending legal proceedings or

·       Matters relating to employees or former employees of the Council or comments in respect of individual Council Officers.

To ask a question at this meeting, please submit it to democratic.services@gloucester.gov.uk by 12 noon on Wednesday 20^th April 2022 or telephone 01452 396203 for support.

There were no public questions.

To receive any petitions and 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

To present a petition or deputation at this meeting, please submit it to democratic.services@gloucester.gov.uk by 12 noon on Wednesday 20^th April 2022 or telephone 01452 396203 for support.

There were no petitions nor deputations.

To note the outcomes of action points arising from previous meetings.

127.1  Councillor Gravells raised concerns that the information he had requested during the Gloucestershire Airport session was not included in the update. It was agreed that follow-up enquiries would be made with Gloucestershire Airport to obtain this information.

127.2  It was agreed that further requests would be made to Gloucestershire Airport for the gross profit split by income categories, and a copy of their management accounts.

127.3  Councillor Hilton also suggested that the Committee request a further presentation from Gloucestershire Airport and the Leader of the Council in due course on the latest end of year accounts and outlining their profit and loss.

RESOLVED – That the Overview and Scrutiny Committee NOTE the updates.

To receive the latest version of the Committee’s work programme and the Council’s Forward Plan.

128.1  The Chair introduced the latest version of the Council Forward Plan and invited suggestions as to any items Members wished to add to the Overview and Scrutiny Committee Work Programme. It was agreed that following a revised Cabinet date, the Gloucester Local List would be added to the agenda for the meeting on Monday 6^th June. The Committee agreed that they would be content to receive a written update on the Community Infrastructure Levy Review (New Charging Schedule) to note for information only.

128.2  The Chair confirmed that the Overview and Scrutiny Committee were due to hold a Community Safety session on Monday 4^th July and invited suggestions from Members as to what they were hoping for from the session. Councillor Hilton suggested that the Committee request an update from Gloucestershire County Council’s Emergency Planning Team. The Chair added that he was aware that representatives from ‘Put The Knives Down’ had expressed an interest in attending the session. Councillor Sawyer expressed an interest in inviting representatives from organisations working to improve safety for women in Gloucester.

128.3  Councillor Hilton requested that the Committee receive an ICT recovery update and it was agreed that this update would be added to the agenda for the meeting on Monday 4^th July.

128.4  Councillor Gravells suggested that the Committee request an update on how the Homes for Ukraine scheme was progressing in Gloucester and the Committee agreed to add this item to the meeting on Monday 4^th July.

128.5  Councillor Pullen requested that the action point item providing updates on previous Council notices of motion be reinstated. It was noted that this item had been deferred from Overview and Scrutiny Committee agendas for the past few months due to the ongoing IT disruption which the City Council was experiencing. Members agreed to remind officers of the wording of motions which had been approved by full Council, and to send requests for an update on a particular notice of motion to the Democratic and Electoral Services Officer.

RESOLVED –

1)    That the Overview and Scrutiny Work Programme be amended to reflect the above and

2)    To NOTE the Work Programme.

To consider the report of the Cabinet Member for Planning and Housing Strategy seeking approval for the publication of the Main Modifications to the Gloucester City Plan for public consultation.

Report to follow.

129.1  The Cabinet Member for Planning and Housing Strategy introduced the report and welcomed the Head of Place to his new role at Gloucester City Council. She confirmed that the purpose of the report was to outline the proposed Main Modifications to the Gloucester City Plan which Cabinet were being asked to approve for public consultation. She noted that this would be the penultimate step in achieving final approval for the City Plan.

129.2  The Cabinet Member for Planning and Housing Strategy thanked the Planning Policy team for their hard work in preparing the report. She further noted that two former Cabinet Members were also instrumental in its development, and paid tribute to Councillor Organ and Councillor Gravells for their efforts.

129.3  The Cabinet Member for Planning and Housing Strategy expressed the view that should the Gloucester City Plan be approved; it would deliver the homes and jobs needed in the city. She added that the Planning Inspector had also strengthened elements of the plan with regards to climate change. The Cabinet Member for Planning and Housing Strategy confirmed that back in August 2021, the Planning Inspector had confirmed that the City Plan would be legally compliant with the proposed changes set out in the report, noting that without these changes, the Council would not be able to adopt the plan. The Cabinet Member for Planning and Housing Strategy further explained that the delay in publishing the Sustainability Appraisal Addendum at Appendix 4 was due to some adjustments requested by the Planning Inspector.

129.4  The Cabinet Member for Planning and Housing Strategy referred to some of the proposed modifications from the Planning Inspector, such as amending Policy C6 on the Cordon Sanitaire to make the wording more positive, as well as the recommendation of the Planning Inspector on Policy A6 to reduce the requirement for 50% of new homes to meet ‘accessible and adaptable homes’ to 25%, in line with the latest Government guidance. The Cabinet Member for Planning and Housing Strategy also confirmed that the Planning Inspector had concluded that the affordable housing is a strategic matter which should be addressed through the Joint Core Strategy (JCS) rather than the City Plan. She confirmed that if the Main Modifications were approved by Cabinet on 4^th May, the City Plan would go to public consultation for 6 weeks, and the hope was that the plan would be fully adopted in Winter 2022/23.

129.5  The Chair commented that the report was very extensive. Referring to Policy C6 relating to the Cordon Sanitaire – Netheridge Sewage Treatment Works, he noted that the Council’s previous position was not to allow development on this land and asked for the Cabinet Member’s comments as to the type of development she envisaged there. The Cabinet Member for Planning and Housing Strategy confirmed that the wording had changed to reflect the modification proposed by the Planning Inspector. The Principal Planning Officer further clarified that the Planning Inspector had an obligation to make the City Plan sound  ...  view the full minutes text for item 129.

To consider the report of the Chair of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee setting out the work and achievements of the Committee during 2021-22.

130.1  The Chair introduced the Annual Report of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee 2021-22 and invited comments from Members. He confirmed that he would update the Chair’s foreword in due course to mention the Task and Finish Group on engagement with young people which the Committee had established.

130.2  Some minor typing errors were identified, and it was agreed that these would be amended ahead of the report going to Council in July.

130.3  Councillor Pullen commended the achievements of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee over the course of the year and expressed the view that the Committee deserved recognition for these achievements, particularly given that many Members were newly elected in May 2021.

Resolved – That the Overview and Scrutiny Committee APPROVE the Annual Report subject to the correction of minor typing errors.  

Monday 6^th June 2023 at 6.30pm.

Monday 6^th June 2022 at 6.30pm.