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.

50.1    There were no declarations of interest.

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

51.     There were no declarations of party whipping.

To approve as a correct record the minutes of the meeting held on Monday 2^nd December 2024.

52.1    RESOLVED – That the minutes of the meeting held on Monday 2^nd December 2024 were approved and signed by the Chair as a correct record.

The opportunity is given to members of the public to put questions the Chair provided that questions do not contravene the provisions set out Council Procedure Rule 10.01.

To ask a question at this meeting, please submit it to democratic.services@gloucester.gov.uk by 12 noon on Tuesday 31^st December 2024 or telephone 01452 396203 for support.

Questions and responses will be published at least 24 hours before the meeting. Supplementary questions may be put and answered during the meeting, subject to the relevant time limit.

53.1    There were no public questions.

The opportunity is given to members of the public to present a petition or deputation provided that any such petition or deputation does not contravene the provisions set out Council Procedure Rule 11.01.

To present a petition or deputation at this meeting, please provide the subject matter to democratic.services@gloucester.gov.uk by 12 noon on Tuesday 31^st December 2024 or telephone 01452 396203 for support.

54.1    There were no petitions or deputations.

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

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

To receive an update from Gloucester City Homes.

56.1    The Chief Executive of Gloucester City Homes (GCH) delivered a presentation to the Committee introducing Members to the organisation, and summarising recent performance information and priorities for GCH over the coming months.

56.2    Councillor Hyman noted that GCH was responsible for many properties in Gloucester and stated that as far as he was aware, the organisation was well run and a good landlord. He asked why the process of evicting tenants who were causing nuisance to their neighbours was a lengthy one. The Chief Executive of GCH explained that eviction notices had to be issued by the Court, and was a legal process which often involved multi-agency partners. The Chief Executive of GCH noted that the organisation had a good track record of issuing injunctions to tackle nuisance or antisocial behaviour.

56.3    In response to a follow up question from Councillor Hyman, the Chief Executive of GCH explained that eviction was rightly a last resort, and that there was a significant amount of work taking place amongst community organisations to help tenants who were struggling.  He advised that the length of the process was beyond the control of GCH, however he would encourage any Members or tenants to contact the organisation directly if they had any specific concerns.

56.4    Councillor A. Chambers thanked the Chief Executive of GCH for his timely response and help in resolving issues for tenants in Matson. In relation to the ambition of GCH to develop 173 new homes, he asked for an estimate as to how many people were likely to benefit from the scheme. The Chief Executive of GCH agreed that although difficult to predict, this could be in the region of 700 people. He advised that the biggest demand was for 2-3 bedroom homes for families.

56.5    Councillor A. Chambers referred to the narrative in the presentation concerning the Podsmead Regeneration Scheme, noting that £30m had been set aside by GCH in the business plan and that a further £20m had been sourced in grant funding. He asked whether the project would be able to go ahead in the event that planning permission was not granted by March 2025. The Chief Executive of GCH confirmed that the scheme was entirely dependent on planning permission being granted as this was a national condition for the £20m ringfenced grant funding from Homes England, as well as a requirement for work to proceed on site by 31^st March.

56.6    Councillor A. Chambers asked whether GCH had found the City Council helpful in working with the organisation to meet the necessary timescales. It was confirmed that Council Officers were working closely with GCH around the project, however the planning application element was a complex process. The Chief Executive of GCH noted that although there had been issues with previous pre-applications, it was his view that there was a genuine appetite amongst both organisations to deliver the Podsmead Scheme.

56.7    Councillor Castle asked whether GCH had dedicated contact details for Members which the Chief Executive of  ...  view the full minutes text for item 56.

To consider the report of the Cabinet Member for Resources seeking Members to review whether it would be beneficial to the city to allow motorhomes to stay overnight in Council car parks, and to identify any costs, issues or benefits from altering the legal parking orders.

57.1    The Chair explained the background around why he had requested that the Review of Motorhome Parking report be brought before the Overview and Scrutiny Committee meeting, and updated Members on correspondence he had received from the Campaign for Real Aires (CAMPRA) UK. He stated that he was disappointed that CAMPRA had not been provided with the opportunity to feed into the review, and impressed that in his view, further consultation ought to take place with the organisation.

57.2    Councillor Chambers-Dubus stated that UK Aires differed from traditional motorhome camping sites which had facilities such as showers and toilet facilities. She explained that UK Aires followed a similar idea to French Aires, in respect of being a parking area with a sign to indicate motorcaravan overnight parking was allowed, with or without services, for use by self-contained motorcaravans. She asked for clarification on the advice the Council had received regarding the need to increase built facilities such as toilets and shower blocks.

57.3    The Investment Manager explained that the Council had consulted the health and safety guidance from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) on what needed to be provided in order to be a suitable camping site. She noted that the advice which had been considered by both the Parking and Health and Safety Teams indicated that if those additional facilities were not provided, motorhomes needed to have the ability to keep the engine running to provide services inside the vehicle. The Investment Manager further advised that consideration had been given to increased emissions in the city as a result, and noted that when a trial was commissioned in a city car park, complaints had been received by residents.

57.4    Councillor Chambers-Dubus stated that motorhomes did not need to be kept running to provide fully functioning toilets and shower facilities. She referred to a case study of another local authority area and outlined some benefits which overnight motorhome parking had brought to the community, expressing the view that the position should be revisited. The Cabinet Member for Resources, Councillor Wilson, asked that the Chair and Councillor Chambers-Dubus send him the correspondence they had received for consideration. He noted that the Council had contacted other local authorities in Gloucestershire and that Cotswold District Council was the only Council who had allowed overnight motorhome parking, however they had since reverted back to a similar policy to Gloucester City Council. It was noted that the current parking orders in the city had an outright prohibition for anyone sleeping in car parks, and reversing those orders involved a legal process.

57.5    Councillor Pullen expressed the view that the Council was missing an opportunity, noting that reviewing the position on overnight motorhome parking could have the potential to bring tourists into the city to contribute to the local economy. He suggested that further consultation was needed with motorhome owners, as well as authorities who allowed motorhomes to park overnight in their car parks.

57.6    Councillor Radley suggested that consideration be given to working with  ...  view the full minutes text for item 57.

To consider the report of the Cabinet Member for Resources presenting the year-end forecasts, financial pressures on the Council during the Quarter ended 30^th September 2024 and performance against certain financial performance indicators.

58.1    Councillor Wilson introduced the report and summarised the key headlines. He highlighted that the forecast year end position was currently for a decrease to the Council’s General Fund balance of £262k, noting that the upcoming budget had been changed to reflect the challenges.

58.2    In response to a query from Councillor A. Chambers regarding the outturn position for Corporate and Funding, Councillor Wilson noted that this position was a favourable one and £600k better than previously forecast.

58.3    Councillor A. Chambers asked for an update on the £10m grant funding for the Fleece Hotel development. Councillor Wilson advised that this information was not contained in the Financial Monitoring Report.

58.4    Councillor A. Chambers referred to the £10k forecast variance in Democratic Services, and asked whether this was down to the allowances for the additional Cabinet Members. Councillor Wilson confirmed that this was not the case and there were several reasons behind this pressure.

58.5    Councillor A. Chambers observed that the Housing and Homelessness element of the portfolio was favourable to budget by £59k and asked whether this was due to an increase in rough sleeping in the city. The Financial Services Manager advised that the positive variance was due to grant funding received by the Council and measures put in place to address previous pressures, such as the acquisition of emergency accommodation.

58.6    In response to an additional query from Councillor A. Chambers regarding the pressures in the Cemeteries and Crematorium Service, Councillor Wilson explained that this was to do with maintenance works which needed to be undertaken in the crematorium in December, as well as a slight reduction in anticipated demand for the service. He reminded Members that current Financial Monitoring report deliberately took a pessimistic view, but it was his hope that the position would improve.

58.7    In response to an additional question from Councillor A. Chambers regarding income from car parks, Councillor Wilson advised that the pressures in this portfolio were caused by surveying and necessary building maintenance work.

58.8    Councillor Pullen referred to the narrative in the report around the Planning portfolio and observed that the portfolio was still forecast to be averse to budget despite the income budget being reduced. He noted that this appeared to be a repeated challenge each year and asked whether this could be looked at in further detail during the next budget setting process. Councillor Wilson expressed his view that the previous budget had been optimistic, and the upcoming budget was being adjusted accordingly. He noted that planning income was also outside of the Council’s control.

58.9    In response to a question from Councillor Conder regarding the Community Infrastructure Levy, the Financial Services Manager confirmed that the narrative in the report conveyed the net income.

58.10  The Chair referred to the narrative in the report around pressures as a result of legal and professional fees surrounding the proposed sale of Gloucestershire Airport and asked for clarification around the current figures. The Financial Services Manager confirmed that legal fees currently  ...  view the full minutes text for item 58.

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

59.1    RESOLVED – That the Overview and Scrutiny Committee NOTE the Work Programme.

Monday 20^th January 2025 at 6.30pm in Civic Suite, North Warehouse.

60.1    Monday 20^TH January 2024 at 6.30pm in Civic Suite, North Warehouse.