Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Cllr Jeff Ody, Cllr Russell Hawker, Cllr Howard Greenman, Cllr Mary Douglas, Cllr Tom James, Cllr Peter Hutton, Cllr Keith Humphries and Cllr Nina Phillips.

The Chairman reminded Councillors of the Monitoring Officer’s advice previously circulated to them on declaring interests as necessary in respect of:

• proposals to set the budget and Council tax levels and agreeing garage rents as part of the item on the Wiltshire Council’s Business Plan and 20112/12 Budget (minute no. 85 refers) and
• any landholdings affected by proposals contained in the item on the South Wiltshire Core Strategy – Review of Housing and Employment Requirements (minute no. 86 refers).

Declarations of interests made during the meeting are referred to at minute nos.  85, 87 and 89)

a)   Meeting Information

Particularly for the benefit of the members of the public present, the Chairman confirmed advice previously circulated to Councillors over arrangements for this meeting. Given that the item on the Budget (minute no.85 refers) was likely to take a long time, Council would not commence with its consideration of the item on the South Wiltshire Core Strategy (minute no.86 refers) until approximately 4pm. This would then be followed by the item on the Wiltshire Local Transport Plan (minute no. 87 refers). He invited the members of the public present for these items to stay to hear the Budget debate or alternatively to return at 4pm. It was noted that those who had previously contacted the Council on these two items had been advised of this arrangement.

b)  New Year’s honours

On behalf of Council, the Chairman congratulated the Wiltshire residents who received national recognition in the New Year’s Honours list details of which he read out.

Of particular note, it was reported that the High Sheriff for Wiltshire for the period 2003-04 David Newbigging from Fyfield had received a Knighthood for services to cancer research.

c) Total Respect Training

The Chairman reminded Councillors of their role as “corporate parents” of Wiltshire’s Looked After Children and young people. He explained that the total respect training programme would be held on Wednesday 16 March at County Hall. The programme sought to develop knowledge and understanding of young people’s views, rights and issues, and was aimed at improving individual practice and producing strategic recommendations to improve the quality of care for looked after children and young people. All Councillors were urged to attend.

a)    Petitions Received

The Chairman reported receipt of three petitions for presentation to this meeting on parking charges in respect of Devizes, Marlborough and Bradford on Avon.  Given their relevance to the item on the Wiltshire Local Transport Plan to be considered later in the meeting, which incorporated the Car Parking Strategy, the Chairman advised that the petitions would be considered at that item (please refer to minute no. 87 for details of the petitions received.)

b)       Petitions Update

A report by the Head of Democratic Services was presented which gave details of 11 petitions received for the period since the last Council meeting.

In response to a query, the Chairman reassured Council that as well as the statutory petition scheme, the Council also continued to operate a more accommodating discretionary petition scheme as evidenced by the petitions presented at this meeting as referred to in (a) above.

Resolved:

That Council note the report, the petitions received and the actions being taken, as set out in the Appendix to the report presented.

Question

The Chairman reported receipt of two questions from Mr Phil Matthews of the Wiltshire Involvement Network which questioned the decision to suspend the Network and its funding. He also sought an assurance that funding would be available to continue it work up until Healthwatch was set up.  Details of the questions and responses from the Leader were presented and are reproduced at Appendix A to these minutes.

Statements

The Chairman reported receipt of written statements on the following areas as circulated:

• From Godshill Parish Council in respect of the item on the South Wiltshire Core Strategy (minute no.86 refers)
• From Mrs Margaret Taylor on behalf of Devizes Town Council in respect of car parking in Devizes as referred to in the Car Parking Strategy of the Wiltshire Local Transport Plan (minute no. 87 refers).

Please refer to individual minutes for details of verbal representations made at this meeting (minute nos. 85, 86 and 87 refer).

Declarations of interest

Cllr Dalton declared a personal and prejudicial interest in this item in so far as it related to the setting of garage rents as referred to in the proposals concerning the Housing Revenue Account by virtue of the fact that he held a garage tenancy. Cllr Dalton left the meeting during consideration of that element of the budget.

The following Councillors declared personal interests by virtue of their membership of the undermentioned Housing Associations:

• Selwood Housing Association - Cllrs Rod Eaton, Graham Payne, Jon Hubbard and Ernie Clark.

• Sarsen Housing Association - Cllr Nigel Carter

• Westleigh Housing Association - Cllr Allison Bucknell

• Jephson Housing Association – Cllr Peter Fuller

Cllr Tony Trotman declared a personal interest in the leisure review proposals by virtue of his professional capacity.

Cllr Richard Beattie declared a personal interest by virtue of his membership of the Visit Wiltshire Partnership.

Cllrs Steve Oldrieve and Howard Marshall declared an interest by virtue of their respective wives being employed by the Council.

CllrJulie Swabey, declared a personal interest by virtue of being related to an officer of the Council.

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Public Participation

Mr Kevin Wells on behalf of the Board of Directors of the Calne Leisure Centre sought reassurance over continued funding of the Leisure Centre by the Council to ensure its continued success. Cllr Stuart Wheeler, Cabinet member for Leisure, Sport and Culture confirmed that subject to the budget being approved at this meeting as presented, funding for Calne Leisure Centre would be continued.

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The Chairman invited Council to consider the Business Plan and Financial Plan for 2011-15 and to agree the Council’s Budget and the Council Tax levels for 2011-12. He reminded Council that it had a legal obligation to set a budget.

The Chairman explained how he intended to manage the debate on the budget item as summarised by the previously circulated paper on the Budget Process.

The Chairman drew Councillors’ attention to the various budget papers which had been previously circulated, including the Council’s Business Plan and Financial Plan as revised.  He also referred to the following budget reports as previously considered and recommended by Cabinet as circulated on the:

• Capital programme 2011-12 to 2014-2015
• Housing Revenue Account Budget and Rent Setting 2011-12
• Schools Budget Proposals 2011-12
• Fees and Charges 2011-2012
• Council Tax Resolution 2011-2012

All as recommended by Cabinet at its meeting on 15 February 2011.

• Treasury Management Strategy 2011-12

As recommended by Cabinet at its meeting on 25 January 2011.

The Chairman also drew attention to the report of the Joint Overview and Scrutiny Select Committee held on 10 February 2011.

The Chairman explained the order in which he would invite Councillors to speak on the budget and the time allowed for group leaders and other members of the Council.

The Chairman invited Cllr Scott, Leader of the Council to present her budget speech which was circulated at the meeting and attached as Appendix B to these minutes.

The Leader explained that in her opinion, the proposed  ...  view the full minutes text for item 85.

Public Participation:

The following members of the public addressed Council on this item:

Mr Roger Yeates                  – Downton Parish Council

Mr Phillip Coward                – Hillbrush Ltd

Mr Ron Champion               – Laverstock and Ford Parish Council

Ms Sarah Champion           – Bishop Down Farm Residents’ Association

Mr Steve Hannath               – Resident of Laverstock and Ford Parish

A written statement was circulated from Godshill Parish Council

Cllr John Brady, Cabinet member for Economic Development, Planning and Housing responded to the points made during public participation.

Cllr Brady presented a report which drew Council’s attention to the findings of a review of the housing and employment requirements included within the draft South Wiltshire Core Strategy (SWCS) as submitted to the Secretary of State. The report sought approval of a number of amendments to the draft SWCS arising from the review. Cllr Brady drew Council’s attention to changes to the recommendations relating to the distribution of housing as circulated in a revisions paper.

Cllr Brady explained the background to the need to review the housing and employment requirements within the SWCS.

Following approval of the draft South Wiltshire Core Strategy (SWCS) by Council in November 2009, the SWCS proceeded straight to the Examination in Public (EIP) stage.  In July 2010, around the time the Inspector was due to publish his report, he suspended the EIP to allow the Council to undertake a review of the housing and employment figures in light of the Government’s stated intention to abolish Regional Spatial Strategies (RSS). This review has now been completed, in the context of the Wiltshire-wide review of housing requirements and as a result, ‘focused changes’ to the SWCS should be put forward to the Inspector for his consideration. As a consequence of the ‘focused changes’ other changes would need to be made elsewhere in the document. These ‘consequential’ changes would also be submitted to the Inspector.

Cllr Brady moved the proposals contained in the report presented which included the proposed changes to the draft SWCS and the further revisions as circulated and this was duly seconded.

The revised housing figures considered by Council are set out in the following table:

Cllr Brady explained the proposals made were to ensure that a sound planning framework was put in place as soon as possible for South Wiltshire to allow the authority to manage necessary growth.  This was to ensure homes and jobs were provided in the most sustainable way that best conserved the natural environment and maximised  ...  view the full minutes text for item 86.

Declaration of Interest

Cllr Desna Allen declared a personal interest in this item by virtue of being Treasurer to the Chippenham and District Transport for the Disabled Society which was partially funded by the Council by way of grant aid.

Public Participation

Verbal representations were made by the following members of the public:

Mrs Margaret Taylor              Devizes Town Council

  and written statement as circulated

Mr Rob Perks                         Chippenham Chamber of Trade

Mrs Margaret Willmot           COGS (Cycling Opportunities Group, Salisbury)

Written statement presented by Cllr Chris Cochrane

As referred to earlier in the meeting (minute No. 82 refers), the Chairman reported receipt of the following petitions received for presentation to this meeting:

Petition – Car Parking – Devizes

The Chairman reported receipt of a petition organised by the Devizes Guardians and the Devizes Chambers of Commerce. The petition presented by Cllr Nigel Carter with 4657 signatures called on the Council to retain the one hour limit for free parking in Devizes Market Place

Petition – Car Parking – Marlborough

The Chairman reported receipt of a petition submitted by Cllr Peggy Dow on behalf of the Marlborough Chamber of Commerce. The petition with 71 signatures called on the Council to lower the parking charges for Marlborough to the level defined in the New Strategy and for Hillier’s Yard and Polly Garden car parks to be redesignated as short stay car parks with a maximum stay of three hours.

Petition – Car Parking - Bradford on Avon

The Chairman reported receipt of a petition organised by the Bradford-on-Avon Chambers of Commerce. The petition with approximately 1600 signatures objected to the removal of free car parking in St Margaret’s car park and to levy only reasonable charges on other town parking.

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The Chairman drew Council’s attention to the following previously circulated documents:

• report of the Rapid Scrutiny Exercise meeting held on 25 January 2011 together with a schedule of recommendations. Cllr Peter Doyle, lead member on the Rapid Scrutiny Exercise confirmed that all of the recommendations had been accepted by Cllr Tonge.
• Question from Cllr Peggy Dow in respect of parking charges in Marlborough together with the response from Cllr Dick Tonge, Cabinet member for Highways and Transport.

At the start of this item, Councillor Dick Tonge drew Council’s attention to the related Traffic Regulations Orders, the consultation on which had expired on 21 February 2011. Cllr Tonge referred to the consultation feedback and responded to the main comments and objections received.

Cllr Tonge presented the proposed Wiltshire Local Transport Plan 2011 – 2026 (LTP) for adoption by Council. The document was previously considered by Cabinet at its meeting on 15 February 2011 when it resolved to recommend adoption of the LTP by Council.

Cllr Tonge explained that the Local Transport Plan (LTP) was a statutory document, of which an updated version (LTP3) had to be published by 31 March 2011. The scale and scope of the LTP3 was reduced in light of ongoing planning and funding uncertainties. Once clarity was  ...  view the full minutes text for item 87.

The Chairman reported receipt of questions from Cllrs Ernie Clark, Howard Marshall, Jon Hubbard, Jeff Osborn, Chris Caswill and Russell Hawker. Details of the questions and responses given were previously circulated and are attached as Appendix E to these minutes.

Supplementary questions were made in some cases summarised as follows:

Cllr John Hubbard – consideration of community campus proposals at Melksham Area Board – was it appropriate to debate an issue at the Area Board after the decision had been made rather than consult on the proposals?

Cllr Stuart Wheeler explained that he had consulted the Chairman of Melksham Area Board who confirmed that a special meeting of the Area Board would be convened to discuss the proposals followed by consultation. The Leader of the Council also clarified that this process had been agreed unanimously by Melksham Area Board.

Cllr Jon Hubbard – Melksham community campus proposals and siting of library – questioned whether the resiting of Melksham library following refurbishment of the Town centre library represented best value.

Cllr John Noeken explained that the Council needed to take a longterm view and consider future cost as part of the Workplace Transformation Programme.

Cllr Chris Caswill – effect of frontloading reductions in Government grant – sought clarification of the effect of frontloading rather than spreading the cuts evenly. Cllr Caswill asked if the reduction by £11.477 m was as a result of front loading? Cllr Fleur de Rhe Philipe undertook to provide a written answer.

Cllr Jeff Osborn – Future Jobs Fund Scheme – asked whether the Council had lobbied the Government over retaining the Scheme.

The Leader of the Council confirmed that she had personally lobbied the Government on this issue.

The Chairman referred to the notice of motion presented by Cllr Trevor Carbin at the last meeting on 9 November 2010 on the Daylight Saving Bill which was deferred to this meeting. The Chairman explained that Cllr Carbin had since withdrawn his motion.

Declaration of Interest

Cllrs Toby Sturgis, Chris Humphries and Jane Scott declared a personal interest in this item as their respective businesses were in receipt of EU funding.

The Chairman reported receipt of the following motion from Cllrs Mike Cuthbert-Murray and Russell Hawker:

“In the light of the current and ongoing deep Government funding cuts to this council and the significant adverse effects this is causing via reduced staffing and services, we believe that the Government should ensure that its funding to the EU does not increase - or better still, is cut - so that funding to this and other principal authorities can be restored to levels where we can provide a satisfactory level of service and support to Wiltshire people. We will inform our local MPs and ask them to act accordingly in Parliament and to explain their actions in this respect to us.”

Once moved by Cllr Mike Cuthbert-Murray and seconded by Cllr Nigel Carter, Cllr Cuthbert-Murray was invited to speak to the motion.

The Chairman moved that the motion be debated and this was duly seconded by the Vice-Chairman and on being put to the vote, it was

Resolved:

That notice of motion no.15 be debated

The Chairman invited Group Leaders to speak on the motion before opening the debate to other Councillors. The Leader of the Council commented that this was a matter which if supported, should be taken up by Councillors through their MPs and not as a Council matter.

Resolved:

That the motion be NOT adopted.

The Chairman moved that Council receive and note the under mentioned minutes as listed in the separate Minutes Book and this was duly seconded by the Vice-Chairman.

Meeting                                                                      Date

Cabinet                                                                      16 November & 14 December 2010

                                                                                    25 January & 15 February 2011

Cabinet Capital Assets Committee                       10 January & 7 February 2011

Children’s Services Select Committee                25 November 2010, 27 January 2011

Environment Select Committee                            2 November & 21 December 2010,

11 January 2011

Health and Adult Social Care Select                   11 November 2010, 13 January 2011

Committee

Organisation and Resources Select                    18 November 2010, 20 January 2011

Committee

Licensing Committee                                              30 November 2010, 17 January 2011

Northern Area Planning Committee                     3 November, 24 November & 15 December 2010, 26 January 2011

Western Area Planning Committee                      8 December 2010, 12 January & 9 February 2011

Southern Area Planning Committee                    18 November & 9 December 2010, 13 January 2011

Eastern Area Planning Committee                       16 December 2010, 6 January 2011

Standards Committee                                             24 November 2010, 12 January 2011

Officer Appointments Committee                          14 December 2010

Staffing Policy Committee                                      24 November & 16 December 2010, 9 February 2011

Audit Committee                                                      15 December 2010

Wiltshire Pension Fund Committee                     2 December 2010

The Chairman then invited questions from Councillors on points of information or clarification on the above mentioned minutes and gave the Chairmen of those meetings the opportunity to make any important announcements on the work of their respective Committees. No questions were asked.

Resolved:

That the above mentioned minutes be received and noted.

The Chairman presented the report of the Service Director, Legal and Democratic Services. As referred to earlier in the meeting (minute no. 84 refers), Cllr Liz Bryant was elected to the Council following the by-election held on 21 December 2010. A review of the allocation of seats on committee to political groups was not required as the political balance on the Council remained unchanged.

Council was asked to confirm Cllr Bryant’s appointment to Devizes Area board and to approve any requests from Group Leaders for changes to committee membership in accordance with their previously approved allocation of seats. No changes were requested.

Resolved:

a)         To note the report presented.

b)        To confirm the appointment of Cllr Liz Bryant who was elected to

the Bromham, Rowde and Potterne Electoral Division, to the Devizes Area Board.

The minutes of the Wiltshire Police Authority meeting held on 2 December 2010 and the report of the Police Authority were received and noted. No questions on these documents had been received from Councillors.