Agenda and minutes

To confirm and sign the minutes of the Cabinet meeting held on 13 December 2011, copy attached.

The minutes of the meeting held on 13 December 2011 were presented.

Resolved:

To approve as a correct record and sign the minutes of the meeting held on 13 December 2011.

The Leader referred all Councillors present to the previously circulated letter from the Monitoring Officer which gave detailed advice on interests in so far as the item on the Wiltshire and Swindon Waste Site Allocations DPD was concerned (minute no. 7 refers).

Cllr Morland declared a personal interest in above mentioned item by virtue of him being a member of Dilton Marsh and Heywood Parish Councils and Westbury Town Council.

With the Leader’s permission, Cllr John Thomson, Cabinet member for Adult Care, Communities and Housing made an announcement concerning the Housing PFI project. 

Cllr Thomson was delighted to announce that the contract for the Council’s housing PFI project had been signed on 21 December 2012, which was less than a week after the Council received final Government approval of its business case. He explained that this was the only such project in the South West and was unique in using private sector land to deliver around half of the affordable homes.

In addition to providing around 350 new homes and substantial investment into Wiltshire, the PFI would also create at least 40 jobs and training places. 

Building work had already started on the first phase of 242 homes to be provided in Melksham, Trowbridge, Warminster and Westbury, with the first residents due to move in by the summer.  A second phase of around 100 additional homes would now be progressed with the Council’s partners. The Council would have 100% nomination rights for 20 years through its Homes 4 Wiltshire register, continuing at 75% once the contract ends.

Cllr Thomson thanked all those Council members and officers, past and present and the Council’s partners at Sarsen Housing Association and Persimmon Homes who had been involved in delivering this innovative and necessary project . Cllr Thomson particularly thanked Chris Trowell, the Council’s PFI Project Manager and Mike Swabey, the Council’s Strategic Project Manager for their unstinting hard work and having done a brilliant job to bring the project to fruition. Councillors would be kept informed of progress.

The Council welcomes contributions from members of the public. This meeting is open to the public, who may ask a question or make a statement. Written notice of questions or statements should be given to Yamina Rhouati of Democratic Services by 12.00 noon on Friday 13 January.  Anyone wishing to ask a question or make a statement should contact the officer named above.

The Leader acknowledged receipt of written representations from members of the public in respect of the Wiltshire and Swindon Waste Site Allocations DPD (minute no. 7 refers) and the proposed closure of Urchfont Manor (minute no. 9 refers) which would be dealt with on consideration of those items. She explained that as usual, she would be happy for any members of the public present to contribute their views on any items on the agenda.

 Report by Sue Redmond, Corporate Director.

Cllr John Thomson, Cabinet Member for Adult Care, Communities and Housing, presented a report which sought approval to close the Careconnect operation and TUPE transfer the Careconnect staff to the new provider of telecare call monitoring, Wiltshire Medical Services (WMS). Approval was also sought to transfer the remaining out of hours services that were not related to telecare to the Council’s interim telephony provider until a strategic solution could be procured in 2012.

WMS would provide Telecare (assistive technology) which included a wide range of electronic equipment that could fulfil a wide range of functions. In the event of a customer triggering an alert, WMS would be able to offer either a health or social care response. Cllr Thomson explained the many benefits of Telecare which included increasing the safety and confidence of customers enabling them to live independently in their own homes for as long as possible; delaying longterm admission to hospital or care home facility and reducing the cost of care without reducing the quality of care. 

Andrew Bailey and Andrew Scott from Tunstall Telecom, manufacturers of the Telecare lifeline service gave a demonstration of the electronic equipment and what would happen in the event of an alert being triggered.

Cllr Thomson acknowledged the excellent service provided by Careconnect and emphasised that the proposal to now award the contract to WMS bore no reflection on the performance of Careconnect. However, Careconnect did not have sufficient staff or the correct equipment to support the significant expansion envisaged in telecare provision under the Help to Live at Home strategy which would integrate health and social care.

Resolved:   

 Report by Service Director, Economy and Enterprise.

The draft Allocations DPD (pages 29 – 248) is circulated to Cabinet members. It is available with the agenda online or available on request.

Cllr Morland declared a personal interest in this item by virtue of him being a member of Dilton Marsh and Heywood Parish Councils and Westbury Town Council.

Public Participation

Written representations were received from the following members of the public in the form of questions and statements, details of which, together with responses were circulated:

Mrs Virginia Neal, Clerk to Chitterne Parish Council

AdeleMartin,Ludgershall& Campaigner  ofNo2Waste

MrMartynHarvey,No2Wastegroup

MrandMrsGreenwood  onbehalfof theNO2WasteCampaignGroup

MrsNickyBamford

Mrs Anne Henshaw, NorthWiltshireandSwindon  CPRE

Verbal representations were also made at the meeting by:

Mrs Virginia Neal

Mr and Mrs Greenwood

Mrs Anne Henshaw

Mr RJ Parnham

Cllr Fleur de Rhe-Philipe, Cabinet Member for Economic Development and Strategic Planning, presented a report on the draft Wiltshire and Swindon Waste Site Allocations Development Plan Document (DPD) which set out:-

·         a summary of the plan preparation process to date.

·         the key issues that had emerged through the consultation undertaken between June and August 2011.

·         the arrangements for submitting the draft DPD.

·         the implications of the Examination process.

·         the next steps.

Cllr de Rhe Philipe presented the DPD and sought Cabinet approval of it for onward recommendation to Council at its meeting on 7 February 2012 for the purpose of formally submitting it to the Secretary of State.

Cllr de Rhe Philipe explained that the councils (Swindon and Wiltshire, as joint strategic planning authorities for waste) faced a significant challenge in managing year-on-year increases in the amount of waste being generated by our communities and businesses. In preparing the DPD, the aim had been to build a plan that provided a flexible and responsive approach to enable the management of Wiltshire and Swindon’s waste in a sustainable and efficient manner. The DPD also built upon the adopted policy framework set out in the Waste Core Strategy and Development Control Policy DPDs. 

Every effort had been made to address issues raised through previous rounds of consultation with the final list of proposed sites having been the subject of rigorous testing and appraisals.

The DPD presented a flexible framework of 35 sites for accommodating a range of potential waste uses all designed to derive value from waste through recycling, recovery, composting and treatment.

The 35 sites presented a real opportunity to manage waste in a modern and efficient manner, thereby aiming to break the reliance on landfill. Once  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

Report by the Service Director, Law and Governance.

Report by Dr Carlton Brand, Corporate Director.

Public Participation

Written representations were received from the following members of the public in the form of questions and statements, details of which were circulated:

NicolaMitchell,  Chairmanof UrchfontParishCouncil

CeliaBell,StudentRepresentativeon theUrchfont Management 

  Board

DianeKerchevall

DrJennifer  Johnson-Jones,Bedfordshire

ElizabethAnnHunter

HilaryM Garrett,Burnley

JackyAttridge,Shrivenham,Oxon

LynHamilton,  StudentatUrchfont,SouthCadbury

MicheleLomas,Marlborough

MrArnold  Lowrey,Cardiff

MrandMrsHopkins

Mr JohnBlunden,Urchfont

Mr C P Cook

Mr Richard Hawkins

MrRobertHughesFRCS

MrG JSkinnerCBE

JanetCrowther,  Kent

Mrs MairEdwards

MrsNinaGuilfoyle

MsCatherineBrown

MsLornaAbel,Southampton

MsNorahKennedy

MsPennyCopland-Griffiths

MsStellaHall

MsValerieOxley, Nottinghamshire

NicolaVeseyWilliams

MrNigelPartrid  ...  view the full minutes text for item 9.

Any other items of business, which the Leader agrees to consider as a matter of urgency

To consider passing the following resolution:

To agree that in accordance with Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972 to exclude the public from the meeting for the business specified in Item Number 12 because it is likely that if members of the public were present there would be disclosure to them of exempt information as defined in  paragraph 3 of Part I of Schedule 12A to the Act and the public interest in withholding the information outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information to the public.

Resolved:

To agree that in accordance with Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972 to exclude the public from the meeting for the business specified in Minute Number 12 below because it was likely that if members of the public were present there would be disclosure to them of exempt information as defined in  paragraph 3 of Part I of Schedule 12A to the Act and the public interest in withholding the information outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information to the public.

 Confidential report by Dr Carlton Brand, Corporate Director which includes exempt information concerning item 9 above.

(Report to follow)

Cllr Wheeler, Cabinet member for Campus Development and Culture (including Leisure, Sport and Libraries) presented a confidential report which  provided additional information on the financial elements of the proposals referred to under minute number 9 above.

Resolved:

To note that the savings achieved would be in the general order of those indicated, but would vary depending on the exact model and extent of re-provision in Devizes and the sale price of Urchfont Manor.