Agenda and minutes

Venue: Grey Room - York House - Windsor

Contact: David Cook  01628 796560

Video Stream: Click here to watch this meeting on YouTube

Items
No. Item

1.

Apologies for Absence

To receive any apologies for absence

Minutes:

There were no apologies for absence.

2.

Declarations of Interest pdf icon PDF 219 KB

To receive any declarations of interest

Minutes:

There were no declarations of interest received.

3.

Minutes pdf icon PDF 339 KB

To consider the minutes of the meeting held on 29 April 2021.

Minutes:

RESOLVED UNANIMOUSLY: That the minutes of the meeting held on 29 April 2021 were approved.

4.

Appointments

Minutes:

None

5.

Forward Plan pdf icon PDF 75 KB

To consider the Forward Plan for the period June 2021 to September 2021.

Minutes:

Cabinet considered the contents of the Forward Plan for the next four months and noted the changes made since last published, including:

 

·        Sufficiency Strategy for Children added to June Cabinet.

·        Asset Review and Disposal added to June Cabinet.

6.

Youth Council Working Group Update pdf icon PDF 237 KB

Minutes:

Cabinet received a presentation on the progress of the development of a RBWM Youth Council.

 

The Deputy Chairman of Cabinet, Adult Social Care, Children’s Services, Health and Mental Health informed Cabinet that Cabinet had previously approved the creation of a Youth Council, one of the recommendations was to establish a working group.  The presentation was to provide an update on the progress of this group, he welcomed Imogen Cobbold (RBWM Youth Ambassador) and Catie Holden (RBWM Girls Forum Member) who were presenting on behalf of the working group.

 

The girls informed Cabinet that the working group had been established to plan the governance and the structure and accountability of the Youth Council.  Looking at processes that allowed consultation on issues that affected young people and a process of communication and question sessions with Cabinet members.

 

The working group was driven by young people with the assistance of Cllrs Carroll and McWilliams, Karen Shepherd (RBWM Head of Governance) and excellent support from Elaine Keating. 

 

The had drafted 18 rules and regulations.  Each meeting would have standing items including looking at the Cabinet Forward Plan and scrutiny Panel’s work programmes so they could see if there are item they wish to comment upon.

 

Cabinet Members and other councillors would be invited to their meetings to help develop policy and enhance the council’s aims and objectives.  This can include Q&A sessions on pre-arranged topics. 

 

The Youth Council can raise any problems or concerns with Democratic Services and challenge the administration on areas that affect young people.

 

The working group had advertised the Youth Council using the council’s social media channels, had press releases and been in the RBWM residents newsletter. 

 

There was still more work to be done and they would be responding to all applications to join, 18 so far, continue to promote the council and establish a work programme and manifesto.

 

The Deputy Chairman of Cabinet, Adult Social Care, Children’s Services, Health and Mental Health thanked the young ladies for their comprehensive update and work of the working group. There was a clear blueprint and structure that was being lead by young people. 

 

The Chairman also thanked the girls for their presentation and that he was please to see them having a flying start with 16 applicants to join the council. 

 

The Cabinet Member for Finance and Ascot made reference to the five objectives highlighted within the letter contained in the presentation and highlighted the one about producing campaigns and projects.  He was informed that this could include issues such as climate change and that they would be trying to get representatives from all secondary schools so there would be a broad range of issues and topics.

 

The Cabinet Member for  Planning, Environmental Services, and Maidenhead informed that he had a paper later on the agenda regarding the Maidenhead Vision and he would be looking to engage with the Youth Council to get young peoples views on the future of the town.

The Deputy Leader of the Council, Corporate & Resident  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

7.

Cabinet Members' Reports

7a

Borough Local Plan - Next Steps pdf icon PDF 327 KB

Minutes:

Cabinet considered the report regarding an update on the Borough Local Plan.

 

The Cabinet Member for Planning, Environmental Services, and Maidenhead informed that following the Stage 2 hearings held in late 2020, the Inspector had issued a post hearings advice letter.  The Inspector had agreed with the council’s proposals to amend some policies; had proposed that three allocations previously removed are reinstated and that one current allocation be deleted (Housing by Maidenhead Train Station).  At every stage of the proses the plan adds more weight to the planning system. 

 

The plan did include sites that were in the green belt, that was not liked, however there was a need for family homes and 80% of the borough would remain green belt.

 

The next steps was the Schedule of Proposed Main Modifications for public consultation. To reduce the risk of delay, delegated authority is sought for the Head of Planning in consultation with the Lead Member for Planning, Environmental Services and Maidenhead to agree the detailed wording of the schedule under the direction of the Inspector.  The consultation would only be on the changes made by the Inspector and he was also recommending that the consultation be extended by one more week. 

 

The Cabinet Member for Finance and Ascot said that he was delighted to see that the BLP would soon be complete.   The future of development within the Royal Borough needed a robust plan.

 

The Cabinet Member for Climate Change, Sustainability, Parks and Countryside asked for clarification that the consultation would only be on the changes the Inspector had asked for and that the content would be discussed with Cabinet Members.  The Cabinet Member responsible confirmed that this was correct and that there would be no change in policy.

 

The Chairman endorsed the necessity to get the BLP in place not only to protect from unwanted speculative development but also to provide the blueprint going forward.  The impact of not having a BLP would be unwanted.

 

Cllr Baldwin mentioned that the report requested more key decisions being delegated to the Head of Planning and Cabinet Member, he asked what would be the alternative.  He noted the long delay in getting the plan in place and asked how many speculative developments had been granted since 2013 without a BLP.  He also said that between £25m to £75 million had been lost since 2016 without CIL being applied in Maidenhead Town Centre, how would needed infrastructure be paid for.

 

The Cabinet Member responded that as said there were no changes to policy and that the consultation was on amendments only.  There were no sensible alternatives, if we were changing policy then the recommendations would be different.  With regards to unwanted speculative developments he did not have the figures at hand but would ask for them to be provided.  With regards to CIL there other funds available such as S106 and we were only talking about the centre of Maidenhead.  There was no issue about raising money.

 

Cllr Werner mentioned that the climate  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7a

7b

2020/21 Draft Outturn Report - Revenue and Capital pdf icon PDF 2 MB

Minutes:

Cabinet considered the report that set out the final outturn position of the Council in respect of the 2020/21 financial year.

 

The Cabinet Member for Finance and Ascot informed that Cabinet Members to cast their minds back to June last year when in the face of the impact of Covid general reserves stood at less than £2 million and there were calls from some quarters for the director of resources to issue a section 114 notice.  How this had changed as this outturn report is in a favourable variance with general reserves above £7 million.  But these headline figures did not tell the full story of this administration’s management of a very challenging financial year.

 

As a consequence of the impact of Covid a revised MTFS was published in October last year. This projected a need for savings of £8.7 million in 2021-22. With considerable foresight, in November last year the Director of Resources proposed establishing a Covid earmarked reserve to smooth any cost increases and income loss in 2021-22. The budget report to Council shows that £3.17M would be required from the reserve in order to balance this year’s budget. The reserve stood at £3.8 million providing a buffer of just over £600k, although some of this is for specific newly acquired responsibilities.

 

There was also the opportunity to improve the resilience of our finances by adding to our reserves and provisions.  Having funded some IT provision through existing budgets that was required due to COVID changes in working practices, £300k of funding was set aside to replace business as usual IT work that will be delivered during 21/22, and a £300K Optalis reserve is established to manage some uncertainties in overhead costs. 

 

Provisions had also been increased with £400K set aside for potential redundancy costs related to the budget setting process, in conformance with prudential advice from our external auditors that the provision for debt should be reviewed an additional £1.7 million provision is made for Adult Social Care and Housing benefit bad debt provision that has been recognised as an area of risk throughout the financial year, and £393K is set aside for adult social care, a total upside approaching £7M.  

 

The outturn report tells us that stripping out covid we would have achieved a favourable variance of £4.2M in service expenditure. Government have been helpful and funded all but £630K of Covid revenue losses so we were able to bank £3.6M of this. As a result of a capital slippage of £44M interest charges are £900K less than budget. There were several other upsides the most significant were the receipt of £500K compensation for loss of rent at Sienna Court and invaluable assistance from the Frimley CCG and better Care Fund with funding for Adult Social Care to facilitate hospital discharges and to prevent hospital admissions. 

 

We have come through 2020/21 in much better shape than I thought possible. He acknowledged the support received from Government without which all Councils would have been in severe financial  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7b

7c

Maidenhead Vision Charter pdf icon PDF 34 MB

Minutes:

Cabinet considered the report regarding the adoption of the Maidenhead Vision Charter and the recruitment of a Maidenhead Town Team.

 

The Cabinet Member for Planning, Environmental Services, and Maidenhead informed that for every elected member there was one project that defined their career; he felt lucky as he had two, the BLP and this report.  A town was defined by its people and not just its buildings.  Unlike many towns Maidenhead was growing and attracting new residents.  Examples of projects underway or planned were given but he also raised the importance of all residents having their say. 

 

JTP Architects had been appointed to undertake consultation to capture all stakeholder and community views, and for them to have an input into the shape of the town going forward.  Due to the pandemic there was the need for a placemaking vision demonstrating inspiration, ambition, and confidence in the future of our town centre has taken on the new significance, that of helping steer a course for the town centre’s post-Covid recovery.

 

The document sets out the Vision for Maidenhead Town Centre for the next 15-20 years. The Maidenhead Town Team will be established by the council, with representations from a wide selection of groups, making it as inclusive as possible.  The team will be supported by Andrew Durrant, the Cabinet Member, member of the opposition and five residents. 

 

Maidenhead town centre will be our proud heart, a place of leisure, living and working. The Vision and Charter had 12 Charter points that had been agreed through the community and stakeholder engagement process.  The Maidenhead Town Team would be monitoring and reviewing all activity for the Town Centre through these key points.

 

The Team will have five priorities, economic recovery, transport strategy, a green Maidenhead, maximising the waterways and the southern expansion providing much needed family homes.  There would be a full communication plan.

 

The Town Team would work in partnership with the council and other key action groups, stakeholder, and community groups to ensure that all projects address the charter points where possible. The charter was not a planning document, but an aspiration of the town that our residents, and business have said they want to live in.

 

The Vision Charter has initially focused on Maidenhead due to the volume of regeneration activity that is underway and planned.  Further down the line it may be appropriate to also consider a Vision Charter for other major towns such as Windsor and Ascot.

 

The Cabinet Member for Climate Change, Sustainability, Parks and Countryside informed that the document was very important and came about with consultation of a wide variety of interested groups. It was positive to see resident involvement.

 

The Deputy Leader of the Council, Corporate & Resident Services, Culture & Heritage, and Windsor said that Maidenhead had fantastic culture and heritage and diversity she was glad this had been picked up in the document.  She looked forward for a similar engagement for Windsor.

 

The Cabinet Member for Housing, Sport & Leisure, and Community Engagement informed  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7c

8.

LOCAL GOVERNMENT ACT 1972 - EXCLUSION OF THE PUBLIC

To consider passing the following resolution:-

 

“That under Section 100(A)(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public be excluded from the remainder of the meeting whilst discussion takes place on item 9 on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraphs 1-7 of part I of Schedule 12A of the Act"

Minutes:

RESOLVED UNANIMOUSLY: That under Section 100(A)(4) od the Local Government Act 1972, the public were excluded from the remainder of the meeting whilst discussion took place on the grounds that they involved the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraphs 1 and 3 of part I of Schedule 12A of the Act.

9.

Cabinet Members' Reports

9a

Council Funding For Local Organisations 2021/22

Minutes:

Cabinet considered the approval of the recommendations from the Grants Panel for grants to voluntary organisations. Although the discussion took place in Part II, it was agreed that the decisions of the Grant Panel should be minuted in Part I.

The Cabinet Member for Finance and Ascot provided an overview of funds available and the amount the Grants Panel were recommended for approval.  He thanked the officers for their work and recommendations made to the Panel.

 

Resolved unanimously:  that Cabinet notes the report and:

 

i)             Approves the recommendations of the Grants Panel held on 11 May 2021, as detailed in the attached minutes (Appendix A).

ii)           Approves the recommendation of the additional grant to Age Concern Windsor for £750.00.

iii)         That the Cabinet decision is minuted in Part I.

 

 

BCF '3' FUND

 

(Not for publication by virtue of Paragraph 1, 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972)

 

Anita Herbert from BCF went through the five applications that they had considered and made recommendations for the award of a grant.

 

The Panel considered, for recommendation to Cabinet, noting of the award of BCF ‘3’ Fund grants to local organisations for the forthcoming financial year.

 

RESOLVED UNANIMOUSLY: That theapplications listed below for the allocation of RBWM / ‘3’ Grassroots Funding be recommended for noting by Cabinet.

 

Organisation

£

Old Windsor District Guides

1,000

Chattertots

5,000

Windsor Horse Rangers

5,000

Maidenhead United Juniors FC

3,000

Clewer Scout and Guide Group

6,000

Total Proposed Awards

20,000

 

The remaining £5,000 would be available for allocation as interim payments.

 

COMMUNITY GRANTS

 

(Not for publication by virtue of Paragraph 1, 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972)

 

The Panel considered, for recommendation to Cabinet, the award of Council grants to local organisations for the forthcoming year.

 

RESOLVED UNANIMOUSLY: That the grants as detailed below be recommended to Cabinet for approval, subject to

 

a)     The organisations receiving the Community Grants for capital projects obtaining any requisite planning or building regulations consents and producing copies of audited accounts and evidence of the availability of finance for the remainder of the schemes. Organisations receiving Community Grants for Revenue costs or Service Level Agreements being required to complete an Annual Return Form which should demonstrate written evidence that the money had been spent according to their application and to identify the specific outcomes achieved as a result of the grant awarded.

b)     The organisations receiving Kidwells Trust Grants:-

1.      Providing suitable acknowledgement for the grant assistance in all publicity material.

2.      Ensuring that there is adequate insurance cover for items purchased with grant assistance.

3.      Continuing to look for other forms of sponsorship for special events.

c)     Organisations should, wherever possible, seek funding from other sources to ensure that they were not solely reliant on funding through the Royal Borough and it be noted that those organisations would not necessarily be automatically awarded funding year on year.

 

CAPITAL GRANTS

 

Organisation

£

19th Maidenhead Scout Group

400

Ascot District  ...  view the full minutes text for item 9a

9b

Provision of Legal Services

Minutes:

Cabinet considered the report that provided an update on the provision of legal services for the Royal Borough.

 

The report was noted.