Agenda and minutes

Venue: Virtual Meeting - Online access

Contact: David Cook  01628 796560

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Items
No. Item

1.

Apologies for Absence

To receive any apologies for absence

Minutes:

No apologies received.

2.

Declarations of Interest pdf icon PDF 219 KB

To receive any declarations of interest

Minutes:

Councillors Rayner, Hilton, and Johnson declared a personal interest in item 9.1 St Clouds Way as they were all on the Joint Venture Board.  The monitoring officer had advised that they could take part in the debate and vote on the matter.

3.

Minutes pdf icon PDF 344 KB

To consider the Part I minutes of the meeting held on 26 November 2020.

Minutes:

RESOLVED UNANIMOUSLY: That the Part I minutes of the meeting held on 26 November 2020 were approved.

4.

Appointments

Minutes:

None

5.

Forward Plan pdf icon PDF 44 KB

To consider the Forward Plan for the period January 2021 to April 2021

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Cabinet noted the contents of the Forward Plan for January 2021 to April 2021 and the changes made since last published.

6.

Cabinet Members' Reports

6a

Environment and Climate Strategy pdf icon PDF 3 MB

Minutes:

Cabinet considered the report regarding the proposed adoption of the Environment and Climate Strategy and the adoption of the Single Plastics Strategy.

 

Cabinet was addressed by Fiona Hewar who informed that this was a big day in our lives as Cabinet were proposing to adopt the strategies.  She thanked the councillors for their work and especially the Lead Member.  This was the culmination of 2 years of lobbying and campaigning especially from the RBWM Climate Emergency Coalition. She thanked all the groups involved, councillors and officers.  This is an emergency and writing the strategy was the beginning the real work started now.  It was hoped that many more people, businesses and organisations would join them in tackling the climate emergency.

 

The Lead Member for Climate Change, Sustainability, Parks and Countryside thanked Fiona Hewar for her words and informed Cabinet that the strategy had been developed by many people and she thanked Orlagh McColgan, who at nine years old in February 2019, inspired by Greta Thunberg, pressed her mum Sarah and subsequently our councillors to declare a climate emergency, which Council did in 2019. 

 

She also thanked the 80 stakeholders who contributed to the strategy, to the councillors who unanimously approved it in June 2020, to the 347 residents who responded to the public consultation, to the cross party steering committee, to LEAFY (our Local environment action for youth) and to the stakeholder advisory group, all of whom have moulded and shaped this document since we held our first workshop late last year.  She also thanked officers Chris Joyce, Olivia MCGregor, James Thorpe and Russell O’Keefe for their hard work.

 

The consultation showed that there was strong support for the strategy overall, with the vast majority of people in support of the four themes and objectives.  It also revealed that there is a lot of enthusiasm in the community to help us deliver the strategy as we move forward.  Our ambitious plans recognise the key role the Government will have in driving the agenda forward at a national level and enabling action at a local level through supporting policy and funding.

 

Cabinet were informed that there had been several improvements as a consequence of the public consultation:

 

·         we have strengthened the trajectory to be consistent with the Paris Climate Agreement, and will be using the Tyndall figures.

·         We will have to ensure faster decarbonisation earlier, so as to keep up with our trajectory

·         Set more specific targets for improved air quality.

·         To expand our engagement section, with the advisory board including young people. 

 

Alongside the strategy, the Lead Member was seeking endorsement from Cabinet for the Single use plastic strategy which had been driven and created from within the community.  This had been as a result of the hard work of Paul Hinton, who had worked initially with colleagues from Plastic Free Windsor and then with the officers to create the plastic free strategy, with action plans for the community and council to take forward.

 

The next stage was  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6a

6b

Windsor Neighbourhood Plan Decision to Proceed to Referendum pdf icon PDF 4 MB

Minutes:

Cabinet considered the report regarding the approval for the Windsor Neighbourhood plan to proceed to referendum at the earliest practicable opportunity.

 

Cabinet was addressed by Claire Milne who was speaking on behalf of the Windsor Neighbourhood Committee.  She informed that there had been extensive consultation over 6 years thanks to a variety of volunteers.  Unfortunately Covid has delayed the process.  Sh thanked those who had provided support including their consultants, Legoland, RBWM officers, financial support and fantastic support from local organisations. She thanked the committee members, John Bastow, Susy Shearer, John Bastow, Jane Carter, Alison Logan, Helen Price and Cori Mackin.   The plan was community lead and showed that people valued open space, heritage, design and views.  The plan will give people a voice in what is built in the area and what it would look like. They were proud of the plan that would assist officers and councillors in making planning decisions. 

 

The Lead Member for Planning, Environmental Services and Maidenhead thanked Claire Milne for addressing Cabinet and her comprehensive speech.  He informed that the Royal Borough had always supported neighbourhood planning.  There  currently five neighbourhood plans which have been formally made and are part of the development plan: Ascot, Sunninghill and Sunningdale, Hurley and the Walthams, Eton and Eton Wick, Old Windsor and Horton and Wraysbury.  There were currently two plans being developed for Windsor, this one that covered the majority of the residential area and the Windsor Business neighbourhood Plan.  This plan was especially interesting because of the high value placed on community engagement.    The plan covered the period from 2019 to 2034 which was similar to the BLP.  The neighbourhood plan was scrutinised by an independent examiner.  The Forum had considered the Examiner’s recommendations and had modified their daft plan to incorporate the examiner’s recommendations.  Unfortunately the referendum has had to be delayed but it is hoped that it will take place on 6th  May 2020, there was a £20k grant from Government.

 

The Deputy Leader of the Council, Resident and Leisure Services, HR, IT, Legal, Performance Management and Windsor also thanked Claire and the committee.  This set out the different historical areas of Windsor.  The investigation work and the skills taken to produce this was excellent. This will give valuable guidance for future development.  Windsor was lucky that it had lots of green spaces and this document shows their importance.

 

Cllr Tisi congratulated the committee for all their hard work and the document demonstrated that Windsor was a lot more than the castle.  It was great to have the community at its heart. 

 

Cllr Jones mentioned that it had been strange that one part of her ward had been covered by a plan and the other had not, so she welcomed this plan and hoped it would be adopted. 

 

Resolved unanimously:  that Cabinet notes the report and:

 

i)          Confirms that the Plan meets the basic conditions test

ii)         Accepts the proposed changes to the Neighbourhood Plan as set out  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6b

6c

Council Tax Base 2021/22 pdf icon PDF 184 KB

Minutes:

Cabinet consider the report that dealt with the statutory requirement to set the Council’s Council Tax Base for 2021/22.

 

The Lead Member for Finance and Ascot informed that the Council Tax Base was used by the Thames Valley Police, Berkshire Fire and rescue service, Parish Councils and the Borough to set precepts and Council Tax for next year. It included new build properties that were likely to be occupied before the end of the next financial year.

 

The Tax base was presented as Band D equivalent propertied which had increase by 488.49 during the year. The target collection rate for council tax was 99.5% and an adjustment was made in the tax base to allow for this 0.5% shortfall.  Appendix A was an analysis of properties and the numbers that were subject to various discounts, Appendix B was the Parish Council Band D equivalents and Appendix C showed the change in tax base from 2020/21 by parish.

 

Resolved unanimously:  that Cabinet notes the report and:

 

i) Approves, in accordance with the Local Authorities (Calculation of

Tax Base) Regulation 1992, as amended, the amount calculated by

the Council as its Council Tax Base for the whole of the Borough

area for 2021/22 shall be 69,179.45 as detailed in this report and

appendices. This is an increase of 488.49 over the 2020/21 Tax Base,

a 0.71% increase.

ii) Notes a Council Tax collection rate target of 99.5% for 2021/22.

iii) Notes an estimated deficit on the Council Tax Collection Fund in

2020/21 of £142,000, of which the Council’s share is £113,000.

6d

Draft Revenue Budget 2021/22 pdf icon PDF 871 KB

Minutes:

Cabinet considered the proposed draft revenue budget for 2021/22.

 

The Leader of the Council and Chairman of Cabinet, Business, Economic Development and Property informed that this was a draft proposed budget that was going out for consultation.  He mentioned that this would not be the budget they would have set if it had not been for the pandemic, in a different world they would have started the process of building up the council’s reserves using the predicted £4.5 million surplus from this year.  In a none Covid world savings would still have had to be made but nowhere near the levels that have had to be done.  The revised MTFS had been approved by Council after a thorough debate.  The challenge caused by Covid had not lessoned but it would have been more challenging if we had not been in a position to carry forward savings.  Difficult, painful decisions had to be taken this year but they had been the correct decisions.  There had been much talk about a possible S144 but due to a lot of work we had managed to get into a relatively stable position.   This proposed budget will go to consultation and lay the foundations for supporting the economy, investing in supporting the most vulnerable and great a borough of opportunity and innovation.  There were also difficult saving proposals so that a balanced budget could be set.  There is a proposal of a 5% increase in council tax but the borough was in a position of having low tax levels.  This was the most realistic, credible draft budget and he wanted genuine feedback from residents, businesses, stack holders and all councillors.  It was important to note that for every saving removed there had to be an alternative or cross charge to balance the budget.

 

The Lead Member for Finance and Ascot informed Cabinet that today he presented the draft 2021/22 budget which would be subject to consultation with residents, businesses and council staff, the feedback from those consultations would inform final budget decisions which will be presented at the February 2022 Council meeting.

 

 

The impact of COVID-19 on businesses and communities and its negative impact on the Council’s finances had been well publicised. This year COVID-19 will cause additional expenditure of £14.5m but it was expected  to receive £13.1 million of COVID funding from Government, a shortfall of £1.4M. However, despite this we are forecasting a positive variance of around £3M.

 

The MTFS presented at Council in October projected that next year expenditure would exceed income by £8.4M.  We have an obligation in law to deliver a balanced budget and this is the gap the draft budget closes. The draft budget shows the impact of COVID-19 next year to be £9.25M. Our projection of Government support is £4.71M so as a direct consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic we will need to manage a budget pressure of £4.5M. It is this covid pressure that has coloured the budget and forced some challenging proposals.

 

At July Cabinet we  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6d

6e

Draft Capital Programme 2021/22 - 2023/24 pdf icon PDF 955 KB

Minutes:

Cabinet considered the report regarding draft Capital Programme for 2021/22 – 2023/24 and Capital Strategy 2021/22 – 2025/26.

 

The Lead Member for Finance and Ascot informed that the report presented the Draft Capital Strategy, the Draft Capital Programme for 2021/22 and the capital cash flow.  The Draft Capital Strategy was similar to that published with the Budget in February but for clarity it had been reformatted. A notable change was the removal of Repairs and Maintenance as capital investment as such costs should be funded from revenue. The introduction in the current budget of a £20,000 de minimus level for Capital had started this process.

 

The value of the Capital programme for 2021/22 was nearly £61M but this was dominated by previously approved major schemes which are shown in appendix C. The most significant addition was funds to allow early surrender of the lease on Maidenhead Golf Course. Despite withdrawing from the River Thames Scheme we have not removed the budget from the Capital programme and will continue to work to establish an affordable funding mechanism.

 

In order to constrain pressure of Minimum Revenue Provision and interest from borrowing on the revenue budget only essential items to the value of £2.237 was allocated for new bids in the 2021/22 programme, interest payments on schemes of over a year’s duration were capitalised.

 

Table 4 on page 348 detailed the November level of CIL and S106.   £3.767 is earmarked for use in 2021/2.   Table B was the consolidated capital programme 2021/22 to 2023/24 this shows individual schemes by Directorate.   Appendix D shows the detail of Capital bids and source of funding and appendix E the capital cash flow projection.

 

He draw cabinets attention to page 363 and account code CD 91 described as Windsor Town Centre package. An error was made when setting the 2020/21 budget, only the LEP funding was shown and not additional matched S106 funding of £850K.  A cabinet paper would be required to add these funds in year but as the project will slip into 2021/22 the 2020/21 budget will revert to the original £1.563 M and £850K will be added to the proposed 2021/22 capital programme.

 

Cllr Larcombe addressed Cabinet about the River Thames funding issue and informed that there was a live petition with over 900 signatures to date.  He mentioned that the river Thames was a major Environment Agency flood alleviation project.  Appendix C on the major schemes document said that river Thames funding was approved by Council in 2015, since then there has been 19 meetings of the River Thames (Datched to Teddington) scheme, he read from the December minutes where a RBWM councillor said the Government should fund the £50 million gap, it was said that the Government would not fund more of the scheme after agreeing to provide £60 million.  The money was not required upfront just a signed legal agreement.  It was clear RBWM was fully aware that the project was fully funded in 2019. He was concerned that the full  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6e

6f

Schools Condition Allocation 2021-22 pdf icon PDF 63 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Cabinet considered the report regarding proposed schools conditional allocation for 2021-22.

 

The Lead Member for Adult Social Care, Children’s Services, Health and Mental Health informed that this report seeks approval of Children’s Services’ bids to the 2021/22 capital programme, to be funded by the School Condition Allocation.  This will allow planning and tendering of schemes in time for delivery over the summer in 2021, before schools restart in September.

 

The works were is intended to cover any works at community and voluntary controlled schools related to improvements to the school estate.  This includes major replacements and improvements to the fabric of the buildings and grounds.  The scheme includes compliance works to meet health and safety and building regulations. 

 

The Lead Member for Finance and Ascot highlighted the grant funding that was available for decarbonisation schemes.   Five schools had been identified for boiler changes to reduce carbon.

 

The director informed that once funding had been confirmed that a prioritisation exercise would be undertaken based on schools being Warm, safe and dry.

 

Resolved unanimously:  that Cabinet notes the report and:

 

i)          approves the Children’s Services 2021/22 capital bids for schemes to be funded by the School Condition Allocation, and includes them in the overall 2021/22 capital programme.  This is subject to any changes that may be required to the list of schemes set out in Appendix B following confirmation of the level of grant.

 

ii)         approves the listed schemes being put out to tender.

 

iii)        delegates any variation of the list of schemes set out at Appendix B to the Director of Children’s Services, in consultation with the Lead Member for Adult Social Care, Children’s Services, Health and Mental Health.

6g

Demand for School Places pdf icon PDF 667 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Cabinet considered the report regarding the latest, 2020, projections of demand for school places in the Royal Borough.  

 

The Lead Member for Adult Social Care, Children’s Services, Health and Mental Health informed that the local authority had a legal duty to ensure there were sufficient school places to meet demand.  This report provided the latest, 2020, projections.  These projections indicate that additional school places may be required over the next four years to meet rising demand in Maidenhead primary schools and in Windsor upper schools.

 

The report proposed public consultation on a range of options for meeting this demand, including bringing the school site formerly occupied by Oldfield Primary School, the ‘Chiltern Road’ site, back into use as a primary school.  Consultation is also proposed on options including expansion at Riverside Primary School, Larchfield Primary School, Lowbrook Primary School, St Luke’s CE Primary School and St Mary’s Catholic Primary School.  In Windsor, it is proposed to consult on options to provide new upper school places for girls at Windsor Girls’ School.

 

The Director for Children’s Services informed that unusually there had to be a number of caveats added to the projections due to the impact of the pandemic for example an increase in elected home education.  Along with the schools listed for consultation they were also open to other schools who wished to take part to help meet the need and choice for families at the right price. 

 

Resolve unanimously:  that Cabinet notes the report and:

 

i)          Approves public consultation on the options recommended in Appendix F to provide new primary school places in Maidenhead and new upper school places in Windsor. 

ii)         Delegates authority to the Director of Children’s Services, in consultation with the Lead Member for Adult Social Care, Children’s Services, Health and Mental Health, to add any further options that may come forward into the consultation.

iii)        Requests that a report on the outcome of the consultation be brought back to Cabinet in Spring 2021, together with final recommendations.

 

6h

Housing Strategy 2020 - 2025

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Cabinet considered the briefing paper regarding the development of the Housing Strategy 2020 – 2025.

 

The Lead Member for Housing, Communications, and Youth Engagement informed that this was RBWM’s first Housing Strategy for some time.  In the near future we should have an adopted local plan that will settle the quantum and location of housing.  We can then start thinking about why we need new homes rather than where and meeting targets.  We want to develop homes not just housing.  The economic growth and increased population has not been met with sufficient housing stock and this has pushed up prices to the detriment of residents.  We do not want a borough without enough social housing or having families leaving due to affordability.

 

This was a draft document that had been put together following a number of focus groups and consultation.  It was now proposed to go out to a 6 week public consultation.  The strategy had three clear objectives, building homes, promoting health and wellbeing and supporting vulnerable people.

 

Cllr Del Campo informed that she was pleased to see empty homes brought into focus and the breakdown of housing tenures with the proportion of affordable housing increasing. 

 

Cllr Jones also supported the commitment for assessing the need for different tenures.  With regards to homes for life she felt that support should be given to help with sustainable housing. 

 

The Lead Member for Adult Social Care, Children’s Services, Health and Mental Health recommended that as part of the consultation that a focus group of young people be used. The Lead Member agreed with the idea.

 

Cabinet noted the report.

7.

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 items 8-9 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.

 

8.

Minutes

To consider the Part II minutes of the meeting held on 26 November 2020.

Minutes:

RESOLVED UNANIMOUSLY: That the Part II minutes of the meeting held on 26 November 2020 were approved.

 

9.

Cabinet Members' Reports

9a

St Cloud Way, Maidenhead – Site Proposal

9b

Affordable Housing Provision

9c

Schools Condition Allocation 2021-22 - Appendix C

9d

Demand for School Places