a)    Councillor Da Costa will ask the following question of Councillor Grey, Lead Member for Environmental Services:

 Following the distress and damage caused to residents and Council property when travellers illegally accessed Dedworth Manor, can you tell me how many vulnerable sites exist across the Borough?

b)   Councillor Da Costa will ask the following question of Councillor Coppinger, Lead Member for Planning and Health:

 Given the criticism by the Borough Local Plan Inspector of the Council’s continued failure to produce a “Gypsy and Traveller Accommodation Local Plan”, can the Lead Member tell me when such a plan will be produced, as such provision should help alleviate pressures on residents and the costs of dealing with illegal camps in the Borough?

c)     Councillor Brimacombe will ask the following question of Councillor S Rayner, Lead Member for Culture and Communities:

Maidenhead Library, St Ives Road, enjoyed the excellent and popular,  privately run Narrative café until RBWM raised the rent so high as to price this enterprise out of the market, with no sign as yet of a competitor taking over. Is this representative of commercial decisions by RBWM and is the loss of this community facility now regretted by RBWM?

d)   Councillor Bhatti will ask the following question of Councillor Grey, Lead Member for Environmental Services:

Please can the Lead Member let me know what more can be done to prevent unauthorised encampments like the one that occurred in Whiteleys and on Dedworth Manor/Sawyers Close?

e)    Councillor Bhatti will ask the following question of Councillor Grey, Lead Member for Environmental Services:

Will the council publish guidance on how the Borough deals with unauthorised traveller encampments to explain the processes involved?

f)     Councillor E Wilson will ask the following question of Councillor Grey, Lead Member for Environmental Services:

Following the recent unauthorised encampment in Dedworth how will the Lead Member ensure that residents in the Royal Borough are kept up to date on illegal traveller encampments?

g)   Councillor Jones will ask the following question of Councillor Coppinger, Lead Member for Planning:

Could the Lead Member give us an update on the Borough Local Plan and the next steps?

h)   Councillor Jones will ask the following question of Councillor Dudley, Leader of Council:

Could the Leader detail the recommendations from the Peer Review that have been implemented to date and the recommendations that will be implemented during this municipal year

(The Member responding has up to 5 minutes to address Council. The Member asking the question has up to 1 minute to submit a supplementary question. The Member responding then has a further 2 minutes to respond.)

c)          Councillor Brimacombe asked the following question of Councillor S Rayner, Lead Member for Culture and Communities:

Maidenhead Library, St Ives Road, enjoyed the excellent and popular,  privately run Narrative café until RBWM raised the rent so high as to price this enterprise out of the market, with no sign as yet of a competitor taking over. Is this representative of commercial decisions by RBWM and is the loss of this community facility now regretted by RBWM?

Councillor S Rayner responded that there appeared to be some misunderstanding around why the Narrative had closed. The Licence Fee was not increased this year; the RPI inflationary charge was waived.

With support from Property and Shared Legal Services, a licence to occupy was agreed by the council and the occupiers for a ‘Coffee Cart’ for the period 20 April 2015 - 19 April 2016, for an area 3x3m within the foyer entrance. 

The ‘Coffee Cart’ shared the location with other library business such as charity cards, exhibitions, Festival of Learning and Family Festival of Learning, and arts and crafts activities. On 8 Feb 2016 the request for exclusive use of the foyer was expressed by the occupier. Research of the local rental market suggested a figure between £25,000 and £30,000, inclusive of utilities and cleaning.

Following negotiations, a new licence to occupy was drawn up in 2016, incorporating the increase in space. The annual fee agreed was lower than the amount suggested by the local rental market research because the council recognised the importance of the community cafe. The agreed increase took place in 2016/17, with a further increase of £3,000 for 2017/18, followed by an annual RPI % increase until 29 March 2019, when a full tender process would be undertaken.

In early 2018 a request was received to reduce the amount paid to the council. The council agreed to waive the standard RPI inflationary increase that was due to be applied from 1 April 2018. The council received no reply from the occupier. Then on 27 February 2018 notice was served to terminate the licence to occupy and the café closed in May 2018.  The Narrative Café was enjoyed by those who used it, both residents and staff, and options to seek alternative coffee vendors continued to be explored

Councillor Brimacombe confirmed he did not have a supplementary question.

g)   Councillor Jones asked the following question of Councillor Coppinger, Lead Member for Planning:

Could the Lead Member give us an update on the Borough Local Plan and the next steps?

Councillor Coppinger responded that, as all were aware the first stage of hearings were very different to a normal form of hearings as the Inspector was only trying to understand things she did not understand at this stage. The council was currently expecting a letter from the Inspector setting out her interim findings, the work the council needed to do and dates of the next hearings, expected to be held in the autumn. The letter would be added to the web once received. The council was now in the hands of the Inspector as she led the process.

Councillor Jones thanked Councillor Coppinger for the update as residents were asking.

Councillor Coppinger responded that as soon as he could give residents news he would do so.

h)   Councillor Jones asked the following question of Councillor Dudley, Leader of Council:

Could the Leader detail the recommendations from the Peer Review that have been implemented to date and the recommendations that will be implemented during this municipal year?

Councillor Dudley responded that as Council would be aware, the Peer Review’s eight recommendations were further broken down in to 29 specific deliverables.  He was pleased to confirm that initial work had been completed in all 29 areas with some areas by definition requiring work to be ongoing. 

Areas where the work was fully completed include:

·         Quarterly meetings with Parish Councils and holding a Parish Conference three times per year.

·         The Borough Local Plan was in examination.

·         A specialist agency had been commissioned in partnership with three major developers to develop a brand and story to explain the regeneration journey to residents, businesses and potential investors and support investment activity.

·         A map had been produced for integrated health and social care in the Royal Borough.

·         The medium term financial plan formed part of the Council Plan.

Other areas that would conclude in this municipal year included:

·         A residents’ survey commissioned for September 2018

·         A review of how the Council engaged with businesses which would result in recommendations being brought forward.

·         Scrutiny Training for elected Members.

Overall all work would be completed in this municipal year with the deliverable of amendments to the constitution which were agreed by Council in June 2018 taking effect from May 2019. In addition he was pleased to confirm that at Council in September he would be bringing forward the already-agreed element of Code of Conduct for implementation this year. This followed a finding against Councillor Da Costa; any further complaint would therefore be dealt with under the amended process.

Councillor Jones commented that she felt the last element of Councillor Dudley’s response was not related to her initial question. Members should be asked to keep to the question raised in their response. However, she welcomed the Code of Conduct being implemented earlier. She herself had already raised the potential for this with Democratic Services. Councillor Jones confirmed she had no supplementary question.