Agenda

To receive any apologies for absence from Councillors.

Councillors are requested to declare any interests on items included in this agenda. Please refer to the workflow on the preceding page for guidance.

Declarations received will be reported at the meeting.

To confirm and sign as a correct record the minutes of the Meeting held on 14 January 2026.

To receive any public questions, statements or petitions submitted in accordance with the Constitution. Further information on the requirements for submitting these is available to view at the following link:-

https://democracy.bcpcouncil.gov.uk/ieListMeetings.aspx?CommitteeID=151&Info=1&bcr=1

The deadline for the submission of public questions is mid-day on Thursday 29 January 2026 [mid-day 3 clear working days before the meeting].

The deadline for the submission of a statement is mid-day on Tuesday 3 February 2026 [mid-day the working day before the meeting].

The deadline for the submission of a petition is Tuesday 20 January 2026 [10 working days before the meeting].

To consider recommendations from the Overview and Scrutiny committees on items not otherwise included on the Cabinet Agenda.

This report provides the quarter three 2025/26 projected financial outturn information for the general fund, capital programme, housing revenue account (HRA) and Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG).

The quarter three position is a projected overspend for the general fund of £4.6m (compared with £4.2m at quarter two) largely due to increased demand for adult and children social care with some offset from the central contingency and budgets in the Resources directorate.

The Housing Revenue Account (HRA) is a separate account within the council’s budgets that ring-fences the income and expenditure associated with council housing. 

This report sets out the proposals regarding increases to rents, service charges and other charges to tenants and leaseholders. Arrangements for these increases are separate to arrangements for increasing fees elsewhere in the council and are set out in law and regulation.

The report also sets out plans for expenditure on services to residents, repairs and improvements to homes and the provision of new homes taking into account new legal and regulatory requirements.

This report also demonstrates how council housing and spending within the HRA supports the council’s corporate strategy and objectives.

This report sets out the background to local validation lists including what they are, the necessity for every local planning authority to have one and the importance of it being regularly reviewed, kept up to date and tailored to current local planning policy.

The national requirements for the content of a planning application are prescribed by legislation and are limited to a small number of documents and other supporting information which is mandatory. For this reason, legislation also enables local planning authorities to go further and supplement the national requirements with their own local requirements in the form of a ‘local validation list’ (sometimes referred to as a ‘local validation checklist’). Once a local validation list has been adopted and published it is legally binding; an applicant is then obliged to submit the information set out in the local validation list when the application is first submitted and if they do not, the council can refuse to validate the application until that information is provided.

During 2025/26 financial year the council will spend over £1.59m supporting subsidised bus services from a combination of council derived revenue budget and external grants.  By 2027/28 the cost is forecast to exceed £2.0m. Continuing to fund the subsidised network in its current form is not sustainable.

This report presents recommended changes to the network informed by a performance review including public consultation.  The recommendation has been developed in partnership with morebus (main enhanced bus partnership operator).

Whilst undertaking the review the council has engaged with the Department for Transport (DfT) Bus Reform Team throughout to ensure that the recommended revised subsidised network is eligible to be funded from the recently announced £2,621,127 Local Authority Bus Grant (LABG) 2026/27 revenue allocation. 

A report setting out the full planned investment of both the revenue and capital LABG allocations shall be presented to Cabinet in March 2026.

BCP Council is responsible for administering admission arrangements for its community and voluntary controlled schools. There is a legal requirement to determine the arrangements annually as described in the School Admissions Code 2021 and associated legislation.

The local authority must also formulate and publish a scheme to coordinate the admission arrangements for all publicly funded schools within their area for the 2027/28 academic year.

A public consultation on the proposed 2027/28 admission arrangements was held on from 10 November 2025 until 22 December 2026. The proposed change is a reduction to the Published Admission Number at Burton CE Primary School to reflect the broader trend of fewer families seeking school places in the area due to falling birth rates.

It is recommended that the arrangements are determined by council members.

This paper outlines the proposed 2026/27 local mainstream schools funding formula based on recommendations from the Schools Forum.

The formula is highly regulated by the Department for Education (DfE), with funding provided by the £293m schools block of the ring-fenced dedicated schools grant (DSG). 

The proposed local mainstream formula is to replicate the national funding formula (NFF) with minor amendments as recommended by Schools Forum on 19 January 2026 to reflect that it is not affordable in full.   

The early years single funding formula (EYSFF) is being considered by Schools Forum on 16 February 2026 to allow time for a full consultation process with providers.  

This report provides an update on Hawkwood Road, which is a priority project for the Boscombe Towns Fund. In February 2025 Council, resolved to approve the funding strategy for a mixed-use residential-led scheme with a clinical facility in collaboration with the NHS (Option 1).

The Cabinet recommendation to Council included an obligation to have a contract in place with the NHS prior to award of the build works contract for the main construction. Despite a Memorandum of Understanding between the NHS and BCP Council being signed in December 2024 and best endeavours, a final contract has not been entered into with the NHS. To maintain delivery, this report seeks authority to proceed to award the build contract for the main construction to ensure that the grant milestones for the Towns Fund programme and Homes England are satisfied and thereby safeguard the total grant of £17.3m.

This will allow for continued discussions with the NHS and ensure that the significant social and physical regeneration to the ward of Boscombe West and the local need is not lost.

There is a continued commitment to have a health provision at Hawkwood Road, but in the event the NHS cannot proceed, this report seeks authority to market the property as general commercial use as the preferred alternative strategy now due to funding timelines being unachievable for a new residential scheme which would require planning. The 100% residential scheme (Option 2 in the previous Cabinet report) would require a new design and planning application and tender, which is likely to result in higher pricing and therefore is not deliverable within the immediate need to start on site in 2026/2027 and deliver by 2028/2029.

[PLEASE NOTE: Should Cabinet wish to discuss the detail of the confidential appendices at Appendix 1 and 2 the meeting will be required to move into Confidential (Exempt) Session].

In relation to the item of business appearing below, the Committee is asked to consider the following resolution: -

‘That under Section 100(A)(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public be excluded from the meeting for the following item of business on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraph 5 in Part I of Schedule 12A of the Act and that the public interest in withholding the information outweighs such interest in disclosing the information.’

Christchurch Business Improvement District’s (BID) first 5-year term will finish in October 2026. The BID is currently preparing for a new ballot on 2^nd July 2026 for a second term. This report seeks Cabinet approval to allow Christchurch BID to go to ballot for a second term. 

The Chief Executive to report on any decisions taken under urgency provisions in accordance with the Constitution.

To consider the latest version of the Cabinet Forward Plan for approval.