Decisions

To invest £200k of Futures Fund monies to take the opportunity of installing up to 3.75km of ducting for gigabit fibre during the course of the Transforming Travel (TCF) programme works over the next 3-6 months.

The Deputy Leader of the Council and Portfolio Holder for Regeneration, Economy and Strategic Planning has considered any representations received and determined to confirm the decision outlined above without modification.

RESOLVED that:-

(a)          Cabinet approves the Connecting Communities – BCP’s Community Engagement & Consultation Strategy 2021-2024 incorporating the BCP Council Engagement Principles and action plan;

(b)          Cabinet notes the £50k of annual additional resources requested to support the delivery of the plans from 2022/23 onwards; and

(c)          Cabinet notes that the £50k of annual additional resources will formally be recommended to Council as part of the 2022/23 budget and Medium-Term Financial Plan Update report in February 2022.

Voting: Unanimous

Portfolio Holder: Adults

Reasons

There is no statutory requirement to develop a Community Engagement and Consultation Strategy for BCP Council, however the development of a set of engagement principles, processes and standards provides clarity to the communities of Bournemouth, Christchurch, and Poole around the standards they can expect when engaging with the Council.

The development of a Community Engagement and Consultation Strategy enables us to develop the way we engage and consult with our communities, improving our engagement levels and ensuring a consistent approach across all areas of the Council.

The development of a Community Engagement & Consultation Strategy which details the approaches it will use to engaging and consulting with the community ensures that the Council is delivering its Corporate Plan priority of Connected Communities and its Vibrant Communities priority in Our Big Plan.

The details within the Strategy propose far reaching methods to ensure that alongside traditional methods of consultation we are reaching out to seek the views of those who would often not engage in mainstream consultation techniques. This will enable BCP Council to understand how to engage and consult with all sectors of society.

To support the transformation of the council, ensuring communities and partnerships are embedded in the heart of the council as part of its operating model and supporting the development of strength-based approaches to working with our communities.

This strategy enables us to achieve the outcomes in the BCP Council’s Big Plan and the Corporate Strategy regarding our commitment to developing vibrant communities, with an outstanding quality of life, where everyone plays an active role.

RESOLVED that Cabinet: -

(a)         approve the change in name of the Futures Fund Programme Board to Future Infrastructure Programme Board and increase its scope to also consider Strategic CIL spending proposals;

(b)         approve the governance arrangements of the newly named Future Infrastructure Programme Board to include the Council’s Chief Operations Officer and Head of Planning as Board members;

(c)         agree that the newly named Future Infrastructure Programme Board recommend the Strategic CIL spending priorities, and report this back to Cabinet within the calendar year alongside the final Infrastructure Funding Statement for 2020/21; and

(d)         agree to engage with service providers through the Future Infrastructure Programme Board to ensure Strategic CIL helps deliver the necessary infrastructure to support planned growth.

Voting: Unanimous

Portfolio Holder: Regeneration, Economy and Strategic Planning

Reasons

The Futures Fund Programme Board reviews capital infrastructure spending and by reforming as the Future Infrastructure Programme Board and linking in Strategic CIL, it will ensure that infrastructure planning is aligned and well planned. Cabinet setting the spending priorities will provide a clear direction for the Board to awards funds to projects.

The Systems Leadership Team recommended that the NHS as an infrastructure service provider can bid for CIL monies for 2020/21. The new Future Infrastructure Programme Board will engage with all service providers and provide a further level of scrutiny of the NHS request to ensure that the request is aligned with our spending priorities before making a recommendation to Cabinet.

The Council has a duty to publish the Infrastructure Funding Statement each calendar year and to set out its spending priorities for CIL.

The strategy looks at our High Streets and District Centres through the lens of economic growth, focusing on creating an environment for economic vibrancy and to enable a high quality, world class visitor experience. It sets the objectives and forms the framework for a series of more detailed project-specific Action Plans that will be produced for each High Street and District Centre.

RESOLVED that Cabinet: -

(a)       Support and adopt the High Streets and District Centres Strategy as a?framework for?the future of the?high streets and district centres in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole area (BCP area);

(b)       Recognise that delivery of the Strategy using Action Plans is an evolving process;  

(c)       Understand that the Strategy could be subject to further consultation;

(d)       Enable the Strategy to be made into a visually appealing document for publication;  

(e)       Delegate responsibility to the Director, Economic Development to analyse the ‘Reimagining Your High Streets’ Engagement HQ report and, if required, commission activities to create Action Plans for high streets and district centres in the BCP area; and

(f)        Authorise the Director, Economic Development to apportion £100,000 to undertake these initial Action Plans and fund appropriate projects, in accordance with the Officer Decision Record for Additional Restrictions Grants (ARG4) dated July 2021, and identified in part 2 (c) of Stream 4 – ‘Funding partners to provide Town & District Centre Support (£275k)’

Voting: Unanimous

Portfolio Holder: Regeneration, Economy and Strategic Planning

Reason

The Strategy will help deliver the Council’s strategic aims and objectives including the Dynamic Places, Connected Communities and Sustainable Environment objectives in the Corporate Strategy. It is therefore recommended that BCP Council supports the High Streets and District Centres Strategy.

RESOLVED that: -

(a)      Cabinet approve the proposals made in the report and delegate authority to the Chief Executive to approve the necessary legal documents; and

(b)      Cabinet note that the URC business plan will be brought to Cabinet for approval no later than October 2021;

RECOMMENDED that: -

(c)      Cabinet recommends that Council approve £3.404m of additional resources to support the regeneration programme in 2021/22.

RESOLVED that: -

(d)      Cabinet notes the £3.470m of additional resources requested to support the regeneration programme in 2022/23 and £1.331m per annum from 2023/24 onwards;

(e)      Cabinet notes that the additional resources for 2022/23 onwards will formally be recommended to Council as part of the 2022/23 budget and Medium-Term Financial Plan Update report in February 2022;

(f)       Acknowledge the novation of the development management services agreements for the Bournemouth Development Company (BDC) to Muse Developments Limited as described in the report and approve the Council’s entry into a deed of variation to implement corresponding updates to the Members’ Agreement.

(g)      Approve work to be done by BDC to secure the outline planning consent agreed in 2018 including the completion of building demolitions on the Exeter Road site shown at appendix 1 which are derelict, incurring business rates obligations and attracting anti-social behaviour problems and attendant health and safety risks and the commencement of utility diversion and power supply upgrading works.

Note that, on 3 March 2021, the Council received the Heads of Terms of an offer to provide a ‘Town Deal’ for Boscombe Town Centre which was accepted by the Town Deal Board on 24 March 2021 and confirmed with a conditional allocation of project funding on 4^th May.

(h)      Approve the Town Deal projects agreed with the MHCLG and provide the necessary support to develop these in sufficient detail so that Business Cases can be completed for consideration by the MHCLG by May 2022.

Voting: Unanimous

Portfolio Holder: Regeneration, Economy and Strategic Planning

Reasons

URC proposal

An Urban Regeneration Company has been formed to ensure BCP has the capacity, expertise, and resources to drive investment in regeneration and unlock value from major council owned sites; it will also enable BCP to deliver new homes and create well designed, local neighbourhoods.

Bournemouth Development Company (BDC)

The proposed changes to the governance of BDC flow from an independent review, commissioned by the Council’s Chief Executive. Their aim is to ensure greater clarity of roles, transparency, and accountability in the relationship between the Council and the company.

Bournemouth Towns Fund

In May 2021, the MHCLG confirmed the conditional award of £21.7m to support the regeneration of Boscombe Town Centre. The Council is accountable for these funds and will need to ensure that they are properly invested to deliver the intended outcomes by March 2026. Cabinet approval of the projects agreed with the MHCLG is needed to enable business cases to be developed for each project.

RESOLVED that Cabinet:-

(a)      Note the contents of the report;

(b)      Agree the acceptance of revenue grants in paragraph 62;

(c)      Agree the acceptance of capital grants in paragraph 73;

RECOMMENDED that:-

(d)      Council approve the £1 million allocation from the contain outbreak management fund (COMF) as set out in paragraph 55; and

(e)      Council approve the capital virements as set out in paragraph 74

Voting: Unanimous

Portfolio Holder: Leader of the Council

Reason

To comply with accounting codes of practice and best practice which requires councils to regularly monitor the annual budget position. To comply with the council’s financial regulations regarding budget virements.

RESOLVED that:-

(a)          Cabinet note the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman’s Annual Report; and

(b)          Cabinet note the plans for future complaint handling

Voting: Unanimous

Portfolio Holder: Leader of the Council

Reason

Good public administration is more important than ever and managing complaints effectively is not simply a transactional process. The public experience of local services provides unique insight that can be harnessed as a key driver for learning and improvement.

Cabinet members should be kept informed regarding the Council’s performance in relation to the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman and of the steps it is taking to improve the way the council manages complaints.

RESOLVED that:-

(a)          Members endorse the Cleaner, Greener, Safer programme ambitions;

RECOMMENDED that:-

(b)          Council approve £514k of additional revenue resources to support the Cleaner, Greener, Safer programme in 2021/22;

RESOLVED that:-

(c)          Cabinet approves a £674k Cleaner, Greener, Safer capital investment programme funded from prudential borrowing;

(d)          Cabinet notes the £3.789m of additional revenue resources requested in 2022/23 and £2.483m per annum from 2023/24 onwards;

(e)          Cabinet notes the £3.789m of additional revenue resources for 2022/23 and £2.438m per annum from 2023/24 onwards will formally be recommended to Council as part of the 2022/23 budget and Medium-Term Financial Plan Update report in February 2022.

Voting: Unanimous

Portfolio Holder: Environment, Waste and Cleansing

 Communities

Reason

The recommendations seek to secure investment across key themes to support Bournemouth Christchurch and Poole Council’s Big Plan vision for a world-class city region. This ambitious programme will restore a street level visible sense of pride and safety in our place and achieve improved delivery within those highly visible services which are of significant importance for our residents.

The programme also includes an investment commitment aligned to the Council’s Climate and Ecological Emergency declaration to protect and enhance our precious greenspaces for our communities and wildlife, increase urban greening and promote and increase health and wellbeing via improved access to greenspace and sustainable travel routes.

Adoption of compact dealing the Council’s approach to working with the voluntary sector (harmonisation)

RESOLVED that:-

(a)      Cabinet adopts the BCP Council’s Voluntary and Community sector and Volunteering Strategy and Delivery Plan;

(b)      Cabinet notes the £33k of annual additional resources requested to support a Volunteer Coordinator to facilitate delivery of the plans from 2022/23 onwards;

(c)      Cabinet notes that the £33k of annual additional resources will formally be recommended to Council as part of the 2022/23 budget and Medium-Term Financial Plan Update report in February 2022; and

(d)      Cabinet recognises the significant impact that Covid has had on the state of the local voluntary and community sector and the increased demand on services that organisations are experiencing.

Voting: Unanimous

Portfolio Holder: Leader of the Council

 Adults

Reason

To recognise the fundamental role that the voluntary and community sector and volunteers had, and continues to have, in supporting our communities during the pandemic and to ensure that the voluntary and community sector is supported to recover from the significant impact the pandemic has had on their operation, finances and trustees.

To recognise that half of the VCS organisations that responded to a local survey by CAN in the summer of 2021 said they are at risk of permanent closure within 12 months. It is important that the council understands and commits to effectively supporting the sector, both financially and through working relationships as outlined in the strategy, in order to empower the sector to thrive and be sustainable.

To recognise the continued pressure on council services and budgets, alongside the challenges of funding and resources within the voluntary and community sector and that it is essential that we all work together in partnership and collaboratively to share knowledge, expertise and resource to support a thriving sector and empower vibrant communities.

To support the transformation of the council, ensuring communities and partnerships are embedded in the heart of the council as part of its operating model and supporting the development of strength-based approaches to working with our communities.

To demonstrate our commitment to the development of an ambitious volunteering and social action strategy, that celebrates and builds on the volunteering and neighbourliness that already exists in our communities. Particularly learning from the recent community response to COVID-19 where communities came together to support each other.

This strategy enables us to achieve the outcomes in the BCP Council’s Big Plan and the Corporate Strategy regarding our commitment to developing vibrant communities, with an outstanding quality of life, where everyone plays an active role. Volunteers already work with the council in a variety of ways but there are opportunities to strengthen and extend the range of ways people can get involved to help others.

To set the price for the 2022 Garden Waste Collection Service. The price reflects the 2021 service disruption resulting from staffing shortages due to Covid-19 isolation requirements and lack of availability within the local marketplace to backfill roles. Feedback from Service Users impacted by service similar disruption in 2020 on the extra collections provided in January 2021 was not favourable, and therefore it is not recommended that this approach is repeated.

The price of the service usually increases annually by RPI. For 2022, this will also be the case but will also include a reduction to reflect the cost of the two missed collections.

To approve:

·       Option 5 within the Decision Record. The price for the garden waste service in 2022 is £46.44 per bin, which is an increase by RPI of 3.9% on the 2021 price (£49 per bin), less £4.46 to cover the two missed collections in 2021. This will require a pressure of £77k to be included in the MTFP for 2022/23. 

·       The discount received for the garden waste service for residents with an Access to Leisure and Learning (AtLL) card is continued for Poole residents for the 2022 service, and a review of the entire AtLL scheme will be carried out in due course. The cost of the service for AtLL card holders in Poole will be £23.22 per bin (on the first bin purchased).

The Portfolio Holder for Environment, Cleansing and Waste has considered any representations received and determined to confirm the decision outlined above without modification.

To extend the current license in line with a recent Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) request for prolonged use of the site as a COVID 19 Regional Testing Site (RTS) until 31 March 2022. To delegate responsibility to negotiate the change in formal license details to the Director for Transport and Engineering in consultation with the relevant Portfolio Holders.

The Portfolio Holder for Transport and Sustainability has considered any representations received and determined to confirm the decision outlined above without modification.