Eastleigh Borough Council Cabinet Meeting

There were no declaratations on interest in relation to items of business on the agenda.

RESOLVED -

That the Minutes of the meeting held on 15 June 2023 be agreed as a correct record.

There was no public participation on this occasion.

The Policy and Performance Scrutiny Panel made the following recommendations relating to the Parking Standards Supplementary Planning Document at their meeting on 29 June 2023 (Paper 5).

(1)  To clarify the approach to EV charging points in residential apartment buildings with fewer than 10 associated parking spaces (paragraph 5.1.3) in order to provide greater certainty about what the policy seeks to achieve from such developments;

(2)  To note the potential affordances of slow charging, tariff-linked charging, and charging based on domestic micro-generation in order to support grid balancing and to take those capabilities into account in addition to the fast-charging capability requested in paragraph 5.1.4; and

(3)  To specify the minimum width on entry into car barns (paragraph 5.6.3).

RESOLVED –

That Cabinet note the recommendations.

Issue

The draft Affordable Housing Supplementary Planning Document (SPD) updates and refreshes the guidance on affordable housing. It provides further details on the amount of affordable housing required as a proportion of the total number of new dwellings on appropriate development sites. It also addresses design and layout and management issues. (Paper 6)

Consideration

The Affordable Housing SPD provides guidance on policy DM28 in the Eastleigh Borough Local Plan (2016 – 2036) (“the Local Plan”) which sets out the approach to delivering affordable housing through new development. It also addresses policy DM29 on delivering dwellings with higher access standards. It updates the existing guidance which was adopted in July 2009 and updated in May 2016. Supplementary Planning Documents (SPDs) provide detailed guidance on the implementation of Local Plan policies and are material considerations in determining planning applications. The Local Plan is the main statutory document against which individual planning applications are determined.

RESOLVED –

That Cabinet approved the draft Affordable Housing Supplementary Planning Document (SPD) for the purposes of consultation.

Issue

The draft Parking Standards Supplementary Planning Document (SPD) provides guidance on parking standards for all new residential and non residential development in order to ensure a transparent and consistent approach to assessing planning applications. (Paper 7)

Consideration

The SPD prioritises cycle parking within new development proposals due to the range of sustainability and health and wellbeing related benefits this can help to achieve. However, it acknowledges the continued use of the private car and the need to provide for car parking to meet existing car ownership levels and associated levels of demand. The recommended car parking standards are expressed as minimum requirements per dwelling.

RESOLVED –

That Cabinet:

(1)  Approved the Draft Parking Standards SPD for public consultation; and

(2)  Delegated authority to the Planning Policy Manager, in liaison with the Leader of the Council, to make any necessary changes to the SPD prior to consultation to address the recommendations of the Policy and Performance Scrutiny Panel, and any other minor changes that may be needed.

Issue

Regular monitoring and management of the Council’s performance, including financial performance, is essential to understanding delivery against strategic objectives set out in the Council’s Corporate Plan 2023-2026, and contributes to the management of corporate risk. (Paper 8)

Consideration

The report details budget variances compared to the Rolling Budget and key performance indicators which allow monitoring of performance trends. Individual variances and performance measures are being actively managed by service managers with the support of the Finance team.

RESOLVED –

That Cabinet:

(1)  noted the performance of the Council for 2022/23 and the Council’s provisional financial position for the year and consider any recommendations from Policy and Performance Scrutiny Panel;

(2)  noted the performance of the Community Investment Programme (Appendix B);

(3)  noted the Treasury Management Outturn Position as at 31 March 2023 (Appendix D);

(4)  approved transfers to and from reserves as detailed in Appendix E; and

(5)  approved the principle that all Budget Management items must be approved individually in light of the current economic situation, with no automatic carry forward of underspent budgets.

Issue

Council adopted the new Corporate Plan 2023-26 (the Plan) on 27 February 2023 and also agreed that a new Three-year Action Plan should be developed and reported back to Council in Summer 2023. (Paper 9)

Consideration

The Plan includes a slightly reduced range of services and projects, addressing the budget challenge outlined in the Council report on 27 February 2023.

The Plan also makes it clear that when stability returns to national and global economic conditions, the Council will seek to return to the wider range of services and projects the Borough’s residents and businesses have enjoyed previously.

RESOLVED –

That Cabinet noted the proposed new Corporate Plan Three-year Action Plan 2023-26 and makes any comments for Council.

Issue

Hampshire County Council (HCC) is publicly consulting on the options for finding around £132M savings by April 2025. (Paper 10)

Consideration

HCC is publicly consulting on the options for finding around £132M savings by April 2025 (in addition to savings of £640M already made since 2008 from activities such as sharing and selling services, charging for services, and service efficiencies). The consultation runs from 12 June 2023 to 23 July 2023.

RESOLVED –

That Cabinet considered the contents of this report and endorsed the proposed response to Hampshire County Council’s ‘Budget consultation 2024-26’ at Appendix two with the addition of wording to the effect of “New safer routes to school could be determined which no longer require SCPs as long as it is demonstrated they are no longer required” under point 53.

Issue

The Council purchased Stoke Park Farm in Bishopstoke as part of its Nutrient mitigation strategy. This strategy relies on cessation of high levels of applied nutrients associated with former land use and creates opportunity to introduce new land uses that are complimentary to nutrient reduction. With this in mind the Council has engaged with the local community and other stakeholders via a questionnaire and public meetings to gather feedback and comments on future uses for the site. (Paper 11)

Consideration

The emphasis of the feedback was for additional amenities and greater public access with a focus on not displacing or disturbing wildlife. There is a desire for a land management strategy that promotes, protects, restores and enhances the natural environment. This includes the creation of a SANG on the site for which approval is sought subject to Local Area Committee feedback. There is also the opportunity to enhance an area of the land as a habitat creation project to benefit great-crested newts and other species working with the Newt Conservation Partnership.

RESOLVED –

That Cabinet asked the Bishopstoke, Fair Oak and Horton Heath Local Area Committee to consider the Stoke Park Farm consultation response and make recommendations to Cabinet as appropriate before further decisions are taken.

RESOLVED -

(1)  That, in pursuance of Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the press and public be excluded from the meeting for the following items of business on the grounds that they are likely to involve the disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act; and

(2)  That, in pursuance of the public interest test, the public interest in disclosing the information contained in the following item of business was outweighed by the public interest in maintaining the exemption.