Hart Borough Council Cabinet Meeting

The minutes of 7 September 2023 were confirmed and signed as a correct record.

Proposed by Cllr Neighbour; Seconded by Cllr Radley

Unanimously agreed

No apologies had been received.

Mr Phillips declared a non-pecuniary interest as his wife had been involved in the work on the Winchfield Neighbourhood Plan.

The Chairman announced that the agenda would be rearranged to take the item on the Winchfield Neighbourhood Plan earlier, to allow the Chairman of the Parish Council to leave once the item was complete.

The Chairman of Winchfield Parish Council wished to speak to Agenda Item 7, and would make a statement during that agenda item.

This item was to provide an update on the three Flood Alleviation Schemes currently coordinated by Hart District Council and seek the consideration and decision of Cabinet.

The three projects were:

·         Mill Corner, North Warnborough,

·         Phoenix Green, Hartley Wintney, and

·         Kingsway, Blackwater.

Councillors heard:

·         Overview & Scrutiny had reviewed the report and put forward some recommendations which had been included in the updated report for Cabinet

·         A brief overview of the three schemes and why the recommendations were being put forward

·         That the paper aimed to move forward three projects that had been debated for a significant number of years, in the most appropriate way possible

·         That it was likely that the projects would still be discussed at the Multi-Agency Flood Forum (MAFF)

Councillors queried:

·         Why it was felt the scheme at Mill Corner was not felt to be viable

·         Whether the Environment Agency (EA) had any statutory powers to enforce landowners to take on board schemes

Proposed by Cllr Cockarill; Seconded by Cllr Collins

Councillors debated:

·         What the statutory responsibilities of Hart District Council were for these schemes

·         That Hart’s main function was to act as a liaison and co-ordinator between the various organisations involved

·         That the Council should not promise more to residents than it was capable of delivering, but that it should keep an overview of progress being made by those others undertaking the work

·         That the MAFF continued to have a role and therefore was unlikely to be dissolved at any point in the foreseeable future

·         Whether there was any potential in moving forward with the Mill Corner project, if the Parish was able to secure co-operation from landowners

·         Whether the terminology used to describe that there was “no risk” as stated in the risk section was correct as there was an inherent risk to affected properties and households

·         Whether recommendation (a) was worded in the clearest manner, but it was clarified that the project to be closed was the Council’s own project and that the EA’s project would be supported instead

Decision:

Cabinet unanimously agreed to approve the following recommendations:

a.  to close the current project at Mill Corner, North Warnborough but to continue working with the Environment Agency which was carrying out an assessment of flooding in this area,

b. to work with the Environment Agency to undertake new modelling    work at Phoenix Green, Hartley Wintney to re[1]evaluate the flood risk to properties, and

c.  to work with the Environment Agency and Thames Water to support   the delivery of a flood mitigation scheme at 10 – 20 Kingsway, Blackwater

The purpose of this report was to set out the findings of the Examiner’s report into the Winchfield Neighbourhood Plan; to seek agreement to the Examiner’s recommended modifications; and for the Neighbourhood Plan to proceed to a local referendum.

Councillors heard:

·         Winchfield had originally adopted their neighbourhood plan in 2017, which was to be reviewed on a timely basis

·         There had been sufficient changes to the original plan to warrant a referendum

·         If agreed, the referendum would commence in late November 2023

·         There had been a substantial level of input from the Parish Council

Proposed by Cllr Cockarill; Seconded by Cllr Oliver

Councillors heard from Mr Williams, Chairman of Winchfield Parish Council. 

Decision:

Cabinet unanimously agreed that:

1. the Neighbourhood Plan modifications set out in the Decision Statement at Appendix 2 were agreed, and the Decision Statement was published;

2. the Winchfield Neighbourhood Plan proceeded to a local referendum.

It was noted that the Council maintained a risk register which was revised by management on a regular basis. It was reported to both the Overview & Scrutiny Committee and Cabinet every 6 months to provide assurance that appropriate arrangements were in place to mitigate the risks identified.

Councillors debated:

·         Whether the risk rating for waste was accurate as the Portfolio Holder for Corporate felt it should be higher due to contractual issues

·         That there was more optimism regarding the climate change action plan risk, as staffing and budgets had now been assigned and work was underway on various projects

Councillors noted:

·         That future reports would include additional information to aide Councillors’ understanding of the risks and mitigations put in place

·         That the risk register report provided to Councillors was only a “snapshot in time” and that the full risk register was kept under continual review by officers, including SLT

·         Discussions between Portfolio Holders and Executive Directors should include issues around risks and their mitigation, so that Portfolio Holders have a greater overview of issues in their areas

Decision:

Cabinet reviewed the extract from the council’s risk register and noted the action in place to reduce the overall impact of the risks.

Hart District Council (HDC) has been granted £1million through the Government’s UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) to fund projects identified HDC’s Local Investment Plan (LIP). This report provided an update on the resources required to deliver the LIP and also provided an update on progress to date.

Cllr Bailey advised that he was connected to two organisations that were considering submitting bids for funding.  If any submissions were made, he would declare a clear conflict of interest and withdraw from the item in question.

Councillors noted:

·         The cost of the recommended two project officers, which would come out of the capital available as these would cost more than any admin funding available

·         Internal staff to support the projects had now been identified

·         Whether all projects had to be capital projects, or whether there could be revenue projects, such as training led from community hubs etc

·         That funding could be moved between capital and revenue to meet needs

·         Revenue funding would need to be spent by the end of March 2025

·         Whether projects would have an element of Project Management built into their bids, and whether they knew that there was Project Management support available8 from HDC

Proposed by Cllr Neighbour; seconded by Cllr Quarterman

Recommendation:

Cabinet unanimously agreed:

i)             To note the staff resources being deployed on the UKSPF programme

ii)            To seek approval for an additional project officer to support UKSPF projects, funded from the UKSPF funding

iii)           To note the progress on the spending proposals for 2023/24 set out in Appendix 1 - Financial Plan.

This report was to seek Cabinet’s agreement to pause further work on the Civic Quarter regeneration project.

Cabinet questioned:

·         Whether this was the correct time to pause this work, and when the decision would be reviewed and re-evaluated

Proposed by Cllr  Radley; Seconded by Cllr Neighbour

Cabinet debated:

·         How discussions with Fleet Town Council regarding the lease for the Harlington were progressing

·         That whilst there could be some merit in rebuilding the Civic Quarter, as outlined in the consultants’ report, there would be a significant increase in risk to the Council which was untenable in the current economic conditions

·         That there was concern over timescales for revisiting the project in easier economic conditions, as there would be increases in costs etc which might affect the viability of the project at that time

·         The cost of undertaking a detailed design would be in the region of £500k-£800k, with no guarantee that the project would go ahead

Decision

Cabinet unanimously agreed that work on the Civic Quarter Generation project should be paused until such time as the prevailing economic climate and market conditions are suitable to support the delivery of a viable and comprehensive regeneration opportunity.

The purpose of this report was to seek Cabinet’s approval for a new lease arrangement for the Cross Barn, Odiham.

Cabinet noted that the Cross Barn was run by a Board of Trustees, and that they wished to have security of tenure, in able to bid for funding to enhance the facilities.

Proposed by Cllr Quarterman; seconded by Cllr Neighbour

Decision

Cabinet unanimously agreed that the Chief Executive be authorised to conclude arrangements for a new 25-year lease for the Cross Barn, Odiham

Cabinet received and noted the work programme as circulated with the agenda pack, with no amendments.