Test Valley Borough Council Cabinet Meeting

There were no apologies for absence.

No members of the public had registered to speak.

In relation to agenda item 8 - Test Valley Prosperity Board, Councillor Nick Adams-King advised that he would be appointed to the Board in his capacity as the Leader of Hampshire County Council.

In relation to agenda item 8 - Test Valley Prosperity Board, Councillor Kirsty North advised that she would be appointed to the Board in her capacity as a Hampshire County Council Councillor and Executive Lead Member for Universal Services.

In relation to agenda item 11 - Western Avenue and River Anton Riverside Park, Andover, Councillor Nick Adams-King advised in his capacity as Leader of Hampshire County Council that Hampshire County Council would be taking a decision on the Highways Scheme Design however, he would not be part of the Hampshire County Council decision making process.

In relation to agenda item 11 - Western Avenue and River Anton Riverside Park, Andover, Councillor Kirsty North advised in her capacity as Executive Leader Member for Universal Services that Hampshire County Council would be taking a decision on the Highways Scheme Design however, she would not be part of the Hampshire County Council decision making process.

There were no urgent items.

The minutes of the Cabinet meeting held on 21 August 2024 were proposed by Councillor P North and seconded by Councillor Flood.

Resolved:

That the minutes of the meeting held on 21 August 2024 be confirmed and signed as a correct record.

There were no recommendations from the Overview and Scrutiny Committee.

Consideration was given to the report of the Democracy and Governance Portfolio Holder which presented details of a revised Statement of Licensing Principles.

Under the gambling Act 2005, the Council was required to publish a Statement of Licensing Principles setting out matters to be considered when determining applications for licences and permits issued under the Act. Following consultation over the summer of 2024, a revised Statement of Licensing Principles had been drafted.

Having considered the options and for the reasons set out in the report, the recommendation was proposed by Councillor Lodge, seconded by Councillor P North and Cabinet agreed to the following:

Recommended to Council:

1.  That the revised Statement of Licensing Principles, annexed to the report, be approved.

2.  That the Statement of Licensing Principles, annexed to the report, be effective for a three-year period commencing 31 January 2025 subject to it being kept under review and Council making any changes at such times as it considers appropriate.

Consideration was given to the report of the Leader and Strategic Regeneration and Partnership (North) Portfolio Holder which set out details of an amended partnership board structure and arrangements.

Test Valley Borough Council had a strong and long-standing working relationship with Hampshire County Council which had been formalised by the establishment of structure partnership arrangements which had evolved over recent years.

To reflect Hampshire County Council’s Prosperity Board Structure, the existing partnership arrangements had been reviewed with an updated structure proposed to continue to facilitate the delivery of shared strategic priorities.

Having considered the options and for the reasons set out in the report, the recommendation was proposed by Councillor P North, seconded by Councillor Flood and Cabinet agreed to the following:

Resolved:

That the amended Partnership Board structure and arrangements, as outlined in section 6 of the report, be approved and the Test Valley Borough Council office-holders listed at section 6.5 of the report be appointed to the Partnership Board.

Consideration was given to the report of the Planning Portfolio Holder which presented a draft Supplementary Planning Document (SPD) for public consultation.

The draft SPD provided a mitigation framework in relation to recreational impacts on the New Forest international nature conservation designations and which was intended to replace the Council’s interim mitigation framework (2014). The draft SPD had been prepared to respond to updated evidence and feedback from previous consultation.

Having considered the options and for the reasons set out in the report, the recommendation was proposed by Councillor Bundy, seconded by Councillor P North and Cabinet agreed to the following:

Resolved:

1.  That the Draft New Forest International Nature Conservation Designations: Recreational Mitigation Framework Supplementary Planning Document (SPD), as shown in the Annex to the report, be published for public consultation.

2.  That the Head of Planning Policy and Economic Development be given delegated authority to make changes of a minor nature to the draft SPD, in consultation with the Planning Portfolio Holder, prior to the publication for consultation.

Consideration was given to the report of the Finance and Resources Portfolio Holder which set out the framework within which the 2025/26 budget would be prepared. It also set out the expected medium term income and expenditure forecast for 2026/27 and 2027/28.

The strategy considered the potential impact of macro-economic factors such as inflation and interest rate forecasts and the effects they could have on budget planning in the medium term.

Having considered the options and for the reasons set out in the report, the recommendations were proposed by Councillor Flood, seconded by Councillor P North and Cabinet agreed to the following:

Recommended to Council:

1.  That the Medium Term Financial Strategy for 2025/26 to 2027/28 be approved.

2.  That the reallocation of earmarked reserves, as set out in paragraph 4.2.9 of the report, be approved.

Consideration was given to the report of the Strategic Regeneration and Partnership (North) Portfolio Holder which provided an update on the progress of the Western Avenue and River Anton riverside park project and sought delegated authority to further progress the scheme.

The Council were working in close partnership with Hampshire County Council on the project with the County Council’s engineering design team working to develop the design for the highways scheme.

The creation of the riverside park would support the delivery of the objectives of the Andover Masterplan. The proposed delegated authority would enable work to proceed with the development of the design up to and including the submission of a planning application, the subsequent phases of detailed design and the preparation of tender documentation for the construction stages. 

Having considered the options and for the reasons set out in the report, the recommendation was proposed by Councillor P North, seconded by Councillor Flood and Cabinet agreed to the following:

Resolved:

1. That the progress of the Western Avenue and River Anton work be noted.
2. That the Head of Planning Policy and Economic Development, in consultation with the Strategic Regeneration and Partnerships (North) Portfolio Holder, Finance and Resources Portfolio Holder and Head of Finance and Revenues, be authorised to progress all design and development work necessary to enable completion of detailed design, up to and including the submission of a planning application to include production of tender documents and pre-tender cost estimates for construction stages.