Winchester City Borough Council Cabinet Meeting

Apologies were received as noted above.

Councillors Porter and Tod declared personal (but not prejudicial) interests in respect of various agenda items due to their role as County Councillors.

Ian Tait spoke during public participation as summarised briefly below.

Mr Tait raised concerns regarding the attempted use of Section 21 no fault eviction order by an affordable housing provider  against their tenant  in a council property leased to the housing provider within Winchester.  He sought assurances that the tenant would not be forcibly evicted in the future.  He also raised wider concerns regarding the housing association in question not reinvesting the proceeds of its sales within the Winchester district.

Councillor Tod responded to the comments made, emphasising that the council had a statutory duty to prevent homelessness and did not support the use of Section 21 grounds for possession.  He would ask officers to ensure the council is providing whatever support is possible in the particular situation raised.

RESOLVED:

          That the minutes of the previous meetings held 6 March 2023 (less exempt minute) and 16 March 2023 be agreed as a correct record.

The Leader expressed his thanks to the former Cabinet Members Councillors Gordon-Smith and Power in addition to former councillor Ferguson for their work over the previous years.

He announced the following Cabinet Members and responsibilities for 2023/24 (previously announced at Annual Council on 17 May 2023):

Councillor Thompson announced that the Winchester Sport and Leisure Park building had been won the RIBA South Award 2023.

Councillor Tod introduced the report and noted that nominations for the various appointments had been received which he would report to the meeting.

At the invitation of the Leader, Councillors Horrill and Wallace addressed the meeting as summarised briefly below.

Councillor Horrill

She requested that in considering which members to appoint to the various bodies, Cabinet have regard to appropriate qualifications and suitability.  She welcomed the proposal to establish a Cabinet Committee: Local Plan.  With regard to the Member Champion roles, she requested that consideration be given to allowing a broader range of councillors to act as champion with more than one councillor appointed to each role.

Councillor Wallace

He highlighted that as a newly formed group on the Council, the Green group would welcome the opportunity to be a member on the various internal committees and outside bodies.  In particular, the group would be keen to support the council’s overarching aim of going greener faster.

Councillor Tod thanked the councillors for their comments which would be taken into account in considering the appointments to be made.  With regard to the Member Champion appointments, further investigation of the decisions that established the roles was required to ascertain if there could be flexibility regarding the numbers appointed to each position.

Cabinet agreed to the following for the reasons set out in the report and outlined above.

RESOLVED:

1.             That the following appointments to Cabinet Committees, informal group and fora be made for the 2023/24 Municipal Year:

(a)           Cabinet Committee: Regeneration*

Leader and Cabinet Member for Asset Management (Chairperson), Councillors Cutler, Learney and Thompson

Non-voting invited councillors: Councillors Cramoysan, Edwards, Bolton & Godfrey

(b)           Cabinet Committee: Housing*

Cabinet Member for Housing (Chairperson), Councillors Becker and Cutler

Non-voting invited councillors: Councillors Batho, Scott, Miller and Horrill

Non voting TACT representatives: Two representatives and one deputy (names to be confirmed)

(c)           Cabinet Committee: Local Plan*

Cabinet Member for Place and Local Plan (Chairperson), Councillors Learney and Tod

Non-voting invited councillors: Councillors Laming, Williams, Read, Horrill and Lee

*Note – it was agreed that deputies for the non-voting invited councillors at Cabinet Committees be appointed from any group at the Chairperson’s discretion.

(d)           Carbon Neutrality Open Forum

Councillors Learney (Chairperson)

(e)           Equality, Diversion and Inclusion Forum

Councillors Becker (Chairperson), S Achwal, Reach, Isaacs, Brook and Wallace

(f)            Winchester Sports and Leisure Park Advisory Board –

Councillors Becker(Chair), Prest, Reach and Kurn

(g)           Central Winchester Regeneration (CWR) Project Board –

Councillors Tod and Cutler

(h)           Strategic Asset Purchase Scheme Board

Councillors Tod, Cutler and Thompson

.

(i)             Treasury Investment Group

Cabinet Member with responsibility for Finance (Councillor Cutler) and Councillor Learney (from Cabinet) 

Councillor Power (Chair of Audit & Governance Committee)

(j)             Kings Barton Forum

Councillors: Cramoysan (Chairperson), Batho, Eve, Morris, Porter, Rutter and Cunningham (Deputies: Godfrey and Learney)

(k)           West of Waterlooville Forum –

Councillors: Cutler  (Chairperson), Chamberlain, Read and Brook (Deputies: V Achwal and Langford-Smith)

(l)             North Whiteley Development Forum –

Councillors: V Achwal (Chairperson), S Achwal, Chamberlain, Small, Pearson and Wallace (Deputies: Cutler, Lee and Langford-Smith)

2.             That the following roles be appointed to (paragraph 11.10 refers):

a)       Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Member Champion – Councillor Reach

b)       Lead Cabinet Member for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion - Councillor Becker.

3.             That Councillor Tippett-Cooper be appointed as “Sanctuary Champion” (paragraph 11.11(a) refers).

4.             That Councillor Laming be appointed as “Armed Forces Champion” (paragraph 11.11(b) refers).

Councillor Tod introduced the report and noted that nominations for the various appointments had been received which he would report to the meeting.  He proposed that the appointment to Venta Living (the Council’s housing company) be deferred to a future date to allow further consideration of the requirements for this role by officers and the Cabinet Member for Housing.

At the invitation of the Leader, Councillor Horrill addressed the meeting as summarised briefly below.

She emphasised the need to ensure councillors appointed as representatives on external organisations provided regular feedback to the council. This was of particular importance for the South Downs National Park (SDNP) representative as the park area covered a large percentage of the district.  She also asked that representatives be appointed according to their appropriate skills and local knowledge rather than because of their political group.

Councillor Tod agreed with comments made about the importance of ensuring councillor feedback from outside bodies and specific proposals were being discussed to enable this in relation to the SDNP.

Cabinet agreed to the following for the reasons set out in the report and addendum and outlined above.

RESOLVED:

That the following appointments to external bodies be made for the 2022/23 Municipal Year (unless stated otherwise):

(i)            The Carroll Centre Board of Trustees – Councillor Wise (deputy) (until May 2025)

(Councillor Becker is the existing observer to the Board of Trustees until May 2025)

(ii)           Citizens Advice Winchester District – Councillor Becker (until May 2024)

(iii)         Hampshire & Isle of Wight Association of Local Authorities (HIOWA) – Leader and Deputy Leader (Councillors Tod and Cutler)

(iv)         Hampshire County Council Annual Meeting with Parish & District Councils regarding public transport issues – Cabinet Member with responsibility for Transport (Councillor Learney)

(v)          Hampshire Cultural Trust – Cabinet Member with responsibility for Culture (Councillor Thompson) (Trustee) and Councillor Laming (Observer)

(vi)         Hampshire Homechoice Board – Cabinet Member with responsibility for Housing (Councillor Westwood)

(vii)        Hampshire Rural Forum – Cabinet Member with responsibility for the Economy (Councillor Thompson)

(viii)      Unit 12 CIC (formerly Integr8 CIC) – Cabinet Member with responsibility for the Economy (Councillor Thompson )

(ix)         Local Government Association – Leader and Deputy Leader (Councillors Tod and Cutler)

(x)          Partnership for South Hampshire (PfSH) Joint Committee – Leader and Deputy Leader (Councillors Tod and Cutler)

(xi)         PATROL (Parking and Traffic Regulations Outside London) Adjudication Joint Committee – Cabinet Member with responsibility for transport/parking – Councillor Learney

(xii)        Police and Crime Panel (until May 2025, confirmed annually) – Councillor V Achwal (Councillor Williams)

(xiii)      Project Integra Management Board – Cabinet Member with responsibility for Waste (Councillor Learney) plus Councillor Tod (deputy)

(xiv)      River Hamble Harbour Management Committee (until May 2025, confirmed annually) – Councillor V Achwal and Councillor Williams (deputy)

(xv)       South Downs National Park Authority (until May 2027) – Councillor Pett

(xvi)      South East England Councils (SEEC) – Leader and Deputy Leader (Councillors Tod and Cutler)

(xvii)     South East Employers – Chair of Audit & Governance Committee (Councillor Power)

(xviii)   South East Employers – Councillors’ Local Democracy & Accountability Network – Councillors Laming & Pearson

(xix)      Southampton International Airport Consultative Committee – Cabinet Member with responsibility for Transport (Councillor Learney) and Councillor Pett (deputies Councillors Greenberg & Cook)

(xx)       Tourism South East – Cabinet Member with responsibility for Tourism (Councillor Thompson)

(xxi)      Trinity Winchester (until May 2025) – Councillor Tippett-Cooper (other existing members - Councillors Westwood and Horrill)

(xxii)     Welborne Community Forum – Councillor Chamberlain (deputies Councillor Cutler and Pearson)

(xxiii)   WinACC – Cabinet Member with responsibility for Environment (Councillor Learney)

(xxiv)   Winchester Business Improvement District (BID) – Cabinet Member with responsibility for Economy (Councillor Thompson)

(xxv)    Winchester Beacon – Cabinet Member with responsibility for Housing (Councillor Westwood)

(xxvi)   Winchester Housing Trust (until May 2024) – Councillor Westwood (trustee)

(xxvii)  Winchester Road Safety Council Committee – Councillor V Achwal

(xxviii)Winchester Sports Stadium Management Committee – Cabinet Member with responsibility for Sport (Councillor Becker) and Councillor S Achwal

(xxix)   Winchester Welfare Charities– Councillor Gordon-Smith (until May 2028)

(Councillor V Achwal is the other trustee until May 2026)

2.          That representatives be reminded of their responsibilities whilst representing the Council on an external organisation, as summarised in Paragraphs 1.6 to 1.9 of the report and in the Guidance regarding serving on Outside Bodies

In the absence of Councillor Westwood, Councillor Tod introduced the report and welcomed the support of TACT for the proposals.

At the invitation of the Leader, Councillors Lee, Horrill and Tippett-Cooper addressed the meeting as summarised briefly below.

Councillor Lee

He emphasised the urgent priority of tackling climate change and future proofing and retrofitting existing homes was an important element of this.  Specifically he requested that for this and future property acquisitions, the council sought a higher energy performance standard than EPC C.   He also asked that the London Energy Transformation Initiative (LETI)’s climate emergency retrofit guide and the LETI Specification and Procurement Guide be adopted, together with the “Energiesprung” approach.

Councillor Horrill

She welcomed the proposals in the report and highlighted the potential additional requirements for housing with Ukraine refugees seeking to move on from their initial host families.  She suggested that an all member briefing be arranged on this subject.  She also emphasised the importance of ensuring appropriate council communication on the proposals.

Councillor Tippett-Cooper

He supported the report’s proposals in his role as the Council’s Sanctuary Champion and congratulated the council in securing the government grant.  He stated that as part of his role he would be inviting key partners, including relevant members, to an informal meeting regarding the proposals.

Councillor Tod, the Strategic Director and the Head of New Homes Delivery responded to the comments made regarding retrofitting of properties.

Cabinet agreed to the following for the reasons set out in the report and addendum and outlined above.

RESOLVED:

1.                 That capital expenditure of up to £6,065,000 in 2023/24 be agreed to purchase and refurbish 16 properties under Financial Procedural Rule 7.4, using the approved 2024/25 HRA unallocated new build budget, to be funded by £2,400,000 LAHF grant with the balance of £3,665,000 by prudential borrowing.

2.                 That authority be delegated to The Corporate Head – Asset Management to purchase 16 properties (detailed in Exempt Appendix 1).

3.                 That capital expenditure of up to £658,218 be agreed to purchase a Bridging accommodation property under Financial Procedural Rule 7.4, using the 2024/25 HRA unallocated new build budget, to be funded by £329,109 of LAHF grant and the balance of £329,109 of prudential borrowing.

4.                 That authority be delegated to the Corporate Head - Asset Management to purchase the additional property to provide accommodation for those leaving the bridging hotels when a suitable property matching the requirements of the fund is identified.

At the invitation of the Leader, Councillor Lee addressed Cabinet as summarised briefly below.

In relation to the proposed item for the Cabinet Member for Place and Local Plan Decision Day on 5 June on Biodiversity Net Gain, he sought assurance that clear processes were in place to ensure proper implementation.

Councillor Porter agreed with the points raised and offered to meet with Councillor Lee to discuss the council’s proposals.

RESOLVED:

That the list of future items as set out in the Forward Plan for June 2023 be noted.

RESOLVED:

1.       That in all the circumstances, the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information.

2.       That the public be excluded from the meeting during the consideration of the following items of business because it is likely that, if members of the public were present, there would be disclosure to them of ‘exempt information’ as defined by Section 100I and Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act 1972.