Meeting documents

To approve as a correct record the Minutes of the meeting of the Council held on 18 July, 2018, copy attached as an appendix.

RESOLVED –

That the Minutes of the meeting of Council held on 18 July, 2018, be approved as a correct record.

By the Chairman of the Council.

By the Leader/Cabinet Members.

(a)          Chairman of the Council

(i)            Silent Soldier Campaign – the Chairman of the Council informed Members that to mark the final year of the World War One centenary, the British Legion had invited the public to take part in a movement to say ‘thank You’ to the First World War generation who had served, sacrificed, rebuilt and changed the nation.  A life sized image of a "Tommy", situated outside the main entrance to the Gateway offices, would be unveiled in a ceremony to be held at 6.30pm on Thursday 20 September 2018.  All Members were invited to attend.

(ii)           Chairman’s Quiz Night – the Chairman of the Council invited Members and staff to form or join a team for the next Chairman’s quiz night that would be held at 7.30pm on Friday 19 October, in the Oculus, the Gateway.

(b)          Deputy Leader of the Council – the Deputy Leader of the Council informed Members that the Government had recently announced the preferred route for the Oxford to Cambridge Expressway, which was Option B for the corridor to "broadly align" with the proposed East-West rail route from Abingdon to south Milton Keynes via Winslow.

The Council recognised the Government’s long term ambition for growth in Aylesbury Vale and also saw the essential requirement for additional infrastructure to support this economic growth and the associated housing requirement to support 1.1 million jobs along the Expressway.

Once more detail was available on the actual route it would be important to ensure that it achieved the best possible outcomes for residents and Aylesbury Vale.  The concerns that had been raised were understood.  The Council would be working with communities to ensure that account was taken of these concerns during the consultation process to ensure the best mitigation was achieved.  It would also listen to communities and work to maximise the possible benefits and outcomes for local residents.

A briefing for Members would be held on a date to be advised.

(c)          Cabinet Member for Waste and Licensing – the Cabinet Member for Waste and Licensing informed Members that this would be the last Council meeting attended by the Assistant Director (Business Support and Enablement), Isabel Edgar Briancon, who would be taking up a position as Head of Paid Service at Stratford-on-Avon District Council.  Members thanked Mrs Briancon for the all the work she had done for the Council over the last 11 years, in particular relating to waste and recycling, and on the street and horticultural contract that was an agenda item for this meeting.

(d)          Cabinet Member for Finance and Resources – the Cabinet Member for Finance and Resources updated Members on the security measures that were being put in place as part of the Council’s duty to ensure all data and email accounts were held safely and securely.  Airwatch would support this change as it controlled the Council’s data within a secure ‘bubble on Members’ devices.  The set up process was easy and would be supported by the Enterprise Service Desk.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 2.

There were none.

Two written questions were submitted by Members during August 2018.  These can be accessed on the Council’s website at http://democracy.aylesburyvaledc.gov.uk/ieListMeetings.aspx?CommitteeId=441

Two written questions had been received during August 2018 and the answers could be accessed at http://democracy.aylesburyvaledc.gov.uk/ieListMeetings.aspx?Committeeld=441

Councillor Mrs Ward

Cabinet Member for Civic Amenities

To consider the attached report.

Council received a report which set out the challenges facing Kingsbury and Market Square and that outlined plans to bring forward improvement schemes for both spaces and the associated costs.  This regeneration of the Aylesbury town centre was reflected in the Aylesbury Town Centre Plan (published in 2014) and in the draft Vale of Aylesbury Local Plan.

It was abundantly clear that the demand for physical retail space was changing across the UK and almost every operator including Marks & Spencer’s and John Lewis partnerships were committed to undertaking portfolio reviews.  Others such as House of Fraser, were already part way through that process and it was well known that the Aylesbury branch would likely close at some point.  Whilst some of this change was offset by big box operators such as B&Q and Screwfix opening smaller, high street formats, users of town centres were undoubtedly looking to their towns (particularly those the size of Aylesbury), to provide a more social experience.  National spend on casual dining and the increase in the number of restaurants and cafes had been phenomenal and whilst the dining out market had also seen a softening in recent months, spend generally in this area continued to grow, with shopping being only part of the reason to visit.  Aylesbury was no exception to this trend and had seen a number of new cafes and restaurants open in recent years, with more opening as part of The Exchange development.

The increase in people looking to town centres to combine a food and entertainment experience had also been exceptional. Industry reports suggested that 40% of footfall based their decision to visit a town based on the choice of dining options fuelling a significant national growth in both the  number of restaurant and café openings and breadth of cuisine available.  In the last twelve months, this rapid expansion had led to a softening of the dining out market  with some rationalising by well known brands such as Jamie’s, but new brands continue to enter the market.  Spend overall generally in this area continued to grow.  Aylesbury was no exception to this trend and had seen a number of new cafes and restaurants open in recent years, with more opening as part of The Exchange development.

The growth of town centre living was changing what a town needed to offer to sustain successful residential communities.  In the last five years, 89,140 offices in the UK have been converted to living accommodation.  In Aylesbury town centre, former offices such as Kingfisher House and Friars Square have been successfully converted to residential and proved extremely popular. The office building above QDs at the bottom of High Street had a permitted development for 110 apartments and the 47 apartments in The Exchange development were on sale.

The importance of creating a great environment was critical to the success of attracting people to a town whether to shop, socialise, live or work.  It also impacted greatly on a town’s ability to secure new retailers,  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

Councillor Sir Beville Stanier

Cabinet Member for Waste and Licensing

To consider the attached report.

Work had commenced in January 2018 to determine how the existing street cleansing and horticultural contract and services could be delivered when the current contract expired in January 2020.

Council received a report and background information, as well as the appendices in the confidential part of the agenda, that had been considered by the Environment and Living Scrutiny Committee on 24 July, 2018, and by Cabinet on 12 September, 2018, following the recent appraisal process for future service delivery.

The outcome of a Member/Officer workshop in February 2018 had indicated a preference for either an in-house delivery of the service or a re-procurement OJEU compliant tender process when the current contract expired. The workshop considered the following options:

a)            Street and Horticultural Services (as is) either in-house or full procurement process of joint services

b)            Waste, Street and Horticultural Services either in-house service or full procurement of joint services

c)            Waste and Street Services either in-house service or full procurement process. Horticultural Services would be delivered separately, either in-house or contracted

Consideration had also been given as to whether to include wider waste services in a procurement exercise.  However this had been discounted for numerous reasons which included the aspiration to build on the commercial and transformational successes of the Waste and Recycling Service.

A market survey had been carried out by the Association for Public Service Excellence (APSE) to investigate what other Local Authorities did for their street and horticultural services. The survey found that of the Authorities that responded:-

·                    88% delivered street cleansing in-house.

·                    73% delivered parks and horticulture services in-house.

·                    63% jointly managed and delivered both street cleansing and horticulture services.

The Waste Transformation Board had considered the options in May 2018 against various criteria which included: Agility, Capacity, Control, Cost, External Income Generation, Human Resource Resilience, Innovation and Value for Money.  The Board had felt that having control and flexibility of the service was a high priority and would allow for adaptation to changing circumstances.  Members would also have the ability to determine how the services were discharged.

The Board had also felt that in terms of resources, AVDC were already delivering a successful in-house waste collection service which meant the Council had internal knowledge and expertise in direct service provision.  This included the depot, workshops, fleet management, software systems, and health and safety. The report contained two high scoring options for the service delivery (Option 1.A and Option 3) with their risks outlined. Both options offered similar annual savings to the Council.  Detailed information on the options and tendering process was included in the confidential part of the agenda.  Members referred to this information in general terms during their discussions and deliberations.

Members were informed that if there was a final unitary decision for Buckinghamshire, there was the option for the current contract to be extended for up to two years until January 2022.  Although this was subject to the contractor’s agreeing to the extension, it would mitigate the risk of non-service delivery during the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

There will be an opportunity for Members to ask questions of individual Cabinet Members and Committee Chairmen.

Members had the opportunity to ask questions of individual Cabinet Members and Committee Chairmen about issues affecting their portfolios/Committee activities:-

(a)          Kingsbury and Market Square Improvement Schemes (Councillor Foster) – the Cabinet Member for Civic Amenities informed Members that the Council would be taking the schemes approved earlier in the meeting seriously.  A public realm architect would be employed and the Council would listen to all people and consult widely on the schemes.  This would include looking at how to make the most of the Town’s heritage and at that could be done to attract more people into Aylesbury.

(b)          Cornwall Meadows car park, Buckingham (Councillor Stuchbury) – the Cabinet Member for Civic Amenities informed Members that the payment machines in this car park were in need of being modernised and replaced.  This would be addressed as part of the Car Parking Strategy that would be reported to Council in October.

There had been a number of problems with individual machines being reported as faulty over the last 5 weeks.  On each occasion, engineers had attended on site within 2 days and been able to repair the machines.  There were 5 machines located in the car park and 4 out of the 5 machines had been working properly during the period.

Members were informed that quotes to repair the potholes had been received.  A work plan was being put together with it anticipated that a contractor would be appointed soon.

(c)          Universal Credit (Councillor Stuchbury) – the Cabinet Member for Communities confirmed that information would be reported back to Members assessing the impacts of the rollout of Universal Credit on local people.

(d)          Oxford-Cambridge Expressway (Councillor Monger) – the Deputy Leader of the Council responded to the question which had raised a number of issues in relation to the announcement of the preferred route of the Oxford-Cambridge expressway.  These had included the impact on biodiversity, undertaking an Environmental Impact Assessment, AVDC responding to Highways England and central Government, and ensuring that a full public consultation was undertaken in due course.

Members were informed that the issues highlighted would be passed to the Leader of the Council.  However, details of the exact route were still sketchy and the Council didn’t want to make assumptions until the full facts were known.  AVDC was continuing to talk to central Government on the essential requirement for additional infrastructure to be provided.

(e)          Major Planning Application, Edlesborough (Councillor Poll) – the Cabinet Member for Planning and Enforcement informed Members that the work to enable this planning application to be decided was nearing completion.  It was a very complicated matter that would hopefully be decided within the next month.

(f)           Fairford Leys Riverine Corridor (Councillor A Cole) – the Cabinet Member for Environment and Leisure informed Members that he would be working with the Officers with an aim to delivering the next phases of the Riverine Corridor as soon as was possible.

(g)          Assisting Town Centre businesses (Councillor Mrs Morgan) – the Cabinet Member for Civic  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

The following matter is for consideration by Members "In Committee".  It will therefore be necessary to

RESOLVE –

That under Section 100(A)(4) of the Local Government Act, 1972, the public be excluded from the meeting for the following item of business on the grounds that it involves the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in the Paragraph indicated in Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act:-

Item No. 11 – Street Cleansing and Horticultural Contract.

The public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information because the report contains information relating to the financial or business affairs of organisations (including the Authority holding that information) and disclosure of commercially sensitive information would prejudice negotiations for contracts and land disposals or transactions.

RESOLVED –

That under Section 100(A)(4) of the Local Government Act, 1972, the public be excluded from the meeting for the following item of business on the grounds that it involved the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in the Paragraph indicated in Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act:-

Street Cleansing and Horticultural Contract (Paragraph 3).

The public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighed the public interest in disclosing the information because the report contained information relating to the financial or business affairs of organisations (including the Authority holding that information) and disclosure of commercially sensitive information would prejudice negotiations for contracts and land disposals and transactions.

Councillor Sir Beville Stanier

Cabinet Member for Waste and Licensing

To consider the attached confidential information.

In connection with the decisions reached earlier during the meeting, consideration was given to the confidential report and information in the confidential part of the agenda.