Agenda and decisions

To approve as a correct record the Minutes of the meeting held on 26 November 2024.

Question from Councillor Stuart Wilson to Councillor Peter Strachan, Cabinet Member for Planning and Regeneration

There is significant public interest for all council taxpayers and particularly those residents who will be impacted by the various matters relating to Little Marlow Lakes Country Park including restoration works, the creation of a Suitable Alternative Natural Greenspace for development at Hollands Farm, the formal designation of a country park, and the relationship to the Marlow Film Studios planning appeal. Should Cabinet choose to accept the Recommendations or a version thereof contained within the Cabinet Report, will the Cabinet Member please confirm that Buckinghamshire Council will pursue full recovery of all Council investment in purchasing and improving this site through a gateway payment in a s106 agreement referenced at paragraph 6.5 so that there is no “free ride” for the landowners, promoters and developers of Hollands Farm at the taxpayers’ expense and that any legal or financial agreement that has or will be made with Dido for the fields to the north of the Council-owned land at Spade Oak will be made public in advance of the public inquiry on the Marlow Film Studio planning appeal in the residents’ interest of transparency?

Question from Councillor Robin Stuchbury to Councillor Thomas Broom, Cabinet Member for Environment and Climate Change

“Buckingham has been affected by significant flooding in 1998, 2007, 2012, 2020 and again recently.  Following the 1998 flooding, the Environment Agenda proposed a Flood Alleviation Scheme in 2001 to protect the town of Buckingham which involved the storage of stormwater in the floodplain at Water Stratford using the raised banks of the historical railway. However, the scheme was never constructed due to economic grounds.

Given that one in a hundred years flooding events are occurring more frequently and the significant impacts these have on Buckingham Town and local residents, could the Cabinet Member please advise whether Buckinghamshire Council as the flood authority would please consider revisiting the 2001 Scheme (perhaps updated with new evidence), and encourage the Environment Agency to re-look at the feasibility of a Flood Alleviation Scheme for Buckingham?”

Question from Councillor Diana Blamires to Councillor Steven Broadbent, Cabinet Member for Transport

Following the East West Rail Drop In session at Steeple Claydon attended by some Buckinghamshire Council members and officers it is understood that the Winslow railway station platform is going to be extended. Are there any other changes planned for Winslow station , which appears to be largely complete, and due to be open by this time next year?

For Cabinet to note the Select Committee Work Programme.

The Local Authorities Calculation of Council Tax Base (England) Regulations 2012

prescribe rules for the calculation of the Council Tax base.

On an annual basis, all local authorities are required to calculate a Council Tax Base which is used to set the level of Council Tax. The process is governed by the Local Authorities’ (Calculation of Tax Base) Regulations 1992.

In 2025/26, the tax base for the year was proposed at 233,267.79 which was 0.91% higher than 2024/25. The Collection Rate remained unchanged at 98.4%. The estimated Council Tax surplus was £8,266,617 as detailed in section 4 of the report.

RESOLVED

1.                That the Buckinghamshire Council Tax Base of 233,267.79 for the year 2025/26 be APPROVED. 

2.                That the Buckinghamshire Council estimated collection rate for the year 2025/26 of 98.4% be APPROVED. 

3.                That the estimated surplus as at 31 March 2025 in relation to Council Tax of £8.3m and shared between the Council, Thames Valley Police and Buckinghamshire Fire & Rescue Service as detailed in section 4 of the report be APPROVED.

The Draft Revenue Budget proposed was for the financial years 2025/26 – 2027/28. The financial position for the Council was extremely challenging with significant pressures, in line with those being experienced nationally. The Council discharged more than 1,300 statutory duties and was facing increasing demand pressures in key services such as Adult Social Care, Children’s Services, Home to School Transport and Temporary Accommodation. Responding to these pressures whilst delivering a balanced budget remained challenging and once again this had only been achieved through a significant programme of additional savings and income.

The Council had a strong track record of delivering savings with £116.8m of income and savings currently delivered since 2020-21. Further savings and additional income of £115.6m have been required as part of the 2025-26 Draft Budget. This took the total value of savings required by 2027/28 to £232.4m, or 52.8% of the Council’s first budget in 2020/21.

The draft budget proposed was built on the proposed Council Tax base and assumed a 2.99% increase in basic Council Tax and a 2% increase for the Adult Social Care Precept, giving a total increase of 4.99%. This was the maximum allowable without triggering a local referendum.

The draft budget was based on estimates consistent with the Autumn Budget and Local Government Funding Policy Statement. This set out a new deprivation-based approach to the allocation of additional funding in 2025/26 which the draft budget reflected. The government had also reconfirmed their intention to implement a full reform of local government funding from 2026/27 though multi-year settlements.

The Provisional Local Government Finance Settlement was published on 18 December 2024 and provided details of provisional central government funding allocations for 2025/26. Given the timing of this announcement it had not been possible to fully consider the implications of these figures for the draft budget, however they would be fully reflected in the Final Budget.

Whilst this budget provided the best available estimates for the 2025/26 - 2027/28 financial years, there was significant risk around future income, cost and especially future Local Government funding projections. The external environment was continuously monitored, and significant and material changes would be reported and included within the final budget presented to full Council on 26th February.

The Capital Programme was presented for 4 years as many schemes span multiple financial years. In total the programme includes £612.5m of projects. As with previous years it was proposed that a recommendation was made to Council in February for delegation to be given to Cabinet to add up to £100m worth of schemes to the capital programme, to be funded through prudential borrowing, subject to a robust business case being approved. This would enable additional priorities, such as regeneration and housing projects, to come forward and be added to the capital programme once positive business cases were fully developed.

The Council Tax Resolution report would be presented as a separate report as part of the final budget in February and would contain the final information from the other precepting authorities leading  ...  view the full decision text for item 9.

As part of the Council’s agreed budget, the library service had a Medium-Term Financial Plan (MTFP) savings requirement of £555,000 to deliver by Financial Year (FY) 2026/27. Work had taken place to consider options and identify an innovative model that would increase opening hours, maintain the library service offer and ensure a sustainable and resilient service that would deliver the required savings.

On 18 June 2024, Cabinet considered a report setting out the options, including proposals for a new model called ‘Library Flex’, and agreed that a consultation exercise be undertaken to seek feedback on these proposals before a final decision was made on how to deliver library services in future.

This report provided detail of the consultation findings and how the insight had informed the changes that were now being recommended to Cabinet for implementation which were as follows:-

·         To implement the ‘Library Flex’ model and an increase in opening hours across eight county libraries (Amersham, Aylesbury, Beaconsfield, Buckingham, Chesham, Hazlemere, Marlow and Princes Risborough), including piloting significantly extended opening hours at Amersham Library: specifically, to increase opening hours and access to these sites through self-service technology, and to focus staffed hours to the times of greatest customer need. Across these libraries, there would be an average 26% reduction in staffed hours, but an overall increase of 23% on the current opening hours, with potential to significantly increase unstaffed opening hours in future in line with customer demand. For the new Amersham Library in the Chilterns Lifestyle Centre (CLC) there will be an enhanced opening hours pilot, with early opening and late closing seven days a week, representing a 129% increase in opening hours.

·         To modify the layout of High Wycombe Library and to open on a Monday instead of a Sunday, to better meet customer needs (there would be no overall change in the number of opening hours and no reduction in the range of services available).

·         To reduce the opening hours for Burnham Library from 38 to 27 per week, to ensure delivery of a sustainable service, since there is insufficient volunteer capacity to maintain the current hours.

Cabinet was also asked to agree the release of the required capital investment of £500,000 to implement the above recommendations, in order to secure the £555,000 MTFP savings requirement. If agreed, then procurement would take place for the works to alter buildings and install the self-operated technology, and a formal staff consultation on restructuring would commence during January 2025, with the new model anticipated to launch in June 2025.

Cabinet Members agreed that they should receive a report on progress six months after the implementation of library flex.

RESOLVED

1.               That the findings from the recent consultation exercise to inform the future service design for the Council’s libraries service be noted.

2.               That the implementation of Library Flex and an increase in opening hours across eight county libraries, including piloting significantly extended opening hours at Amersham Library: plus, changes to High Wycombe Library opening times and a reduction in  ...  view the full decision text for item 10.

The Climate Change & Air Quality Strategy 2023-2024 Progress Report provided an update on the significant progress made against the aims, objectives, and actions set out in the Climate Change and Air Quality Strategy during the third year since its adoption on 19th October 2021.

Details of a wide range of activities were provided, all of which delivered against one or more of the actions in the strategy. Following the procurement of renewable electricity in 2022 there had been a reduction in net emissions to 4,476 tCO2e, representing a decrease of 78.2% against the 1990 baseline. The Council remained comfortably within the first carbon budget, having used 47.1% over the first four years of the seven-year budget. This meant the Council was on track to meet the first carbon budget.

Air quality had seen consistent improvement since the adoption of the strategy in 2021. Following good progress, the council had now begun the formal process of revoking four Air Quality Management Areas (AQMA).

RESOLVED

1.               That the progress made in 2023-2024 against the aims, objectives and actions in the Climate Change and Air Quality Strategy be NOTED.

2.               That the Council is on track to meet its first carbon budget be NOTED. 

The Wycombe District Local Plan (WDLP) allocated two sites for residential development, policy BE1 – Slate Meadow and policy BE2 – Hollands Farm within the Zone of Influence of the Burnham Beeches Special Area of Conservation (SAC). Due to existing recreation pressures at Burnham Beeches SAC, the development at Hollands Farm was required to provide mitigation through the provision of a Suitable Alternative Natural Greenspace (SANG). Policy RUR4 of the WDLP allocated the Little Marlow Lakes Country Park (LMLCP) for outdoor recreation to provide this mitigation.

In October 2022 a Cabinet meeting granted officers delegated authority to agree a suitable cost-neutral business plan for the area of land owned by the Council at Spade Oak within the LMLCP, and for this to be brought back to Cabinet for approval.

It was agreed not to pursue formal designation to regularise the status of the whole area allocated in policy RUR4 as a Country Park as part of the initial phase of delivery, but instead to retain a commitment to the wider Country Park as and when circumstances and resources permitted.

This report set out the business plan for the Country Park by delivering the Spade Oak SANG Option 1. The cost of delivering the SANG and 80 years’ maintenance was to be met by the developer, with the exception that the former gravel yard area within the proposed SANG was subject to restoration and these costs were to be met by the Council.

Representations were considered and discussed by Cabinet Members, from two Councillors and community groups.

RESOLVED

1.      That in principle the Spade Oak Management Plan Option 1 be APPROVED as the preferred option to create a SANG at Spade Oak and maintain the SANG in perpetuity (at least 80 years), funded by the Hollands Farm developers to mitigate visitor pressure at Burnham Beeches, and support the housing allocation at Hollands Farm.

2.      That the formal designation of a Country Park on Council owned land at Spade Oak Lake proceed;

3.      That the submission of the revised proposals to restore the Gravel Yard, which is funded from an existing, released budget in the Capital Programme, be DELEGATED to the Service Director Property and Regeneration.

4.      That the Heads of Terms be agreed with the Hollands Farm developers on Gateway costs and be DELEGATED to the Service Directors Property and Regeneration and Planning and Environment, including implementation and delivery costs; and that a further paper will be brought to Cabinet to present this.

The Council entered into a lease agreement with Wycombe Film Studio on 14th April 2022, which would provide revenue income for 5 years. During this lease, Wycombe Film Studio were obliged (under an agreement for lease) to pursue a planning application for a film studio development. The current tenant Wycombe Park Ltd (name changed on 21st November 2024 from Wycombe Film Studio) had been taken over by the main funder and the management of the company was being undertaken by new Directors who were also Directors of the funder. Details of the lease arrangement were within Confidential Appendix 5 of the report.

The current tenant, Wycombe Park Ltd, was unlikely to progress a film studio development, because the landscape had changed commercially and from a funding perspective. The tenant was looking into ways to extract value from the site and had taken advice from their own agents and determined that their best exit strategy was to abandon the film studio project and to enter into an agreement with the Council to sell the site for use as a Data Centre.

RESOLVED

1 That the Service Director for Commercial Property and Regeneration in consultation with Cabinet Member for Accessible Housing and Resources be authorised to:

a.  negotiate with the tenant to agree heads of terms and subsequently agree a contract, exchange and complete with the tenant for the marketing and disposal of the site jointly in accordance with the contents of this report for a Data Centre usage (Option 2 in the confidential annex to this report).

b. In parallel with recommendation a, investigations into power availability will be progressed.

c.  if required terminate the Lease agreement by serving a valid notice on the tenant, on the earliest date after the Cabinet approval, that corresponds to the Long- Stop date in the tenancy (earliest termination is 27^th December 2024).

d. negotiate with the long leaseholder of the aerodrome, to include a further 6 acres in the disposal (Site C), subject to those terms coming back to Cabinet for authority to proceed to market.

e. if negotiations with the tenant are successful, to:

i. submit a planning application to change the use of Site A (funded by the tenant) and part of the area around Site A to accommodate a Data Centre (DC) development.

ii. market the site as a Data centre development site as set out in this paper, agree heads of terms with a potential purchaser, and bring back a paper to Cabinet for authority to subsequently dispose of the site.

f.  If negotiations with the tenant are unsuccessful, Service Director for Commercial Property and Regeneration is further authorised in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Accessible Housing and Resources to explore other options to obtain power, such as appropriation of the site under section 122 of the Local Government Act 1972, and consider other options for the site disposal for employment uses.

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(s) of business on the grounds that it involves the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Part I of Schedule 12A of the Act.

11 February 2025 at 10am