Agenda and minutes

To approve as a correct record the minutes of the meeting of the Council held on 28 November 2018.

Subject to the following amendments:

·         Attendance record be amended to reflect the fact that Councillor Thompson had given his apologies and was not present.

·         Minute 32: ‘In October a number of maintenance issues had been identified at the centre which mean The Wayz had to close temporarily’ be amended to read ‘‘In October a number of maintenance issues had been identified at the centre which mean The Zone had to close temporarily’.

RESOLVED that subject to the above amendments, the minutes of the Council meeting held on 28 November 2018 be approved and signed by the Mayor as a correct record.

Members are asked to declare any disclosable pecuniary or affected interests in respect of any matter to be considered at this meeting.

Any Member with a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest in a matter should withdraw from the meeting when the matter is under consideration and should notify the Democratic Services Officer in attendance that they are withdrawing as they have such an interest. If the Disclosable Pecuniary Interest is not entered on the register of Members interests the Monitoring Officer must be notified of the interest within 28 days.

Any Member with an affected Interest in a matter must disclose the interest to the meeting.  There is no requirement to withdraw from the meeting when the interest is only an affected interest, but the Monitoring Officer should be notified of the interest, if not previously notified of it, within 28 days of the meeting.

There were no declarations of interest.

Kevin Gibbs

The Mayor welcomed Kevin Gibbs to the meeting. Kevin would be joining the Council as Executive Director: Delivery from 18 March 2019.

Help Yourself Community Map

Councillor Birch reported that The Guardian had featured an article on the Bracknell Forest Help Yourself Community map which had been developed by Public Health. The map had been developed to reduce loneliness across the Borough by encouraging the lonely and vulnerable to engage with over 400 organisations offering activity groups and community support.  

Adult Social Care Christmas

Councillor Birch reported that the Christmas period had been a success for Adults Social Care who had worked hard to support people to enjoy Christmas in their own home. A particular success story was of one individual who had been taken home from hospital on Christmas Eve.

Town Centre Vision 2032

Councillor Brunel-Walker informed Members that the Town Centre Vision 2032 which outlined development plans for the Civic Quarter and Southern Gateway had been published.

Easthampstead House

Councillor Brunel-Walker reported that the lease for the meanwhile use of Easthampstead House had been signed. The new space would be used to support new businesses, and would create valuable employment space in the town centre.

Business Rates Pilot

Councillor Heydon informed Members that Bracknell Forest had been accepted onto the Government’s Business Rates Pilot for a second year running. It was anticipated that the Pilot would generate an additional £4 million in revenue for the Borough.

Bracknell Leisure Centre refurbishment

Councillor McCracken reported that the dry changing areas and new reception areas at Bracknell Leisure Centre had now opened for public use. The new gym located in the former Forest Suite area had opened on a soft opening, and members were encourage to join to make use of this facility.

Photo competition

Councillor McCracken informed members that the annual photo competition had received 70 entrants. The successful entries would be displayed at South Hill Park.

Library user feedback

Councillor McCracken commented on a piece of feedback he had received from a resident who had said how much they enjoyed using the library at Great Hollands.

Glass bottle recycling

Councillor Mrs Hayes reported that glass bottle recycling was due to be incentivised in the same manner as blue bins through a good causes scheme. Fifteen glass recycling points within the RE3 catchment would be awarded £500 by FCC for good recycling behaviour and quantities, of which 6 were in Bracknell Forest. The funds would be awarded to nominated good causes.

Charity Collection Days

The Charity Collection Days for the Mayor’s Charity at The Lexicon and The Meadows Shopping Centres had been a success despite wet weather, and Members were thanked for their support and participation.

Spring Soiree

The Mayor asked Members to ‘save the date’ for his Spring Soiree event at Bracknell Rugby Club on 22 March 2019.

To receive the Leader’s report on the work of the Executive since the Council meeting held on 28 November 2018.

Council is asked to resolve a recommendation in respect of:

• Endorsing the revised Statement of Gambling Principles

Councillor Bettison OBE, Leader of the Council, presented his report on the work of the Executive since that reported at the Council meeting on 28 November 2018. The Executive had met once on 18 December 2018.

The Leader highlighted the following matters which had been considered by the Executive:

Transformation and Finance

·        The Capital Programme 2019/20 – 2021/22 and Revenue Budget 2019/20 had been agreed, and detailed proposals had been published and were out for consultation. The results of the consultation would be formally considered on 12 February 2019, ahead of the full debate at Council on 27 February 2019.

Council Strategy and Community Cohesion

·        The Council Plan Overview Report for Quarter 2 had demonstrated expected progress. Raw data for Quarter 3 would soon be available. 

Planning and Transport

·        The Bracknell Town Neighbourhood Plan was being prepared for consultation and would be review by an independent examiner.

Culture, Resources and Public Protection

·        The Review of Statement of Gambling Principles had been approved by the Licensing and Safety Committee and was put to Council for adoption. 

Adult Services, Health and Housing

·        The Integrated Sexual and Reproductive Health Service Tender had been successful, and there was a strong focus on preventing unwanted pregnancies amongst vulnerable residents.

Wider leadership team

·        Appointments had been made to the posts of Executive Director: Delivery, and Assistant Directors of Children’s Social Care Operations, Adult Social Care Operations and Early Help and Communities.

Transformation Programme Review

·        The transformation programme had been refocussed to ensure maximum benefit, following the first five years of the programme. Several of the initial projects undertaken by Members and Officers had progressed to continue as business as usual.

·        New projects included a Joint Venture, Commercial Centre, Emergency Duty Service with Forestcare, and the One Front Door.

On the proposition of Councillor Allen, Chairman of Licensing and Safety Committee and seconded by Councillor Thompson it was

RESOLVED that the revised Statement of Gambling Principles be endorsed.

By Councillor Mrs Temperton to Councillor Mrs Hayes MBE, Executive Member for the Environment:

New government plans to cut down on landfill waste proposed by the Environment Secretary, Michael Gove, include a commitment to weekly food waste collections from every home. Many Councils already do this.

When will Bracknell Forest have such a collection and how will it be funded? There is no funding for such included in the proposed 2019/20 budget.

Councillor Mrs Temperton asked Councillor Mrs Hayes MBE, Executive Member for the Environment the following published question:

New government plans to cut down on landfill waste proposed by the Environment Secretary, Michael Gove, include a commitment to weekly food waste collections from every home. Many Councils already do this.

When will Bracknell Forest have such a collection and how will it be funded? There is no funding for such included in the proposed 2019/20 budget.

Councillor Mrs Hayes MBE responded that the Executive had agreed to an 8 year extension of the waste collection contract with Suez commenting from 1 April 2019. The Executive had also supported the purchase of a new fleet of waste collection trucks which could facilitate food collection in the future. The Executive also agreed that officers should review options in regard to food collection in partnership with re3 to support the Government strategy.

Councillor Mrs Hayes stated that the Council would continue to work with contractors and residents to find affordable and sustainable ways to collect waste. It was noted that in the UK, of the 7m tonnes of food being disposed of annually, 5m tonnes was still fit for consumption. Councillor Mrs Hayes welcomed the Government Strategy to address this issue.

The cost of collection and the savings relative to the cost of landfill were both key areas of consideration. Participation rates and tonnages needed to be calculated in order to establish affordability of such food collection schemes.

Councillor Mrs Hayes thanked residents who produced little waste or had engaged in home composting, however it was stressed that there were many residents who could do more to recycle and use food up.

Collections in high population density estates and flats needed to be resolved before residents were encouraged to put their food out for collection.

In summary, Councillor Mrs Hayes stated that re3 partners across Bracknell Forest, Reading and Wokingham Councils would be considering and responding to the Government’s consultation document. Once the implications of a food waste collection service were established to ensure a good and inclusive food collection service, budget provision would be sought in Bracknell Forest.