Agenda and minutes

To note any apologies for absence from Members.

Apologies for absence were received from Cllr Buchanan. Cllr Crane attended as a substitute.

To provide an opportunity for Members and Officers to declare any disclosable pecuniary and non-pecuniary interests in any item on the agenda.

The following declarations of interest were made in relation to the Strategic Leisure Review Update:

·         Cllr Brooks declared that she is a member of Macclesfield Leisure Centre

·         Cllr Whitaker declared that she is a member of Poynton Leisure Centre

·         Cllr Jefferay declared that he is a member of Wilmslow Leisure Centre

To approve as a correct record the minutes of the previous meeting held on 28 September 2023.

It was noted that the committee had decided to discuss the reports of the previous meeting in a different order to that which was set out in the agenda. It was requested that the minutes be amended to reflect this.

RESOLVED (by majority):

That the minutes of the meeting held on 28 September 2023 be agreed as a correct record, subject to the above amendment.

In accordance with paragraph 2.24 of the Council’s Committee Procedure Rules and Appendix on Public Speaking, set out in the Constitution, a total period of 15 minutes is allocated for members of the public to put questions to the committee on any matter relating to this agenda. Each member of the public will be allowed up to two minutes each to speak, and the Chair will have discretion to vary this where they consider it appropriate.

Members of the public wishing to speak are required to provide notice of this at least three clear working days in advance of the meeting.

Ms Debbie Jamison addressed the committee in relation to the Strategic Leisure Review. Ms Jamison asked the committee to refuse the proposals to go out to consultation and felt that the matter was predetermined with the only option to close four leisure centres. Ms Jamison asked the committee to do due diligence and scrutinise the fairness, lawfulness and risks. Ms Jamison raised concerns about the impact on educational outcomes and curriculum, public health outcomes and carbon neutrality.

Ms Catherine Kenny spoke in relation to the Strategic Leisure Review and stated that she was present to protest against the proposals and asked the committee to consider the matter carefully as it affected a large number of people.

Ms Gemma Barthorpe spoke in relation to the Strategic Leisure Review with regards to the Middlewich site. Ms Barthorpe stated that there was a lack of leisure facilities in Middlewich and asked whether the Sutton Lane development would still go ahead. The Chair responded that information would need to be sought in order to provide an informed response and advised Ms Barthorpe to go through her local ward councillor to speak directly on updates to the Sutton Lane development.

Ms Haf Barlow attended the meeting to speak on behalf of Ms Julie Felton, representing Poynton Dippers Swimming Club, in relation to the Strategic Leisure Review. Ms Felton had stated that Poynton Leisure Centre was the focal point of the community and that closure would have a cross-generational impact on residents’ physical and mental wellbeing for years to come. With reference to Cheshire East’s Local Plan, it was stated that there was a need for local facilities which were easily accessible for all, but that the closure of leisure centres and focusing investment at larger facilities would not be in line with this. Ms Felton was concerned about the evidence base within the Strategic Leisure Review and felt that it was flawed and misleading for the following reasons:

·         It appeared that casual users, clubs, primary schools and Poynton High School use had not been included within the site usage figures for Poynton

·         Bollington was included within the population of Poynton, despite Bollington having its own leisure facility that was outside the scope of the review

·         The site assessment appeared to favour larger sites which served larger populations

·         Stockport being included in the benchmarking exercise despite it being more densely populated

·         The public health data appearing to be outdated with some dating back to 2006

Ms Sue Allan attending the meeting and spoke in relation to the Strategic Leisure Review. Ms Allan raised a number of concerns including:

·         Whether the usage figures quoted in the report include those who use facilities which have been booked by one person on behalf of a group

·         Whether the usage figures had been weighted to account for Knutsford being a joint use facility with Knutsford Academy, meaning some facilities were not available to the public during the day

·         An objection to spending money on Crewe, Nantwich and Shavington Leisure Centres,  ...  view the full minutes text for item 109.

To receive the second financial review of 2023-24.

The committee received the report which provided the second review of the Cheshire East Council forecast outturn for the financial year 2023/24.

A query was raised regarding earmarked capital for Poynton Leisure Centre that had not been spent and what the reason for this was. It was requested that this be looked into.

Members were asked to consider the serious financial challenges being  experienced by the Council, and other local authorities across the country, and to recognise the important activities aimed at minimising the impact on services.

A request was made for future reports to be clearer when information was for noting only. Some members felt that the use of ‘consider’ in recommendations could appear that members were being asked to do more than receive the information.

An amendment to the recommendations in the report was moved and seconded which sought to amend ‘consider’ to ‘note’. This was carried by majority.

RESOLVED (by majority):

That the Environment and Communities Committee:

1.    Note the report of the Finance Sub Committee, 2 November 2023

2.    Note the factors leading to a forecast adverse Net Revenue financial pressure of £3.5m against a revised budget of £48.7m (7.2%)

3.    Note the forecast and further mitigations needing to be identified, aimed at bringing spending back in line with budget

4.    Note the in-year forecast Capital Spending of £10.2m against an approved MTFS budget of £12.0m, due to slippage that has been re-profiled into future years

5.    Scrutinise the contents of Annex 1 and Appendix 5 and note that any financial mitigation decisions requiring approval will be made in line with relevant delegations

To receive a report on the Medium Term Financial Strategy Consultation for 2024/25 – 2027/28.

The committee received the report which set out the indicative financial envelope for this committee to support consultation on the development of the Cheshire East Medium-Term Financial Strategy 2024/25 to 2027/28.

There was a typographical error in paragraph one of the report which stated that members were being asked to approve the indicative financial envelope. It was confirmed that this was for noting only and no decision was required at this stage.

RESOLVED:

That the Environment and Communities Committee:

1.    Note the indicative budget envelope for this committee, as approved at the Finance Sub-Committee on 2 November, as a way of setting financial targets in support of achieving a balanced budget for 2024/25

2.    Note that officers will develop further proposals in consultation with Members to enable wider stakeholder consultation prior to approval by Council

3.    Note that Committees will be presented with the opportunity to further review financial proposals, designed to achieve a balanced budget, as part of their January cycle of meetings prior to recommendations being made to Council for approval

To receive an update on progress with the Strategic Leisure Review and proposed approach in advance of a formal public consultation in late 2023.

The committee considered the report which provided an update on the progress of the implementation of the Strategic Leisure Review following the approval of the Council’s Medium Term Financial Strategy 2023-27 (MTFS) at Full Council on 22 February 2023.

Cllr Clowes attended the meeting as a visiting member. Cllr Clowes highlighted that all centres identified for potential closure were aligned with school academies and asked, with regard to legislation pertaining to academies, whether the Council was at risk of legal challenge. Cllr Clowes stated that there were no alternative options appraisals to consult on, there was a need for better understanding of capacity to fulfil the Council’s statutory duties in relation to primary school swimming at alternative sites before going out to consultation and that there would be an impact on loss of classroom time and increased costs of transport for schools. Cllr Clowes asked what data had been sought from Swim England to inform the process going forward. Cllr Clowes also asked where the fiscal analysis was to support the proposal that removing four centres would not destabilise the fiscal viability of Everybody Health and Leisure (EHL). The contract would expire in 2029 but Cllr Clowes felt that any attempt to attract outside capital would be increasingly compromised by not thinking beyond the MTFS period.

In response, officers gave assurances that the report had been reviewed by the Council’s Legal services. Swim England would be consulted as part of the consultation process. With regard to the commercial position of EHL, it was noted that the Council had been working with EHL who had provided usage data. There had been no specific issues around ongoing viability raised by EHL to the Council’s leisure commissioning team through the discussions which had been ongoing for several months.

Cllr Anderson attended the meeting as a visiting member and Trustee of Everybody Health and Leisure. Cllr Anderson raised a number of concerns including the impact on employment at EHL, the decommissioning costs, the impact on waiting lists if the number of swimming pools were reduced, the data not including groups. Cllr Anderson advised that EHL were committed to working with Cheshire East to find a mutually agreeable way forward.

Cllr Kolker spoke as a visiting member and Trustee of Everybody Health and Leisure. Cllr Kolker understood the financial pressures on the Council but did not support the approach outlined in the report and was concerned about the sites being joint use and impacting schools. Cllr Kolker stated that school usage figures needed to be included in the analysis to get a true indication of centre usage. There were currently 10,700 children on learn to swim schemes with a waiting list of 3000 and Cllr Kolker stated that the same level of service could not be provided with two fewer schools.

Cllr Coan spoke as a visiting member and stated that he had received extensive correspondence from residents. There was no public transport from Knutsford to Wilmslow in the morning or evening. There was currently  ...  view the full minutes text for item 112.

The reports relating to the remaining items on the agenda have been withheld from public circulation and deposit pursuant to Section 100(B)(2) of the Local Government Act 1972 on the grounds that the matters may be determined with the press and public excluded.

The Committee may decide that the press and public be excluded from the meeting during consideration of the following items pursuant to Section 100(A)4 of the Local Government Act 1972 on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act 1972 and public interest would not be served in publishing the information.

RESOLVED:

That the press and public be excluded from the meeting during consideration of the following item pursuant to Section 100(A)(4) of the Local Government Act 1972 as amended on the grounds that it involved the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972 and the public interest would not be served in publishing this information.

The committee considered the confidential report and appendices.

The committee adjourned for a short break after the Strategic Leisure Review item. Councillors Bird, Farrall, Whitaker and Crane left the meeting and did not return.

To consider the implications of the government's national planning reforms on the Council's new Local Plan programme and decide whether the Plan will be taken forward under the current legislative and national policy framework or be prepared as a 'new style' plan under the revised legislative and national policy framework.

The committee received the report which provided detail on the transitional arrangements for local plan preparation now confirmed by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) as part of its proposed reforms to the planning system. The report highlighted the impact these arrangements will have on the Council’s programme for preparing the new Local Plan and set out proposed next steps to support the preparation of the  new Local Plan.

RESOLVED (unanimously):

That the Environment and Communities Committee:

1.    Agree that the Council prepares a ‘new style’ local plan under the reforms to the plan-making system being taken forward by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities

2.    Agree that an issues paper is prepared to provide an initial opportunity for public engagement to help shape the direction of the Council’s new Local Plan

3.    Agree that, alongside the issues paper:

a)    public consultation is carried out on a draft Land Availability Assessment Methodology, a draft Sustainability Appraisal Scoping Report and a draft Settlement Hierarchy Review

b)    a ‘call for sites’ is carried out

To receive the key findings from Internal Audit's review of arrangements for the management and monitoring of Section 106 funds.

The committee received the report which provided an update on progress following the recent Internal Audit review of arrangements for the management and monitoring of Section 106 agreements and set out draft terms of reference for the Member Working Group relating to Section 106.

Cllr Beanland attended as a visiting member and Chair of the Audit and Governance Committee and gave assurance that the Audit and Governance Committee would give any support and assistance required going forward and would work with the member working group as needed.

RESOLVED (unanimously):

That the Environment and Communities Committee:

1.    Note the findings of the internal audit report and the progress made to date implementing the recommendations

2.    Agree the terms of reference for the Member working group relating to Section 106

To receive a report seeking approval to consult on the final draft of the Developer Contributions Supplementary Planning Document for a period of four weeks.

The committee received the report which sought approval to carry out a public consultation on the final draft of the Developer Contributions Supplementary Planning Document for a minimum period of four weeks.

RESOLVED (unanimously):

That the Environment and Communities Committee:

1.    Agree to the publication of the final draft Developer Contributions SPD (appendix 2) and report of consultation (appendix 1) for public representations for a period of a minimum of four weeks

2.    Agree to the publication of the associated Strategic Environmental Assessment and Habitats Regulations Assessment Screening Report (“SEA”) (appendix 3)

3.    Agree to the publication of the associated Equalities Impact Assessment Screening Report (“EQIA”) (appendix 4)

To receive a report seeking approval to consult on the Environmental Protection Supplementary Planning Document for a period of four weeks.

The committee received the report which sought approval to consult on the final draft of the Environmental Protection Supplementary Planning Document.

RESOLVED (unanimously):

That the Environment and Communities Committee:

1.    Approve the publishing of the Final Draft Environmental Protection Supplementary Planning Document (Appendix A) for a period of four weeks public consultation

2.    Approve the publishing of the associate Report of Consultation (Appendix B)

3.    Approve the publishing of the associated Strategic Environmental Assessment and Habitats Regulations Assessment Screening Report (Appendix C)

4.    Approve the publishing of the associated Equalities Impact Assessment Screening Report (Appendix D)

To receive an update on the progress made so far on the Planning Modernisation Plan that was endorsed by the Environment & Communities Committee on 31 October 2022.

The committee received the report which provided an update on the progress made so far on the Planning Modernisation Plan that was endorsed by the Environment and Communities Committee on 31 October 2022.

RESOLVED:

That the progress made implementing the actions of the modernisation plan be noted.

To receive a report on the mid-year performance of Environment and Neighbourhood Services for 2023/24.

The committee considered the report which provided  an update on the performance across Environment and Neighbourhood Services to the mid-point of the fiscal year 2023-24 against the relevant priorities, actions and measures of success within the Council’s Corporate Plan 2021-25.

RESOLVED:

That the performance of the department be noted.

To consider the work programme and determine any required amendments.

It was noted that the work programme as set out in the agenda contained a significant number of papers for the February meeting but currently only one for March. Some papers scheduled for February that were not time critical would therefore be deferred to March to balance the length of the two meetings. Officers were looking to bring forward the date of the March meeting to accommodate this and reduce any delays for the deferred reports.

A request was made for officers to give further consideration to sharing reports with committee members in advance of the statutory publication date.

RESOLVED:

That the work programme be noted.