Agenda and draft minutes

The Chairperson welcomed everyone to the face-to-face meeting and noted that there was no Teams connection or live streaming due to an internet outage.

The Council will hear any person who wishes to address it in accordance with the Standing Orders. The Chairperson will select the order of the matters to be heard.

Each person will be limited to a period of five minutes for public participation and deputations and three minutes for petitions.  This section of the meeting must not exceed 30 minutes and discussion must not refer to a current planning application.  

The Council will also receive questions from the public and provide answers thereto, subject to the Chairperson being satisfied that the questions are relevant to the business of the meeting.  

Requests must be submitted in writing to the Assistant Director Legal & Governance and Monitoring Officer, or to the officer mentioned at the top of this agenda letter, by noon on the day before the meeting and the request must detail the subject matter of the address.

None.

A Member must declare any disclosable pecuniary interest where it relates to any matter being considered at the meeting. A declaration of a disclosable pecuniary interest should indicate the interest and the agenda item to which it relates. A Member is not permitted to participate in this agenda item by law and should immediately leave the meeting before the start of any debate.

If the Member leaves the meeting in respect of a declaration, he or she should ensure that the Chairperson is aware of this before he or she leaves to enable their exit from the meeting to be recorded in the minutes in accordance with Standing Order 37.

None declared.

18 February 2025, to approve as a correct record (attached)

Resolved: that the minutes from 18 February be approved as a correct record.

(attached)

The Deputy Leader presented the Forward Plan.

Resolved: that Council noted the Forward Plan.

(1)      North Somerset Devolution Deal (attached) – Councillor Michael Pryke

(2)      Government Changes to Planning Rules (attached) – Councillor Michael Pryke

(3)      Management Companies (attached) – Councillor Steve Bridger

(4)      North Somerset Governance and the public (attached) – Councillor Caritas Charles

1. Motion to Council – Councillor Pryke

North Somerset Devolution Deal

In introducing his motion, Councillor Pryke stated this was an opportunity to reflect on what was best for residents.

Motion: moved by Councillor Pryke, seconded by Councillor Smith.

“Council notes that:

North Somerset Council had previously called on the government for a priority devolution deal with the West of England Mayoral Combined Authority after the publication of its devolution white paper but this was not included. The proposed Wessex area (Made up of Somerset, Dorset and Wiltshire) has invited North Somerset Council to consider joining them within a Combined Authority.

Council believes that:

The Government not including North Somerset Council within its priority devolution deal, presents an opportunity for North Somerset to reconsider whether joining the West of England Mayoral Combined Authority is a viable course of action. In particular the Council notes that until recently WECA was in special measures due to ‘a long running sense of division’ within the authority.

The proposed Wessex deal offers greater potential opportunities to promote economic growth, skills and prosperity alongside the financial benefits and strategic and operational implications affecting North Somerset Council. Being part of a strategic Authority such as Wessex, covering a much larger geographic area with many similar issues, would give North Somerset a voice in bringing greater prosperity to the South West region.

Joining WECA would recreate Avon where North Somerset communities would be subsidiary to the needs of Bristol. WECA even with North Somerset is too small to be a strategic authority dealing with major Road and Rail Transport infrastructure, Police and Regional Health Authorities.

Council resolves:

That the Leader of the Council writes to the Leaders of the Councils within the proposed Wessex Area outlining that North Somerset Council would like to be involved in conversations with the proposed Area.

That any devolution deal will be voted on by Full Council, after all town and parish councils have had the opportunity to express their views.”

Amendment: moved by Councillor Gibbons and seconded by Councillor Canniford.

“Council notes that:

The failure of the previous Conservative administration to sign up to the West of England devolution deal in 2016/2017 has led to North Somerset Council missing a share of £1billion in government funding, diminished influence in regional decision making and restricted access to programmes improving housing, transport and skills.

North Somerset Council submitted an expression of interest in joining the West of England Mayoral Combined Authority in September 2024, renewing its commitment to seeking the benefits associated with full membership.

Ministers have indicated that the best way for North Somerset to access the opportunities of devolution would be as a full constituent member of the West of England Mayoral Combined Authority and have specifically stated that any proposal to join a new Heart of Wessex Mayoral Combined Authority would not meet the geography criteria required.

Council believes that:

The evidence indicates that there is a very high degree of economic interdependency between North Somerset and the three constituent  ...  view the full minutes text for item COU105

Report of Councillor Bell (attached)

Councillor Canniford presented the report describing the project as an important cross party project that has faced many challenges. He noted that it was a credit to the council that the project had been kept going.

Debate included the following:

• some members felt that contract increases were improper, a maximum value threshold should be set for projects, and the project should be abandoned where this was breached.
• concerns over which developments the detailed Section 106 funding would come from.
• how can assurance be given that projects are delivering value for money.

Councillor Canniford summed up, providing clarity that Section 106 payments should be relevant and not from out of the area and that the project increases were a result of inflation of 28% on construction materials.

Motion: proposed by Councillor Canniford, seconded by Councillor Gibbons.

Resolved: that Council:

1. approved the notice to proceed to stage 2 of the build contract for the build of Banwell bypass with Galliford Try Construction Limited (company registration number 02472080).
2. agreed amendments to details within the contract in the form of a Deed of Variation, including:
   1. Confirmation of contract dates
   2. Details to support administration of the X22 clause
3. approved the increase to the capital programme by £14,518,494, which included a contribution of £9.7m from Homes England and £4.8m from NSC.

Report of Councillor Whitfield (attached)

Councillor Gibbons presented the report.

Members duly debated the report, including:

• the challenges of taking a vote and decision when the figures provided were estimated. Estimates for statutory services that were demand driven offered no opportunity for curtailment. It was suggested standard pricing per service user would have been more useful.
• the cost savings that could be accessed through in sourcing.
• the Community Meals review of viability.

Motion: proposed by Councillor Gibbons, seconded by Councillor Waite.

Resolved: that Council:

1. agreed the Adult Social Care and Housing commissioning intentions for the next 18months.
2. approved the commencement of activities listed in Appendices A & B, at the values indicated against each activity. Should any procurement process result in an award of a contract being more than a 10% increase in the approved value, the award would require a new approval at the appropriate level.
3. approved the activity listed in appendices A and B being the extension of any contracts that had already reached the term under the original permission to commence a procurement.

Report of Councillor Waite (attached)

Councillor Annemieke Waite, Executive Member for Climate, Waste and Sustainability, presented the report. In speaking to the report, Councillor Waite expressed green energy was the cheapest to produce, but that even cheaper still was energy that was unused. Making savings through the new tariff would enable savings to be made that could then be re-invested to support initiatives, such as building maintenance to improve energy efficiency, that the council would otherwise be unable to find funds for.

Members duly debated the report, including:

• the savings that had been reported from electronic buses.
• the desire to explore salary sacrifice schemes to allow North Somerset Council employees to purchase electric vehicles.
• some members were concerned that the savings could be better diverted to underfunded services.
• concern about mass tree planting and the management of those areas.
• whilst welcome and ambitious, the savings should be carefully communicated.

Councillor Waite summed up by agreeing with the need for good community engagement and that the revenue savings would convert to additional energy savings from maintenance works undertaken to decarbonise the council’s estate and therefore, represented good value for money.

Motion: proposed by Councillor Waite, seconded by Councillor Daw.

Resolved: that Council:

1.     approved that from 2026/27 the Council ceases payments into the Green Energy Premium Tariff.

2.     agreed that the savings generated from (1) across the financial years of 2026/27 – 2029/30 inclusive, should be reinvested to create a fund to pay for additional investment in energy efficiency measures across the council’s estate.

3.     agreed that the fund shall be created on a “revolving” basis, whereby savings

generated through the energy efficiency measures that were delivered shall be reinvested into the fund to facilitate further investment.

noted the progress on existing projects to tackle climate change, which were also summarised in the report.

Report of Councillor Gibbons (attached)

Councillor Gibbons, Executive Member for Children’s services, families, and lifelong learning, presented the report.

Resolved: that Council noted the report.

Oral report by Councillor Bell

Councillor Gibbons informed Council that Group Leaders had considered applications from two applicants and appointed Hayley Verrico as interim Head of Paid Services.

Resolved: that Council approved the appointment of Hayley Verrico as interim Head of Paid Services.

Questions must relate to issues relevant to the work of the Executive, the Planning and Regulatory Committee, Employment, Licensing, Audit or Standards Sub-Committee.

Members are requested to supply the Democratic Services Officer with a note of each question at, or just after, the meeting.  A summary note of each question will be included in an appendix to the minutes.

Oral questions were directed to members concerned and the summary notes and topics involved are contained within Appendix 1.

None.

No written reports were submitted.

These have to be received by the Assistant Director Legal & Governance and Monitoring Officer by 12.00 noon on the day of the meeting. 

None.

1.    Chairperson’s Announcements

2.    Leader’s Announcements

3.    Chief Executive’s Announcements

The Chairperson informed Council that there would be a gathering in the Kenn Room on Tuesday 13 May, between 3pm and 5pm for all those who wished to say farewell to Jo Walker, Chief Executive Officer.

Annual Report to Council from the Chairpersons of all Policy and Scrutiny Panels (attached) – Councillors Steve Bridger, John Crockford-Hawley, Dan Thomas, Helen Thornton and Joe Tristram

Councillors Steve Bridger, John Crockford-Hawley, Dan Thomas, Helen Thornton and Joe Tristram presented the report.

Councillor Bridger noted the great support from Democratic Services with the report and Councillor Thornton opened the invitations to all members to attend Policy and Scrutiny panels.

Resolved: that Council noted the report.

For a matter to be considered as an urgent item, the following question must be addressed:  “What harm to the public interest would flow from leaving it until the next meeting?” If harm can be demonstrated, then it is open to the Chairperson to rule that it be considered as urgent. Otherwise the matter cannot be considered urgent within the statutory provisions.

None.