Agenda, decisions and draft minutes

To approve and sign the minutes of the meeting held on 9 July 2024 and the minutes of the special meeting held on 13 August 2024.

The minutes of the meetings held on 9 July 2024 and 13 August 2024, were taken as read, approved and signed by the Chair as a correct record.

Councillors are reminded of the need to declare any disclosable pecuniary interests that relate to business on the agenda and which have not already been included in the register of interests, before any discussion takes place on the item. Unless the interest is sensitive, you must also disclose the nature of the interest. In accordance with the Council's Code of Conduct, you must then leave the room and must not participate in any further discussion of the item.  Councillors requiring clarification should seek the advice of the Monitoring Officer prior to the day of the meeting.

No declarations of disclosable pecuniary interests were made.

To receive questions relating to items on the Agenda from members of the public and responses thereto.

Details of questions should be notified to the Democratic Services Manager by 10.00am at least three working days prior to the meeting. Further information about speaking at a committee can be found here: Speaking at a Committee

A member of the public, Mr Cleasby submitted the following question, related to Minute No. 92:-

·         In commissioning the study for options for relocating services from the Civic Centre will the Council rule out the use of the historic Guildhall for committee meetings?

The Council Leader in responding, advised that the use of the historic Guildhall for committee meetings would not be ruled out at the current time.

Mr Cleasby on putting a supplementary question, enquired whether the Council would take account of the issues of the building and address the downside of the use of the Guildhall, including acoustics and layout?

The Council Leader advised that only full Council meetings were held in the Guildhall. All issues would be addressed and all options and suggestions would be considered, but nothing was being ruled out or in at the current stage.

To consider the report of the Chief Executive & Head of Paid Service.

Agreed:

RESOLVED that the Executive agree for officers to proceed with detailed plans and costings for the enhancement of a number of Council-owned sites in order to relocate staff currently based at the Civic Centre.

RECOMMENDED that Council approve a budget of up to £100,000 to develop full designs and costings for the project, funded from ringfenced surplus funds from the Guildhall Shopping Centre.

Reason for Decision: As set out in the report.

The Executive received the report which sought approval to enable officers to proceed to the next stage of planning for a potential move of the Council services currently based at the Civic Centre to a number of Council owned sites. The potential move would relocate all three phase buildings at the Civic Centre site.

The current layout of the Civic Centre did not promote modern workplace practices for hybrid meetings, had surplus capacity and due to the Council’s current financial resources, it was not possible to spend significantly on a new building. Making better use of existing assets would be more cost-effective in improving working conditions and enable the Council to fully embrace collaborative working across teams and services.

Particular reference was made to the freeing up a site for regeneration, which would enable surplus funds from the Guildhall Shopping Centre being used to fund the work without impacting on the taxpayer.

Councillor’s Mitchell and Moore as opposition group leaders spoke on the item and raised points and questions, which were responded to by Senior Officers, as detailed further in this minute.

During the discussion, Executive Members raised the following points and questions:-

·         how would the Council avoid silo working, with a number of different physical locations being considered?

·         would the potential move align with the One Exeter work programme?

·         would there be problematic for staff working in different physical locations?

·         clarity was sought on the ring-fenced Guildhall surplus funds and why it was not usable for other services?

·         It was clarified that 8.6 of the report regarding the floor of the Bradninch Place, referred to the second floor of the Bradninch Place;

·         the report was welcomed, notably the carbon footprint and environmental information; and

·         having a representative from the Net Zero team being invited to the project was welcomed and assurance was sought that projected carbon impact information would be provided as the project moved forward.

In response to questions and points raised by Members and opposition group leaders, the Chief Executive advised that:-

·         carbon impact projections would be addressed in the next stage of work;

·         it was confirmed that the report was referring to the second floor of the Bradninch Place;

·         silo working was a cultural issue and work had commenced to address the issue. Regular meetings were also held to enable the senior leadership team and heads of service to work together for the benefit of the whole Council;

·         the Council was looking to create more modern workspaces for improved and collaborative environments;

·         there had been work undertaken for the current layout of the civic centre, to provide agile and flexible working and open plan spaces. This work also supported the Council during the Covid lockdown, allowing staff to continue working from home;

·         all partners with a signed Council lease were aware of the intention to move premises;

·         work was being undertaken to explore co-location options, but the primary focus was ensuring there was suitable accommodation for Council staff, with a focus on vacant units for office  ...  view the full minutes text for item 92.

To consider the report of the Strategic Director for Place.

Agreed:

RESOLVED that the revised Local Development Scheme (Appendix A of the report) be approved as the basis for preparing local planning policy.

Reason for Decision: As set out in the report.

The Executive received the report on the revised Local Development Scheme (LDS) which provided a scope and timetable for preparing Council planning policy documents, including the Exeter Plan, and Supplementary Planning Documents (SPDs). Although the existing Local Development Scheme was approved in July 2023, work on the Exeter Plan and other planning policy documents had progressed and it was a statutory requirement to ensure the Local Development Scheme was up to date.

Particular reference was made to:-

·         the latest update included a slightly amended timetable for the Exeter Plan and new work on an SPD for a new state-of-the-art health campus at the University of St Luke's site;

·         significant progress had been made on bringing forward the Exeter Plan including the full draft that was subject to public consultation, earlier this year;

·         several significant projects had been completed since the last LDS, which included a new SPD for Water Lane, a new CIL charging scheme, and a revised Householder Extensions and Alterations SPD;

·         an extension of the area of the city centre covered by the Article 4 Direction, relating to Houses in Multiple occupation (HMOs);

·         the current published Exeter Plan timetable included the publication of a draft version (Regulation 19) for consultation, in October 2024;

·         it was now proposed to publish the draft Publication version for consultation in December 2024 - January 2025, with a final submission to the Planning Inspectorate scheduled for June 2025, with an anticipated adoption date for November 2026; and

·         a delay was required to prepare further evidence in response to an earlier consultation at the beginning of the year. The Council remained committed to bringing forward a new local plan quickly and providing sufficient quality and quantity of homes including affordable homes.

Councillor’s Mitchell and Moore as opposition group leaders spoke on the item and raised points and questions, which were responded to by the Strategic Director for Place, as detailed further in this minute.

During the discussion, Executive Members raised the following points and questions:-

·         the report and significant work and achievements of the team was commended;

·         clarification was sought that Exeter currently could demonstrate a 5-year land supply ;

·         clarification that the impact of the increased housing targets would not take effect until after the Exeter Plan was adopted;

·         although there were other supplementary planning policies, it was important for the team to focus on the new timeline to prevent starting the process over;

·         the housing reforms were welcomed and the Council wanted to deliver the right number and quality of homes in the right places to meet resident’s needs;

·         the Council would be responding to the consultation on the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), but there would be a considerable uplift in the realistic delivery of housing;

·         it was important that the Exeter Plan was robust to ensure it passed examination, and required strong evidence to support it; and

·         reassurance was sought that the current Local  Plan still carried weight for planning decisions and despite a delay, emerging policies in the Exeter  ...  view the full minutes text for item 93.

To consider the report of the Strategic Director for Corporate Resources.

Agreed:

RESOLVED that the dated Risk Management Policy be approved in in accordance with paragraph 5 of the Council’s Financial Regulations.

Reason for Decision: As set out in the report.

The Executive received the report which sought approval of the updated Risk Management Policy which reflected the new Strategic Leadership structure and reporting arrangements. It was important that the Council had a robust policy and approach for identifying, managing, and monitoring corporate risks which could impact on delivering the Council’s strategic priorities and the policy would be reviewed every two years.

Councillor’s Mitchell and Moore as opposition group leaders spoke on the item and raised points and questions, which were responded to by the Strategic Director for Corporate Resources, as detailed further in this minute.

During the discussion, Executive Members raised the following points and questions:-

·         the policy referenced the responsibilities of the Executive and Strategic Management Board (SMB) and highlighted that the Executive was responsible for approving the policy;

·         Portfolio Holders as the elected Executive Members, regularly reviewed their areas of responsibility, working with their relevant Strategic Director, which were then presented with the Council Leader, who had overall responsibility for accepting and managing risks; and

·         the register was a living document, in which Portfolio Holders monitored and updated their risks and mitigations accordingly.

In response to questions and points raised by Members and opposition group leaders, the Strategic Director for Corporate Resources advised that:-

·         the Executive consisted of the responsible Portfolio Holders, and had been grouped as such in the policy accordingly;

·         Portfolio Holders were responsible for working alongside the Strategic Management Board (SMB) in monitoring risks, and had the opportunity to propose for risks to be removed at the Executive meeting;

·         in the event a risk was considered to be in an unacceptable position, SMB would bring the matter to full Council to address; and

·         the policy reflected the Financial Regulations set out in the Council’s Constitution, which required that the risk register be presented to the Audit and Governance for consideration ahead of the Executive for approval.

The Leader moved the recommendations, which was seconded by Councillor Wright, voted upon, and CARRIED unanimously.

RESOLVED that the dated Risk Management Policy be approved in in accordance with paragraph 5 of the Council’s Financial Regulations.