Agenda and minutes

Venue: Council Chamber - Council House, Coventry CV1 5RR

Contact: Michelle Salmon, Governance Services  Email:  michelle.salmon@coventry.gov.uk

Items
No. Item

86.

Declarations of Interest

Minutes:

There were no disclosable pecuniary interests.

87.

Minutes pdf icon PDF 165 KB

(a)  To agree the minutes from the meetings of Cabinet on 15th and 22nd February 2022

 

(b)  Matters arising

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The minutes of the meetings held on 15th and 22nd February 2022 were agreed and signed as a true record.  There were no matters arising.

88.

Holiday Activities and Food Programme 2022: Acceptance of Grant pdf icon PDF 165 KB

Report of the Chief Partnerships Officer/Director of Education and Skills

Minutes:

The Cabinet considered a report of the Chief Partnerships Officer / Director of Education and Skills, that sought approval for acceptance of the Department for Education Holiday Activity and Food Programme grant allocation for the 2022/23 financial year.

 

The Government’s Holiday Activity and Food Programme (HAF) is an enrichment programme for disadvantaged children which includes the provision of health food.  The programme is primarily for pupils of statutory school age, who are eligible for benefits-related free school meals.  The programme allows for 15% discretionary spend on children who are not within the category of benefits-related free school meals.  Initially the programme was funding for the 2021/22 financial year only and operated through the Easter, Summer and Christmas school holidays.  The delivery details were set out in a report approved by the Cabinet on 9th March 2021 and Council on 16th March 2021.

 

The Government confirmed that the programme would be extended to the end of March 2025.  Coventry received an allocation of £1,514,770 for the 2022/23 financial year, subject to meeting the conditions of the grant determination letter.  It was anticipated that funding would be at an equivalent level for 2023/24 and 2024/25. 

 

The aim for each child attending the provision would be for them to:

 

·  eat healthily;

·  be active;

·  take part in engaging and enriching activities which support the development of resilience, character and wellbeing along with wider educational attainment;

·  be safe and not socially isolated;

·  have a greater knowledge of health and nutrition; and

·  be more engaged with school and other local services.

 

The aim for parents and carers of children participating in the programme would be to:

 

·  develop their understanding of nutrition and food budgeting; and

·  be signposted to other information and support (for example: health, employment and education).

 

Attendance on the programme would be voluntary.  Each eligible school-age child would be entitled to access the provision for one week during the Easter and Christmas holiday periods and four weeks during the summer.  One HAF week was defined as being a total of four, four hourly sessions per week.

 

RESOLVED that, the Cabinet:

 

1.  Approve the acceptance of the Department for Education Holiday Activity and Food Programme grant allocation of up to £1,514,770 for the 2022/23 financial year.

 

2.  Delegate authority for decisions about the planning and delivery of the Holiday Activity and Food Programme in 2022/23 to the Director of Education and Skills, following consultation with the Cabinet Member for Education and Skills.  The City Council will centrally co-ordinate the award monies to relevant organisations to deliver the programme to a high standard.

89.

2022/2023 Transportation and Highways Maintenance Capital Programme pdf icon PDF 272 KB

Report of the Director of Transportation and Highways

Minutes:

The Cabinet considered a report of the Director of Transportation and Highways, that brought together a £15.9m capital programme for the maintenance and enhancement of the City’s highways and transport infrastructure.  The programme would be funded through City Region Sustainable Transport Settlement, City Council resources, External Funding and Citizen Housing Right to Buy receipts.

 

As a result of the increased funding negotiated through the City Region Sustainable Transport Settlement, this year’s maintenance and transport programmes had been extended in comparison to previous years. This, coupled with the addition of the innovative JCB Pothole Pro machine, would enable a significant improvement in the speed and efficiency of road repairs.

 

In addition, the report highlighted the ambitious range and scale of major projects to be delivered in the City, from sustainable transport improvements supporting the Gigafactory and other developments, to Coventry Very Light Rail, a pioneering project that showcases Coventry as a city at the forefront of innovation.

 

These projects would not only benefit the residents of the City and encourage continued growth and investment, they would also provide sustainable solutions to support the tackling of climate change and inequalities by widening travel choice and promoting active travel.

 

With continued success in attracting external funding, the Council would be able to develop and deliver schemes and infrastructure that enable transformation and progression, laying the foundations for a vibrant and cutting-edge city to be proud of.

 

The report set out individual allocations and the various sources of funding in Table 4 and the specific details of each project were detailed in Appendices 1 to 3 to the report.

 

As with previous programmes, there was an emphasis on making the best use of existing infrastructure rather than creating new.  The maintenance programme would focus on ensuring that the worst affected roads and pavements across the City were properly repaired and preventative maintenance carried out. This was a key theme in the West Midlands Strategic Transport Plan and was driven by the City Council's Highways Infrastructure Asset Management Policy and Strategy (January 2016).

 

RESOLVED that, the Cabinet:

 

1.  Approve the 2022/23 programme of Transportation and Highway schemes marked A in Table 2 of the report.

 

2.  Delegate authority to the Cabinet Member for City Services to approve a programme of scheme development, Section 106 and externally funded schemes, marked B in Table 2 of the report.

90.

Options to Improve the Provision of Temporary Accommodation for Homeless Families Through Property Acquisition pdf icon PDF 148 KB

Report of the Director of Adult Services

Minutes:

The Cabinet considered a report of the Director of Adult Services and Housing, that sought approval to add £6m to the Council’s capital programme to purchase, refurbish and manage 25 properties to use as temporary accommodation for homeless families.

 

The Council has a statutory duty to provide temporary accommodation to homeless households who are eligible and have a priority need.  In order to meet demand from homeless families who require temporary accommodation of 3 or more bedrooms, it was proposed to initially add £6m to the Council’s capital programme to purchase, refurbish and manage 25 properties for use as temporary accommodation for homeless families.  Subject to review, once the 25 properties had been achieved and / or £6m resource used, the programme may be increased by a further 25 properties, bringing the total to 50 properties.  In completing the programme of work the City Council would focus on bringing as many Houses of Multiple Occupation back into family use for temporary accommodation as possible within the delivery timescales.

 

In addition, the Council would seek nomination agreements for a further 25 properties of 3 or more bedrooms for use as temporary accommodation from existing approved budgets.

 

There remained a significant demand for temporary accommodation from families and as of 11th February 2022 there were 83 families in 3 and 4 bedroomed nightly temporary accommodation.  There was no indication that this number would reduce.  Previous programmes of work undertaken within the Housing and Homelessness Service had focussed on temporary accommodation for smaller families requiring 1 or 2 bedrooms and accommodation for single people.  These initiatives had resulted in both a reduced cost and improved supply of temporary accommodation.  The proposals within the report submitted aim to deliver a similar set of outcomes to those achieved for smaller families and single people through both reducing the cost and improving the supply of temporary accommodation.

 

RESOLVED that, the Cabinet recommend that Council:

 

1.  That capital resource of up to £6m is added to the capital programme to purchase, refurbish and manage 25 properties which are 3 or more bedrooms to use as temporary housing for homeless families.

 

2.  That approval is sought to enable Nomination Agreements to be entered into for 25 properties which have 3 or more bedrooms for use as temporary housing for homeless families using existing approved budgets.

 

3.  A further £7m to purchase, refurbish and manage properties to use as temporary housing for homeless families to be added to the capital programme once the £6m has been expended and / or 25 properties have been purchased in recommendation 1 above, and authority be delegated to the Chief Operating Officer (Section 151 Officer), following consultation with the Director off Adult Services and Housing, the Cabinet Member for Housing and Communities and the Cabinet Member for Strategic Finance and Resources, to ensure it continues to deliver value for money in purchasing properties to use as temporary housing for homeless families.

 

4.  Delegate authority to the Chief Operating Officer (Section 151 Officer),  ...  view the full minutes text for item 90.

91.

Transforming Mental Health Services pdf icon PDF 131 KB

Report of the Chief Operating Officer (Section 151 Officer) and the Director of Adult Services and Housing

Minutes:

The Cabinet considered a joint report of the Chief Operating Officer (Section 151 Officer) and the Director of Adult Services and Housing, which sought approval to enter into a partnership agreement with Coventry & Warwickshire Clinical Commissioning Group and Coventry and Warwickshire Partnership Trust.

 

The ambitions set out in the Mental Health Implementation Plan 2019/20–2023/24, remain the foundation for the transformation of local mental health services across the Coventry and Warwickshire footprint.

 

To support driving that change it waa proposed that the Council enter into a partnership agreement with Coventry and Warwickshire Clinical Commissioning Group and Coventry and Warwickshire Partnership Trust.  This would be a partnership agreement whereby NHS organisations and local authorities contribute an agreed level of resource into a single pot (the pooled budget) that would then be used to drive the integration and improvement of existing services.

 

City Council budgets would not be part of this proposed pooling arrangement, with the pooled sums being provided by Coventry and Warwickshire Clinical Commissioning Group and Coventry and Warwickshire Partnership Trust. The Council would provide officer time and the fulfilment of hosting responsibilities.

 

RESOLVED that, the Cabinet recommend that Council:

 

1.  Approve entering into a partnership agreement with Coventry and Warwickshire Commissioning Group and Coventry and Warwickshire Partnership Trust to support the transformation of mental health services.

 

2.  Approve that the Council is the host for the pooled budget to support the partnership arrangement.

92.

Housing and Employment Land Availability Assessment (HELAA) Methodology pdf icon PDF 106 KB

Report of the Director of Streetscene and Regulatory Services

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Cabinet considered a report of the Director of Streetscene and Regulatory Services, which sought adoption of the proposed Housing and Employment Land Availability Assessment Methodology.

 

Coventry and Warwickshire Local Planning Authorities (LPAs) have a long history of constructively working together to address a range of strategic planning matters.  This relationship enabled the LPAs to achieve sound Local Plans.  Shared evidence and a collaborative approach was a vital element of being able to fulfil the statutory Duty to Co-operate and needed to be demonstrated to Planning Inspectors when Local Plans were examined.

 

The evidence base which informed the development of a Local Plan needs to be regularly reviewed and updated. Many of the Local Plans in the Coventry and Warwickshire area are currently being reviewed and updated, all running at different timescales.  In delivering sufficient housing and employment land to meet identified requirements it was important that each Local Authority keep an up-to-date database of sites, which needs to be assessed to see if they were suitable, available and could realistically be delivered to meet the needs of the area.  This would be especially important in order to be able to demonstrate a five-year supply of housing sites (one of the government’s key indicators for measuring success of a Local Authority’s planning policies in delivering its stated ambitions for housing growth) and in encouraging brownfield opportunities to come forward and reduce pressure upon land which had not previously been developed.  It was also important in understanding which sites would be promoted for potential economic use, so that a balanced and sustainable local economy could be achieved across the area.

 

The database of sites was known as the Housing and Employment Land Availability Assessment (HELAA).  In order to keep this essential evidence up to date, each Local Authority would run its own ‘call for sites’ process, which in effect would be an invitation for land owners, developers and their agents to express their interest in having their site considered for a range of uses such as housing, employment or even a range of other uses they wish to be considered through the local plan process.  Inclusion in the HELAA document did not mean they would be developed, that would be for the Local Authority to determine through their assessment process.  However, it was important that Local Authorities worked together to make sure that they operated consistently. This would be especially important when addressing areas where there are strong strategic relationships which stretch across different administrative boundaries such those relating to housing and the economy.

 

It was therefore essential that when Local Authorities looked at the detail of how they plan for growth, they did it in line with a common methodology to ensure consistency of approach and understanding. The methodology, attached at Appendix 1 to the report, had been prepared by Coventry and Warwickshire Local Planning Authorities to ensure that sites would be assessed within a common framework which accorded with the most up to date National Planning Policy and guidance.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 92.

93.

Affordable Housing Supplementary Planning Document - Adoption pdf icon PDF 136 KB

Report of the Director of Streetscene and Regulatory Services

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Cabinet considered a report of the Director of Streetscene and Regulatory Services, that sought approval to adopt the Affordable Housing Supplementary Planning Document (SPD) following public consultation which was undertaken between 30th November 2021 and 18th January 2022.

 

SPDs add further detail to the policies in the development plan but could not introduce new policy.  SPDs provide additional guidance for development and would be capable of being a material consideration when making decisions on planning applications.

 

Delivering sufficient affordable homes over the Plan period to 2031 was a key objective of the adopted Coventry Local Plan.  The aim of this SPD was to facilitate the delivery of affordable homes as set out in the Plan and in compliance with the most up to date national policy as set out in the National Planning Policy Framework.

 

The additional guidance provided within the SPD set out the different types of affordable housing, as defined by Government, and provided the detail on how these should be delivered.  This included setting out the process in agreeing affordable housing delivery, affordability types and tenures, dwelling design, management structures and Section 106 Agreements for securing delivery.

 

Responses to the consultation had been analysed and taken into account when amending the SPD.  The proposed final version was attached as Appendix 1 to the report and a summary of the representations received and proposed amendments was provided at Appendix 2.

 

Once adopted, the SPD would replace the outdated Affordable Housing Guidance which was adopted in February 2006.

 

RESOLVED that, the Cabinet:

 

1.  Adopt the Affordable Housing Supplementary Planning Document (SPD).

 

2.  Delegate authority to the Strategic Lead (Planning), following consultation with the Cabinet Member for Housing and Communities, any necessary further non-substantive (minor) changes to the document.

94.

Open Space Supplementary Planning Document - Adoption pdf icon PDF 135 KB

Report of the Director of Streetscene and Regulatory Services

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Cabinet considered a report of the Director of Streetscene and Regulatory Services, that sought approval to adopt the Open Space Supplementary Planning Document (SPD) following public consultation which was undertaken between 30th November 2021 and 18th January 2022.

 

SPDs add further detail to the policies in the development plan but could not introduce new policy.  SPDs provide additional guidance for development and would be capable of being a material consideration when making decisions on planning applications.

 

The purpose of the Open Space SPD was to set out the Council’s approach towards the provision of public open space in new residential development. It supplements Policy GE1 of the adopted Local Plan, which states that: “new development proposals should make provision for green infrastructure to ensure that such development is integrated into the landscape and contributes to improvements in connectivity and public access, biodiversity, landscape conservation, design, archaeology and recreation”.

 

The additional guidance provided within the SPD aimed to provide clear information for applicants about policy requirements, which developments would trigger a requirement for open space provision, how much open space should be provided, what kind of open space would be needed, and clear expectations in terms of design and delivery.

 

Responses to the consultation had been analysed and taken account of when amending the SPD.  The proposed final version was attached at Appendix 1 of the report and a summary of representations along with responses and proposed amendments was provided at Appendix 2.

 

RESOLVED that the Cabinet:

 

1.  Adopt the Open Space Supplementary Planning Document (SPD).

 

2.  Delegate authority to the Strategic Lead (Planning), following consultation with the Cabinet Member for Housing and Communities, any necessary further non-substantive (minor) changes to the document.

95.

Energy Supplementary Planning Document - Adoption pdf icon PDF 128 KB

Report of the Director of Streetscene and Regulatory Services

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Cabinet considered a report of the Director of Streetscene and Regulatory Services, that sought approval to adopt the Energy Supplementary Planning Document (SPD) following public consultation which was undertaken between 30th November 2021 and 18th January 2022.

 

SPDs add further detail to the policies in the development plan but could not introduce new policy.  SPDs provide additional guidance for development and would be capable of being a material consideration when making decisions on planning applications.

 

Providing further guidance on building standards as they relate to carbon reduction and climate change over the plan period to 2031 is a key commitment set out in Policy EM2 (Building Standards) of the adopted Coventry Local Plan.  The aim of the SPD was to provide technical guidance on energy standards and requirements to improve he environmental sustainability of new developments in the city.

 

The additional guidance provided within the SPD aimed to provide clear information for applicants about policy requirements and expectations, clearly set out what detail the Council expects developers to provide to assist the decision making process and to encourage developers to promote excellence and best practice in sustainable development.

 

Responses to the consultation had been analysed and taken account of when amending the SPD.  The proposed vinal version was attached at Appendix 1 of the report submitted and a summary of representations along with responses and proposed amendments were provided at Appendix 2.

 

Once adopted, the SPD would replace the Delivering a More Sustainable City SPD which was adopted in January 2009.

 

RESOLVED that, the Cabinet:

 

1.  Adopt the Energy Supplementary Planning Document (SPD).

 

2.  Delegate authority to the Strategic Lead (Planning), following consultation with the Cabinet Member for Housing and Communities, any necessary further non-substantive (minor) changes to the document.

96.

Outstanding Issues

There are no outstanding issues

Minutes:

There were no outstanding issues.

97.

Any other items of public business which the Chair decides to take as a matter of urgency because of the special circumstances involved.

Minutes:

There were no other items of public business.