Agenda and minutes

The meeting will commence with a short service of prayers.

The Mayor invited all Members of the Council and members of the public present to observe a minute’s silence, as a mark of respect and in the memory of former Councillor John Bryant, who passed away on the 4^th April.

There followed prayers led by the Mayor’s Chaplain, Reverend Susan Allman.

The Mayor gave her thanks to her Chaplain, Reverend Susan Allman, for her support during the past municipal year.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Mrs M Brady.

To confirm as a correct record the minutes of the Council Meeting held 24 February 2017.

RESOLVED that the Mayor be authorised to sign as a correct record the minutes of the meeting of the Council held on 24 February 2017.

The Mayor thanked everyone who had supported her charity events during the past year.  The Mayor was very pleased to be able to make contributions to the excellent work carried out by the Haven and Y Services.

The Mayor was delighted to announce that the Charity Ball which had been held recently had raised over £8,000.

The Mayor welcomed Leading Cadet Adam Pryce-Jones to the Council meeting.  Adam was thanked for his service and presented with a certificate to mark the end of his year as the Mayor’s Cadet.

The Executive Leader announced that, commencing in the new municipal year, the Health element of The Health and Housing Portfolio will move across to the Public Protection Portfolio.  The new Portfolio names will be The Housing Portfolio and a Health and Public Protection Portfolio.

Executive Member for Public Protection:

Co-location of the Fareham Police Neighbourhood Team-

The Executive Member for Public Protection announced that following recent meetings and correspondence with the Police and Crime Commissioner’s office, he was able to advise the Council on the latest position regarding the Police co-locating in the civic offices.

The Executive Member for Public Protection stated the main challenge for the project had been the detailed design that the Police require, and how this can be accommodated in the Civic Offices.  In particular, the Police have raised concerns about the arrangements for heating and cooling the offices out of hours, and about the possible cost increases in light of the significant delay to the project.

To enable a firm decision to be made, Council officers have agreed to seek a budget estimate for the current design specification from its contractor for the works, and this will determine whether the project can progress without delay or whether further design changes are needed to deliver an affordable outcome.  This should be known by mid-May, at which point a further meeting with the Police and Crime Commissioner’s office will be held to determine whether the project can proceed to the construction phase.  If this is the case, then we can expect the Neighbourhood team to be able to move in by the end of the calendar year.

The Executive Member for Public Protection stated that having regard to the considerable amount of time which has elapsed since the Heads of Terms were agreed back in 2015, Officers have assured the Police that we remain committed to support their co-location into the Civic Offices alongside our other public sector partners.  We have equally sought confirmation of their continued commitment to this project, so it can be concluded at the earliest opportunity.

To receive any declarations of interest from members in accordance with Standing Orders and the Council’s Code of Conduct.

There were no declarations of interest made at this meeting.

To receive any petitions presented by a member of the Council.

Note: any petition so presented will be dealt with in accordance with the Council’s petition scheme.

There were no petitions presented at this meeting.

To receive any deputations of which notice has been given.

There were no deputations given at this meeting.

To receive, consider and answer questions on reports and recommendations of the Executive.  Minutes of the meetings of the Executive and a schedule of individual Executive member decisions are appended.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the Executive meeting held on 06 March 2017 be received.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the Executive meeting held on 03 April 2017 be received.

RESOLVED that the Schedule of Individual Executive Member and Officer Delegated Decisions be received.

To receive, consider and answer questions on reports and recommendations of the meeting of the Scrutiny Board.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the Scrutiny Board held on the 16 March 2017 be received.

To receive the minutes of the following Committees and to consider and answer questions on any reports and recommendations made.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the Planning Committee held on the 22 February 2017 be received.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the Planning Committee held on the 22 March 2017 be received.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the Licensing and Regulatory Affairs Committee held on the 21 March 2017 be received.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the Audit and Governance Committee held on the 13 March 2017 be received.

To answer questions pursuant to Standing Order 17.2 for this meeting.

Questions by Councillor R H Price:

Due to the Press coverage of a Fareham resident who has impaired sight and has a guide dog being refusing by some Taxi Drivers, will the Executive Member advise:

1.    What action is the Council taking to find out who this driver/drivers was?

2.    What action is being taken against these drivers if they have been identified?

3.    If a Taxi Driver says that they are allergic to dogs are they being advised where to obtain a certificate and do they have to show proof of that to the Council Licensing Officer, also do they have to display in their Taxi a certificate to that fact?

4.    What action is being taken to make sure that Taxi Drivers are aware that they have to take Guide Dogs unless they have a Certificate showing that they are allergic to dogs?

Responses by the Chairman of the Licensing and Regulatory Affairs Committee:

1.    We have identified the driver from the description of the vehicle provided. 

The driver has been interviewed.  CCTV has been reviewed with the driver and it is unclear whether the taxi drove past the resident, but it does show that a similar white car, which is not a taxi, did.

CCTV has been returned but should any further review indicate any differing circumstances, this will be re-considered. 

2.    Each case would be considered on its own merit and, at the current time, no other complaints of this nature have been received.

3.    There is a prescribed dispensation certificate which the Council can issue on production of medical evidence indicating that the allergy exists. 

4.    Unannounced checks/visits take place and all complaints are investigated with enforcement action being taken if necessary.

When asked if he had any points for clarification, Councillor R H Price asked the Chairman of the Licensing and Regulatory Affairs Committee if the Certificate was carried at all times and produced if required.  The Chairman of the Licensing and Regulatory Affairs Committee stated that confirmation of this would be sought from Officers and advised Members that a written answer would be provided separately after the meeting.

Questions by Councillor S Cunningham:

Will the Executive Leader advise what the Council’s financial expenditure has been at Daedalus since it took it over, this to be broken down as below:

1.    Total expenditure by the Council to date?

2.    What the above expenditure has been spent on?

3.    Where has the expenditure money come from, ie, from Council Balances or Borrowing and how much from each?

4.    If borrowed, what is the interest rate and over what period of time?

5.    What are the expenditures at Daedalus expected to be over the next three years?

6.    What is the income from the various projects expected to be each year?

7.    How long is it expected that it will take to either re pay the loans or replenish the Council’s balances?

8.    After all monies are repaid and balance replenished, what will the annual income be from Daedalus?

Responses by the Executive Leader:

The Council has spent an estimated £2.3 million on operating costs in the two years since it took ownership at Daedalus.  All this cost has been funded by income generated at the airfield or from the grant secured from Government.

In the same period, £1.1 million of capital has been incurred, most of which relates to the planning and design for the hangar project, services on Swordfish business park and the Innovation Centre extension.  In the preceding year, the Council invested a further £6.5 million into the runway resurfacing and the construction of the Innovation Centre.

The financial arrangements are complex and vary according to the nature of the expenditure incurred.  However, in simple terms, the airfield costs are partly met from airfield income, which comes from landing fees, parking fees, hangarage rents and other services.  The balance of day to day operating costs are then recoverable from

tenants on the airfield under a service charge regime.  The same arrangement applies to day to day operating costs for the non-airside estate.   Costs such as grounds maintenance and security are recoverable from all Daedalus tenants.  Finally, net income generated from the Innovation Centre is used to meet the first-year costs and then contributes to the overall running costs of the site.

While the airfield site is under development, the unoccupied element of the estate management costs are met by the Council as landlord, which is why it is important that the development plots are marketed for new businesses.  Faraday Business Park is being actively marketed and there is a strong level of interest from investors/tenants.  In the meantime, the Council has grant funding to meet the running costs of the airfield in the early years.  To date, all net operating costs have been funded from the grant funding that was secured.

No operating costs have been funded from borrowing, and no funding has come from borrowing, to date.

It is anticipated that all the running costs for the next 3 years will either be recovered through income generation, service charges, property rents and any balance from the Government grant that the Council secured. 

The latest estimate of capital investment for Daedalus over the next 5 years amounts to £27.6 million and full details were published in the Council’s capital programme in February 2017.

Income from the various projects is largely commercially sensitive, but in general terms

·         Income from the Innovation Centre extension will be generated from rents, room bookings and services;

·         Income from Hangars is generated from rents and service charges;

·         Infrastructure investment at Swordfish Business Park is generated from rates growth and lease premiums;

·         Airfield improvements are expected to generate direct income (e.g. from fuel sales), and indirect airside income growth from making the airport more attractive to visitors and aviation businesses.

For each scheme where the Council is investing to generate a financial return, a financial appraisal has been prepared and presented to the Executive.   Examples are the Business and General Aviation Hangar Schemes, the Swordfish infrastructure and the Innovation Centre extension.  The schemes have estimated payback periods of between 14 and 21 years, which are significantly shorter than the estimated useful lives of the assets concerned.

Finally, the Council acquired the site at Daedalus to secure the asset for the Borough and ensure it was developed appropriately.  All capital investment proposals are financially appraised to ensure that they represent a sound investment with an acceptable payback period.  Collectively, over £18 million of external funding has been attracted by this Council alone, on projects that it is delivering against.  Many tens of millions more has been secured in conjunction with partners such as the Homes and Communities Agency, Hampshire County Council and Solent LEP (including grant packages, on and offsite highways works, remediation costs, etc.).  The Site wasn’t acquired to make profit.

Members will be informed, prior to the meeting, of any motion duly notified in accordance with Standing Order 15 but received after print and dispatch of the agenda.

There were no Motions under Standing Order 15 submitted for this meeting.

A report by the Head of Democratic Services.

Following a discussion on this item, and upon the recommendations being put to the vote, it was declared CARRIED, with 28 Members voting in favour and 1 Member abstaining.

RESOLVED that the Council receives and endorses the proposed Work Programmes for all Committee Meetings for the next municipal year, as set out in Appendix A.