Agenda and draft minutes

The meeting will commence with a short service of prayers.

The meeting commenced with a short service of prayers led by Reverend Roger Moseley.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors J M Englefield and Mrs C L A Hockley.

To confirm as a correct record the minutes of the Council Meetings held 23 February 2024.

RESOLVED that the Mayor be authorised to sign as a correct record the minutes of the two meetings held on 23 February 2024.

The Mayor was pleased to announce that he had hosted a tea party on 14March where a very enjoyable talk was given by Robert Ellis on the Inner Temple Law Courts.  The next tea party will be held on Thursday 14 April at 2.30pm. The guest speaker will be the Crafty Makery Team.

The Mayor reminded members that he would be holding his charity ball on 19 April in aid of his charities - Sophie’s Legacy and Veterans Outreach Support. Tickets are £65 and can be booked by contacting the Mayor’s office.

The Mayor also reminded Members that he would be holding his Charity Ball on the 19 April in aid of his charities – Sophie’s Legacy and Veterans Outreach Support.  Tickets are £65 and can be booked by contacting the Mayor’s office.

The Mayor also announced that it gave him great pleasure to welcome his cadet for the past year, Sergeant Ethan Chambers, to the meeting.  The Mayor stated that Ethan has carried out his duties with enthusiasm and that he would like to invite Ethan to join him to present him with a Certificate to mark his end of service as the Mayor’s Cadet. Having presented Ethan with his certificate, The Mayor wished him well for his future career.

A video montage was played for members to reflect on the 50 years that Fareham has been a Borough Council. A celebratory cake was then presented to the Mayor by the Executive Leader.

At the invitation of the Mayor, the Executive Leader addressed the Council reflecting on 50 years as a Borough which included a Service of Thanksgiving which was held on Sunday 07 April 2024.

The Executive Leader stated that when the Borough status was conferred in 1974, over 400 new Councils were created across the Country.

Over the 50 years, Fareham Borough Council has seen the building of the Civic Offices and leisure centres and when the Executive Leader joined the Council in 1986, talks of phase three of the shopping centre were underway, being Market Quay with a cinema, shops and bars. Development across the Borough has included the airfield at Daedalus, parks and opens spaces.  These are not statutory provisions but nevertheless have been provided for residents to use and enjoy.

The Executive Leader stated that he was proud of everyone who has served the Council.  There have been 250 Council meetings and today had seen him sign his 2,536^th decision as the Executive Leader. Since 1974, there have been 48 Mayors, 5 Chief Executive Officers and 8 Leaders of the Council. The Executive Leader finished his speech by stating that the role of a councillor is often a thankless task but also a very rewarding one and he put forward to his thanks to all councillors and officers, past and present, for their contribution to the success of the Borough.

The Executive Leader referenced the upcoming all-out elections, in that both he and Councillor Mrs K K Trott were retiring.  The Executive Leader thanked Councillor Mrs Trott for her years of service and asked that consideration be given at the next Council meeting for her to be made an Honorary Alderman in recognition of her eminent service to the Council.

The Executive Leader made the following announcements in response to misinformation that was being circulated on social media platforms relating to Fareham Live and Solent Airport at Daedalus:

Fareham Live

Fareham’s new community, arts and entertainment venue, Fareham Live, will open in September 2024 and tickets are now on sale. The initial project was agreed in 2020 but paused due to the pandemic.  In 2022 the overall project budget was established at £16.69M, incorporating construction related costs, alongside contingencies, consultant’s fees and furniture, fittings and equipment purchases.

The original funding plan assumed that the Council would need to borrow in the short term to finish the project with repayments over a seven-year period because there would not be enough Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) available.  In fact, this did not prove necessary, partly because of the delays caused through the pandemic and Fareham Live will now be paid for using (CIL) in the year 2024/25, with no contributions needed from Council Tax.

Provision of new assets, such as Fareham Live and the car park, represents capital expenditure. Going forward it is anticipated that Fareham Live will play an important role in the regeneration of Fareham Town Centre and help to bring many more people into the town centre thus boosting the local economy.  For the 2024/25 tax year, the Executive agreed to a budget of £640,700 to take account of the initial start-up costs for the first year of operation.  This amount will reduce in the year 2025/26. By contrast in the last year that Ferneham Hall was operational, the Council had to subsidise the facility by almost £700K. These ongoing payments represent revenue expenditure.

Solent Airport at Daedalus

In 2015 the Council acquired 369 acres of land at Daedalus from the Homes and Communities Agency (now Homes England) for £1.  Following extensive engagement with various interested parties and a public consultation, the Council adopted a vision and outline strategy for Daedalus, setting out its ambitions for the airfield site to become a premier location for aviation, aerospace engineering and advanced manufacturing businesses, creating many skilled employment opportunities for local people, underpinned by a vibrant and sustainable airfield.

When considering the profitability of Solent Airport, it is important to note that it is just one component of the offer at Daedalus as it is there to support the businesses and business park tenants.  Therefore, the entire site must be taken as a whole as many businesses have made the move to Daedalus solely because it has an operational airport to which they have access.  Despite the ongoing investment in infrastructure, the Daedalus site when taken in its entirety has made a surplus in three of the last four years with an average annual profit of £119,656.

The number of people employed at Daedalus has grown steadily year on year with more than 350 based at Fareham Innovation Centre alone across 57 businesses.  There are many more employed at CEMAST, CTEC and a further 28 independent businesses.  Daedalus is the largest employment site in the Borough. Long-term leases are an important source of income for the Council not only at Daedalus but across the Borough providing an ongoing revenue stream.  Capital Receipts from land sales and leases are used to fund many projects across Fareham, including last year’s purchase of Fareham Shopping Centre.

Following the Executive Leader announcements, Councillor S D Martin proposed that Honorary Alderman status should be conferred upon Councillor S D T Woodward when he retires at the end of the current municipal year.

Councillor Mrs K K Trott asked that her thanks be put on record to the Executive Leader for his best wishes and thanked members and officers for all the help and support they have given to her over the years.

Executive Member for Planning and Development

The Executive Member for Planning & Development asked the Council to consider, at the next meeting of the Council, that Honorary Alderman status be conferred upon Councillor S D T Woodward in recognition of his service to the Borough as a Councillor.

Executive Member for Leisure & Community

The Executive Member for Leisure and Community was delighted to announce that early indications show Fareham Live ticket sales have been an incredible success with more than 3,600 tickets sold within the first two weeks since the website was launched. There are nearly 5,500 email subscribers which along with the social media followers is growing daily. New shows are being released weekly as the Trafalgar team are working hard to fill the performance calendar well into 2025. The marketing team are set to promote Fareham Live from next week and with further staff interviews and appointments being made this week and next, there is plenty of activity to ensure the theatre is ready for its opening night on Tuesday 1^st October.

In further exciting news, the Leisure team has been preparing for a pop-up beach will be located in the Shopping Centre outside B&M and it will be available from 13 July to the end of September. Plans are being made to incorporate the launch of the pop-up beach with the Council’s 50^th Birthday event on 13 July – which will include other activities taking place within the Shopping Centre and on West Street.  The Executive Member was very pleased to say that sponsorship has been secured from Mountjoy for the pop-up beach who provide building maintenance, facilities management, refurbishment and construction services and has carried out work for the Council for a number of years.

The Executive Member concluded by placing on record her thanks to the officers and fellow Members of the Council for the hard work and achievements over the years.

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

Councillor N R Gregory declared a conflict of interest in respect item 16 on the agenda and confirmed that he would leave the chamber for the duration of that item. 

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.

A written deputation was received from Mr Owen Jones of LRM Planning Ltd in respect of item 16 on the agenda.

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 meeting of the Executive held on Monday 04 March 2024 be received.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting of the Executive held on Monday 18 March 2024 be received.

The minutes of the meeting of the Executive held on Monday 08 April 2024 will be tabled at the meeting for consideration.

The minutes of the meeting of the Executive held on Monday, 08 April 2024 were tabled at the meeting for consideration.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting of the Executive held on 08 April 2024 be received.

RESOLVED that the Schedule of Executive Decisions taken under Urgency Provisions be noted.

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

Councillor N R Gregory left the meeting during this item.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting of the Planning Committee held on 14 February 2024 be received.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting of the Planning Committee held on Wednesday 13 March 2024 be received.

Councillor N R Gregory returned to the meeting during this item.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting of the Audit and Governance Committee held on Monday, 11 March 2024 be received.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting of the Licensing and Regulatory Affairs Committee held on Tuesday, 12 March 2024 be received.

To receive, consider and answer questions on reports and recommendations of the meetings of the Scrutiny Panels.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting of the Daedalus Scrutiny Panel held on Wednesday, 21 February 2024 be received.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting of the Planning and Development Scrutiny Panel held on Thursday, 14 March 2024 be received.

To answer questions pursuant to Standing Order 2.12 for this meeting.

There were no questions submitted for this meeting.

Members will be informed, prior to the meeting, of any motion duly notified in accordance with Standing Order 2.6 but received after print and dispatch of the agenda.

There were motions submitted for this meeting.

A Motion, Climate & Ecology Bill, was received by Council on the 14 December 2023. The Motion was referred to the Planning and Development Scrutiny Panel, who considered it at their meeting on the 14 March 2024, with the Climate Change Scrutiny Panel invited to participate.

An update was provided by Councillor S D T Woodward in respect of the motion presented to Council in December by Councillor Mrs C Bainbridge regarding the Climate and Ecology Bill. He confirmed that although the motion was considered by the Planning & Development Scrutiny Panel he suggested that this important motion should be considered by the Climate Change Scrutiny Panel before coming back to Council for debate and decision.

A report by the Director of Planning and Regeneration.

Councillor N R Gregory declared a conflict of interest in this item.  He left the chamber for the duration of the discussion and did not take part in the decision.

A written deputation was received in respect of this item from Mr Owen Jones of LRM Planning Ltd.

The comments of the Executive were taken into account in considering this item.

RESOLVED that the Council agrees to adopt the Community Infrastructure Levy Charging Schedule as set out in Annex 1 to the report for implementation with effect from 01 May 2024.

A report by the Assistant Director (Finance & ICT).

RESOLVED that the Council receives and endorses the Annual Review of the Audit and Governance Committee.

A report by the Assistant Director (Democracy).

RESOLVED that the Council endorses the proposed Work Programmes for the Committee meetings scheduled for the 2024/25 municipal year, as set out in Appendices A and B to the report.

To make any changes in appointments to the seats on committees in accordance with the wishes of political groups.  Such appointments will take effect from 10/04/24.

There were no changes to appointments to Committees.