Decisions

To outline proposals to commemorate The King’s Coronation.

On Saturday 06 May, the Coronation of King Charles III and Queen Consort, Camilla will take place at Westminster Abbey.

As well as the additional bank holiday taking place on Monday 08 May, Buckingham Palace have announced further plans regarding the ceremonial, celebratory and community events that will take place all over the Coronation weekend.

On Sunday 07 May, a special Coronation Concert will take place at Windsor Castle and be broadcast by the BBC.  The Coronation Big Lunch will take place across the country on the same day encouraging neighbours and communities to share food and fun together to celebrate at street parties and garden get togethers.

The Big Help Out will be held on Monday 08 May 2023; the additional bank holiday.  Organised by The Together Coalition and 25 of the UK’s biggest charities, The Big Help Out will highlight the positive impact volunteering has on communities across the nation and will encourage communities to lend a helping hand to local groups and charities.

Fareham has a history of marking significant royal events and to commemorate The King’s Coronation, Officers have outlined proposals as to how the Borough could mark this special occasion with its residents.

RESOLVED that the Executive agrees that:

(a)  the Council promotes how residents can hold their own street parties and get involved with the national initiatives, the Big Lunch and The Big Help Out over the Coronation weekend;

(b)  commemorative Coronation mugs are available to order from Fareham Borough Council at a cost of £4 each;

(c)  a bespoke, commemorative seat is installed at The Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Park;

(d)  The King’s Cypher is engraved into a diamond shaped area of external brickwork on the Fareham Live building; and

(e)  a special Coronation link is added to the Mayoral chain.

To review the existing Service Level Agreement (SLA) between Fareham Borough Council and Citizen’s Advice Fareham and propose a new 3-year SLA and funding arrangements commencing on 01 April 2023.

Fareham Borough Council provides funding to Citizens Advice Fareham who help to provide free, impartial and independent advice, information and guidance to Fareham residents.

The report reviews the work carried out by Citizens Advice Fareham and proposes that  the Council enters into a new 3-year Service Level Agreement with Citizens Advice Fareham.

RESOLVED that the Executive approves:

(a)  a new 3-year Service Level Agreement and funding for £120,000 per annum from 01 April 2023; and

(b)  that an additional amount of £15,000 per annum be provided for 3 years as project funding to assist with the impact of the Covid 19 pandemic and the current cost of living crisis.

Due to the ongoing success of the Partnership and following detailed discussions between senior officers of both Councils, it is proposed that the Southampton and Fareham Legal Partnership be renewed.  This report provides a summary of the full review of the Southampton & Fareham Legal Services Partnership and recommends that the Executive agrees to continue the Partnership by approving a renewed agreement and Deed of Delegation for a further 10 year period.

RESOLVED that the Executive agrees:

(a)  to continue the partnership arrangements for the Southampton and Fareham Legal Services Partnership for a further period of 10 years, with an option to extend the partnership for another 5 years;

(b)  to note that the partnership has been extended to include Havant Borough Council and is therefore referred to as the Southampton, Fareham and Havant Legal Partnership; and

(c)  to delegate authority to the Chief Executive Officer following consultation with the Executive Leader to enter into such arrangements as are necessary and on such terms as are reasonable.

The report sets out a proposal from Bird Aware Solent regarding an additional dog exclusion zone at Hill Head beach.  The report explains the reasoning behind the proposal and the associated benefit to residents if approved.

In April 2022 the Council’s Dog Control Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO) was due to expire and therefore the Council proposed to extend the PSPO for a period of three years.  As part of the process required, a consultation was conducted on a draft PSPO.

Alongside the Executive report, a tabled item detailing a consultation submission from Bird Aware Solent was presented at the meeting.  Bird Aware Solent (BAS) are a partnership of local authorities, including Fareham, working alongside conservation groups to help safeguard the future of internationally protected geese, ducks and wading birds.  Governed by the Partnership for South Hampshire Joint Committee, BAS act on behalf of the local planning authorities.

According to statistics presented by BAS, Hill Head is ranked 3^rd out of 87 sites for the highest number of disturbance events.  Of the 105 site visits where bird disturbance was noted at Hill Head, 86 visits (81.9%) featured disturbance related to a dog’s presence or behaviour.  Disturbance at 80 of these visits (76.2%) could be attributed to dogs that were off the lead.

Reducing the disturbance to birds increases their chance of survival.  Birds are an integral part of the surrounding natural environment and help ensure that the area is vibrant and healthy.  Natural environments are an important aspect of human health and provide benefits both physically and mentally.  The protection of birds would ensure that residents’ health and wellbeing continue to be enhanced by protecting the natural environment.

Taking into account the impact of dogs on birds during the winter season, it is reasonable to propose an additional restriction on dogs between 01 October and 31 March, in the exclusion zone at Hill Head, as identified in Appendix A to the report.

RESOLVED that the Executive agrees that:

(a)  officers consult on the proposed amendment to the Dog Control PSPO to include an additional dog exclusion area at Hill Head; and

(b)  delegated authority be given to the Executive Member for Health and Public Protection to authorise the making of a PSPO to include this dog exclusion area following consultation.

To outline proposals to celebrate the 50^th anniversary of the Borough of Fareham.

Following changes to local government arrangements specified in the Local Government Act 1972, Fareham was established as a Borough on 01 April 1974.  The inaugural annual meeting of Fareham Borough Council was held at 11am on Tuesday 09 April 1974.  At that meeting the Charter of Incorporation of the Borough was presented to the Mayor by the Lord Lieutenant of Hampshire, at that time The Right Hon. The Earl of Malmesbury.

The Captain of HMS Collingwood presented the Mayor with the Civic Mace which was made by Royal Navy engineers based at Collingwood.

In 2024 it will be 50 years since the Borough of Fareham was established.  This significant anniversary provides an opportunity to celebrate the occasion with a series of activities throughout the Borough.

RESOLVED that the Executive agrees:

(a)  the proposals, as outlined in the report, to celebrate the 50^th anniversary of Fareham being established as a Borough;

(b)  officers’ proposals to reallocate some of the existing communications budget to support these activities;

(c)  either a special 50^th anniversary engraving is added to an existing link on the Mayoral chain or a special 50^th anniversary link is; and

(d)  to create a 50^th anniversary pennant for the Mayor’s car.

The report proposes the approval of the write off of certain debts over £5,000 which are irrecoverable.

Appendix A to the report lists the debts that are considered irrecoverable.  Every effort has been made to recover the debts and there is no further legal action that can be taken, where it is applicable.

RESOLVED that the Executive agrees that the debts listed in the confidential Appendix A to the report be written off as irrecoverable.

This report presents nominations for consideration under the Council’s annual Citizen and Young Citizen of Honour Awards 2023.  

The Citizen of Honour award was introduced in November 1996.  Five years later the scheme was extended to recognise the efforts of younger residents under the age of 18 through the Young Citizen of Honour award.

Over the last 26 years, the award has honoured 109 residents of the Borough, with nominations being received from all areas of Fareham.

This year, the Council has received 13 nominations overall.  There are 12 nominations for the Citizen of Honour Award (18 and over) and 1 nomination for the Young Citizen of Honour Award (under 18).

RESOLVED that the Executive agrees that:

(a)  no more than two candidates are selected from the nominations attached to the report to be formally recognised as Citizens of Honour 2023;

(b)  no more than one candidate be selected from the nominations attached to the report as Young Citizen of Honour (under 18); and

(c)  subject to (a) and (b) above, candidates 6 and 11 be selected to receive the annual Citizen of Honour and candidate 1 be selected  to receive the Young Citizen of Honour Awards for 2023.

To seek approval to consult on a review of the Planning Obligations Supplementary Planning Document – setting out the Council’s approach to financial and non-financial obligations on planning applicants, to be secured via a legal agreement.

The Council adopted its current Planning Obligations Supplementary Planning Document (SPD) in 2016 and it is used by planning applicants who are seeking guidance on the types of obligations, financial or non-financial, that the Council, as local planning authority, may require of them to ensure their proposals are acceptable in planning terms.

The report provides a draft of the revised Planning Obligations SPD and seeks approval to progress the draft document to statutory public consultation.  It is the intention to consult over a six-week period in mid-March to April 2023, following which the approval to adopt the revised SPD will be sought.  Once adopted, this SPD will replace the existing Planning Obligations SPD which will in turn be revoked.

The context for the review is the progression of the emerging Fareham Local Plan 2037 which is reaching the end of the examination process and will soon be before Council for adoption.  The Local Plan outlines how the borough’s housing and employment targets will be met over the plan period and sets out the scale and type of infrastructure required to support the planned growth.

Developer contributions through planning obligations are one of the most significant mechanisms through which this will be funded.  The new SPD will provide supplementary planning guidance to developers, planning officers and borough residents as to how the Council will seek developer contributions, the extent and nature of these contributions (both financial and non-financial), the justification for this approach and, in some cases, how these contributions will be spent.

RESOLVED that the Executive:

(a)  approves the Draft Planning Obligations Supplementary Planning Document, as set out at Appendix A to the report, for public consultation; and

(b)  delegates authority to the Director of Planning and Regeneration, following consultation with the Executive Member for Planning and Development, to make any minor amendments to the document following consideration by the Executive, prior to consultation.

To seek approval to the content of a consultation on the Borough’s Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) draft Charging Schedule.

The Council commissioned Three Dragons to undertake a CIL Review Viability Assessment for the Borough, to determine whether a new CIL rate could be applied without negatively impacting on the delivery of housing and other forms of development associated with the emerging Fareham Local Plan 2037.

Following the conclusion of the assessment, the report recommends new rates for residential and some non-residential uses that align to the evidence collected through the CIL Review Viability Assessment.

The report seeks Executive approval to consult on the draft Charging Schedule and the proposed rates therein.  Secondly, the report seeks delegated authority to commence the examination process following the consultation.

Resolved that the Executive recommends that the Council:

(a)  approves the Community Infrastructure Levy Draft Charging Schedule as set out in Appendix A to the report for public consultation for a period of 6 weeks;

(b)  agrees that the Director of Planning and Regeneration be authorised to make any necessary minor amendments, following consultation with the Executive Member for Planning and Development, and delegates to him the authority to submit the draft Charging Schedule for Examination; and

(c)  delegates to the Director of Planning and Regeneration, following consultation with the Executive Member for Planning and Development the authority to procure and appoint an independent examiner to conduct the examination on the draft Charging Schedule.

The report seeks approval to award the Framework for the Council’s Tree Maintenance Services.  The Framework term will be a four-year period commencing May 2023.

Works to Council owned trees are undertaken for the Council by external suppliers.  Following a previous tendering exercise in 2017, the Council developed a Tree Maintenance Framework containing approved external suppliers who could undertake tree work.

The current Tree Maintenance Framework expires in April 2023 and a tender has recently been undertaken to ensure a Tree Maintenance Framework is in place for the period from May 2023-April 2027.

During the tender the Council received thirteen (13) compliant tender responses from suppliers based throughout the southern region.  The scores and ranking for all thirteen (13) tenders received are presented in the confidential Appendix A attached to the report

RESOLVED that the Executive:

(a)  agrees to award the Framework to the top 8 scoring tenderers, as set out in the Confidential Appendix A to the report; and

(b)  notes that the increased cost of the suppliers is likely to require an increase in the annual Tree Management budget of between £23,380 and £37,120, which will need to be considered during the next budget setting process.

To agree funding for a five-year programme of essential repairs and maintenance for the Streetscene public buildings and infrastructure.

To continue to provide and maintain a good and safe standard of public toilets. sports pavilions and public spaces infrastructure, Property Services have undertaken a condition survey to identify essential repairs and maintenance required over the five years 2023 to 2028.

The information from the condition survey has been formulated into an Asset Management Plan for the Streetscene property portfolio that identifies the phased capital investment required over the next five years.

The report provides a summary of the essential repairs and maintenance required and an estimated budget figure for the cost of the works.

RESOLVED that the Executive:

(a)  agrees the delivery of a five-year Asset Management Plan for the Streetscene public buildings and infrastructure as set out in the Executive Briefing Paper; and

(b)  approves the funding required to complete the works in the Streetscene Asset Management Plan, as detailed in paragraph 25 of the Executive Briefing Paper.