Decisions

As detailed in the confidential report.

RESOLVED that the Executive approves the budget as outlined in the confidential report.

To provide the Executive with an overview of the proposals contained within the consultation on the stronger performance of local planning authorities through an increase in planning fees, and to seek approval for the submission of the consultation response, at Appendix A.

The Government has launched a consultation entitled ‘Stronger Performance of Local Planning Authorities supported through an increase in Planning Fees’.   The consultation invites comments on proposals to increase planning application fees; how Local Authority capacity and capability in Development Management can be made more robust; future measures for assessing the performance of the Development Management service within Councils.

The consultation closes on 25 April 2023 and the report considers the implications of the proposals for this Council.

RESOLVED that the Executive:

(a)  considered the content of the report and approves the suggested approach to the Council’s response set out at Appendix A to the report; and

(b)  delegates authority for the final consultation response to the Director of Planning and Regeneration, following consultation with the Executive Member for Planning and Development.

Following the recommendation to conduct a feasibility study into extending the coastal car parking cohort in Fareham, the report sets out the findings of the feasibility study and makes recommendations.

A review of parking services was considered by the Executive on 06 December 2022.  Revised hourly parking charges and an updated approach to season ticket provision were approved for the nine coastal car parks.

At the meeting, it was requested that the feasibility of extending the coastal cohort to include a further three car parks be considered.

The three car parks considered for inclusion in the coastal car park cohort are Wicor Recreation Ground, Seafield Park and Shearwater car park.  Following completion of a full feasibility study (included at Appendix A to the report), it is considered that only Wicor Recreation Ground is appropriate for reclassification.

The recommendations proposed within the report support the need to generate income to continue to provide maintenance and enforcement activity across all Council car parks.

RESOLVED that the Executive agrees that:

(a)  Wicor Recreation Ground car park is reclassified as a coastal car park;

(b)  three solar powered pay-and-display machines be purchased and installed, along with appropriate signage, to support enforcement; and

(c)  AFC Portchester be offered the opportunity to purchase up to ten transferable season tickets for use by their staff, members and visitors.

To review the current support that the Council funds for the voluntary sector, consider alternative means of support that is available across the Borough and propose a new approach to securing this valued support for the period 2023-2026.

Fareham Borough Council recognises the tremendous value of the voluntary sector throughout the Borough.  To ensure local charities and voluntary organisations are thriving to the best of their abilities, the Council funds the provision of support around the ‘Big 3’ of governance, volunteering and funding.  For the last 7 years One Community has provided this service on behalf of the Council.

One Community’s current contract expires on 31 March 2023

The report reviews the support that has been provided for the voluntary sector in recent years and proposes a new approach to securing this support for the period 2023 -2026.

RESOLVED that the Executive approves the following annual allocations and commitments for the next 3-year period:

(a)  the allocation of £7,500 from the Community Fund budget to which local charitable organisations can apply to secure their first year’s membership to Action Hampshire and /or access their specialist advice around a governance issue of particular concern, with the applications for these grants being agreed by the Executive Member for Leisure and Community;

(b)  the award of a grant agreement to Communities First Wessex for £10,000 for the provision of support around securing and retaining volunteers;

(c)  the development of a new Council webpage providing clear links to support around governance, volunteering and funding for charitable organisations, with a one-off allocation of £2,000 for the development of the webpage and promotion of the new package of services; and

(d)  the allocation of £2,000 for the planning and delivery by Communities First Wessex of an annual Community Showcase event, to celebrate the local voluntary sector and encourage networking between organisations that are located within the Borough and provide a service to the residents of Fareham.

The report considers the tenders received for the provision of cleaning services for specified Council owned buildings and designated areas of the town centre.  The report recommends an award of contract for the services.

The current cleaning contract was initially due to end in April 2023. This contract was awarded in 2016 for five years with the option of a maximum of 2-year extension which has been used.

The contract includes the cleaning of buildings such as, sports pavilions, public conveniences, Portchester Crematorium public areas, multiple Housing sites and the control tower and amenity building at Solent Airport at Daedalus.

An initial invitation to tender (ITT) was issued using the Dynamic Purchasing System (DPS) on the Crown Commercial Services Building Cleaning Service framework (RM6130).  However, the tender submissions received failed to return a tender within the Council’s budget limit.  Therefore, the existing contract was extended for 6 months to allow a second procurement exercise to be completed.

A second ITT was advertised in January 2023 via the Council’s e-tendering solution “Pro-Contract” using the South East Business Portal (SEBP).

Two contractors submitted tenders by the deadline of 03 March 2023.  One of the submitted tenders was rejected as it exceeded the published budget cap.  The evaluation panel scored the remaining valid tender, which achieved the objective minimum requirements as laid out in the tended documentation.

The new contract will now commence in October 2023 and run for 5 years with a possible 2-year extension option.

RESOLVED that the Executive agrees to award the contract to the contractor ranker in 1^st position (as set out in the confidential Appendix A to the report) being the best price quality ratio tender received.