Councillor Connie Hockley
Email: chockley@fareham.gov.uk
Council: Fareham
Council Profile: View on council website
Committees:
Activity Timeline
Meetings Attended Note this may include planned future meetings.
80 meetings · Page 1 of 16
Licensing Panel - Tuesday, 2nd December, 2025 10.00 am
Executive Portfolio for Leisure and Community - Thursday, 20th November, 2025 1.30 pm
Decisions from Meetings
106 decisions · Page 17 of 22
Capital Programme & Capital Strategy 2025/26
From: Executive - Monday, 13th January, 2025 6.00 pm, NEW - January 13, 2025
The report considers the Capital Strategy for 2025/26, prior to its submission to Council for approval. Regulations require the Council to prepare and formally approve a Capital Strategy. The document for 2025/26 is attached as Appendix A to this report for consideration by the Executive before being submitted to Council for approval. The Capital Strategy gives a high-level overview of how capital expenditure, capital financing , asset management and treasury management activity contribute to the provision of services along with an overview of how associated risk is managed and the implications for future financial sustainability. The main highlights in the Capital Strategy are: i) The 5-year programme contains capital expenditure of £85.9 million (compared to £82.3million in the previous Strategy). Kay points included are: · Completion of Fareham Live and demolition of Osborn Road car park · Construction of Assheton Court sheltered housing apartments · Holly Hill Woodland Park Restoration · Fareham Park Vision · Aeronautical Ground Lighting at Daedalus · Land purchase for Nutrient Mitigation in Stubbington · Vehicle purchases for the introduction of Simpler recycling ii) New Schemes that are proposed since the 2024/25 Capital Strategy are listed at paragraph 30. There is currently no provision in the programme for the Town Centre Regeneration requirements which will be subject to a separate report. iii) The revised level of capital expenditure estimated for 2024/25 is £30 million (previously £16.4 million). This significant increase reflects streams of external funding that the Council has been successful in attracting, such as from Homes England for Assheton Court housing, or is pursuing , such as Lottery Grant funding for Holly Hill Woodland Park. The current estimate is that only £2.3 million of the spend will need to be met by new borrowing. iv) However, there are a number of pressures highlighted in the Capital Strategy, not least for the General Fund asset management and replacement plans. In particular, the estimated provisions for vehicle replacement and ICT development are such that it is proposed that Revenue Contributions to Capital are now increased by £225,000 to £1.3 million a year. This is covered by the Revenue Budget report at the same meeting. v) There are also a number of pressures on the HRA element of the Capital Strategy. In particular, the value of the planned maintenance of the stock has been increase from £3million to £4million and is one of the reasons that no further funds are being put aside the HRA debt at this moment. This will be covered further in the HRA budget to the February Committee. vi) The funding of the 5-year Strategy relies on forecasts of resources that are not yet in place. These total £64 million (75% of the programme). vii) A high-level review of future funding requirements has also identified a capital funding requirement of £229 million over the next 30 years. viii) The Strategy proposes some policy clarifications. This includes expanding the capitalisation of officer salary costs that are directly attributable to capital schemes, to now be considered as part of the total project costs. A separate report proposing the Treasury Management Strategy and Investment Strategy for 2025/26 will be presented at the February meeting of the Executive. The value of the Council’s investment property portfolio is covered in the Capital Strategy and is estimated to have a value of £66 million.
Recommendations Approved
General Fund Fees & Charges 2025/26
From: Executive - Monday, 13th January, 2025 6.00 pm, NEW - January 13, 2025
The report provides an update and proposals for the Council’s fees and charges for the financial year 2025/26. The report gives the Executive the opportunity to consider the Council’s fees and charges for 2025/26, including approving increases in existing charges, and consider new charges where applicable.
Recommendations Approved
Bird Aware Solent Partnership - Revised Strategy
From: Executive - Tuesday, 3rd December, 2024 6.00 pm - December 03, 2024
Fareham Borough Council is a member of the Bird Aware Solent Partnership. The purpose of this report is to seek the Executive’s approval of the Bird Aware Partnership’s Revised Strategy. The Solent Coastline contains large numbers of important bird assemblages which resulted in it being designated as a Special Protection Area (SPA) under the EU Birds Directive and subsequently transported into the UK Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2017 (the Habitats Regulations). The Solent SPA bird species are particularly vulnerable to the effects of recreational disturbance arising from new housebuilding in the area. The Solent Recreation Mitigation Partnership (SRMP) was formed, of which Fareham Borough Council (FBC) is a member, to develop a strategy that would allow local authorities to permit new residential development whilst ensuring protection and mitigation of The Solent SPAs. The Solent Recreation Mitigation Strategy, later renamed the Bird Aware Strategy, was produced and adopted in April 2018. The current Strategy sets out the approach to mitigate the impact upon SPA birds up to 2034. It proposes a series of management measures which actively encourage all coastal visitors to enjoy their visits in a responsible manner rather than restricting access to the coast or preventing activities that take place. On 30 September 2024, the Partnership for South Hampshire (PfSH) approved a Revised Bird Aware Strategy, which incorporates several main changes from the existing strategy: · The duration of the strategy has been extended from 2034 to 2050. · The Strategy has been extended to also address the effects upon summer breeding birds. · The core team of dedicated staff will be increased from 10 to 19. · Increased resources will be allocated to the dog initiative ‘Coast and Country Canines’, communications and engagement workstreams and monitoring. Payment of the Bird Aware contribution contributes towards the necessary mitigation to protect the SPAs in line with the advice of Natural England, the Government’s statutory advisor on nature conservation. If applicants decide not to make the contribution, they will need to undertake their own Habitat Regulations Assessment to assess and mitigate the impact that their development may have on an SPA, as required by the Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2017 (the Habitats Regulations).
Recommendations Approved
Annual Review of Corporate Strategy 2023-2029
From: Executive - Tuesday, 3rd December, 2024 6.00 pm - December 03, 2024
The Council’s performance management framework requires the Executive to undertake an annual review of the corporate vision and priorities. The purpose is to update the wording where necessary, to provide an overview of the Council’s performance for the 2023/24 financial year and refresh the list of corporate projects. This is the first review of the new Corporate Strategy 2023-2029 which was adopted in October 2023. The Corporate Strategy provides a clear focus on the most important issues to be addressed for the 2023-2029 Strategy period. This annual review is an opportunity to consider progress made in developing corporate priorities during 2023-2024 and to assess the impact of any other influences on the Council’s services and initiatives.
Recommendations Approved
The Fareham Housing Repairs and Maintenance Policy - Adoption
From: Executive - Tuesday, 3rd December, 2024 6.00 pm - December 03, 2024
To seek Executive approval of the draft Fareham Housing Repairs and Maintenance policy for adoption. The Housing Act 1985 (as amended) places a number of obligations on landlords regarding the maintenance of their properties. All social housing tenants also have the ‘right to repair’ and for these to be conducted within a specific timeframe. Legislative changes and the new consumer standards introduced by the Regulator of Social Housing (RSH) have imposed further requirements around repairs. Maintenance and planned improvements. The Repairs and Maintenance policy is primarily a consolidating document, bringing together the various process and policies and updating them in line with these new requirements, and provides comprehensive information regarding the Repairs’ Service responsibilities, processes, background and relevant legislation. At its meeting on 11 July 2024, the Housing Scrutiny Panel approved the document to go to the Executive. Following Executive agreement on 3 September 2024, the draft Repairs and Maintenance policy was circulated for public consultation from 16 September to 28 October 2024. The report summarises the outcome of the consultation and details the changes made in response.
Recommendations Approved
Summary
Meetings Attended: 80
Average per Month: 3.5
Decisions Recorded: 106