Councillor Fred Birkett
Email: fbirkett@fareham.gov.uk
Council: Fareham
Council Profile: View on council website
Committees:
Activity Timeline
Meetings Attended Note this may include planned future meetings.
57 meetings · Page 1 of 12
Housing Advisory Panel - Thursday, 6th November, 2025 6.00 pm
Decisions from Meetings
97 decisions · Page 11 of 20
Application to list Stubbington Study Centre as an Asset of Community Value
From: Executive - Tuesday, 11th March, 2025 6.00 pm, NEW - March 11, 2025
To assess the nomination to register Stubbington Study Centre as an Asset of Community Value. Hampshire County Council (HCC) owns the Stubbington Study Centre and has recently consulted on a proposal to close the Study Centre and relocate a Secure Children’s hone to this site. On the 6 February 2025, Hill Head Residents’ Association (HHRA) submitted an Asset of Community Value (ACV) nomination form to Fareham Borough Council, asking that Stubbington Study Centre be registered as an ACV. There is a strict set of legal conditions that a nomination needs to demonstrate for an asset to qualify as an ACV. If it qualifies, the Council must register it by the deadline of 3 April 2025 (8 weeks from receipt of valid nomination). Registration of Stubbington Study Centre as an ACV would prevent HCC from selling the asset, for up to 5 years, without HHRA first being given the chance to bid for it. The listing of the Study Centre as an ACV would be a material planning consideration in any future planning application for development at the site. The report outlines the evidence submitted as part of the nomination and assesses it against the legal creiteria.
Recommendations Approved
Finance Strategy, Capital Programme, Revenue Budget & Council Tax 2025/26
From: SPECIAL, Executive - Thursday, 13th February, 2025 5.00 pm - February 13, 2025
The report seeks final confirmation of the recommendations to be made to Council on 14 February 2025, in respect of the revenue budget, capital programme and council tax for 2025/26. On 13 January 2025, the Executive reviewed the Council’s overall finance strategy and considered proposals relating to the revenue budgets and the council tax for 2025/26. This report updates the Council’s budgets to reflect the decisions taken and other known changes since 13 January 2025, including the provisional local government finance settlement. The net revenue budget for 2025/26 will be £15,050,100. With core funding estimated to be £5,819,957 no payment from the collection fund and other income sources and use of reserves totalling £693,500, this leaves the total amount due from the Council taxpayers to be £8,536,643. This level of council tax for 2025/26 equates to £191.42 per Band D property. This represents an increase of £5.56 per year from the council tax set for 2024/25 and is within the 2.99% referendum threshold set by the Government.
Recommendations Approved
Fareham Town Centre Regeneration Strategy 2025-2035
From: SPECIAL, Executive - Thursday, 13th February, 2025 5.00 pm - February 13, 2025
To seek Executive approval of the Fareham Town Centre Regeneration Strategy 2025-2035 alongside approval of the proposed increase to the Revenue Base Budget and identified project budgets to support the long-term delivery of the Strategy. To seek Executive approval of the proposed Stage one Masterplanning work and the associated capital budget. The Council has a strong ambition to reverse the decline of Fareham Town Centre through regeneration, recognising the wider placemaking, economic regeneration and health benefits a more successful town centre would bring. Fareham’s town centre has a key role in supporting the economy of the Borough. It is the highest-ranking destination in the Council’s retail hierarchy and as such, provides the main location for retail, leisure, entertainment and cultural activities for the Borough’s residents. Work has already begun to deliver the Council’s significant regeneration ambition with the construction of Fareham Live, the demolition and replacement of Osborn Road multi storey car park, the purchase of Birks Building (also known as Foresters Hall) for housing development, alongside the purchase of Fareham Shopping Centre in September 2023. The Council appointed an asset manager to manage the Shopping Centre, alongside regeneration consultants to support the development of a deliverable and realistic Regeneration Strategy. Stage 1 and 2 of this work was reported to the Executive in January and March of 2024 respectively. Stage 3 of this work has now been completed after a further round of detailed analysis and consideration. This is provided at Appendix A ‘Fareham Town Centre Regeneration Strategy: Analysis and opportunity Assessment’. This work has informed the development of the Fareham Town Centre Regeneration Strategy 2025-2035, which also considers the Council’s Corporate Priorities resourcing requirements and the need for economic and residential growth in the town as reflected in the Fareham Local Plan 2037. The ‘Fareham Town Centre Regeneration Strategy 2025-2035’ is provided at Appendix B to the report.
Recommendations Approved
Fareham Shopping Centre Asset Management Initiatives
From: SPECIAL, Executive - Thursday, 13th February, 2025 5.00 pm - February 13, 2025
As detailed in the confidential report
Recommendations Approved
Corporate Peer Challenge Position Statement
From: Executive - Monday, 3rd February, 2025 6.00 pm - February 03, 2025
To present and seek approval of the Positioning Statement for the Corporate Peer Challenge to support the LGA peer team to provide feedback. As part of the Council’s commitment to continuous improvement and to meet its Best Value Duty, Fareham Borough Council is participating in the Local Government Association’s (LGA) Corporate Peer Challenge. The aim of the challenge is to provide assurance, share good practice with the wider sector, as well as receive valuable challenge and advice to support improved service provision. The peer team will be made up of a lead Councillor and senior officers from other local authorities around the country. Preceding an on-site visit by the peer team to make their own assessments, the Council will be providing a data pack and positioning statement with relevant information including requests for guidance on specific topics. If approved, the positioning statement will be submitted to the LGA peer team to review before the on-site visit.
Recommendations Approved
Summary
Meetings Attended: 57
Average per Month: 2.5
Decisions Recorded: 97