Agenda and draft minutes

            RESOLVED:

                        That Councillor Westwood be elected Chairperson and           Councillor Eve be appointed Vice-Chairperson for the 2025/26      municipal year

To record the names of apologies given

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Murphy. Apologies for lateness were also received from Councillors Thompson and Tod.

To receive any disclosure of interests from Councillors or Officers in matters to be discussed.

Note: Councillors are reminded of their obligations to declare disclosable pecuniary interests (DPIs), other registerable interests (ORIs) and non-registerable interests (NRIs) in accordance with the Council’s Code of Conduct.

If you require advice, please contact the appropriate Democratic Services Officer, prior to the meeting.

There were no disclosures made at this meeting.

There were no announcements made at this meeting.

That the minutes of the meeting be signed as a correct record.

            RESOLVED:

                        That the minutes of the previous meeting held on 23 January            2025 be approved and adopted

12 June 2025, 6.30pm

11 September 2025, 6.30pm

10 November 2025, 6.30pm

22 January 2026, 6.30pm

9 March 2026, 6.30pm

            RESOLVED:

                        That the date of future meetings for 2025/26, as set out on the          agenda, be noted.

To receive and note the questions asked and statements made from members of the public on issues relating to the responsibility of this Forum.

Members of the public and visiting councillors may speak at the Forum, provided they have registered to speak three working days in advance. Please contact Democratic Services by 5pm on Friday, 6 June 2025 via democracy@winchester.gov.uk or (01962) 848 264 to register to speak and for further details.

Five members of the public/groups and one visiting councillor addressed the Forum.

Ian Tait, Richard Spalding, Kate Needham and Stephanie Danby and Jo Ashwell on behalf of Chesil Theatre spoke during public participation. A summary of their comments are set out below. 

In addition, Patrick Davies and Councillor Horrill spoke during item 8 (Response to the request of Winchester Town Forum for a CGR) and a summary of their comments are set out under the relevant minute below.

Ian Tait

Raised concerns regarding the Winchester River Park redevelopment and the former River Park Leisure Centre site, highlighting the following points:

·         Stated that he was reminded during the Winchester Park Run of a land transaction considered by Cabinet on 9th March 2022 regarding the River Park Leisure Centre and Southampton University, whereby he had spoken in support of the proposals and welcomed the link to the University.

·         Mr Tait recalled that at the time the Leader had welcomed his support and explained it was not appropriate to delay the decision, emphasising that future extensive collaboration consultation would be undertaken by the University.

·         Mr Tait then referred to the recent statement of the Leader dated 20 March 2025 which confirmed that the University was not going head and were considering their options.

·         Mr Tait made reference to feedback he had received from several people at the University and questioned the dialogue that had taken place with them. He asserted that consultation could only achieve so much but action was now critical given the disgraceful state of the old leisure centre building. 

·         He reported that information on the public notice board regarding the site was four years out of date and he had been unable to find information from the council.

·         He made referenced to the successful Laundry Art Project which drew residents and visitors to Winchester.

·         In conclusion, Mr Tait stated that in 2022 solicitors had offered assurance that the covenant on the land had been looked at in detail but three years later nothing had been done which he deemed unacceptable.

In response, Councillor Becker thanked Mr Tait for raising this matter in a timely manner as the council were imminently due to be issuing a press release inviting people to a public engagement session on 26th June, at 3pm to 7pm in the Courtyard, Winchester Guildhall. The session would seek public opinion and ideas regarding a planned process for the future of the site and would be widely advertised via regular channels, including the council’s website once information was released on 13 June.

Richard Spalding (on behalf of Winchester Rotary)

·         Mr Spalding sought approval to install a peace pole in the soroptimist garden at the back of Abbey House.

·         He made reference to the history of peace poles around the world, with the initiative originating in Japan in 1954, with few in existence in the UK.

·         He highlighted the standard wording contained on the peace pole which was written in seven languages.

·         It was hoped that Winchester could be the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

Patrick Davies addressed the Forum on this item. His comments are summarised below:

·         He expressed that the proposals presented were expensive, confusing and at the wrong time. He considered the costs outlined in the presentation slides to be "potentially devastating” for people living in the Winchester town area. If established, a town council precept charge could significantly increase to potentially £400 per annum from £90 per annum (for a Band D property).

·         He suggested a new level of bureaucracy, involving paid staff and offices for the new setup would bring confusion, which would contradict the stated purpose of local government reform, meant to "clarify and streamline local government services".

·         The reform aims to achieve this clarification and streamlining with one unitary authority in place of the current county and district councils. The timing of this particular exercise he deemed "absurd".

·         Mr Davies stated that although the January meeting initiated the current exercise, there had been silence for five months. The report claimed that the full council had decided to accept the forum's request, but he stated that this had never been to full council.

·         He considered that there was a need for clarity on how local government services in a new unitary authority covering Winchester would be settled, which was currently unclear.

·         He stated that the forward plan going to the next week's Cabinet indicated that the council's "first and final submission" would go to their meeting on 25th September. However, there was nothing until then apart from a brief oral update from the Leader at the last Cabinet meeting.

·         Mr Davies believed it was premature to proceed in the way suggested in the report until the shape and size of the new unitary council was known and that this should be the council’s priority.

·         In conclusion, Mr Davies considered that proceeding as recommended would cause hopeless confusion amongst the public and at significant expense.

Councillor Horrill addressed the Forum on this item. In summary, Councillor Horrill made reference to the following points:

·         Councillor Horrill questioned why the current presentation suggested a governance review beyond the scope of the forum's earlier request and noted the same matter on the agenda at the Licensing and Regulation Committee next week, specifically referencing item 11.2 in the papers.

·         She expressed concern that the devolution and local government reform process, as indicated in the papers, could create a divergence in local governance within the Winchester district.

·         She stated that such inconsistency could lead to disparities in service delivery, the level of community representation, and the overall sense of local identity between parished and unparished parts of the district.

·         Councillor Horrill acknowledged the message that those not currently parished wished to become parished and ultimately form a town council, but stated that it was not clear what benefits an extended geography for the town council would bring to new residents or the parished areas intended for inclusion.

·         She cited examples from other authorities where similar processes had led to significant increases in resident  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

Optional: The Chairs of any of the informal groups may briefly update the Forum on any recent developments from their group.

The Chairperson announced that due to the start of the municipal year and changes to the position of Chair and memberships of the Informal Groups, there were no verbal updates at this time. However, these would resume at the next meeting in September.

The Forum considered the work programme and its appointments to the Winchester Town Informal Groups for 2025/26, as set out in the report and its appendices.

            RESOLVED:

                                                                                                                                                                                               1.         That the items listed in Appendix 1 and 2 of the report be                               noted, the 2025/26 work programme be approved and authority               be delegated to the Strategic Director, in consultation with the                   Chairperson, to further set the detailed work programme for the                         municipal year.

2.          That the informal groups, as set out in paragraph 11.2 of the report, be re-appointed for 2025/26.

3.          That an additional informal group, namely ‘Winchester Town Forum (Community Governance Review) Informal Group’, be     established for 2025/26.

4.          That the membership of the Forum’s informal groups for         2025/26 be approved as stated above, and appointed as set out         below:

(i)            Winchester Town Forum (Streets and Spaces) Informal Group

                                    Cllrs: Murphy (Ch), Aron, Batho, Eve, Tod, Thompson                                     and Westwood

                                    Lead Officer: C Williams

(ii)          Winchester Town Forum (Climate and Open Space) Informal Group

                                    Cllrs: Eve (Ch), Batho, Murphy and Learney

                                    Lead Officer: R Smith

(iii)         Winchester Town Forum (Account) Informal Group

                                    Cllrs Learney (Ch), Aron, Batho and Morris

                                    Lead Officer: D Kennedy

(iv)         Winchester Town Forum (Culture) Informal Group

                                    Cllrs: Tippett-Cooper (Ch), Eve, Morris and Thompson                                    Lead Officer: A Gostelow

(v)          Winchester Town Forum (Grants and Community Empowerment) Informal Group

                                    Cllrs: Aron (Ch), Batho, Becker, Eve and Wise

                                    Lead Officer: S Lincoln

(vi)         Winchester Town Forum (Community Governance Review) Informal Group (new group established for 2025/26)

                                    Cllrs: Batho, Eve, Morris and Thompson (Chair tbc)

                                    Lead Officer: G John