Stratford-on-Avon District Council's Cabinet decisions - 2 June 2025

Here are the decisions from the Stratford-on-Avon District Council's Cabinet meeting on Monday 2 June, which included the Year End Performance Monitoring Report 2024-25 of the Council Plan, the Nature Recovery Project Delivery across Stratford-on-Avon District, consideration of granting a lease of Orchard House at The Greig Centre to Alcester Day Care for use as a Dementia Care Centre, review of Off-Street Parking Places Order 2023 and solar panel installations at Southam and Studley Leisure Centres.

• Quarter 4/Year End Performance Monitoring Report 2024-25

The Cabinet has approved the report which presents the performance achieved during Quarter 4 (January to March 2025) and the year-end position for 2024/25 monitoring delivery of the Council Plan Actions and Key Performance Indicators. Overall, for 2024/25 the final summary of actions: 46 (79%) have been achieved; a further 4 (7%) have been partially achieved; 4 (7%) tasks are ongoing and (5%) were not achieved by the target deadlines. One task (2%) turned out to be not applicable.

• Strategic Risk Register

The Cabinet has reviewed and approved the latest Strategic Risk Register (April 2025). The Register records all significant risks to the Council's operations, key priorities and major projects, such as safeguarding children and vulnerable adults, development of South Warwickshire Local Plan and recruitment and retention of staff. The Register is reviewed quarterly by the Council's Management Team and twice a year by Cabinet.

• Nature Recovery Project Delivery across Stratford-on-Avon District

The Cabinet has approved £35,000 funding for the Free Trees for Farmers Scheme and £20,000 for the Wilder Communities Project, which will be delivered alongside the Warwickshire Wildlife Trust. Both schemes aim to plant more trees, hedges and wildflowers across the District. The decision follows the success of previous Free Trees for Farmers schemes.

• Update on South Warwickshire Local Plan - Procurement of Multi-disciplinary Consultancy Services

The Cabinet has noted the update on the progress of commissioning consultancy services to help prepare the South Warwickshire Local Plan alongside Warwick District Council. The contract with the consultancy company is set to commence in July 2025.

• Cotswold National Landscape Management Plan 2025-2030

The Cabinet has endorsed the Cotswold National Landscape Management Plan to be used as part of the South Warwickshire Local Plan, relevant Neighbourhood Development Plans and any Council planning strategies, policies and projects. The Management Plan was developed by the National Landscape Board following consultation to conserve and maintain Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Since the result of the Levelling Up and Regeneration Act 2023, the Council's duty has changed from "have regard" to "seek to further" the purpose of conserving and enhancing the natural beauty of the area of outstanding natural beauty.

• South Warwickshire Community Safety Partnership Priorities 2025-2029

The Cabinet has endorsed the Community Safety priorities for 2025 to 2029, which was agreed by the South Warwickshire Community Safety Partnership (Community Safety Team | Stratford-on-Avon District Council). These include focus on prevention and reduction of violence in town centres and hotspot locations, focus on repeat victims and perpetrators, preventing thefts of vehicles in long-term hotspots. Following this, an action plan will be designed to map out the next steps to achieve these priorities.

• Orchard House, The Greig Centre, Alcester

The Cabinet has approved to grant a 25-year lease of Orchard House to Alcester Day Care for use as a Dementia Care Centre. Orchard House is the former caretaker's house for the Greig Centre site in Alcester, and it is currently vacant. The house has been declared too small to be used as social housing, therefore the report proposes leasing the property to Alcester Day Care to be used as a community day care facility.

• Review of Off-Street Parking Places Order 2023

The Cabinet has approved the proposed changes to car park tariffs and parking permits, as outlined on the report. The Council's Budget and Policy Framework states that fees and charges should be reviewed every two years, and the new changes will take effect from 1 July 2025. A review of the Council's Parking Policy will be commissioned following the Local Transport Plan for Stratford and South Warwickshire Local Plan to commence prior to April 2026.

• Solar Panel Installations at Southam and Studley Leisure Centres

The Cabinet has approved the release of £400,000 from the Climate Change Reserve to install solar panels at Studley and Southam Leisure Centres. This follows the success of the installation of solar panels on the roof of Stratford and Shipston Leisure Centres. This will help further reduce the Council's carbon footprint.

The full agenda for the Cabinet meeting and the webcast can be found here.