We provide a full and comprehensive local government legal
service ensuring propriety, giving corporate legal advice and
providing legal advice and services to all service areas of the
Council.
Our vision is to offer legal services which enable the Council
to provide good quality and best value services to the
Community
We aim to do this by providing the Council with legal services
that:-
- are of excellent quality and value, meeting the Council’s
particular needs better than the private sector
- enable our Clients and the Council to achieve their
objectives
- are respected and valued by our Clients, and,
- are provided in a businesslike manner.
Services provided include:
Property Law
- The largest area of work is in respect of the Council’s
commercial leasehold property interests, with additional areas of
work relating to acquisitions, sales and leases of, and easements
for and over, the Council’s corporate estate and other land
- Possibility of registration of title to all Council land
- Simplifying and modernising forms of lease
- Computerising legal terrier information
- General legal support for the Stone Mines Project
Team
Corporate and Community Law
We are responsible for providing legal advice in the following
areas: -social services (childcare, adult services, mental health,
youth offending and community safety), education, housing,
employment, equalities, procurement, contracts, best value, pension
fund, the conduct of council business and any other legal work not
falling within the remit of the other two legal teams.
Current issues include:
- New charging and trading powers
- Equalities - SENDA (Special Educational Needs Disability Act),
Disability Discrimination Act and new EU directive extending anti-
discrimination provisions e.g. age, religion and sexual
orientation
- Extent to which availability of resources can be taken into
account in determining applications for services
- Managing Information - e-commerce and e-government, data
protection, freedom of information and Regulation of Investigatory
Powers Act
- Combating Crime and Disorder - anti-social behaviour orders,
youth offending and working with the Somer Community Housing Trust
on community safety issues
- Procurement - new EU directive and national procurement
strategy, use of PFI and new forms of partnering contracts,
e-tendering and workforce code
- Adult Social Services & Mental Health -supporting greater
independence and choice for disabled people and new mental health
legislation
- Education - implementing school organisation, supporting use of
new powers to innovate and improving school governance
- Children - new legislation on adoption, court protocol and
government green paper Every Child Matters
Planning and Environmental Law
This team provides legal advice to the Service areas of
Planning, Transport Access and Waste Management, and environmental
and Consumer.
Areas of work include advice on development control, including
planning applications and decisions; enforcement of planning
control; planning agreements; planning policy, transportation and
highways; public rights of way and traffic regulation orders;
licensing; environmental health; health and safety; and litigation
in all of these Service areas.
The team also provides advice to the Joint Strategic Planning
Unit of the four ex Avon Unitary Authorities; the Development
Control Committees; the Licensing Committee; and the Access (public
rights of way) Committee.
Current issues include:
- Licensing Act - bringing in new licensing system for the
Council
- New planning legislation affecting changes to development
control and planning policy
- Local Plan Inquiry
- New arrangements for the Joint Structure Plan
- Stone Mines - environmental, licensing, and planning
issues
- Affordable Housing and s. 106 agreements
- Western Riverside planning issues
- Bath City Centre initiatives including transportation and
access review
- Crime and Disorder, and Community Safety issues including
alcohol byelaws and abandoned vehicles.
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PLEASE NOTE: The Legal Division cannot provide legal
advice to members of the public. If you require any information
from the Council on a specific issue or problem please contact the
relevant service directly, using the councils A-Z of
services. |
Should you have any queries on byelaws and you are unable to
determine the relevant council service contact, you may contact the
Councils Legal Services Administration Manager on 01225 477117 or
E-Mail who will
endeavour to find the appropriate contact.
