| Item | Description | Resolution |
|---|---|---|
| PART 1 - PUBLIC | ||
| C 06/104 |
Declarations of interest. |
There were no declarations of interest made in respect of items recommended to the Council. |
| C 06/105 |
Minutes |
RESOLVED: That the Minutes of the proceedings of the meeting of the Council held on 26th September 2006 be approved as a correct record and signed by the Mayor. |
| C 06/106 |
Mayor's Announcements. |
The Mayor advised that he had undertaken 170 engagements so far this year and he thanked the Deputy Mayor for attending over 30 events on his behalf. Amongst his recent programme of events he particularly mentioned witnessing Dame Kelly Holmes DBE receive an Honorary Doctor of Science Degree at the University of Greenwich; a visit to HMS Illustrious at Greenwich at the invitation of the First Sea Lord; attendance at the Armistice Day and Remembrance Sunday Parades and judging a schools' painting competition for the KCC Top Temps calendar in aid of Children in Need. He thanked everyone who had supported the Coffee Morning on 29 September as this had raised £211 for MacMillan Nurses (Kent Group). He reported that the Harvest Dinner Dance held on 27 October had raised a further £530 for his charities. He also thanked everyone who had attended his Civic Reception on 3 December for the 'switching on' of the Christmas lights in Tonbridge. Looking ahead, the Mayor reminded Members that he was undertaking a 1000 metre sponsored swim at Tonbridge Pool on 15 December. He advised that West Kent College had offered to host a Ball on 8 March 2007 and that the date of the 'Call My Bluff' quiz evening had been changed to 23 March 2007. He welcomed the donation of raffle prizes for his fundraising events and he reminded Members that the Charity Cycle Ride between Tonbridge and Penshurst would be held on 15 April 2007. The Mayor welcomed Mr Peter Wright, Director of Leisure to his last meeting of the Council prior to his retirement. The Mayor and a number of Members paid tribute to Mr Wright's outstanding contribution to the work of the Council over nearly twenty-eight years and conveyed their best wishes for the future. The Mayor presented Mr Wright with a gift on behalf of the Members of the Authority. Mr Wright thanked the Members of the Council for their kind comments and for the gift. |
| C 06/107 |
Addresses from members of the public pursuant to Council Procedure Rule No 5.17 |
The Council received an address from Rena Pope of the Cottage Hospital Friends who wished to update the Council on the campaign to keep the Tonbridge Cottage Hospital as a Cottage Hospital. |
| C 06/108 |
Questions from the public pursuant to Council Procedure Rule No 5.6. |
No questions were received from the public pursuant to Council Procedure Rule No 5.6. |
| C 06/109 |
Questions from Members pursuant to Council Procedure Rule No 5.5. |
Councillor Thornewell asked the following question pursuant to Council Procedure Rule No 5.5:- New Car Park at West Malling Station "With the new access now open from the widened West Malling By-Pass is it known when the new station car park is likely to open and how it will operate?" To which the Cabinet Member for Planning and Transportation, Councillor Balfour, replied as follows:- "The proposed new car park at the station has planning permission in line with a development brief prepared by the Council following public consultation. Advanced works to create the formation level of the car park and land drainage were carried out in conjunction with the access road. With the completion of the road, access to the station by bus, taxi and by car passengers from the drop-off point is already possible. The construction of the car park is expected to take place in the Spring and is dependent on agreements being in place between Network Rail and the County Council to secure permanent access to the station forecourt. The Borough Council has taken a facilitating role in these discussions which are hoped to be concluded soon. The detailed operation of the car park will be a matter for discussion with the land-owner, any appointed operator and the County Council. Proposals for traffic management, signing, lighting, CCTV provision and other detailed matters are to be submitted and approved before the car park comes into use." Councillor Rowe asked the following question pursuant to Council Procedure Rule No 5.5:- "Does the Cabinet Member for Community Development not feel as angry and disappointed as I that the Home Office has decided to cut recruitment funds for police community support officers (PCSOs) from April next year. As he knows the Kent Police Authority had originally budgeted for an extra 474 police community support officers by April 2008, a proportion of whom would have been allocated to enrich neighbourhood policing in Tonbridge and Malling. Now Kent and Medway will only have funding until next spring for 273 posts. That's 201 less PCSOs that will be patrolling the streets of Kent and Medway. Does the Cabinet Member not think that this shortfall is bound to have a serious effect on the development of neighbourhood policing within this borough? What ways, does he think, that the Tonbridge and Malling Council and Cabinet might be able to ameliorate problems?" To which the Cabinet Member for Community Development, Councillor D Aikman, replied as follows:- "County Councillor Rowe serves on the Kent Police Authority and is closer in touch with these matters than I as a mere Borough Councillor, however it is my understanding that, as in so many other areas, including for example the reimbursement of Police forces for all the costs of complying with the Government's now abandoned plans for re-organisation, the Government has withdrawn funding for Community Support Officers (CSOs). However, like Cllr Rowe I am dismayed - but not surprised. The Borough Council and the T&M CDRP has welcomed and supported the implementation of CSOs despite initial concerns from some quarters that it was "policing on the cheap." We have been rewarded by the fact that the CSOs have become a valued and appreciated part of our communities as well as performing a most important role for the Police. Cllr Rowe asks how the Borough Council and/or the Cabinet can ameliorate the problems - but I am not sure that the Borough Council is in a position to do so. The Government has imposed so many extra costs and duties upon the Borough Council, from free bus passes for pensioners to the requirements of the Disability Discrimination Act, from landfill tax to Gershon reforms, whilst at the same time the Government's allocation of the centrally collected tax payer's monies to this Borough fails to keep pace even with inflation - and we are threatened continually with capping of the Council Tax because of the vast increase in resources which Government says it has lavished on local Government - although plainly not in the south of the country. It is difficult to see what the Borough Council can do to make up the shortfall in Government money without cutting in to its own front line services. In any event, the Borough Council is not the responsible police authority - as Cllr Rowe knows well. The Borough Council will of course continue to work closely with the Police and our other partners on the CDRP to tackle problems in our communities. That task will now be more difficult for us all but we will remain committed to achieving our key priority of reducing the types of crime that blight people's lives." |
| C 06/110 |
Notices of Motion submitted pursuant to Council Procedure Rule No 5.18 |
The following Notice of Motion was proposed by Councillor Thornewell and seconded by Councillor Mrs Simpson subject to the amendment proposed by Councillor Worrall and seconded by Councillor Aikman:- "This Council welcomes the Government's intention to introduce a Climate Change Bill and encourages a proposal that commands widespread, cross party support to include clear and agreed annual targets for the control of harmful emissions, with appropriate resources, incentives and penalties to attain real improvements in an urgent and achievable timeframe. The Council further urges the Government to pursue policies, internationally, designed to maximise the commitment and action of all nations to achieve a sustainable, renewable, level of use of the world's natural resources. The Council further asks that Sir John Stanley MP, Jonathan Shaw MP, the three main party leaders, relevant Ministers and Members of the European Parliament and the Local Government Association be informed of our position and be asked to support the Council's position." RESOLVED: That the Motion be agreed. The following Notice of Motion was proposed by Councillor Aikman and seconded by Councillor Horne MBE:- "The Borough Council notes with concern the increasing and damaging financial mismanagement of the National Health Service by this Government. Nationally the NHS is forecasting a gross budget deficit of almost £1.2 billion and some 20,000 jobs have already been lost from hospitals around the country. Government interference and mismanagement is already having a detrimental effect on our local health services in the West Kent area. The recent disruptive and costly wholesale reorganisation of Primary Care Trusts in the county has been bad for residents of Tonbridge and Malling. Our previous key local Trusts: Maidstone Weald and South West Kent have worked hard and successfully to meet the Government's stringent financial targets. However, the creation of West Kent PCT has joined us with the Dartford, Swanley and Gravesham PCT. They bring a massive financial deficit with them, a deficit which is forecast to reach some £19 million by the end of this year. Our local health services are already under threat. We have a closure threat hanging over our local community hospitals, facilities which we would regard as essential to the health care infrastructure to meet local community health needs. We have proposals before us that will lead to a significant reduction in health visitor services in our area, services which are valued by the community. Lost vital support and lost local jobs. Important projects and initiatives to tackle the key causes of ill-health and to focus work on those more needy communities where help is especially needed have had to be shelved due to the funding crisis. No doubt further cuts will need to be made locally to offset the funding black hole in profligate NHS services provided in North Kent in the coming financial year. This Council therefore calls on the Government: (1) to ensure that adequate NHS funding is provided by the Government to reflect local health needs and to encourage more funding for local health providers such as GPs and community hospitals to enable them to plan health care in the best interests of patients; (2) to provide an assurance that there will be financial safeguards put in place to protect local health services in the former financially stable Primary Care Trust areas now put at a financial disadvantage by the ill-considered enlargement of Trust areas to encompass former Trusts with considerable financial deficits." It was proposed by Councillor Thornewell and seconded by Councillor Clements that the Motion be amended to include a reference to the hospitals serving the northern part of the Borough. Upon receipt of the necessary requisition voting on the Amendment to the Motion was recorded as follows:- Members Voting For the Amendment to the Motion Chapman Clements Diment Drury Hayes Hickmott Mrs Hoskins Laverty Lettington Miners Munro Mrs Oakley Porter Rowe Thornewell Mrs Simpson Still Mrs Woodger Total 18 Members Voting Against the Amendment to the Motion Aikman Allison Mrs Anderson Baldock Balfour Bolt C Brown R Brown Miss Browne Chartres Coffin Court Cure Dalton Davis Dobson Dorling Evans Mrs Harrison Heslop Mrs Holland Homewood Horne MBE Mrs Kemp Mrs Luck Luker Mrs Murray Rhodes Rogers Miss Sergison Smith Sullivan Worrall Total 33 The Amendment to the Motion was accordingly declared LOST. Upon receipt of the necessary requisition voting on the Motion was recorded as follows:- Members Voting For the Motion Aikman Allison Mrs Anderson Baldock Balfour Bolt C Brown R Brown Miss Browne Chartres Coffin Court Cure Dalton Davis Dobson Dorling Evans Heslop Mrs Holland Homewood Horne MBE Mrs Kemp Mrs Luck Luker Mrs Murray Rhodes Rogers Miss Sergison Smith Sullivan Worrall Total 32 Members Voting Against the Motion Chapman Drury Hickmott Hayes Laverty Miners Munro Still Thornewell Total 9 Members Abstaining Clements Diment Mrs Harrison Mrs Hoskins Lettington Mrs Oakley Porter Rowe Mrs Simpson Mrs Woodger Total 10 The Motion was accordingly CARRIED |
| C 06/111 |
Leader's Announcements. |
The Leader advised that he and the Chief Executive would become signatories to the Nottingham Declaration on Climate Change which would commit the Borough Council to producing an action plan to reduce the authority's carbon footprint. He stated that signing the Declaration recognised that everyone needed to take responsibility for reducing the emission of greenhouse gases. He paid tribute to the members of the Youth Forum who had participated in a recent meeting of the Public Transport Panel and expressed the hope that the Council would build on this experience to ensure that the views of young people fed into the design of services provided by the Council. He advised Members that the Director of Finance would be reporting on the provisional settlement of the Government Revenue Support for 2007/08 and expressed concern that, with an anticipated settlement of 2.7%, the continued provision of excellent services would become increasingly difficult. The Leader advised that the Lyons Report would not be published until March 2007 and he expressed regret that this key element to reforming local government finance had been further delayed. With regard to the recently received White Paper on Local Government the Leader advised that discussions were being held between the Kent district and county authorities to provide an approach to delivering more joined up services which would yield efficiencies and savings for submission by the 25 January deadline. Finally, the Leader highlighted two planning issues. Firstly, the publication of the Barker Report on Land Use Planning and its implications for established Green Belt Policies. Secondly, the stance taken by the Government Office for the South East in respect of the status of the Implementation Plan element of the South East Plan. |
| C 06/112 |
Gambling Act 2005: Draft Statement of Licensing Policy Item AE 06/030 referred from Alcohol and Entertainments Licensing Committee minutes of 13th November, 2006 |
RESOLVED: That the recommendation at Minute AE 06/030 be adopted. |
| C 06/113 |
Local Government White Paper: "Strong and Prosperous Communities" Item CB 06/130 referred from Cabinet minutes of 22nd November, 2006 |
RESOLVED: That the recommendation at Minute CB 06/130 be adopted. |
| C 06/114 |
Proposal to Form a Joint Local Board Item CB 06/131 referred from Cabinet minutes of 22nd November, 2006 |
RESOLVED: That the recommendation at Minute CB 06/131 be adopted. |
| C 06/115 |
Local Code of Corporate Governance Item CB 06/132 referred from Cabinet minutes of 22nd November, 2006 |
RESOLVED: That the recommendation at Minute CB 06/132 be adopted. |
| C 06/116 |
Governance Arrangements for the Internal Management of Investment Funds Item CB 06/133 referred from Cabinet minutes of 22nd November, 2006 |
RESOLVED: That the recommendation at Minute CB 06/133 be adopted. |
| C 06/117 |
Updates to the Constitution: Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2005 - Fixed Penalty Notices |
The Monitoring Officer reported on changes required to the Constitution arising from the appointment of "Authorised Officers" for the purpose of issuing fixed penalty notices under the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2005 and related legislation (Cabinet Decision Notice D060230CAB of 22 November 2006 refers). RESOLVED: That the Monitoring Officer be authorised to make the changes to the Constitution identified in the report. |
| C 06/118 |
Appointments to Outside Bodies |
The report of the Central Services Director advised that a request had been received from the Petley and Deakins Almshouse Charity that Councillors Miss Browne and Dobson be reappointed as trustees for a further four year period on the expiry of their current term of office in December 2006. In addition he advised that the nomination of a Community Governor to St Mark's CE Primary School, Eccles, was required following the death of Mr M Mitchell. RESOLVED: That (1) Councillors Miss Browne and Dobson be reappointed as Trustees to the Petley and Deakins Almshouse Charity for a further four year period; and (2) Mrs Julia Yeo be nominated as Community Governor to St Mark's CE Primary School, Eccles. |
| C 06/119 |
Sealing of Documents |
RESOLVED: That authority be given for the Common Seal of the Council to be affixed to any instrument to give effect to a decision of the Council incorporated into these Minutes and proceedings. |