Agenda and minutes

At the beginning of the meeting the Council observed a minute’s silence in memory of former Mayor and Honorary Alderman, Russell Dorling, who had died on 5 July 2014.

To declare any interests in respect of recommended items

There were no declarations of interest made in accordance with the Code of Conduct.

To confirm as a correct record the Minutes of the meeting of Council held on 13 May 2014

RESOLVED:  That the Minutes of the proceedings of the meeting of the Council held on 13 May 2014 be approved as a correct record and signed by the Mayor.

The Mayor reported that she had attended around 45 events since the Annual Council meeting and mentioned in particular the Royal Garden Party at Buckingham Palace; the “MOBOT” record attempt at Tonbridge School; the Lord Lieutenant of Kent’s Civic Reception; the Snodland and Tonbridge Carnivals; Tonbridge Arts Festival; and the High Sheriff of Kent’s Garden Party.  The highlight, however, had been the Commonwealth Baton Relay Event at Tonbridge Castle with Dame Kelly Holmes and Lizzie Yarnold.

The Mayor had attended several school events in the run up to the end of the school year and handed out many medals to pupils.  She thanked the Deputy Mayor who had also attended a number of events.

Thanks were recorded to those who had been able to attend the Civic Service on 29 June and the Mayor looked forward to seeing Members at her Garden Party at Hadlow College on 23 July.  She requested support for the cricket match against Maidstone Borough Council on 17 August and asked anyone interested in playing to contact the Mayor’s Office.  More team members were also needed for the Dragon Boat Race in Tonbridge on 14 September.

The Mayor concluded by giving notice of some forthcoming diary dates.  These included the Tonbridge Christmas Festival on 23 November, a dinner at Hadlow Manor on 28 February 2015, and events at the Oast Theatre on 24 March 2015 and Buckmore Park on a date yet to be arranged.  Further details would be provided in due course.

No questions were received from members of the public pursuant to Council Procedure Rule No 5.6.

No questions were received from Members pursuant to Council Procedure Rule No 5.5.

The Leader referred to the photograph taken earlier in the evening to mark 40 years of Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council.  He also thanked the Mayor for allowing a minute’s silence in memory of Honorary Alderman Russell Dorling who was highly respected among colleagues and staff alike. 

The Leader commented that a glance through the weekly licensing update and the Mayor’s diary gave a good indication of the hive of activity in the Borough in terms of the summer fairs and carnivals which had taken place.    He highlighted three events in particular and paid tribute to the local organising committees: the Tonbridge Lions for their carnival, Snodland Town Council for its carnival and the Tonbridge Arts Festival Committee for the week long arts festival.

Members were advised of work undertaken with restaurants, pubs and clubs throughout the Borough to ensure that both the Licensing team and Police were aware of World Cup related functions, this initiative having set the standard in Kent.  Likewise, the Environmental Protection team had worked on a number of high profile events, not least the recent Hop Farm festival.

The Leader commended the “Love Kent Hate Litter’ campaign during June, undertaken with communities throughout the Borough and supported by the Council’s own Street Scene team.  In total, there had been 28 supported events, averaging one event a day during the month, and had shown significant results which would be reported to the next meeting of the Local Environmental Management Advisory Board.

Members were advised of a further example of local leadership in addressing the issue of litter which involved businesses in Snodland agreeing to sign up to a voluntary litter code aimed at reducing littering from their premises and the surrounding area.  It was understood that the Town Team in Tonbridge was now working with High Street retailers and others to establish a similar code.

Six months on from the establishment of the Leisure Trust, the Leader was pleased that all the leisure facilities continued to exhibit the highest rating standards.   As reported to the Leisure and Arts Advisory Board, the customer satisfaction rating for Larkfield Leisure Centre was 90 per cent, the Angel Centre 87 per cent, Tonbridge Swimming Pool 88 per cent and Poult Wood Golf Centre 78 per cent, all scores being well in excess of the industry standard of 60 per cent.

Reference was made to the Government’s recent announcement on the outcome of the transport funding across the South East for 2015/16.  The Leader was delighted to report that the two strategic schemes that the Council had fought hard to achieve – namely, Improvements to Junction 4 on the M20 and Tonbridge High Street – had been included against a substantially reduced overall transport budget for the South East. This built on the success of the campaign to bring forward the early construction of the A21 improvements.

Referring to the report of the recent Peer Review Challenge, the Leader placed on record his appreciation to Members and staff who had met  ...  view the full minutes text for item C 14/51

Item AU 14/15 referred from Audit Committee minutes of 14 April 2014

Item AU 14/15 referred from Audit Committee minutes of 14 April 2014

RESOLVED:  That the recommendations at Minute AU 14/15 be adopted.

Item LA 14/42 referred from Licensing and Appeals Committee minutes of 17 June 2014

Item LA 14/42 referred from Licensing and Appeals Committee minutes of 17 June 2014

RESOLVED:  That the recommendations at Minute LA 14/42 be adopted.

Item GP 14/4 referred from General Purposes Committee minutes of 23 June 2014

Item GP 14/4 referred from General Purposes Committee minutes of 23 June 2014

RESOLVED:  That the recommendations at Minute GP 14/4 be adopted.

Item GP 14/5 referred from General Purposes Committee minutes of 23 June 2014

Item GP 14/5 referred from General Purposes Committee minutes of 23 June 2014

RESOLVED:  That the recommendations at Minute GP 14/5 be adopted.

Item GP 14/6 referred from General Purposes Committee minutes of 23 June 2014

Item GP 14/6 referred from General Purposes Committee minutes of 23 June 2014

RESOLVED:  That the recommendations at Minute GP 14/6 be adopted.

Item GP 14/7 referred from General Purposes Committee minutes of 23 June 2014

Item GP 14/7 referred from General Purposes Committee minutes of 23 June 2014

RESOLVED:  That the recommendations at Minute GP 14/7 be adopted.

Item CB 14/48 referred from Cabinet minutes of 25 June 2014

Item CB 14/48 referred from Cabinet minutes of 25 June 2014

RESOLVED:  That the recommendations at Minute CB 14/48 be adopted.

Item CB 14/49 referred from Cabinet minutes of 25 June 2014

Item CB 14/49 referred from Cabinet minutes of 25 June 2014

RESOLVED:  That the recommendations at Minute CB 14/49 be adopted.

Item CB 14/50 referred from Cabinet minutes of 25 June 2014

Item CB 14/50 referred from Cabinet minutes of 25 June 2014

RESOLVED:  That the recommendations at Minute CB 14/50 be adopted.

Item CB 14/51 referred from Cabinet minutes of 25 June 2014

Item CB 14/51 referred from Cabinet minutes of 25 June 2014

RESOLVED:  That the recommendations at Minute CB 14/51 be adopted.

Item AP2 14/14 referred from Area 2 Planning Committee minutes of 16 April 2014

Item AP2 14/14 referred from Area 2 Planning Committee minutes of 16 April 2014

RESOLVED:  That the recommendations at Minute AP2 14/14 be adopted.

The report of the Monitoring Officer set out details of amendments required to the Constitution to reflect changes in working practices associated with the letting of Council contracts. These related to circumstances requiring endorsement of the procurement process by Members, exceptions from procurement rules and reflection of the arrangement with Dartford Borough Council in rules for submission and opening of electronic tenders.

Reference was also made to a proposal to grant delegated authority to the Monitoring Officer to amend the Constitution as a consequence of changes to operational arrangements in the Council’s management structure.

RESOLVED:  That the Monitoring Officer be authorised to amend the Constitution to give effect to the changes outlined in the report subject to adjustment of the wording of the new rule 12.6 set out at paragraph 1.1.5 of the report.

The report of the Chief Executive advised that the urgency provisions under Budget and Policy Framework Procedure Rule 4 and Overview and Scrutiny Procedure Rule 15(i) had been invoked in respect of land charges property searches litigation.  The report identified the reasons for urgency and reminded Members that the call-in procedure did not apply in these circumstances.

RESOLVED: That the report be received and noted.

To authorise the Common Seal of the Council to be affixed to any Contract, Minute, Notice or other document requiring the same.

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.