Agenda and minutes

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 15 July 2014

RESOLVED:  That the Minutes of the proceedings of the meeting of the Council held on 15 July 2014 be approved as a correct record and signed by the Mayor.

The Mayor welcomed Mr Peter Turner of Gideons International who presented her with a copy of the Bible.

Referring to the annual cricket match against Maidstone Borough Council, the Mayor thanked all who had participated and was pleased to report that the Cup had been retained for the seventh time.  Councillor Mark Rhodes then presented the Cricket Cup to the Mayor.

Members were advised that it had been a busy time since the last meeting and the Mayor reflected on a number of memorable events including several Year 6 leavers performances and school fetes, Summer Activate and Y2 Crew, the award presentations at Lords Cricket Ground and a World War 1 commemoration service at St James the Great School, East Malling.  The Mayor had also attended a variety of Twinning events, the opening of new defibrillators at West Malling and Hildenborough, the Nepalese Ladies Community Party and the launch of Music @ Malling.  She also referred to the opening of the Memorial Gardens in Tonbridge by HRH The Duke of Kent, the success of the Tonbridge Half Marathon and the opening of Carroty Wood, and thanked Members who had joined her crew in the Dragon Boat Race.

The Mayor concluded with a reminder of the forthcoming Christmas Festival in Tonbridge on 23 November and the switching on of Christmas Lights in West Malling on 30 November.  Her Charity Dinner would be held at Hadlow Manor on 28 February, followed by an Oast Theatre performance of “When We Are Married” on 24 March and a Buckmore Park Karting Evening on 27 April.

The Deputy Mayor then presented the Mayor with an illustrated book of the Bayeux Tapestry received from Mme Nicole Ameline, MP for the Calvados region of Normandy, during a visit to Tonbridge Castle as the guest of Sir John Stanley MP.

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 forthcoming Remembrance Sunday commemorations by communities across the Borough which this year would also mark the centenary of the First World War.  The Mayor and Deputy Mayor would be attending a ceremony at the newly refurbished Memorial Gardens in Tonbridge in the morning.  In the afternoon the Mayor would attend the remembrance service and parade in West Malling while the Deputy Mayor and Deputy Mayoress would take part in those at Snodland, with the Chief Executive and Leader attending a service and parade at the Royal British Legion Village, Aylesford. 

The Leader indicated that protecting residents and businesses from the threat of flooding was a key priority for the Council.  He was pleased to report that the Kent and Medway Economic Partnership had included improvements to the Leigh Flood Storage Area in a bid to the South East LEP for submission to the government.  The capacity improvements at Leigh had been costed at £11.2M and whilst there was confidence in an award of core funding, further partnership funding would be required, resulting in the bid to the Regional Growth Fund.  The Leader thanked the officers for their continuing work with colleagues at the Environment Agency and Kent County Council in providing technical support and it was noted that additional financial support of £100k had been committed towards development and design work for increasing the capacity of the flood storage area.

The Borough Council had recently received the Annual Audit Letter for 2013/14 which, the Leader advised, had concluded that: “the Council continues to have a strong focus on effective financial management, with a robust medium term planning framework and well-established processes for budget monitoring. There is an effective framework to address financial pressures and to deliver planned savings."  In acknowledgement of such a strong endorsement of the Council’s approach to financial stewardship the Leader, on behalf of Members, particularly wished to thank the Director of Finance and Transformation and her team, as well as Management Team colleagues.  It was noted that the Audit Letter would be reported formally to the General Purposes Committee on 13 November.

The Leader referred to the recent speech by the local government minister, Kris Hopkins, at the annual general meeting of the National Association of Local Councils when he had applauded those councils that were passing funds down to the town and parish councils.  He was therefore pleased that for a second year running, the Council’s support to local town and parish councils had included New Homes Bonus (NHB) income within the settlement.  He indicated that if NHB had not been included, the reduction this year would have been 13.4% or £23,011 whereas the increase of 1.3% actually approved was worth £2,232, resulting in a net benefit to the parishes of £25,243.

Referring to the recent consideration by the Communities and Health Advisory Board, the Leader advised that 102 community groups and 15 parish councils had also received funding totalling almost £219,000 from the Community Enhancement Fund, set up  ...  view the full minutes text for item C 14/71

Item LA 14/71 referred from Licensing and Appeals Committee minutes of 16 September 2014

Item LA 14/71 referred from Licensing and Appeals Committee minutes of 16 September 2014

RESOLVED:  That the recommendations at Minute LA 14/71 be adopted.

Item LA 14/72 referred from Licensing and Appeals Committee minutes of 16 September 2014

Item LA 14/72 referred from Licensing and Appeals Committee minutes of 16 September 2014

RESOLVED:  That the recommendations at Minute LA 14/72 be adopted.

Item CB 14/66 referred from Cabinet minutes of 8 October 2014

Item CB 14/66 referred from Cabinet minutes of 8 October 2014

RESOLVED:  That the recommendations at Minute CB 14/66 be adopted.

Item CB 14/67 referred from Cabinet minutes of 8 October 2014

Item CB 14/67 referred from Cabinet minutes of 8 October 2014

RESOLVED:  That the recommendations at Minute CB 14/67 be adopted.

Item AP1 14/42 referred from Area 1 Planning Committee minutes of 11 September 2014

Item AP1 14/42 referred from Area 1 Planning Committee minutes of 11 September 2014

RESOLVED:  That the recommendations at Minute AP1 14/42 be adopted.

The report of the Monitoring Officer gave details of amendments required to the Constitution to reflect the Openness of Local Government Bodies Regulations 2014 which provided for members of the public to report and commentate on public meetings of local authorities.  A copy of the Department for Communities and Local Government guide for the press and public on attending and reporting meetings was provided for Members’ information.

RESOLVED:  That the Monitoring Officer be authorised to amend the Constitution to give effect to the changes set out at paragraph 1.2.2 of the report.

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.