Agenda, decisions and minutes

Members are reminded of their obligation under the Council’s Code of Conduct to disclose any Disclosable Pecuniary Interests and Other Significant Interests in any matter(s) to be considered or being considered at the meeting. These are explained in the Code of Conduct on the Council’s website at Code of conduct for members – Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council (tmbc.gov.uk).

Members in any doubt about such declarations are advised to contact Legal or Democratic Services in advance of the meeting.

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 the Cabinet held on 3 October 2023

RESOLVED:  That the Minutes of the meeting of the Cabinet held on 3 October 2023 be approved as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

Proposals in respect of existing on street and off street car parking fees and charges will be considered by the Communities and Environment Scrutiny Select Committee on 6 November. 

The recommendations of the Committee are ‘to follow’ and will be circulated in advance of the meeting of Cabinet.

(Decision Notice: D230099CAB)

Consideration was given to recommendation CE 23/45 of the Communities and Environment Scrutiny Select Committee of 6 November 2023 in respect of proposals for existing on street and off street parking fees and charges.

Due regard was given to the set of guiding principles for the setting of fees and charges, the legal, financial and value for money implications together with the views expressed by the Scrutiny Select Committee.  It was also noted that the last annual review of car parking charges was in 2021 and since those charges were implemented in June 2022, the high level of inflation had impacted on the cost of providing the parking service.

RESOLVED:  That

(1)        the proposed fees and charges for existing on street and off street parking, as set out below, be approved for formal public consultation in November 2023 and the outcomes reported to future meetings of the Joint Transportation Board and the Cabinet as appropriate, with implementation from 1 April 2024:

(i)         the schedule of proposed charges for off-street short and long stay parking in Tonbridge as shown in Table 1 of the report, be approved;

(ii)        the schedules of proposed Peak and Off-Peak Season Ticket charges in Tonbridge as shown in Tables 2 and 3 respectively, be approved;

(iii)        the charges for the Tonbridge Town Centre Residents Season ticket be increased to £90 for a 3-month ticket and £360 for an annual ticket respectively as set out in 1.6.4 of the report;

(iv)       the designated area for the Tonbridge Town Centre Residents Season ticket be extended to include residential properties in the area shown in orange in the Plan attached at Annex 1 and as detailed in 1.6.1 of the report;

(v)        the schedules of proposed charges for long stay and short stay parking in West Malling as shown in Tables 4 and 5 respectively and as detailed in 1.8.4 of the report, be approved, including increasing the charge for Ryarsh Lane car park annual season ticket to £290;

(vi)       the schedule of proposed charges for parking in Borough Green Western Road car park as shown in Table 6, be approved;

(vii)       the schedule of proposed charges for Residents Permits as shown in Table 7, be approved; the charge of 6-month Residents Permits offered to non-UK registered vehicles belonging to residents be increased to £28.50, as detailed in 1.9.2 of the report;

(viii)      the schedule of proposed charges for Business and Carers Permits and Dispensations as shown in Table 8, be approved;

(ix)       the charge of Visitor Permits be increased to £14 for a book of 10 permits, with the current offer of 10 free permits to new applicants being retained, as set out in 1.10.2 of the report;

(x)        the schedule of proposed charges for Haysden Country Park car park as shown in Table 9, be approved; and

(xi)       the schedule of proposed charges for on-street Pay & Display parking in Tonbridge as shown in Table 10, be approved; and

(2)      investigation be undertaken in  ...  view the full minutes text for item CB 23/100

Proposals for fees and charges for the provision of services in respect of garden waste subscriptions, household bulky refuse & fridge/freezer collections, “missed” refuse collections, stray dog redemption fees, Tonbridge Allotments, Tonbridge Cemetery, events, billboards and banners, food certificates, contaminated land monitoring and private water supplies from 1 April 2024 will be considered by the Communities and Environment Scrutiny Select Committee on 6 November. 

The recommendations of the Committee are  ‘to follow’ and will be circulated in advance of the meeting of Cabinet.

(Decision Notice D230100CAB)

Consideration was given to recommendation CE 23/46 of the Communities and Environmental Scrutiny Select Committee of 6 November 2023 in respect of proposed fees and charges for garden waste, household bulky refuse and fridge/freezer collections, ‘missed’ refuse collections, stray dog redemption fees, Tonbridge Allotments, Tonbridge Cemetery, events, billboards and banners, food certificates, contaminated land monitoring and private water supplies from 1 April 2024.

Due regard was given to the set of guiding principles for the setting of fees and charges, the legal, financial and value for money implications, together with the views expressed by the Scrutiny Select Committee.  The fees and charges applied by neighbouring authorities, and averages across the County, were also given careful consideration.

RESOLVED:  That

(1)      the proposed annual garden waste subscription of £53 for the first bin and £36 for a second or third bin, as set out in 1.2.4 of the report, be approved;

(2)      the schedule of proposed charges for household bulky refuse and fridge/freezer collection service as set out in 1.3.5 and 1.3.6 of the report, be approved;

(3)      the proposed charge for “missed” refuse collection as set out in 1.4.3 of the report, be approved;

(4)      the schedule of proposed charges in respect of Stray Dog redemption service, as set out in 1.5.3 to 1.5.5 of the report, be approved;

(5)      the charging structure for Tonbridge Allotment as set out in 1.6.1 and 1.6.2 of the report, be noted;

(6)      the schedule of proposed charges for Tonbridge Cemetery as set out in Annex 1 and 1.7.2 of the report, be approved;

(7)      the schedule of proposed charges for Events on Public Open Spaces, including the hire of billboards and banners, as set out in Annex 2 and 1.8 of the report, be approved;

(8)      the proposed charge for condemned food certificates as set out in 1.9.2 of the report, be approved;

(9)      the proposed charge for exported food certificates as set out in 1.10.4 of the report, be approved;

(10)    the proposed charge for provision of services in respect of contaminated land as set out in 1.13.5 of the report, be approved;

(11)    the proposed charge for provision of services in respect of private water supplies as set out in 1.14.3 and 1.14.5 of the report, be approved; and

(12)    the above proposed scale of charges be implemented from 1 April 2024.

A record of the decisions taken by portfolio holders since the last meeting of Cabinet are attached.

Details of the Decisions taken in accordance with the rules for the making of decisions by executive members, as set out in Part 4 of the Constitution, were presented for information.

The Chairman to move that the press and public be excluded from the remainder of the meeting during consideration of any items the publication of which would disclose exempt information.

There were no items considered in private.