Decisions

Consideration of recommendation HP 22/12 from the meeting of the Housing and Planning Scrutiny Select Committee of 6 September 2022.

Further to the recommendation of the Scrutiny Select Committee, the Director of Planning, Housing and Environmental Health confirmed that the Members views in respect of the General Data Protection Rules (GDPR) would be given due regard as part of the consultation process and that the Urban Capacity Study specification and methodology would be circulated to Members under confidential cover as soon as possible.  In addition, a number of factual points had been raised and these would be clarified and corrected if appropriate before the consultation was published.

The Cabinet RESOLVED that:

(1)         the commencement of the Regulation 18 consultation on the draft Local Plan and Interim Sustainability Appraisal be approved;

(2)         authority be delegated to the Director of Planning, Housing and Environmental Health for any minor amendments, including typographical corrections, to the Regulation 18 consultation on the draft Local Plan; and

(3)         the publishing of evidence base documents, as set out in Annex 2 to the report, alongside the draft Local Plan be approved.

(Report of Director of Finance and Transformation)

The report outlined proposed changes to the current Covid-19 Additional Relief Fund and set out a number of options to maximise the amount of relief that could be awarded to local businesses.

It was noted that £329,672 of the original allocation provided by Government during the pandemic remained unspent and this would be returned when the deadline for award relief expired on 30 September 2022.

Careful consideration was given to the options set out in the report, together with the legal implications and the financial and value for money implications.  Given the current economic climate, the Cabinet felt that local businesses could benefit from additional discretionary relief funding and on balance felt that a combination of Options B and C represented best value for money and financial support.  This would provide businesses with grant funding totalling approximately £312,000.

The Cabinet RESOLVED that:

(1)             Options B and C, to increase the rateable value limit to £109,999 and include advertising rights in the list of eligible properties be  progressed with immediate effect. 

(Report of Director of Central Services and Deputy Chief Executive)

Further to Decision Notice D210040CAB of 16 March 2021, the report of the Director of Central Services and Deputy Chief Executive advised that East Peckham Parish Council had secured alternative land for the provision of allotments.  Consequently, they no longer wished to pursue the Compulsory Purchase Order as previously agreed.

Cabinet considered whether to continue with the Compulsory Purchase Order to acquire the land as allotments to by administered by the Borough Council or to discontinue with making the Oder.

Having had regard to the legal implications, the financial and value for money considerations and the risk assessment detailed in the report, the Cabinet RESOLVED that:

(1)             the making of a Compulsory Purchase Order under s.39(7) of the Small Holdings and Allotments Act 1908 in relation to land at Church Lane, East Peckham be discontinued.

(Report of Director of Planning, Housing and Environmental Health)

Consideration was given to a revised Housing Allocations Scheme which had been amended to reflect several significant changes in legislation including the introduction of the Homelessness Reduction Act 2017 and the Domestic Abuse Act 2021. The opportunity was also taken to ensure that the Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council Scheme was fit for purpose and legislatively correct.

Any changes to an allocations scheme required local authorities to engage with housing providers operating in the local area to ensure they had a reasonable opportunity to comment on the proposals.  In addition, the guidance advised that when an alteration was made which reflected a major change of policy then the local authority had to notify those affected by the changes and have the effect of that change brought to their attention.

Particular reference was made to the implementation of new IT systems used by Kent Homechoice Partnership for the administration of the Housing Register.  As  a result, it was proposed that the launch of the Housing Allocations Scheme was delayed until late Spring 2023 to co-ordinate with these changes.

After careful consideration of the legal implications, the financial and value for money considerations and the equality impact assessment, the Cabinet RESOLVED that:

(1)             the draft Housing Allocations Scheme (set out at Appendix B) be approved;

(2)             responsibility for agreeing and implementing the final version of the Scheme, following the required engagement, be delegated to the Director of Planning, Housing and Environmental Health in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Housing; and

(3)             the implementation of the new Scheme in line with the implementation of the new housing system, due to be launched in Spring 2023, be approved.

(Joint report of the Cabinet Member for Technical and Waste Services and the Director of Street Scene, Leisure and Technical Services)

Following its temporary suspension, Cabinet considered the future of the Saturday Freighter Service.  Consideration was also given to recommendation CE 22/5 (1) from the Communities and Environment Scrutiny Select Committee of 20 July 2022.

Careful consideration was given to the fact that the service did not encourage recycling; none of the waste collected, apart from electrical items, could be recycled;  alternative disposal opportunities were now available to residents (as detailed in 1.3 of the report) including the recent opening of KCC’s Household Waste Recycling Centre at Allington; environmental factors; that there appeared to be no correlation between the level of incidents of fly tipping and the continued suspension of the service and customer feedback.

Particular reference was made to the financial and value for money considerations (as detailed in 1.9 of the report) and it was recognised that the reinstatement of the service would impact on the income received by the Borough Council from the bookable bulky collection service and the recycling Performance Payments received from KCC.  However, the impact of either of these elements was difficult to estimate. 

It was also noted that a Saturday Freighter was not provided by other local authorities in Kent, with the exception of Tunbridge Wells Borough Council, and the service was discretionary.

On the grounds that alternative opportunities for the disposal of bulky items existed, that data suggested no correlation between increased fly tipping and the suspension of the service, that the service did not promote or incentivise residents to recycle and did not support the Borough Council’s Climate Change Strategy and that the non-reinstatement of the service would deliver a saving compared to the current budget provision Cabinet RESOLVED that:

(1)             the recommendation of the Communities and Environment Scrutiny Select Committee to remove the Saturday Freighter Service be approved.

Consideration of recommendation HP 22/6 from the meeting of the Housing and Planning Scrutiny Select Committee of 19 July 2022.

The Cabinet RESOLVED that:

(1)             the contents of the report presented to the Scrutiny Select Committee be noted;

(2)             the concerns of Members with not having an agreed protocol in place be set out and relayed to the County Cabinet Member for Highways and Transport; and

(3)             a Member and Senior Officer Group be established to liaise with Kent County Council with the aim to seek a compromise on an agreed protocol, articulating a counter proposal from Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council

Consideration of recommendation HP 22/5 from the meeting of the Housing and Planning Scrutiny Select Committee of 19 July 2022.

Members attention was drawn to two amendments that had arisen since the meeting of the Housing and Planning Scrutiny Select Committee as detailed below:

(1)             Page 7, first paragraph, to read:

‘Local Authorities are required to publish all consultation documents on their website and make copies available at the Council offices, in the case of Tonbridge and Malling this is the Gibson Building, Kings Hill and Gateway at Tonbridge Castle (unless this is unachievable due to national or local lockdowns associated with the Covid-19 pandemic).’

(2)         Page 8, first sentence, to read:

‘Place notices on Council owned boards and those owned by parish councils.’

The Cabinet RESOLVED that:

(1)             subject to the two amendments set out above, the Statement of Community Involvement be adopted for development management and planning policy purposes

Consideration of recommendation OS 22/24 from the meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee of 7 July 2022.

The Cabinet RESOLVED that:

Subject to the:

·        clarification of the wording of the Protocol with regard to access to key information (in accordance with paragraph 40 of the Statutory Guidance) in consultation with the Leader and Chair of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee; and

·        amendment of ‘expectations of Cabinet’ so that the first paragraph read as follows:

‘It is expected that Cabinet Portfolio Holders should attend meetings of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee in person, when requested, to present reports relevant to their portfolio and answer any relevant questions.  Where a Portfolio Holder is unable to attend on a particular date it is expected that another Portfolio Holder or the Leader will attend on their behalf.’

the draft Protocol (as set out at Annex 1 to the report) be approved.