Agenda and minutes

An apology for absence was received from Councillor P M Brivio.

It was noted that, in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 4, Councillor B Gardner was appointed as substitute for Councillor P M Brivio.

To receive any declarations of interest from Members in respect of business to be transacted on the agenda.

There were no declarations of interest made by Members.

To confirm the Minutes of the meeting of the Committee held on 13 July 2016 (to follow).

The Minutes of the meeting of the Committee held on 13 July 2016 were approved as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

Please note that in accordance with the agreed Protocol for Public Speaking at Overview and Scrutiny, the right to speak does not apply to any items on the agenda.

The Chairman proposed that, with the consent of the meeting, the order of the agenda items be varied to take Agenda Item 11 (Exclusion of the Press and Public) followed by Agenda Item 12 (Project Approval for Refurbishment of Norman Tailyour House) next in proceedings.

RESOLVED:   That the order of the agenda be varied to take Agenda Items 11 (Exclusion of the Press and Public) and Agenda Item 12 (Project Approval for Refurbishment of Norman Tailyour House) next in proceedings.

It was proposed by Councillor R J Frost, duly seconded and

RESOLVED:   That under Section 100(A)(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public be excluded from the meeting for the consideration of Item No 12 within the report on the grounds that the item to be considered involves the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in the paragraph 3 of Part 1 Schedule 12A of the 1972 Act.

To consider the attached report of the Director of Finance, Housing and Community.

The Head of Strategic Housing introduced the report on the Project Approval for the Refurbishment of Norman Tailyour House.

Members discussed the arrangements for the tendering of the work on the project now that it had received planning permission and emphasised the importance of ensuring that displaced residents were kept informed throughout the refurbishment process. Members expressed frustration on behalf of the tenants for the time it had taken to get to the current stage in the project and that tenants were disappointed with the communication they had received. In response, the Head of Strategic Housing advised that he had written to and met with tenants throughout the process along with East Kent Housing and the Independent Living Manager acting as the tenant liaison officer on the scheme.

The work carried out on the design and feasibility of the scheme had been a lengthy process during which sufficient capacity had become available in-house to complete the design work rather than use consultants. Planning permission for the remodelling and improvement work was granted on 28 July 2016 and Property Services would hope to issue tenders for the work within a month. The start of the development would be dependent on the appointment of the successful contractor and their earliest available start date although officers were keen for the work to start as soon as possible and to minimise the time tenants would be displaced from their homes. Prior to the tender process an essential asbestos survey which could impact on the tender depending on the findings would need to be carried out and tenants would have to vacate their homes for this to take place.

Members were assured that despite the standard of the existing accommodation there had still been a demand for this type of scheme within a town centre location and the demographic projections in the area showed an increase in the number of over 65s – 80s. The Strategic Housing Manager would provide Members with the number of people on the waiting list for this type of accommodation and the priorities in the allocation policy.

RESOLVED: That it be recommended to the Cabinet that Decision CAB46 be endorsed as follows:

(a)   That it be noted that the design work had been completed and a planning consent obtained for the remodelling and improvement work.

(b)   That delegated authority be granted to the Director of Finance, Housing and Community, in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Housing, Health and Wellbeing, to approve the award of a building contract to enable the remodelling and improvement of Norman Tailyour House.

(c)   That the Strategic Housing Manager be requested to provide the following information to the Committee:

(i)     the number of people on the waiting list for this type of accommodation; and

(ii)    the priorities in the allocation policy.

It was moved by Councillor R J Frost, duly seconded and

RESOLVED:   That the press and public be readmitted to the remainder of the meeting.

There were no items for consideration.

(a)    Items placed on the agenda by a Member of the Committee or any individual Non-Executive Member

       Any individual Councillor may request that a matter is placed on the agenda of one of the Council's Overview and Scrutiny Committees.

       There are no items for consideration.

(b)    Call-In

       Executive Decisions may be called-in by the Chairman or Spokesperson of the Scrutiny (Policy and Performance) Committee or any three non-executive members. Call-Ins are heard by the Scrutiny (Policy and Performance) Committee unless it decides to refer the matter to the Scrutiny (Community and Regeneration) Committee.

       There are no items for consideration.

(c)    Public Petitions

       There are no items for consideration.     

There were no items for consideration.

The Democratic Support Officer presented the Notice of Forthcoming Key Decisions to the Committee for its consideration.

Members requested that items 15 (Review of Aylesham Village Expansion Development Agreement) and 21 (Review of Tenancy Strategy and Tenancy Policy) be included within the Work Programme.

RESOLVED:   (a)        That the Notice of Forthcoming Key Decisions be noted.

(b)       That items 15 (Review of Aylesham Village Expansion Development Agreement) and 21 (Review of Tenancy Strategy and Tenancy Policy) be included within the Work Programme.

The Team Leader – Democratic Support presented the Scrutiny Work Programme to the Committee for its consideration. The visit to Dover Town Investment Zone (DTIZ) had been re-scheduled to October and Members would be advised of the revised date once it had been arranged with the Head of Inward Investment.

Members agreed that the following items be prioritised and brought forward in the work programme:

·         South Eastern Trains

·         Kent Police and Crime Commissioner

·         Registered Social Landlord Briefing

The Team Leader – Democratic Support would liaise with Councillor T A Bond to provide contacts and invite representatives from South Eastern Trains to attend a meeting of the committee. Members requested that an invitation be extended to Kent County Council Members, Councillors M R Eddy and K E Morris to the future meeting with the Kent Police and Crime Commissioner.

Councillor T A Bond was keen to receive an update from Southern Water on the current progress in solving flooding in Deal which had not yet been provided and asked that it be followed up.

RESOLVED:  (a)     That the Work Programme be noted.

(b)     That Kent County Council Members, Councillors M R Eddy and K E Morris be invited to the future meeting with the Kent Police and Crime Commissioner.

(c)     That the Team Leader – Democratic Support contact Southern Water to provide an update on the current progress in solving flooding in Deal.

(d)     That the Team Leader – Democratic Support liaise with Councillor T A Bond to provide contacts and invite representatives from South Eastern Trains to attend a meeting of the committee.

Members are asked to set key questions for the following matters:

(a)  Planning Enforcement (12 October 2016)

(b)  East Kent Housing (16 November 2016)

Members were asked to provide key questions for the Planning Enforcement and East Kent Housing meetings scheduled for 12 October and 16 November respectively. The Team Leader – Democratic Support would review and compile a list of the key questions received at the meeting and following to the committee in advance of the meetings.