Agenda and minutes

There were apologies for absence received from Councillors G Cowan and N Dixon.

It was noted that, in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 4, Councillor S F Bannister was appointed as substitute for Councillor G Cowan.

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 9 September 2017, 13 September 2017, 13 December 2017 (to follow) and 17 January 2018 (attached).

The Minutes of the meetings of the Committee held on 9 September 2017, 13 September 2017 and 17 January 2018 were approved as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

The Minutes of the meeting of the Committee held on 13 December 2017 were deferred the next meeting.

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 right of the public to speak does not apply to the following agenda items: Apologies, Appointment of Substitute Members, Declarations of Interest, Minutes, the Forward Plan, the Scrutiny Work Programme, any agenda item that is not accompanied by a written report and items that are exempt business.

The Democratic Services Manager advised that no members of the public had registered to speak on items on the agenda to which the public speaking protocol applied.

There were no decisions taken by the Cabinet at its meeting held on 16 April 2018 in respect of recommendations from the Scrutiny (Community and Regeneration) Committee.

There were no items of business to consider.

There were no items of business to consider.

(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 of business to consider.

The Democratic Services Manager presented the Notice of Forthcoming Key Decisions to the Committee for its consideration.

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

The Democratic Services Manager presented the Scrutiny Work Programme to the Committee for its consideration.

Members were asked to provide their Key Questions for the Private Sector Landlords meeting (date to be confirmed) to the Democratic Services Manager.

RESOLVED:   That the Work Programme be noted.

To receive an update from the Head of Inward Investment.

The Head of Inward Investment provided a presentation and update on the regeneration of the district to the Committee and took questions from Members.

The key regeneration topics covered in the presentation were:

Transportation Infrastructure

·        M2/A2 strategic network improvements – required to support the new Lower Thames Crossing, the growth of Canterbury and the ports of Dover and Ramsgate; also including Brenley Corner improvements; A2 dualling from Lydden to Dover and the bifurcation of traffic to the Port of Dover.

·        M20/A20 improvements – supporting the growth of Ashford, Dover and Shepway, including a solution to Operation Stack, HGV overnight parking and access to the Port of Dover.

·        Public transport improvements – including: South Eastern’s franchise renewal; Dover Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) and; improving access to north Deal for future development and connecting to the A256 to ease pressure on the A258.

Members considered the profound effect these plans could have on this part of the county. This district had a fragile road network and it was essential to ensure the fluidity of traffic throughout the district. The Head of Inward Investment was hopeful that government would programme the dualling of the A2 carriageway into the Lower Thames Crossing plans.

With the onset of Brexit Members were concerned there was little known information available to Members and the public concerning the impact the potential delays, due to increased checks at the Port, would have on this district’s roads and the rest of Kent. Recent studies by Imperial College and the University of Kent had been completed and the Leader was engaged with a number of parties. Concerns had been raised to the various parties involved regarding the potential impact of delays to the districts road network. Members argued that the data modelling so far was too crude. DDC should be producing its own studies analysing various variables, including the time to check loads, the number of lorries/vehicles that could be checked at once and future trends at the Port and use this information to provide the public and Council with a more detailed analysis.

Further attributing to the anticipated pressure on the districts roads was the commercial and large housing developments taking place. In particular it was recognised that as more homes were completed in Whitfield, the Whitfield roundabout which was regularly congested, was only likely to worsen as the White Cliffs Phase 2 was finished and the Lower Thames Crossing would divert more traffic down the M2/A2. The Committee believed this could be alleviated with a new Whitfield by-pass in the medium term. Members were reminded that the first phase of the Whitfield development would deliver traffic light improvements to the Whitfield roundabout.

Development Locations

·         Discovery Park – currently had 160 companies and 3,400 employees.

·         Betteshanger Business Park – visitor centre had progressed and was scheduled to open in spring 2019. Projections of 150,000+ visitors were expected.

·         Tilmanstone Colliery – fabricated panels for construction industry. 105 employees, exporting to 160 countries. Confirmation from Multipanel UK that they were continuing their  ...  view the full minutes text for item 114.