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

To confirm the Minutes of the meeting held on 19 July 2023 (to follow).

The Minutes of the meeting held on 19 July 2023 were approved as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

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 receive any announcements from the Chairman of the Council, the Leader of the Council, Members of the Cabinet or the Head of Paid Service.

The Chairman of the Council made an announcement in respect of the Hamas-Israel War. He mourned the loss of innocent life and condemned Hamas and terrorism.

He called on Members to stand in silence as a mark of respect.

To receive an oral report at the meeting from the Leader (and Cabinet) on the business of the Executive or on any topic or subject that it is felt should be brought to the attention of the Council.

In accordance with Council Procedure Rule 10 (Leader’s Time):

(a)  The Leader (and Cabinet) shall have up to 15 minutes to make within this report any statements that they wish on any topic or subject that they feel should be drawn to the attention of the Council.

(b)  The Leader of the Main Opposition Group (or their nominee) shall be allowed up to 10 minutes to respond.

(c)  The Leader of the Council shall be allowed up to 5 minutes to exercise a right of reply (or 25% of the time given to the Opposition Group Leader(s), whichever is the greatest).

The Leader of the Council, Councillor K Mills, included the following matters in his report:

(a)  That he had met with the Leader of Kent County Council (KCC). He had been promised details on the Levelling Up Fund Bid for the Port of Dover. It was important for District Councillors to know the details as it would impact on the people of the district.

(b)  That KCC’s overview and scrutiny committee had considered the future of the Joint Transportation Advisory Boards in Kent and had recommended that they be abolished. The Council had not received any further information on this from KCC and had requested to be updated on the future of the Boards.

(c)   To advise that KCC had made a devolution bid and to express concern at the elected mayor model of governance proposed given that Kent was not a city. 

(d)  That representatives from KCC had visited the district to see the challenges it faced.

(e)  That a joint letter on the future arrangements for Port Health had been sent by the Leader and Natalie Elphicke, MP for Dover. It reiterated that Dover District Council was the Port Health authority not Ashford Borough Council and expressed the concern that moving checks away from Dover to Ashford endangered public safety.

(f)    To thank all those involved in Kearsney Abbey winning a Green Flag award.

(g)  That he had met with representatives from Southern Housing who were looking at opportunities for investing in the district.

(h)  To thank all those involved in making the fun day at Guston such a great success.

(i)    That he had attended the Dover Pride event with the Deputy Leader and had found it to be a fantastic event. He thanked all those who had made it a success.

(j)    That he had attended the re-opening of the Sandwich Jubilee Centre and hoped that it would be a great success.

(k)   That he had visited the Deal Food Bank and the Dover Foodbank and had been very impressed by their work. He noted that demand had been going up and users now included many who were in work. He thanked the volunteers for their service.

The Leader of the Opposition Group, Councillor T J Bartlett, included the following matters in his report:   

(a)  That he was pleased to see attendance of Councillor C F Woodgate given how long it had been since he had last attended a meeting.

(b)  That he had taken a food collection from Staple Church to the Deal Foodbank. He expressed the hope that the food was being used to help people given the large stock held.

(c)   To question the effectiveness of the Labour administration since taking office in May. He pointed to a 13 minute Cabinet meeting, the absence of a new Corporate Plan and raised questions concerning social housing and progress on bus routes.

(d)  To recognise Kearsney Abbey as a great asset for the district.

(e)  To congratulate the Head of Property Assets, the Head of  ...  view the full minutes text for item 32.

There were none.

To receive answers in respect of questions from the public to Members of the Executive asked in accordance with Rule 11 of the Council Procedure Rules.

(a)  Questions will be asked in the order in which notice of them was received, except that the Chairman may group together similar questions.

(b)  The period for questions by the public shall be limited so that no further questions shall be put after the elapse of 15 minutes from the commencement of the first question.

(c)   A maximum of three minutes is allowed for the each question to be read.

(d)  A questioner who has put a question in person may also put one supplementary question without notice to the member who has replied to his or her original question. A supplementary question must arise directly out of the original question or the reply.

(e)  Afterwards, any other Member at the Chairman's discretion may speak for up to two minutes on a question or reply.

Questions from the Public

The questions received during the notice period are set out in the agenda papers.

QUESTION 1

RAISED BY SARAH WAITE-GLEAVE, A MEMBER OF THE PUBLIC, UNDER COUNCIL PROCEDURE RULE 11:

“Mindful of the encouraging assurances made by the DDC leader at the last full council meeting in July, what progress has been made as regards replacing the closeted Climate Change PAG with a structure with slightly wider representation?”

RESPONSE FROM THE LEADER OF THE COUNCIL, COUNCILLOR K MILLS:

“We are proposing to replace the Climate Change PAG with a forum covering both Climate Change & Nature Recovery. This will be constituted with a wider membership. Draft terms of reference are being prepared, with the intention of seeking the formal approval of Cabinet.”

A supplementary question was asked in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 11.8.

QUESTION 2

RAISED BY DR BRIAN PHILP MBE, A MEMBER OF THE PUBLIC, COUNCIL PROCEDURE RULE 11:

“Whilst wishing the new Council every future success, please could I ask that, in view of the massive 50 year programme of excavation, publication and tourism by my Kent Archaeological Rescue Unit across ancient Dover, which included the discovery, excavation, preservation and fund raising for the Roman Painted House, and the later construction of the cover-building over it, the latter on behalf of the PH Trust, and the subsequent management for 46 years ending in June 2022, which won four national awards and welcomed over 700,000 visitors, at no management cost to Dover Council, that the new Council could very kindly consider acknowledging our major contribution to tourism and heritage of this World famous town? “

RESPONSE FROM THE LEADER OF THE COUNCIL, COUNCILLOR K MILLS:

“We all know that Dover benefits from a rich archaeological heritage, of which the Roman Painted House is just one fine example. I am sure that I speak for the whole Council in saying that we are all grateful for the work of those trustees and volunteers who have helped with the preservation and management of the Roman Painted House since it was first excavated some 50 years ago.”

A supplementary question was asked in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 11.8.

To consider the report of the Strategic Director (Place and Environment) (to follow).

The Portfolio Holder for Finance, Governance, Climate Change and Environment, Councillor S H Beer, introduced the report on the Climate and Ecology Bill.

It was moved by Councillor S H Beer, duly seconded by Councillor J L Pout and

RESOLVED:   That the Council formally record its support for the Climate & Ecology Bill.

To consider the attached report of the Head of Corporate Services and Democracy.

Councillor H M Williams introduced the report on the Corporate Governance Local Code Review.

It was moved by Councillor H M Williams, duly seconded by Councillor S H Beer, and

RESOLVED: That the revised Corporate Governance Local Code be adopted.

To consider the attached report of the Head of Finance & Investment and the Monitoring Officer.

Councillor H M Williams introduced the report on the Revision to Contract Standing Orders.

It was moved by Councillor H M Williams, duly seconded by Councillor S H Beer, and

RESOLVED:   That the Council, acting on the recommendation of the Governance Committee and the Monitoring Officer, adopt the revised Contract Standing Orders as appended to the report.

To consider the attached report of the Strategic Director (Corporate and Regulatory).

The Deputy Leader and Portfolio Holder for Transport, Licensing and Environmental Services, Councillor J L Pout, introduced the report on the Revised Statement of Policy and Principles issued under the Gambling Act 2005 (2023 – 2026).

It was moved by Councillor J L Pout, duly seconded by Councillor C D Zosseder, and

RESOLVED:   That the revised Statement of Policy and Principles under the Gambling Act 2005 be approved.

Up to 60 minutes is allowed for this part of the meeting unless extended by the Chairman of the Council or on a motion moved, duly seconded and approved by the Council.  Members may ask one supplementary question in addition to their original question.

Members may ask one supplementary question in addition to their original question.

The questions received are set out in the order received in the agenda papers.

In accordance with Rule 12(1) of the Council Procedure Rules, Members of the Cabinet responded to the following questions:

QUESTION 1

COUNCILLOR S H HILL ASKED THE PORTFOLIO HOLDER FOR TRANSPORT, LICENSING AND ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES, COUNCILLOR J L POUT:

"Traffic in Dover greatly affects residents in my ward and Dover more widely at peak times. Therefore, would you expect the planned improvements at Brenley Corner to impact Dover?"

IN RESPONSE THE PORTFOLIO HOLDER FOR TRANSPORT, LICENSING AND ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES, COUNCILLOR J L POUT, STATED:

“At this stage, it is not anticipated that the work at Brenley Corner will impact Dover traffic. The number of vehicles using the roads around Dover will remain the same, the works will relieve pressure at Brenley corner but not naturally increase volume towards Dover. A better option would be to dual the A2, allowing greater volumes of traffic to access the port via the A2/M2 corridor and relieving pressure on the A20 along the sea front. And finally, whilst new funding was being announced, a new roundabout at the entrance to Samphire Hoe would move lorries queuing for TAP away from Aycliffe, greatly improving their quality of life and improving the strategic road network at the same time.”

QUESTION 2

COUNCILLOR C A VINSON ASKED THE PORTFOLIO HOLDER FOR FINANCE, GOVERNANCE, CLIMATE CHANGE AND ENVIRONMENT :

“What would be the financial cost to Dover District Council of triggering the break clause in the waste collection and street cleansing contract before its current end date in 2029?”

IN RESPONSE THE PORTFOLIO HOLDER FOR FINANCE, GOVERNANCE, CLIMATE CHANGE AND ENVIRONMENT, COUNCILLOR S H BEER, STATED:

“There is no formal break clause within the Veolia contract, however, the contract can be terminated by the contractor if there is a Council default; or by the Council if there is a contractor default. It can also be terminated in the case of a force majeure.

In the event of a default by the contractor direct costs can theoretically be recovered, but even so, the cost of any termination would be very significant, given the need to make alternative service arrangements. A conservative estimate of such costs would be that they would be at least £500k.”

A supplementary question was asked in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 12.6.

QUESTION 3

COUNCILLOR N S KENTON ASKED THE PORTFOLIO HOLDER FOR PLANNING AND BUILT ENVIRONMENT, COUNCILLOR E A BIGGS:

“Why is there no consultation planned with residents and existing service users in relation to the changes to the garden waste collection service agreed at Cabinet in September 2023, when a consultation was specifically required in the previous Cabinet decision made in December 2022?”

IN RESPONSE THE PORTFOLIO HOLDER FOR PLANNING AND BUILT ENVIRONMENT, COUNCILLOR E A BIGGS, STATED:

“As Cllr Kenton is well aware, the proposal to change the containers used for garden waste collections formed part of Veolia’s contract submission in 2020.

The report submitted to Cabinet in December 2022 was simply seeking formal agreement  ...  view the full minutes text for item 39.

There were no items of urgent business for consideration.