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Contact: Democratic Services Email: democraticservices@dover.gov.uk
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To receive any apologies for absence. Minutes: An apology for absence was received from Councillor J L Pout. |
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To confirm the Minutes of the meeting held on 17 July 2024 (to follow). Additional documents: Minutes: |
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Declarations of Interest To receive any declarations of interest from Members in respect of business to be transacted on the agenda. Minutes: The Monitoring Officer advised Members in respect of the item on the Adoption of Dover District Local Plan 2020-40 (Minute No. 40) and potential for a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest or an Other Significant Interest in land included in respect of site allocations.
The Monitoring Officer also advised Members that in respect of the item on the Motion (Minute No. 42), he had consulted with the Chairman and Vice-Chairman of the Governance Committee and following that had granted the dispensations requested by Members in respect of it.
The dispensation granted relieved those Members from both of the restrictions in paragraph 5 of the Code (participation in discussions and voting) on the grounds that without the dispensation, the number of persons prohibited from participating in the particular business would be so great a proportion of the Council as to impede the transaction of the business and/or the representation of different political groups on the Council would be so upset as to alter the likely outcome of any vote relating to the motion. The dispensation applied for the duration of the Council meeting on 16 October 2024.
Members were advised that where they had been granted a dispensation, they were still required to declare the interest.
Councillor T J Bartlett declared a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest in Minute No. 40 (Adoption of Dover District Local Plan 2020-40) by reason of his family having land identified in the Local Plan.
Councillor N S Kenton declared a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest in Minute No. 40 (Adoption of Dover District Local Plan 2020-40) by reason of his having land identified in the Local Plan as a commercial site.
Councillor D R Friend declared a Voluntary Announcement of Other Interests (VAOI) in Minute No. 40 (Adoption of Dover District Local Plan 2020-40). Although he had previously made public comments on a site in the Local Plan he had not predetermined his decision on the matter and was approaching it with an open mind and would determine it on its merits.
Councillor D G Beaney declared a Voluntary Announcement of Other Interest (VAOI) in Minute No. 40 (Adoption of Dover District Local Plan 2020-40) due to his involvement in the Local Plan.
Councillor D P Murphy declared an Other Significant Interest by reason of his position as a Cabinet Member at Kent County Council he had made comments on all of the district’s local plans.
Councillor S B Blair stated that she did not have any interests to declare.
The following Members declared an Other Significant Interest in Minute No. 42 (Motions) and advised that they had been granted a dispensation in respect of it to relieve the restrictions of paragraph 5 of the Code (participation in discussions and voting).
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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. Minutes: There were no announcements. |
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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). Minutes: The Leader of the Council, Councillor K Mills, included the following matters in his report:
The Leader invited the Portfolio Holder for Community and Corporate Property Councillor C D Zosseder to speak on the following matters:
(a) To congratulate all involved in getting the Roman Painted House open for the public to visit. There had been 1,534 visitors in the six days it had been open and the feedback received from the public had been very positive. (b) To inform Members that the tennis court at Connaught Park would be open for half-term. (c) The launch of safe spaces initative by community services. (d) The tenders for play parks in Marke Wood, Bulwarks and Travers would be looked at next month. She was really pleased to see these progressing.
The Leader spoke to the following matters:
(a) That the Government was keen to progress with devolution, although the form was not yet clear. He expected to learn more at the LGA conference the following week. There had been discussions at Kent Leaders and East Kent Leaders on it and it was important district leaders had an input into it. There needed to be funding to support devolution. (b) The Cabinet had agreed the Council Motion considered by Overview and Scrutiny Committee. He recognised the importance of the Council reflecting society but also noted that this was something that the political parties were vital to in selecting their candidates. (c) He had met with the two local Members of Parliament, Mike Tapp and Roger Gale. It had been a very positive meeting and there would be regular meetings going forward. (d) He had visited Woodpecker Court awards ceremony. He praised the good work being done there and the difference it was making to the students. The school was happy for Members to visit by appointment. (e) The Crosslinks Centre, Buckland frontages had been completed. It had tidied up the area and it was hoped it would instil pride locally. (f) The Beacon Project was progressing well. Archaeology had found the remains of an ancient pub but nothing in the archaeology would cause a significant delay to the works. There had been good cross-party working on this. (g) The feedback on the Roman Painted House had overwhelmingly positive. While the work of Dr Brian Philp and the KARU couldn’t be underestimated, people were very happy to see it open. A lot had been done in a very short timescale and while more needed to be done, it was vital for the public to be able to visit it. Dover needed to be a destination and had a heritage spanning from the bronze age to the cold war. (h) The Local Plan was a fantastic example of cross-party working and there had been very few changes required at the end of the process. The work done by the officers and the members of the Local Plan PAG was excellent. (i) The public consultation on Tides was underway and he encouraged everyone to be ... view the full minutes text for item 35. |
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Seat Allocation and Group Appointments To receive from Group Leaders any changes to seat allocations or appointments.
(Note: Any changes must be within the approved allocation of seats to political groups in accordance with the political balance rules (where applicable).) Minutes: There were none. |
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Questions from the Public 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.
Minutes: QUESTION 1
In the absence of the member of the public who had submitted the question, the Chairman advised that in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 11.11 a written answer would be provided.
QUESTION 2
In the absence of the member of the public who had submitted the question, the Chairman advised that in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 11.11 a written answer would be provided.
QUESTION 3
RAISED BY GRAHAM WANSTALL, A MEMBER OF THE PUBLIC, UNDER COUNCIL PROCEDURE RULE 11:
“It is good to see the Roman Painted House open again. However the past 50 years years of its important work has been air brushed out. All books and guides written by the founder Mr Brian Philp have been removed and other important national awards including the following have gone from display. 1977 award for outstanding tourist enterprise, 1978 best presentation of an archaeological site, also 1978 team showing the gratish initiative. 1979 museum of the year. 2013 the queens award for voluntary service. 1981 outstanding contribution to British archaeology. All are competitive national awards. In addition several plagues and memorials for example the opening by Lord Astor in 1977. Several photos removed for example the visit by the late Queen Mother and a presentation by the then Prince Charles of an award. Do you think it is appropriate to display these important items and if so will you have them returned to the lobby area so visitors have all the relevant history of the Roman Painted House?”
RESPONSE FROM THE LEADER OF THE COUNCIL, COUNCILLOR K MILLS:
“Since the Dover Roman Painted House Trust took the decision in October 2023 to surrender the lease to the Council, the Council has worked tirelessly to open this nationally important heritage attraction to the public for the benefit of all, at substantial Council expense.
The work that we have carried out has ensured that the building is now safe, maintained and open once again to the public, which is great news for Dover.
The work needed to make this happen has been challenging.
Works were unable to start until the building was cleared and the high levels of mould addressed.
Items that could potentially be reused and that were not beyond recovery have been removed from site, and stored in the short term, whilst we focused on the repairs to the building.
Such items do include various plaques and photos, which once cleaned, we will consider how these can best be displayed within the building.
Regarding your mention of Dr Brian Philp, I would like to take this opportunity to reiterate my praise for his and his teams work, as well as that of the Trust, and the new interpretation, created in collaboration with the Trust, does highlight his importance and involvement.
We would like to see the various books and guides published by Brian and his team back on sale within the Roman Painted House but this will require the consent of the author which we have not yet ... view the full minutes text for item 37. |
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Amendment to the Calendar of Ordinary Meetings 2024-25 To consider the attached report of the Head of Corporate Services and Democracy. Additional documents: Minutes: Members were advised that the report, with the support of the members of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee, sought to make changes in respect of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee meetings for the remainder of 2024-25.
It was moved by Councillor T J Bartlett, duly seconded by Councillor L M Wright, and
RESOLVED: That the Council approve the amended Calendar of Ordinary Meetings for 2024-25. |
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Treasury Management Year End Report 2023/24 To consider the attached report of the Head of Finance and Investment. Additional documents:
Minutes: The Strategic Director (Finance and Housing) presented the Treasury Management Year End Report 2023/24.
Members considered the report and discussed the use of inter-authority borrowing arrangements.
It was moved by Councillor S B Blair, duly seconded by Councillor S H Beer, and
RESOLVED: That the report be received. |
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Adoption of Dover District Local Plan 2020-40 To consider the attached report of the Planning Policy and Projects Manager.
Due to the size of the document, it will be published as a supplementary paper. Additional documents:
Minutes: The Planning Policy and Projects Manager presented the report on the Adoption of Dover District Local Plan 2020-40.
Members thanked officers for their hard work in producing the Local Plan.
Members discussed the impact of the government’s proposed changes to National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) and new housing targets on the Local Plan. They were advised that the Local Plan would be reviewed in response to any changes and that it was believed that in the short term (5 years), the Local Plan would not require any changes as a result of the proposed new housing target.
Councillor M W Moorhouse read out a statement on behalf of Sandwich Town Council outlining their concerns in respect of the Local Plan.
It was moved by Councillor E A Biggs, duly seconded by Councillor J S Back, and
(a) That the Inspectors’ Final Report into the examination of the Dover District Local Plan be noted (Appendix 1).
(b) That the Dover District Local Plan to 2040, including Policies Map, as amended by the main modifications set out in Inspectors’ Final Report and the Council’s additional (minor) modifications, be adopted as part of the Development Plan for the district (Appendix 2).
(c) That the current adopted Development Plan documents consisting of Saved Policies from the Local Plan 2002, the Core Strategy 2010 and the Land Allocations Local Plan 2015, be superseded by the Dover District Local Plan 2020 to 2040 in accordance with The Town and Country Planning (Local Planning) (England) Regulations 2012 Regulation 8(5).
(d) That authority is delegated to the Head of Planning and Development to make further additional modifications to the Dover District Local Plan to 2040, and supporting documentation, that relate exclusively to factual updates and grammatical and formatting corrections, prior to making the documents available for inspection.
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Questions from Members 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. Minutes: QUESTION 1
RAISED BY COUNCILLOR D G BEANEY UNDER COUNCIL PROCEDURE RULE 12:
“Can the Portfolio Holder for Planning & Built Environment tell me how many planning applications are waiting to come forward to planning committee, and from the date of submission how long it has taken on average for those applications heard at Committee to be determined in the past year?”
REPLY BY THE PORTFOLIO HOLDER FOR PLANNING AND BUILT ENVIRONMENT, COUNCILLOR E A BIGGS:
“There are 18 applications that are currently intended to go to Planning Committee. Many of these are still currently under advertisement, awaiting consultee comments or being negotiated before they’ll be ready to be taken to Planning Committee.
Of the 46 applications that went to Planning Committee and have been determined this year, the average length of time for their determination is ten months.”
There was no supplementary question.
QUESTION 2
RAISED BY COUNCILLOR D R FRIEND UNDER COUNCIL PROCEDURE RULE 12:
“Can the Portfolio Holder for Housing, Skills & Education provide an update on how many “environmentally sound Council houses” were built by Dover District Council between May 2023 and September 2024?”
REPLY BY THE PORTFOLIO HOLDER FOR HOUSING, SKILLS AND EDUCATION, COUNCILLOR P M BRIVIO:
“Between May 2023-September 2024, the Council added 61 properties to its affordable housing stock. These were all purchases of existing properties, with varying levels of environmental performance. However, all have been refurbished to ensure they meet the required standard for the Council’s stock.
There were no completions of new build affordable housing during this time, although 48 new build homes were added to the stock in September 2024. These properties exceed building regulations requirements, and have an SAP rating of B, with A being most energy efficient and G least efficient.”
A supplementary question was asked in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 12.6.
QUESTION 3
RAISED BY COUNCILLOR N S KENTON UNDER COUNCIL PROCEDURE RULE 12:
“Does the Portfolio Holder for Planning & Built Environment support Angela Rayner’s plans set out in her letter – ‘Playing your part in building the homes we need’ - sent to local authority leaders on 30th July 2024?”
REPLY BY THE PORTFOLIO HOLDER FOR PLANNING AND BULT ENVIRONMENT, COUNCILLOR E A BIGGS:
“Angela Rayner’s letter spans 8 pages in summarising the principal elements of the government’s plan that she set out to the House of Commons to build homes.
As a council, we are very supportive of the overall ambition for this country to be delivering more homes.
The intended goal for universal coverage of ambitious local plans as quickly as possible is therefore strongly supported, as this is the best way of ensuring that new homes are built in the right places with the needed facilities and infrastructure.
And of course, with our item on the Local Plan adoption tonight, we are in a very strong position to ensure this with our new strategy, policies and land allocations.
Given our Local Plan position and based on what ... view the full minutes text for item 41. |
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Motions for which notice has been given are listed on the agenda in the order in which notice was received, unless the Member giving notice states, in writing, that they propose to move it at a later meeting or withdraw it.
If a Motion set out in the agenda is not moved by the Member who gave notice thereof it shall, unless postponed by consent of the Council, be treated as withdrawn and shall not be moved without fresh notice.
The Motions received are set out in the agenda papers. Minutes: In accordance with Council Procedure Rule 13, Councillor T J Bartlett moved the following Motion:
Changes to the Winter Fuel Allowance and Protecting Pensioners from Fuel Poverty
Council Notes:
· The Labour Government’s recent decision to restrict the Winter Fuel Payment to only pensioners in receipt of means-tested benefits like Pension Credit, as announced by Chancellor Rachel Reeves.
· The estimated impact of this decision, which Age UK says will mean 2 million pensioners who badly need the money to stay warm this winter will not receive it, including 24,503 pensioners in Dover District.
· The significant role that Winter Fuel Payments play in helping older residents of Dover District and across the UK afford heating during the coldest months, thereby preventing 'heat or eat' dilemmas and safeguarding health.
· The criticism from Age UK, the Countryside Alliance and other charities, highlighting the social injustice and potential health risks posed by this sudden policy change.
· The additional strain this decision will place on vulnerable pensioners, many of whom do not claim Pension Credit despite being eligible, further exacerbating their financial hardship.
Council believes:
· That the Winter Fuel Payment has been a lifeline for many older people across the UK and that restricting its availability solely to those on Pension Credit risks leaving many pensioners in financial hardship.
· While some pensioners currently in receipt of the Winter Fuel Payment may not require it, many thousands across Dover District sit just above the cut-off for Pension Credit and will now lose their allowance.
· The decision to means-test Winter Fuel Payments, especially with such short notice and without adequate compensatory measures, is deeply unfair and will disproportionately affect the health and well-being of our poorest older residents.
· The government’s approach fails to consider the administrative barriers and stigma that prevent eligible pensioners from claiming Pension Credit, leaving many without the support they desperately need.
Council resolves to:
· Bring forward a Council-led local awareness campaign to alert those eligible of Pension Credit which in some respects will help access to the Winter Fuel Payment for those most in need.
· Request that the Council Leader write to the Chancellor of the Exchequer, urging a review of the decision to means-test the Winter Fuel Payment and asking the government to ensure that vulnerable pensioners, particularly those who do not claim Pension Credit, are protected from fuel poverty.
· This Council calls upon the Cabinet to commit the Council to signing the ‘Save the Winter Fuel Payment for Struggling Pensioners’ petition being run by Age UK and write to all members offering them the opportunity to sign the petition themselves.
· Encourage local efforts to promote Pension Credit uptake through council services and partnerships with local charities and community organisations to ensure that all eligible pensioners in Dover District are supported in claiming their entitlement.
It was duly seconded by Councillor O C de R Richardson.
Councillor K Mills moved an AMENDMENT, duly seconded by Councillor M J Nee, as followed:
(a) To remove the words “urging a review of the decision to ... view the full minutes text for item 42. |
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Urgent Business Time To consider any other items deemed by the Chairman of the Council to be urgent in accordance with the Local Government Act 1972. Minutes: There were no items of urgent business for consideration. |