Agenda item

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.

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 was set out in the recent consultation document for the National Planning Policy Framework, the changes being proposed to calculating a district’s housing targets are not applicable to Dover and won’t be for the next few years.

 

The inspectors have set out in their Local Plan report that our own housing requirement (611 homes a year) is viable and deliverable through the Local Plan.”

 

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

 

 

QUESTION 4

 

RAISED BY COUNCILLOR  M BATES UNDER COUNCIL PROCEDURE RULE 12:

 

“Can the Portfolio Holder for Planning and Built Environment tell me please how many enforcement investigations have been opened and closed within the past twelve months, where a breach of conditions has been identified and a decision has been taken by the officer to take no further action?”

 

REPLY BY THE PORTFOLIO HOLDER FOR PLANNING AND BULT ENVIRONMENT, COUNCILLOR E A BIGGS:

 

“There have been 62 Breach of Condition cases opened in the last twelve months and 42 cases closed. 16 of these did not involve a breach. There were 9 cases where a breach was identified and no further action was taken.” 

 

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

 

 

QUESTION 5

 

RAISED BY COUNCILLOR D G BEANEY UNDER COUNCIL PROCEDURE RULE 12:

 

“Can the Portfolio Holder for Planning & Built Environment say whether the number of applications for small housing developments (of 5 units or less) has changed in the last year, and if there has been a reduction, whether it is related to the introduction of new biodiversity net gain requirements?”

 

REPLY BY THE PORTFOLIO HOLDER FOR PLANNING AND BULT ENVIRONMENT, COUNCILLOR E A BIGGS:

 

“The Planning Service’s system can only provide a search for all ‘minor’ applications for residential – which is for 9 dwellings or less (rather than 5 dwellings or less).

 

The department has received 142 applications in 2022-2023 and 105 applications for the same period in 2023-2024.

 

Biodiversity Net Gain requirements could be attributed to the lower figure this year, but we don’t hold data that can confirm this.”

 

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

 

 

QUESTION 6

 

RAISED BY COUNCILLOR O C DE R RICHARDSON UNDER COUNCIL PROCEDURE RULE 12:

 

“Does the Portfolio Holder recognise that her proposal to replace Tides Leisure Centre with a 5-lane pool, removing all flumes and shallow water areas for younger children, is deeply unpopular with families in Deal and Walmer?”

 

REPLY BY THE PORTFOLIO HOLDER FOR COMMUNITY AND CORPORATE PROPERTY, COUNCILLOR C D ZOSSEDER:

 

“Thank you, Cllr Richardson, for your question.

 

The New Deal Leisure Centre has been an ongoing project since 2018 but has been hampered since the pandemic by escalating project costs affecting it’s financial viability.

 

Sadly, many leisure centres across the country have closed during this time with Folkestone Leisure Centre being a more recent casualty and we have been working hard to avoid this in Deal.

 

The current proposals for Deal include a range of facilities that are underpinned by assessment of need across the district to help ensure that this substantial investment meets strategic need now and in the future.

 

Over the past year, we have significantly reduced project costs and improved the financial viability thus providing a more deliverable and sustainable solution.

 

Following on from the Cabinet meeting in July, the project team is looking at the feasibility of adding a sixth lane to the swimming pool and also how we might provide the facilities needed to allow family inflatable fun sessions to take place within the pool.

 

They are also looking at how we can incorporate a shallow water ‘splash pad’ to cater for younger children.

 

As you would expect, the cost implications for all possible additions will be fully considered by both the Project Advisory Group and Cabinet.

 

You will I am sure be aware that we have been undertaking extensive public engagement on the proposals across Deal and beyond to capture and review public feedback.

 

To date the council has received some 897 online surveys and undertaken 849 face-to-face discussions with early indications showing that the majority of survey respondents support the plans for a new leisure centre in Deal.”  

 

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

 

QUESTION 7

 

RAISED BY COUNCILLOR C A VINSON UNDER COUNCIL PROCEDURE RULE 12:

 

“Will the Portfolio Holder provide an assessment as to the potential environmental hazard presented by the damaged, open containers of waste engine oil present by neglected boat plots in Walmer, and explain why the Council hasn’t taken immediate action to address this risk?”

 

 

REPLY BY THE PORTFOLIO HOLDER FOR COMMUNITY AND CORPORATE PROPERTY, COUNCILLOR C D ZOSSEDER:

 

“Thank you for your question Cllr Vinson.

 

The Council has been working on addressing this matter for a number of months.

 

I am pleased to say that the area was cleared of significant waste and rubbish on Sunday 5^th October.

 

At present no waste liquids have been removed from site as these require specialist waste disposal. The recent clearance has given better access to plots which will facilitate the waste liquid removal.

 

On initial inspection, it appears that containers were largely intact and not leaking any oil or substances.

 

We are not able to properly assess any leakage that might have occurred until the containers of waste oil are removed from site.

 

We will continue working with the boat plot owners to tidy the boat plots and aim to remove waste oil from site over the next few months. 

 

Any spillages that become apparent during this process will be cleaned as appropriate.

 

I am pleased to tell you that the boat plots will soon be inspected on a monthly basis to ensure they remain clean and tidy, and that boat plot owners continue to adhere to their lease conditions, ensuring any oil is stored correctly.”  

 

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

 

QUESTION 8

 

RAISED BY COUNCILLOR C A VINSON UNDER COUNCIL PROCEDURE RULE 12:

 

“Does the Leader agree with me that Corporate Peer Challenges (CPC) delivered by the Local Government Association (LGA) provide valuable, robust and credible challenge to support Councils to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of their service delivery, and will he commit to working with the LGA to organise a CPC for Dover District Council by the end of 2025?”

 

REPLY BY THE LEADER OF THE COUNCIL:

 

“We are aware of the value that corporate peer challenges can provide and have recently been engaging with the LGA about arranging one for Dover. We are also very pleased to confirm that the Council has now appointed a Continuous Improvement Manager who is due to start in November. They will be responsible for programming and leading a series of service reviews to drive efficiency and productivity Council services. I fully expect a peer review to be programmed to take place before the end of 2025.”

 

There was no supplementary question.

 

QUESTION 9

 

RAISED BY COUNCILLOR M BATES UNDER COUNCIL PROCEDURE RULE 12:

 

“Can the Portfolio Holder for Transport, Licensing and Environmental Services please provide an update on the current position with Bastion Point and provide a schedule for when Port Health will commence physical checks of suspect vehicles at the juxtaposed controls in Coquelles?”

 

In the absence of the Portfolio Holder for Transport, Licensing and Environmental Services the Chairman advised that a written response would be provided.