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 (or their nominee) of the Major Opposition Group (Labour Group) shall be allowed up to 10 minutes to respond.
(c) The Leader (or their nominee) of the Other Opposition Group (UKIP Group) shall be allowed up to 5 minutes to respond.
(d) 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 Leaders, whichever is the greatest).
Minutes:
The Leader of the Council, Councillor P A Watkins, included the following matters in
his report:
(a) That the Royal and Ancient had announced that The Open Golf Championship would return to Royal St George’s Golf Club in Sandwich in 2020.
He thanked the Head of Inward Investment for his hard work and Mr Craig Mackinlay, MP (Thanet South) for his role in gaining Department of Transport support.
During the last Open at Sandwich, one of the previous obstacles had related to the capacity of the High Speed train service to cope with demand and as a result a platform extension was being added to allow a six car train to stop at the station. The options of a temporary or a permanent extension to the platform were being discussed, with a permanent solution being the preferred option.
The Portfolio Holder for Access and Licensing, Councillor N J Collor, was working to ensure that businesses in Sandwich benefited from the number of visitors that the Open Golf Championship would bring to the town.
(b) The news that £5 million of funding had been allocated to the Dover Western Dock extension by the South East Local Enterprise Partnership.
(c) That the next stage for the Betteshanger site was being discussed with the Homes and Community Agency.
(d) That he had met with the Police and Crime Commissioner, Matthew Scott, in respect of modern slavery and people trafficking.
(e) That he had met with the new owners of the Discovery Park and discussed their preference for an emphasis on life sciences.
(f) That he had met with the Mayor of Dover, Councillor Neil Rix, to discuss Dover town centre development.
(g) To express his sadness at the news of Councillor A F Richardson’s resignation and praise his work on the Planning Committee over the years he had served on the Council.
The Leader of the Main Opposition Labour Group, Councillor M R Eddy, included the following matters in his report:
(a) To welcome the news of the return of the Open Golf Championship to Sandwich and congratulate the Head of Inward Investment on his work to bring it back. He emphasised the need to resolve the traffic problems that accompanied the last Open Golf Championship played at Royal St George’s.
(b) To welcome the news in respect of the Dover Waterfront. This emphasised the role of the public sector as a catalyst for development.
(c) That the district needed tertiary education and to highlight the fit between food science and life sciences at the Discovery Park.
(d) To advise that he had also met with the Kent Police and Crime Commissioner and had found him to be aware of the problems facing the Dover District.
(e) To praise the professional manner in which Councillor A F Richardson approached planning matters.
The Deputy Leader of the Minority Opposition UK Independence Party Group made no report.
In response, the Leader of the Council raised the following matters in his right to reply:
(a) To advise that the master planning stage for the Western Heights was progressing well.
(b) That the developers for the Fathingloe site were pressing for an accelerated hearing at the Supreme Court. The Court of Appeal had granted an accelerated hearing previously for this matter.
(c) To agree that the Discovery Park and Hadlow College complemented each other.