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

 

(a)        To Chairmen/Vice-Chairmen of Committees

 

            To receive answers in respect of questions from Members of the Council to the Chairman or Vice-Chairman of the Council or the Chairman of any Committee or Sub-Committee asked in accordance with Rule 12 of the Council Procedure Rules.

 

            There were no questions submitted.

 

(b)        To the Executive

 

            To receive answers in respect of questions from Members of the Council to a Member of the Executive asked in accordance with Rule 12 of the Council Procedure Rules.

 

 

            (1)        Councillor P M Brivio will ask the Portfolio Holder for Access and Licensing, Councillor N J Collor:

 

“Can the Portfolio Holder for Access and Licensing tell the meeting if DDC has any plans to install charging points for electric vehicles?”

 

 

            (2)        Councillor P J Hawkins will ask the Portfolio Holder for Environment, Waste and Planning, Councillor N S Kenton:

 

           

“The Portfolio Holder for Environment, Waste and Planning will recall that on the 13 September the Scrutiny (Policy and Performance) Committee made seven recommendations regarding the Regent Cinema including that the developer be given three months to submit an outline planning application and 6 months to submit a full planning application.  Would he please update Council on the current situation regarding the seven recommendations?”

 

 

            (3)        Councillor S J Jones will ask the Portfolio Holder for Corporate Resources and Performance, Councillor M D Conolly:

 

"Why does this Council, when assessing tenders for goods and services not include in reports to Councillors if it has taken into account during the procurement process the social value requirements as defined by the Local Services Social Value Act 2012 which requires councils to consider the social, environmental and economic impact of contracts and how they can best impact the local community alongside best value for money, as it does with legal and equality and diversity requirements?"

 

                       

            (4)        Councillor L A Keen will ask the Leader of the Council, Councillor P A Watkins:

 

“Can the Leader of the Council describe the mechanisms for informing and consulting local residents on the proposed 4-council merger within the engagement exercise proposed in the consultants' report?”

 

 

            (5)        Councillor B Gardner will ask the Portfolio Holder for Environment, Waste and Planning, Councillor N S Kenton:

 

“At cabinet in January 2017 when the item on planning appeals and planning conditions was discussed it was proposed that a working party of three councillors should be set up as a matter of urgency to discuss the whole situation of planning. Would the Portfolio Holder for Environment, Waste and Planning inform the Council as to when the first meeting of this group might take place?”

 

 

(6)        Councillor G Cowan will ask the Portfolio Holder for Corporate Resources and Performance, Councillor M D Conolly:           

 

            “Can the Portfolio Holder for Corporate Resources and Performance inform the Council how much this Council has received in Capital Receipts from the sale of land in Aylesham used for the new housing developments and what percentage will the Aylesham area receive?”

 

 

(7)        Councillor P M Brivio will ask the Portfolio Holder for Housing, Health and Wellbeing, Councillor P M Beresford:

 

“Can the Portfolio Holder for Housing, Health and Well-being provide an update on the Selective Licensing Scheme that this Council agreed to introduce in January 2015?”

 

 

(8)        Councillor B Gardner will ask the Portfolio Holder for Environment, Waste and Wellbeing, Councillor N S Kenton:

 

“In March 2015 there was a training session for councillors at which councillors were informed that there was a backlog of just over 600 planning enforcement cases. Members were further informed that the Portfolio Holder for Environment, Waste and Planning had agreed to write off over 60% of these as they were not worth pursuing for various reasons, but that the remaining 245 would be taken up. Can the Portfolio Holder confirm if he has written off another 200 cases and, if so, how many are still being pursued?”

 

 

(9)        Councillor G Cowan will ask the Portfolio Holder for Housing, Health and Wellbeing, Councillor P M Beresford:

 

“Could the Portfolio Holder for Housing, Health and Well-being inform the Council of the percentage of new houses in Aylesham that will be offered to Aylesham people as social housing?”

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

 

(1)  Councillor P M Brivio asked the Portfolio Holder for Access and Licensing, Councillor N J Collor:

 

“Can the Portfolio Holder for Access and Licensing tell the meeting if DDC has any plans to install charging points for electric vehicles?”

 

In response, the Portfolio Holder for Access and Licensing advised that while the decision as to whether to invest in the provision of charging points for electric vehicles remained under review the Council was encouraging new developments to install charging points. There would be 3 at the St James’s development and 4 at the new leisure centre.

 

In accordance with Council Procedure Rule 12.5, Councillor P M Brivio exercised her right to ask one supplementary question.

 

(2)  Councillor P J Hawkins asked the Portfolio Holder for Environment, Waste and Planning, Councillor N S Kenton:

 

“The Portfolio Holder for Environment, Waste and Planning will recall that on the 13 September the Scrutiny (Policy and Performance) Committee made seven recommendations regarding the Regent Cinema including that the developer be given three months to submit an outline planning application and 6 months to submit a full planning application.  Would he please update Council on the current situation regarding the seven recommendations?”

 

In response, the Portfolio Holder for Environment, Waste and Planning updated members on the decision of Cabinet made in October 2016 as followed:

 

·         That Planning officers had been instructed to offer no further pre-planning advice to the developers and that it had been made clear to the developers that they now needed to progress with the submission of proposals for determination.

 

·         That to date no planning application had been received although the 6 month deadline did not expire until early April 2017.

 

·         That the building had been inspected by officers and following discussions with the developers, works were agreed to deal with concerns regarding the deterioration of the building. These had been completed to the satisfaction of officers without needing to issue Section 215 notices.

 

·         That the Fire Officer had inspected the premises and the concerns which he raised had been dealt with. Officers from the Council’s Property Services team had undertaken inspections and were satisfied that for now there was no impact on the Timeball Tower.

 

·         That the correct business rate payments had been made for the property.

 

·         That the consideration of the remaining recommendations would be considered after the deadline for a planning application to be received had expired.

 

In accordance with Council Procedure Rule 12.5, Councillor P J Hawkins exercised her right to ask one supplementary question.

 

(3)  Councillor S J Jones asked the Portfolio Holder for Corporate Resources and Performance, Councillor M D Conolly:

 

"Why does this Council, when assessing tenders for goods and services not include in reports to Councillors if it has taken into account during the procurement process the social value requirements as defined by the Local Services Social Value Act 2012 which requires councils to consider the social, environmental and economic impact of contracts and how they can best impact the local community alongside best value for money, as it does with legal and equality and diversity requirements?"

 

In response, the Portfolio Holder for Corporate Resources and Performance advised that this was currently considered by the procurement lead at the outset in consultation with project officers and when drafting the tender documentation and evaluation methodology.

 

In accordance with Council Procedure Rule 12.5, Councillor S J Jones exercised her right to ask one supplementary question and requested a written response to it.

 

(4)  Councillor L A Keen asked the Leader of the Council, Councillor P A Watkins:

 

“Can the Leader of the Council describe the mechanisms for informing and consulting local residents on the proposed 4-council merger within the engagement exercise proposed in the consultants' report?”

 

In response, the Leader of the Council referred Councillor L A Keen to the information contained within Appendix 2 of the East Kent Councils Merger report as published in the Cabinet agenda for the meeting held on 1 March 2017.

 

In accordance with Council Procedure Rule 12.5, Councillor L A Keen exercised her right to ask one supplementary question.

 

(5)  Councillor B Gardner asked the Portfolio Holder for Environment, Waste and Planning, Councillor N S Kenton:

 

“At cabinet in January 2017 when the item on planning appeals and planning conditions was discussed it was proposed that a working party of three councillors should be set up as a matter of urgency to discuss the whole situation of planning. Would the Portfolio Holder for Environment, Waste and Planning inform the Council as to when the first meeting of this group might take place?”

 

In response, Councillor N S Kenton advised that Cabinet had agreed to conduct a review of the Council’s Planning Enforcement Plan which would include consideration of the imposition of conditions and their enforcement. As part of the review process the Portfolio Holder for Environment, Waste and Planning, Chairman of the Planning Committee and the Planning Committee Spokesperson would be included and terms of reference for the review were being drafted by officers.

 

In accordance with Council Procedure Rule 12.5, Councillor B Gardner exercised his right to ask one supplementary question.

 

(6)  Councillor G Cowan asked the Portfolio Holder for Corporate Resources and Performance, Councillor M D Conolly:

 

“Can the Portfolio Holder for Corporate Resources and Performance inform the Council how much this Council has received in Capital Receipts from the sale of land in Aylesham used for the new housing developments and what percentage will the Aylesham area receive?”

 

In response, Councillor M D Conolly advised that £415,318 in capital receipts had been received in respect of Aylesham to date with additional receipts of £1.577 million (Phase 1a Market Overage) and £6.837 million (Phase 1b Land Payment) anticipated. These would form part of the total overall available capital receipts and are not ring-fenced for Aylesham and instead would be allocated across the whole district in accordance with the Council’s investment priorities.

 

In accordance with Council Procedure Rule 12.5, Councillor G Cowan exercised his right to ask one supplementary question.

 

(7)  Councillor P M Brivio asked the Portfolio Holder for Housing, Health and Wellbeing, Councillor P M Beresford:

 

“Can the Portfolio Holder for Housing, Health and Well-being provide an update on the Selective Licensing Scheme that this Council agreed to introduce in January 2015?”

 

In response, Councillor P M Beresford advised that at the time of the original Motion passed in January 2015 the analysis of relevant data indicated that the area under consideration did not meet the criteria for a Selective Licensing Scheme as laid out in the provisions of the Housing Act 2004.

 

Additional criteria were added later in 2015 in respect of deprivation and property conditions. A private sector stock condition survey had recently been undertaken and following the results of this the Council had requested a further more detailed analysis in respect of property conditions.

 

In accordance with Council Procedure Rule 12.5, Councillor P M Brivio exercised her right to ask one supplementary question.

 

(8)  Councillor B Gardner asked the Portfolio Holder for Environment, Waste and Planning, Councillor N S Kenton:

 

“In March 2015 there was a training session for councillors at which councillors were informed that there was a backlog of just over 600 planning enforcement cases. Members were further informed that the Portfolio Holder for Environment, Waste and Planning had agreed to write off over 60% of these as they were not worth pursuing for various reasons, but that the remaining 245 would be taken up. Can the Portfolio Holder confirm if he has written off another 200 cases and, if so, how many are still being pursued?”

 

In response, Councillor N S Kenton advised that the enforcement team was maintaining a caseload of around 200 cases at any one time.

 

In accordance with Council Procedure Rule 12.5, Councillor B Gardner exercised his right to ask one supplementary question.

 

(9)  Councillor G Cowan asked the Portfolio Holder for Housing, Health and Wellbeing, Councillor P M Beresford:

 

“Could the Portfolio Holder for Housing, Health and Well-being inform the Council of the percentage of new houses in Aylesham that will be offered to Aylesham people as social housing?”

 

In response, Councillor P M Beresford advised that as Aylesham was not a rural exception site the occupancy of affordable housing could not be restricted to or prioritised for people already living in Aylesham or with family connections in Aylesham. Instead, affordable housing would be offered to people within the district with the most need which could include people from Aylesham.

 

In accordance with Council Procedure Rule 12.5, Councillor G Cowan exercised his right to ask one supplementary question.