Agenda and minutes

The Council is asked to note any apologies for absence received from Members.

Apologies for absence were submitted on behalf of Councillors Bush, I J Henderson and J Henderson.

The Council is asked to approve, as correct records, the minutes of the following:

(a)       Council Meeting held on 26 March 2019;

(b)       Annual Meeting of the Council held on 28 May 2019; and

(c)           Extraordinary Council Meeting held on 15 July 2019.

It was moved by Councillor Stock, seconded by Councillor Porter and:-

RESOLVED that the minutes of the under-mentioned meetings of the Council be approved as correct records and signed by the Chairman:-

(a)        Ordinary Meeting of the Council held on 26 March 2019;

(b)        Annual Meeting of the Council held on 28 May 2019; and

(c)        Extra Ordinary Meeting of the Council held on 15 July 2019.

Councillors are invited to declare any Disclosable Pecuniary Interests or Personal Interest, and the nature of it, in relation to any item on the agenda.

In relation to Agenda Item 11 (Questions pursuant to Council Procedure Rule 11.2), Councillor Broderick, as a point of information, informed Council that she was a member of the Citizens Advice Bureau Tendring.

In relation to Agenda Item 18 (Reference from the Planning Policy & Local Plan Committee), Councillors Stock OBE and G V Guglielmi, as points of information, informed Council that they were, respectively, a Director and an alternate Director of North Essex Garden Communities Limited.

The Council is asked to note any announcements made by the Chairman of the Council.

The Chairman of the Council (Councillor Land) updated Council on his recent civic engagements and reminded Members that a tour of Historic Harwich would take place on Thursday 8 August commencing at 10.00 a.m. at Ha’penny Pier. He thanked Councillor Calver for his assistance in arranging the Tour.

The Chairman informed Members that he was willing to participate in community activities that they were involved in within their respective Wards and he also urged Members to look at the images taken around the District that were displayed on the screen in the Princes Theatre Foyer and would be continuing feature at Council meetings going forward.

Members were aware that ROALCO, the Council’s external contractor for repairs and refurbishment the Council’s housing stock, had recently gone into liquidation. The Chairman paid tribute to the Officers in Building and Engineering Services for their dedicated, professional operational response to this unforeseen event.

The Chairman further informed Members that a themed ‘casino style’ evening would be held at the Town Hall on 6 March 2020 (which would include a prize draw) to raise funds for his chosen charity.

The Council is asked to note any announcements made by the Chief Executive.

There were none on this occasion.

The Council is asked to note any statements made by the Leader of the Council. 

Councillors may then ask questions of the Leader on his statements.

There were none on this occasion.

The Council is asked to note any statements made by Members of the Cabinet (Portfolio Holders).

Councillors may then ask questions of the Portfolio Holders on their statements.

There were none on this occasion.

No petitions have been submitted in accordance with the Scheme approved by the Council on this occasion.

No petitions had been submitted in accordance with the Scheme approved by the Council on this occasion.

Subject to the required notice being given, members of the public can ask questions of the Leader of the Council, Portfolio Holders or Chairmen of Committees.

The Chairman shall determine the number of questions to be tabled at a particular meeting in order to limit the time for questions and answers to 21 minutes.

There are two such questions on this occasion.

Subject to the required notice being given, members of the public could ask questions of the Leader of the Council, Portfolio Holders or Chairmen of Committees.

The following questions had been received, on notice, from members of the public:

Question One

From Mr James Machin to Councillor Stock OBE, Leader of the Council:

“Pursuant to the motion to council – “PROPOSED TOWN COUNCIL FOR CLACTON-ON-SEA” voted on and lost at the last Council meeting prior to the District Council elections,  I would draw to the attention of the recently elected representatives Tendring that many councillors voted against the motion solely on the grounds that they felt it was not in their gift to vote on a motion which would force the newly elected representatives to carry forward a motion which they had not the opportunity to debate themselves.

I therefore ask the Leader of the Council to remind the newly elected councillors of Tendring District Council of these discussions, and seek an assurance that the question will be put back to the newly elected councillors for consideration at their earliest opportunity.”

Councillor Stock replied to the question as follows:

“Thank you for your question Mr Machin.

This is a subject which has been debated on more than one occasion in the past by the Council – not only at the meeting you refer to in your question.

From my recollection of the most recent debate one or two Members made reference to not binding the hands of a future administration by making such a significant decision at their last meeting, but it was far from being the dominant reason why the Councillors voted against it.

For my part the most compelling point is the almost complete absence of requests for a Clacton Town Council from the public.

 As was explained in that last debate there is provision for a Community Governance Review to be started off by a public petition and I believe we should refrain from debating the issue again until there is clear evidence of a significant public appetite for the idea of a Clacton Town Council to be considered.”

Question Two

From Mr Steve Kelly to Councillor Stock OBE, Leader of the Council:

“In the light of the top scientific research that is predicting more severe heatwaves, droughts and flooding; will the Council Leader agree that we should be spending more money on both amelioration and adaptation in order to prevent spending more money on climate crisis emergencies in the future?” 

Councillor Stock replied to the question as follows:

“Thank you for your question Mr Kelly.

I do believe that we should take steps in the short term to reduce the Council’s impacts on the environment and to reduce its carbon footprint.

But we have very little evidence of what that is in reality so we must start by getting the evidence and the facts to enable us to take the most appropriate actions which will make a real and lasting difference.

You will have seen from  ...  view the full minutes text for item 34.

Subject to the required notice being given, Members of the Council can ask questions of the Chairman of the Council, the Leader of the Council, Portfolio Holders or Chairmen of any Committee.

The time allocated for receiving and disposing of questions shall be a maximum of 30 minutes. Any question not disposed of at the end of this time shall be the subject of a written response, copied to all Members the following working day unless withdrawn by the questioner.

There are four such Questions on this occasion.

Subject to the required notice being given, Members of the Council could ask questions of the Chairman of the Council, the Leader of the Council, Portfolio Holders or Chairmen of Committees.

Four questions had been submitted by Members as set out below:

Question One

From Councillor Morrison to Councillor Talbot, Portfolio Holder for Environment and Public Space:

“The Harwich Peninsula continues to suffer a high level of dog fouling.  In a recent response to a written complaint from a resident, TDC informed her:

‘Our officers regularly patrol the seafront area and will take enforcement action against any individuals who fail to comply with the Dog (Fouling of Land) Act (Fixed Penalty Notice will be issued for failing to pick up dog poo)’.

Will the Portfolio Holder for Environmental Services please advise the Council how many fixed penalty notices have been issued for offences committed on Dovercourt Seafront or Dovercourt Bay beach in 2019 up until the date of writing (7^th June)?”

Councillor Talbot replied as follows:

“The Dog Wardens have not issued a Fixed Penalty Notice (FPN) during 2019 for dog fouling in the area but as previously stated “they will” take the appropriate action if they witness such an offence take place. 

If the Dog Warden does not witness the offence taking place and has no supporting evidence produced or available i.e. CCTV or a Mobile Phone recording then it is very difficult to prove somebody has committed an offence and therefore an FPN is unable to be issued.

The area is patrolled on a regular basis and a Patrol spreadsheet is kept within the department listing the exact days and times the wardens was in the area. To date there have been 35 visits to this area at different times during the working day.

There are only two Dog Wardens employed by Tendring District Council and they are responsible for covering and patrolling the whole District but also have other duties such as the collection of stray dogs (a constant active and unpredictable duty), attending the vets with injured or unwell dogs, micro chipping, transporting dogs from our kennels to our externally contracted kennels, attending events, working with external agencies such as the RSPCA, Dogs Trust, Essex Police, responding to dog barking and other dog related nuisance complaints and various other daily duties.

With the summer here we appreciate that lighter early mornings and lighter late evenings provide more hours for dog walking, so we will be conducting some patrols outside of the normal office hours to show a presence and take action against those that do ignore their responsibility to pick up after their dog.

We are also working towards replacing the old Bye-Laws regarding dog fouling with a new Public Space Protection Order (PSPO). 
At the point we introduce the new PSPO then Parish and Town Councils, such as Harwich, will be able, after receiving appropriate training, to issue FPN tickets for dog fouling offences themselves.”

Councillor Morrison then asked a supplementary question to which  ...  view the full minutes text for item 35.

The Council will receive a report on any Cabinet or Portfolio Holder Decisions taken as a matter of urgency in accordance with Access to Information Procedure Rule 16.2, Budget and Policy Framework Procedure Rule 6(b) and/or Overview and Scrutiny Procedure Rule 18(i).

There is no such report on this occasion.

There was no such report on this occasion.

The Council will receive the minutes of the following Committees:

(a)       Resources and Services Overview & Scrutiny of Monday 18 March 2019;

(b)       Standards of Wednesday 20 March 2019;

(c)       Audit of Thursday 28 March 2019;

(d)       Resources and Services Overview & Scrutiny of Monday 24 June 2019;

(e)       Community Leadership Overview & Scrutiny of Monday 1 July 2019;

(f)        Standards of Wednesday 3 July 2019; and

(g)       Planning Policy & Local Plan of Tuesday 16 July 2019.

NOTES:         

(1)     The above minutes are presented to Council for information only.  Members can ask questions on their contents to the relevant Chairman but questions as to the accuracy of the minutes must be asked at the meeting of the Committee when the relevant minutes are approved as a correct record.

(2)     There is a Recommendation to Council contained in Minute 6 of the minutes of the meeting of the Planning Policy & Local Plan Committee held on 16 July 2019 which Council will need to consider in conjunction with Agenda Item 18 below.

It was RESOLVED that the minutes of the following Committees, as circulated, be received and noted:

(a)       Resources and Services Overview & Scrutiny of Monday 18 March 2019;

(b)       Standards of Wednesday 20 March 2019;

(c)       Audit of Thursday 28 March 2019;

(d)       Resources and Services Overview & Scrutiny of Monday 24 June 2019;

(e)       Community Leadership Overview & Scrutiny of Monday 1 July 2019;

(f)        Standards of Wednesday 3 July 2019; and

(g)       Planning Policy & Local Plan of Tuesday 16 July 2019.

There were recommendations to Council contained within Minute 6 of the meeting of the Planning Policy & Local Plan Committee held on 16 July 2019. Those recommendations were taken in conjunction with Agenda Item 18 as recorded under Minute 42 below.

In accordance with the provisions of Council Procedure Rule 12, the Council will consider a Motion to Council submitted by Councillor Neil Stock OBE.

Council had before it the following motion, notice of which had been given by Councillor Stock OBE pursuant to Council Procedure Rule 12:-

“That the Council notes:

• That the impact of climate breakdown is already causing serious damage around the world.

• That the “Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5 degrees” published by the intergovernmental Panel On Climate Change in October 2018

-          Describes the enormous harm that a 2 degree C average rise in global temperatures is likely to cause compared with a 1 degree rise,

-          Confirms that limiting Global Warming to 1.5 degrees may still be possible with ambitious action from national and sub-national authorities, civil society and the private sector.

• That the impact of projected rises in sea levels as a result of global warming places the East Coast of the UK in the front line where impacts will be felt soonest and most severely.

• That all Governments (National, Regional and Local) have a moral duty to act, and local Governments should not wait for national Government to change their policies.

• That the challenge of taking action to avoid climate breakdown is of an unprecedented scale and scope which will have very significant additional costs and impacts on the prioritisation of budgets and will require sources of funding beyond the Council, and local Business Rate and Council Tax payers if the goals are to be met.

• That the need for determined action must be set alongside and balanced with the Council’s other statutory responsibilities.

• That strong policies to cut emissions also have associated health, well-being and economic benefits; and

• That, recognising the above, over 80 councils across the UK have already passed “Climate Emergency” motions.

It is therefore proposed that this Council:

1         Declares a Climate Emergency and instructs the Chief Executive to prepare an Action Plan for consideration by Cabinet and recommendation to the Full Council to form part of the Policy Framework, as soon as practicable with the aim of activities of the Council being carbon neutral by 2030.

2         Instructs the Chief Executive to draw up the Action Plan in two parts,

·      Part 1 setting out clear research and evidence as to what the Council’s Carbon footprint is and precisely how it is composed and setting out costed actions and policies together with appropriate milestones to make the Council’s activities carbon neutral by 2030

·      Part 2 setting out community leadership actions to influence and encourage partners, businesses, community groups and individuals across Tendring to join the Council in striving to achieve carbon neutrality for the District as a whole.

3         Calls on the UK Government to provide the powers, resources and help with funding to achieve carbon neutrality and to call on local MPs to do likewise.

4         Authorises the Chief Executive to use the £150,000 allocated by the last Cabinet meeting to a Climate Emergency budget to enable specialist advice to be obtained to complete the essential research to establish the Council’s Carbon footprint to be carried out and to provide the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 38.

            No recommendations from the Cabinet have been submitted on this occasion.

No recommendations from Cabinet were submitted on this occasion.

The Council is asked to consider any reports submitted to it by an Overview and Scrutiny Committee.

There are no such reports on this occasion.

There were no such reports on this occasion.

Further to resolution (c) of Minute 83 of the meeting of the Licensing and Registration Committee held on 10 April 2019, the Council is requested to formally adopt the revised Licensing Enforcement Policy.

The Council considered the recommendation submitted to it by the Licensing and Registration Committee in respect of the revised Licensing Enforcement Policy.

Members were aware that the Licensing and Registration Committee had considered this matter at its meeting held on 10 April 2019. The relevant Committee Minute and Officer reports were contained within the Council Book. 

It was moved by Councillor Winfield that the revised Licensing Enforcement Policy be formally approved and adopted.

It was then moved by Councillor G V Guglielmi and seconded by Councillor Turner that Councillor Winfield’s motion be amended by the addition of the following paragraphs:-

“That Council notes that the implementation of this Enforcement Policy will be in line with the work of the Corporate Enforcement Group and the aims of the Corporate Enforcement Strategy.

That Council requests that all Ward Members will be notified of any event in their Ward which will need a Temporary Event Licence, as well as a notification when a licence has been revoked or granted.”

Councillor Guglielmi’s amendment on being put to the vote was declared CARRIED.

Councillor Guglielmi’s amendment on being put to the vote as the substantive motion was declared CARRIED.

Further to Minute 6 of the meeting of the Planning Policy and Local Plan Committee held on 16 July 2019, the Council will decide whether to adopt the Committee’s recommendations made in respect of the above.

NOTE: The Minutes of the Committee meeting are set out within Agenda Item 13 above.

Earlier in the meeting Councillors Stock OBE and G V Guglielmi, as points of information, had informed Council that they were, respectively, a Director and an alternate Director of North Essex Garden Communities Limited.

The Council considered the recommendations submitted to it by the Planning Policy & Local Plan Committee in respect of the proposed Additional Sustainability Appraisal, evidence and amendments relating to Section 1 of the Local Plan which it was further proposed should be submitted, together with the responses received from a proposed public consultation thereon, to the Planning Inspector.

Members were aware that the Planning Policy & Local Plan Committee had considered this matter at its meeting held on 16 July 2019. The relevant Committee Minute and Officer Reports were contained within the Council Book. 

Councillors Turner, Allen, M E Stephenson and Stock addressed the Council on the subject matter of this item.

It was moved by Councillor Turner and:-

Unanimously RESOLVED that -

a)     the additional evidence base summarised within Appendices 2 to 11 to the report of the Corporate Director (Planning and Regeneration) and available in full as background papers be accepted as part of the evidence base for Section 1 of the submitted Local Plan which contains strategic planning policies and proposals common to the North Essex Authorities of Braintree, Colchester and Tendring;

b)     the findings of the Additional Sustainability Appraisal work (summarised in Appendix 1 to the aforementioned report) which appraises the submitted Local Plan strategy for three cross-border Garden Communities and the reasonable alternatives to such strategy be approved;

c)     the Additional Sustainability Appraisal work and evidence base (including the additional evidence) be endorsed as supporting the existing spatial strategy for growth in the submitted Local Plan proposing three cross-border Garden Communities and that it is justified as being the most appropriate strategy;

d)     the schedule of proposed amendments to the submitted Local Plan (attached as appendix 12 to the above report) be approved;

e)     a six-week public consultation on the schedule of proposed amendments, the Additional Sustainability Appraisal work and the additional evidence base be undertaken, starting on 19 August 2019 and ending on 30 September 2019;

f)      following that period of public consultation, the above-mentioned documents along with any duly made representations received during the public consultation period, be submitted to the Secretary of State in order to enable the Local Plan Inspector to resume and complete the examination of the Section 1 Local Plan; and

g)        the Local Plan Inspector be formally requested to recommend any further modifications to the Publication Draft Local Plan as necessary in order to make it ‘sound’.

To inform Council of appointments to Committees that have been made since the Annual Meeting of the Council held on 28 May 2019.

The Chief Executive formally reported that, following the Annual Meeting of the Council held on 28 May 2019 and in accordance with the wishes of the relevant Political Group Leaders, he had exercised his delegated powers and had appointed, with effect from 31 May 2019, Members to serve on the under-mentioned Committees and Sub-Committee as follows:

Audit Committee

Councillors Alexander, Coley, King, Miles, Placey, Porter and Steady

Community Leadership O & S Committee

Councillors Amos, Broderick, Chittock, Clifton, Davidson, Davis, Miles, Newton and Skeels

Human Resources & Council Tax Committee

Councillors Calver, Chapman, Chittock, Clifton, Griffiths, S Honeywood, King, Morrison and M Stephenson

Licensing & Registration Committee

Councillors Casey, Coley, V Guglielmi, J Henderson, S Honeywood, Knowles, Overton, White and Winfield

Planning Policy & Local Plan Committee

Councillors Allen, Broderick, Bush, Chapman, Fairley, G Guglielmi, I Henderson, Newton, Scott, Skeels and Turner

Planning Committee

Councillors Alexander, Bray, Cawthron, Codling, Fowler, Harris, McWilliams, Placey and White

Resources and Services O & S Committtee

Councillors Allen, Barry, Bray, Codling, Griffiths, Morrison, Scott, M Stephenson and Turner

Standards Committee

Councillors Amos, Harris, J Henderson, Land, Overton, Steady and Wiggins

Miscellaneous Licensing Sub-Committee

Councillors Casey, V Guglielmi, J Henderson, S Honeywood and White

Subsequently, following the appointment of the Cabinet by the Leader of the Council and other necessary changes, the Chief Executive also formally reported that, on 10 and 11 June 2019, he had again exercised delegated powers, in accordance with the wishes of the Leaders of the Holland-on-Sea, Independent and UKIP Groups and had duly made the following appointments:-

Audit Committee

Councillor Codling has been appointed to serve in place of Councillor Porter.

Community Leadership O & S Committee

Councillor King had been appointed to serve in place of Councillor Broderick.

Councillor Overton had been appointed to serve in place of Councillor Newton.

Human Resources & Council Tax Committee

Councillor Broderick had been appointed to serve in place of Councillor King.

Licensing & Registration Committee

Councillor Davis had been appointed to serve in place of Councillor White.

Miscellaneous Licensing Sub-Committee

Councillor Davis has been appointed to serve in place of Councillor White.

Council noted the foregoing.

To formally notify Council of the appointments to serve on the Council’s Executive (Cabinet) made by the Leader of the Council (Councillor Stock OBE) following his election to that office at the Annual Meeting of the Council held on 28 May 2019.

The Chief Executive formally reported that, following the Annual Meeting of the Council held on 28 May 2019, the Leader of the Council (Councillor Stock OBE) had exercised his delegated powers and had appointed, with effect from 5 June 2019, Members to serve on the Council’s Executive (Cabinet) as follows:

Council noted the forgoing.

Council’s approval is sought in respect of the seating plan for future meetings of the Full Council held in the Princes Theatre.

Council’s approval was sought in respect of the seating plan for future meetings of the Full Council held in the Princes Theatre.

It was moved by Councillor Scott, seconded by Councillor Bray and:-

RESOLVED, that the seating plan proposed for future meetings of the Full Council to be held in the Princes Theatre be approved.

The Council will consider any urgent matters submitted in accordance with Council Procedure Rules 3(xv), 11.3(b) and/or 13(p).

There were none on this occasion.