Agenda and minutes

Venue: Princes Theatre - Town Hall, Station Road, Clacton-on-Sea, CO15 1SE. View directions

Contact: Ian Ford 

Link: Audio Recording - 15 June 2017

Items
No. Item

33.

Apologies for Absence

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

 

Minutes:

Apologies for absence were submitted on behalf of Councillors Baker, Broderick, B E Brown, Bucke, Fairley, Fowler, Heaney, Scott, M J Skeels, Stephenson, Watling MP and Winfield.

34.

Minutes of the Last Meeting of the Council pdf icon PDF 215 KB

The Council is asked to approve, as a correct record, the minutes of the Council Meeting held on Tuesday 9 May 2017.

Minutes:

RESOLVED, that the minutes of the ordinary meeting of the Council, held on Tuesday 9 May 2017 be approved as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

35.

Declarations of Interest

Councillors are invited to declare any disclosable pecuniary interests, or other interest, and the nature of it, in relation to any item on the agenda.

 

Minutes:

The Council’s Monitoring Officer (Lisa Hastings), read out the following advice to Members:

 

“I believe it would be useful to provide members with guidance on declarations of interest in consideration of the Publication Draft Local Plan document, which is being considered by this Council tonight.

 

The decision being sought at these meetings includes recommending, endorsing and approval of a Publication Draft Local Plan and Sustainability Appraisalsfor public consultation and submission to the Government for Examination in Public. 

 

The majority of Members could be regarded as having, as a matter of law, Disclosable Pecuniary Interests (DPI) due to land ownership within the red line settlement boundaries simply because you are residents of the District.  Government has previously issued guidance that the legislation was not intended to cover such District wide decisions, however, for the avoidance of doubt and Members’ protection, acting as the Council’s Monitoring Officer it is entirely reasonable that the criteria set out in Section 33 (a) to (e) of the Localism Act 2011 applies and for land ownership simplywithin the red line settlement boundaries, a dispensation is granted to all Members to debate and vote on the item.

 

However, if you or your spouse/partner have land ownership (still a DPI) in any of the specific areas to be allocated, shown in various colours on the plans within the document, the above blanket dispensation does not apply.  For specific land allocation, an individual dispensation would be required to remain in the room, take part in the debate and vote on the item, although it is unlikely that I would grant a grant a dispensation in the circumstances. Failure to declare a DPI and take part in a decision is a criminal offence.

 

Land within specific allocations,which is owned by an external body or organisation, may also fall within the definition of Non-Pecuniary Interests, if you were appointed or nominated to an outside body or organisation by the Council or are a member of an outside body which owns or controls land.  A number of these organisations could meet the “likely to affect” test.  The impact of having a Non-Pecuniary Interest on participation at meetings is set out in the Code of Conduct.  The test is whether the Councillor could reasonably be regarded as having an interest so significant that it was likely to prejudice their judgement.  As the decision is to approve a Publication Draft Local Plan, my advice to Councillors is that it is reasonable to conclude that this test would be met and therefore, Councillors would not be able to remain and take part in the debate and vote (after declaring the interest) without a dispensation.  By making the declaration of a Non-Pecuniary Interest, for land ownership, it will be assumed that the interest does prejudice your judgement and therefore, you should not take part in the decision.  

 

Members may have declared interests at earlier meetings in the local plan process including previous Council meetings and at the Local Plan Committee, it  ...  view the full minutes text for item 35.

36.

Announcements by the Chairman of the Council

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

Minutes:

The Chairman informed Members that the schedule of functions that he and the Vice-Chairman had attended could now be found online.

37.

Announcements by the Chief Executive

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

 

Minutes:

There were none on this occasion.

38.

Statements by the Leader of the Council

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.

 

Minutes:

There were no statements by the Leader of the Council on this occasion.

39.

Statements by Members of the Cabinet

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.

 

Minutes:

There were no statements by members of the Cabinet on this occasion.

40.

Petitions to Council

The Council will consider any petition(s) received in accordance with the Scheme approved by the Council.

 

There are none on this occasion.

Minutes:

There were none on this occasion.

41.

Questions Pursuant to Council Procedure Rule 10.1

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 half an hour.

 

There are none on this occasion.

Minutes:

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.

 

There were no questions on this occasion.

42.

Questions Pursuant to Council Procedure Rule 11.2 pdf icon PDF 84 KB

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 Committees or Sub-Committees.

 

The time allocated for receiving and disposing of questions shall be a maximum of 45 minutes. Any question not disposed of at the end of this time shall be the subject of a written response, copied to all Members unless withdrawn by the questioner.

 

Minutes:

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 or Sub-Committees.

 

One question had been submitted as set out below:

 

Question

 

From Councillor Jo Henderson to Councillor Michael Talbot, Portfolio Holder for the Environment:

           

“Please can I ask the Portfolio holder, with the ever increasing issue of dog fouling in Harwich and Dovercourt, will he consider having a full time Dog Warden solely for this issue in our District?

 

At present the excellent wardens we have are not able to tackle this problem because they have to cover such a wide area of Council responsibilities.”

 

Councillor Talbot replied as follows:-

 

“Thank you for your question Councillor Henderson. This is a concern shared by all our residents.

 

We currently have two full time dog wardens who are responsible primarily for the collection and return of stray dogs with the Tendring District. Unallocated time following their primary role is spent on duties which are directly related to the dog wardens such as microchipping of dogs, dog barking noise complaint etc.. However, the majority of the remainder of their time is spent patrolling dog walking areas and other areas of high footfall such as seafronts, town centres and open spaces, the purpose of which is to act as a visible deterrent towards irresponsible dog owners along with providing a visible presence to dog walkers who may actually have enquiries or wish to pass on information to the wardens.

 

During the summer the working day of the two dog wardens is extended by a split shift system; with one dog warden starting at 07.45 and finishing at 16.15 whilst the other dog warden starts later at 10.30 and finishes at 19.00. The purpose of the extended day during the summer period is to be able to patrol areas at times of the morning and evening (i.e. before and after the normal working day for most people) when dog walkers are present  in much larger numbers.  

 

Whilst duties such as abandoned vehicles, cars for sale and fly tipping are the primary responsibility of the two Community Wardens, In practice whilst an officer is in a particular area of the district they will, pending their time availability, undertake other duties which may not be part of their core role.  In undertaking these additional duties the council ensures that service requests from members of the public are dealt with in a timely and efficient manner whilst also ensuring that staff remain robust with their multiple and varied skill sets.

 

Lastly I would like to confirm to you that the two dog wardens patrol both Harwich and Dovercourt seafront areas on a regular basis and will continue with these patrols into the future.”

 

Councillor J Henderson then asked the following supplementary question –

 

“Thank you Councillor Talbot but you did not actually answer the question I asked you. The question was – will you  ...  view the full minutes text for item 42.

43.

Report of the Leader of the Council - Urgent Cabinet or Portfolio Holder Decisions

The Council will receive a report on any Cabinet decisions taken as a matter of urgency in accordance with Access to Information Procedure Rule 17.4, 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.

Minutes:

There was no such report on this occasion.

44.

Minutes of Committees pdf icon PDF 128 KB

The Council will receive the minutes of the following Committees:

 

(a)          Corporate Management Committee of Monday 15 May 2017; and

 

(b)          Community Leadership and Partnerships Committee of Monday 22 May 2017.

 

NOTE: 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.

 

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

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

 

(a)  Corporate Management of Monday 15 May 2017; and

 

(b)  Community Leadership and Partnerships Committee of Monday 22 May 2017.

45.

Motions to Council

The Council will consider motions, notice of which has been given pursuant to Council Procedure Rule 12.

 

There are none on this occasion.

Minutes:

There were no motions, notice of which had been given pursuant to Council Procedure Rule 12, on this occasion.

46.

Recommendations from the Cabinet

The Council is asked to consider any recommendations submitted to it by the Cabinet.

 

There are none on this occasion.

Minutes:

There were no recommendations from the Cabinet on this occasion.

47.

Reports Submitted to the Council by an Overview and Scrutiny Committee

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

 

There are none on this occasion.

Minutes:

There were none on this occasion.

48.

Reference from Local Plan Committee - A.1 - Tendring District Council Publication Draft Local Plan pdf icon PDF 161 KB

To approve the content of the Tendring District Council Publication Draft Local Plan and its Sustainability Appraisals for consultation and submission to Government.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Councillor I J Henderson had earlier declared a non-pecuniary interest in respect of this item insofar as he was a member of the Development and Regulation Committee at Essex County Council.

 

Councillor Stock had earlier declared a non-pecuniary interest in respect of this item insofar as he was a Director of the North Essex Garden Communities Ltd.

 

Councillor G V Guglielmi had earlier declared a non-pecuniary interest in respect of this item insofar as:

 

(1)        he was a Director of the North Essex Garden Communities Ltd;

(2)        he was Chairman of the Development and Regulation Committee at Essex County Council; and

(3)        he was a Director of Lawford Housing Enterprise Trust though no land had been allocated in the Local Plan that the Trust owned.

 

Councillors Coley and V E Guglielmi had earlier declared non-pecuniary interests in respect of this item insofar as they were Directors of Lawford Housing Enterprise Trust though no land had been allocated in the Local Plan that the Trust owned.

 

Councillors Honeywood and Amos had declared non-pecuniary interests in respect of this item insofar as they represented the Council on the John Gilders & Maskell Almshouses Trust.

 

Council had before it a comprehensive report which sought its approval to endorse the content of the Tendring District Council Publication Draft Local Plan and its Sustainability Appraisals for consultation and submission to Government.  The Publication Draft Local Plan was attached as Appendix A, and the Sustainability Appraisals as Appendix B to the report.

 

Members were aware that Tendring District Council was preparing a new Local Plan in order to guide future development in the Tendring District up to 2033 and beyond.  Members recognised that having an up-to-date plan was critical for creating job opportunities, attracting investment for improved infrastructure, protecting the environment and ensuring that the new homes required met the needs of a growing population; were built in the right locations and achieved good standards of quality and design.  Without an up-to-date plan it would be more difficult for the Council to secure investment and protect the District from unplanned developments.

 

Council was reminded that the Local Plan comprised two sections.  Section 1 had been jointly prepared with Braintree District Council and Colchester Borough Council and dealt with strategic issues including the proposals for garden communities.  Section 2 of the Plan related just to the District of Tendring.  Some chapters in Section 2 had been considered by the Local Plan Committee on 20 April 2017.  Section 1 of the Local Plan, and the remaining chapters for Section 2 had been considered by the Local Plan Committee on 12 June 2017.  The Cabinet had also been consulted on the Local Plan at its meeting held on 13 June 2017.

 

At its meeting held on 12 June 2017 (Minute 7 referred), the Local Plan Committee had -

           

“RESOLVED that the Committee -

 

  1. (a)        endorses the content of Section 1 of the Council’s Publication Draft Local Plan;

(b)        endorses the remaining chapters of Section 2 of the Council’s Publication  ...  view the full minutes text for item 48.

49.

Report of the Chief Executive - A.2 - Formation of a new Political Group on Tendring District Council, Change of Membership of Political Groups and a Review of Membership of Committees pdf icon PDF 72 KB

To inform Council of the formation of a new political group on Tendring District Council; changes of membership of other political groups and also to enable Council to consider the outcome of a review of the membership of Committees conducted in accordance with Section 15(1)(e) of the Local Government and Housing Act 1989 and Regulation 17(b) of the Local Government (Committees and Political Groups) Regulations.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Council had before it a report of the Chief Executive which informed Council of the formation of a new political group on Tendring District Council; changes of membership of other political groups and also enabled Council to consider the outcome of a review of the membership of Committees conducted in accordance with Section 15(1)(e) of the Local Government and Housing Act 1989 and Regulation 17(b) of the Local Government (Committees and Political Groups) Regulations.

 

The Chief Executive formally reported that, pursuant to Regulation 10(b) of the Local Government (Committees and Political Groups) Regulations 1990, Councillors Jeffrey Bray and Richard Everett on 10 May 2017, had each served formal notice on the Council that they no longer wished to be treated as a member of the UKIP political group.

 

The Chief Executive further formally reported that, also on 10 May 2017, Councillor Bray and Councillor Everett, pursuant to Regulation 8 of the Local Government (Committees and Political Groups) Regulations 1990, had served formal notice on the Council that they wished to be treated as a political group. The name of the political group was the Independent Alliance Group. The Leader of the Independent Alliance Group was Councillor Bray and Councillor Everett was the deputy Group Leader.

 

The Chief Executive further formally reported that, pursuant to Regulation 10(b) of the Local Government (Committees and Political Groups) Regulations 1990, Councillor Anne Davis on 12 May 2017, had served formal notice on the Council that she no longer wished to be treated as a member of the UKIP political group.

The Chief Executive further formally reported that, also on 12 May 2017, Councillor Davis, pursuant to Regulation 9(b) of the Local Government (Committees and Political Groups) Regulations 1990, had served formal notice on the Council that she wished to be treated as a member of the Independent Alliance group.

 

The Chief Executive further formally reported that, on 15 May 2017, Councillor Laurie Gray, pursuant to Regulation 9(b) of the Local Government (Committees and Political Groups) Regulations 1990, had served formal notice on the Council that he wished to be treated as a member of the Independent Alliance group.

 

The Chief Executive further formally reported that, on 15 May 2017, Councillor John Brown, pursuant to Regulation 9(b) of the Local Government (Committees and Political Groups) Regulations 1990, had served formal notice on the Council that he wished to be treated as a member of the UKIP group.

 

The Chief Executive further formally reported that, pursuant to Regulation 10(b) of the Local Government (Committees and Political Groups) Regulations 1990, Councillor Jack Parsons on 23 May 2017, had served formal notice on the Council that he no longer wished to be treated as a member of the Labour political group.

 

In accordance with Section 15(1)(e) of the Local Government and Housing Act 1989 and Regulation 17(b) of the Local Government (Committees and Political Groups) Regulations 1990 a review of the allocation of seats to political groups ha been carried out. The outcome of  ...  view the full minutes text for item 49.

50.

Urgent Matters for Debate

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

 

Minutes:

There were none on this occasion.