Agenda item

Council will consider the following motion notice of which has been given, pursuant to the provisions of Council Procedure Rule 12, by Councillor Steady:-

 

“That this Council resolves to recommend to Cabinet that -

 

(a)    any future capital receipts arising from the disposal of surplus land be ring-fenced for investing back into the town or parish it is located in, and in the case of Brightlingsea this would include the proceeds from the future disposal of land in Dover Road identified in the report to Cabinet on 15 July 2022; and

 

(b)    the relevant Town / Parish Council be consulted on any such investment proposals.”

Minutes:

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

 

“That this Council resolves to recommend to Cabinet that -

 

(a)    any future capital receipts arising from the disposal of surplus land be ring-fenced for investing back into the town or parish it is located in, and in the case of Brightlingsea this would include the proceeds from the future disposal of land in Dover Road identified in the report to Cabinet on 15 July 2022; and

 

(b)    the relevant Town / Parish Council be consulted on any such investment proposals.”

 

Councillor Steady formally moved the motion and Councillor Chapman BEM formally seconded the motion.

 

Councillor Steady then gave his reasons why he felt that it would be appropriate for the motion to be dealt with at this meeting, namely that:-

 

·      the Council was coming to the end of its current four year cycle;

·      the process of land disposal had already begun in Brightlingsea. Early link ups to policy had already been announced;

·      there were opportunities in the pipeline to raise match funding for joint schemes between Brightlingsea Town Council (BTC) and Tendring District Council (TDC). BTC working with TDC Officers could reduce housing waiting lists. Therefore, dealing with the motion at this meeting would ‘tidy things up’ and create a platform for the new post-election Executive to build on and reduce the timescale for the delivery of schemes; and

·      the extra funding from land disposals could fund a significant number of extra small schemes right across the District in every town and parish council area.

 

Councillor Chapman BEM then gave her reasons why she felt that it would be appropriate for the motion to be dealt with at this meeting, namely that:-

 

·      now would be a better time to debate this motion as the present Members had the experience and knowledge gained from previous discussions of land disposals. Following the election there could be a significant number of new Councillors who might not fully understand the argument being made on this matter; and

·      this would be an ideal time to demonstrate to residents that two Councils can work together to build out projects.

 

The Leader of the Council (Councillor Stock OBE) then responded and put forward reasons why it would be more appropriate for the motion to stand referred to the Cabinet. These included:-

 

·      pointing out that, in his opinion, the current wording of the Motion meant that places in the District with a large number of Council owned assets would benefit at the expense of those without;

·      the disposal of assets was an Executive function, as acknowledged in the motion itself, so this motion really had to go before the Cabinet in order for it to form a recommendation and return the motion to Full Council at a later date. No land would be sold off in the interim so there was nothing to fear on that score;

·      pointing out that, in his opinion, even if the motion was considered and then unanimously approved at this meeting it would have ‘zero effect’. He felt that it was a pointless exercise as it could not change what Cabinet could or could not do.

 

Having consulted both the Council’s Monitoring Officer and the Section 151 Officer, the Chairman of the Council (Councillor Harris) then made his ruling on whether the motion should be dealt with at the meeting or stand referred. He decided that the motion would stand referred to the Cabinet on the grounds that this motion clearly concerned an Executive function.

 

Councillor Steady then explained the purpose of the Motion in accordance with the provisions of Council Procedure Rule 12.4.2. That explanation included:-

 

·      that the motion aimed to build on previous successes in Brightlingsea and to bring about a meaningful, fiscal devolution from TDC to BTC as a pre-cursor to fiscal devolution from central Government to local Government;

·      it would enable TDC to get ‘ahead of the game’ and enable the flexibility required to deliver these schemes;

·      adapting such an ethos would challenge everything and provide a different way of delivering services and facilities similar to the land swap at Vista Road, Clacton-on-Sea which had been an integral part of the refurbishment of the Clacton Leisure Centre’s new all-weather football pitch funded by the Football Foundation and a contribution from Essex County Council; and

·      that this was a wonderful opportunity to ‘dare to be different’.

 

Councillor Chapman BEM then further explained the purpose of the Motion in accordance with the provisions of Council Procedure Rule 12.4.2. That explanation included:-

 

·      many parish/town councils had small projects that were waiting to be progressed or completed – this would be a good way of achieving positive outcomes;

·      it would demonstrate how parish/town councils and district/borough councils could work together within guidelines – it could enable match funding opportunities to complete such projects for the benefit and pacification of local communities; and

·      there was a worry that the money raised from land disposals would go into a central pot and ‘disappear’.

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