Items
No. |
Item |
E.78/20 |
Minute's Silence
Minutes:
E.78/20
As this was the first formal Member meeting
since both the Duke of Edinburgh and Ms Tracy Winser (who had worked for the Council from 1991 to
2015 and had led on the successful Transformation Programme) had
sadly passed away, the Leader asked those in attendance, as a mark
of respect, to observe a minute’s silence in their
memory.
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E.79/20 |
Minutes PDF 374 KB
to approve as a
correct record the minutes of the meeting of the Executive held on
11 March 2021;
Minutes:
E.79/20
The minutes of the Executive
meeting held on 11 March 2021 were confirmed as a true and correct
record.
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E.80/20 |
Urgent Business PDF 131 KB
brought forward at the discretion of the
Chairman;
Minutes:
E.80/20
The
Chairman advised that she had agreed for one urgent item to be
raised at this meeting that related to supporting our business
communities. This item was considered
urgent in light of the associated time constraints and would be
considered immediately.
(a)
ARG Policy – Supporting Our
Business Communities
The Deputy
Leader proceeded to introduce this urgent item and presented a
report that recommended an approach to provide more support to
businesses through grant payments.
In
discussion, the following points were raised:-
(i)
Officers informed that the recommendations had been
drafted to take into account the potential for the guidance to
still be revised further;
(ii)
Members noted that one of the key intentions of the
Policy was to ensure that any businesses that had not been able to
apply for previous grant schemes would be able to under these
provisions;
(iii)
In light of the amount of public monies that had
been set aside for business support, a Member hoped that records
would be made available for local Ward Members that set out all of
the businesses that had been in receipt of a grant and how much
each had been awarded;
(iv)
The request was made that such grants need to be
processed and received by local businesses as soon as was
practically possible.
It was then:
RESOLVED
1.
That the revised approach to the ARG Policy be
approved to support the business community, local economy and local
place in response to further funding being made available from
Central Government, subject to the existing allocation being spent
by June 2021;
2.
That
Council be RECOMMENDED to approve the use of up to
£498,000 from the Business Rates Retention Earmarked Reserve
to fund any wider business support measures approved by the Council
on 25 March 2021 that cannot be funded from the new ARG
allocation;
3.
That approval be given
to the use of the ARG funding to make payments for the remaining
LRSG Open applications, up until 30 April 2021, when the LRSG Open
scheme closes, as the LRSG Open funding allocation is close to
being fully spent, so as to ensure the maximum amount of grant
support for the business community; and
4.
That authority for the
administration of the ARG scheme continue to be delegated to the
Director for Place and Enterprise, in consultation with the Section
151 Officer, the Leader of Council and the lead Executive Member
for Finance, including the decision as to how to fund wider
business support measures, once the further guidance on the ARG has
been published and clarified.
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E.81/20 |
Declarations of Interest
Members are invited to declare any personal or
disclosable pecuniary interests, including the nature and extent of
such interests they may have in any items to be considered at this
meeting;
Minutes:
E.81/20
Members and officers were invited to declare any
interests in the items of business to be considered during the
course of this meeting and these were recorded as
follows:
Cllr N Hopwood declared a personal interest in Item
7: ‘Motorhome Policy’ (Minute E.84/20 below refers) by
virtue of her ownership of a Motorhome and remained in the meeting
and took part in the debate and vote thereon; and
Cllr J Sweett declared a Disclosable Pecuniary
Interest in Item 2(a): ‘Urgent Business: (a) ARG Policy
– Supporting Our Business Communities’ (Minute
E.80/20(a) above refers) by virtue of being a recipient of some of
the Grant Funding that had been made available for businesses and
remained in the meeting during the debate on this item.
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E.82/20 |
Public Question Time PDF 41 KB
a period of up to
15 minutes is available to deal with questions submitted to the
Council in accordance with the Executive Procedure Rules;
Minutes:
E.82/20
It was noted that one public
question had been received in accordance with the Executive
Procedure Rules for consideration at this meeting:
(a)Question received from Dr Thelma Rumsey
Does SHDC have a Tree Strategy? What measures
will be taken to retain mature trees vital within our landscape? In
recognising their importance could SHDC consider increasing
staffing - another arboriculturalist
plus dedicated team of assistant and legal?
(Mature trees (ignoring ash) are being removed at
alarming speed. Protection is essential.)
In reply,
the Deputy Leader started by thanking Dr Rumsey for submitting her
question and paid tribute to the work carried out by tree wardens
across the District.
The Deputy
Leader then advised that the Council did
currently have a Tree Protection, Inspection and Management
Policy and Procedures document. This document was not
dissimilar to a Tree Strategy but was now in need of
updating. This would see a broader strategic approach to Tree
Management and Protection, and would embrace additional important
issues related to climate change, air quality and the impacts
resulting from current pest and diseases, for example - Ash
dieback. The Government was already reviewing this at a
national level (England Tree Strategy – Consultation
2020) with the intention of issuing guidance and directives
to local authorities. Aware that this was due, the Council
was minded to see the outcome so it could help shape our own
approach to an SHDC Tree Strategy, in particular because
this would enable better opportunities to tap into funding sources
etc.
In
addition, the Deputy Leader informed that there were already robust
processes in place within our current legislative framework for
protecting trees to ensure their retention in developments.
Similarly, the revised National Planning Policy Framework now
secured protection of ancient and veteran trees. The local
authority proactively worked to retain trees with the resources
available, and must act reasonably in its approach to secure tree
protection when applying Tree Preservation Order legislation.
This was where the support of our community was of particular
importance, especially the highly valued role that tree wardens
play in helping the Council to retain and protect the
district’s trees when they came under threat. The
Council was also working with our partners such as Devon County
Council and the Woodland Trust in shaping a collective response to
climate change and the significant adverse impacts arising from Ash
dieback.
Finally,
Cllr Bastone advised that the Council continuously monitored our
resourcing regarding our statutory responsibilities, including
arboricultural matters within the
Council to ensure that the service was maintained.
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E.83/20 |
Executive Forward Plan PDF 636 KB
Minutes:
E.83/20
Members were presented with the Executive
Forward Plan setting out items on the agenda for Executive meetings
for the next four months and noted its content.
|
E.84/20 |
Motorhome Policy PDF 781 KB
Additional documents:
Minutes:
E.84/20
Members were
presented with a report that highlighted the ever-increasing
numbers of motorhomes / campervan users that were opting to use car
parks and other locations for overnight stays in the South
Hams. As a consequence, the report
identified opportunities to amend car park operations and made
recommendations relating to overnight sleeping within Council
off-street car parks.
In discussion,
reference was made to:-
(a)
the likely economic benefits arising from the proposals. Members reiterated that the primary purpose of the
proposals was to provide a much needed boost to the local economy
as opposed to income generation for the Council. In expanding upon the point, Members also
acknowledged that the proposals were not intended to compete with
existing privately owned local campsites;
(b) an amendment to
the motion. An amendment was PROPOSED and SECONDED as follows:
That approval be given to the variation
of the off-street parking orders by the Head of Assets, in
consultation with the lead Executive Member for Commercial Services
and the Leader of the Council to allow overnight sleeping within
designated Car Parks (as set out in Option B of the presented
agenda report),subject to:
-
It being recognised that this decision
is now subject to a 21 day public consultation exercise being
undertaken (paragraph 3.2.5 of the presented agenda report refers);
and
-
Car parks at North Sands, Salcombe;
Slapton; and Torcross being charged at £15 per night, with
the remaining Car Parks at £10 per night.
In debate
on the amendment, there was widespread support for inclusion of
reference to the public consultation exercise. A number of specific points that were raised by
local Ward Members in debate were encouraged to be submitted as
part of this consultation process.
However, there was a difference of opinion expressed with regard to
the revised pricing proposals, with some Members being of the view
that £15 for all car parks was excessive, whereas other
Members considered the proposed charges to be
reasonable.
When put to
the vote, it was declared CARRIED by three votes to
two that the amendment be approved and therefore incorporated into
the substantive motion;
(c)
the proposals, if adopted, being initially for a twelve-month trial
period. Whilst welcoming the proposal
for a trial, Members also felt that a user survey should be carried
out throughout the year that would help to glean feedback before a
decision was made as to whether or not the trial should be made
permanent;
(d) increased enforcement and monitoring. In the
event of the proposals being introduced, some Members felt that it
would be critical for the Council to undertake more frequent day
and night time enforcement and monitoring activity. Furthermore, the need for increased litter bin
provision in these car parks was noted;
(e)
village
hall car parks. Members
encouraged parish councils to explore any opportunities that they
may have to adopt similar provision within their village / parish hall car parks.
It was then:
rESOLVED
That approval be given to the variation of the ...
view the full minutes text for item E.84/20
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E.85/20 |
Electric Vehicle Charging and Renewable Energy Strategy PDF 588 KB
Minutes:
E.85/20
The Executive considered a report that
presented a progress update on the Council’s Electric Vehicle
Charging and Renewable Energy Strategy.
In discussion, the following points were
raised:-
(a)
In reply to some
Member concerns over the lack of progress of solar panel
installation in Council Car Parks, it was noted that this was
largely attributed to balancing the significant capital expenditure
costs with the actual solar gain from such installation;
(b)Some Members hoped that measures could be put in place to
ensure that there was sufficient turnover of users who would be
able to park in the spaces that were set aside for Electric Vehicle
Charging Points;
(c)
With regard to the
Electric Vehicle Charging Strategy, the lead Executive Member
reminded the meeting that such provision did not have to be the
sole responsibility of local authorities;
(d)The importance of the appropriate infrastructure being in
place throughout the entire South West region was also
noted.
It
was then:
RESOLVED
1.
That the
progress of the Electric Vehicle Charging Strategy to date be
noted;
2.
That
Council be RECOMMENDED to approve capital
expenditure of up to £170,000 from the Capital Programme
Contingency Reserve (as set out in the Finance Section of the
presented agenda report) as follows:
(a)
£80,000 for the upgrade of the network and rapid
charger install at Totnes Depot;
and
(b)
£90,000 for the network upgrade and limited initial
phase of additional rapid chargers at Follaton House, to facilitate
the conversion of the light commercial vehicle fleet to Electric
Vehicles.
3.
That
Council be RECOMMENDED to approve the spend of up
to £15,000, funded from the Climate Change Earmarked Reserve,
to fund an externally commissioned report to investigate and scope
opportunities primarily for Electric Vehicle Charging Points within
the Council’s property portfolio, namely: car parks, depots
and offices. Additionally, to explore
opportunities for solar and battery storage across the estate;
and
4.
That
the contribution of these schemes towards the Council’s
Climate Change and Biodiversity adopted aims be noted.
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E.86/20 |
Corporate Strategy Development PDF 292 KB
Additional documents:
Minutes:
E.86/20
Consideration was given to a report that
set out the proposed timeline and process for developing the new
Corporate Strategy, together with the resources to support its
implementation.
In discussion, the need for swift
progress to be made to ensure that a new Corporate Strategy was
presented to the Council for adoption was reiterated.
It was
then:
rESOLVED
That the Chief Executive and the Director
of Governance and Assurance be instructed to develop the Corporate
Strategy, in line with the timeline and programme set out in Section 4 of the presented
agenda report.
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E.87/20 |
Development Management/ Planning Enforcement Strategy PDF 538 KB
Minutes:
E.87/20
A report was considered that informed of
a Development Management / Planning Enforcement Service Review that
was to be undertaken.
In discussion, the following points were
raised:-
(a)
Specifically with regard to Planning Enforcement, Members
hoped that an outcome of the Review would be that cases would be
either subject to enforcement action or closed. It was considered regrettable that a number of
cases were held in abeyance for a number of years;
(b)
In
light of the number of misconceptions associated with Development
Management and Planning Enforcement, there was felt to be a need to
educate local residents, community groups and town and parish
councils.
It
was then:
rESOLVED
1.
That the review of the Development
Management and Planning Enforcement Services (as set out in
Sections 3.2 to 3.11 of the presented agenda report) and the
subsequent development of a Service Improvement Plan be endorsed;
and
2.
That
officers be instructed to bring back to the Executive a report and
Service Improvement Plan within the next three months.
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E.88/20 |
Release of Section 106 Funds for Dartington Woodland Adventure Bike Track Project PDF 303 KB
Additional documents:
Minutes:
E.88/20
The Executive considered a report that
sought approval of the release of £11,387 of Section 106
funds towards the Dartington Woodland
Adventure Bike Track project.
During the ensuing discussion, reference
was made to:-
(a)
the
work of the Dartington Recreation
Association. In his introduction, the
lead Executive Member informed that he had recently met with
representatives of the Association. The
Member proceeded to pay tribute to the representatives and, in
highlighting how fantastic the facility was, hoped that other
Community Groups within the South Hams would aspire to obtain
similar provisions;
(b)
a
statement made by the local Ward Member. The local Ward Member was invited to provide a
statement to the meeting during which she stated that she was not
against the development of a Bike Track. However, she did have real concerns over the
choice of a mature woodland site as its location. Whilst not referred to in the presented agenda
report, the Member also highlighted that the local Parish Council
had raised objections to the project.
In stressing the need for the Council, in its
capacity as the Local Planning Authority, to uphold its
responsibilities, the Member concluded by asking that the
Association re-consider siting the Track on to an adjacent grass
area.
It was
then:
rESOLVED
That £11,387 be released of Section
106 funds towards the Dartington
Woodland Adventure Bike Track project.
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E.89/20 |
Write-off Report for 2020/21 PDF 377 KB
If you or someone you know would like this
publication in a different format, such as large print or a
language other than English, please call Darryl White on 01803
861247 or by email at: darryl.white@swdevon.gov.uk
Minutes:
E.89/20
A
report was considered that presented the write-offs for the period
from 1 April 2020 to 31 March 2021.
In
discussion, the following points were raised:
(a)
Members thanked residents and officers for their
support and hard work during what had been an incredibly difficult
twelve month period;
(b)
With regard to the frequency of reporting, Members
felt that, in the future, it would be appropriate for write-off
reports to be presented on a six-monthly basis and it was agreed
that this should be reflected in an additional
recommendation.
It was then:
rESOLVED
1)
That,
in accordance with Financial Regulations, it be noted that the
Section 151 Officer has authorised the write-off of individual
Council debts totaling £187,751.43 (as set out in Tables 1
and 2 of the presented agenda report);
2)
That
the write-off of individual debts in excess of £5,000
(totaling £241,406.95) as detailed in Table 3 of the
presented agenda report be approved; and
3)
That
the Executive be in receipt of future Write-off Reports on a six
monthly basis.
(NOTE: THESE DECISIONS, WITH THE EXCEPTION OF E.80/20(a) PART 2 AND
E.85/20 PARTS 2 AND 3 WHICH WERE RECOMMENDATIONS TO THE ANNUAL
COUNCIL MEETING TO BE HELD ON 20 MAY 2021, WILL BECOME EFFECTIVE
FROM 5.00PM ON TUESDAY, 4 MAY 2021 UNLESS CALLED IN, IN ACCORDANCE
WITH SCRUTINY PROCEDURE RULE 18).
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