Items
No. |
Item |
E.31/21 |
Minutes PDF 73 KB
to approve as a correct record the minutes of
the meeting of the Executive held on 9 September 2021
Minutes:
E.31/21
The minutes of the Executive
meeting held on 9 September 2021 were confirmed as a true and
correct record.
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E.32/21 |
Urgent Business
brought forward at the discretion of the
Chairman;
Minutes:
E.32/21
The Chairman advised that she had no items of urgent
business for consideration at this meeting.
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E.33/21 |
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.33/21
Members and officers were invited to declare any
interests in the items of business to be considered during the
course of this meeting but there were none made.
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E.34/21 |
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.34/21
It was noted that six public
questions had been received in accordance with the Executive
Procedure Rules for consideration at this meeting.
Question
1 from Caroline
Snow:
“South Hams Council agreed in passing a
recent motion to write to local MPs asking them to support the CEE
Bill, and to the CEE Bill Alliance expressing its support and to
inform the local media. Have these communications been sent and
what did you write?”
In reply, the
Leader advised that, following the meeting of Full Council on 15
July 2021 at which a Motion was passed to send letters of support
for the Climate and Ecological Emergency (CEE) Bill to our local
MPs and to the CEE Alliance, letters were duly sent on 23 July 2021
to Sir Gary Streeter MP and Anthony Mangnall MP outlining the debate held at Council
and requesting their support for the Bill in
Parliament. In addition, a letter
registering the Council’s support was sent by email, also on
23 July 2021, to the CEE Alliance.
In response, a
message of thanks was received on 28 July 2021 from the CEE
Alliance.
Question 2 from Julia Ford
“What financial penalties are written into
the contract with FCC and have they been applied yet; if not, why
not?
In response, the
lead Executive Member stated that the deductions were set out in
Schedule 5 (the performance standards and remedies) of the waste
and cleansing contract. In addition,
the Council had been rigorous in calculating the financial
deductions and these were being deducted from the invoices from
FCC.
Question 3 from Julia Sanders
“Will the Waste Collection Service run
smaller vehicles on a permanent basis, to collect waste from small
rural lanes?”
The lead Executive
Member replied by stating that larger vehicles were used for
efficiency wherever possible. However,
owing to the rural nature of the South Hams, there would always be
a need for a number of smaller collection vehicles on the
service.
Question 4 from Julia Sanders
‘Will the service run smaller vehicles to access drives for
ASSISTED COLLECTIONS.
These are often long private drives (which are accessible by the
smaller oil tankers for instance)?
These are the people who need help the most.’
In his response, the lead Executive Member informed
that there were many long private drives in the district and, in
most instances, waste was presented at the kerbside at the end of
the drives. This was to ensure that
vehicles did not cause damage to residents’ drives as most
were not to a standard suitable for heavy waste
vehicles. In some instances, smaller
vehicles were used to access the lanes, or a part of them, for
efficiency or if there was nowhere suitable to leave the waste near
the highway.
The Member also responded that assisted collections
were assessed on an individual basis in consultation with the
resident, contractor and Council to make sure that the solution was
appropriate for the particular circumstances.
Question 5 from Julia Sanders
‘If ...
view the full minutes text for item E.34/21
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E.35/21 |
Executive Forward Plan PDF 931 KB
Minutes:
E.35/21
Members were presented with the
most recently published version of the Executive Forward Plan that
set out items on the agenda for Executive meetings for the next
four months.
In discussion, it was noted
that the next published version of the Forward Plan would be
including a report on the Trade Waste service that was intended to
be presented to a meeting of the Executive during early
2022.
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E.36/21 |
Better Lives for All PDF 115 KB
Additional documents:
Minutes:
E.36/21
Members considered a report that summarised the
responses to the public consultation exercise on the draft strategy
and recommended that Council adopt the ‘Better Lives for
All’ Strategy. Furthermore, the
report also set out the resource requirements to deliver the
plan.
During her introduction, the Leader made
particular reference
to:-
-
her pride at the outcome of the draft
Strategy;
-
the draft Strategy being ambitious but
fully costed;
-
the consultation response received from
Devon County Council (DCC) informing that the draft Strategy was
very closely aligned to the equivalent plan being developed by
DCC. The Leader felt this to be very
encouraging; and
-
performance management being a key aspect
of the draft Strategy.
When proposing that the Council adopt the draft
Strategy, the Leader asked for the following revision to be made to
the ‘Improving Homes’ thematic delivery
plan:
Specific deliverable:
Amend: ‘delivery of 100 homes per
year across the South Hams and West Devon Joint Local Plan (JLP)
area’ to say: ‘delivery of
300 homes over three
yearsacross the
South Hams and West Devon Joint Local Plan (JLP)
area.’
This proposal was subsequently seconded and when put
to the vote was declared CARRIED.
It was then:
RESOLVED
1.
That the results of
the consultation on the draft ‘Better Lives for All’
Strategy be noted;
2.
That Council be
RECOMMENDED to adopt the ‘Better Lives for
All’ Strategy and the thematic delivery plans at its meeting
to be held on 23 September 2021, subject to the following revision
being made to the ‘Improving Homes’ thematic delivery
plan:
-
‘delivery of 300 homes over three
years across the South Hams and West Devon Joint Local Plan
(JLP) area.’
3.
That the allocation of
existing funding (as set out in paragraph 7.2 of the published
agenda report) be noted; and
4.
That Council be
RECOMMENDED to approve the additional cost pressure
(amounting to £110,000) for 2022/23 and 2023/24.
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E.37/21 |
Delivery of Electric Charging Points in Council Car Parks PDF 71 KB
Minutes:
E.37/21
Consideration was given to a report that sought to
recommend that the Council agreed to enter into a collaboration
agreement with the Devon and Torbay Residential Chargepoint Scheme for the installation of Electric
Vehicle Charging Points.-
In debate, the following points were
raised:-
(a)
With regard to timescales, officers
informed that the procurement process would commence imminently and
it was intended that the Charging Points would be installed during
2022. Whilst recognising the extent of
the challenges associated with delivering Charging Points, Members
still emphasised the importance of them being installed as soon as
was practically possible. Specifically
regarding the recent Deletti Project,
officers committed to provide a progress update to all Members
outside of this meeting;
(b)
The Executive highlighted the reference
in the published agenda report to Town and Parish Councils having
the ability to apply for funding to install Charging Points on
their own land and urged the wider membership to promote this
opportunity amongst their local Town and Parish
Councils. In addition, whilst the
current emphasis within the towns was acknowledged, Members
requested that parish provision was also important;
(c)
Local Ward Members felt that the current
Charging Points provision along the A38 Corridor was insufficient
and questioned the intentions of National Highways in this
respect. In reply, officers advised
that they would contact National Highways outside of this meeting
and provide an update to interested Members in the upcoming
weeks;
(d)
When questioned, officers recognised the
growing trend for usage of electric bikes and, whilst minimal
consideration had been given to date for charging points provision,
surveys were soon to be undertaken that would include reference to
electric bikes;
(e)
A number of Members welcomed the
proposals and highlighted the close linkages to both the Better
Lives For All Strategy and the adopted Climate Change and
Biodiversity Strategy.
It was then:
RESOLVED
That Council be RECOMMENDED
to:
1.
enter into a
collaboration agreement with the Devon and Torbay Residential Chargepoint Scheme for the installation of Electric
Vehicle Charging Points;
2.
approve the potential
site locations (as listed in paragraph 1.3 of the presented agenda
report) for the installation of Electric Vehicle Charging Points;
and
3.
enter a lease with the
appointed supplier for a ten year period.
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E.38/21 |
Expenditure of Section 106 Contributions PDF 7 MB
Additional documents:
Minutes:
E.38/21
The Executive considered a report that provided
details of Section 106 contributions received by the Council and
how it is proposed to spend these contributions to enable the
delivery of affordable housing, open space, sport and recreation
and community facilities.
In discussion, reference was made to:-
(a)
the quality of the agenda
report. Members wished to thank the lead officers for
producing an excellent report and particularly welcomed the recent
instances of investment in open space and play areas;
(b)
recommendation 3. A number of Members reiterated the role to be
played by all Members in actively encouraging their local town and
parish councils to bring forward projects that would facilitate the
expenditure of Section 106 contributions;
(c)
air quality modifications. It was agreed that discussions would be held with
Development Management officers regarding the ability for section
106 contributions to be used to make air quality
modifications.
It was then:
RESOLVED
1.
That the amount of
Section 106 contributions held at 31 March 2021 (as set out in
Appendix A of the presented agenda report (totaling £5.879
million) and the future expenditure proposals be noted;
2.
That the process for
consulting and informing Town and Parish Councils regarding Section
106 contributions be noted; and
3.
That all Members be
actively encouraged to continue to engage with their Town and
Parish Councils to facilitate the expenditure of Section 106
contributions to enable the delivery of affordable housing, open
space, sport and recreation and community facilities in their
areas.
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E.39/21 |
Medium Term Financial Strategy for the Three Years 2022/23 to 2024/25 PDF 398 KB
Additional documents:
Minutes:
E.39/21
Consideration was given to a report that presented
the Council’s Medium Term Financial Strategy from 2022/23 to
2024/25.
In discussion, Members were of the view that the
recommendations constituted a sensible set of proposals for the
three-year period from 2022/23 to 2024/25.
It was then:
RESOLVED
That the Medium Term Financial Strategy
has been considered and Council be RECOMMENDED
to:
1.
set the strategic
intention to raise Council Tax by the maximum allowed in any given
year, without triggering a Council Tax referendum to endeavour to continue to deliver
services. (NB. the actual Council Tax
for any given year will be decided by the Council in the preceding
February;
2.
adopt the principle of
using funding in the Business Rates Retention Reserve to smooth out
the anticipated volatility in Business Rates income over the next
three years, as set out in section 3.19 of the published agenda
report. The volatility is due to the
business rates baseline reset anticipated in 2023/24 (this will
result in the Council having a negative Revenue Support Grant) and
the predicted loss of Business Rates pooling gain at the same
time. It is recommended that funding
held in the Business Rates Retention Reserve is retained for the
purpose of smoothing out the business rates volatility / negative
revenue support grant and should not be used for unrelated
purposes, other than commitments already made or as part of one-off
funding for the Corporate Strategy, for at least the next three
years;
3.
continue to respond to
Government consultations on Business Rates Reform;
4.
continue to actively
lobby and engage with the Government, Devon MPs, South West
Councils and other sector bodies such as the District
Councils’ Network and the Rural Services Network, for a
realistic business rates baseline to be set for the Council for
2023 onwards, when the business rates reset happens;
5.
continue to lobby in
support of the Government eliminating Negative Revenue Support
Grant in 2022/23 (and thereafter) and continue to lobby for Rural
Services Delivery Grant allocations which adequately reflect the
cost of rural service provision; and
6.
that the forecast
budget gap for 2022/23 of £79,587 (0.8% of the current Net
Budget of £9.68 million) and the position for future years be
noted.
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E.40/21 |
Month 4 Revenue Budget Monitoring 2021/2022 PDF 103 KB
Additional documents:
Minutes:
E.40/21
Members considered a report that enabled them to
monitor income and expenditure variations against the approved
budget for 2021/22 and also provided a forecast for the year-end
position.
In discussion, the following points were
raised:-
(a)
The fees and charges income that had been
generated was welcomed;
(b)
Whilst working in very difficult
circumstances, Members wished to formally record their thanks to
the Dartmouth Lower Ferry staff for operating an excellent
service;
(c)
The finance team was thanked for the
rigorous and diligent manner in which it had submitted the
Council’s Delta Returns that had arisen as a result of the
COVID-19 Pandemic.
It was then:
RESOLVED
That the forecast income and expenditure
variations for the 2021/22 financial year and the overall projected
surplus of £92,000 (1% of the total Budget of £9.677
million) be noted.
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E.41/21 |
Capital Programme Monitoring PDF 88 KB
Minutes:
E.41/21
Consideration was given to a report that advised of
the progress made on individual schemes within the approved Capital
Programme, including an assessment of their financial
position.
In discussion, Members regretted the time that it
took for affordable housing sites to be developed and stressed the
dire housing need throughout the South Hams. The Leader informed that she was of the view that
the Council needed to look at modular builds as a potential
solution.
It was then:
RESOLVED
1.
That the content of
the Monitoring Report be noted; and
2.
That Council be
RECOMMENDED to fund the overspend of £31,816 on the
Dartmouth Ferry Workshop from the Capital Programme Contingency Reserve.
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E.42/21 |
Planning Improvement Plan PDF 96 KB
Additional documents:
Minutes:
E.42/21
Consideration was given to a report that sought
to:
-
update Members on the progress of the
Development Management and Planning Enforcement review;
-
seek adoption of the Planning Improvement
Plan (‘the Plan’); and
-
recommend approval of the use of the
additional planning income to cover the cost of temporary staff
within the Development Management service.
During discussion, particular reference was made
to:-
(a)
the planning portal on the Council
website. A Member highlighted some of
the limitations associated with the current portal and hoped that
these would be rectified when the new system was rolled out during
the Autumn months;
(b)
the Plan being an evolving
document. As the Plan evolved, Members
were advised that a further report on the Planning Enforcement
service was to be presented to a future Executive meeting and the
Overview and Scrutiny Committee was to receive six-monthly progress
updates against the adopted Plan;
(c)
the Planning Enforcement
service. Members wished for
improvements to be made quickly to the Planning Enforcement service
and, whilst recognising the staffing issues that had been
experienced, it was hoped that the service was now in a steadier
position and could begin to combat the perception that the service
did not have any power or influence to act. Furthermore, the request was made to re-introduce
the: case meetings between Enforcement Officers and local Ward
Members; the publication of the monthly list of cases; and the
current names and contact details for the officers;
(d)
negotiations and extensions of time for
planning applications to be determined.
In instances where extensions had been agreed for out of time
applications, Members asked that this was cross-referenced (and
evidenced) on the planning portal.
It was then:
RESOLVED
1.
That the Planning Improvement Plan
(‘the Plan’) (as set out at Appendix A of the presented
agenda report) be adopted;
2.
That the ongoing performance of the Plan
be monitored on a six-monthly basis with an update report being
presented no later than March 2022; and
3.
That Council be RECOMMENDED to fund the cost of temporary planning staffing
resources of £171,900 (SHDC share of the cost), from the
additional planning income generated in 2021/22 (as set out in
Section 2.4 of the published agenda report).
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E.43/21 |
Follaton House Accommodation Usage PDF 77 KB
Additional documents:
Minutes:
E.43/21
The Executive considered a report that set out some
of the improvements that had been made to date at Follaton House
and that highlighted opportunities to make further
improvements.
In discussion, the following points were
raised:-
(a)
The overriding wish of the report being
to make the best use of Follaton House whilst recognising the
obligations of the Council to maintain the Listed
Building;
(b)
Officers agreed to ask their Devon County
Council colleagues to review their risk assessments in relation to
the maximum number of attendees at a wedding held at Follaton
House;
(c)
The general appetite for hybrid meetings
was stated by a number of Members. In
addition, it was confirmed that aspects of the equipment would be
transportable should the need arise for meetings to be held outside
of the Council Chamber and/or off-site;
(d)
Once the works had been completed, it was
hoped that Follaton House could be promoted again as a venue that
could cater for and host external community groups.
It was then:
RESOLVED
1.
That approval be given
to the adaptation of the Council Chamber to support greater
transparency of our democratic processes and embed, through
technology, positive outcomes of the pandemic, leading to improved
public engagement and accessibility;
2.
That ongoing
modernisation and uplift of the Old House (including the Council
Chamber) be noted to meet the requirements of a modern
Council;
3.
That authority be
delegated to the Head of Assets, in consultation with the Leader of
Council and the lead Executive Member, for the selection of
specific furniture and furnishings;
4.
That Council be
RECOMMENDED to fund the cost of a new Audio Visual system
(of an estimated £130,000) from the New Burdens Revenue
Funding received from the Government for the administration of the
recent Business Grants (as set out in Section 4.3 of the published
agenda report). In addition, Council
also be RECOMMENDED to fund up to £30,000 for the cost
of furniture from the Repairs and Maintenance Earmarked Reserve;
and
5.
That the continuing
strategy of increasing rental income from Follaton House by
securing lettings throughout the building to meet demand of
businesses and partners, including areas previously utilised by
Council staff and Members be endorsed.
(NB. this will lead to an increased use of the Old House by Council
staff and Members).
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E.44/21 |
Waste and Recycling Update PDF 188 KB
Additional documents:
Minutes:
E.44/21
The Executive considered a report that
provided an update on:
-
the actions of the Council to hold its
waste and recycling contractor (FCC) to account for the poor
performance experienced by some residents over the last six
months;
-
the temporary suspension of the Garden
Waste collection service and FCC’s actions taken to ensure
that it had sufficient staff to deliver all elements of the waste
and recycling contract; and
-
the current contractual performance of
FCC.
In discussion, the following points were
raised:-
(a)
Members’ recognised external
factors may be having a detrimental impact on service performance,
but lamented service failures that were wholly within the control
of FCC, for example repeat missed collections and missed assisted
collections.
Such were the failures and the apparent
lack of any improvements, that an additional recommendation was
PROPOSED and SECONDED and when put
to the vote was declared CARRIED:
‘That Council be RECOMMENDED to RESOLVE that the waste and recycling
collection service provided still falls below the standard required
to meet the expectations of local residents. Councillors were given assurance that the service
would return to a ‘steady state’ by
mid-July. In the Council’s view,
this is not the case. We appreciate the
efforts of officers and FCC to try and rectify the
situation. However, if a solution
cannot be found to deliver the ‘super recycling’
service as specified at the Full Council meeting on 6 December 2018
by the end of 2021 the Council will be forced to consider
exercising any available contractual rights in order to ensure
that, going forwards, arrangements are in place which are capable
of delivering a waste and recycling collection service that is fit
for the 21st Century.’
(b)
On behalf of the Council, Members and
officers wished to put on record their unreserved apologies for the
poor service that was being experienced by residents. In so doing, Members and officers emphasised their
commitment to rectifying the current problems;
(c)
When reflecting on the extent of the
problems that were being incurred, the lead Executive Member
confirmed his belief that the round review exercise carried out by
FCC had been a significant contributory factor;
(d)
With regard to the initial suspension of
the garden waste collection service, FCC had confirmed that there
was insufficient time to delay the decision to enable for
correspondence to be sent to all residents.
In the event of the service being
suspended for a further period, some Members made the point that
there were willing town and parish councils who could be utilised
to support (and police) a green waste collection
service. As a consequence, officers
were asked to consider the feasibility of such alternative means of
collecting green waste. In addition, a
Member highlighted that there was plentiful desire amongst
residents for home and/or community composting schemes and steps
should therefore be taken to exploit this wish;
(e)
In the event of a residents’ waste
not being collected, a Member questioned whether they would be
...
view the full minutes text for item E.44/21
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E.45/21 |
Reports of Bodies PDF 97 KB
Audit Committee Meeting Minutes – 1 July
2021
Minutes:
E.45/21
Audit Committee – 1 July
2021:
A.4/21 Internal Audit Annual Report
rESOLVED
That an extra 0.05 Full Time Equivalent (FTE) of
Internal Audit resource be procured from the Devon Audit
Partnership for the 2021/22 Financial Year to backfill for the loss
of Internal Audit staff time that has been used to administer the
Business Grants for the Council to be funded from the New Burdens
Funding received from the Government for administering the Business
Grants. (NB. this will ensure a robust
Internal Audit environment by enabling the internal audit service
to fully complete its Audit Plan for 2021/22.
A.5/21 Bi-Annual Strategic Risk
Update
rESOLVED
That the Leisure Services report that is to be
presented to a future Executive meeting address the risk that the
capacity of the Leisure Centres is significantly reduced whilst
many overheads and operating costs remain the same and the
mitigation for this risk.
(NOTE: THESE DECISIONS, WITH THE EXCEPTION OF
MINUTES E.36/21 PARTS 2 AND 4, E.37/21, E.39/21, E.41/21 PART 2,
E.42/21 PART 3, E.43/21 PART 4 AND E.44/21 PART 5 (WHICH ARE
RECOMMENDATIONS TO THE COUNCIL MEETING TO BE HELD ON 23 SEPTEMBER
2021) WILL BECOME EFFECTIVE FROM 5.00PM ON MONDAY, 27 SEPTEMBER
2021 UNLESS CALLED IN, IN ACCORDANCE WITH SCRUTINY PROCEDURE RULE
18).
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