Agenda and minutes

45/17

In light of the Vice-Chairman having sent his apologies to this meeting, nominations were invited to serve as Vice-Chairman for the duration of this meeting.

 

It was then:

 

RESOLVED

 

That Cllr D Brown be appointed Vice-Chairman for the duration of this meeting.

 

 

 

to approve as a correct record and authorise the Chairman to sign the minutes of the meetings of the Council held on 28 September 2017 and the Special Council held on 31 October 2017

46/17

The minutes of the meetings of the Council held on 28 September 2017 and the Special Council meeting held on 31 October 2017 were both confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

 

 

the Chairman to announce if any item not on the agenda should be considered on the basis that he considers it as a matter of urgency (any such item to be dealt with under ‘Business Brought forward by the Chairman’);

47/17             

The Chairman informed that she had agreed for one item of urgent business to be considered at this meeting that related to the Deputy Leader of Council providing a statement on the IT issues that were incurred by the Council on Wednesday, 13 December 2017.  This update was considered in accordance with agenda item 6: ‘Business Brought Forward by the Chairman’ (Minute 50/17 below refers).

 

 

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;

48/17 

Members and officers were invited to declare any interests in the items of business to be considered during the course of the meeting.  These were recorded as follows:-

 

Cllr M F Saltern declared a personal item in Item 8(a): ‘Notices of Motion’ (Minute 52/17(a) below refers) by virtue of being an advisor to the Police and Crime Commissioner and left the meeting during consideration of this agenda item;

 

Cllr R F D Gilbert declared a personal interest in Item 8(e): ‘Notices of Motion’ (Minute 52/17(e) below refers) by virtue of being the Chairman of the Devon Pension Fund Committee and remained in the meeting and took part in the debate and vote thereon;

 

Cllr N A Hopwood declared a personal interest in Item 10: ‘Standards Process – Appointment of Independent Persons’ (Minute 54/17 below refers) by virtue of one of the recommended appointments being a neighbour and remained in the meeting during the debate and took part in the vote thereon.

 

49/17             

 

By way of updates, the Chairman made reference to:

 

(a)    Mr Steve Jorden

 

Since this was the last Council meeting before Mr Jorden left the employ of the Council, Members wished to thank him for his hard work, commitment and dedication.  In particular, reference was made to Mr Jorden’s work in delivering the Transformation Programme on time and within budget and his major impact on the Joint Local Plan and Sherford projects and he was wished every success and happiness in the future.

 

(b)  Mrs Sue Hitchins

 

Following the sad recent passing of Mrs Sue Hitchins, the Chairman informed that her funeral had been arranged to take place at St Michael and All Angels Church, Cornwood, Ivybridge at 12.30pm on Tuesday, 19 December 2017.

 

 

(c)    Chairman’s Civic Service

 

The Chairman thanked those Members who had attended her recent Civic Service for their support and contributions in making the event such a success.

 

(d)   Woolwell Christmas Community Event

 

The Chairman highlighted the recent Christmas Community Event at Woolwell that she had attended.  The Chairman congratulated the local Ward Member for arranging such a positively received Community Event.

 

 

to consider business (if any) brought forward by the Chairman;

50/17             

As highlighted above (Minute 47/17 refers), the Chairman invited the Deputy Leader, in his capacity as lead Executive Member for Support Services, to provide a statement on the IT issues that were incurred by the Council on Wednesday, 13 December 2017.

 

In so doing, the Deputy Leader made reference to:-

 

-         a significant IT failure being incurred at 9.20am that resulted in the loss of the telephony and all IT systems;

-         residents and stakeholders being advised (via the Council website and different social media platforms) at 10.30am;

-         the problem being attributed to a faulty piece of equipment;

-         most services having been restored by 7.00pm;

-         the system downtime being used as effectively as possible, with staff team meetings, training sessions and other business continuity exercises being held;

-         the Senior Leadership Team having already requested a lessons learned paper and Action Plan (to mitigate future risk) be produced;

-         all incoming emails having been held (and queued) in the Cloud; and

-         despite being out of the county, both he and the Leader being kept fully informed throughout the day.

 

to consider the following question received in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 8:

 

(a)       From Cllr Baldry to Cllr Bastone, lead Executive Member for Development Management

 

‘On 15 December 2016 it was:

 

“RESOLVED

 

That this Council:

 

notes the ruling of the High Court (Case No: CO/2241/2016) in support of a housing policy known as ‘H2. Full Time Principal Residence Requirement’ as set out in St Ives Area Neighbourhood Development Plan and which provides that: ‘New second homes and holiday lets will not be permitted at any time…’ and

 

supports Town and Parish Councils within the South Hams District to adopt similar policies in their own Neighbourhood Development Plan”

 

1.     How many Neighbourhood Plans have been approved?  How many include a policy on dwellings which are not the primary residence?

 

2.     Is the Executive Member aware of Parishes or localities which are working on Neighbourhood Plans and how many are considering including a St Ives type policy?

 

3.     In the spirit of the 15 December Resolution, will the Executive Member encourage appropriate parishes to adopt this type of policy?

 

(b)        From Cllr Birch to Cllr Tucker, Leader of Council

 

‘Various reports show that the Council has incurred waste expenditure of over £250,000 following the failure and/or cancellation of the following four projects:

 

1.       Setting up of a Local Authority Controlled Company;

2.       Proposed merger with West Devon Borough Council;

3.       Commercial Property Investment Scheme; and

4.       Kingsbridge Quayside K2 Project.

 

Would it not have been better to have spent this sum on employing additional staff so as to improve the provision of Council services and especially in connection with planning and enforcement?’

 

51/17             

It was noted that two questions had been received in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 8.  These questions were as follows:-

 

From Cllr Baldry to Cllr Bastone, lead Executive Member for Development Management

 

(a)    That this Council:

 

      notes the ruling of the High Court (Case No: CO/2241/2016) in support of a housing policy known as ‘H2. Full Time Principal Residence Requirement’ as set out in St Ives Area Neighbourhood Development Plan and which provides that: ‘New second homes and holiday lets will not be permitted at any time…’ and

 

       supports Town and Parish Councils within the South Hams District to adopt similar policies in their own Neighbourhood Development Plan”

 

1.   How many Neighbourhood Plans have been approved?  How many include a policy on dwellings which are not the primary residence?

 

2.   Is the Executive Member aware of Parishes or localities which are working on Neighbourhood Plans and how many are considering including a St Ives type policy?

 

3.   In the spirit of the 15 December Resolution, will the Executive Member encourage appropriate parishes to adopt this type of policy?

 

In the absence of Cllr Bastone, Cllr Hopwood replied and made the following points:-

 

-         Currently, the Ivybridge Neighbourhood Plan (NP) was the only NP that had been subject of a Referendum.  The Referendum had now been formally approved by the Executive at its meeting on 7 December 2017 (Minute E.40/17 refers) and Cllr Hopwood congratulated Ivybridge accordingly;

-         She was aware of a number of NPs that were currently considering the merits of including a St Ives type policy.  However, she was not aware of the exact number at present;

-         In the event of a NP wishing to pursue this type of policy, Cllr Hopwood confirmed that the Council would provide supporting evidence to supplement this wish.

 

In response to a supplementary question, Cllr Hopwood was of the view that it was not the responsibility of the Council to be actively encouraging NPs to include a St Ives type policy.  That being said, she did also feel that the Council should do all it could to support those Groups who did wish to include the provision of such a policy.

 

 

From Cllr Birch to Cllr Tucker, Leader of Council

(b)    Various reports show that the Council has incurred waste expenditure of over £250,000 following the failure and/or cancellation of the following four projects:

 

1.       Setting up of a Local Authority Controlled Company;

2.       Proposed merger with West Devon Borough Council;

3.       Commercial Property Investment Scheme; and

4.       Kingsbridge Quayside K2 Project.

 

Would it not have been better to have spent this sum on employing additional staff so as to improve the provision of Council services and especially in connection with planning and enforcement?

 

 

In reply, Cllr Tucker advised that he was of the view that, in order to meet the Council’s severe budgetary pressures, it was necessary to investigate the merits of such projects.  In addition, there was a need for adequate information to be gained before a  ...  view the full minutes text for item 51/17

to consider the following motions received (if any) in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 10.1:

 

(a)    By Cllrs Baldry and Bastone

 

‘This Council fully supports and endorses the contents of the letter that was sent from the South Devon and Dartmoor Community Safety Partnership to the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner regarding Neighbourhood Policing (dated 9 October 2017).

 

This Council therefore agrees to write to the Office of the Commissioner expressing its full support for the views contained within this letter.’

 

(NOTE: the aforementioned letter is available in the agenda reports pack)

 

 

(b)    By Cllrs Birch and Brazil

 

‘Due to the ever increasing number of electric powered vehicles on the roads in the UK and with the prospect of the numbers growing significantly in the future, this Council resolves to investigate and report on the feasibility of installing electric car charging points within the Council’s public car parks.

 

A report is to be presented to the Overview and Scrutiny Panel within the next four months.’

 

(c)    By Cllrs Green and Hodgson

 

‘This Council resolves to oblige developers who submit residential planning applications which do not meet SHDC’s affordable housing target to supply unredacted viability assessments for online publication at least two weeks prior to determination, to enable public scrutiny.

 

(NOTE. we understand Greenwich Council have done something similar):

 

http://www.royalgreenwich.gov.uk/press/article/710/royal_borough_in_landmark_new_planning_policy_to_make_affordable_housing_viability_studies_more_transparent

 

(d)    By Cllrs Baldry and Birch

 

‘Residents of the South Hams are fortunate to live in or near an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.  South Hams District Council has the duty, when making its planning decisions, to protect or enhance the AONB.  Because of interpretation of planning policy, there have been occasions in the past where the Council’s Development Management Committee has been advised by officers to approve planning applications for major housing schemes in the AONB.

 

The Council for the Protection of Rural England (CPRE) in a recent report says: “Current development on AONB’s shows little evidence that what’s being built will actually solve the housing crisis which is more to do with affordability than lack of land.”

 

This Council supports the CPRE call on Government to toughen up planning policy to prevent major housing schemes in AONBs in order to recognise the importance of our treasured landscapes.  In supporting this call, the Council will make its views known to the Secretary of State CLG and to the local Members of Parliament.

 

This Council supports the CPRE request to councils to publish figures every year to show developments and changes in land use in AONBs in a similar form to those already published for Green Belt Land and in doing so, will publish the South Hams’ figures on an annual basis.’

 

(e)    By Cllrs Hodgson and Green

 

‘In line with its commitment to mitigating climate change, this Council will ask Devon County Council to divest its pension funds away from fossil fuel companies and seek opportunities to invest in companies that support renewable energy.  This is moving forward in line with other Local Authorities such  ...  view the full agenda text for item 52/17

52/17           

It was noted that five motions had been received in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 10.1.

 

(a)    By Cllrs Baldry and Holway

 

‘This Council fully supports and endorses the contents of the letter that was sent from the South Devon and Dartmoor Community Safety Partnership to the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner regarding Neighbourhood Policing (dated 9 October 2017).

 

This Council therefore agrees to write to the Office of the Commissioner expressing its full support for the views contained within this letter.’

 

In introducing the motion, the proposer made reference to:-

 

-        the motion being presented in light of a request of the Overview and Scrutiny Panel at its meeting on 9 November 2017 (Minute O&S.68/17 refers); and

-        his wish to thank the Head of Paid Service and the Senior Specialist (Democratic Services) for their help and support in compiling this motion.

 

During the ensuing debate, the following points were raised:-

 

(i)  The Council’s representative on the Police and Crime Commissioners Scrutiny Panel gave a commitment to reflect the spirit of this letter at the next meeting of the Panel;

 

(ii)In support of the motion, a number of Members highlighted the vital service that was provided by Police Community Support Officers;

 

(iii)It was confirmed that a number of town and parish councils had already made similar representations to the Office of the Commissioner and all Members were asked to encourage their local town and parish councils to add their support to the contents of this letter.

 

It was then:

 

RESOLVED

This Council fully supports and endorses the contents of the letter that was sent from the South Devon and Dartmoor Community Safety Partnership to the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner regarding Neighbourhood Policing (dated 9 October 2017).

 

This Council therefore agrees to write to the Office of the Commissioner expressing its full support for the views contained within this letter.

 

(b)  By Cllrs Birch and Brazil

 

‘Due to the ever increasing number of electric powered vehicles on the roads in the UK and with the prospect of the numbers growing significantly in the future, this Council resolves to investigate and report on the feasibility of installing electric car charging points within the Council’s public car parks.

 

A report is to be presented to the Overview and Scrutiny Panel within the next four months.’

 

In his introduction, the proposer highlighted that:-

 

-         some filling stations were starting to provide their own electric charging points;

-         the Council had a role to play in providing electric car charging points within each of its public car parks;

-         such provision would be a further incentive to encourage potential tourists to visit the South Hams and for local residents to purchase powered vehicles.

 

In discussion, a number of Members welcomed the intention of the motion (and receipt of a fully detailed officer report), but did not feel it appropriate for the Council to dictate to the Overview and Scrutiny Panel the contents of  ...  view the full minutes text for item 52/17

53/17

The Council considered a report that sought approval to designate the Executive Director (Service Delivery and Commercial Development) as the Head of Paid Service for an interim period until the end of the current Council administration (May 2019).

In discussion, there was widespread support expressed for the proposals.

 

It was then:

 

RESOLVED

 

1.       That the Council designates the Executive Director (Service Delivery and Commercial Development) to be the Head of Paid Service for an interim period until the end of the current administration (May 2019), with an option to extend for a further period if required;

 

2.       That a report be brought back to the Council towards the end of the interim period to consider the permanent strategic leadership and senior management arrangements;

 

3.       That the Executive Director (Service Delivery and Commercial Development) receives an uplift of £3,000 in recognition of the Head of Paid Service responsibilities;

 

4.       That approval be given to a further salary uplift of £10,000 for the Executive Director (Service Delivery and Commercial Development) in recognition of the extra duties that will need to be undertaken as a result of there being only one Executive Director during the interim period;

 

5.       That the Executive Director (Service Delivery and Commercial Development) maintains strategic leadership and senior management capacity by allocating additional responsibilities to members of the Senior and Extended Leadership Team, in consultation with the Leader and Deputy Leader;

 

6.       That a review of the arrangements be undertaken after six months to ensure that all responsibilities are being satisfactorily covered.

 

54/17

A report was considered that sought to confirm the appointment of two Independent Persons in order to assist the Council in promoting and maintaining high standards of conduct amongst its elected Members and town and parish councillors.

 

During discussion, officers confirmed that the quality of all twelve applicants had been excellent and there had been applications received from both male and female prospective candidates.

 

It was then:

 

RESOLVED

That, with immediate effect, Mr Peter Boreham and Mr Trevor Kirkin be appointed as two of the Council’s Independent Persons for the initial period to the date of the Annual Council meeting in May 2019.

 

to receive and as may be necessary approve the minutes and recommendations of the under-mentioned Bodies:

 

* Indicates minutes containing recommendations to Council.

 

 

55/17

RESOLVED

 

That the minutes and recommendations of the undermentioned bodies be received and approved subject to any amendments listed below:-

 

(a)  Audit Committee        21 September 2017

                          

(b)  Salcombe Harbour Board      25 September 2017

 

SH.16/17: 2018/19 Budget

 

RESOLVED

 

That the proposed 2018/19 Budget (as set out in the agenda report presented to the Board meeting) be approved.

 

SH.17/17: Proposed Charges 2018/19

 

The Board Chairman informed that a Workshop would be held in the New Year to informally consider proposed fees and charges beyond 2018/19.

 

It was then:

 

RESOLVED

 

That the proposed charges (as set out in the agenda report presented to the Board meeting) be approved to take effect from 1 April 2018.

 

(c)  Development Management Committee          4 October 2017

          

(d)  Overview and Scrutiny Panel2 August 2017

 

(e)  Licensing Committee12 October 2017

 

L.9/17: Approval of Policy in Relation to the Licensing of Taxi Drivers and Vehicles

 

 

RESOLVED

 

That the draft Taxi Licensing Policy be adopted for implementation on 1 April 2018.

 

(f)   Executive      19 October 2017

 

E.32/17: Kingsbridge Quayside Masterplan Update

 

RESOLVED

That the funding for Stage 2B (approximately £80,000) be financed from the Capital Programme Earmarked Reserves.

 

E.34/17: Consider the Adoption of a Policy in Relation to Dealing with Anti-Social Behaviour and the Adoption of Public Spaces Protection Orders

 

RESOLVED

 

1.      That the Anti-Social Behaviour Policy be adopted;

 

2.    That the Public Spaces Protection Orders (PSPOs), including the updated PSPO for Consumption of Alcohol and associated maps, be adopted for implementation on 1 January 2018;

 

3.    That the penalty set on a fixed penalty notice is set at £100 for all offences covered by the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014; and

 

4.    That a budget of £5,000 be made available for the advertisement of the PSPOs.

 

E.38/17: Review of Management Arrangements for Residential Property Portfolio

 

RESOLVED

 

1.    That the cost of placing homeless households in temporary accommodation be reduced in accordance with Section 5 of the agenda report presented to the Executive;

 

2.    That authority be delegated to the COP Lead (Assets), in consultation with the Section 151 Officer and the Leader of Council any future disposal of properties if assessed as appropriate, with the funding being re-invested in more appropriate accommodation; and

 

3.    That the Council proceed with the disposal and sale of those properties identified in Section 5 of the agenda report presented to the Executive.

 

 

(g)  Development Management Committee          1 November 2017

 

(h)  Salcombe Harbour Board      6 November 2017

 

(i)      Overview and Scrutiny Panel      9 November 2017

 

(j)   Development Management Committee          29 November 2017

 

(k)  Executive      7 December 2017

 

E.43/17: Quarter 2 Revenue Budget Monitoring 2017/18

 

For clarity, the Leader informed that the joint meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Panel and Development Management Committee would be presented with additional detailed information in relation to the Draft Budget for 2018/19.

 

It was then:

 

RESOLVED

 

That the underspend on Homelessness Prevention be transferred into the Homelessness Earmarked Reserve at the end of the 2017/18 Financial Year (this is expected to be £60,000).

 

E.48/17:  ...  view the full minutes text for item 55/17