Agenda and minutes

CM 48                                                                

Apologies for absence were received from Cllrs R Cheadle, P Kimber, J Sheldon and B Stephens.

To approve and adopt as a correct record the Minutes of the

Meeting of Council held on 4 December 2018

CM 49                                                                

It was moved by Cllr P R Sanders, seconded by Cllr L Samuel and upon the motion being submitted to the Meeting was declared to be CARRIED and “RESOLVED that the Council agree the Minutes of the Meeting held on 4 December 2018 as a true record.”                                                   

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.

            If Councillors have any questions relating to predetermination, bias or interests in items on this Summons, then please contact the Monitoring Officer in advance of the meeting.

CM 50                                                                

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

Cllr R J Oxborough declared a personal interest in agenda item 9(i): ‘Minutes of Committees’ (Minute CM 51 below refers) and specifically Unstarred Minute HC 73: ‘Commercial Development Financing’ by virtue of being the Council’s appointed representative on the Tavistock BID Outside Body and he remained in the meeting and took part in the debate and vote thereon.

(i)         Hub Committee

                        Meeting held on 4 December 2018

                        Unstarred Minute to agree:

HC 57 Revenue Budget Monitoring 2018/19

That the Council be RECOMMENDED to transfer £100,000 of the additional planning income into the Planning Policy and Major Developments Earmarked Reserve at the end of the 2018/19 Financial Year.

                        Meeting held on 29 January 2019

                        Unstarred Minutes to agree:

HC 67 Capital Budget Monitoring 2018/19

That the Council be RECOMMENDED to fund the capital requirement of the Public Conveniences Pay on Entry equipment of up to £50,000 from the Strategic Change Earmarked Reserve.

HC 70 Business Continuity Management Strategy and Work    Programme

That the Council be RECOMMENDED that the Management Strategy and Work Programme be adopted.

HC 73 Commercial Development Financing

That the Council be RECOMMENDED to:

1.    undertake prudential borrowing of £10.631 million to fund the Commercial Developments as set out in Exempt Appendix A of the presented agenda report to the Hub Committee meeting;

2.    allocate £468,700 of Section 106 funding (as described in paragraph 3.26 of the presented agenda report to the Hub Committee meeting) to part fund the Tavistock temporary accommodation development;

3.    utilise £139,000 of Affordable Housing budget to part fund the Tavistock temporary accommodation development;

4.    utilise the £100,000 Okehampton capital receipt to part fund the Okehampton retail hospitality pod development; and

5.    fund the £502,385 upfront borrowing costs during the construction period of the projects (as set out in Exempt Appendix A of the presented agenda report to the Hub Committee meeting).

(Members will note that Unstarred Minutes HC 68 ‘Budget Proposals 2019-20 Onwards Update Report’ and HC 74 ‘Capital Budget Proposals 2019/20’ are to be considered later in the Summons under agenda items xx and xx respectively)

            (ii)        Development Management and Licensing Committee

                        Meeting held on 11 December 2018

(iii)       Overview and Scrutiny Committee

                        Meeting held on 15 January 2019

(iv)       Audit Committee

                        Meeting held on 22 January 2019

                        Unstarred Minute to agree:

AC 32 Review of the Council’s Constitution: Rules of Procedure and             Members’ Planning Code of Practice

That Council be RECOMMENDED that:

1.    the amendments to Part 4 (Rules of Procedure) of the West Devon Borough Council Constitution (as summarised in paragraph 2.5 of the agenda report presented to the Hub Committee and fully outlined at Appendix A to these minutes) be approved and formally adopted; and

2.    the draft Members’ Code of Good Practice – Planning’ (as attached at Appendix B to these minutes) be adopted.

CM 51                                                                                                                                               

a.         Hub Committee – 4 December 2018 and 29 January 2019

It was moved by Cllr P R Sanders, seconded by Cllr L Samuel and upon being submitted to the Meeting was declared to be CARRIED and “RESOLVED that the Minutes of the 4 December 2018 and 29 January 2019 be received and noted, with the exception of Unstarred Minutes HC 57, HC 67, HC 70 and HC 73.  Specifically with regard to Unstarred Minutes HC 68 and HC 74, it was confirmed that these were scheduled for consideration as standalone agenda items later in the meeting (Minutes CM 52 and CM 53 respectively refer). 

In respect of Starred Minute HC 71, Members were informed that a further report on the Public Toilet Review would now be presented to the next Council meeting on 26 March 2019.

In respect of the remaining Unstarred Minutes:

i.    HC 57 Revenue Budget Monitoring 2018/19

It was moved by Cllr P R Sanders, seconded by Cllr L Samuel and upon being submitted to the Meeting was declared to be CARRIED and “RESOLVED that £100,000 of the additional planning income be transferred into the Planning Policy and Major Developments Earmarked Reserve at the end of the 2018/19 Financial Year.”

ii.  HC 67 Capital Budget Monitoring 2018/19

It was moved by Cllr P R Sanders, seconded by Cllr L Samuel and upon being submitted to the Meeting was declared to be CARRIED and “RESOLVED that the capital requirement of the Public Conveniences Pay on Entry equipment of up to £50,000 be funded from the Strategic Change Earmarked Reserve.”

iii.HC 70 Business Continuity Management Strategy and Work Programme

It was moved by Cllr P R Sanders, seconded by Cllr L Samuel and upon being submitted to the Meeting was declared to be CARRIED and “RESOLVED that the Business Continuity Management Strategy and Work Programme be adopted.”

iv.HC 73 Commercial Development Financing

It was moved by Cllr P R Sanders and seconded by Cllr L Samuel:

‘That the Council:

1.    undertake prudential borrowing of £10.631 million to fund the Commercial Developments (as set out in Exempt Appendix A of the agenda report presented to the Hub Committee meeting);

2.    allocate £468,700 of Section 106 funding (as described in paragraph 3.26 of the agenda report presented to the Hub Committee meeting) to part fund the Tavistock Temporary Accommodation Development;

3.    utilise £139,000 of Affordable Housing Budget to part fund the Tavistock Temporary Accommodation Development;

4.    utilise the £100,000 Okehampton Capital Receipt to part fund the Okehampton Retail Hospitality Pod Development; and

5.    fund the £502,385 upfront borrowing costs during the construction period of the projects (as set out in Exempt Appendix A of the agenda report presented to the Hub Committee meeting) from Earmarked Reserves as described in Paragraph 3.29 of the agenda report presented to the Hub Committee meeting.’

During the debate, an amendment was moved by Cllr N Jory and seconded by Cllr R F D Sampson as follows:

‘That the Council:

1.  ...  view the full minutes text for item CM 51

CM 52                                                                

Consideration was given to a report that updated Members on the revenue budget position for the year 2019/20.

During debate, reference was made to:-

(a)   the proposal to reduce the Council Tax Support Grant paid to Town and Parish Councils by 8.6% for 2019/20.  It was confirmed that this reduction was in line with the percentage reduction received from Central Government;

(b)   the proposed 2.99% increase in Council Tax.  Whilst accepting that there was little option other than to increase Council Tax by 2.99% for 2019/20, a Member felt it to be very disappointing that the Council had the highest Council Tax levels in Devon;

(c)    New Homes Bonus funding.  The Section 151 Officer confirmed that local authorities would not be informed until September 2019 of what Central Government was proposing to put in place of the New Homes Bonus fund;

(d)   the proposed Member Locality Fund.  The Leader informed that, in light of the abolition of the Communities Together Fund, it was being recommended that a Member Locality Fund be established.  It was intended that the Locality Fund would provide Members with a Fund of £500 to spend on projects and initiatives within their local Ward.

In accordance with statutory legislation, the Mayor then called for a recorded vote on part 1 only of the recommendation (i.e. that Council Tax be increased by 2.99% for 2019/20).  The vote was subsequently recorded as follows:-

For the motion (25):             Cllrs Baldwin, Ball, Cloke, Davies, Edmonds, Evans, Hockridge, Jory, Lamb, Leech, McInnes, Mott, Moyse, Musgrave, Oxborough, Parker, Pearce, Ridgers, Roberts, Sampson, Samuel, Sanders, Sellis, Watts and Yelland

Against the motion (1):        Cllr Cann OBE                     

Abstentions (0):                   

Absent (5):                             Cllrs Cheadle, Kimber, Moody, Sheldon and Stephens

and the vote on part 1 was therefore declared CARRIED.

With no further issues raised, the Mayor then called for a recorded vote on parts 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 and 13 of the recommendation and the vote was recorded as follows:-

For the motion (26):             Cllrs Baldwin, Ball, Cann OBE, Cloke, Davies, Edmonds, Evans, Hockridge, Jory, Lamb, Leech, McInnes, Mott, Moyse, Musgrave, Oxborough, Parker, Pearce, Ridgers, Roberts, Sampson, Samuel, Sanders, Sellis, Watts and Yelland

Against the motion (0):                   

Abstentions (0):                  

Absent (5):                            Cllrs Cheadle, Kimber, Moody, Sheldon and Stephens

and the vote was therefore declared CARRIED.

It was consequently “RESOLVED that:-

(i)            Council Tax be increased by 2.99% for 2019/20 (Band D of £231.63 for 2019/20 – an increase of 13 pence per week or £6.72 per year). This equates to a Council Tax requirement of £4,673,499 (as shown in Appendix B of the presented agenda report));

(ii)           the financial pressures in Appendix A of the presented agenda report of £454,500 be approved;

(iii)          the contributions to Earmarked Reserves of £120,000 and the transfer of the one-off 2019/20 budget surplus of £43,635 into the Future Financial Stability Earmarked Reserve be approved to assist in meeting the predicted budget gap of £533,741 in 2020/21;

(iv)         the  ...  view the full minutes text for item CM 52

CM 53                                                                

A report was considered that presented the draft Capital Programme Proposals for 2019/20.

In light of the decisions taken earlier in the meeting (Minute CM 51a iv refers), Members were informed that the recommendations had been amended accordingly.

With no further debate ensuing, in accordance with statutory legislation, the Mayor then called for a recorded vote on the recommendations.  The vote was subsequently recorded as follows:-

For the motion (26):            Cllrs Baldwin, Ball, Cann OBE, Cloke, Davies, Edmonds, Evans, Hockridge, Jory, Lamb, Leech, McInnes, Mott, Moyse, Musgrave, Oxborough, Parker, Pearce, Ridgers, Roberts, Sampson, Samuel, Sanders, Sellis, Watts and Yelland

Against the motion (0):                   

Abstentions (0):                  

Absent (5):                            Cllrs Cheadle, Kimber, Moody, Sheldon and Stephens

and the vote was therefore declared CARRIED.

Upon being submitted to the Meeting, it was then declared to be CARRIED and “RESOLVED that:

1.     the Capital Programme Proposals for 2019/20 which total £500,000 (as detailed at Appendix A of the presented agenda report) be approved;

2.     the Capital Programme Proposals for 2019/20 which total £1,576,000 (as detailed at Exempt Appendix C of the presented agenda report) be approved; and

3.     the Capital Programme Proposals for 2019/20 (amounting to £2,076,000) be financed from the funding sources as set out in Section 4 of the presented agenda report.

CM 54                                                                

The Council considered a report that outlined a review of the Staffing Establishment.  Subject to a similar decision being taken by South Hams District Council, the report also sought approval of the appointment of the current Head of Paid Service to the role of Chief Executive.

In discussion, the Council noted that it was the unanimous view of the Members of the Review Panel that a recommendation should be presented to both the Council and South Hams District Council that sought approval of the current Head of Paid Service to the role of Chief Executive.

It was then moved by Cllr P R Sanders, seconded by Cllr L Samuel and, upon being submitted to the Meeting, was declared to be CARRIED and “RESOLVED that:

1.     the impact of the T18 Transformation Programme on the Establishment be noted;

2.     the Roles identified at paragraph 3.13 of the presented agenda report be added to the Establishment with effect from 21 February 2019;

3.     the current Executive Director for Service Delivery and Head of Paid Service be appointed to the role of Chief Executive with effect from 21 February 2019;

4.     the interim senior management arrangements be extended with a report being presented to the Council recommending a new structure within six months of the May 2019 local elections;

5.     the current approach to staff appraisals and the outcome of the recent steadier state review of roles and salaries be noted; and

6.     the new Pay and Grading Structure be approved in line with new national pay spines.”

CM 55           

Consideration was given to a report that set out a summary of the Peer Team’s findings.  The report also detailed the proposal to develop an Action Plan for considering and implementing the recommendations that arose from the Review.

In his introduction, the Leader advised that discussions had been held with the Leader and Deputy Leader of South Hams District Council and both had expressed their support for the formation of a Joint Member / Officer Working Group.  Moreover, the Leader highlighted the overall positivity of the Peer Challenge Report and felt that the Council should take great pride in the outcome.

In discussion, the following points were raised:-

(a)   As a Working Group, it was noted that there would be no requirement to apply the political balance rules and the Leader confirmed that it was intended that six Members (three from each Council) would be appointed to serve on the Group.  For absolute clarity, the Leader reminded Members that the intention was for the Working Group to solely focus on formulating the draft Action Plan prior to its presentation to the Hub Committee meeting on 19 March 2019.  In citing the recent good examples of joint working on the Leisure and Waste Reviews and the Joint Local Plan with South Hams District Council, some Members hoped that a Joint Steering Group could be re-established in the upcoming months;

(b)   In respect of the proposal to ‘prepare a viable future accommodation strategy’, Members were informed that it was intended that a detailed report would be presented to the next Hub Committee meeting on 19 March 2019 for further consideration;

(c)    A Member was disappointed at the lack of financial detail that was contained within the published Peer Challenge Report;   

(d)   A Member expressed her support for the findings whereby the Council needed to improve upon its engagement with local residents and businesses.  Also, the Member endorsed the need for the Hub Committee to improve upon its engagement with the wider membership. 

In reply, the Leader emphasised that it was the duty (and personal responsibility) of all Members to keep themselves informed through means such as: asking questions; speaking to officers and fellow Members; reading Committee agendas and minutes; and attending Committee meetings (regardless of whether or not they were a Member of that Committee).  With regard to Informal Council meetings, a request was made for consideration to be given to notes being taken at future sessions.

It was then moved by Cllr P R Sanders, seconded by Cllr L Samuel and, upon being submitted to the Meeting, was declared to be CARRIED and “RESOLVED that:

1.     the recommendations set out in the Peer Challenge Report (as detailed in Appendix A of the presented agenda report) be endorsed;

2.     agreement be given to the formation of a Member/Officer Working Group, jointly with South Hams District Council, with authority being delegated to the Leader of the Council to nominate the Member representatives for the Council; and

3.     the draft Action Plan  ...  view the full minutes text for item CM 55

CM 56

The Council considered a report that sought formal approval of the Calendar of Meetings for 2019/20.

With no questions or comments raised, it was then moved by Cllr P R Sanders, seconded by Cllr L Samuel and, upon being submitted to the Meeting, was declared to be CARRIED and “RESOLVED that the Calendar of Meetings for 2019/20 (as detailed at Appendix A of the presented agenda report) be approved.”

CM 57

A report was considered that sought the approval of a new four banded Council Tax Reduction Scheme.

In discussion, reference was made to:-

(a)   the Council’s Exceptional Hardship Fund.  Whilst the vast majority of persons should benefit from the revised Scheme, Members were reminded that any individuals who would be adversely affected should be signposted to the Council’s Exceptional Hardship Fund;

(b)   the Council being a frontrunner.  Since the Council was at the forefront of local authorities in developing this Scheme, it was noted that there was a potential income generation opportunity to be explored through officers providing advice and support to other Councils. 

It was then moved by Cllr A F Leech, seconded by Cllr P R Sanders and, upon being submitted to the Meeting, was declared to be CARRIED and “RESOLVED that, with effect from 1 April 2019, the Council adopt a new four banded Council Tax Reduction Scheme (ranging from 85% to 25%) for 2019/20.”

Dated this 4^th of February 2019

Sophie Hosking

Head of Paid Service

CM 58

Consideration was given to a report that presented the final Tamar Valley AONB Management Plan for adoption prior to its submission to DEFRA before 31 March 2019.

During discussion, the following points were raised:-

(a)   Officers confirmed that the AONB Manager had been reminded that, when determining planning applications, it was the Borough Council and not the AONB Unit that made the judgement with respect to what constituted ‘major development’ for the purposes of Paragraph 172 of the National Planning Policy Framework;

(b)   It was noted that officers had shared the Council’s pre-application process with the AONB Unit and it was intended that the organisation would establish a protocol that would run alongside the Management Plan.  Officers also informed that the protocol would include aspects such as ensuring that the AONB Team did not meet any Developer without the express written agreement of the Council.

It was then moved by Cllr A Roberts, seconded by Cllr P R Sanders and, upon being submitted to the Meeting, was declared to be CARRIED and “RESOLVED that:

1.     The content of the Final Draft of the Management Plan following the formal consultation exercise be noted; and

2.     The final Management Plan for 2019/24 be adopted, subject to the addition of two amendments to Annex C of the Management Plan (as detailed in Section 3.5 of the presented agenda report).”