Agenda and minutes

CM 25/21         

Apologies for absence were received from Cllrs Coulson, Kemp, Moody, Moyse and Wood.

To approve and adopt as a correct record the Minutes of the Meeting of Council held on 25 May 2021

CM 26/21         

It was moved by Cllr N Jory, seconded by Cllr R Cheadle and upon the motion being submitted to the Meeting was declared to be CARRIED and “RESOLVED that the Council agree the Minutes of the 25 May 2021 meeting 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 27/21         

The Mayor invited Members to declare any interests in the items of business to be considered during the course of the meeting, but there were none made.

CM 28/21         

The Mayor made reference to:

-        the upcoming Member site visits to Meadowlands and Parklands Leisure Centres.  The Mayor asked that any Members who had still to confirm their attendance at one (or both) of the scheduled site visits on Thursday, 22 July 2021 to let Democratic Services know accordingly;

-        her Charity Golf Day.  The Mayor advised that she had arranged a Golf Day for her chosen charity (the Farming Community Network) at Okehampton Golf Club on Friday, 24 September 2021.  If any Members were interested in partaking in the event, they were asked to email the Mayor outside of this meeting.

(i)           Development Management and Licensing Committee

Meeting held on 20 April 2021

Meeting held on 15 June 2021

(ii)          Overview and Scrutiny Committee

Meeting held on 20 April 2021

(iii)        Hub Committee

Meeting held on 8 June 2021

Meeting held on 13 July 2021                                   To follow

CM 29/21         

a.    Development Management & Licensing Committee – 20 April 2021 and 15 June 2021

It was moved by Cllr J Yelland, seconded by Cllr T Pearce and upon being submitted to the Meeting was declared to be CARRIED and “RESOLVED that the Minutes of the 20 April 2021 and 15 June 2021 meetings be received and noted”.

b.    Overview and Scrutiny Committee – 20 April 2021

It was moved by Cllr M Ewings, seconded by Cllr P Kimber and upon being submitted to the Meeting was declared to be CARRIED and “RESOLVED that the Minutes of the 20 April 2021 meeting be received and noted”.

c.    Hub Committee – 8 June 2021 and 13 July 2021

It was moved by Cllr N Jory, seconded by Cllr R Cheadle and upon being submitted to the Meeting was declared to be CARRIED and “RESOLVED that the Minutes of the 8 June 2021 and 13 July 2021 meetings be received and noted”.

CM 30/21         

Consideration was given to a report that set out the draft Corporate Strategy (‘A Plan for West Devon’) and the proposed timeline for the next steps, with a view to adopting the final Strategy in September 2021.

In discussion, reference was made to:

(a)    the public consultation exercise.  Officers advised that the consultation exercise would run for the next six weeks and the Council was committed to consulting with partner stakeholders and town and parish councils as part of this process. 

Whilst it was acknowledged that the peak summer was not the most ideal time to undertake a public consultation exercise, plans were in place to ensure that many different approaches were taken to enable for those residents who did not tend to engage with the Council to make their views known.  Furthermore, Members asked that the exercise took into account the fact that a proportion of residents were not digitally enabled;

(b)    the challenges associated with bringing empty homes back into use.  Whilst recognising the challenges associated with empty homeowners who refused to engage, the lead Hub Committee Member gave a commitment to look to make progress in this area;

(c)    the Plan representing an opportunity for the Council to re-consider its priorities and how it worked;

(d)    the aspirational and ambitious nature of the Plan.  In emphasising the importance of the content of the draft Delivery Plans, a Member did sound a word of caution over affordability and the need for shared visions with partner organisations;

(e)    the importance of the Plan giving sufficient emphasis to:

o  the agriculture industry;

o  the Council’s adopted Climate Change and Biodiversity Strategy; and

o  cycling and active travel;

(f)     the presentation, design and layout of the draft Plan.  A number of Members were of the view that the production of the draft Plan was excellent.

It was then proposed by Cllr N Jory, seconded by Cllr R Cheadle and upon being submitted to the Meeting was declared to be CARRIED and ”RESOLVED that:

1.      authority be delegated to the Head of Strategy and Projects, in consultation with the lead Hub Committee Members, to finalise the content of the draft ‘Plan for West Devon’ prior to commencing a formal public consultation exercise in line with the adopted Community Consultation and Engagement Strategy; and

2.      the Chief Executive and the Director of Governance and Assurance be instructed to develop Delivery Plans for the Strategy for consideration by the Hub Committee alongside the final Strategy at its meeting on 21 September 2021 before their onward consideration by Full Council on 28 September 2021.”

CM 31/21         

As previously advised, the Mayor reminded Members that this item had been deferred to a future Council meeting.

Dated this 12^th of July 2021

Andy Bates

Chief Executive

CM 32/21         

The Council considered a report that sought approval of a series of recommendations that related to the formal appointments process.

In the ensuing discussion, the following points were raised:-

(a)  With regard to the proposed Hub Advisory Groups, it was confirmed that lead Hub Committee Members would have an element of discretion over the frequency of their meetings;

(b)    Members recognised the importance of feedback being given to the wider membership on the work of Outside Bodies to which they had been appointed;

(c)    A Member stated that, such was the volume of information that was being circulated to Members via email, it was necessary for all Members to be monitoring their email accounts on a regular basis.

It was then proposed by Cllr N Jory, seconded by Cllr R Cheadle and upon being submitted to the Meeting was declared to be CARRIED and ”RESOLVED that:

1.      the updated political composition of the Council be noted as follows:

o  Conservative Group: 15 Members;

o  Alliance Group: 14 Members; and

o  Non-aligned Independents: 2 Members;

2.      Cllr Davies replace Cllr Musgrave as a Member of the Standards Committee for the remainder of the 2021/22 Municipal Year;

3.      Cllr Bridgewater and Cllr Hipsey be appointed to serve on the Audit and Overview and Scrutiny Committees respectively for the remainder of the 2021/22 Municipal Year;

4.      eight Hub Advisory Groups be established in accordance with the draft Terms of Reference (as set out at Appendix A of the presented agenda report);

5.      the appointments to these Hub Advisory Groups be as set out at Appendix B of the presented agenda report for the remainder of the 2021/22 Municipal Year;

6.      the Democratic Services Manager be given delegated authority to establish a cycle of meetings for the remainder of the 2021/22 Municipal Year;

7.      the appointment of Governance Boards / Panels be approved as set out at updated Appendix C of the papers tabled to the meeting for the remainder of the 2021/22 Municipal Year;

8.      the Council be represented on the list of Outside Bodies (as set out at updated Appendix D of the papers tabled to the meeting) for the remainder of the 2021/22 Municipal Year and that, for the purposes of Members’ Allowances, attendance at meetings of these Bodies be regarded as an ‘Approved Duty’;

9.      the draft reporting feedback template for Outside Bodies (as detailed at Appendix E of the presented agenda report) be approved; and

10.   the draft reporting feedback template for Outside Bodies (as detailed at Appendix F of the presented agenda report) be approved.”