Agenda and minutes

CM 49                                                                                                                                       

Apologies for absence were received from Cllrs R Cheadle, J Evans, D K A Sellis, J Sheldon and B Stephens.

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

Meeting of Council held on 5 December 2017

CM 50                                                                                                                                       

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 5 December 2017 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 51                                                                                                                                       

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:-

Cllrs A F Leech and J Yelland both declared a personal interest in Item 11: ‘Community Governance Review – Okehampton’ (Minute CM 58 below refers) by virtue of being members of Okehampton Town Council and remained in the meeting during the debate and vote on this agenda item;

Cllr G Parker declared a personal interest in Item 10: ‘Budget Proposals for 2018/19’ (Minute CM 57 below refers) and specifically Appendix F (list of Partnership Funding) by virtue of being the President of the Rotary Club, which was instrumental in the running of the South West Rotary Youth Games and remained in the meeting during the debate and vote on this agenda item;

Cllr J Yelland also declared a personal interest in Item 10: ‘Budget Proposals for 2018/19’ (Minute CM 57 below refers) and specifically Appendix F (list of Partnership Funding) by virtue of being a volunteer for Citizens Advice and remained in the meeting during the debate and vote on this agenda item;

Cllr N Jory declared a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest in Item 10: ‘Budget Proposals for 2018/19’ (Minute CM 57 below refers) and specifically Appendix F (list of Partnership Funding) by virtue of being employed by Business Information Point (BIP).  In the event of any specific issues being raised in relation to BIP, Cllr Jory advised that he would leave the meeting room at that point and would abstain from the vote on the substantive motion on part 4 of the recommendation;

Cllr M Davies declared a personal interest in Item 10: ‘Budget Proposals for 2018/19’ (Minute CM 57 below refers) and specifically Appendix F (list of Partnership Funding) by virtue of being a Rotarian and remained in the meeting during the debate and vote on this agenda item;

Cllr M Davies also declared a personal interest in Item 7: ‘Public Questions’ (Minute CM 54 below refers) by virtue of having previously been a trustee of Okehampton Community and Recreation Association (OCRA) and remained in the meeting during consideration of this agenda item;

Cllr K Ball declared a personal interest in Item 7: ‘Public Questions’ (Minute CM 54 below refers) by virtue of having previously allocated Devon County Council Locality Fund monies to OCRA and remained in the meeting during consideration of this agenda item;

Cllr K Ball also declared a personal interest in Item 10: ‘Budget Proposals ’ (Minute CM 57 below refers) by virtue of having previously allocated Devon County Council Locality Fund monies to OCRA and the Devon Youth Games and remained in the meeting during consideration of this agenda item; and

Cllr K Ball also declared a personal interest in Item 11: ‘Community Governance Review – Okehampton’ (Minute CM 58 below refers) by virtue of having attended a meeting with Okehampton Hamlets Parish Council in an individual capacity.

CM 52                                                                                                                                       

At his discretion, the Mayor made reference to:-

(a)    West Devon Safe Haven – Mr Angus Colton and Mr David Thompson

As had been highlighted on the published summons for this meeting, the Mayor informed that he had exercised his discretion to invite Messrs Angus Colton and David Thompson to provide a verbal update on the background and work of West Devon Safe Haven.

In so doing, Messrs Colton and Thompson informed that:-

-         a public meeting had been called on 3 February 2017 to discuss the potential to help Syrian refugees in West Devon.  At this meeting, over 200 people had attended and it was immediately apparent that there were many local residents who were willing to help.   Offers of help at this meeting included:

o    one landlord offering up the use of a flat in Tavistock;

o    an attendee offering to purchase properties to house refugees;

o    one landlord offering up the use of a flat in Okehampton; and

o    a couple offering £250,000 towards the purchase of properties.

-         the total number of Syrian refugee families residing in the Borough would soon increase to 4.  The representatives confirmed that those refugee families who were currently living in the Borough were very happy and the organisation would like to be able to offer housing provision for a further 4 families;

-         there had been a need for the organisation to formalise itself as a charity.  As a result of the momentum gained, it was noted that West Devon Safe Haven had been established six months ago and it was hoped that the organisation would ultimately be self-financing;

-         the families were desperate to work and would be grateful for any work experience opportunities.  The representatives were of the view that the Council may be able to help in this respect.  Also, to help integrate these families into the local community, the representatives informed that they did not have extensive knowledge of local sports provision and clubs and would welcome any input from the Council and its Members;

In conclusion, the representatives informed that the families had been met with care and compassion (and absolutely no animosity) throughout West Devon.  Furthermore, the representatives wished to dispel the myth that refugees would not be welcomed by local residents in the Borough.

Members thanked the representatives for their informative presentation and some asked that their contact details be passed on to the organisation outside of this Council meeting.

(Note: The Mayor has already given notice of his intention for this item to include a verbal update from Mr Angus Colton (Chairman of Safe Haven))

CM 53                                                                                                                                       

The Mayor informed that he had agreed for one urgent item to be raised at this meeting that related to a Part 2 matter that would be considered as an additional agenda item 13 (Minute CM 60 below refers).

CM 54                                                                                                                                       

Questions Received from Mr Stuart Lord:

1.      “Would Councillors agree that the results of cuts in services and funding to projects that currently impact positively on activity, social interaction and support maintaining and developing Community Groups, will have a detrimental impact and that the following outcomes are likely?

-         Poorer health;

-         Increased social isolation and decreased confidence;

-         Increased crime;

-         Less voluntary opportunities;

-         Increased mental health issues;

-         A lack of integrated opportunities for all but in particular new people to areas; and

-         A loss of community identity.

1A. “Is this reduction in support and funding a false economy as councils will have to deal with the long-term effects of more people becoming vulnerable and experiencing issues in Community Life?”

In reply, Cllr Sanders informed that he would provide a full written response to these questions in due course.  However, in the meantime, Cllr Sanders made the following points:-

-         Every Member was fully appreciative of the value of the Voluntary Sector, with a number being heavily involved with voluntary organisations.  Furthermore, every Member was aware of the difficulties being experienced by voluntary organisations in obtaining funding;

-         Since Council Taxpayers trusted Members to spend public monies appropriately, it was his personal view that, in light of the similarly severe budget pressures facing this Council, priority should be given to core and statutory Council services (such as Waste and Housing) as opposed to non-statutory functions, such as providing funding to voluntary organisations.

(NOTE: Mr Lord had given notice of a further four questions (that were outlined on the published summons).  Since Mr Lord had now received a formal reply to these questions (that had also been presented to the Hub Committee at its meeting on 6 February 2018), the Mayor informed that he was not willing for these to be considered again at this meeting).

CM 55                                                                                                                                       

It was noted that there were no motions received for consideration at this meeting.

(i)         Overview and Scrutiny Committee

                        Meeting held on 16 January 2018                                                                  

            (ii)        Audit Committee

                        Meeting held on 30 January 2018                                                                  

(iii)       Development Management and Licensing Committee

                        Meeting held on 12 December 2017                                                  

                        Meeting held on 23 January 2018                                                                  

                        Unstarred Minute to agree

                        Members are recommended to agree:

DM&L 50 Review of Development Management Fees and Charges for 2018/19

That Council be RECOMMENDED to approve the Fees and Charges as set out in Appendix A of the agenda report presented to the Committee.

            (iv)       Hub Committee

                        Meeting held on 6 February 2018                                                                  

                        Unstarred Minutes to agree

            Members are recommended to agree:

HC 59 Revenue Budget Monitoring to December 2017

That Council be RECOMMENDED to transfer the:

1.     income surplus (of up to £10,000) into a Support Services Trading Opportunities Earmarked Reserve at the end of the 2017/18 Financial Year.  This is expected to be £10,000 and was generated by HR and Finance in providing support to other Councils on their Transformation Programmes;

2.     underspend on the Leisure budget (of up to £57,000) into the Leisure Earmarked Reserve at the end of the 2017/18 Financial Year; and

3.     additional planning income of £40,000 into the Planning Policy and Major Developments Earmarked Reserve at the end of the 2017/18 Financial Year.

HC 62 Air Quality Strategy

That Council be RECOMMENDED that a public statutory consultation be commenced on the proposed Air Quality Strategy (as outlined at Appendix 1 of the presented Hub Committee agenda report).

CM 56                                                                                                                                       

a.   Overview and Scrutiny Committee – 16 January 2018

It was moved by Cllr J Yelland, seconded by Cllr D E Moyse and upon being submitted to the Meeting was declared to be CARRIED and “RESOLVED that the Minutes of the 16 January 2018 meeting be received and noted”.

b.   Audit Committee – 30 January 2018

It was moved by Cllr M Davies, seconded by Cllr K Ball and upon being submitted to the Meeting was declared to be CARRIED and “RESOLVED that the Minutes of the 30 January 2018 meeting be received and noted”.

c.   Development Management and Licensing Committee – 12 December 2017 and 23 January 2018

It was moved by Cllr P R Sanders, seconded by Cllr A Roberts and upon being submitted to the Meeting was declared to be CARRIED and “RESOLVED that the Minutes of the 12 December 2017 and 23 January 2018 meetings be received and noted, with the exception of Unstarred Minute DM&L 50”.

In so doing, the Committee Chairman advised that he had been made aware of some discrepancies in the attendance and apologies lists for these meetings that would be corrected at the next scheduled Committee meeting.

In respect of the Unstarred Minute:

i.        DM&L 50 Review of Development Management Fees and Charges for 2018/19

It was moved by Cllr P R Sanders, seconded by Cllr A Roberts and upon being submitted to the Meeting was declared to be CARRIED and “RESOLVED that that the Fees and Charges as set out in Appendix A of the presented agenda report be approved.”

d.   Hub Committee – 6 February 2018

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 6 February 2018 meeting be received and noted, with the exception of Unstarred Minutes HC 59 and HC 62”.

In respect of the Unstarred Minutes:

i.        HC 59 Revenue Budget Monitoring to December 2017

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:

1.      The income surplus (of up to £10,000) be transferred into a Support Services Trading Opportunities Earmarked Reserve at the end of the 2017/18 Financial Year.  This is expected to be £10,000 and was generated by HR and Finance in providing support to other Councils on their Transformation Programmes;

2.      The underspend on the Leisure budget (of up to £57,000) be transferred into the Leisure Earmarked Reserve at the end of the 2017/18 Financial Year; and

3.      The additional planning income of £40,000 be transferred into the Planning Policy and Major Developments Earmarked Reserve at the end of the 2017/18 Financial Year.”

ii.       HC 62 Air Quality Strategy

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  ...  view the full minutes text for item CM 56

(NOTE 4: Cllr Leech has given notice of his intention to propose an amendment to recommendation 4 as follows):

            “That a decision to cut the funding of the following groups should be deferred for twelve months:

-          Okehampton Community Transport Group;

-          Tavistock Ring and Ride Group;

-          West Devon Community and Voluntary Service;

-          Citizens Advice;

-          Young Devon; and

-          Devon Youth Games.

This would allow these charities to have the opportunity to find future funding from elsewhere and, if they want to, add their names to the new WDBC Lottery Scheme that may well help to fill any shortfalls in their budgets by the loss of funding from WDBC.”

CM 57          

A report was considered that updated Members on the revenue and capital budget position for the year 2018/19.

The Leader introduced the report and emphasised the significant financial challenges that were facing the Council and stressed the need for the Council to cut its expenditure whilst increasing its income.

Following the Leader’s introduction, the Mayor invited questions from the meeting and reference was made to:-

-         the projected income of £180,000 from the reasonable setting of car parking tariffs.  In reiterating the view expressed by the Overview and Scrutiny Committee that the additional income projection was ambitious, a Member questioned whether usage levels had been taken into account.  In response, it was noted that this matter would be addressed by the Car Parking Strategy Group at its meeting on 6 March 2018;

-         the proposal to reduce the size of the Hub Committee.  In light of the Hub Committee recommendation being to defer this matter to the Political Structures Working Group, it was not felt appropriate to pre-empt the outcome of this review by recommending any savings at this time;

-         the findings of the Financial Stability Member Working Group.  It was intended that these findings would be presented to the next Hub Committee meeting on 14 March 2018;

-         the proposed closure of the Okehampton office.  In the event of this proposal being approved by the Council, it was confirmed that alternative provision would be put in place, with the Council’s Locality Service being utilised for this purpose.  

In the ensuing debate on this agenda item, reference was made to:-

(a)    part 1 of the recommendation.  Such were the severe financial pressures facing the Council, that Members felt that they had little option other than to support the proposal to increase Council Tax by 2.99% (i.e. the maximum increase without triggering a referendum) for 2018/19;

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 2018/19).  The vote was subsequently recorded as follows:-

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

Against the motion (0):                             

Abstentions (0):                                        

Absent (5):                          Cllrs Cheadle, Evans, Sellis, Sheldon and Stephens

and the vote on part 1 was therefore declared CARRIED.

(b)    an amendment to part 4 of the recommendation.  As was outlined on the published summons, Cllr Leech had given notice of this intention to PROPOSE the following amendment at this meeting:

“That a decision to cut the funding of the following groups should be deferred for twelve months:

-             Okehampton Community Transport Group;

-             Tavistock Ring and Ride Group;

-             West Devon Community and Voluntary Service;

-             Citizens Advice;

-             Young Devon; and

-             South West Rotary Youth Games.

This would allow these charities to have the opportunity to find future funding from elsewhere  ...  view the full minutes text for item CM 57

CM 58                                                                                                                                       

The Council considered a report that presented the latest recommendations from the Political Structures Working Group on the Community Governance Review that was initially instigated following a request by Okehampton Hamlets Parish Council.

In discussion, the following points were raised:-

(a)    The majority of Members felt that the recommendations were a pragmatic way forward at this time.  However, the need for an improvement in working relations between the Parish Council and Okehampton Town Council was recognised;

(b)    In what had proven to be a very difficult and contentious issue, a number of Members wished to put on record their particular gratitude and thanks to the Chairman of the Working Group; the Acting Lead Specialist Legal; and the Senior Specialist Democratic Services for their hard work and professionalism during this Review;

(c)    Regardless of the recommendation, a local Ward Member did wish to put on record that he still supported the original request of the Parish Council to increase its size from 8 to 10 Parish Councillors.

It was then moved by Cllr J R McInnes and seconded by Cllr P Sanders and declared CARRIED and ”RESOLVED that, in light of the submissions received during Stages 2 and 4 of the Community Governance Review:

1.      The status quo be maintained (i.e. the size of the Okehampton Hamlets Parish Council is retained at 8 Parish Councillors and there be no adjustments made to the Okehampton Hamlets / Okehampton Town Parish Boundary); and

2.      The Review therefore be concluded with immediate effect.

Dated this 12^th day of February 2018

Sophie Hosking

                                                   Head of Paid Service

CM 59                                                                                                                                       

The Council considered a report that sought approval to appoint the Group Manager – Commercial Services (Helen Dobby) as the Electoral Registration Officer and Returning Officer for West Devon Borough Council.

It was then moved by Cllr P R Sanders and seconded by Cllr L Samuel and declared CARRIED and ”RESOLVED that with immediate effect:

1.      the Group Manager – Commercial Services (Helen Dobby) be appointed as the Electoral Registration Officer and Returning Officer for West Devon Borough Council; and

2.      the Group Manager – Business Development (Darren Arulvasagam) be appointed as the Deputy Electoral Registration Officer for West Devon Borough Council.”

CM 60                                                                                                                                       

(Resolved that under Section 100(A)(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public be excluded from the meeting on the grounds that exempt information is likely to be disclosed as defined in Paragraph 3 of Schedule 12(A) to the Act).

As had been highlighted by the Mayor at the start of the meeting (Minute CM 53 above refers), the Council considered an urgent planning matter.

Following a brief debate, it was then moved by Cllr P R Sanders and seconded by Cllr R F D Sampson and declared CARRIED and “RESOLVED that the Planning Earmarked Reserve may be utilised to settle any agreed Settlement or Cost Order in the Abbey Meadow Planning Appeal in accordance with terms to be agreed between the Section 151 Officer, Monitoring Officer and Development Management Community Of Practice Lead, in consultation with the Leader of Council.”