BABERGH DISTRICT COUNCIL
COUNCIL MEETING
MINUTES OF A MEETING OF THE BABERGH DISTRICT COUNCIL HELD IN THE COUNCIL CHAMBER, COUNCIL OFFICES, CORKS LANE, HADLEIGH ON TUESDAY, 31 JULY 2007
Quick Links
- 29 - Mr R Cook,
- 30 - Additional Item at Meeting,
- 31 - Minutes,
- 32 - Declaration of Interests,
- 33 - To Receive Notification of Petitions in Accordance with Council Procedure Rule No. 13,
- 34 - Recommendations and Reports from Committees,
- 35 - Questions from the Public,
- 36 - Questions from Members,
- 37 - Community Energy Project - CEP (Sudbury Communities Area Forum),
- 38 - Appointment of Representatives on Outside Bodies,
- 39 - Suffolk Pathfinder - Highways and Related Services.
PRESENT: Mr R W Thake – Chairman
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Mrs J Antill
Mr C W Arthey
Mr P K Beer
Mr M P Booth
Mr J C Brand
Mr D M Busby
Mr J R B Cave
Mrs S P Clarke
Mr P G Gibson
Mr D G Grutchfield
Mr A J Hinton
Mr P J Holbrook
Mr B D Hurren
Ms J A Jenkins
Mr L S Johnson
Mr P Jones
Mr D H Keane
Mr R E Kemp |
Mr B L Lazenby
Mr J A B Long
Mrs M O Munson
Mr A F D W Osborne
Mr N A Ridley
Mr C A Roberts
Mr J R A Sayers
Mr R C Smith
Mr C M Spence
Mrs C A Todd
Mr H N Todd
Mr D M Walton
Mr A J Ward
Mr D B Warner
Mr G S White
Mrs S M Wigglesworth
Mr D L Wood |
The following Members were unable to be present:- Mr N A Bennett, Mrs S Carpendale, Dr M R Miller, Mr M Newman, Mr B Riley, Mr D C Rose and Mr L H Young.
The proceedings were opened with Prayer.
Members stood in silence in memory of Ron Cook, Babergh District Councillor from 1973 to 1998.
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The Local Government (Access to Information) Act 1985 provides that an item of business may not be considered unless it is included on an Agenda. The Act does, however, make provision for an exception to this general rule to be made where by reason of special circumstances the Chairman of the meeting is of the opinion that the item should be considered at the meeting as a matter of urgency. The Chairman advised that a situation had arisen where it has become necessary for the Council to consider a matter not included on the Agenda (Suffolk Pathfinder – Highways and Related Services - the nomination of a representative to join the proposed Portfolio Holders’ Group) and that he was satisfied that there were good reasons for dealing with this matter at this meeting as a matter of urgency.
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RESOLVED
(1) That the Minutes of the Extraordinary meeting held on 19 June 2007 be confirmed and signed as a correct record.
(2) That the Minutes of the meeting held on 26 June 2007 be confirmed and signed as a correct record, subject to the inclusion of Ms J A Jenkins in the list of Councillors present.
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None declared.
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In accordance with Council Procedure Rule No. 13, it was noted that the following petition had been received:-
Proposed affordable housing development on Babergh-owned land to rear of Downlands and Winding Road, Elmsett
Petition signed by approximately 45 residents objecting to the proposed development.
Receipt of the petition will be taken into account in conjunction with the appropriate report on the Council’s Affordable Housing Programme, which will be considered by the Strategy Committee on 27 September 2007.
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Timetable for Replacing Babergh’s current Local Plan (Strategy Committee Minute No. 27)
The Chairman of the Strategy Committee, Nick Ridley, introduced the Committee’s recommendations and referred to the new requirements for producing a Local Development Scheme (LDS) and a Local Development Framework (LDF).
During the course of the debate on this item Members referred to various matters including the following:-
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Successor arrangements for EERA planning role
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Review of the County-wide Car Parking Standards
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Partnership working in areas such as provision for gypsies, Haven Gateway
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Sustainability of small villages
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Resource implications in meeting the timetable for the LDS/LDF
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Need for language of documents to be clear and to avoid unnecessary use of acronyms
RESOLVED
(1) That the programme, attached as Appendix 1 to the Local Development Scheme document (appended to Paper G38), for replacing the Council’s current Local Plan with a new Development Framework be approved subject to the following amendments:
(a) other relevant authorities, including (but not limited to) Suffolk and Essex County Councils and Braintree District Council, to be liaised with, on the need for further transport and any other relevant infrastructure research for each part of the district, and this amendment to be incorporated into a revised Appendix 5 to the LDS document.
(b) an additional sentence to be added to confirm and explain that Babergh District Council considers it has a sufficient 5 year supply of housing land.
(c) an explanation to be added to confirm the relationship between the new LDF and the recently adopted Local Plan.
(d) Page 11, paragraph 6.5 – replace ‘2008’ with ‘2011’
(2) That authority be given to the Head of Natural and Built Environment to approve changes to the Council’s LDS in the future (although these would still need to be approved by GoEast) subject to such changes not raising significant issues in relation to the Council’s policies or financial interests.
(3) That it be noted that the Head of Natural and Built Environment will:-
(a) subject the LDS to a standard plain English check and minimise, and/or provide explanation for, the use of acronyms
(b) pursue with Suffolk Local Authorities the need for a review of the County-Wide Parking Standards and other related elements.
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None received.
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None received.
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Colin Spence, the Council’s representative on the CEP Board, presented Paper G65, the report from the Manager of the CEP to the meeting of the Board on 10 July 2007. Members were aware that the recommendations set out at the conclusion of Paper G65 were accepted by the Board, including the decision to disband the CEP. Members were also aware that Paper G65 was submitted to the Council in place of the normal annual report which was not available for Annual Council meeting in May, pending the outcome of the review of the Project.
Members endorsed Mr Spence’s comments about the contribution of Tony Bavington, the former Chairman of the Board and Sara Jackson, the Project Manager, to the success of the Project.
RESOLVED
(1) That the decision of the Board of the CEP (Sudbury Communities Area Forum) to disband the Project be noted, together with the contents of Paper G65.
(2) That a letter be sent on behalf of the Council to thank Tony Bavington for his contribution. Further, that the Council’s appreciation of Sara Jackson’s work as Project Manager be recorded.
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Ipswich CAB – Board Member
RESOLVED
That Mr G S White be appointed as the Council’s representative on the Board of Ipswich CAB for the remainder of the current term of office.
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The Chief Executive referred to the success of the Pathfinder Bid and the Ipswich Unitary Status Bid. She reported that at a recent Leaders’ meeting it was agreed to explore in depth how closer working could secure Pathfinder objectives in two service areas, one of which is highways and related services. As a first step, all Pathfinder Councils were being asked to name a relevant portfolio holder to attend an initial meeting to discuss opportunities for Districts and Boroughs to join in, or tap into, the new arrangements for the delivery of highway services from 2009.
The Council was asked to appoint a representative to join the proposed Portfolio Holders’ Group. Members were aware that the appointed Member would not have individual decision-making powers, as Babergh’s current arrangements do not allow for portfolio holders. The appointed Member would be asked to liaise with the Chairman of the Strategy Committee about making reports to the Committee at timely intervals, via other relevant Committees or Working Groups/Panels as appropriate.
The following Members were proposed for the appointment:-
Mr M P Booth
Mr H N Todd
On being put to the vote, there was an equality of votes and the Chairman exercised his casting vote by drawing lots.
RESOLVED
That Mr M P Booth be appointed to represent Babergh District Council on the Portfolio Holders’ Group for highways and related services.
The business of the meeting was concluded at 11.00 a.m.
Chairman
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