Agenda and minutes

Apologies were received from Councillors G Coleman-Cooke, Edwards, Larkins, Martin and Rogers.

To approve the Minutes of the meeting of Annual Council held on 11 May 2017 copy attached.

It was proposed by the Chairman, seconded by the Leader and agreed, that the minutes of the meeting of Annual Council held on 11 May 2017 be approved and signed by the Chairman.

To receive any announcements from the Chairman, Leader, Members of the Cabinet or Chief Executive in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 2.2 (iv).

Members stood as a mark of respect as the Chairman presented Councillor Reverend Stuart Piper with the Past Chairman’s Badge.

To receive any declarations of interest from Members in accordance with Council Procedure rule 2.2 (v)

There were no declarations of interest.

To receive petitions from the public in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 12.

Mr Coombes was unavailable to present the petition, however Members noted that the following petition, containing 39 valid signatures, had been received:

“We the undersigned petition the council to specify any remaining obstacles to the return of the Ramsgate Sprint; and ask TDC to work closely with the organisers and other relevant community groups in Ramsgate to try and ensure that the Ramsgate Sprint takes place in 2018”

In accordance with the Council’s Petition Scheme, the petition was referred to Cabinet without debate for report back to the Council within three ordinary meetings.

Mrs Goodson presented a petition containing 182 valid signatures as follows:

“We the undersigned petition the council to This petition calls on Thanet District Council to firstly clean up, and thereafter regularly maintain, the streets, promenades and beach areas of Cliftonville West - an area persistently blighted by litter, dog fouling and a general lack of cleanliness - in accordance with the standards and statutory obligations imposed on the council by the Environmental Protection Act 1990, and the DEFRA Code of Practice on Litter and Refuse. 1. Remove all litter & dog fouling from the streets, cliff tops, promenades and beaches. Sweep the streets, cliff tops & promenades & remove all detritus & weeds, then maintain this level of cleanliness; 2. Deep clean the area by washing the streets & pavements; 3. Monitor and remove graffiti; 4. Increase the number of bins & dog bins in Cliftonville West; 5. Employ a beach warden for the summer season to stop anti-social behaviour leading to littering, dog fouling & broken glass; 6. Issue enforcement notices for littering, dog fouling & to landowners”

In accordance with the Council’s Petition Scheme, the petition was referred to Cabinet without debate for report back to the Council within three ordinary meetings.

Members noted the report.

Members noted that the petition and recommendations from the Overview and Scrutiny Panel be referred to Cabinet.

To receive a questions from the press or public in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 13.

Mrs Goodson asked Councillor Brimm the following question:

“Following on from the petition submitted regarding the very poor level of cleanliness of the streets and beaches in Cliftonville West, can the cabinet member responsible answer why no adequate measures have been taken to address this. When will a suitable plan and schedule be put in place?”

Councillor Brimm responded with the following points:

·  Compared with other areas of the District, Cliftonville West ward received an enhanced service in recognition of its additional need.

·  Public bins were emptied more regularly in Cliftonville West than other area, and 30% of the Council’s cleaning resource was allocated to the Ward.

·  50% of the properties within the ward received weekly domestic waste collection.

·  There were 130 selective licences in the ward, and enforcement and prosecution has taken place where accommodation standards have been found to be unacceptable.

·  There was a procedure in place for reporting incidents which should be used by Members and the public.

Councillor Matterface asked Councillor L Fairbrass the following question:

“Thanet District Council recently issued a very worrying report on the severity of the housing situation long after Labour councillors warned of a crisis in housing.

Will Cllr Fairbrass support Labour's call for a Scrutiny Day where all agencies and elected members can attend and share best practice?”

Councillor Fairbrass responded with the following points:

·  A growing shortage of affordable homes, increasing private sector rents and welfare benefit reforms had combined to make it increasingly difficult for low income individuals to find the homes needed.

·  The Council had secured new funding for housing and homelessness and set up new services such as the Thanet Winter Shelter and Aspire project.

·  A new housing strategy would be produced this year which would have input from partner organisations and the Overview and Scrutiny Panel.

·  There was an agreed process in place to propose scrutiny reviews which should be followed.

Councillor Matterface followed up her question by informing Council that a request for a scrutiny day had been declined.  She asked Councillor Fairbrass if she could provide an update on the 52 units of affordable accommodation that had received planning permission and funding during the Labour administration but had not yet been built.

Councillor Fairbrass responded that there were 51 units of affordable accommodation proposed, and that a tender exercise had been conducted. The target dates at each site were as follows:

·  Sussex Street – August 2018

·  Bright’s Place – August 2018

·  Chichester Road – May 2018

·  Clements Road – May 2018

·  Kingston and Lancaster Close – May 2018

·  Perkins Avenue – November 2017

·  Norman Road – November 2017

·  Prince Andrew Road – November 2017

·  Princess Ann Road – November 2017

Councillor Johnston asked Councillor Brimm the following question:

“Residents and myself in Margate Central constantly have to report the same areas that need sweeping or rubbish removal.

When will you walk the whole ward with them and myself to see for yourself our concerns?”

Councillor Brimm responded with the following points:

·  Councillor Brimm asked Councillor Johnston to advise her of the roads in question and offered to visit them with officers.

·  Considerable cleaning and enforcement resources had been regularly allocated to the ward, including  the identification of 22 high footfall roads which were given a weekly mechanical clean and a daily manual clean.

·  In the last few months there had also been a number of additional cleaning activities at;

o  Henry’s Alley

o  Primark shop front

o  Woolworths frontage

o  The alley to the rear of the old Margate cinema

o  Hawley Square and surrounding roads

o  Dane Hill, Trinity Square and alley to the rear of Margate caves.

o  Area around flats in King Street

o  Margate High Street.

·  A deep clean was planned for the 28 July on Grotto Hill.

·  1400 of the 1750 fixed penalty notices that had been issued in the last 12 months for litter offences, had been issued in Margate Central ward.

·  Upgraded bins would be installed at the following locations:

o  Clock Tower, Margate

o  Oval Bandstand

o  Palm Bay Shelter

Councillor Johnston followed up her question by asking if she could have a date when Councillor Brimm would walk through the ward with her and meet the residents.

Councillor Brimm responded that if Councillor Johnston sent her an email highlighting the areas of concern she would walk the roads with officers.

Councillor K Gregory asked Councillor Brimm the following question:

“Could the Cabinet Member for Operational Services please tell me if the District Council's street cleaning schedule for individual areas is available for residents to inspect? And if so where may they see it?”

Councillor Brimm responded with the following points:

·  Basic cleaning round information was available on the Council’s website.

·  A new map and postcode look up system was being developed that would be available on the website in the coming weeks.

Councillor K Gregory followed up his question by asking if the schedule for cleaning could be placed along side Council Tax bills.

Councillor Brimm advised that information about the street cleansing rotas would be published on the Council’s website to improve communication with the public.

Councillor Savage asked Councillor Stummer-Schmertzing the following question:

“Education is an important part of the Corporate Plan in attracting businesses searching for a highly skilled workforce. The closure of The University campus in Broadstairs is therefore catastrophic.

What plans is the Cabinet Member formulating to counter the impact on the future of so many of our young people?”

The Leader responded as he had recently met with the University’s Vice Chancellor.  The Leader responded with the following points:

·  The Council has signed a memorandum of understanding with East Kent Collage to ensure that skills and economic growth agendas were run in parallel.

·  Christ Church University had promised to continue to support education and disadvantaged students in the area, the Council would work with the University’s senior management team to establish what this would look like.

Councillor Dawson asked Councillor Brimm the following question:

“Could the cabinet member for operational services confirm that the service standard for street cleaning for Birchington is the same for Cliftonville West?”

Councillor Brimm responded with the following points:

·  In the last six months, more street cleaning services had been delivered in Cliftonville West than any other ward in the District.

·  Operational Services were part of a waste forum with the A Better Cliftonville (ABC) group, and supported ABC in a lottery funding bid.

·  There was a programme to replace all domestic wheeled bins lids, one road at a time in Cliftonville West.

·  Cliftonville West would be targeted as a pilot area for the dog fouling campaign.

·  Clean up activities had been arranged such as the ‘Love where you live’ clean up with McDonalds on 26 July and Operational Services staff had attended a number of community events to spread information to residents with campaigns such as ‘Wise up to waste’.

Councillor Dawson followed up her question by asking why, after two years in office, the Council had failed to achieve its priority to keep a clean and welcoming environment, as stated in the corporate priorities and in the election pledge.

Councillor Brimm advised that Members should follow the agreed procedure to report incidents.

Councillor Bayford asked the Leader the following question:

“The Leader has recently commented favourably on the prospect of a new potential investor looking to pursue a CPO in respect of Manston Airport. Can he explain his enthusiasm for this given his assertion that the Avia report demonstrates unequivocally that aviation activity is not viable.”

The Leader responded with the following points:

·  That he had always had a preference for an airport to be at the site.

·  The Avia report was commissioned by the Council in regard to the Local Plan and found that an airport was not viable during the Plan period.  Avia were also unable to consider or assess RiverOak’s plans.

·  What ever happens at the site, it must offer serious employment and economic opportunity for residents.

Councillor Bayford followed up his question by asking; given todays news from the Planning Inspector, how does the Leader think this should impact on the emerging local plan?

The Leader responded that the decision was in relation to a change of use for buildings.  Any implication would be considered by the Local Plan Working Group.

To receive any Notices of Motion from Members of Council in accordance with the Council Procedure Rule 3.

It was noted that no motions on notice had been received in accordance with council procedure rule 3.

To receive a report from the Leader of the Council in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 2.4.

During his report the Leader covered the following areas:

·  Attendance of the Local Government Association Conference in the previous week.

·  The formal reopening of Dreamland.

·  The flap gate maintenance requirements in Ramsgate Harbour.

·  Seasonal Car Park costs, and the proposition of a reduce cost for residents.

·  Consultation with RiverOak Strategic Partnerships as part of the DCO process.

·  The need to agree a local plan in order to protect green space in the district.

·  The decision of the Christ Church University to close it’s Broadstairs Campus.

·  The Leader and Officers had given a presentation at a conference about tackling rogue landlords.

·  Following the Grenfell Tower fire, all Council and East Kent Housing building had been checked to ensure residents were as safe as possible.

·  The rising cost of social care for an aging population.

·  School admission policies and their impact on achieving preference for school places.

·  Additional financial pressure for local governments through the loss of the rate support grant and the lack of a finance bill to allow local governments to fully retain business rates.

Councillor Bayford as Leader of the Conservative Party responded with the following points:

·  He welcomed the news that the Dreamland reopening was a success.

·  It was good that the housing stock appeared to be free of the fire hazards that led to the Grenfell Tower fire disaster.

·  RiverOak should present to Council as Council would approve the Local Plan.

·  UKIP did not win any seats in the recent county or general elections.

·  The former Manston airport site should remain designated as an airport in the local plan.

Councillor Matterface as leader of the Labour Party made the following points:

·  The Christ Church University Campus site was donated to the University by the Council, were there any covenants on the land that would restrict its use to education?

·  The Chairman of Invest Thanet had resigned, when would a new Chairman be appointed and the committee reconvened?

·  How would the parking permits for residents wishing to use the seasonal car parks work, and where would they be made available?

·  Some people had been confused and believed the duel charge proposal related to all car parks.

·  Selective licensing should be extended across the District.

·  Attfield and others verses the London Borough of Barnet was a court case regarding parking charges on the high street that should be considered when looking at high street charges.

The Leader replied to Councillor Matterface’s comments with the following points:

·  He would check whether the University land had any covenants and respond to Cllr Matterface in writing.

·  A new Chairman would be appointed to Invest Thanet.

·  Assuming Cabinet agreement, the seasonal car park permits for residents would be ‘stick and peal’, available online, by post and at the Gateway.

·  The proposal was to have duel charging scheme in the District’s five seasonal car parks only.

·  Selective licensing had been a success in Thanet as it focused on a particular area most in need of help.

Councillor Grove as leader of the Independent Group  ...  view the full minutes text for item 9.

To receive a report from the Chairman of the Overview and Scrutiny Panel in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 15.1.

Councillor D Saunders, the Chairman of the Overview and Scrutiny Panel (OSP), presented his report and the following points were noted:

·  Since the annual report in March the OSP had met on two occasions.  The Corporate Performance Review Working Party met on 27 June, the Community Safety Partnership Working Party is scheduled to meet on 20 July and the Dreamland Working Party is scheduled to meet on 31 July.

·  There was a typographical error in paragraph 4.2 of the report; it should say that the next meeting of the Panel was scheduled for 15 August.

·  Although take up by the public of the opportunity to speak at OSP meetings has been poor, the chairman asked Members to support an extension of the trial which was due to be considered later in the agenda.

In response to the Chairman’s report it was noted that:

·  It would not be within the Chairman of OSP’s gift to call a scrutiny day as proposed by Councillor Johnston.

·  Specific questions and an understanding of the objective to be achieved were needed for a topic to be effectively scrutinised.

·  In reference to the public speaking trail, the Chairman of OSP agreed that he would allow members of the public to register to speak as long as the question is prepared and deemed suitable, was received before the meeting and there was no one already registered to speak on the item.

It was proposed by the Chairman, seconded by the Leader and Members agreed that the Council adopts the draft public participation scheme as outlined in Annex 1 of the report and amends the Council’s constitution as outlined at Annex 2 of the report.

It was proposed by the Chairman, seconded by the Leader and Members agreed to approve the amended Pay Policy Statement for 2017/18 as set out in Annex 1, subject to an amendment to clarify that membership of the Appointment Panel would be agreed by the General Purposes Committee, and be made up of General Purposes Committee Members.  Once amended the Statement would be published.

PROPORTIONALITY

The Leader proposed, Councillor Bayford seconded and Members agreed option 1 as detailed at paragraph 2.6.1 of the report, namely;

“There is no change to the current option of achieving proportionality”

NOMINATION OF MEMBERS TO SERVE ON COMMITTEES

Group leaders advised of changes to sit on committees as summarised in the table below.

Councillor S Piper would replace Councillor Jaye-Jones on the Local Plan Working Group.

ELECTION OF VICE-CHAIRMAN TO THE PLANNING COMMITTEE

The Leader proposed, Councillor Grove seconded and Members agreed Councillor J Fairbrass be elected Vice-Chairman of the Planning Committee for the remainder of 2017/18.

Members noted the report.