Agenda and minutes

There were no apologies for absence.

To approve the summary of recommendations and decisions of the Cabinet meeting held on 19 June 2014, copy attached.

On the proposal of the Leader, seconded by the Deputy Leader, the minutes of the meeting of Cabinet held on 19 June 2014 were approved and signed by the Leader.

The Leader stated that, in her opinion, the report, for which five clear working days’ notice had not been given, should be considered at this meeting as a matter of urgency as it related to an issue of significant interest to the public and to delay further would also have continuing impact on the Council’s local plan position.

Mr Keith Churcher re-presented the petition, with 3,361 online and 4,330 paper signatures, having already presented it at the meeting of full council on 10 July 2014:

“We the undersigned petition the council to make a compulsory purchase of Manston, Kent’s International Airport.  We would also like Thanet District Council to look into the possibility of members of the public to buy bonds into this purchase.”

In his presentation, Mr Churcher referred to: the petition to the Government which had been signed by over 26,000 persons, approximately 35% of whom, it was believed, lived in Ramsgate:  the financial struggles experienced by some of those who had lost their jobs as a result of the airport’s closure; the level of cargo companies’ support for the airport; and RiverOak, who had expressed an interest in purchasing the airport, having reportedly undertaken to underwrite all the costs to the Council of a compulsory purchase order (CPO) and having indicated that they would not operate night flights at Manston.

The following Members spoke under Council Procedure Rule 24.1:  Councillors Alexandrou, Gibson, Poole, Gideon, Cohen, Bayford, Moores & Wells.

It was proposed by the Leader, seconded by Councillor E Green and RESOLVED:

1.  THAT Cabinet accepts the recommendations contained within the Stage 1 Evaluation and Validation report;

2.  THAT Cabinet shares the report with the current owner of Manston to enable discussions with a view to establishing a way forward;

3.  THAT Cabinet instructs Officers to proceed to Stage 2 of the viability assessment to develop a high level Business Plan which will be necessary to support the Local Plan process and any potential future procurement for an appropriate investor/partner;

4.  THAT Cabinet instructs Officers to undertake a market testing exercise (prior to any full procurement process) to establish the level of interest in line with the conclusions in the Evaluation and Validation report.

Report to follow

Councillor C Hart spoke under Council Procedure Rule 24.1.

It was proposed by Councillor D Green, seconded by the Deputy Leader and RESOLVED:

1.  THAT the Ethelbert and Athelstan Road area be progressed for adoption as a designated Conservation Area subject to public consultation. That the officers prepare, consult and undertake the formal designation of an Article 4 Direction in respect of the area.

2.  THAT the remainder of the areas Edgar Road/Sweyn Road, Norfolk Road/Warwick Road/Surry Road, Clifton Place/Grotto Gardens, Northdown Road, Clifftop are progressed in order as part of a management plan towards consultation with members of the public for consideration as designated Conservation Areas. Part of this process will include consultation of an Article 4 Direction.

Councillor Wells spoke under Council Procedure Rule 24.1.

It was proposed by the Leader, seconded by the Deputy Leader and RESOLVED:

THAT the option laid out in paragraph 3.3 of the report is agreed; that is, that funding for the event is agreed to be paid in two stages, £5,000 now and £5,000 when the events for Margate and Broadstairs are formulated and agreed later in the year.

Councillor Poole spoke under Council Procedure Rule 24.1

It was proposed by Councillor Harrison, seconded by the Deputy Leader and RESOLVED:

“THAT Cabinet agrees Option 1 as described in section 6.1 of the report and rejects the request to reopen the sluice gates”.

Would Members Please Note that a limited number of colour copies of the Ramsgate Maritime Plan will be circulated at the meeting

Councillors Gideon and Bayford spoke under Council Procedure Rule 24.1.

It was proposed by Councillor Harrison, seconded by the Deputy Leader and RESOLVED:

“THAT Cabinet adopts the Ramsgate Maritime Plan which gives the strategic direction for Ramsgate Port and Royal Harbour”.

Councillor E Green thanked Adrian Halse and Steve Tebbett for their work in connection with the report. 

On Councillor E Green’s proposal, seconded by the Deputy Leader, it was RESOLVED:

1. THAT Cabinet approves the proposed Corporate Risk Register, as set out in Annex 1;

2. THAT Cabinet designates the Cabinet Member with responsibility for corporate risk management as the Council’s Risk Management Champion;

3. THAT Cabinet commits to review the Corporate Risk Register once a year but delegates responsibility to approve changes to the Corporate Risk Register during the course of the year to the Risk Management Champion.

The Leader directed that Agenda Items 14 [Thanet Markets: Margate Weekly General Market], 15 [Financing a New Housing Management IT System for East Kent Housing] and 16 [Dreamland Phase 2 Process] be taken at this stage of the meeting.

It was proposed by the Leader, seconded by the Deputy Leader and RESOLVED:

“THAT Cabinet supports the Council relocating the weekly Margate market to Cecil Square and takes on responsibility for managing the market”.

It was proposed by the Deputy Leader, seconded by Councillor Everitt and RESOLVED:

1.  THAT Cabinet agrees a loan of £223,000 for East Kent Housing for the purposes of purchasing a single IT system.

2.  THAT Cabinet delegates authority to determine the terms of the loan to the Section 151 Officer, in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Finance.

It was proposed by Councillor Everitt, seconded by the Deputy Leader and RESOLVED:

1.  THAT Cabinet gives approval to commence with the process to advertise the area(s) to lease the units documented in paragraphs 2.2.1 through to 2.2.7 to obtain expressions of interest, with a view to progressing through to leasing the areas to achieve the regeneration objectives.

2.  THAT Cabinet agrees to the use of the Un-Ring-Fenced Grants Reserve to a sum of £63,000 (ex VAT) in order to progress the plans for the Sunshine Café.

It was proposed by Councillor Everitt, seconded by the Deputy Leader and RESOLVED:

1.  THAT Cabinet approves the actual 2013/14 prudential and treasury indicators in the report;

2.  THAT Cabinet approves the annual treasury management report for 2013/14;

3.  THAT Cabinet recommends the report to Council.

Report to follow

It was proposed by Councillor Everitt, seconded by the Deputy Leader and RESOLVED:

1.  THAT Cabinet notes the General Fund, HRA and capital outturn position for 2013/14;

2.  THAT Cabinet approves the proposed movements to earmarked reserves as outlined in paragraphs 2.4 and 3.3 of the report.

It was proposed by Councillor Everitt, seconded by the Deputy Leader and RESOLVED:

1.  THAT Cabinet notes the projected outturn position for 2014/15 for the General Fund;

2.  THAT Cabinet agrees the reserve movements detailed in paragraphs 3.1 and 3.3 of the report;

3.  THAT Cabinet notes the current Housing Revenue Account position;

4.  THAT Cabinet approves the grant to the Citizens Advice Bureau as mentioned in paragraphs 3.3 and 4.2 of the report;

5.  THAT Cabinet notes the General Fund and Housing Revenue Account Capital programmes and agrees the budget virements detailed as per Annex 3 for the General Fund Capital Programme.

It was proposed by Councillor Everitt, seconded by the Deputy Leader and RESOLVED:

“THAT Cabinet approves Option 3.1, as set out at paragraph 3.1 of the report (in line with Capita’s new rating assessment methodology) and recommends it to Council”.