Agenda and minutes
Venue: by Video conference
Contact: James Clapson
Media
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Apologies for Absence Minutes: Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Green and Taylor.
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Minutes of the Previous Meeting To approve the Minutes of the meeting of Council held on 15 October 2020, copy attached. Minutes: It was proposed by the Chairman, seconded by the Vice-Chairman and agreed that the minutes of the meeting of Council held on 15 October 2020 be approved. |
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Announcements To receive any announcements from the Chairman, Leader, Members of the Cabinet or Chief Executive in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 2.2 (iv). Minutes: The Chairman advised Members of the passing of former Councillor Dr Jack Cohen. Dr Cohen had represented Birchington for a number of years, initially as a Conservative Councillor, then as an Independent Councillor. Tributes were paid to Dr Cohen’s work and character during his years as a Councillor. |
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Declarations of Interest To receive any declarations of interest. Members are advised to consider the advice contained within the Declaration of Interest advice attached to this Agenda. If a Member declares an interest, they should complete the Declaration of Interest Form Minutes: There were no declarations of interest. |
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Petitions To receive petitions from the public in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 12. |
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Minutes: Members noted Cabinet’s response to the petition as contained within the report. |
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Questions from the press and public To receive questions received from the press or public in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 13. |
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Question No.1 from a Member of the Public Regarding Disabled Parking Bays Minutes: Mrs Culligan, Deputy Monitoring Officer, asked Councillor Albon the following question on behalf of Mr Wraight:
“Can disabled parking bays have permits issued to the person who applied for the bay, as the current situation leaves it open for use by people who refuse to apply for one thus depriving the person who applied for the bay who needs it.”
Councillor Albon responded with the following points: · Disabled bays were available to be used by any blue badge holder, they were not for the sole use of the applicant. This was explained on the application form. · It was a national scheme and the Council was bound by its rules regarding who can use the bays. |
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Question No.2 from a Member of the Public Regarding the Usage of Ramsgate Port Minutes: Ms Austin asked the Leader the following question:
“Last year’s consultancy tender mentioning moves to ‘facilitate future expansion’ at Ramsgate Port Berths 4/5 understandably worried residents. Could you please confirm here your statement in correspondence that TDC will never import waste at the Port and has no plans for Berths 4/5 except Bretts’ existing usage at current levels?”
The Leader responded with the following points: · Ms Austin could publish the correspondence referred to in her question, as it could help to shed light on the issue. · The consultancy tender referred to additional non-aggregate uses for the berth because it was believed that the scope of uses should remain as wide as possible, in order to avoid potential obstruction to future opportunities for new business at the Port. · The Council had no plans or intentions to import waste at the Port. · The Council was unaware of any plans by Brett Aggregates to change the volume or frequency of its aggregate imports.
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Questions from Members of the Council To receive questions from Members of the Council in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 14. |
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Question No. 1 From A Member Regarding Enforcement of Byelaws Minutes:
Councillor Bailey asked Councillor Albon the following question:
“Thanet has many byelaws which the public generally support. However, the prevalent feeling seems to be that these byelaws are not as effectively enforced as people would like. Wouldn't the employment of additional enforcement officers prove cost beneficial as well as improving the quality of life in the district?”
Councillor Albon responded that:
Councillor Bailey followed up her question with a supplementary question asking if it would be possible to publish, on the Council’s website, a breakdown of the enforcement statistics, such as dog fouling, littering and parking offenses on a quarterly basis.
Councillor Albon offered to discuss the options with Mr Waite, the Director of Operational Services.
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Question No. 2 from a Member, Regarding Manston Airport and the Local Plan Minutes: Councillor Roper asked the Leader the following question:
“Now that the Secretary of State has stopped the DCO on Manston Airport due to not giving adequate reasons for his decision supporting the development, what are the prospects of the Local Plan being amended to take account of this?”
The Leader responded with the following points:
Councillor Roper followed up his question with a supplementary question asking if the Council would approach RiverOak Strategic Partnership to discuss how the site could support and promote environmental activities.
The Leader responded that the Council would want to play a full role in discussions about the future of the site.
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Notice of Motion To receive any Notices of Motion from Members of Council in accordance with the Council Procedure Rule 3. |
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Minutes: It was proposed by Councillor Rawf and seconded by Councillor Hopkinson that:
“Thanet council notes the mood for change amongst the community to defeat racism.
In recent months Thanet has seen two peaceful, socially distanced, community led marches in support of the cause of anti-racism.
The council also notes that:
? Nationally there has been a surge in hate crimes since July 2016
? The council understands the importance and deep reliance we have on tourism to support the health of the local economy. This council believes that our future prosperity as a tourist destination is inextricably linked with our ability to stamp out the scourge of racism. This council further believes that we have a historic opportunity to shape the area into one that is attractive to all sectors of our diverse community and the wider country.
Thanet council resolves to:
· Acknowledge and support the work of local groups such as Calling Time on Racism, the People Dem Collective and Everyday Racism (We note and welcome the outreach work currently being undertaken with the aforementioned groups by officials of the council). · Build a campaign to mark a cultural shift toward businesses taking a more active role in shaping an anti-racist community calling on the experience of these local groups. · Review our obligations under the Equality Act making explicit the working links between all the departments and functions of the council. · Support the work of all the council’s community facing functions with due regard for the council’s legal obligations as stated under the General Duty of the Public Sector Equality Duty to: o Eliminate unlawful discrimination, harassment and victimisation o Advance equality of opportunity o Foster good relations between people who share a protected characteristic and those who do not · Create a task force/working group if none already exists to oversee implementation of this vitally important area of work. The task group will include councillors, council officers, community activists and organisations and external expertise when required..”
Councillor Whitehead, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Housing and Community Services provided a response to the motion.
Members voted to debate the motion.
Following the debate the motion was passed to Cabinet for consideration in accordance with Council procedure rule 3.8(a)iv and 3.8(a)vii.
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To receive a report from the Leader of the Council in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 2.4.
Additional documents: Minutes: The Leaders report had been circulated to Members and published on the Council’s website before the meeting. The report has been attached as an annex to these minutes.
Councillor Ashbee as Leader of the Conservative Party made the following points:
The Leader replied to Councillor Ashbee’s comments with the following points:
Councillor Reverend Piper as leader of the Thanet Independents Party made the following points:
The Leader replied to Councillor Reverend Piper’s comments with the following point:
Councillor Garner as Leader the Green Party made the following points:
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Report of the Chairman of the Overview and Scrutiny Panel Additional documents:
Minutes: Councillor Robert Bayford as Chair of the Overview and Scrutiny Panel provided members with a brief summary of his report, during which it was noted that:
Members noted the report.
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Fees and charges 2021-22 Additional documents:
Minutes: Councillor Yates, Cabinet Member for Finance, Administration and Community Wealth Building proposed, and the Leader seconded the recommendation from the report, namely:
‘That Council approves the fees and charges as listed in Annexes 1 and 2.’
In accordance with council procedure rule 17.6, a recorded vote was conducted by the Deputy Monitoring Officer on the motion as follows:
39 Members voted in favour of the motion: Councillors Albon, Ara, Ashbee, Bailey, J Bayford, R Bayford, Braidwood, Campbell, Coleman-Cooke, Crittenden, Currie, Dennis, Duckworth, Everitt, Farrance, Garner, Gregory, Hopkinson, Huxley, Keen, Kup, Pat Moore, Paul Moore, Ovenden, Parsons, L Piper, Rev. S Piper, Potts, Pugh, Rawf, Roper, D Saunders, M Saunders, Savage, Scobie, Tomlinson, Whitehead, Wing, and Yates.
Five Members voted against the motion: Councillors Day, Game, Hart, Rattigan, and Shrubb.
Nine Members abstained from voting on the motion: Councillors Bambridge, Boyd, Dexter, Fellows, Rogers, Rusiecki, Scott, Towning, and Wright.
The motion was carried.
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Mid Year Review 2020-21: Treasury Management and Annual Investment Strategy Additional documents:
Minutes: It was proposed by Councillor Yates, seconded by the Leader and Members agreed the recommendations detailed in the report, namely;
“That council: · Makes comments on this report and annexes as appropriate. · Approves this report and annexes, including the prudential and treasury indicators that are shown and the proposed changes to the 2020-21 Treasury Management Strategy Statement.” |
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Review of Questions word limit Additional documents: Minutes: It was proposed by the Chairman and seconded by the Vice-Chairman that the recommendations detailed in the report be approved, namely:
Following debate Members agreed to withdraw the item from the agenda to allow the Constitutional Review Working Party and Standards Committee, to consider an appeals process for rejected questions and the offer of a supplementary question to members of the public. |
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Review of Petition Scheme Additional documents:
Minutes: It was proposed by the Chairman, seconded by the Vice-Chairman and Members agreed that the recommendations detailed in the report be approved, namely that:
· Signatories of paper and e-petitions would be added together when calculating thresholds. · The total number of signatories required to debate a petition at Council remains at the proposed 1500. · The committee raised no other objections to the remaining proposed changes.
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Use of non-gender specific titles in the Constitution Minutes: It was proposed by the Chairman, seconded by the Vice-Chairman and Members agreed that the recommendations detailed in the report be approved, namely:
“That Council removes gender-specific titles from the Constitution” |
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Changes to Committees, Panels and Boards 2020/21 Minutes: The Leader advised that he wished to make the following changes to the Labour group’s nominations to committees:
Councillor Ashbee advised that she wished to make the following changes to the Conservative group’s nominations:
Councillor Garner advised that Councillor Roper would be replaced by Councillor Wing as the Green Party’s reserve nomination to the Planning Committee.
Councillor Rev Piper did not wish to make any changes to his group’s nominations.
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