Agenda and minutes

Venue: Council Chamber, Council Offices, Cecil Street, Margate, Kent. View directions

Contact: James Clapson 

Media

Items
No. Item

1.

Apologies for Absence

Minutes:

Apologies for absence were received from Councilors Ara, Bailey, Coleman-Cooke, Day, Farrance, Green, Gregory, Paul Moore, Parsons, Potts and Towning.

2.

Minutes of the Previous Meeting pdf icon PDF 79 KB

To approve the Minutes of the meeting of Council held on 6 February 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 6 February 2020 be approved and signed by the Chairman.

3.

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:

Congratulations were offered to Councillor Rattigan for his recent election to Cliffsend and Pegwell Ward.

4.

Declarations of Interest pdf icon PDF 87 KB

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. The Monitoring Officer advised that there was a general dispensation available to all Members to allow consideration of agenda item 13, Council Tax Resolution 2020-21.

5.

Petitions

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

5a

Margate Clocktower Toilets Petition pdf icon PDF 78 KB

  • View the background to item 5a

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Members noted the report.

 

6.

Questions from the press and public pdf icon PDF 80 KB

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

Minutes:

Ms Austin asked Councillor Duckworth the following question:

 

“TDC’s Corporate Statement commits it to working with communities to “foster shared responsibility and increase community engagement.”  But limiting public and Councillors’ questions to 50 words reduces engagement, as it is difficult to frame useful questions within such limits. Will Council consider increasing the word limit for questions to 100?”

 

Councillor Duckworth responded with the following points:

·  It was good to challenge these sort of rules to see if they helped or hindered community engagement.

·  The Constitutional Review Working Party would review the matter, and Ms Austin was asked to send her arguments and evidence to Mr Howes so that he could bring it to the Working Party’s attention.

7.

Questions from Members of the Council pdf icon PDF 83 KB

To receive questions from Members of the Council in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 14.

Minutes:

Councillor Roper asked Councillor Albon the following question:

 

“Has the Council gathered statistics on the number of incidences of fly tipping over the last five years?”

 

Councillor Albon responded that the following number of incidents had been reported to the Streetscene Enforcement department:

 

2015/16 - 1,617

2016/17 - 1,776

2017/18 - 1,940

2018/19 - 1,918

 

Councillor Roper followed up his question by asking if there was a reason for the rise in the number of incidents?

 

Councillor Albon responded that the biggest increase was between 2016/17 and 2017/18, there were a number of possible reasons for this increase, such as an increase in the use of unlicensed carriers, or changes to Kent County Council Waste and Recycling Centre charges.  Council officers responded very quickly to clear a site once it was reported.

8.

Notice of Motion

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

Minutes:

There were no notices of motions.

 

9.

Leaders Report pdf icon PDF 85 KB

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

 

Minutes:

During his report the Leader covered the following areas:

  • Councillor Rattigan was welcomed to the Chamber and thanks were offered to former Councillors Stevens and Constantine for their contribution to the Council when in office.
  • It had been a long time since the last Leaders Report, there would be a review of the timetable to see if the distribution of Council meetings could be more evenly spread across the year.
  • The failure of the QEQM Hospital stroke service judicial review had left many people worried.  There were also concerning reports of maternal care failings at the hospital.
  • Operation Brock had been stood down.
  • On 17 February 2020 Cabinet formally agreed to bring the management of the Councils’ housing stock in house.  The transition was expected to take 12 months and a Cabinet Advisory Board would be established to monitor the transition.
  • The Ramsgate Port and Harbour feasibility study had been published and a three month stakeholder engagement exercise was now underway.
  • The Council had committed £2million to the Thanet Parkway Station project along side significantly larger amounts from the South East Local Enterprise Partnership and Kent County Council. The project looked to get planning consent from Kent County Council in May.
  • The Margate Town Deal Board would meet next week.  A viable Town Investment Plan would be required in order to access the £25million Town Fund.
  • The Thanet Community Forest School successfully applied to the Urban Tree Challenge Fund.
  • Cabinet would receive a report on the work underway in response to the climate emergency declaration at its next meeting.
  • The Leader and Deputy Leader had received a guided tour of Hartsdown and Ramsgate Leisure Centres in January.  These facilities were successfully managed by Your Leisure on behalf of the Council, despite the level of completion in the fitness sector.
  • Thanks were offered to all Members for their cooperation in working for the people of Thanet.

 

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

  • There was a lot of concern about the future of the QEQM hospital and its performance.
  • A Cabinet Advisory Board to review the East Kent Housing (EKH) transition was good, and it was important to have regular communication with Council tenants. 
  • The Members briefing on the Port and Harbour feasibility study was well attended and well presented. 
  • The Isle of Thanet Tree and Woodland Initiative submitted the bid to the Urban Tree Community Fund, and used the Thanet Community Forest School as the lead name. Thanks were offered to Mr Evans and Councillor Ashbee for their work on the bid.  Over 300 volunteers had been involved planting trees and a special thank you was offered to TDC Officer Mr Bowen for his support.
  • The Conservative group would continue to work closely with the Leader for the benefit of the people of Thanet.

 

Councillor Reverend Piper as leader of the Thanet Independents Party made the following points:

10.

Report of the Chairman of the Overview and Scrutiny Panel pdf icon PDF 96 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

CouncillorBayford, the Chairman of the Overview and Scrutiny Panel, presented the report and the following points were noted:

·  The Panel met on 20 February and received a report on the future of the Council housing stock presented Cllr Whitehead.  It was recommended that Members view the minutes once they were published as a lot of areas were explored.

·  The Panel agreed that a Member/Officer panel be set up to review the performance targets that made up the quarterly performance report. 

·  The panel requested that the Empty Properties Action Plan be presented to the Panel when it was ready.

·  There would be a workshop open to all Members, to identify topics for scrutiny review.

 

Members noted the report.

 

11.

Appointment of Independent Members of the Standards Committee and Independent Person pdf icon PDF 75 KB

Minutes:

It was proposed by the Chairman, seconded by the Vice-Chairman and Members agreed the recommendations detailed in the report, namely that:

 

1.  Mr Dennis James should be appointed as Thanet District Council’s Independent Person for a new four term from the Annual Council meeting in May 2020.

 

2.  Ms Causier should be appointed as an Independent Member of the Standards Committee for a one year term with immediate effect.

 

3.  Mr Tucker should be appointed as an Independent Member of the Standards Committee with immediate effect. In addition he should also be initially appointed as Thanet District Council’s Vice Chairman of the Standards Committee until the Council’s Annual meeting on 14th May, where he should then be appointed as the Chairman of the Standards Committee for a new four year term.

 

12.

The International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) Definition of Antisemitism pdf icon PDF 103 KB

Minutes:

It was proposed by the Chairman, seconded by the Vice-Chairman and Members agreed the recommendations detailed in the report, namely that:

 

“This Council welcomes the cross-party support within the Council for combating antisemitism in all its manifestations. This Council hereby adopts the following definition of antisemitism as set out by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance and pledges to combat this pernicious form of racism.

 

“Antisemitism is a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews. Rhetorical and physical manifestations of antisemitism are directed toward Jewish or non-Jewish individuals and/or their property, toward Jewish community institutions and religious facilities.”

 

In addition the council agrees to the inclusion of the IHRA definition and working examples within the Council’s constitution and codes of conduct for Members and Officers.”

 

 

13.

Council Tax Resolution 2020-21 pdf icon PDF 125 KB

  • View the background to item 13.

Minutes:

It was noted that in accordance with council procedure rule 17.6, a recorded vote would be taken on the motion or any amendments and substantive motions.

 

It was proposed by Councillor Yates and seconded by Councillor Campbell that the recommendations set out in the report be agreed, namely:

 

1.  That Members approve the Thanet District Council element of Council Tax charges as set out below for the listed property bands:

 

COUNCIL TAX PER PROPERTY BAND FOR 2020-21 

BAND

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

 

Proportion of band D

 

6/9

 

7/9

 

8/9

 

9/9

 

11/9

 

13/9

 

15/9

 

18/9

 

Annual Charge

158.76 

 185.22 

 211.68 

238.14

 291.06 

  343.98 

 396.90 

476.28

 

2.  That Members approve the determinations at Section 1 of this report.

 

The Monitoring Officer conducted a recorded vote on the motion as follows:

 

43 Members voted in favour the motion: Councillors Albon, Ashbee, Bambridge, J Bayford, R Bayford, Boyd, Braidwood, Campbell, Crittenden, Currie, Dennis, Dexter, Duckworth, Everitt, Fellows, Game, Garner, Hart, Hopkinson, Huxley, Keen, Kup, Pat Moore, Ovenden, L Piper, S Piper, Pugh, Rattigan, Rawf, Rogers, Roper, Rusiecki, D Saunders, M Saunders, Savage, Scobie, Scott, Shrubb, Taylor, Tomlinson, Whitehead, Wright, Yates.

 

No Members voted against the motion:

 

One Member abstained from voting on the motion: Councillor Wing.

 

The motion was carried.

 

 

14.

Changes to Committees, Panels and Boards 2019/20 pdf icon PDF 89 KB

  • View the background to item 14.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

It was proposed by the Chairman, Seconded by the Vice-Chairman and Members agreed the proportionality between groups for committees, panels and boards for the remainder of the 2019/20 municipal year as shown at table 2 of the report.

 

NOMINATION OF MEMBERS TO SERVE ON COMMITTEES

 

Council noted the following changes the nominations to committees for the remainder of the 2019-2020 year:

 

Planning Committee

Conservative

Labour

Thanet Independents

Green

1

Tomlinson

1

Duckworth

1

Taylor

1

Garner

2

Coleman-Cooke

2

Scobie

Moore

2

Dennis

3

J Bayford

3

Albon

4

Wright

4

Keen

5

Hart

5

Currie

6

Scott

 Planning Committee (pool of substitute Members)

Conservative

Labour

Thanet Independents

Green

1

Towning

1

Everitt

1

Rusiecki

1

Roper

2

Stevens

Rattigan

2

Campbell

2

S. Piper

3

Paul Moore

3

Pat Moore

Scobie

4

4

Green

5

5

 

 Licensing Board

Conservative

Labour

Thanet Independents

Green

1

Bambridge

1

Currie

1

Potts

1

Wing

2

Rogers

2

Green

3

Dexter

3

Ara

4

MSaunders

4

Scobie

5

Wright

5

Huxley

6

Shrubb

 

Overview & Scrutiny Panel

Conservative

Labour

Thanet Independents

Green

1

R Bayford

1

Campbell

1

L Piper

1

Roper

2

Boyd

2

Huxley

2

Rusiecki

3

Coleman Cooke

3

Gregory

Keen

4

Paul Moore

4

Pat Moore

5

Parsons 

Rattigan

5

Hopkinson

6

Scott

 

 

 

 

 

 

Governance and Audit Committee

Conservative

Labour

Thanet Independents

Green

1

Day

1

Crittenden

1

Braidwood

1

Garner

2

Dexter

2

Moore

3

Boyd

3

Campbell

4

Kup

4

Currie

5

Shrubb

5

tbc

6

Towning

 

Governance and Audit Committee (Pool of Substitute Members)

Conservative

   Labour

Thanet Independents

Green

1

Pugh

1

1

Potts

1

Roper

2

Scott

2

3

Rattigan

3

4

4

 

General Purposes Committee

Conservative

Labour

Thanet Independents

Green

1

Game

1

Campbell

1

S. Piper

2

Pugh

Ashbee

2

Everitt

2

Ruseicki

3

Stevens

Dexter

3

Rawf

4

Day

4

Ovenden

5

D Saunders

6

M Saunders

 

 General Purposes - (Pool of Substitute Members)

Conservative

Labour

Thanet Independents

Green

1

Wright

1

Albon

1

Braidwood

2

Dexter

2

Pat Moore

3

Rogers

3

Scobie

4

4

5



Boundaries and Electoral Arrangements Working Party

Conservative

Labour

Thanet Independents

Green

1

Parsons

1

Currie

1

S. Piper

2

Moore

2

Green

3

Stevens

Rattigan

 

 

 

Constitutional Review Working Party

Conservative

Labour

Thanet Independents

Green

Independent Members

(non Councillors) *

1

Stevens

Hart

1

Hopkinson

1

Piper

1

Sexton

2

Tomlinson

2

Vacant

NOTE: *drawn from the Independent Members of the Standards Committee 


Standards Committee

Conservative

Labour

Thanet Independents

Green

Independent Members

(non Councillors) *

 

1

Kup

1

Campbell

1

Braidwood

1

Sexton

 

2

Dexter

2

Duckworth

2

Vacant

 

3

Fellows

3

Crittenden

3

Vacant

 

4

J Bayford

4

Vacant

 

Joint Transport Board

Conservative

Labour

Thanet Independents

Green

1

M Saunders

1

Scobie

1

Taylor

2

Fellows

2

Farrance

Crittenden

3

Hart

3

Keen

 

 

 East Kent Services Committee

Labour

Conservative

Thanet Independents

Green

1

Everitt

 

2

Whitehead

 

 

Standards Appointments Working Party

Conservative

Labour

Thanet Independents

Green

1

Fellows

1

Scobie

1

Dennis