Agenda item

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:

·  One of the first actions the administration took was to pause the introduction of clinical waste collection charges.

·  Tackling the amount of litter on the streets and beaches would be a top priority for the administration.

·  The Council recently successfully achieved 34 prosecutions for non-payment of littering fines and three successful prosecutions for fly tipping.

·  In a landmark case, the Council obtained premises closure order to prevent cuckooing and antisocial behaviour at a property in Broadstairs.

·  Education needed support from firm but fair enforcement activity where appropriate, including planning and especially parking.

·  The Council would engage more with residents to seek their views on how to make Thanet a better place to live.

·  In response to the bad weather at the beginning of March the Council activated its server weather emergency plan and extended the opening of the Winter Shelter by a week.  During this period waste and recycling collections were severely disrupted. The collection crews deserved recognition for their effort to catch up on the delayed waste collections.

·  The ownership of Piermont hall in Broadstairs had been successfully transferred from the Council to Broadstairs Town Council.

·  The number of Cabinet Members had reduced from six to five, these five Cabinet Members would be supported by five cabinet assistants.

·  The Leader intended to create a Strategic Matters Cross Party Group that comprised of the leader from each group, the deputy leader of council and the senior management team.  The Group would consider strategic matters regarding the Council.

·  Discussion with the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government (MHCLG)had been positive.  They wished to support the Council in bringing forward the date for submission of the Local Plan from April 2019.

·  Earlier in the week RiverOak Strategic Partnership had submitted an application for a development consent order to central government at the former airport site.

·  Congratulations were offered to the Housing Department as they had won the 2018 LGC Housing Initiative Award at a prestigious local government awards ceremony.

Councillor Rev. Piper as Leader of the Thanet Independent Councillors Group made the following points:

·  He congratulated Councillor Bayford on becoming Leader of the Council.

·  Council’s decision to reject the draft Local Plan in January 18 gave the Council a chance to have a meaningful discussion with the MHCLG team regarding the amount of houses needed within the District.

·  The Leader’s intention to engage with residents and put them at the heart of all endeavours was good to hear.

·  Those involved in the Winter Shelter project and the recent Server Weather Emergency protocol deserve thanks.

·  The creation of a Strategic Matters Cross Party Group was welcome.

·  The Housing department had achieved great success recently and the award was very well deserved.

The Leader thanked Councillor Rev. Piper for his comments.

Councillor Wells as Leader of the Independent and UKIP Group made the following points:

·  It would be interesting to see how the submission date for the Local Plan could be bought forward.

·  Councillor Wells wished to add his congratulations to the Housing department for their achievement.

The Leader thanked Councillor Wells for his comments.

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

·  The premises closure order had been desperately needed.

·  Previously a two year moratorium had been mentioned as part of the Local Plan, and the possibility of working with other Councils. Was there any further information regarding the local plan? 

·  What was the purpose of the Strategic Matters Cross Party Group?

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

• The Strategic Matters Cross Party Group would be similar to the improvement board, but it would also to consider the way forward for the Council at a strategic level.
• The MHCLG had asked the Council to continue to work on the Local Plan.  They had not discussed working with other Councils.