Agenda and minutes

To receive any apologies for absence and notice of appointment of substitutes.

There were no apologies for absence.

Councillors are reminded of the requirement to declare any interest,

including the type of interest, and reason for that interest, either at this

stage of the meeting or as soon as they become aware of that interest.

There were no interests declared under this item.

To receive any questions relating to items on the Agenda from members of the public and replies thereto.

There were no members of the public present.

Members to consider whether to approve the minutes as a correct record of the meeting held on 13 June 2019.

The minutes of the meeting held on 13 June 2019 were confirmed as a true and accurate record and SIGNED by the Chairman.

To receive any announcements that the Chairman may wish to make.

The Chairman had no announcements to make.

To receive a report from the Car Parking Working Group and to consider making recommendations to the Cabinet regarding proposed Pay & Display charges.

The Group had before it a report * from the Deputy Chief Executive and Group Manager for Street Scene & Open Spaces providing it with an update from the Car Parking Working Group on proposals for new Pay & Display charges.

The Chairman of the Working Group, Cllr R Evans, outlined the contents of the report and the approach that the working group had taken. This had been the first review of car parking charges in three years. He thanked the officers on behalf of the Working Group for their hard work in pulling together all of the relevant data.

He stated that car parking was an important income stream for the Council whilst also emphasising that significant consideration had been given to the effect upon Mid Devon residents and visitors. Maintaining consistency across the district had also been an important factor as well as considering the effect of any changes upon local businesses. The working group had considered at length ‘the offer’ in each town and associated car park charges. He explained further that many businesses had complained about the lack of ‘dwell time’ within each town as a result of the current 30 minutes free parking.

The Working Group had had lengthy discussions about the charges relating to the Multi Storey Car Park in Tiverton and had agreed at an early stage that there needed to be a different offer across long stay car parks. A recurring factor continually emerged throughout their discussions in that there was very little up take on the annual permits offered by the Council which provided a significant annual discount.

They had considered each individual car park in turn and reference was made to the subject of their discussions in the attached meeting notes to the report. A significant proportion of their considerations had been focussed on overnight parking in the car parks of each town. Residents in Cullompton particularly were finding it increasing problematic to park outside of their own properties because of the number of non-residents parking their cars on-street and not using nearby car parks. Because of this the Working Group had proposed to reduce the overnight parking permit to £100 as a one off annual payment, or payable by £10 a month for those people opting to pay by monthly direct debit. This equated to approximately 28p per day which was considered to be excellent value for money.

Therefore the Working Group felt that they had given significant thought to the businesses in each of the towns by potentially increasing dwell time whilst also considering the effect upon local residents and offering significant value for money especially when considering  the charges made by other towns in the local area.

Discussion took place regarding:

·         It was very difficult to predict what the take up of the newly priced permits would be. Advertising of the new permits would take place as it had done previously, for example, on the reverse of each Council Tax bill.

·         A report was going to be presented to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 20.

The following Motion had been referred by Council to the Economy Policy Development Group for discussion at its meeting on 13 June 2019:

“Mel Stride MP recently said: “Central Devon has market towns with a wonderful variety of high street shops selling high-quality local produce and offering a range of services. Many are doing very well, but others face stiff competition from out of town and online retailers. I know that the margin between success and failure can be very small and even a small increase in the number of people who make it a priority to shop locally more often can make a big difference.”

High Street Saturday was on 16^th March. I propose that:- In order to encourage the high street shops in Mid Devon’s 3 main towns, this council will not charge for Saturday parking in the long stay car parks of Tiverton, Cullompton and Crediton.”

The PDG considered this Motion at its meeting on 13 June 2019 and agreed to postpone a decision as to whether or not to support or reject the Motion pending a report from the re-established Car Parking Working Group. The Working Group met on 12^th July 2019 and a number of recommendations were made in the previous agenda item.

Having considered the report of the Working Group and re-considered the Motion further, the Policy Development Group are asked to consider whether this Motion should either be supported or rejected. This decision will be referred back to full Council on 11 September 2019.

Having considered the previous item in relation to car parking charges, the Group considered the Motion which had been referred by Council in relation to offering free parking in the towns on Saturdays.

Cllr F Letch had been invited to attend the Car Parking Working Group to listen to their discussions and contribute where appropriate especially with regard to the subject matter of his Motion. He had commented that he had noticed the number of vehicles trying to find free or affordable parking within Crediton on market days was very significant and initially he had thought that offering free parking on Saturdays would be a way of helping both shoppers and local businesses. However, the council had recently signed up to the climate declaration and aimed to be carbon neutral by 2030. Cars were significant carbon emitters and therefore if the council were to support this Motion it would be seen as encouraging the use of cars.

The Group acknowledged that the Council had, in recent years, offered free parking in each of the towns on the four Saturdays in the run up to Christmas. However the Group felt that it would be worth contacting each of the town councils to ask if they would prefer these ‘free days’ to be at different times of the year when they might be holding events that attracted a greater number of visitors. It was requested that this issue be placed on the agenda for the next meeting so that further discussion could take place.

It was therefore RECOMMENDED to Council that the Motion not be supported.

(Proposed by Cllr R Dolley and seconded by Cllr R F Radford)

To receive a report from the Head of Planning & Economic Regeneration providing Members with an update on performance against the Corporate Plan and local service targets for 2019/20 as well as providing an update on the key business risks.

The Group had before it, and NOTED, a report * from the Head of Planning & Economic Regeneration providing Members with an update on performance against the Corporate Plan and local service targets for 2019/20 as well as providing an update on the key business risks.

Consideration was given to:

·         The fact that the shop vacancy rates were collated at the start of each quarter hence the figures for ‘September’ were populated already.

·         The funding landscape was very unsure at the moment given the current political climate, however, finding funding streams was only part of the picture. The council could also look to entering into partnerships with other public sector organisations as well as commercial enterprises. A comprehensive approach was being undertaken exploring a range of opportunities.Risks and mitigations with regard to Brexit should be considered and closely monitored by this Policy Development Group and a report was requested to be brought to the next meeting detailing where the council stood with regard to this issue.

Note: * Report previously circulated; copy attached to the signed minutes.

To receive a report from the Head of Planning, Economy and Regeneration updating Members on progress with Economic Development Service activities.

The Group had before it, and NOTED, a report from the Head of Planning, Economy and Regeneration updating it on progress with Economic Development Service activities.

The contents of the newly formatted report were outlined with a particular request to the Group that it provide feedback on whether they liked the new format and whether or not they preferred less or more detail on each project.

Discussion took place with regard to:

·         Mid Devon Business Awards were considered to be ‘at risk’ as there had been some reluctance from businesses to take part in the awards or sponsor them. It was possible that a scaled down version would be held.

·         The Future ‘High Street Fund’ bid had been unsuccessful. This was due to an oversubscription of bids being made. Only 20 bids had been successful out of those submitted nationally.

It was AGREED that of the two project summary versions offered to the Group, the second, more detailed version, was the preferred option.

Note: * Report previously circulated; copy attached to the signed minutes.

To receive a report from the Head of Planning, Economy and Regeneration informing Members about the Local Industrial Strategy being developed by the Heart of the South West LEP and how it relates to Mid Devon focused activities.

The Group had before it, and NOTED, a report * from the Head of Planning, Economy and Regeneration informing it about the Local Industrial Strategy being developed by the Heart of the South West LEP and how it related to Mid Devon focused activities.

The contents of the report were outlined with particular reference to the following:

·         The draft strategy document was designed to demonstrate to central document how the Heart of the South West’s (HOSW) business agenda was aligned with theirs.

·         The focus was on areas of high productivity and there was also a strong theme on the Government’s ‘Clean Growth Strategy’. It was important for Mid Devon that the projects it wanted to focus on aligned with the ethos of the Local Industrial Strategy, especially if the council wanted to draw down funding.

Discussion took place regarding:

·         The importance of the Local Industrial Strategy especially in terms of the ‘Clean Growth Strategy’ and any funding available to support local authority initiatives in this area given the council’s recent decision to be carbon neutral by 2030. The HOSW had already identified some of these areas.

·         The Economic Development team closely monitored and applied for funding whenever it was appropriate and became available.

·         Regular reports and updates would be brought to the Group going forwards and the team would be looking to the Group for guidance.

Note: * Report previously circulated; copy attached to the signed minutes.

To receive a report from the Head of Planning and Regeneration informing Members of progress with the Connecting the Culm Project.

The Group had before it, and NOTED, a report * from the Head of Planning, Economy and Regeneration informing it of progress with the Connecting the Culm Project.

The contents of the report were outlined and discussion took place regarding:

·         The project was headed up by Steven Johnson and he would be providing regular updates, the first of which was attached to the report for this meeting.

·         This was an analysis project designed to gather relevant data by and for relevant stakeholders of which the council was one. It was emphasised that this was not a delivery project. Various scenarios would be considered including the worst possible weather related incidents within the catchment.

·         Ward Members concerns would be collated by the Economic Development team and would be submitted and discussed by the steering group. Relevant Ward Members, whose wards were situated along the River Culm catchment, had been informed as stakeholders and would be able to contribute to discussions.

·         Public engagement would start next year.

·         Regular updates would be brought to this Group.

·         Understandably Members were taking a keen interest in this issue which very much overlapped with the aspirations of the Culm Garden Village. The council needed to be an active stakeholder, contributing where it could.

Note: * Report previously circulated; copy attached to the signed minutes.

Members are asked to note that the following items are already identified in the work programme for the next meeting:

·         Performance and Risk

·         Financial Monitoring

·         Economic Projects update

·         Market update

·         Market Rights Policy

·         Management options

·         Review of Market Policy

·         Destination website demonstration

·         Lords Report on rural economy

·         Commercialisation

·         Incubator Space

Note: This item is limited to 10 minutes. There should be no discussion on the items raised.

The Group noted the items already listed for the next meeting but requested that only the current or ‘more pressing’ issues come forward. In addition to this, it was requested that a report on the Brexit implications for this council be presented as well as the issue of free parking on the four Saturdays leading up to Christmas and whether towns would prefer this to be offered at different times of the year.

It was also AGREED that a special meeting of the Group be held to focus on the Tiverton Pannier Market. The date of this meeting to be confirmed.