Cabinet Members will answer questions from Members on their portfolios.
Minutes:
Councillor F W Letch addressing the Cabinet Member for Housing and referring to the Disposal of Assets report to the Scrutiny Committee, highlighted the issue of the confidential minutes of the meeting, he asked whether the meetings were advertised and whether Members could request a copy of the minutes under the Freedom of Information Act. He referred to paragraph 4.5 of the report and asked whether the Tiverton Town Hall had been marketed?
The Cabinet Member stated that the Town Hall had not been marketed and the reasons for this.
The Monitoring Officer stated that she was already aware of a current FOI request with regard to this matter and that there was ongoing correspondence with Councillor Mrs J Roach, she asked that she be allowed to look into the matter and report back to the Member.
Cllr F W Letch referred to the Corporate Plan and the need to dispose of assets for the best price.
Cllr J M Downes addressing the Cabinet Member for Planning and Economic Regeneration asked whether he thought that the public perception of the Planning Committee was fair. He referred to the draft Local Plan yet to be ratified and the proposals within that plan. He asked what weight should be given to the emerging plan specifically with regard to the Cromwells Meadow application, the allocation of 34 dwellings in the emerging plan and the 50 dwellings outlined in the current plan. He suggested that the draft plan had been given little standing and that officers were relying on the current plan.
He also remarked that the objectors had been mortified that the officer recommendation had been proposed by the Chairman, he had made promises to the objectors that weight would be given to the emerging local plan.
The Cabinet Member stated that the draft plan did carry some weight but that the adopted plan carried more. The lack of a 5 year land supply was very difficult for Members of the Planning Committee. He and the Chairman of the Scrutiny Committee had visited the Planning Minister the previous week and explained the difficulties that the authority faced; there was a commitment from the Government with regard to growth, but that because of the lack of a 5 year land supply the authority was continually having to fend off developers and that protection was required. He reported that the Planning Officers were talking with the DCLG with regard to the Garden Village and requesting mitigation so that the Garden Village and the allocations within it could be developed.
With regard to public perception of the Planning Committee, there would always be a situation with regard to objectors to applications and accusations of a stitch up, the Planning Committee worked very hard and had a good understanding of the system and the policies that they were working with.
The Chairman of the Planning Committee stated that with regard to who moved the officer recommendation, it was entirely right that the Chairman could move the officer recommendation. Sometimes the Committee worked against the officer recommendation and the Chairman would facilitate that. With regard to the lack of a 5 year land supply, the authority had to work with the situation.