To receive any questions relating to items on the Agenda from members of the public and replies thereto.
Note: A maximum of 30 minutes is allowed for this item.
Minutes:
With reference to item 6 on the agenda Mr N Quinn said last July, I asked you for increased support for members of the public speaking to planning applications.
It seems the answer is No, as Mrs Tebbey’s report proposes options which would remove the public’s constitutional rights completely or replace them with Chairman's discretion. Supporting these options will place great pressure on the Chairman and is more likely to raise tensions with the public rather than relieve them.
Many Planning Committee Members rely solely on the Officer report and recommendation as the basis for their decision. The public use question time to inform Members by questioning statements made in the Officer report and pointing out material omissions or inaccuracies that Members may wish to explore.
Over the past year, the average Planning Committee meeting took 3 ½ hours. Public Question Time averaged only 12 minutes. However, Mrs Tebbey blames Public Question Time for the length of meetings but does not consider any other issues.
Question to Chairman – The Council recently had a Peer Review of Planning Service Productivity which produced some comments and recommendations specifically aimed at reducing the length of Planning Committee meetings. Have these comments and recommendations been fully implemented?
In para 3.5 - Mrs Tebbey states that there is “a general limit on speakers and the nomination of a spokesperson is common to many councils”.
However, in our local area the number of objectors who can speak is generally set higher than our one:
Taunton Deane = No Limit,
North Devon = 6,
East Devon = 2,
Torridge = 2,
Teignbridge = 2 if large and 5mins
Question to Chairman – In the light of these local figures, would the Standards Committee, when addressing Protocol para 9.2,please raise the number of Objectors (and Supporters) who can speak to 2?
In Para 4.2, Mrs Tebbey says she “raised the issue with counterparts nationally” and gives some feedback. However, the Councils quoted may not be comparable to us.
Question to Chairman – Where did these 6 comments come from? How many of the 200 District Councils in England were actually contacted? How many replies were received from them?
In the Council’s Code of Corporate Governance you use “Public Question Time at every Committee” to evidence that “the authority as a whole is open and accessible to the community….”.
Were Members aware that the recent Residents Satisfaction Surveyshowed that:
Only 41% of residents believe that this Council acts on their concerns and
Only 51% of residents trust this Council
Restricting the scope of Public Question Time at Planning Committee will lower the standing of this Council even further.
I urge you to leave para 9.1 of the Protocol as it currently stands.
Also referring to item 6 on the agenda Cllr B Warren of Willand Parish Council said Why is it that a Parish Councillor can speak for 3 minutes in objection to a small unsightly extension proposal but can still only speak for the same amount of time to object to a complex application for say 259 houses that will increase the size of the village by 20%? The same concern applies to a Ward Councillor having 5 minutes. Is there not an argument for being able to provide a proportionate response by extending the time in such cases?
As I read Mrs Tebbey’s report I get the impression that she is suggesting that there be restrictions placed on the content of public questions which prevents questions being asked to make a point which is of concern but cannot be made within the 3 minutes. Am I correct in this interpretation? If so how is this going to correct the perceptions held by public and councillors that their views are not valued? As it is many questions are not answered.
Issues are sometimes raised by Planning Committee members which an officer cannot answer or gives an incomplete misleading answer. Would it not be good practice for the Chair to have discretion to ask a Parish Council member in appropriate cases as they would probably have the factual answer?
Cllr R M Deed asked a question regarding Planning Committee site visits and Planning Working Group visits. He considered that the protocol did not make it clear who could visit a site with the full Planning Committee and asked for clarification.
The Monitoring Officer reminded the Committee that the purpose of agenda item 6 was to consider the protocol for Ward Members speaking at Planning Committee and that she had not yet carried out a complete review of the protocol with regard to other areas, such as site visits.
The Chairman informed the Committee that answers would be provided at the agenda item.