Agenda and minutes

Contact: Martin Bradford x 6950 

Items
No. Item

1.

Webcasting

Please note: This meeting may be filmed for live or subsequent broadcast via the Council's internet site - at the start of the meeting the Chair will confirm if all or part of the meeting is being filmed. The images and sound recording may be used for training purposes within the Council.

 

Generally the public seating areas are not filmed. However, by entering the meeting room and using the public seating area, you are consenting to being filmed and to the possible use of those images and sound recordings for webcasting and/or training purposes.

 

If you have any queries regarding this, please contact the Scrutiny Support Officer at the meeting.

 

2.

Apologies for Absence

To receive apologies for absence.

Minutes:

Apologies were received from Cllr Elliot and from Cllr Marshall.

3.

Declarations of interest

A member with a disclosable pecuniary interest or a prejudicial interest in a matter who attends a meeting of the authority at which the matter is considered:

 

(i) must disclose the interest at the start of the meeting or when the interest becomes apparent, and

 

(ii) may not participate in any discussion or vote on the matter and must withdraw from the meeting room.

 

A member who discloses at a meeting a disclosable pecuniary interest which is not registered in the Members’ Register of Interests or the subject of a pending notification must notify the Monitoring Officer of the interest within 28 days of the disclosure.

 

Disclosable pecuniary interests, personal interests and prejudicial interest are defined at Paragraphs 5-7 and Appendix A of the Members’ Code of Conduct.

Minutes:

None.

4.

Urgent Business

The Chair will consider the admission of any late items of urgent business.  Late items will be considered under the agenda item where they appear.  New items will be dealt with at the end of the agenda.

Minutes:

None received.

5.

Deputations/Petitions/Presentations/ Questions

To consider any requests received in accordance with Part 4, Section B, paragraph 29 of the Council’s constitution.

Minutes:

None received.

6.

Terms of reference pdf icon PDF 202 KB

To note the terms of reference for the Housing and Regeneration Scrutiny Panel.

Minutes:

The panel noted and agreed the terms of reference for the Housing and Regeneration Scrutiny Panel.

7.

Cabinet Q & A

Cllr Demirci will attend to respond to panel questions within the planning portfolio.

 

Minutes:

7.1       The Cabinet Member for Planning attended and provided a briefing on this portfolio and then responded to questions from the panel.  As the following item (Planning Enforcement) fell within this portfolio area, this was also incorporated into the Cabinet Q and A discussions. The following is a summary of the key points from this discussion.

 

          7.2       Within the briefing, the Cabinet member highlighted key achievements of the planning service over the past 6 months together with future challenges and opportunities that the service faces going forward. These were:

·         Achievements: significant progress on delivery of planning service improvement programme, completion of new member training, adoption of Community Infrastructure Lev;

·         Opportunities: harnessing community interest and expertise in local planning and development processes;

·         Challenges: workloads and planning reforms, increased workloads are not matched by increased income from fees due to statutory fees regime, recruitment and retention of expert planning staff.

 

          7.3       It was noted that the planning service would be offering a programme of planning visits for members.  This programme would incorporate a range of activities including visits to local completed developments, developers and architects.  The purpose of this programme was to raise awareness of some of the local planning challenges and successes, and through dialogue with members, further identify community aspirations for new development. 

 

          7.4       The panel noted the work of the planning enforcement service in relation to a number of local industrial sites that were being used for residential accommodation.   Planning and other enforcement services (waste, licensing, building control and planning) were working together to resolve the following issues:

·         Designated employment site being used for residential accommodation being;

·         Health and safety issues;

·         Hygiene and public health issues.

 

          7.5       The panel noted that there were a number of factors that inhibited effective enforcement action in respect of ‘industrial living sites’ which were:

·         The scale of the issue, there are estimated to be in excess of 1,000 people living in such accommodation;

·         Access to units can be difficult were the planning service to resort to courts to gain access;

·         In some instances, people have lived in this setting for many years which restricts planning enforcement options.

 

          7.6       After further assessment of the nature and usage of the sites, it was apparent that units were also used for small artist workshops and other small enterprises.  As a result, what was originally an enforcement issue for the Council, now encompasses a regeneration perspective, given the value that these units provide in terms of economic and social benefits to the local community.  It was noted that this had precipitated a meaningful dialogue about the use and purpose of the land with both landowners and residents. 

 

          Agreed: That a briefing on industrial living would be provided to the panel for the 3rd November 2014.

 

          7.7       It was noted that the sites such as those described above were important for the growth and development of small and medium sized businesses and that there was a concern that such sites may be lost to housing development.  The  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

8.

Planning Enforcement - performance monitoring pdf icon PDF 82 KB

As part of the work programme for 2014/15, Overview & Scrutiny Committee agreed that scrutiny panels could monitor performance up to three areas. 

 

The Housing & Regeneration Panel has chosen to monitor Planning Enforcement.  A report that was submitted to Regulatory Committee on 9th September 2014 is attached to initiate panel discussions and from which the panel may wish to identify more specific indicators to monitor in the future (January 2015).

Additional documents:

Minutes:

This item was covered in discussions for item 6 above.

9.

Work Programme 2014/15 pdf icon PDF 132 KB

To discuss and agree the work programme for the Environment and Housing Scrutiny Panel for 2014/15.

Minutes:

The panel noted and discussed the work programme for the year ahead (2014/15).  The work programme is made up of a number of short reports requested by the panel together with those projects that the panel wish to investigate in further detail.  These have been scheduled in to a forward plan, which was agreed by the panel.

 

          Agreed: Housing and Regeneration Scrutiny Panel forward plan to be circulated to lead officers to note.

 

10.

Delivery of Affordable Housing (Panel Project)

To approve the scope for the panel project (delivery of affordable homes).

 

To follow.

Minutes:

A presentation on the proposed scope for the panel project was presented at the meeting to the panel.  Panel members were invited to comment further on the aims and objectives of the project scope (by October 8th 2014), which could then be discussed with relevant officers and agreed by Overview & Scrutiny Committee at its next meeting.

 

          Agreed: The panel to feedback on the proposed scope of the project.

 

11.

Dates of future meetings

·         18.30 on 3rd November 2014

·         18.30 on 8th December 2014 (Budget Scrutiny)

·         18.30 on 22nd January 2015

·         18.30 on 2nd March 2015

 

Minutes:

Dates were noted and confirmed.