Agenda, decisions and minutes

(a)        This meeting is to be webcast;

(b)            Members are reminded of the need to activate their microphones before speaking; and

(c)        the Chairman will read the following announcement:

“I would like to remind everyone present that this meeting will be broadcast live to the Internet and will be capable of subsequent repeated viewing, with copies of the recording being made available for those that request it.

By being present at this meeting, it is likely that the recording cameras will capture your image and this will result in your image becoming part of the broadcast.

You should be aware that this may infringe your human and data protection rights. If you have any concerns then please speak to the Webcasting Officer.

Please could I also remind Members to activate their microphones before speaking.”

The Leader of the Council made a short address to remind all present that the meeting would be broadcast on the Internet, and that the Council had adopted a protocol for the webcasting of its meetings.

(Assistant to the Chief Executive) To declare interests in any item on this agenda.

(a)        Pursuant to the Council’s Officer Code of Conduct, R Wilson declared a personal interest in agenda item 10, Review of the Housing Allocations Scheme, by virtue of his children being on the Council’s Housing Waiting List. The Officer stated that he had never been involved in allocating their banding and had determined that his interest was non-prejudicial and would remain in the meeting for the consideration of the issue. However, if there were any detailed questions about the particular bandings in the new scheme then these would be answered by the Director of Housing.

To confirm the minutes of the last meeting of the Cabinet held on 11 March 2013 (previously circulated).

Resolved:

(1)        That the minutes of the meeting held on 11 March 2013 be taken as read and signed by the Chairman as a correct record.

Resolved:

(1)        That the minutes of the meeting held on 11 March 2013 be taken as read and signed by the Chairman as a correct record.

To receive oral reports from Portfolio Holders on current issues concerning their Portfolios, which are not covered elsewhere on the agenda.

There were no additional reports from the Portfolio Holders present.

To answer questions asked by members of the public after notice in accordance with the motion passed by the Council at its meeting on 19 February 2008 (minute 102 refers) on any matter in relation to which the Cabinet has powers or duties or which affects the District.

There had been no questions submitted from members of the public for the Cabinet to consider.

(a)        To consider any matters of concern to the Cabinet arising from the Council’s Overview and Scrutiny function.

(b)        To consider any matters that the Cabinet would like the Council’s Overview and Scrutiny function to examine as part of their work programme.

The Chairman of the Overview & Scrutiny Committee reported that the following items of business had been considered at its meeting held on 9 April 2013:

(a)        a presentation on the “Prison Me No Way” project, which aimed to raise awareness of the consequences of crime and the realities of prison life with youngsters;

(b)        five reports from the Constitution & Member Services Scrutiny Panel:

            (i)         the annual review of Contract Standing Orders;

            (ii)        a review of Officer delegations;

            (iii)       a review of financial regulations;

(iv)       a review of the Terms of Reference for the Housing Appeals & Review Panel; and

(v)        a review of the Executive consultation arrangements in relation to the Localism Act 2011.

(c)        the final report of the Licensing Services Task & Finish Panel where the recommendation for evening meetings was supported but it was proposed to reduce the review period from twelve months to nine months.

The Cabinet’s agenda was reviewed but there were no other specific issues identified on any of the items being considered.

(Planning Portfolio Holder) To consider the minutes of the meeting of the Local Plan Cabinet Committee, held on 18 February 2013.

(1)        That the minutes of the meeting of the Local Plan Cabinet Committee, held on 18 February 2013, be noted.

The Planning Portfolio Holder presented the minutes from the meeting of the Local Plan Cabinet Committee, held on 18 February 2013. The Cabinet Committee had noted a progress and budget update report on the Local Plan, and had recommended the draft Statement of Community Involvement & draft Communications Strategy to the Council for approval.

Decision:

(1)        That the minutes of the meeting of the Local Plan Cabinet Committee, held on 18 February 2013, be noted.

Reasons for Decision:

The Cabinet was satisfied that the Cabinet Committee had fully addressed all the relevant issues in relation to the recommendations and that these should be endorsed.

Other Options Considered and Rejected:

The Cabinet was satisfied that the Cabinet Committee had considered all the relevant options in formulating their recommendations. The Cabinet did not consider that there were any further options.

(Housing Portfolio Holder) To consider the attached report (C-069-2012/13).

(1)        That, subject to the proposed changes attached at Appendix 2 of the report, the recommendations of the Housing Scrutiny Panel in its report (C-069a-2012/13) be accepted and the new Tenancy Policy be adopted;

(2)        That, following consultation with the Tenants and Leaseholders Federation, partner agencies, Parish and Town Councils and partner Registered Providers, the suggested changes to the new Tenancy Policy be agreed, as set out at Appendix 2 of the report; and

(3)        That the new Tenancy Policy be implemented on 1 September 2013.

The Chairman of the Housing Scrutiny Panel introduced the Panel’s report on the Council’s draft Flexible Tenancy Policy.

The Chairman reported that the Scrutiny Panel had considered a report on the Council’s proposed new draft Tenancy Policy at its meeting on 17 December 2012.  Under the Localism Act 2011, housing providers had been granted additional powers which enabled decisions to be taken locally about the management of social housing. The Government was giving providers of social housing the option to use FlexibleTenancies (also known as fixed-term tenancies). The Localism Act 2011 also required local authorities to publish a Tenancy Strategy which, within 12 months of commencement of the Act (being January 2013), had to detail the matters to which Registered Providers of Housing (including the Council) were to have regard to in formulating their policies. The West Essex Housing Forum, which comprised the three local authorities in West Essex of Epping Forest, Harlow and Uttlesford District Councils, haddeveloped and adopted one Tenancy Strategy that covered the three local authorities’ areas in West Essex.  The Tenancy Strategy was adopted by the Cabinet on 22 October 2012.

The Chairman stated that, in addition, all Registered Providers were required to publish and be responsible for their own individual Tenancy Policy.  A draft Tenancy Policy for the Council (which complied with the Tenancy Strategy), had been attached to the Scrutiny Panel’s report and, following detailed consideration by the Panel, was recommended to the Cabinet for adoption.

The Housing Portfolio Holder welcomed the report of the Housing Scrutiny Panel on the proposed new Tenancy Policy and requested that some small amendments be agreed by the Cabinet. Firstly, it was suggested that the implementation of the new policy be delayed until 1 September 2013, due to unexpected delays in reviewing the Council’s Housing Allocations Scheme. As both the Tenancy Policy and Housing Allocations Scheme were inextricably linked, it was important that both were implemented on the same date.

The Portfolio Holder added that a consultation exercise had been undertaken on the proposed Tenancy Policy, and some further small changes had been proposed following comments received from the Tenants & Leaseholders Federation. These had been set out in detail in the report. The Cabinet welcomed the proposed Policy and the suggested amendments, especially the opportunity for flexible tenants to have the right to improve their property, and to benefit from the Compensation for Improvements scheme.

Decision:

(1)        That, subject to the proposed changes attached at Appendix 2 of the report, the recommendations of the Housing Scrutiny Panel in its report (C-069a-2012/13) be accepted and the new Tenancy Policy be adopted;

(2)        That, following consultation with the Tenants and Leaseholders Federation, partner agencies, Parish and Town Councils and partner Registered Providers, the suggested changes to the new Tenancy Policy be agreed, as set out at Appendix 2 of the report; and

(3)        That the new Tenancy Policy be implemented on 1 September 2013.

Reasons for Decision:

Under the Localism Act 2011 and the Homes  ...  view the full minutes text for item 138.

(Housing Portfolio Holder) To consider the attached report (C-070-2013/14).

(Housing Portfolio Holder) To consider the attached addendum report (C-070a-2012/13).

(1)        That, subject to the proposed changes attached at Appendix 2 of the report, the recommendations of the Housing Scrutiny Panel in its report (C-070a-2012/13) be accepted and the new Housing Allocations Scheme be adopted;

(2)        That, following consultation with the Tenants and Leaseholders Federation, partner agencies, Parish and Town Councils and partner Registered Providers, the suggested changes to the new Housing Allocations Scheme be agreed, as set out at Appendix 2 of the report;

(3)        That an additional banding category 3(c) be added to the revised Housing Allocations Scheme as follows:

            (a)        “Any member of the Armed Forces or former Service personnel, or former            members of the Reserve Forces who have no housing need, and the application     is made within 5 years of discharge”;

(4)        That the revised Housing Allocations Scheme be implemented on 1 September 2013 and the reasons for the delay in implementation be noted; and

(5)        That, following the approval of the Constitution and Member Services Scrutiny Panel,  the revocation of the right of appeal to the Housing Appeals and Reviews Panel by housing applicants excluded from the Housing Register be supported.

The Chairman of the Housing Scrutiny Panel presented the Panel’s report on the review of the Housing Allocations Scheme.

The Cabinet noted that a report on the review of the Housing Allocations Scheme had been considered by the Panel at its meeting on 17 December 2012. The Panel had been advised that the Council was legally required to have a Housing Allocations Scheme and that the Scheme had not been reviewed since December 2010, due to the Council only recently receiving the new Government Guidance. Under the Guidance, authorities were given powers to decide locally how accommodation should be allocated based upon local priorities. The Panel had noted that authorities were now empowered to allocate their accommodation in any way they saw fit, provided schemes were both legal and rational. 

The Panel noted that the Housing Portfolio Holder had held informal discussions with Cabinet colleagues to give guidance to Officers on how the reviewed Scheme should be drafted. The Housing Portfolio Holder had then made a formal decision that Officers draft a revised Housing Allocations Scheme on the basis of the proposed principles and the Panel was requested to give detailed consideration to the revised Scheme. The Panel did this and also considered (and agreed) some further changes suggested by the Officers.

The Cabinet noted that the draft Housing Allocations Scheme had been considered by an external Legal Advisor being a Queen’s Counsel specialising in housing law. Officers had asked the Legal Advisor a number of questions, some of which were directly related to the drafting of the Scheme, and the advice given had been incorporated. The opportunity was also taken to ask further questions to clarify some points of law.  The Legal Advisor stated, following his responses “Otherwise in my opinion the Draft Housing Allocations Scheme is lawful”.

The Chairman of the Housing Scrutiny Panel concluded that, in his opinion, the biggest problem was the Council did not have enough accommodation to house all the applicants on the Housing Waiting List. The Leader of the Council highlighted that the Council was building new Council houses again after a hiatus of 30 years.

The Housing Portfolio Holder welcomed the review of the Housing Allocations Scheme by the Housing Scrutiny Panel and requested some small amendments be agreed by the Cabinet. Firstly, It was proposed by the Panel that the revised Scheme would come into force on 1 July 2013. However, due to the reasons explained earlier, it was now recommended that the implementation of the new Scheme be delayed until 1 September 2013. This would allow both the revised Housing Allocations Scheme and the new Flexible Tenancy Policy to be implemented on the same day. The Council had consulted on the draft revised Scheme and the table attached at Appendix 2 to the report had detailed the responses received and the suggested changes, plus some further suggested minor changes by Officers.

The Housing Scrutiny Panel had also recommended that the right of appeal to the Housing Appeals and  ...  view the full minutes text for item 139.

(Environment Portfolio Holder) To consider the attached report (C-071-2012/13).

(1)        That the proposed time table for the procurement of the next waste management contract be noted;

(2)        That the Environment Portfolio be authorised to accept the most economically advantageous tender received from the procurement exercise, provided that the returned tender was within the currently approved budget; and

(3)        That, in the event the most economically advantageous tender was above the currently agreed budget and given the pressures upon the procurement time frame, the Environment Portfolio Holder be authorised to report directly to the Council at the annual meeting in May 2013 so as to not unnecessarily delay the procurement programme schedule.

The Environment Portfolio Holder presented a report on the appointment of Consultants to advise the Council on the procurement of the next waste management contract in 2014.

The Portfolio Holder reported that the appointment of consultants to advise the Council on the procurement of the next waste management contract should be made in good time so as not to disrupt the timetable for the procurement exercise. Therefore, the use of delegated authority was proposed where the budget was sufficient or a report to the Annual Council meeting should the currently available budget be insufficient. The Cabinet was also informed about the procurement timetable and the assumptions which underpinned it, critical to which was the current depot at Langston Road being available at the commencement of the new contract and for at least a further 6 months afterwards.

The Portfolio Holder stated that the previously agreed budgetary allocation of £100,000 for the appointment of the Consultants was based on previous experience of similar exercises. The Director of Environment & Street Scene added that the procurement of a new waste management contract was liable to be a complex exercise.

Decision:

(1)        That the proposed time table for the procurement of the next waste management contract be noted;

(2)        That the Environment Portfolio be authorised to accept the most economically advantageous tender received from the procurement exercise, provided that the returned tender was within the currently approved budget; and

(3)        That, in the event the most economically advantageous tender was above the currently agreed budget and given the pressures upon the procurement time frame, the Environment Portfolio Holder be authorised to report directly to the Council at the annual meeting in May 2013 so as to not unnecessarily delay the procurement programme schedule.

Reasons for Decision:

To ensure that the time table for the procurement and delivery of the next waste management contract could be achieved.

Other Options Considered and Rejected:

To not delegate authority to the Portfolio Holder to authorise the acceptance of the tender, however approval for the Consultants tender would not then be available until the Cabinet meeting scheduled for 10 June 2013 and this would put significant pressure onto the timetable for the delivery of the new waste management contract.

To delay the request for supplementary finance, if the most economically advantageous tender exceeded the current budget, until the next ordinary meeting of the Council on 30 July 2013, however such a delay would similarly make the timetable for the procurement extremely challenging to achieve.

(Support Services Portfolio Holder) To consider the attached report (C-072-2012/13).

(1)        That the revised Pay Policy Statement, attached at Appendix 1 of the report, be recommended to the Council for approval.

The Portfolio Holder for Support Services introduced a report regarding the Council’s Pay Policy Statement.

The Portfolio Holder reported that Section 38(1) of the Localism Act 2011 required the Council to produce a Pay Policy Statement for each financial year setting out details of its remuneration policy. Specifically it should include the Council’s approach to its highest and lowest paid employees. The Council’s draft Pay Policy Statement was based on the Review of Fair Pay in the Public Sector (Will Hutton 2011) and concerns over low pay. The Cabinet was requested to recommend the draft Pay Policy Statement to the Council for approval at its meeting scheduled for 23 April 2013.

Decision:

(1)        That the revised Pay Policy Statement, attached at Appendix 1 of the report, be recommended to the Council for approval.

Reasons for Decision:

To provide the Cabinet with an opportunity to comment on the draft Pay Policy Statement before it was considered by the Council.

Other Options Considered and Rejected:

To amend the statement further before it was considered by the Council.

(Finance & Technology Portfolio Holder) To consider the attached report (C-073-2012/13).

(1)        That the criteria for determining critical services and activities for the purpose of Business Continuity Planning and recovery from an incident be agreed; and

(2)        That, as set out in the report, the list of Critical Services and activities be agreed.

The Portfolio Holder for Finance & Technology presented a report on the Council’s Corporate Business Continuity Plan.

The Portfolio Holder informed the Cabinet that the Council was required to undertake Business Continuity planning in accordance with the Civil Contingencies Act 2004. The Act required that as far as was reasonably practicable, critical services (and activities needed to deliver services) could continue to be provided in the event of a long term, unplanned interruption to normal operations. However, there was no accepted definition of critical services or activities. The report detailed the criteria used by the Council to identify critical services and activities and also provided a list of those services and activities determined to be critical, as previously agreed by the Corporate Risk Management Group.

Decision:

(1)        That the criteria for determining critical services and activities for the purpose of Business Continuity Planning and recovery from an incident be agreed; and

(2)        That, as set out in the report, the list of Critical Services and activities be agreed.

Reasons for Decision:

To comply with the requirements of the Civil Contingencies Act 2004, to mitigate the Business Continuity risks previously identified in the Corporate Risk Register, and to enable further Business Continuity planning for critical services and activities.

Other Options Considered and Rejected:

To do nothing, however this might result in the Authority either failing to meet its statutory duty or being severely delayed in doing so should an incident occur.

(Chairman of Licensing Services Task and Finish Scrutiny Panel) To consider the attached report (C-074-2012/13).

(1)        That the report of the Licensing Services Task & Finish Scrutiny Panel be noted;

(2)        That the recommendations of the Overview & Scrutiny Committee to the Council be noted; and

(3)        That a District Development Fund supplementary estimate in the sum of £63,770.72 be recommended to the Council for approval.

The Chairman of the Task & Finish Panel introduced the final report of the Panel’s review of Licensing Services.

The Cabinet noted that the Task and Finish Panel was set up to investigate whether there were ways in which Licensing Applications in respect of premises licences could be decided more locally and give the occupiers of neighbouring properties greater opportunities to participate in the hearings. Members who had work commitments during the daytime also wished to be involved in Licensing decisions.

The Task & Finish Panel had concluded that the most appropriate way to do this was to hold evening meetings for applications which related to premises licences. This would allow Members and those who wished to make personal representations at the hearings but who worked during the day an opportunity to attend. To ensure that the occupiers of neighbouring properties were aware of the applications the Panel further agreed to recommend that specific notifications be sent to occupiers of properties within 150 metres of the property. The Panel felt that the applications relating to taxis should continue to be heard during the day. 

The Chairman of the Task & Finish Panel acknowledged that this would increase the number of hearings and that the implementation of these proposals would lead to additional costs.  It was difficult to estimate at this stage the increase of work and this would be kept under review. Additional resources in the sum of £63,770.72 had been identified, including the recruitment of an additional Licensing Officer and Committee Officer to manage the increased workload, and the Panel was proposing that a supplementary estimate be recommended for approval by the Council so that the Panel’s recommendations could be implemented. The Chairman commended the Task & Finish Panel’s proposals to the Cabinet for approval.

The Portfolio Holder for Safer, Greener & Highways welcomed the report of the Task & Finish Panel and highlighted that the suggestion to implement area-based Licensing Sub-Committees was not accepted, along with the proposal to have Taxi Licence applications delegated to Officers for decision. The Portfolio Holder drew the Cabinet’s attention to recommendations 3 and 7 from the Panel’s report, and acknowledged that there were potential problems with scheduling further evening meetings as well as the possible receipt of more representations from the public. The Cabinet was informed that the Overview & Scrutiny committee at its meeting last week had agreed the recommendations of the Panel with only one amendment to recommendation 5, that a review of the new procedures be carried out after 9 months of operation, not 12 as originally proposed.

The Chairman of the Licensing Committee informed the Cabinet that the proposals had been rejected at the last meeting of the full Licensing Committee, as the Committee felt that a number of concerns had not been addressed. The Committee had felt that elderly residents would not want to travel to Epping for an evening meeting, and the two new extra staff would not be fully trained in the nine months of the review period. The Chairman welcomed a  ...  view the full minutes text for item 143.

Section 100B(4)(b) of the Local Government Act 1972, together with paragraphs (6) and (24) of the Council Procedure Rules contained in the Constitution require that the permission of the Chairman be obtained, after prior notice to the Chief Executive, before urgent business not specified in the agenda (including a supplementary agenda of which the statutory period of notice has been given) may be transacted.

In accordance with Operational Standing Order 6 (non-executive bodies), any item raised by a non-member shall require the support of a member of the Committee concerned and the Chairman of that Committee. Two weeks’ notice of non-urgent items is required.

(1)        That, as agreed by the Leader of the Council and in accordance with Section 100B(4)(b) of the Local Government Act 1972, together with paragraphs (6) and (24) of the Council Procedure Rules, the following items of urgent business be considered following the publication of the agenda:

            (a)        Finance & Performance Management Cabinet Committee – 21       March 2013; and

            (b)        Local Plan Cabinet Committee – 25 March 2013.

Decision:

(1)        That, as agreed by the Leader of the Council and in accordance with Section 100B(4)(b) of the Local Government Act 1972, together with paragraphs (6) and (24) of the Council Procedure Rules, the following items of urgent business be considered following the publication of the agenda:

            (a)        Finance & Performance Management Cabinet Committee – 21       March 2013; and

            (b)        Local Plan Cabinet Committee – 25 March 2013.

(Finance & Technology Portfolio Holder) To consider the minutes from the meeting of the Finance & Performance Management Cabinet Committee held on 21 March 2013 and any recommendations therein.

Risk Management – Corporate Risk Register and Risk Management Documents

(1)        That Risk 1, Recruitment Restrictions, be deleted;

(2)        That an additional Vulnerability, Trigger and Consequence be added for Risk 3, Potential Difficulty producing the Local Plan to Timetable, to cover budgetary aspects;

(3)        That the Effectiveness of Control for Risk 17, Capital Receipts spent on non-revenue generating assets, be amended to reflect the current Capital Programme;

(4)        That the Vulnerability for Risk 29, Gypsy Roma Traveller Provision, be amended to reflect the new Gypsy Traveller Accommodation Assessment;

(5)        That a new Risk 37 in respect of the Local Land and Property Gazetteer be added and scored as Low Likelihood, Critical Impact (D2);

(6)        That the current tolerance line on the risk matrix be considered satisfactory and not be amended;

(7)        That, incorporating the above agreed changes, the amended Corporate Risk Register be approved;

(8)        That the revised Risk Management Strategy be adopted;

(9)        That the revised Risk Management Policy Statement be adopted; and

(10)      That the updated Terms of Reference for the Risk Management Group be noted.

The Portfolio Holder for Finance & Technology presented the minutes from the recent meeting of the Finance & Performance Management Cabinet Committee held on 21 March 2013.

The Cabinet Committee had made recommendations to the Cabinet regarding the  Council’s Corporate Risk Register and Risk Management Documents. Other issues that the Cabinet Committee had also considered included the Key Performance Indicators for 2012/13 and 2013/14, the draft Audit Plan for 2013/14, and the Quarterly Financial Monitoring report for the period October to December 2012.

Decision:

Risk Management – Corporate Risk Register and Risk Management Documents

(1)        That Risk 1, Recruitment Restrictions, be deleted;

(2)        That an additional Vulnerability, Trigger and Consequence be added for Risk 3, Potential Difficulty producing the Local Plan to Timetable, to cover budgetary aspects;

(3)        That the Effectiveness of Control for Risk 17, Capital Receipts spent on non-revenue generating assets, be amended to reflect the current Capital Programme;

(4)        That the Vulnerability for Risk 29, Gypsy Roma Traveller Provision, be amended to reflect the new Gypsy Traveller Accommodation Assessment;

(5)        That a new Risk 37 in respect of the Local Land and Property Gazetteer be added and scored as Low Likelihood, Critical Impact (D2);

(6)        That the current tolerance line on the risk matrix be considered satisfactory and not be amended;

(7)        That, incorporating the above agreed changes, the amended Corporate Risk Register be approved;

(8)        That the revised Risk Management Strategy be adopted;

(9)        That the revised Risk Management Policy Statement be adopted; and

(10)      That the updated Terms of Reference for the Risk Management Group be noted.

Reasons for Decision:

The Cabinet was satisfied that the Cabinet Committee had fully addressed all the relevant issues in relation to the recommendations and that these should be endorsed.

Other Options Considered and Rejected:

The Cabinet was satisfied that the Cabinet Committee had considered all the relevant options in formulating their recommendations. The Cabinet did not consider that there were any further options.

(Planning Portfolio Holder) To consider the minutes from the meeting of the Local Plan Cabinet Committee held on 25 March 2013 and any recommendations therein.

The National Planning Policy Framework – One Year On

(1)        That the experience of other authorities in applying the National Planning Policy Framework over the last year, including any lessons learnt, be noted;

(2)        That, following comparison of the Council’s existing policies against the National Planning Policy Framework, the policies rated as compliant, generally compliant or partially compliant be continued to be used until the adoption of the new Local Plan superseded them;

(3)        That those existing policies rated as non-compliant be subject to a further report to the meeting of the Cabinet scheduled for 10 June 2013; and

(4)        That the experience of other Councils when their Local Plans were Examined in Public be noted and measures taken to ensure this Council avoided the problems encountered to date by others.

The Planning Portfolio Holder presented the minutes from the meeting of the Local Plan Cabinet Committee, held on 18 February 2013.

The Cabinet Committee had noted the feedback from the recent Local Plan Workshops, had agreed the Local Plan Communications Strategy, and had made recommendations to the Cabinet regarding the lessons learnt by other Councils following the implementation of the National Planning Policy Framework a year ago.

The Portfolio Holder added that he was due to shortly sign a Portfolio Decision to appoint consultants to undertake further demographic analysis, as well as population and household forecasting work. There would also be a report submitted to the next Cabinet meeting in June regarding the National Planning Policy Framework considered by the Cabinet Committee and the deletion of non-compliant planning policies after the Council had obtained further legal advice.

The Cabinet was advised that a strategic review of the Green Belt had to be undertaken and treated as a priority or the Council’s Local Plan would be found unsound by the Planning Inspector. The Planning Inspector’s decision on Rushcliffe Borough Council’s lack of a strategic review of its Green Belt was emphasised and the Cabinet was requested to circulate this decision to all members. The Cabinet was also requested to authorise a further report on the lessons that could be learnt from the Local Plans or Local Development Frameworks that had been dismissed by the Planning Inspectorate at the Examination in Public stage.

The Portfolio Holder reported that a strategic review of the Green Belt land within the District had been commenced, and Officers would report back in due course.

Decision:

The National Planning Policy Framework – One Year On

(1)        That the experience of other authorities in applying the National Planning Policy Framework over the last year, including any lessons learnt, be noted;

(2)        That, following comparison of the Council’s existing policies against the National Planning Policy Framework, the policies rated as compliant, generally compliant or partially compliant be continued to be used until the adoption of the new Local Plan superseded them;

(3)        That those existing policies rated as non-compliant be subject to a further report to the meeting of the Cabinet scheduled for 10 June 2013; and

(4)        That the experience of other Councils when their Local Plans were Examined in Public be noted and measures taken to ensure this Council avoided the problems encountered to date by others.

Reasons for Decision:

The Cabinet was satisfied that the Cabinet Committee had fully addressed all the relevant issues in relation to the recommendations and that these should be endorsed.

Other Options Considered and Rejected:

The Cabinet was satisfied that the Cabinet Committee had considered all the relevant options in formulating their recommendations. The Cabinet did not consider that there were any further options.