Agenda and minutes

(Assistant to the Chief Executive)  To report the appointment of any substitute members for the meeting.

There were no substitute members.

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

In considering whether to declare a personal or a prejudicial interest under the Code of Conduct, Overview & Scrutiny members are asked pay particular attention to paragraph 11 of the Code in addition to the more familiar requirements.

This requires the declaration of a personal and prejudicial interest in any matter before an OS Committee which relates to a decision of or action by another Committee or Sub Committee of the Council, a Joint Committee or Joint Sub Committee in which the Council is involved and of which the Councillor is also a member.

Paragraph 11 does not refer to Cabinet decisions or attendance at an OS meeting purely for the purpose of answering questions or providing information on such a matter.

There were no declarations of interest made.

To agree the minutes of the meeting held on 19 June 2008 (to follow).

That the minutes of the last meeting of the Panel held on 19 June 2008 be agreed subject to the following amendments:

Ms B Harris was incorrectly entered on the minutes as being from Woodberry Hill Conservators when she was actually from the Hills Amenity Society; and Ms Wendy Fisher had been entered on the minutes as being of Loughton when she was in fact Chairman of the Hills Amenity Society Committee.

(Director of Planning and Economic Development) To receive a 2008 report updating the 2001 Best Value review.

Mr R Sharp, Principal Accountant, presented a spreadsheet to the Panel on Income and Expenditure for all Planning and Economic Development Services from 2003/04 to 2008/09. Mr R Sharp told the Panel that the spreadsheet provided the summarised cost of each aspect of the service, with the estimated cost of the portfolio in 2008/09 expected to be £2,880,000, having increased from £1,805,000 in 2003/04. The budget was also set on the basis that there was expected to be a full staff complement in Planning Services next year.

In building control it was anticipated that the ring fenced account would show a deficit of around £35,000 by the end of the financial year unless remedial action was taken such as increasing fees or reducing expenditure. For the Planning Service generally there had been a 23% increase between 2003/04 and 2004/05 which mainly related to the start of the new ICT system, and an additional £116,000 for a land tribunal case. Since 2005/06 costs levelled out to a year by on year increase of around 8%.

The cost of Forward Planning which included the core strategies and East of England Plan, had gone up to £700,000 in 2008/09. Councillor Mrs A Grigg informed the Panel that advertisements were going out soon. The estimates of Hambleton District Council had shown a significant expenditure. The Chairman said it would take 18 months to complete our core strategy. Councillor Mrs A Grigg advised that the timescale should be less than 18 months. Mr J Preston advised that government regulations have changed so they may have to do less, and the cost may be £1.3 million. The Local Development Framework was DDF expenditure with a cost of £0.5 million programmed in the first two years. The Chairman thought that the funding should be annotated to underline that this figure will be effected by outside factors.

Councillor J Hart asked why the number of Planning Appeals had fallen steadily. Mr J Preston replied that the number of appeals had fallen since 2003/04 when it stood at 145. He added that the District Council’s performance on appeals was not so good in the last couple of years, and it was unclear as to why this was happening. The members felt that the year 2003/04 seemed an aberration, as the number of appeals received was 145 the same as the year before. In 2004/05 the figure dropped dramatically.

Councillor P Spencer wanted to know the percentage of appeals allowed in comparison to nearby authorities. Mr J Preston advised that he would attempt to locate the percentage figures for a future meeting of the Panel. The Chairman thought that caution was necessary when looking at statistics because of the different suburban or rural aspects of other authorities. Perhaps percentage figures could be linked to the Area Planning Sub-Committees which covered urban and rural areas.

Councillor M Colling asked about the list of Planning Services staff, which he said was out of date. One officer had left the District Council, and  ...  view the full minutes text for item 11.

(Chairman/ Lead Officer) the updated Terms of Reference agreed at the last meeting is attached for information.

The Panel looked at Section 4 of the Terms of Reference, they considered and made the following decisions:

Development Control – The Panel felt that information on appeals should be listed separately.

Forward Planning – Should remain

Building Control – Should remain

Enforcement – Should remain

Administration and Customer Support – The Panel felt that Administration had been dealt with, but IT information was needed. Mr J Preston was requested to provide a further ICT presentation. Planning Services were trying to put all planning applications on-line. Mr J Preston was to speak to Councillor M Cohen, Corporate Support Service and ICT Portfolio Holder, regarding ICT support on this.

Economic Development – The Panel were advised that the District Council had an Economic Development Officer and a Town Centre Officer, working with the Town Centre partnerships, and responding to the job requirements which went with the East of England Plan. The Panel may want to review the Value for Money and performance issues which went with these at a later date.

Environment Team – The Chairman thought that this item had been dealt with. Mr J Preston was unsure as to its completion. He added that Countrycare had achieved a great deal, there may be an adverse effect on costings.

The Chairman felt that performance monitoring did not need to go under this Panel, it had been dealt with by the previous scrutiny planning committee.

The Panel had dealt with the measures introduced since 2004 to improve performance within Development Control, namely the “Hit Squad”, service restructuring and application of the Planning Delivery Grant. The Chairman was to report to the Overview and Scrutiny Committee, the Council and the Cabinet with recommendations on matters allocated to the Panel as appropriate.

Mr J Preston was to collate a revised version of the bullet points and circulate to members.

There was no other business.

To note the forward programme of meeting dates for the Panel. They are:

09^th September 2008;

18^th November 2008;

06^th January 2009;

12^th February 2009; and

13^th March 2009.

The Programme of future meeting dates was noted as follows:

9 September 2008

18 November 2008

6 January 2009

12 February 2009; and

13 March 2009