Agenda and minutes

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

There were no substitute members present.

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

In considering whether to declare a personal or a prejudicial interest under the Code of Conduct, Overview and Scrutiny members are asked to 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 Overview and Scrutiny 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 Overview and Scrutiny meeting purely for the purpose of answering questions or providing information on such  a matter.

There were no declarations of interest made pursuant to the Member’s Code of Conduct.

To agree the notes of the last meeting held on 12 March 2009 (attached).

RESOLVED:

That the notes of the last meeting of the Panel held on 7 February 2012 be agreed.

The Terms of Reference are attached.

The Director of Planning and Economic Development reported that progress had been made on the Local Plan. Officers were on schedule for completing the plan by August 2012.

The Work Programme is attached.

The Director of Planning and Economic Development reported that items 1 and 2 of the Work Programme were now completed, they were as follows:

(a)        To consider and review measures taken to improve performance within the Directorate; and

(b)        To consider and review Business Processes, Value for Money and Staffing arrangements for the Directorate.

It was advised that an event was being held in 6 months time regarding an exhibition of the directorate’s work and responsibilities. Selected developers and amenity groups, including Town and Parish Councils, would be invited. The Planning Portfolio Holder would outline the work carried out by the Directorate, the delegates would then break up into sessions, 3 in total covering Building Control, Development Control and Forward Planning. It was suggested that the event should start in the late afternoon and finish in the early evening at approximately 6p.m.

The Business Manager advised the Panel that significant progress had been made regarding the scanning of documents and files. He acknowledged that the task was enormous, with 120,000 microfiche jackets each containing between 30 and 60 pages constituting in total some 5 to 6 million images. It was advised that documents were being loaded onto iPlan including file correspondence. The District Council was currently putting more planning information on its website than many other councils.

The directorate had experienced difficulties in recruiting for the vacant post of Records and Scanning Officer. Two internal advertisements had yielded no responses. However the Cabinet had directed that another internal advertisement should be tried, and then if no candidates came forward, the post would then be advertised externally. The post would only be for a fixed 1 year term contract.

The Panel thanked the Business Manager for his work on records management and on the Business Plan.

RESOLVED:

That the Planning and Economic Development Business Plan 2012-13 be noted.

A Panel member expressed difficulty in accessing agenda points, documents and slides when viewing a webcast, of a planning meeting. It was requested that a webcast demonstration should be arranged for the first Panel meeting of the new Council year, in June 2012, and that the meeting be webcast and loaded onto U-Tube to allow for future viewing.

RESOLVED:

That M Jenkins advise S Hill of the following:

(1)        That a demonstration of webcasting for Area Plans Sub-Committees be made to the Planning Services Scrutiny Standing Panel on 12 June 2012; and

(2)        That the Panel meeting of 12 June 2012 be webcast.

The schedule of meetings for this Panel for 2012/13, will be as follows:

Tuesday 12 June 2012 at 7.30p.m. in Committee Room 1;

Tuesday 11 September at 7.30p.m. in Committee Room 1;

Tuesday 11 December at 7.30p.m. in Committee Room 1; and

Tuesday 16 April 2013 at 7.30p.m. in Committee Room 1.

The schedule of Panel meetings for the forthcoming Council year was noted as follows:

(a)        Tuesday 12 June 2012 at 7.30p.m. in Committee Room 1;

(b)        Tuesday 11 September at 7.30p.m. in Committee Room 1;

(c)        Tuesday 11 December at 7.30p.m. in Committee Room 1; and

(d)        Tuesday 16 April 2013 at 7.30p.m. in Committee Room 1.