Agenda item

To receive any updates on recent activity for active task groups.

Councillor Jonathon Seed, Chairman of the Housing Allocations Policy Task Group, presented an update on the work of the Task Group since its inception.

The recent activities of the Task Group were detailed, namely:

·       A scoping meeting held on 19 June 2023 with Nicole Smith, Head of Housing.

·       A meeting with local social housing providers held on 12 July 2023 to understand and get feedback on how the current Housing Allocations Policy worked in practice.

·       A meeting between the Chairman, relevant Cabinet Member and Head of Housing to understand the aims of the policy.

Furthermore, Members were informed that the Task Group were intending to hold two more meetings to discuss and conclude on different areas of the policy ahead of developing a report and a set of recommendations before being brought to a future meeting of the Committee.

During the discussion, members queried Paragraph 9 of the report and asked for further clarification on what was meant by “inconsistencies with applying the policy”. In response, it was noted that some cases were found to be dealt with quicker and more concisely, however it was acknowledged that further discussions were needed to find out more details. Other points raised included defining what was meant by affordable housing.

Cllr Seed concluded by commending the experience of the Task Group’s Membership and the hard work undertaken up to the date of the meeting.

Councillor Graham Wright, Chairman of the Climate Emergency Task Group, then presented an update on the work of the Task Group since 6 June 2023.

The recent activities of the Task Group were detailed, namely:

·       Receiving a briefing on 29 June 2023 from Councillor Nick Botterill, Cabinet Member for Finance, Development Management, and Strategic Planning, Georgina Clampitt-Dix, Head of Spatial Planning, and Geoff Winslow, Spatial Planning Manager, concerning the draft Local Plan and the policies that would address the climate emergency.

Members were informed that the Task Group were pleased that the draft Local Plan recognised and was working towards tackling many of the issues previously raised in discussions with officers and Cabinet Members, such as promoting renewable energy and accelerating the construction of low carbon homes. As such, it was highlighted that the Task Group would continue to monitor the delivery of the Council’s Climate Strategy as well as focussing on local transport.

Members requested that the Task Group consider exploring the Council’s Waste Disposal Policies in relation to the amount of carbon emissions generated by the disposal of municipal waste, as discussed during the previous Agenda Item. Furthermore, Members highlighted that officers would be undertaking conversations with Hills to further explore the issue and requested that officers from the Climate Team be involved in those discussions at the appropriate time.

After which, it was:

Resolved:

a)    The Committee noted the update on the Task Group activity provided.

b)    The Committee noted the changes to the Housing Allocations Policy Task Group Terms of Reference and the timing of its final report.

c)    The Committee noted the Climate Emergency Task Group’s draft Forward Work Plan as per Appendix 1.