Agenda item

To consider the attached motion and officer response.

The Chairman reported receipt of the above mentioned motion from Councillors Terry Chivers and Jeff Osborn. Accordingly, Councillor Terry Chivers moved the following motion which was duly seconded by Councillor Jeff Osborn:

‘In the event of any legal agreement, being changed after planning permission on major planning applications has been granted; this should only be done in full consultation with the local Town or Parish Councils’

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In moving his motion, Councillor Terry Chivers made reference to a specific issue in his division where the local parish council had not been made aware of, in his view, a significant change in a s106 legal agreement. He was seeking to ensure that local councils would be informed of any major changes rather than each time a minor change was made.

The Chairman invited Councillor Toby Sturgis, Cabinet Member for Planning, to respond to the motion. Councillor Sturgis stated that he would be happy to accept the motion with some amendments to make it clear that the process would be to inform local councils, rather than to open the matter up for full consultation. Councillor Chivers and Councillor Osborn stated that they accepted this amendment.

The Chairman then proposed, subsequently seconded by Councillor Bucknell, that the motion be debated at the meeting and on being put to the vote, it was

Resolved: 

That the motion be debated.

The Chairman invited the Group Leaders to comment before opening the matter up for wider debate.

The Baroness Scott of Bybrook, OBE, thanked Councillor Chivers for bringing this issue to the meeting for debate and asked that officers liaise with Councillor Sturgis on investigating the specific case raised.

Councillor Glenis Ansell highlighted a concern that some developers may make promises for community facilities in the full knowledge that this may not be deliverable.

Councillor Ernie Clark stated that it was important to provide information to local councils once amendments to agreements were proposed rather than after they had been agreed.

Councillor Ricky Rogers stated that he supported the amendment.

Councillor Russell Hawker made reference to a specific case in his division and emphasised the importance of wider communication with the public.

Councillor Jon Hubbard asked how it was intended to differentiate between major and minor changes to agreements and suggested that the matter should be subject to further discussion outside of the meeting.

Councillor Fred Westmoreland asked whether significant changes to legal agreements should not be referred back to the relevant planning committee.

Councillor Toby Sturgis stated that he would prefer the opportunity to discuss with officers how best to adjust the current process to take account of the issues raised during the debate.

Councillor Tony Trotman argued that often such agreements were best left to the officers to negotiate details and questioned how major changes would be defined.

The Baroness Scott of Bybrook, OBE, considered the debate a useful one and that officers present would take on board the views expressed.

Following a request from the Chairman, Councillor Terry Chivers and Councillor Jeff Osborn agreed to withdraw the motion to enable discussions with the Cabinet Member for Planning to agree an appropriate resolution to the issues identified with in the motion and subsequent debate. It was noted that if no agreement could be reached, that the motion could be resubmitted.

Resolved:

To note the withdrawal of motion no. 28 and that issues raised within the motion and the ensuing debate be discussed with Councillors Terry Chivers, Jeff Osborn, Toby Sturgis and relevant officers with a view to reaching a mutually agreeable resolution.