Agenda and minutes

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Media

Items
No. Item

C1

Apologies for Absence and Declarations of Interest

To receive any apologies and declarations of interest.

Minutes:

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Bagnall, Barker, Day, Eke, Fairhurst, LeCount, Loughlin, Pepper, Reeve and Sell.

 

Councillor Sutton gave the apologies from the Youth Council and confirmed that they are currently reviewing and recruiting new members.

 

Councillor Smith declared a personal and prejudicial interest in item 10 through his employer and said that he intended to abstain and not participate in the debate of the item.

 

C2

Minutes of the previous meeting pdf icon PDF 912 KB

To receive the minutes of the previous meeting.

Minutes:

The minutes of the meetings held on 22 February and 28 February 2022 were approved as a correct record.

 

C3

Chair's Announcements

To receive any announcements from the Chair.

Minutes:

The Chair provided a brief update on events he had attended since the previous meeting including a most enjoyable visit to a young choir and orchestra at a local primary school.

 

Councillor Asker gave details of her attendance on the Chair`s behalf at Stansted College at Stansted Airport where HRH Princess Anne is the patron. She detailed an incredible event laid on by students who attend the college which supports all the services relating to airport related employment. She noted that students come from all over the area, including from outside the district, to attend the college.

 

C4

Reports from the Leader and Members of the Executive pdf icon PDF 1 MB

To receive matters of report from the Leader and members of the Executive:

 

·        Councillor Lees, Leader of the Council and lead member for Housing and Health.

·        Councillor Evans, Portfolio Holder for Planning, Stansted Airport, Infrastructure Strategy and the Local Plan

·        Councillor Pepper, Portfolio Holder for Environment and Green Issues; Equalities.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Three reports from the Leader of the Council and lead Member for Housing and Health, the Portfolio Holder for Planning, Stansted Airport, Infrastructure Strategy and the Local Plan and the Portfolio Holder for Environment and Green Issues were all noted.

 

The Leader welcomed members to “the new normal”. She thanked all staff for their efforts during the pandemic and gave examples of many staff going above and beyond their usual responsibilities during these difficult times. This was followed by a round of applause from members.

 

C5

Questions to the Leader, Members of the Executive and Committee Chairs (up to 30 minutes) pdf icon PDF 163 KB

To receive questions from members for the Executive and committee chairmen.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Councillor Dean referred to Question 2. He said that the written answers provided by the Leader had not fully addressed all the questions. He referred to his question relating to the trajectory towards the established aim of 183 council homes and to the position at Auton Croft.

 

The Leader said that she hoped that the HRA Business Plan would move forward in this week, that Housing Board had agreed that Auton Croft would move forward and that a further 33 council homes were required to achieve the target. She said that she considered that all other questions had been answered and referred Councillor Dean to the next meeting of the Housing Board.

 

Councillor Khan referred to Question 1. He raised a number of points for clarification.

 

He noted that the Leader`s response had stated that operational issues had been addressed by officers since the partnership started two years ago. He said that nobody at Uttlesford seemed to be aware of the issues or their urgency until the new Chief Executive took up his role, and he asked the Leader whether, within her role sitting on the partnership board, she had addressed these concerns and if not why not. He said that the matter demonstrated the failure of the administration to put in place robust contract management arrangements for such contracts and partnerships.

 

He acknowledged that the Chief Executive had reported to GAP that a post would be created within the budget and he asked when an experienced contact manager would be recruited. He said that the Housing Board had not been notified of the problems with Uttlesford NORSE and he asked the Leader to commit to ensuring that the management information was provided to each Housing Board meeting so that members could have an overview of the performance of Uttlesford NORSE.

 

He also said that the Leader had failed to provide an answer to his question regarding value for money and quality of service delivered by Uttlesford NORSE and requested a response in writing to Councillors as part of the minutes of the meeting.

 

He asked the following questions:

·         What return did Uttlesford receive for each £1 invested in this partnership?

·         How were savings reinvested?

·         What outcomes were being achieved?

 

The Leader said that she did not have a problem with providing the management information to the Housing Board if it fell within their remit and confirmed that operational issues were raised with the partnership board.

 

She confirmed that the minutes of the Housing Board meetings were available on the website and include details of profit made by NORSE. She offered to provide further details and Councillor Khan requested that the Leader provide information on what value Uttlesford District Council gets for every £1 spent on the Uttlesford NORSE partnership, how much was reinvested in frontline services and how the quality of service was assessed.

 

Councillor Khan noted his assumption that the Uttlesford NORSE partnership had been entered to achieve better quality and to save money and said that UDC  ...  view the full minutes text for item C5

C6

Matters referred from the Executive and the Council's committees

To consider any reports referred from the Executive and the Council’s committees and receive questions and answers on any of those reports.

Minutes:

The Chair said that all matters had been included as standalone items on the agenda; namely the Planning Committee Working Group Recommendations report which had been recommended for approval by the GAP Committee.

 

C7

Matters received about joint arrangements and external organisations

To consider matters concerning joint arrangements and external organisations.

Minutes:

None received.

 

C8

Planning Committee Working Group Recommendations pdf icon PDF 178 KB

To consider the report regarding the Planning Committee Working Group Recommendations relating to the Constitution.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Councillor Merifield summarised the report that made recommendations to change the Constitution. She highlighted some typos in the report that would be corrected. She outlined each of the four recommendations and proposed their acceptance.

 

Councillor Lemon seconded the motion and thanked the Interim Transformation Lead for all her work in the Planning area.

 

Councillor Light stated her opposition to mandatory training sessions as outlined in Appendix 2 of the report and said that this training should be voluntary. She said that she valued appropriate training.

 

Councillors Criscione, Tayler, Driscoll, Freeman and Lemon all spoke in support of the principle of mandatory training.

 

Councillor Merifield replied at the end of the debate. She highlighted that the training would be available to all members and they were all encouraged to attend.

 

The Chair moved to a vote.

 

RESOLVED to approve the four recommendations below:

 

Recommendation 1.  That the changes to the call in protocol (exact  wording) as set out in Appendix 1 should be approved as changes to the Constitution.

Appendix 1

 

Extract Part 5 Codes and Protocols

 

2. Procedure for calling in an application

 

2.1. Any member of the council may call in an application which would fall

to be dealt with by officers under delegated powers regardless of where

the application site is situated within the District.

 

2.2. If a member is considering calling in an application for a site in a ward

in respect of which that member is not a ward member then before calling

in the application the member shall inform the member or members for

that ward of the intention to do so.

 

2.3. A request for a planning application to be called in

must be:-

2.3.1. In writing (including e-mail);

2.3.2. Made within4 weeks of the validation date (which may be ascertained from the Council’s website):

2.3.3. State if the application is to be called in if the officer

recommendation is for approval or refusal (but not both);

2.3.4. Give valid planning reasons for requesting that the application be

called in.

 

Recommendation 2   That the changes to Member Training Requirements (exact wording) as set out at Appendix 2 should be approved as changes to the Constitution.

Appendix 2

 

Current wording:

Officers will arrange training on planning issues. All members of the Council will be invited to attend. All members of the Planning Committee should attend.

 

To be replaced with:

Officers will arrange an annual basic mandatory training session for Councillors who are members or substitute members of Planning Committee. This training must be undertaken before participating in decision making at Planning Committee. All members of the Council who are not on Planning Committee or a substitute member of planning committee will be invited to attend on a voluntary basis.  Officers will arrange and offer (in consultation with the Chair of Planning) a programme of topic focussed training to run throughout the year.  Topics to include review of decision made, visits to implemented schemes and updates on changes to planning law.  

 

Recommendation 3   That  ...  view the full minutes text for item C8

C9

Member Motion: Provision for Remote and Hybrid Meetings pdf icon PDF 71 KB

To consider the Member motion regarding the provision for a remote and hybrid meetings.

Minutes:

Councillor Lees presented the cross-party motion regarding provision for remote and hybrid meetings and proposed the motion set out on the agenda.

 

Councillor Caton formally seconded the motion and it was made clear that it had the support of all Group Leaders.

 

Councillors Caton, Smith, Isham and Criscione all spoke in support of the motion highlighting the benefits of greater flexibility, making significant savings on travel time and the benefits of modern technology.

 

Councillor Lees replied at the end of the debate.

 

The Chair moved to a vote. The resolution was carried unanimously.

 

RESOLVED that: This Council supports the petition launched by ADSO and LLG on 5 January 2022 with regard to giving councils discretion in future to hold remote and hybrid meetings alongside in person meetings. We agree to write to the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities calling on the Government to change the law to allow councils the flexibility to hold such meetings when they deem appropriate within agreed rules and procedures.

 

C10

Member Motion: River Pollution pdf icon PDF 83 KB

To consider the Member motion regarding River Pollution.

Minutes:

Councillor Pavitt presented his motion regarding river pollution. He outlined the current concerns and indicated that there was cross-party support for the motion. He proposed the motion as set out on the agenda.

 

Councillor Emanuel seconded the motion and raised specific concerns about the lack of water in Newport.

 

Councillor Isham spoke in support of the motion and noted that the River Chelmer was dying and there was a lack of fish life.

 

Councillor Criscione urged members to visit Flitch Green and noted that there were issues with sewage after rainfall and expressed concerns about both the River Chelmer and Stebbing Brook with a clear need for monitoring to take place.

 

Councillor Evans declared that he did own a length of Stebbing Brook and suggested that the letter be also sent to the local MP to seek active support.

 

Councillor Caton raised concerns about the River Stort and the Stansted Mountfitchet waste unit. He suggested that the Water companies could provide additional funding to enhance the Environment Agency in preference to bonuses and dividends.

 

Councillor Foley referred to the lessons learned from privatisation.

 

Councillor Pavitt replied at the end of the date; he referred to the fact that not all sewage treatment plants were monitored as well as the situation with regards to the two rare chalk streams. He accepted the additional proposal to also send a copy of the letter to the local MP.

 

The Chair moved to a vote. The resolution was carried unanimously (Councillor Smith took no part in the debate as per his declaration).

 

RESOLVED that: Council notes that it is evident from national reports that rather than less frequently, raw or partially-treated sewage is entering waterways at ever greater frequency.

 

This is of particular concern as we enter summer and people, especially children, play in the rivers.

 

Uttlesford is the source of 4 important rivers, two of which are classified as rare chalk streams including the iconic River Cam.

 

Sample testing and visual reports indicate that these rivers are polluted beyond legal limits.

 

            Local authorities need support to protect public health and river ecology.

 

Council calls on the Chief Executive to write to Environment Secretary George Eustice asking that he boosts funding for the Environment Agency (EA) in order to support more inspections of rivers, water recycling centres and the performance of water companies in Uttlesford. This letter will also be copied to Kemi Badenoch, MP for Saffron Walden.

 

It would be appropriate for the EA's budget to be restored to pre-2010 levels to enable more prosecutions of offenders and for the EA to fund councils to develop schemes to stop pollutants entering rivers.

 

 

The meeting ended at 8.16 pm.