Agenda, decisions and minutes

To approve as a correct record the minutes of the District Executive meeting held on 7^th September 2017.

Councillor Nick Weeks commented that some points made by Members at District Executive were not minuted and that the minutes appeared bland.

The Director for Support Services advised that only the decision and the reasons in taking them were required to be minuted by law, and, if other points not relevant to the item were minuted then it could be said Members had not considered the main issue of a report. 

The minutes of the District Executive meeting held on 7^th September 2017, copies of which had been circulated, were taken as read and, having been approved as a correct record, were signed by the Chairman.

There were no apologies for absence.

In accordance with the Council's current Code of Conduct (as amended 26 February 2015), which includes all the provisions relating to Disclosable Pecuniary Interests (DPI), personal and prejudicial interests, Members are asked to declare any DPI and also any personal interests (and whether or not such personal interests are also "prejudicial") in relation to any matter on the Agenda for this meeting.

Members are reminded that they need to declare the fact that they are also a member of a County, Town or Parish Council as a Personal Interest. Where you are also a member of Somerset County Council and/or a Town or Parish Council within South Somerset you must declare a prejudicial interest in any business on the agenda where there is a financial benefit or gain or advantage to Somerset County Council and/or a Town or Parish Council which would be at the cost or to the financial disadvantage of South Somerset District Council. 

There were no declarations of interest.

It was agreed that members of the public present would speak at the time the agenda item was discussed.

The Chairman advised that the Council had purchased a retail unit in Yeovil town centre, currently occupied by Marks and Spencer PLC, as part of the Council’s income generation programme. 

The Portfolio Holder for Property, Climate Change & Income Generation advised that the consequences of the Government’s proposals would affect every community transport scheme in Somerset which had a contract with Somerset County Council.

The Transport Strategy Officer advised that the Department for Transport were proposing to change the interpretation of Section 19 and Section 22 Permits for Road Passenger Transport in Great Britain.  It would affect transport schemes who tendered for work with their County Council.  Community Transport schemes would need to have fully trained drivers and managers and guarantee the viability of the scheme to comply with Public Sector Vehicle Regulations.  He recommended writing to the Department for Transport before it published any consultation to support Somerset County Council and the Community Transport schemes in the district. 

Mr T Carroll, Chairman of the South Somerset Community Accessible Transport (SSCAT) advised that if the proposals were implemented it could mean the end of community transport in Somerset and nationally.  He asked that the Council make the strongest possible representations to the Department for Transport on this issue.

Ms V Butcher of the SSVCA advised that their school contracts also funded other activities such as church lunch clubs and good fellowship clubs within Yeovil which could also be at risk.  She said the car transport scheme would also cease and there would be an impact on the wider community. 

The Portfolio Holder for Property, Climate Change & Income Generation outlined the various community transport schemes across the district and the possible effects which the proposals could have on them.  He confirmed that the request of the Scrutiny Committee to write to both local MP’s to ask for their support would be done.

In response to questions from Members, the Transport Strategy Officer confirmed that if the community transport schemes were no longer in operation then SCC would be reliant on commercial operators to tender for school transport. 

Councillor Nick Weeks noted that Area East Committee had agreed to write to their Town and Parish Councils to ask them to consider precepting a sum to support the SSCAT scheme and he suggested that this could be extended across the district.  He also suggested that S106 funding collected for travel plans should be looked at and possibly diverted to fund community transport.

At the conclusion of the debate, the Chairman agreed that he and officers would engage with officers and Members at SCC to discuss the issues with them.  It was also agreed that information from SSCAT and SSVCA on the impact of the proposed changes would be included as an appendix to the formal letter to the Department for Transport (DfT).  Copies of the letter would also be sent to the Somerset MP’s.

The Portfolio Holder for Leisure and Culture advised that the programme supported single vulnerable adults who may otherwise become homeless. She introduced Sonia Floyd, a Link Worker with Yeovil4Family. 

Ms Sonia Floyd, Family Link Worker for Yeovil4Family, provided a presentation on the work of the organisation and described how she engaged with vulnerable young adults on a weekly basis and helped them to help themselves.  She said they had been in operation since 2011 and had grown from a need in the community, recognised through the Troubled Families programme.  She said they mainly worked in Yeovil and Chard although they had a small number of referrals from Wincanton and Caste Cary. 

In response to a question, the Housing and Welfare Manager confirmed that the Community Council for Somerset were not currently part of the scheme although it was a very specialised area. 

During discussion it was noted that the funding which SSDC contributed to the project was well spent as it helped with homeless prevention and helped vulnerable young adults. 

At the conclusion of the debate, the Chairman thanked Ms Sonia Floyd, Family Link Worker for Yeovil4Family for her presentation and Members were pleased to note the report and presentation of the work of the Yeovil4Family project.

The Portfolio Holder for Strategic Planning (Place Making) advised that the Council had a statutory duty to compile an annual Authority Monitoring Report which helped to form the future vision of the Local Plan. 

The Spatial Planner advised that the information set out in the report was set out by regulation, however, it afforded an opportunity to provide a profile across the district and give a positive outlook on the Development Management service. 

During discussion, although it was noted that information on the number of residential planning permissions granted against those completed were listed in the report, it was requested that it be included in the snapshot summary at the beginning of the report. 

The Chairman of the Scrutiny Committee said they had sought clarification that the points regarding employment and house price information be included in the Local Plan Review.

At the conclusion of the debate, Members were content to endorse the Authority Monitoring Report (2017).

The Portfolio Holder for Strategic Planning (Place Making) noted that the document had been reviewed by the Local Development Scheme Board, the Scrutiny Committee and at the workshop discussion earlier that week.  She asked if there were any points missing or overlooked.  

The Chairman noted that some development sites previously not taken forward in the current Local Plan were included in the consultation document, which could be confusing to the public.  However, they were options for growth which needed to be considered as part of the process to ensure it was robust.  Not all the site options would be carried forward to the next stage. 

During discussion, it was noted that the accompanying text to each site option clearly set out the site constraints.

The Acting Principal Spatial Planner advised that the final distribution of development sites would be proposed later in the process and there may be a more different strategy for the distribution of housing and employment growth in the future.  She confirmed that there would be open public events to discuss the issues and options consultation with the public. 

In response to questions from Scrutiny Committee and Members, the Acting Principal Spatial Planner said she expected infrastructure requirements, including ensuring there was sufficient educational establishments in Yeovil to be highlighted during the consultation process.  She confirmed that as the plan progressed the information would be updated and she agreed to update the glossary to include best and most versatile agricultural land (BMV).  The table from the Annual Monitoring Report which detailed the residential property completions and commitments would be included in the consultation document and a single document including all the questions and options would be produced.

At the conclusion of the debate, Members were content to approve the consultation document on the Issues and Options identified through the Review of the Local Plan for publication and consultation with the amendments mentioned above.  The Portfolio Holder for Strategic Planning (Place Making) thanked the Acting Principal Spatial Planner and her team for their work in compiling the consultation document. 

The Portfolio for Environment, Economic Development and Transformation advised that the programme was on target and on budget.  Phase 1 was coming to a close and the transformation team were working hard to keep the programme on track.  She introduced Caron Starkey, the Strategic Lead for Transformation

The Strategic Lead for Transformation confirmed that the programme was on target to deliver the savings set out in the business case and the information learned from Phase 1 would influence the time line for Phases 2 and 3. 

In response to questions from Members, the Strategic Lead for Transformation and the Chief Executive confirmed:-

·         There had not been any suitable applicants for the Programme Manager position and it was currently being covered by the Strategic Lead for Transformation working additional hours together with support from Ignite, our Transformation partners.

·         In order to minimise the number of staff redundancies and the subsequent cost to the council, a number of staff vacancies were being held.  However, if Members felt an essential service was not being covered then advise the CEO or other members of the Senior Leadership Team.

·         The new intranet was being built and the technology to build the workflows was on track for delivery in January with a 60 day roll-out. 

·         There was a budget for staff and Members training. 

The Chairman of the Scrutiny Committee thanked the Strategic Lead for Transformation for attending their meeting and answering their questions. 

The Chairman advised that two Members from each area were needed to form a small group to discuss the locality working model, by sharing their knowledge and insights.  A Members Briefing on Transformation would take place on 19^th October to update them on Transformation and discuss locality working with all Members. 

At the conclusion of the debate, Members were pleased to note the SSDC Transformation Programme – Progress Report.

The Third Sector and Equalities Co-ordinator introduced the report and advised that there had been one successful nomination to the register (King William Pub, Curry Rivel) and one unsuccessful nomination (Great Western Pub, Yeovil).  He noted that Barrington school had been sold subject to contract and would shortly be removed from the register.  The National Trust had expressed interest in purchasing Barrington school playing field.  He concluded that a number of assets would be removed from the register in the next year as their 5 year protection period came to an end. 

During discussion, Members expressed concern that without allowing communities the right to buy a nominated asset, the protection of a community asset was limited.  The Chairman agreed to write to the Local Government Minister to again express the Council’s frustration at the lack of protection afforded by the scheme. 

At the conclusion of the debate, Members were content to note the Community Right to Bid Half Year Report – April 2017 to September 2017.

The following additions and amendments to the Forward Plan were noted:

• Urgent Executive Decision taken by the CEO – Nov 17
• SSDC Operational Property Review – Dec 17
• Proposed introduction of fees for Food Hygiene Rating re-scores – Dec 17

·         Confirmation of Neighbourhood Plan for Wincanton – moved to December 17

Members noted that the next scheduled meeting of the District Executive would take place on Thursday 2^nd November 2017 in the Council Chamber, Council Offices, Brympton Way, Yeovil commencing at 9.30 a.m.