Agenda, decisions and minutes

The retiring Chairman welcomed all returning and newly elected Councillors and asked that they work together with officers and respect each other.  He thanked his retiring Vice Chairman and officers for supporting him in his year of office.

He called for nominations for the position of Chairman of Council.

Councillor Henry Hobhouse, seconded by Councillor Peter Gubbins nominated Councillor Paul Maxwell as Chairman of the Council.

Councillor Linda Vijeh, seconded by Councillor Nick Colbert, proposed Councillor Colin Winder as Chairman of Council. 

A vote was taken and Councillor Paul Maxwell was declared elected as Chairman of Council (voting: Paul Maxwell: 36, Colin Winder: 13, 1 abstention).  It was therefore:

Following his appointment Councillor Maxwell read and signed the formal declaration of acceptance of office, and thanked Members for their support

The Chairman welcomed all Councillors to their first meeting and proposed that Councillor Jenny Kenton be appointed to the position of Vice Chairman of Council. This was seconded by Councillor John Clark.

Councillor Linda Vijeh, seconded by Councillor Sue Osborne, proposed Councillor Gina Seaton as Vice Chairman of Council. 

A vote was taken and Councillor Jenny Kenton was declared elected as Vice Chairman of Council (voting: Jenny Kenton: 36, Gina Seaton: 12, 2 abstentions).  It was therefore:

Following her appointment Councillor Kenton read and signed the formal declaration of acceptance of office, and thanked Members for their support

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Ben Hodgson, Michael Lewis, Tricia O’Brien, Dean Ruddle, Garry Shortland, Alan Smith, Gerard Tucker and Martin Wale.

To approve and sign the minutes of the previous meeting held on Thursday, 21 March 2019.

Due to their late publication, the signing of the minutes of the last meeting of Council were deferred to a future meeting. 

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 made by Members.

The Council were addressed by two members of the public and two students regarding Agenda item 12: Motion to Declare a Climate and Ecological Emergency.  Their comments included:

·         I would remind you of Sir David Attenborough’s speech at the opening ceremony of United Nations-sponsored climate talks in December 2018 when he said “If we don't take action, the collapse of our civilisations and the extinction of much of the natural world is on the horizon”

·         We urge you to plant 100,000 trees this year, review your Local Plan and Carbon Reduction Plan and work with Somerset County Council to establish a Citizens Assembly as many local residents will respond positively to help you.

·         I want you to be aware the planet is in danger and the ice is melting fast. 

·         We have declared an emergency on climate change and it is time to put the fire out.

·         We can all take individual responsibility to reduce, reuse and recycle but it is not enough.  You have the power to make plans and bring in policies.

·         The Met Office predict a 1m rise in sea level which could mean the loss of parts of the Somerset Levels.  This could be a 2m rise by 2100.

·         We urge you to show leadership by pledging to make the district of South Somerset carbon neutral by 2025 and act now by planting trees.  The future of the planet and much of Somerset is in your hands.

The Chairman thanked the immediate retiring Chairman, Councillor Tony Capozzoli, and, the immediate retiring Vice-Chairman, Councillor Mike Best for their service. 

He also advised of the sudden death of ex-District Councillor Adrian Cavendish who was the Ward Member for Eggwood from 2003 to 2007 and also Chairman of Hinton St George Parish Council.  He said Mr Cavendish had worked passionately for his community and would be greatly missed.

He welcomed the newly elected District Councillors to their first Council meeting and hoped they would find the role both rewarding and enjoyable.

He concluded by paying tribute to Councillors Derek Yeomans and Andrew Turpin who had unsuccessfully sought re-election to the Council. 

The list of Chairman’s Engagements was noted.

Council agreed to:-

Recommendation (1) – to agree the appointment of Leader of the Council

Recommendation (2) – to agree the appointment of Deputy Leader of the Council

Recommendation (3) - Appointment of Membership and establishment of District Executive Committee

Recommendation (4) – Re-establishment of member level bodies for 2019/20

Recommendation (5) - Appoint Members to Member-Level Bodies

The Leader of Council stated that the new Portfolio Holders responsibilities would be aligned to the Council Plan themes and Areas of focus for 2019/20.  In response to a question she advised that very recent MHCLG advice said that authorities should consider a member’s experience, expertise, interests, ability to act impartially, ability to work as part of a group, and capacity to serve as well as the ability to lead and build a sense of teamwork and consensus among committee members when appointing Chairmen of Scrutiny Committees.

The Leader of the Conservative Group, Councillor Linda Vijeh, ask for her groups disappointment be recorded that the Area Committees would not be afforded the opportunity to appoint their own Chairman.

During discussion the following points were made:

·         Councillors appointed as Chairmen and Vice Chairmen of Committees should all undertake the Chairing Skills training courses offered.

·         Councillors and any potential substitutes on the Audit, Licensing and Regulation Committees must undergo the full training for these committees.

·         The Independent Members’ Remuneration Panel should be reconvened to review the current Members Allowance Scheme.

The Chairman asked for Members to consider each recommendation individually and it was resolved that:-

Recommendation (1) – to agree the appointment of Leader of the Council

It was proposed by Councillor Peter Gubbins and seconded by Councillor Anthony Vaughan that Councillor Val Keitch be appointed Leader of the Council.  On being put to the vote, the motion was carried.  It was therefore:

Recommendation (2) – appointment of Deputy Leader of the Council

Recommendations (3 & 4) - Appointment of Membership and establishment of District Executive Committee

Recommendation (5) – Re-establishment of member level bodies for 2019/20

Recommendation (6) - Appoint  ...  view the full minutes text for item 9.

The Leader of Council advised that the decision had been taken urgently to secure the tenant who could bring up to 100 jobs to the area.

In response to questions, the Chief Executive and the Director for Commercial Services & Income Generation confirmed that:-

·         heads of terms had been agreed with the tenant but no money would be expended until the lease terms were agreed with the tenant.

·         the fit-out works were for the benefit of the Landlord (YIC) not the tenant, but necessary for the tenant to be able to occupy the accommodation and pay the proposed rent.  This included basics such as carpets, plug sockets and lights. These would be a permanent benefit to the YIC, not the tenant if they should leave the premises in future.

There was no debate and Council noted the decision taken by the Chief Executive in consultation with Council Leader.

The report of Executive decisions taken since the last meeting of Council was noted.

Councillor Henry Hobhouse proposed his Motion to Council which was seconded by Councillor Mike Hewitson.  He said that a strategy would take time to be drawn up and all SSDC owned buildings would be carbon neutral by 2023.  He also confirmed that:-

·         although the Government were increasing VAT on solar panels, SSDC would investigate funding a proportion of this for local residents. 

·         the pension scheme investments would be reviewed.

·         the Strategy would be developed in partnership with other Councils.

The Leader of Council said that as a responsible Council, they would work towards doing all they could to mitigate climate change however, they could not solve all the problems on their own although this was no reason for inaction.  She said the Council was now in a financial position to invest in its community and they would commit additional resource to deliver the amended recommendations.  She proposed that recommendation 3 be amended so that the Strategy document be prepared by Autumn 2019 to allow sufficient time for officers to research evidence and for Members and others to be engaged in the development of the strategy.

Councillor Linda Vijeh said the Strategy document should have clear targets and it should be drawn up in liaison with other Councils and interested members of the Extinction Rebellion group. 

During discussion, several Members expressed their support for the Motion and for proposals to plant trees, invest in electric vehicle charging points and solar panels.

Councillor Henry Hobhouse concluded by urging Members to support the motion and asked that interested public groups be included in the meetings to discuss the Strategy. The amended Motion was put to the vote and unanimously carried.

(Voting: unanimous in favour)

There have been no questions submitted by Members under Procedure Rule 10.

There were no questions submitted by Members under Procedure Rule 10.

Members noted that the next scheduled meeting of the Full Council was a reserve date of 20^th June 2019. 

Unless there was any urgent business to progress on this date, the next scheduled meeting of the Full Council would take place on Thursday, 18^th July 2019 in the Council Chamber, Council Offices, Brympton Way, Yeovil commencing at 7.30 p.m.