Agenda and minutes

To confirm the Minutes of the Council meetings held on 15 May 2018 (herewith).

The Minutes of the Meeting of the Council held on 15 May 2018 were confirmed and signed.

The Mayor to report apologies for absence.

Apologies for absence had been received from the Mayor, Cllr Denise Le Gal, who was in Yorkshire to attend her daughter’s graduation ceremony.

Apologies for absence were also received from Cllrs John Fraser, Pat Frost, Mike Hodge, Peter Martin, Nabeel Nasir, Libby Piper, Stefan Reynolds, Ross Welland, and Nick Williams.

To receive from Members, declarations of interest in relation to any items included on the agenda for this meeting in accordance with the Waverley Code of Local Government Conduct.

Cllr Wyatt Ramsdale declared a pecuniary interest in relation to Minute EXE 5/18 in Part 2 of the Executive Minutes of 5 June 2018, relating to BOOM Credit Union, as he is a Director of BOOM Credit Union.

The Deputy Mayor welcomed Cllr David Beaman to the Council, and congratulated him on his success at the recent by-election.

Both the Mayor and the Deputy Mayor had been very busy since taking up their roles in May. The Deputy Mayor had been to 16 events already, including performances of The Lion King at Parkmead School, and Les Miserables at Broadwater School that showcased incredibly talented students.

The highlight so far had been Armed Forces Day at Guildford Cathedral, and it had been a delight and privilege to attend this event.

To answer the following questions from members of the public, received in accordance with Procedure Rule 10:

There had been no questions from members of the public.

To answer any questions received in accordance with Procedure Rule 11.2.

The following question had been received from Cllr John Ward:

“Question to the Leader and Portfolio Holders for Planning & Finance:

Further to the helpful information imparted to the Town's representatives at the recent (9th July) Parish and Town Council Planning Forum please provide me with the following information for the last 5 years:-

The total amount of money, in respect of s106 Contributions, SPA mitigation and other Fees from developers collected by Waverley Borough Council and also the amounts of these which remain unspent;

Please split these up into money held for 1 year, 3 years and 5 years.

Also please inform me of the amount returned to developers as unspent during the last 5 years.

I would appreciate your assistance,

John A. Ward”

In response to Cllr Ward’s question, the following information had been provided:

To receive any motions submitted in accordance with Procedure Rule 12.1.

No motions had been received.

To receive the Minutes of the Executive held on 5 June 2018 (coloured grey), and approve the following recommendation within:

Recommendation

EXE 5/18         Financial Out-turn Report 2017/18

The Executive RECOMMENDS to Council that £200,000 of additional investment property income be transferred to a Commercial Property Income Risk Fund to protect against future income risk.

It was moved by the Leader of the Council, duly seconded, and

RESOLVED        that the Minutes of the Executive held on 5 June 2018 be received and noted.

The Leader reported that there was one item under Part I for consideration by Council:

Minute EXE 5/18, Financial Out-turn for 2017/18

The Leader drew attention to the positive financial out-turn for 2017/18 and the impact of property investment income on the surplus achieved.

It was moved by the Leader, duly seconded, and

RESOLVED        that £200,000 of additional investment property income be transferred to a Commercial Property Income Risk Fund to protect against future income risk.

The following Members had given notice to speak on matters of report set out in Part II of the Executive Minutes of 5 June 2018:

(Cllr Ramsdale withdrew from the Council Chamber)

EXE 6/18, Boom Credit Union - Cllr Mike Band said how pleased he was that the Council was continuing its support of Boom Credit Union, which provided such a valuable service to Waverley residents.

(Cllr Ramsdale returned to the Council Chamber)

EXE 7/18, Alfold FC Ground Improvement – Cllrs Wyatt Ramsdale and Ged Hall said how pleased they were that the Council was supporting the improvement of Alfold Football Club’s ground, which would enable the club to gain promotion to the next division.

EXE 8/18, Capital Expenditure Process – Cllr Mike Band thanked the Executive for their endorsement of the Value for Money & Customer Service Overview & Scrutiny Committee’s report on the Capital Expenditure process and management. He also thanked officers for their openness in discussions with the O&S Task & Finish Group Members, which had enabled robust recommendations to be developed.

Cllr Ged Hall commended the Overview & Scrutiny Committee for their work on this topic, which would make a positive contribution to improving service delivery going forward.

There were no further statements from Members and the Leader concluded her presentation of the Minutes of the Executive of 5 June 2018.

To receive the Minutes of the Executive held on 10 July 2018 (coloured grey) [to follow], and approve the recommendations within.

It was moved by the Leader of the Council, duly seconded, and

RESOLVED        that the Minutes of the Executive held on 10 July 2018 be received and noted.

The Leader reported that there were four items under Part I for consideration by Council:

Minute EXE 18/18, Corporate Strategy 2018-23

The Leader introduced the draft Corporate Strategy for 2018-23. The new Strategy for the Council had been developed through consultation with key stakeholders, and it emphasised the importance of collaborative working with partners to achieve outcomes for Waverley communities and residents. Service Plans, budgets and staff performance agreements would all align with the high-level objectives set out in the Corporate Strategy, and it would be monitored by the Executive, Overview & Scrutiny and Management Board.

Cllr Follows noted the goals for increasing the amount of affordable housing in the borough, but noted that there needed to be a range of housing options that were genuinely ‘affordable’ for key workers.

Cllr Hyman welcomed the new Strategy, but questioned how traffic improvements from the Brightwells regeneration scheme would deliver improvements to air quality in Farnham. Cllr Hyman also welcomed the commitments set out under ‘how we work’, and asked that the Council demonstrate this in relation to information he had requested with regard to Brightwells planning applications.

Cllr Goodridge commended the new Strategy, which he felt was clear, readable and easily understood. Cllr Gray similarly commended the Strategy which was clear, incisive, and would enable the Council to be held to account.

In summing up, the Leader welcomed the support of Members for the new Corporate Strategy. She acknowledged Cllr Follows’ concerns about delivering truly affordable housing and the challenge this would be for the Council, and this was not something that the Council would be able to tackle alone.

It was moved by the Leader of the Council, duly seconded, and

RESOLVED      that the draft Corporate Strategy 2018-23 including the amendments (below) proposed by the Executive, be adopted.

1) bullet point 4, page 2, to read, “Extreme and hidden disparities in economic, social and health experiences”,

2) ‘Place’ goal 3: “Encourage our residents to improve the quality of recycling and the DEFRA recycling rate to 56% by 2023.

                            (Minute reference CNL 22.1/18)

Minute EXE 19/18, Statement of Licensing Policy 2018-23

The Leader introduced the revised Statement of Licensing Policy for 2018-23. The Council was required to have a Statement of Licensing Policy and to review this at least every 5 years. The current Policy had been adopted in 2013, and the revised version reflected changes in legislation and latest guidance.

Cllr Bolton commented as Portfolio Holder for Licensing, that there were only minor changes to the Licensing Policy, and there had been no substantive feedback to the consultation. The emphasis continued to be on promoting the four Licensing objectives.

It was moved by the Leader of the Council, duly seconded, and

RESOLVED      that the revised Statement of Licensing Policy for Waverley, 2018-2023, be adopted and implemented with effect from 1 August 2018.

                            (Minute  ...  view the full minutes text for item CNL22/18

To receive the Minutes of the meeting of the Licensing and Regulatory Committee held on 18 June 2018 (coloured bright green).

The Chairman of the Committee advised Council that there were no matters to be considered in Part I, and there had been no requests from Members to speak on matters of report in Part II.

It was moved by the Chairman of the Committee, duly seconded and

RESOLVED        that the Minutes of the Licensing and Regulatory Committee held on 18 June 2018 be received and noted.

To receive the Minutes of the Standards Panel held on 11 June 2018 (coloured cream), and approve the following recommendations contained within:

Recommendations

Minute STD 7/18       Membership of the Standards Panel

The Standards Panel RECOMMENDS to Council that Article 9 of Waverley’s Constitution be amended to designate the Standards Panel as the Standards Committee, and the membership of 9 Waverley members be allocated on a politically proportional basis.

Reason for the recommendation: designating the Panel as a Standards Committee reflects that its role is wider than being just a standing panel of members to determine Code of Conduct investigation.

Minute STD 8/18       Constitution – Responsibility for Functions – Joint Planning Committee

The Standards Panel RECOMMENDS to Council that the wording shown below in bold be added to the Joint Planning Committee Responsibility for Functions in Part 3 of Waverley’s Constitution:

The proposed role of the Joint Planning Committee as distinct from the Area Planning Committees would be to consider applications or issues referred to it for the following reasons:

a. To make decisions on the administrative and procedural matters affecting the processing of applications. E.g. report formats, information specifications etc.

b. To review all housing schemes which propose a net increase of more than 25 dwellings, where the recommendation is for permission to be granted

c. To consider applications defined as major, as defined by the Government(10 or more units of residential accommodation, more than 1,000 sqm commercial floorspace and site area of more than 1 hectare) and which, in the judgement of the Chief Executive, after consultation withthe Head of Planning and the appropriate Area Planning Committee Chairman, meet the following criteria

i. have a significant planning impact beyond the Area in which

they are situated, and/or

ii. are of strategic importance, and/or

iii. involve new planning issues for the borough; and/or

iv. is a revised application for parcel of land within a development with an extant planning permission previously determined by Joint Planning Committee that increases the total number of dwellings on the total site;and/or

v. is a revision to an extant planning permission that brings the total number of dwellings on a site to 25 or more; or

d. Where within three weeks of the application appearing on the Waverley weekly list of planning applications, the Chairman and Vice-Chairman of the relevant Area Planning Committee and the ward member request that it be referred to the Joint Planning Committee and put forward relevant grounds as set out in c (i) to (iii) above, the Chief Executive and Head of Planning will normally submit the application to the Joint Planning Committee.

Reason for the recommendation: to address the concerns of Members that planning applications proposing a significant increase in the number of dwellings already permitted on a site may be determined without proper consideration by a Planning Committee.

It was moved by the Chairman of the Standards Panel, duly seconded and

RESOLVED        that the Minutes of the Standards Panel held on 11 June 2018 be received and noted.

The Chairman of the Committee advised Council that there were two matters to be considered in Part I:

Minute STD 7/18, Standards Panel Terms of Reference and Membership

The Standards Panel had reviewed the terms of reference of the Panel, and the membership. The Panel had noted that in establishing the Panel in 2012,  the intention had been for it to operate as a standing panel of Members to be called upon if there was a need for a Panel to hear a complaint against a Member. More recently, the Panel had taken on the additional responsibility of keeping under review the Council’s Constitution and Scheme of Delegation and was meeting on a regular basis. It was therefore operating as a more traditional Standards Committee and as such the membership would fall within the scope of the Regulations on political proportionality of council committees.

The Standards Panel therefore recommended to Council that Article 9 of Waverley’s Constitution be amended to designate the Standards Panel as the Standards Committee, and the membership of 9 Waverley members be allocated on a politically proportional basis.

Cllr Paul Follows thanked the Standards Panel members for considering his comments, and welcomed the proposed changes to the terms of reference and membership.

It was moved by the Chairman of the Standards Panel, duly seconded and

RESOLVED        that Article 9 of Waverley’s Constitution be amended to designate the Standards Panel as the Standards Committee, and the membership of 9 Waverley members be allocated on a politically proportional basis.

                            (Minute reference CNL 24.1/18)

Minute STD 8/18, Responsibility of Function - Joint Planning Committee

The Standards Panel had reviewed the responsibilities of the Joint Planning Committee in order to address Members’ concerns, expressed at a recent Joint Planning Committee meeting, regarding the approval route for amended applications.

The Standards Panel recommended to Council that the Responsibility for Functions in Part 3 of Waverley’s Constitution be revised to include the wording shown in bold in the attached Annexe.

It was moved by the Chairman of the Standards Panel, duly seconded and

RESOLVED        that the Joint Planning Committee’s Responsibility for Functions in Part 3 of the Waverley Constitution be amended to reflect the wording shown in the Annexe to these Minutes.

                            (Minute reference CNL 24.2/18)

There had been no requests from Members to speak on matters of report in Part II of the Minutes, and the Chairman concluded his presentation of the minutes of the meeting held on 11 June 2018.

The Local Government and Housing Act 1989 requires local authorities, where Members are divided into political groups, to review the allocation of seats on the principal committees as soon as practicable after any change the political composition of the Council, to ensure that seats are allocated in the same proportion as that in which the council as a whole is divided.

The by-election for the Farnham Castle Ward was held on 24 May 2018 and Cllr David Beaman has been elected to the Council as a Farnham Resident. In addition, the Standards Panel has recommended that the Council re-designates the Standards Panel as a politically proportional Standards Committee.

Subject to the agreement of Council to the re-designation of the Standards Panel, the calculation of proportionality and proposed allocation of committee seats is set out below

Recommendation

Council is recommended to:

1.      NOTE the proportional allocation of seats on the principal Committees and the Western Area Planning Committee following the by-election for the Farnham Castle Ward and the re-designation of the Standards Panel as a politically proportional Standards Committee.

2.      AGREE the nominations to the Principal Committees and Western Area Planning Committee for the 2018/19 year received from the political groups, as detailed in Annexe 2 [to follow].

The Leader advised Council that following the by-election for the Farnham Castle Ward held on 24 May 2018, the allocation of seats on the principal committees had been reviewed, to ensure that seats are allocated in the same political proportions as the political composition of the council as a whole.

The review of the proportional allocation of seats also reflected the previously agreed change to the Standards Panel, which as a Standards Committee would fall within the calculation of proportionality.

The Leader moved, and it was duly seconded, and

RESOLVED to    1.    Note the proportional allocation of seats on the principal Committees and the Western Area Planning Committee following the by-election for the Farnham Castle Ward and the re-designation of the Standards Panel as a politically proportional Standards Committee.

2.    Agree the nominations to the Principal Committees and Western Area Planning Committee for the 2018/19 year received from the political groups, as set out in the Council agenda.