The Chairman to respond to the following questions received from members of the public for which notice has been given in accordance with Procedure Rule 10:-
i. from Patrick Haveron of Godalming
“It is both Government and Conservative Party policy that Local Authorities determine their own housing targets. Could the Leader and the Portfolio Holder for Planning explain who in Government keeps writing to Waverley with increased housing numbers?"
ii. from David Beaman of Farnham
"The detailed budget papers for 2015/16 reveal that an estimated £1,662,360 will be received in New Homes Bonus as a direct grant from Central Government and will account for 11.8% of WBC's revenue and represents an increased grant of £279,460 over the final estimate of New Homes Bonus expected to be received in the current 2014/15 year. Why is no reference made to this increased Government grant in WBC's Council Tax information leaflet in which the only statement relates to the reduction in Revenue Support Grant which incidentally is 25% and not almost 30%?".
iii. from Jerry Hyman of Farnham
"The word we hear from the City is that the funding offer for CNS' Brightwells scheme is substantially reduced from expected, perhaps only half that necessary, due to the scheme's mix (or 'balance') being commercially unviable without public subsidy, and hence there is concern that to proceed would present a major risk to both council tax payers and to Farnham's environment, as the Council would in effect be requiring that CNS brings forward a major redesign and balancing of the scheme post-commencement.
In such situations, a safeguard exists in the public's ability to resort to the Courts on EIA and Habitats grounds, and also in the legal requirement that the land cannot be disposed of for less than 'best consideration' unless referred to the Secretary of State - but unfortunately the conditional contract appears to allow for financial/viability conditions to be waived, and it is possible that the Council would consider the matter of 'best consideration' in Exempt session, such that the public you serve may be deprived of the benefit of the transparency necessary to ensure probity and legal compliance in relation to the land value; and so in view of these concerns and the expectation of transparency in major public projects, will the Council please assure us that were it to decide to risk proceeding, and if it makes CNS' contract unconditional in order to allow CNS to commence demolition and development at Brightwells, then the terms and financial figures agreed in the Contract (and in particular the land value decided upon) will be made public immediately following such a decision?”. Thank you."
[NB. Questions from members of the public express personal views of the questioners and Waverley does not endorse any statements in any way and they do not reflect the views of Waverley Borough Council].
Minutes:
The following questions were received from members of the public in accordance with Procedure Rule 10:-
i. from Patrick Haveron of Godalming
“It is both Government and Conservative Party policy that Local Authorities determine their own housing targets. Could the Leader and the Portfolio Holder for Planning explain who in Government keeps writing to Waverley with increased housing numbers?"
The Planning Portfolio Holder replied as follows:-
“The Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) guided by the Office of National Statistics (ONS) regularly publish updates to the projections for household and population growth by borough. Each time this is done, Councils are required by the NPPF to consider their ability to meet this alleged need. Councils translate these numbers into housing numbers and distribution. Failure to achieve these numbers can lead to an Inspector finding the Local Plan unsound.
When the Government says that local authorities determine their own needs, it is referring to the landscape, environmental and sustainability issues clarified in the NPPF and NPPG which can act as a constraint on the potential land available for building. Consequently the housing number that is deliverable is reduced.”
ii. from David Beaman of Farnham
"The detailed budget papers for 2015/16 reveal that an estimated £1,662,360 will be received in New Homes Bonus as a direct grant from Central Government and will account for 11.8% of WBC's revenue and represents an increased grant of £279,460 over the final estimate of New Homes Bonus expected to be received in the current 2014/15 year. Why is no reference made to this increased Government grant in WBC's Council Tax information leaflet in which the only statement relates to the reduction in Revenue Support Grant which incidentally is 25% and not almost 30%?"
The Portfolio Holder for Finance responded as follows:-
“Thank you for your question Mr Beaman. I’m sorry but you appear to have got the wrong end of the stick. Waverley has been extremely prudent in its use of the New Homes Bonus and I’ll explain why.
Firstly let me by crystal clear in that Waverley has never made a secret of the New Homes Bonus, in fact, it is a key feature of our published financial strategy. The reason that it is not mentioned in the council tax leaflet is because, unlike many other councils, Waverley do not use it simply to balance our books. Given that the new homes bonus is in fact a short term funding measure with an uncertain future, I’m sure you will agree that this is a very prudent approach by us.
I think Waverley’s policy is to use the new homes bonus to invest in new and improved services and facilities for our residents and we try to ensure that these either reduce running costs or increase income – the leisure centre refurbishments and improvements to the recycling service are two recent examples. The return on our investment using New Homes Bonus at our Leisure Centres equates to some 4.5% which is far in excess of what we could earn in the bank. This policy helps us to balance our budget in the long term which, in the light of major cuts to our revenue support grant, I’m sure you will agree is good news for our council tax payers.
Finally, you have questioned the percentage reduction. I can confirm that Waverley’s revenue support grant, excluding the 2014/15 council tax freeze grant which the Government includes in the total figure, has reduced by £619,000 in 2015/16 which is a 30% reduction compared to the previous year.”
iii. from Jerry Hyman of Farnham
"The word we hear from the City is that the funding offer for CNS' Brightwells scheme is substantially reduced from expected, perhaps only half that necessary, due to the scheme's mix (or 'balance') being commercially unviable without public subsidy, and hence there is concern that to proceed would present a major risk to both council tax payers and to Farnham's environment, as the Council would in effect be requiring that CNS brings forward a major redesign and balancing of the scheme post-commencement.
In such situations, a safeguard exists in the public's ability to resort to the Courts on EIA and Habitats grounds, and also in the legal requirement that the land cannot be disposed of for less than 'best consideration' unless referred to the Secretary of State - but unfortunately the conditional contract appears to allow for financial/viability conditions to be waived, and it is possible that the Council would consider the matter of 'best consideration' in Exempt session, such that the public you serve may be deprived of the benefit of the transparency necessary to ensure probity and legal compliance in relation to the land value; and so in view of these concerns and the expectation of transparency in major public projects, will the Council please assure us that were it to decide to risk proceeding, and if it makes CNS' contract unconditional in order to allow CNS to commence demolition and development at Brightwells, then the terms and financial figures agreed in the Contract (and in particular the land value decided upon) will be made public immediately following such a decision? Thank you."
The Leader of the Council replied as follows:-
“I can assure Mr Hyman that Waverley will follow due process and meet statutory requirements relating to the publication of information supporting a key decision, having regard to commercial sensitivity and the need to protect Waverley’s contractual position. Financial and contractual information will be available once the contract with the developer is unconditional. Achieving best consideration is not an option, it is a legal requirement so Waverley will undertake all of the necessary due diligence that is necessary to support a decision of this importance.”