In accordance with the Council Procedure Rules, all questions –
v Must be relevant to an item which the Council has powers or duties;
v Must not relate to an item which is included elsewhere on the Agenda
v Should be limited to obtaining information or pressing for action; and
v Should not exceed two minutes in duration.
Questions should not divulge or require to be divulged, confidential or exempt information.
Contact:30 Minutes.
Minutes:
With reference to the recent tree planting in St Neots as part of the Queen’s Green Canopy project, Councillor B S Chapman commented on the positive work which had been undertaken in partnership with St Neots Town and Cambridgeshire County Council. Having been urged to visit the area and view the work herself, the Executive Councillor for Open Spaces, Waste and Street Scene Councillor S L Taylor welcomed the collaborative work that had been undertaken and undertook to visit shortly.
Councillor C Gleadow, speaking as the local member for the St Ives South ward sought clarification regarding the steps which were being taken to mitigate against a perceived increase in the numbers of homeless people living in temporary accommodation. In response to which the Executive Councillor for Resident Services and Corporate Services explained that the statistics were monitored on a quarterly basis as part of the Council’s regular performance monitoring. There were two ways in which the Council attempts to keep numbers down, the first by bringing more affordable houses online whilst the Council’s homelessness team worked hard to prevent homelessness from occurring in the first place. Councillor Ferguson explained that there had been a slight decrease in numbers during the previous quarter, however he undertook to establish the current figures to ensure that if there had been an increase that this was being reacted to in the best possible way. Councillor Ferguson went on to reiterate that homelessness continues to be a financial risk to the Council and for those that found themselves homeless it continued to be an awful situation.
With reference to the recent consultations on the Local Plan, Councillor C A Lowe expressed her concerns regarding the difficulties experienced by residents in completing the online forms which may have deterred individuals from responding to the consultation. She also expressed concerns regarding the volume of information presented as part of the consultation, the absence of any area specific drop-in sessions and the number of consultations being undertaken at one time. In response to which, the Executive Councillor for Planning Councillor T Sanderson explained that it was recognised that there had been some issues with the online forms and feedback had been provided to the company used, who had also been asked to review the lessons learnt from the process. In terms of responses received, the Executive Councillor was pleased to report that a total of 5469 responses had been received, together with 210 emails which were still being processed and 2 petitions. This was significantly more than those received from the consultation on the last stage of the previous Local Plan and a tribute to the Planning Team, local Members and the Town and Parish Councils. With reference to the comments made concerning a requirement for bespoke area specific consultation events, the Executive Councillor explained that the consultation was intended to obtain feedback on the plan for the entire District area.
Having commented on the fact that the increase in responses received might be a reflection of local people’s concerns about housing development in the area in light of the forthcoming National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), Councillor J A Gray asked the Executive Councillor for Planning for his view on the increased housing targets set by the new government. In response to which, Councillor Sanderson explained that he was pleased with the Council’s current record in building affordable housing and complying with the current NPPF. He acknowledged that the new NPPF would increase the targets for the District, however care need to be taken to ensure that the Authority didn’t fall back into the ‘tilted balance’. He also recognised the concerns of local people about increased development within the area and whilst the District had no firm plans in place at the current time, he agreed that it was a reflection as to why responses had been higher to the Local Plan consultation. However, despite the increased Government targets, he was confident that the Council would be able to meet them.
Councillor R Martin questioned whether the Administration intended to bring forward proposals to utilise the new powers relating to high street rental auctions which had been made possible under the Levelling Up and Regeneration Act 2023 and came into effect on 2nd December 2024. In response, the Deputy Executive Leader Councillor S Wakeford explained that now the secondary legislation had been enacted, the Administration would be looking at the opportunities that were provided in line with the Council’s priorities. In response to a supplementary question, Councillor Wakeford indicated that he was not prepared to commit to a timeline as to when the matter would be considered within the democratic process, however he reiterated that some initial discussions had already been held and the Administration would commit to considering how best to utilise these powers now that the Government had brought them into force.
Councillor A R Jennings sought clarification as to whether the Christmas Tree Doorstep recycling programme which was raising money for the East Anglian Children’s Hospice would be available to all residents, or only to those who had subscribed to the green bin subscription service. The Executive Councillor for Open Spaces, Waste and Street Scene undertook to respond to the Councillor outside of the meeting.
With reference to the recent Call for Sites and in response to a question from Councillor D Mickelburgh, the Executive Councillor for Planning provided an update to Members on the process for consideration of those sites which were submitted to the Council after the original deadline. As part of which, the Council were reminded that the Planning Team had opened an ongoing call for sites on 1st October 2024, which would run until 31st December 2024. Members were informed that any sites received would be addressed using the usual methodology and would be subject to a separate consultation to enable local communities to have their say before the preferred options are issues. Members were also advised that sites which were discounted by the Council’s Local Planning Policy Advisory Group were still contained within the documentation for Members to view.
In response to a request from Councillor C H Tevlin for an update on the latest planning service statistics, the Executive Councillor for Planning provided an update for the Council. In doing so, Members noted that 89.7% of major applications had been processed on time, against a target of 82%. The statistics for minor applications were just below target, so there was room for improvement although household applications had been processed at a rate of 97%. Councillor Sanderson also undertook to provide feedback on the methodology used within the Local Plan Process to Fenstanton Parish Council and any other Parish Council who requested it.