Agenda item

To answer questions submitted by Councillors under Standing Order No. 11(2)

a)            Question from Councillor Shaw to Councillor Upton

“What is being done to progress the Gamston/Tollerton strategic site in the required timescale, in particular to provide access, given the location of the land Nottinghamshire County Council owns but is not releasing?” 

Councillor Upton confirmed that the site had been proposed by all its landowners and work continued with many stakeholders, including Highways England to progress this large housing site to planning application stage as soon as was reasonably practicable. Often with such large sites, there were many challenges and issues to resolve and that took time. However, the Council had employed a dedicated Large Sites Officer who was responsible for progressing this site as a matter of urgency, and it remained optimistic that significant progress would soon be made.

Supplementary Question

Councillor Shaw asked what land would be released to ensure a five-year land supply was maintained if the land owned by the County Council was not released.

Cllr Upton said that he remained hopeful that the whole site could be progressed at the same time. He also reminded Councillors that since the adoption of Local Plan Part 2, the Council had secured a five-year land supply.

b)           Question from Councillor Way to Councillor Robinson

“What will be the impact of Nottinghamshire County Council’s decision to stop participating in the Rushcliffe Growth Boards?” 

Councillor Robinson stated that Growth Boards make a positive contribution across the Borough and that he was confident that they would continue to make tangible differences within our local communities going forward. He informed Councillors that there continued to be a very good relationship with the County Council.

Supplementary Question

Councillor Way asked if there was anything Councillors sitting on both the Borough and County Council could do to repair what appeared to be a broken relationship between the two councils.

Councillor Robinson stated that he did not agree the relationship between the two councils is broken and in need of repair.

c)            Question from Councillor Jones to Councillor Mason

“Will the implications sections of reports to Councillors have the additional heading of “Climate Emergency and Environmental Implications” and when will this occur?” 

Councillor Mason responded that following the adoption of ‘the environment’ as a fourth corporate priority, this additional heading would be included for consideration along with the other Council priorities on reports from December onwards.

d)           Question from Councillor R Mallender to Councillor Mason

“Given the considerable work involved, what human and other resources will be put in place to update the council's Climate Change policy by March 2020?” 

Councillor Mason informed Councillors that the Council had formed an internal corporate working group to explore the feasibility of the Council setting a net zero carbon target for 2030. The group are due to share a draft action plan with the Communities Scrutiny Group ahead of a report to Cabinet in March 2020. Furthermore, she reminded Councillors that the Council’s budget, approved by Full Council, resources the delivery of the Council’s Corporate Strategy and associated objectives.