To answer questions submitted by citizens on the Council or its services.
1) “Why has outline planning permission for the land South of Clifton not yet been granted, despite the fact that authority to do so was delegated to the Executive Manager (Communities) on 25 January 2018? Delay on this site is negatively affecting the housing land supply calculations, meaning that East Leake is subject to explosive housing growth far in excess of the minimum level stated in the Core Strategy.”
Ms Carys Thomas
2) “Why is the Council taking so long to implement CIL? Are you aware that while you are delaying this, the pooling rules mean that East Leake is losing large amounts of developer S106 contributions which could be used for much needed infrastructure such as a new Health Centre and sports pavilion?”
Mr Conrad Oatey
3) “Could you advise how the Council ensures that it meets its Public Sector Equality Duty under the Equality Act across all Council departments, and has it ever failed to meet this requirement? In addition could you also advise how progress in this area is monitored and reported to Councillors.”
Mrs Vivien Strickland
Minutes:
a) Question from Carys Thomas to Councillor Upton
“Why has outline planning permission for the land South of Clifton not yet been granted, despite the fact that authority to do so was delegated to the Executive Manager (Communities) on 25 January 2018? Delay on this site is negatively affecting the housing land supply calculations, meaning that East Leake is subject to explosive housing growth far in excess of the minimum level stated in the Core Strategy.”
Councillor Upton responded that the granting of planning permission was dependent on the signature of the associated Section 106 Agreement. It was noted that the agreement was substantially complete and was currently with the applicants solicitors for final agreement. It was anticipated that outline planning permission would be granted in the near future.
Councillor Robinson noted that he and the Chief Executive had recently met with the applicant and developers and that they were keen to proceed with outline planning permission as soon as possible.
b) Question from Conrad Oatley to Councillor Upton
“Why is the Council taking so long to implement CIL? Are you aware that while you are delaying this, the pooling rules mean that East Leake is losing large amounts of developer S106 contributions which could be used for much needed infrastructure such as a new Health Centre and sports pavilion?”
Councillor Upton noted that the Council’s proposals for the introduction of the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) would be discussed at that evening’s Cabinet meeting. It was noted that the introduction of CIL had been linked to the work associated with the development of the Local Plan Part 2 which still required further consultation and external examination before its adoption.
It was also noted that the Council had supported East Leake Parish Council by objecting to several planning applications but that these applications had been granted on appeal. Councillor Upton advised that planning applications that had already been approved could not be made retrospectively liable for CIL, but that the Council would progress to implement CIL as fast as it reasonably could if the first initial steps to enable the process to implement CIL were approved by Cabinet later that evening.
c) Vivien Stickland to Councillor Debbie Mason
“Could you advise how the Council ensures that it meets its Public Sector Equality Duty under the Equality Act across all Council departments, and has it ever failed to meet this requirement? In addition could you also advise how progress in this area is monitored and reported to Councillors.”
Councillor Mason responded that the Council ensured that all employees received equality awareness training. It was also noted that the Council ensured that the Council paid due regard to its Equality Duty. Councillor Mason advised that the Council also produced Equality Impact Assessments when considering new policies and initiatives. It was noted that the Council also had an Equalities scheme which set out the aims of the Council, what the Council had achieved and what the Council’s objectives were in the future with regard to equalities. Councillor Mason advised that all relevant and monitoring data was reported back to the Performance Management Board on an annual basis and was available for the public to view on the Council’s website. It was noted that every public sector organisation was working hard to ensure that the equality requirements were met.