Babergh and Mid Suffolk District Councils
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Agenda and minutes

Venue: King Edmund Chamber, Endeavour House, 8 Russell Road, Ipswich. View directions

Contact: Committee Services 

Items
No. Item

61.

DECLARATION OF INTERESTS BY COUNCILLORS

Minutes:

 

61.1         There were no declarations of interests.

 

62.

MC/19/23 TO CONFIRM THE MINUTES OF THE MEETING HELD ON 26 SEPTEMBER 2019 pdf icon PDF 403 KB

Minutes:

It was RESOLVED: -

 

That subject to the following amendments, the Minutes of the meeting held on 26 September 2019 be confirmed and signed as a true record:

 

Paragraph 10.2 to 10.3: To expand on the response to the question from Councillor Eburne.

 

NOTE: The response from the Leader to the above question was as follows: “All the resources are done through the Growth Company, if there are any more details required, I would like the officer to respond”

 

Paragraph 15.14: Change ‘Emergency Climate Change’ to Climate Emergency Change’

 

Paragraph 15.13: Amend ‘re-wilderment’ to ‘rewilding’

 

Paragraph 10.37: Amend the first sentence to read: “Councillor Matthissen asked why none of the information relating to the recent Cabinet report had been forwarded to Members”.

 

 

 

 

 

63.

MC/19/24 CHAIRMAN'S ANNOUNCEMENTS pdf icon PDF 19 KB

Chair of the Council

Minutes:

63.1         The Chair referred to paper MC/19/24, which was for noting.

 

63.2          She invited all Members to the Civic Service at Fressingfield Church at 3:30pm on the 8 December.

 

63.3          Councillor Phillips informed Members that the Vice-Chair had not attended the Needham Market Civic Service as detailed in the paper.

 

64.

MC/19/25 LEADER'S ANNOUNCEMENTS pdf icon PDF 265 KB

To follow

Minutes:

64.1         The Chair invited the Leader to present her tabled updates.

 

64.2          Councillor Morley referred to the Tabled Papers and updated Members on the following:

 

64.3          Success of recent Needham Lake drop in and launch of plans


In October, the Council shared blueprints for the Needham Lake visitor centre which was being developed to create a high quality and environmentally sustainable building including a café and new public convenience facilities.This included a drop-in event on Thursday 10 October at Needham Market Community Centre.  A survey was also carried out at the event and had continued to be promoted on social media. The plans complemented the rural nature of the site and aims to boost the number of visitors to the Lake each year, supporting the local economy and encouraging more people to enjoy a range of outdoor leisure pursuits.  High quality, innovative tenants were now being encouraged to bid to manage the new visitor centre and café.

 

64.4          Thank you and success of National Democracy Week, including our Councillor webinar


The Leader thanked everyone who took part in National Democracy Week.
During the week, Councillors talked to groups they don’t often see in the Council Chamber. The week commenced with a panel of Members from both Councils holding an hour-long live webinar with pupils at Thurston Community College. Members covered a range of topics, from planning to litter picking, responding to questions sent in live by the pupils watching. Later in the week, staff and Councillors set out to local markets to speak with people about what the Council does and how it shapes our communities, giving market-goers in Stowmarket the chance to ask questions, find out more about services and discover what local government meant for them.

 

64.5          Success of National Customer Services Week and the launch of our new Customer Charter


Having identified  the Council’s customers as one of the Council’s five core values during National Customer Services Week the Customer Charter was launched, which set out the clear standards which the Council expected of staff, and what the Council’s customers expected from Members. Importantly, customers were not just residents, but anyone the Councils interacted with to deliver its services. This included Councillors, colleagues, businesses, partners, local authorities, suppliers or others. The week saw staff and Councillors challenged to update their profile, add a voicemail among other tasks, with stories shared from staff based in the Council’s call centres, making it clear to all employees, that customers were central to the work undertaken every day, and by making sure there were a clear set of guidelines about what the Council’s customers should expect from the Council, consistency in approach, monitoring of performance, get better at listening to customer feedback and improve services.

 

64.6          Councillor Open Evening at the Mix in Stowmarket on 12th November


A reminder to all Councillors of the open evening held at the Mix in Stowmarket on 12th November. All Councillors were invited to attend and hear about the ways in which staff  ...  view the full minutes text for item 64.

65.

TO RECEIVE NOTIFICATION OF PETITIONS IN ACCORDANCE WITH COUNCIL PROCEDURE RULES

In accordance with Council Procedure Rule 11, The Chief Executive will report the receipt of any petitions. There can be no debate or comment upon these matters at the Council meeting.

Minutes:

65.1         The Deputy Monitoring Officer advised the Council that the following validated petition had been received:

 

87 valid signatures regarding planning application DC/19/01236 in Norton.

 

65.2       The petition would be dealt with through the normal planning process.

 

 

 

 

66.

QUESTIONS BY THE PUBLIC IN ACCORDANCE WITH COUNCIL PROCEDURE RULES

The Chairs of Committees to answer any questions from the public of which notice has been given no later than midday three clear working days before the day of the meeting in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 12.

Minutes:

66.1             None received.

 

67.

QUESTIONS BY COUNCILLORS IN ACCORDANCE WITH COUNCIL PROCEDURE RULES

The Chairman of the Council, Chairs of Committees and Sub-Committees and Portfolio Holders to answer any questions on any matters in relation to which the Council has powers or duties or which affect the District of which due notice has been given in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 13.

Minutes:

67.1         None received.

 

68.

MC/19/26 OVERVIEW AND SCRUTINY COMMITTEE REPORT pdf icon PDF 369 KB

Chair of Overview and Scrutiny Committee

Minutes:

68.1         The Chair of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee referred to report MC/19/26 and invited Members to ask questions;

 

68.2          Councillor Otton referred to the recent review of the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) and congratulated on the report provided to the Committee and the scrutiny of the topic.

 

68.3          Councillor Otton hoped that the Scrutiny Committee would review how the Council dealt with CIL bids strategically in the new year.

 

69.

MC/19/27 CORPORATE PLAN (2019-2027) pdf icon PDF 338 KB

Leader of the Council

Minutes:

69.1         Councillor Morley, the Leader of the Council, introduced report MC/19/27, Corporate Plan (2019 – 2027) which had been undertaken in cooporation with Babergh District Council. 

 

69.2          The current strategic plan was due to expire in 2020 and it was the intention that the proposed new Corporate Plan would be replacing the Joint Strategic plan. Appendix A provided a summary of the development of the revised corporate plan.

 

69.3          The draft Corporate Plan had been supported by the Senior Leadership Team and officers across both Councils and required the approval of both Cabinets and Councils.  The new Corporate Plan provided a joint vision for the future of the District and addressed opportunities and challenges facing the Council in the foreseeable future.

 

69.4          The revised vison and new mission statement would provide more confident leadership for the area through greater place-based workings.  The interconnected strategic priorities were the Environment, the Economy, Housing, Well-being, Our Customers and Communities.

 

69.5          The Corporate values were included in the plan to ensure that they were part of the objectives which benefitted communities and residents in the District.

 

69.6          Councillor Morley asked that if the Chair of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee agreed that Corporate Plan Outputs be brought to the Overview and Scrutiny Committee for discussion and debate before being presented for approval at Cabinet.

 

69.7          Councillor Morley MOVED recommendation 3.1, which was SECONDED by Councillor Caston.

 

69.8          Councillor Morley invited the Chief Executive to present the Corporate Plan to the Council.

 

69.9          After the presentation Councillor Eburne enquired how to explain this plan and its tactics to residents as the document related to Councillors and officers as the stakeholders but did not include residents.  She stated that not all Councillors had been involved in the recent work undertaken to refresh the plan and that she felt that all Members should have been part of a consultation process before being presented with the Draft Corporate Plan.

 

69.10       The Chief Executive responded that this document was not primarily intended to be presented to residents but to be used by Councillors and officers as a simple plan setting out the tactical strategy to help them engage with communities.  Fundamentally residents were less  likely to be interested in the tactics but more likely to be interested in the outcome of the plan.

 

69.11       Councillor Eburne queried the engagement aspect of her previous question and she felt that it was all premature as there had not been an engagement or consultation for this plan, nor had the plan been to the Scrutiny Committee for scrutiny.

 

69.12       The Chief Executive responded that engagement with Communities had been undertaken in the form of the recent housing and community strategies and that Members had a daily dialogue with communities through the work they undertook in their wards.  As the Corporate Plan built on the previous Joint Strategic Plan, a framework had already been constructed to begin with.  It was a balance between engagement with communities of what they wanted, and the community  ...  view the full minutes text for item 69.

70.

MC/19/28 HAUGHLEY NEIGHBOURHOOD DEVELOPMENT PLAN pdf icon PDF 225 KB

Cabinet Member for Planning

Minutes:

70.1         Councillor Burn, Cabinet Member for Planning, introduced report MC/19/28 and summarised the main points of the report and the process undertaken for the referendum.  He referred to paragraph 4 which detailed the referendum and said that the results would be posted on the Council’s website.  He offered his congratulation to all who had been involved in the work for Haughley Neighbourhood Plan and MOVED recommendations 3.1 and 3.2 in the report.

 

70.2          Councillor Eburne SECONDED the proposal and congratulated all who had been involved. The work had involved thousands of hours of work, most of which had been undertaken by volunteers.  She reiterated that more resource was need for communities to undertake work such as this plan, but she congratulated the community of Haughley in its achievement. Councillor Eburne also thanked officers who had supported the work.

 

70.3          Councillor Stringer thanked all the volunteers for the work and reiterated that these neighbourhood plans would be empowering tools to allow residents to decide where sustainable housing development should be placed within their communities.

 

70.4          The  PROPOSAL was put to Members for voting and the vote was UNANIMOUS.

 

It was RESOLVED: -

 

1.1           That the Hughley Neighbourhood Plan be formally ‘made’ (adopted) as part of the District Council’s Development Plan and be used to help determine planning applications where relevant.

 

1.2           That the Decision Statement (Appendix 1) be published with immediate effect.

 

71.

MC/19/29 THURSTON NEIGHBOURHOOD DEVELOPMENT PLAN pdf icon PDF 224 KB

Cabinet Member for Planning

Minutes:

70.1         Councillor Burn, Cabinet Member for Planning, introduced report MC/19/29 and summarised the main points of the report. He referred to paragraph 4 which detailed the referendum and said that the results would be posted on the Council’s website.  He offered his congratulations to all who had been involved in the work for Thurston Neighbourhood Plan and MOVED recommendations 3.1 and 3.2 in the report.

 

71.1          Councillor Richardson SECONDED the proposal and he thanked all who had worked on the production of this plan in particular Thurston Parish Council.  This was a thorough plan and offered benefits to the community and its residents.

 

71.2          In Councillors Turner’s absence Councillor Mansel responded on her behalf and thanked all who had worked on Thurston Neighbourhood Plan.

 

71.3          The  PROPOSAL was put to Members for voting and the vote was UNANIMOUS.

 

It was RESOLVED: -

 

1.1          That the Thurston Neighbourhood Plan be formally ‘made’ (adopted) as part of the District Council’s Development Plan and be used to help determine planning applications where relevant.

1.2          That the Decision Statement (Appendix 1) be published with immediate effect.

 

72.

COUNCILLOR APPOINTMENTS

To agree the following appointments:

 

Community Governance Review Working Group

Councillor Suzie Morley (replacing Cllr Julie Flatman)

Councillor John Whitehead (replacing Cllr James Caston)

Minutes:

72.1         Councillor Morley proposed that the following appointments be agreed for the Community Governance Review Working Group:

 

Councillor Suzie Morley (replacing Councillor Julie Flatman)

Councillor John Whitehead (replacing Councillor James Caston)

 

The PROPOSAL was put to Members for the vote and the vote was UNANIMOUS.

 

It was RESOLVED: -

 

That Councillor Suzie Morley and Councillor John Whitehead be appointed to the Community Governance Review Working Group.