Agenda for Council on Wednesday, 29th March, 2023, 7.00 pm

Agenda and draft minutes

Venue: Council Chamber - Civic Centre Folkestone

Contact: Jemma West 

Media

Items
No. Item

69.

Declarations of Interest

Members of the Council should declare any discloseable pecuniary interest or any other significant interests in any item/s on this agenda.

Supporting documents:

Minutes:

There were no declarations of interest at the meeting.

70.

Minutes

To receive the minutes of the meeting of the council held on 22 February 2023 and to authorise the Chairman of the Council to sign them as a correct record.

Supporting documents:

Minutes:

The minutes of the meeting held on 22 February 2023 were submitted, approved and signed by the Chairman.

71.

Chairman's Communications

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Chairman made the following announcements:

 

“Since the last meeting of the Council I have attended a number of charitable events on behalf of the Council, including events hosted by Folkestone Town Council, the Lord Mayor of Canterbury, the Mayor of Faversham and the Mayor of Ashford.  Today I attended an event at Knole House that raised funds for the Sevenoaks Area Youth Trust Charity.

 

I also attended the New Romney Commonwealth Flag Raising Ceremony.”

72.

Petitions

A petition asking for the development at Princes Parade to be abandoned and the site re-wilded has been received and has a total of 361 signatures. As per the petitions scheme, set out in part 4 of the constitution, petitions which receive more than 250 signatures can be presented to a meeting of Full Council.

Supporting documents:

Minutes:

A petition asking for the development at Princes Parade to be abandoned and the site re-wilded has been received.  It has a total of 361 signatures.  In accordance with the petitions scheme, set out in part four of the constitution, petitions which receive more than 250 signatures can be presented to a meeting of Full Council.

 

Proposed by Councillor Whybrow

Seconded by Councillor Wade

 

RECOMMENDATIONS:

1.        That report A/22/35 be received and noted.

2.        To examine the issues raised by the petition as part of a future scrutiny programme.

 

(Voting figures: 26 for, 0 against, 2 abstentions).

73.

Questions from the Public

1.       From Ms M Wheeler to Councillor Monk, Leader of the Council

 

I understand that an offer has been made by Sunningdale to buy the land at Princes Parade and to build the pool. I would like to know what stage the negotiations have reached, is it a fair offer in comparison to what they offered last year and how the Council could keep some control over the progress and quality of the build should the offer be accepted?

Supporting documents:

Minutes:

The questions asked, including the supplementary question, and the answers given are set out in Schedule 1, appended to these minutes.

74.

Questions from Councillors

(Questions can be found on www.folkestone-hythe.gov.uk from noon 2 days before the meeting, on Modern.gov, under the agenda for this meeting).

 

Up to 45 minutes is allowed for questions from councillors.

Supporting documents:

Minutes:

The questions asked, including supplementary questions, and the answers given are set out in Schedule 2, appended to these minutes.

75.

Announcements of the Leader of the Council

To receive a report from the Leader of the Council on the business of the cabinet and on matters that the leader considers should be drawn to the council’s attention. The leader shall have 10 minutes to make his announcements.

 

The opposition group will have an opportunity to reply to the leader’s remarks.  The opposition group leader shall have 5 minutes to respond after which the Leader of the Council will have a right of reply.  Any right of reply will be for a maximum duration of 5 minutes.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Leader of the Council made the following announcements:

 

“Good evening to you all.

 

As this is probably the last full council meeting of this administrative term, I would like to say thank you to you all as, apart from one contentious project, we have all worked well together for the good of our residents implementing many forward looking policies and projects, despite the vagaries introduced by the covid lockdowns.

 

One that, for me, particularly stands out is the commissioning of the Folkestone Town Plan, which had been talked about for more than thirty years. It gave us the evidence for a Levelling Up Bid which was successful to the tune of £19,200,000.  Our bid was supported by a short promotional film, that am sure convinced the government that we were on song with their levelling up agenda, and was a major consideration in getting our allocation.  If you have not done so, I exhort you to watch it and take pride in its message.

 

I would like to thank all of the members of my cabinet for their whole hearted support, and as I understand they are not standing again, specifically thank Councillor Whybrow and Councillor Field for their input.  I wish them well for the future.

 

This afternoon I was able to attend a staff briefing where I made a presentation to Karen Everett for her 45 years of service, and I praised the staff for all of their work over the last four tumultuous years, the effectiveness of which is recognised by the award of 16 compliance plusses for Customer Service Excellence.

 

For those of you not standing again I wish you well, you will in various degrees be missed, and for those standing again, in various degrees, good luck.

 

I move that the council accepts my report.”

 

 

The Leader of the opposition responded to the announcements with the following:

 

“I largely echo that sentiment.  It's been a very interesting four years

for myself; not where I thought I'd find myself when I was working in kitchens a few years ago, but I've thoroughly enjoyed the experience.  I thank everyone in this room for the debate and support, and I think we have done quite good things.

 

I'd like to thank the members of my group as well, I'd like to think that we've brought some items of business to the chamber for debate that's hopefully improved the council.

 

To members who are not standing again, thank you very much.  I would very much like to be here after the elections in May, there's many more things to do, but I'll leave that to the will of the people.

 

Congratulations to Karen, as we noted in the last full Council meeting.  I would also like to make special mention of one other officer, who I have a high level of respect for, and who is leaving us on Friday, that's Lee Walker.  I’d just like to offer a personal note of gratitude from this Chamber for all  ...  view the full minutes text for item 75.

76.

Opposition Business

The Labour Group has raised the following matter:

 

Council notes that

Kent County Council operate a Kent Youth County Council

This operation is focused on only 3 issues per year

Other district, Town and Parish councils within Kent operate their own separate youth council scheme.

 

Council believes that:

The voices of young people are important when shaping decisions

Having a forum for young people to form ideas, debate issues and influence council policy will lead to a more inclusive council environment.

Providing a platform for young people to engage in politics from an early age will only benefit the diversity of future political leadership for the district.

 

Council Resolves

·       To refer to the Overview and Scrutiny Committee a report on the benefit of establishing a district-based Folkestone and Hythe Youth District Council. 

·       To invite the current representatives from the district on the KYCC, to offer their views on the establishment of a FHYDC.

·       To produce a short survey aimed at young people in the secondary schools in the district in order to determine the appetite of the districts young people to have a formal structure to discuss and influence local decision-making policy.

 

Debates on opposition business shall be limited to 30 minutes.  If the time limit is reached or the debate concludes earlier, the leader of the group raising the item shall have a right of reply.

 

The Council shall:

 

a)         Note the issue raised and take no further action;

b)         Refer the issue to the cabinet or relevant overview and scrutiny committee, as the case may be for their observations before deciding whether to make a decision on the issue;

c)         Agree to examine the matter as part of a future scrutiny programme;

d)         Adopt the issue raised by opposition business provided that the decision so made is within the policy framework and budget.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Leader of the Labour Group, Councillor McConville, outlined the opposition business which related to the establishment of a Youth District Council.

 

Proposed by Councillor McConville

Seconded by Councillor Keutenius

 

RESOLVED:

That Option B (Refer the issue to the Overview and Scrutiny Committee for their observations before deciding whether to make a decision on the issue) be applied for the business set out below

·         To refer to the Overview and Scrutiny Committee a report on the benefit of establishing a district-based Folkestone and Hythe Youth District Council. 

·         To invite the current representatives from the district on the KYCC, to offer their views on the establishment of a FHYDC.

·         To produce a short survey aimed at young people in the district’s secondary schools, in order to determine the appetite of the districts young people to have a formal structure to discuss and influence local decision-making policy.

 

 (The recommendations were agreed by affirmation of the meeting).

 

77.

Motions on Notice

There are no motions on notice.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

There were no motions on notice.

78.

Local Authority Housing Fund

The Government has provisionally offered the Council £1.2m of Local Authority Housing Fund (LAHF) grant, to facilitate the purchase of ten properties to temporarily accommodate Ukrainian and Afghan refugees in the district. The timeframe for the Council to confirm it wishes to accept the grant funding is very short. The Cabinet Member for Housing and Special Projects took an individual member decision and agreed that the Council should submit a non-binding Memorandum of Understanding to the Government by their deadline of 15 March 2023. This decision was considered by Cabinet at its meeting on 22 March 2023.

 

Supporting documents:

Minutes:

The Government has provisionally offered the council £1,200,000 of Local Authority Housing Fund (LAHF) grant, to facilitate the purchase of ten properties to temporarily accommodate Ukrainian and Afghan refugees in the district.  The timeframe for the council to confirm it wishes to accept the grant funding is very short. The Cabinet Member for Housing and Special Projects took an individual member decision and agreed that the council should submit a non-binding Memorandum of Understanding to the government by their deadline of 15 March 2023. This decision was considered by Cabinet at its meeting on 22 March 2023.

 

Proposed by Councillor Godfrey

Seconded by Councillor McConville

 

RESOLVED:

1.        That the report be received and noted.

2.        That the match funding requirements of the scheme be met from council resources, as set out in section 1.4 of this report.

3.        That that the funding required for the project of £2.9M, made up of LAHF grant and the council’s match funding should be added to the 2023/24 HRA Capital Programme.

 

(The recommendations were agreed by affirmation of the meeting)

 

79.

Pay Policy Statement

This report considers the recommendation from the Personnel Committee and presents the pay policy statement for 2023/24 for approval.

Supporting documents:

Minutes:

The report considered the recommendation from the Personnel Committee and presented the pay policy statement for 2023/24 for approval.

 

Proposed by Councillor Monk

Seconded by Councillor Hollingsbee

 

RESOLVED:

1.     That report A/22/33 be received and noted.

2.     That the updated Pay Policy Statement for 2021/22 (appended to the report) be approved under S38(1) Localism Act 2011.

 

(Voting figures: 27 for, 0 against, 1 abstentions).

 

80.

Appointment of an interim Chief Financial Officer (S151 Officer)

This report sets out recommendations on the appointment of an interim Chief Finance officer (Section 151 Officer).

Supporting documents:

Minutes:

The report set out recommendations on the appointment of an Interim Chief Finance Officer (Section 151 Officer).

 

Proposed by Councillor Monk

Seconded by Councillor Hollingsbee

 

RESOLVED:

1.      That report A/22/23 be received and noted.

 

(The recommendation was agreed by affirmation of the meeting).

81.

Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL): adoption of the Council's Modified CIL Charging Schedule

The council adopted the Core Strategy Review (CSR) in March 2022, and so it has been necessary for the council to amend the adopted CIL Charging Schedule to bring it 'in step' with the adopted CSR, as well as amendments to the CIL Regulations.  The Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) Regulations (2010) as amended, outlines the process for establishing a CIL scheme in an area. At its meeting of 20th July 2022, the Cabinet approved publication of the Draft Charging Schedule and associated documents for consultation (and public consultation took place between 22 August and 3 October 2022), and authorised the Council to submit the DCS and associated documents to the appointed external Examiner for independent examination in accordance with the CIL Regulations 2010 (as amended). The DCS was submitted for external Examination in November 2022, and the Examiner’s report was received in February 2023.

 

Supporting documents:

Minutes:

The council adopted the Core Strategy Review (CSR) in March 2022, and so it has been necessary for the council to amend the adopted CIL Charging Schedule to bring it 'in step' with the adopted CSR, as well as amendments to the CIL Regulations. The Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) Regulations (2010) as amended, outlines the process for establishing a CIL scheme in an area. At its meeting of 20th July 2022, the Cabinet approved publication of the Draft Charging Schedule and associated documents for consultation (and public consultation took place between 22 August and 3 October 2022), and authorised the Council to submit the DCS and associated documents to the appointed external Examiner for independent examination in accordance with the CIL Regulations 2010 (as amended). The DCS was submitted for external Examination in November 2022, and the Examiner’s report was received in February 2023. Cabinet subsequently considered the outcome of the Examination at its meeting of 22nd March 2023, and as per the requirements of the Government’s CIL Regulations, agreed a recommendation to submit the Modified CIL Charging Schedule for adoption by Council at its meeting of 29th March 2023.

 

Proposed by Councillor Monk

Seconded by Councillor Hollingsbee

 

RESOLVED:

1.         That report A/22/38 be received and noted.

2.      That the findings of the Examiner’s report on the council’s CIL Draft Modified Charging Schedule be noted.

3.      That the council’s Modified CIL Charging Schedule be adopted with a commencement date for the continued collection of CIL under the new regime applicable from the 1st April 2023.

 

(Voting figures: 20 for, 6 against, 2 abstentions).

82.

Call in and urgency report

The constitution provides that, when an urgent decision is made by the Cabinet or Cabinet Member, for which any delay in implementation, likely to be caused by the call-in process, would seriously prejudice the Council’s or public interest, then the ‘Call-in Rules of Procedure’, Part 6.3, rules 1-6 do not apply.  Decisions, taken as a matter of urgency, must be reported to the next available meeting of the Council, together with the reasons for urgency. 

Supporting documents:

Minutes:

The constitution provides that, when an urgent decision is made by the Cabinet or Cabinet Member, for which any delay in implementation, likely to be caused by the call-in process, would seriously prejudice the council’s or public interest, then the ‘Call-in Rules of Procedure’, Part 6.3, rules 1-6 do not apply.  Decisions, taken as a matter of urgency, must be reported to the next available meeting of the Council, together with the reasons for urgency. 

 

Proposed by Councillor Monk

Seconded by Councillor Hollingsbee

 

RESOLVED:

1.    That report A/22/34 be received and noted.

 

(The recommendation was agreed by affirmation of the meeting).

83.

Urgent item of business - Member Allowances

A procedural matter has arisen that requires reporting to Council, following a decision made on 14th December 2022 by Cabinet not to increase Member allowances by the September CPI rate (10.1%) and subsequent approval of the General Fund budget by Council at its meeting on 22 February 2023. As Member allowance increases are applied automatically under the Council’s Constitution, this matter ought to have been - but was not - specifically highlighted in the Council papers seeking approval of the General Fund budget on 22 February 2023. This paper is therefore brought forward to specifically highlight the decision taken by Cabinet on 14 December 2022 and for Council to be able to formally ratify the suspension of the relevant constitutional rule ahead of the 2023/24 budget year.

 

Supporting documents:

Minutes:

A procedural matter has arisen that requires reporting to Council, following a decision made on 14th December 2022 by Cabinet not to increase Member allowances by the September CPI rate (10.1%) and subsequent approval of the General Fund budget by Council at its meeting on 22 February 2023.  As Member allowance increases are applied automatically under the council’s Constitution, this matter ought to have been - but was not - specifically highlighted in the Council papers seeking approval of the General Fund budget on 22 February 2023.  This paper is therefore brought forward to specifically highlight the decision taken by Cabinet on 14 December 2022 and for Council to be able to formally ratify the suspension of the relevant constitutional rule ahead of the 2023/24 budget year.

 

Proposed by Councillor Monk

Seconded by Councillor McConville

 

RESOLVED:

1.         That report A/22/39 be received and noted.

2.         That Cabinet’s decision to suspend paragraph 11 of Part 9.8 of the council’s constitution and not apply a September 2022 CPI increase (10.1%) to Members allowances for the 2023/24 budget be ratified.

 

(The recommendations were agreed by affirmation of the meeting).