Meeting documents

Members will receive a presentation from Ray Payne, Chilterns Conservation Board and Advisor to CDC, on HS2 Long Tunnel Route.

Ray Payne, Board Member of Chilterns Conservation Board and Advisor to Chiltern District Council attended the meeting to provide members with an overview of the proposal for a Long Tunnel Route for the HS2 through the Chilterns.

 

Mr Payne outlined to members the proposed route of the Long Tunnel and the potential impact of this route on the environment, tourism, employment and footfall to the Chilterns.  Due to the change in legislation in August 2014, it had now become possible to propose a fully  underground option for this part of the HS2 route.  Members were advised that there were five key characteristics of the Long Tunnel Route to be considered, which were:

·         Alignment - there was a favourable vertical alignment option for the Chilterns which worked well in terms of engineering and was better for the environment

·         Ventilation shafts - seven shafts were proposed

·         Underground fire fighting point

·         North portal

·         Disposal of excavated material

 

Mr Payne provided members with a detailed explanation of the proposals and summarised that the waste produced by the excavation would be approximately 11,900m³ which equated to approximately 8 trains with 24 carriages movements per week.  A key aim was to avoid the waste product travelling by road.

 

Members received and appreciated the informative presentation, and raised questions in respect of volumes of waste product, extent of groundwork involved for digging out, comparison with Hillingdon tunnel  proposal, cost comparison figures, heat generation via the ventilation shafts, ongoing maintenance costs and the potential of agreement being achieved on an extended tunnel route as oppose to an above ground route.

 

Councillor N Rose concluded that Mr Payne’s presentation was appreciated as was the amount of work, by all involved, that had been and continued to be undertaken in relation to the HS2 Project.  Members were advised that the Select Committee was due to visit Buckinghamshire in the near future.

 

Note: Councillor Cunnane left the meeting following consideration of this item at 7.20pm.

 

To approve as a correct record and to sign the Minutes of the meeting of Council held on 6 January 2015.

The Minutes of the meeting of Council held on 6 January 2015 were approved as a correct record.

 

Members noted that the Monitoring Officer, in consultation with the Chairman of the Audit and Standards Committee and one of the Independent Persons appointed by the Council, had requested and granted dispensations under Section 33 of the Localism Act 2011 to all Members in relation to the setting of Council Tax. It was noted that the dispensations applied for this meeting (in particular item 13 - Council Tax 2015/16) and for the remainder of the Council term (to May 2015).

 

(a)       Chairman’s Engagements

 

A list of Engagements carried out by the Chairman and Vice-Chairman of the Council between 7 January and 25 February 2015 had been circulated.

 

(b)       Chairman’s Announcements

 

The Chairman advised that the Chairman’s Reception was to be held on Friday 6 March 2015 commencing at 7.30pm in the Council Chamber at Chiltern District Council.

 

The meeting of the Licensing & Regulation Committee had been rescheduled from 23 March to Thursday 26 March 2015.

 

Members were advised that additional meetings of Personnel Committee were to be held on Tuesday 14 April and JAIC on Wednesday 15 April 2015.

 

(c) Announcements from the Leader of the Cabinet

 

The Leader of the Cabinet had no announcements to make.

 

(d) Announcements from the Head of Paid Service

 

The Chief Executive had no announcements to make.

 

(e) Petitions

 

No petitions were submitted.

 

It was moved by Councillor D W Phillips, seconded by Councillor J A Burton and

 

RESOLVED -

 

That the Minutes and Resolutions of the Planning Committee held on 8 January 2015 be received.

 

It was moved by Councillor P N Shepherd, seconded by Councillor P M Jones and

 

RESOLVED -

 

That the Minutes and Resolutions of the Licensing and Regulation Committee held on 15 January 2015 be received.

 

It was moved by Councillor J Gladwin, seconded by Councillor J S Ryman and

 

RESOLVED -

 

That the Minutes and Resolutions of the Resources Overview Committee held on 20 January 2015 be received.

 

It was moved by Councillor J Gladwin, seconded by Councillor D W Phillips and

 

RESOLVED -

 

i)             That the Minutes and Resolutions of the Audit and Standards Committee held on 22 January be received; and

ii)            That the recommendations included in minute no. 19 and 20 be adopted.

 

It was moved by Councillor N M Rose, seconded by Councillor I A Darby and

 

RESOLVED -

 

i)             That the Minutes and Resolutions of the Governance and Electoral Arrangements Committee held on 27 January 2015 be received; and

ii)            That the recommendations included in minute numbers 11 and 13 be adopted.

 

During consideration of the Minutes of the Governance and Electoral Arrangements Committee held on 27 January 2015, agenda item 14 - Polling Place Review; and agenda item 15 - Review of Council Agenda Format were considered and agreed as detailed in Minute No.’s 109 and 110.

 

It was moved by Councillor D W Phillips, seconded by Councillor J A Burton and

 

RESOLVED -

 

That the Minutes and Resolutions of the Planning Committee held on 29 January 2015 be received.

 

It was moved by Councillor J A Burton, seconded by Councillor D W Phillips and

 

RESOLVED -

 

That the Minutes and Resolutions of the Services Overview Committee held on 3 February 2015 be received.

 

It was moved by Councillor D W Phillips, seconded by Councillor P M Jones and

 

RESOLVED -

 

i)     That the Minutes and Resolutions of the Planning Committee held on 19 February 2015 be received; and

 

ii)    That the recommendations included in Minute No. 147 be adopted.

 

To consider the Minutes of the meeting of the Cabinet held on 10 February 2015 and to receive questions and answers on any of these minutes and recommendations in accordance with Rule 8 of the Procedural Rules

It was moved by Councillor I A Darby, seconded by Councillor M Stannard and

 

RESOLVED -

 

That the Minutes and Resolutions of the Cabinet held on 10 February 2015 be received and the recommendations contained in Minutes 71, 73, 74 and 79 be adopted.

 

Councillor Mrs Darby spoke with reference to this year’s budget which had continued to be a year of further change.  Councillor Mrs Darby thanked Councillors and Officers for their commitment to progressing with the changes to the budgeting process.  Increased resilience had been built into the budget following the completion of 12 service reviews which had resulted in £1.2m savings which equated to a saving of £17 per month per Council Tax Band D property.

 

Significant projects had been progressing including the implementation of harmonised conditions, HS2 Project Team, a new bank contract, shared pay roll service and better use of public space.  There had also been improvements to the decision making process due to the introduction of Policy Advisory Groups.

 

Councillors Jones, Meacock and Berry thanked the Leader of the Council for her inclusiveness of involving all members in the decision making process.

 

In order to comply with the Government’s new requirements regarding recorded votes at budget setting meetings, Councillor Mrs Darby requested a recorded vote in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 14.4.

 

It was then moved by Councillor Mrs Darby, and seconded by Councillor M Stannard.

 

On being put to the recorded vote the recommendations were agreed, with the votes being cast as follows

 

For (25): Councillors Miss P Appleby, A K Bacon, M Z Bhatti, N L Brown, R Burns-Green, Mrs J A Burton, Mrs I A Darby, A Gladwin, A S Hardie, Mrs M Harker, P J Hudson, P M Jones, D J Lacey, P E C Martin, S A Patel, D W Phillips, N M Rose, J S Ryman, P N Shepherd, Mrs L M Smith, M Stannard, J F Warder, C J Wertheim, A Williams and F S Wilson.

 

Against (2):  Councillors S Berry and D G Meacock.

 

Abstained (0)

 

Councillor Garnett left the Council Chamber during consideration of this item.

 

 

 

RESOLVED:

i)          That it be noted that the following amounts for 2015/16 have been determined under delegated authority and in accordance with regulations made under the local Government Finance Act 1992:

a) 43,143.55 being the amount calculated by the Council, in accordance with Regulation 3 of the Local Authorities (Calculation of Council Tax Base) Regulations 1992, as its Council Tax Base for the year.

b) The amounts calculated by the Council, in accordance with regulation 6 of the Regulations, as the amount of its Council Tax Base for the year for dwellings in those parts of its area to which one or more special items (i.e. Parish precepts) relate, are shown below.

Council Tax Base 2015/16
Amersham	6,549.48
Ashley Green	454.20
Chalfont St Giles	3,092.27
Chalfont St Peter	6,310.63
Chartridge	821.29
Chenies	130.71
Chesham	7,780.68
Chesham Bois	1,628.49
Cholesbury	498.93
Coleshill	327.95
Great Missenden	4,832.18
Latimer & Ley Hill	505.54
Little Chalfont	3,170.68
Little Missenden	3,122.18
Penn	2,325.35
Seer Green	1,194.94
The Lee	398.05
	43,143.55

 

ii).        That the Council calculates the following amounts for 2015/16 in accordance with Sections 31A, 31B and 34 to 36 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992 (as amended by the Localism Act 2011):

 

a) £40,244,351 being the aggregate expenditure which the Council estimates for the items set out in Section 31A(2) (a) to (f) of the Act (including the General Fund and Parish Precepts).

 

b) £30,599,377 being the aggregate income which the Council estimates for the items set out in Section 31A(3) (a) to (d) of the Act.

 

c) £9,644,974 as its council tax requirement for the year including Parish Precepts being the amount by which the aggregate expenditure at 2(a) above exceeds the aggregate income at 2(b) above, calculated by the Council, in accordance with Section 31A(4) of the Act.

 

d) £223.56 as the basic amount of its Council Tax for the year, being the council tax requirement at 2(c), divided by the Council Tax Base for the year (43,143.55) at 1(a) above, calculated by the Council, in accordance with Section 31B(1) of the Act.

 

e) £2,499,539 being the aggregate amount of all special items referred to in Section 34(1) of the Act (i.e. Parish Precepts, there being no other special items).

 

f) £165.62 as the basic amount of its Council Tax for dwellings in its area, excluding Parish Precepts, being the amount at 2(d) above less the result given by dividing the amount at 2(e) above by the amount at 1(a) above, calculated by the Council, in accordance with Section 34(2) of the Act.

 

g) The amounts given by adding to the amount at 2(f) above the amounts of the Parish Precepts for the relevant Parish divided in each case by the Council Tax Base for the Parish at 1(b) above, calculated by the Council, in accordance with Section 34(3) of the Act, as the basic amounts of its Council Tax for the year for dwellings in each Parish is:

 

2015/16 BASIC COUNCIL TAX £
	Parish Amount	CDC + Parish Amount
Amersham	77.01	242.63
Ashley Green	33.78	199.40
Chalfont St Giles	60.05	225.67
Chalfont St Peter	47.74	213.36
Chartridge	11.98	177.60
Chenies	45.46	211.08
Chesham	104.36	269.98
Chesham Bois	29.71	195.33
Cholesbury	19.48	185.10
Coleshill	24.19	189.81
Great Missenden	38.34	203.96
Latimer & Ley Hill	23.50	189.12
Little Chalfont	67.25	232.87
Little Missenden	26.85	192.47
Penn	22.60	188.22
Seer Green	35.86	201.48
The Lee	23.79	189.41

 

h) The amounts given by multiplying the basic amounts for each Parish 2(g) above by the number which, in the proportion set out in Section 5(1) of the Act, is applicable to dwellings listed in a particular valuation band divided by the number which in that proportion is applicable to dwellings listed in valuation band D, calculated by the Council, in accordance with Section 36(1) of the Act, as the amounts to be taken into account for the year in respect of categories of dwellings listed in different valuation bands.

 

iii).       That it be noted that for the year 2015/16 the main precepting authorities have stated the following amounts in precepts issued to the Council, in accordance with s40 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992.

 

Band	Bucks County Council Precept   £	Bucks & Milton Keynes Fire Authority Precept £	Police & Crime Commissioner for Thames Valley £	Total Preceptors     £
A	743.78	39.03	109.13	891.94
B	867.74	45.53	127.32	1,040.59
C	991.71	52.04	145.51	1,189.26
D	1,115.67	58.54	163.70	1,337.91
E	1,363.60	71.55	200.08	1,635.23
F	1,611.52	84.56	236.46	1,932.54
G	1,859.45	97.57	272.83	2,229.85
H	2,231.34	117.08	327.40	2,675.82

 

iv).       That, having calculated the aggregate in each case of the amounts of the District’s and preceptors requirements, in accordance with s30(2) of the Local Government Finance Act 1992, hereby sets amounts of the council tax for the year 2015/16 for each category of dwelling as follows.

 

Band	District & Parishes Council Tax £	Preceptors     £	Total 2015/16 Council Tax   £
A	149.04	891.94	1,040.98
B	173.88	1,040.59	1,214.47
C	198.72	1,189.26	1,387.98
D	223.56	1,337.91	1,561.47
E	273.24	1,635.23	1,908.47
F	322.92	1,932.54	2,255.46
G	372.60	2,229.85	2,602.45
H	447.12	2,675.82	3,122.94

 

 

The council tax for each category of dwelling by parish is as follows.

 

	A	B	C	D	E	F	G	H
	£	£	£	£	£	£	£	£
Amersham	1,053.69	1,229.30	1,404.93	1,580.54	1,931.78	2,283.01	2,634.23	3,161.08
Ashley Green	1,024.87	1,195.68	1,366.50	1,537.31	1,878.94	2,220.56	2,562.18	3,074.62
Chalfont St Giles	1,042.39	1,216.11	1,389.86	1,563.58	1,911.05	2,258.51	2,605.97	3,127.16
Chalfont St Peter	1,034.18	1,206.54	1,378.91	1,551.27	1,896.00	2,240.73	2,585.45	3,102.54
Chartridge	1,010.34	1,178.72	1,347.13	1,515.51	1,852.30	2,189.07	2,525.85	3,031.02
Chenies	1,032.66	1,204.76	1,376.89	1,548.99	1,893.22	2,237.43	2,581.65	3,097.98
Chesham	1,071.93	1,250.57	1,429.24	1,607.89	1,965.21	2,322.51	2,679.82	3,215.78
Chesham Bois	1,022.16	1,192.51	1,362.89	1,533.24	1,873.97	2,214.68	2,555.40	3,066.48
Cholesbury	1,015.34	1,184.56	1,353.79	1,523.01	1,861.46	2,199.91	2,538.35	3,046.02
Coleshill	1,018.48	1,188.22	1,357.98	1,527.72	1,867.22	2,206.71	2,546.20	3,055.44
Great Missenden	1,027.91	1,199.23	1,370.56	1,541.87	1,884.51	2,227.15	2,569.78	3,083.74
Latimer & Ley Hill	1,018.02	1,187.68	1,357.37	1,527.03	1,866.38	2,205.71	2,545.05	3,054.06
Little Chalfont	1,047.19	1,221.71	1,396.26	1,570.78	1,919.85	2,268.91	2,617.97	3,141.56
Little Missenden	1,020.25	1,190.29	1,360.34	1,530.38	1,870.47	2,210.55	2,550.63	3,060.76
Penn	1,017.42	1,186.98	1,356.57	1,526.13	1,865.28	2,204.41	2,543.55	3,052.26
Seer Green	1,026.26	1,197.30	1,368.35	1,539.39	1,881.48	2,223.57	2,565.65	3,078.78
The Lee	1,018.21	1,187.91	1,357.62	1,527.32	1,866.73	2,206.13	2,545.53	3,054.64

 

v).        Determine that the Council’s basic amount of Council Tax for 2015/16 is not excessive, in accordance with principles approved under Section 52ZB of the Local Government Finance Act 1992, [and thus there is no need to hold a Council Tax referendum].

 

a) Councillor Martin - Crematorium

 

Councillor Martin reported that work had commenced on the new Crematorium site at Bierton.

 

b) Councillor Hudson - Youth Awards and Dial a Ride

 

Councillor Hudson reported that the Youth Awards were to take place on Thursday 19 March commencing at 6.30pm.  

 

He also reported that the Chiltern Dial a Ride facility had expanded to take on responsibility for Wycombe Dial a Ride from 1 April 2015 and tribute was paid to the those involved for developing the service.

 

c) Councillor Mrs I A Darby - Local Plan Consultation and Councillor A Busby

 

Councillor Mrs I A Darby reported, on behalf of Councillor G Harris, that Chiltern District Council had commenced its initial consultation on the emerging Local Plan for the area.  The Consultation period was open until 6 March 2015 and people were encouraged to submit comments and views on the Plan.  Relevant officers and elected members had attended local groups and Parish Councils to deliver presentations and provide information on the Local Plan.

 

Councillor Darby also reported that Councillor Adrian Busby, Leader of South Bucks District Council, had announced that he would not be standing for re-election at the District Council elections on 7 May 2015.

 

Councillor Garnett returned to the Council Chamber during consideration of this item.

 

Motion 49 - to be proposed by Councillor A Garnett and seconded by Councillor S Patel:

 

The Scheme of Members Allowances as agreed by Council on 26 February 2014 allowed for the automatic adjustment of the 2014/15 allowances in accordance with the Consumer Price Index (D7BT) at 31 December 2014 to produce the 2015/16 Scheme of Allowances. This Council believes it appropriate once again to freeze these allowances and so it is recommended that the automatic adjustment to produce the Scheme of Members Allowances for the financial year 2015/16 is not implemented and that allowances for 2015/16 remain at the currently agreed 2014/15 rate.

In accordance with Rule 10 of the Council Procedural Rules, the following Motion (Motion 49) had been submitted by and was consequently moved by Councillor A Garnett, and seconded by Councillor S Patel;

 

That, the Scheme of Members Allowances as agreed by Council on 26 February 2014 allowed for the automatic adjustment of the 2014/15 allowances in accordance with the Consumer Price Index (D7BT) at 31 December 2014 to produce the 2015/16 Scheme of Allowances. This Council believes it appropriate once again to freeze these allowances and so it is recommended that the automatic adjustment to produce the Scheme of Members Allowances for the financial year 2015/16 is not implemented and that allowances for 2015/16 remain at the currently agreed 2014/15 rate.

 

On being put to the vote, the motion was (unanimously) declared carried by the Chairman, following which it was

 

RESOLVED -

 

That the Motion be carried.

 

Councillor Berry requested that the Council consider a review of the number of Chiltern District Councillors after the Local Elections in May 2015.

 

This item was considered and agreed during consideration of Agenda Item 8; and recorded in Minute No. 103.

 

Members were advised that under the Electoral Registration and Administration Act 2013, the District Council was required to undertake a review of parliamentary polling districts and places.  The review had been undertaken, including a period of public consultation which had ended on 9 January 2015.  The result of the review was that the following changes be made and the Order take effect on 26 February 2015, subject to Council approval to:-

 

i)             To designate Little Chalfont Library as the polling place for polling district ‘KB’ and;

ii)            To designate Great Hivings Church Hall as the polling place for polling district ‘W’.

 

RESOLVED:-

 

That a new Polling District and Polling Places Order be made to incorporate the following changes and that the Order take effect on 26 February 2015:

 

i)     To designate Little Chalfont Library as the polling place for polling district ‘KB’ and;

ii)    To designate Great Hivings Church Hall as the polling place for polling district ‘W’.

 

Members were asked to approve changes in the format of full Council meetings as proposed by the Governance and Electoral Arrangements Committee.

 

Options for changes to meetings of full Council have been considered by Constitution Review Committee and Governance & Electoral Arrangements Committee with the aim of increasing interest and public engagement with Council meetings.  These included:-

 

• Questions with notice (Public Questions) with an allotted time period for questions to be answered
• Criteria for submitting questions e.g. Relevance to the area; submission date prior to the meeting; compliance with a protocol; oral presentation of questions at the meeting and the permission of a supplementary question
• A programme of speakers to Council e.g. Paradigm, with an allotted time period for presentations
• Incorporating the Chief Constable’s Q & A session into a future Council meeting
• Reports on the recommendations made by Cabinet and Committee to Council rather than receiving recommendation in minutes

 

The Governance & Electoral Arrangements Committee also considered a mock Council Agenda and discussed the style of future Council agendas. It was agreed that Council Procedure Rules be amended to reflect the proposed changes.

 

RESOLVED:

 

That the revised format for ordinary meetings of Full Council proposed by Governance and Electoral Arrangements Committee be agreed with effect from the start of the 2015-16 municipal year and Council Procedure Rules be amended accordingly.

 

Members were advised that under Section 38 (1) of the Localism Act 2011, which came into force in January 2012, required English and Welsh local authorities to produce and publish a pay policy statement for each financial year.

 

In response to a question from Councillor P M Jones, the Leader of the Council clarified that a small number of members of staff were currently not paid the National Living Wage but this would be addressed over time through the implementation of harmonised terms and conditions.

 

RESOLVED:-

 

That the 2015/16 Pay Policy be approved.

 

To agree the Calendar of Meetings 2015/16.

Members considered the proposed Calendar of Meetings 2015/16.

 

RESOLVED:

 

That the Calendar of Meetings for 2015/16 be approved.

 

Members considered the recommendations arising from the shared services review of Policy, Performance and Communication.

 

RESOLVED:

 

i)    That the case for a shared Policy, Performance and Communications Service is proven and that both Councils should proceed to establish a shared Policy, Performance and Communications Service.

 

ii). That subject to consultation with staff and a formal agreement between the Councils, the services of staff in Chiltern District Council’s Policy, Performance and Communications be put at the disposal of South Bucks District Council under Section 113 of the Local Government Act 1972 so they can work across the two local authority areas.

 

iii)That the Chief Executive in consultation with the Cabinet Leader and the Head of Legal and Democratic Services be authorised to finalise the terms of any legal documentation required to give effect to recommendation 2 above.

 

Consideration was given to the recommendations arising from the shared services review of Human Resources / Personnel.

 

RESOLVED:

 

i)    That the establishment of a joint service is agreed and that both Councils should proceed to establish a joint human resources service.

 

ii)   That subject to consultation with staff and a formal agreement between the Councils, the services of staff in Chiltern District Council’s Personnel Services be put at the disposal of South Bucks District Council under Section 113 of the Local Government Act 1972 so they can work across the two local authority areas.

 

iii) That the Chief Executive in consultation with the Cabinet Leader and the Head of Legal and Democratic Services be authorised to finalise the terms of any legal documentation required to give effect to recommendation 2 above.