Meeting documents
Venue: Council Chamber, King George V House, King George V Road, Amersham
Contact: Democratic Services 01895 837236; Email: democraticservices@chilternandsouthbucks.gov.uk
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Presentation from Paradigm Housing To receive a
presentation from Matthew Bailes, Deputy Chief
Executive and Martyn Jones, Development Director of Paradigm Housing. Minutes: The
Chairman welcomed Matthew Bailes, Group Chief Executive and Martyn Jones,
Development Director of Paradigm Housing to the meeting to provide an overview
of the challenges and developments Paradigm are currently working on in the
Chiltern District. Matthew Bailes and Martyn Jones
delivered a detailed presentation which covered the background and growth of
Paradigm; affordability challenges, particularly in relation to public service
jobs; Paradigm’s Corporate Plan; the Principles of Co-operation agreement with
the Council; Paradigm’s Strategic Funding Agreement; the development pipeline
for the district; the garage portfolio and the challenges that come with garage
developments; regeneration schemes; urban development schemes; and rural
exception schemes. At the conclusion of the presentation,
the following clarifications were given in response to questions from Members. ·
The
Asheridge Road, Chesham development continued to progress, pre commencement conditions
were being assessed by the Council, and the tender process was underway to
appoint a builder for the first stage of the development. The current plan was
for work to commence on site in Autumn 2020. ·
In
response to a query over the estimated number of affordable homes to be
provided over the next 4 years, Paradigm plan to provide around 600 new
affordable homes per year, split between shared ownership and rental
accommodation, this figure could increase or decrease subject to central
government policy changes. ·
In
relation to supporting vulnerable residents, Paradigm’s priority was to provide
safe housing, maintain the properties and ensure health and safety issues were
addressed and repairs undertaken efficiently where required. There had been
little demand for the previously open walk in centres and the decision had been
made to close these due to the low usage level and funding cuts. Whilst
Paradigm had a responsibility as a landlord it was not able to provide social
service support and was working hard to improve its links with support services
where vulnerable residents had been identified. Paradigm was committed to
improving services for the future. ·
A
Member asked whether a named contact could be provided for members to contact
at Paradigm on individual cases which required escalation and careful handling,
Paradigm advised that this would be addressed following the meeting and details
shared with members. ·
It
was recognised that many issues arise from poor housing stock and it was asked
how Paradigm was measuring the quality of new build properties/develoments.
Members were advised that Paradigm’s priority remained to maintain the existing
asset base and address energy efficiency measures. It was recognised by
Paradigm that in the housing industry there had been widespread failure with
the quality of new build properties and Paradigm had put its own processes in
place to ensure build quality was scrutinised at each stage of any development.
The Paradigm Board had made the decision to work on its own developments with
select partner organisations to further improve quality. It was said that
building control, both Council and private, had also signed off developments
that were not of adequate quality and this was seen as another area which
required improvement. ·
A
Member raised concern around the data used to compile the housing needs survey
used to support the rural exception scheme in Chalfont St Giles. It was
explained that an experienced company had been appointed following a tender
process to undertake the survey and the prescribed Government process had been
followed. This involved using publicly available data such as census data, land
registry data and transacted sale prices. Other evidence bases had been used,
such as Right Move and Zoopla, often to corroborate data. The report stated
each source where data had been drawn from. As part of the assessment, a survey
was sent to all households in the parish and the only data used was such that
was willingly given. The level of responses received was sufficient to provide
a robust data set. Discrepancies identified by the Parish Council in the draft
report had been corrected although these did not change the fundamental
conclusion. ·
On
the same issue a Member asked whether, with the exception of Planning Committee
Members, Paradigm’s response to the Parish Council could be shared with all
Members. It was confirmed that Paradigm would consider this request. It was
clarified that the planning application submitted to the Council incorporated
the report which had factored in the Parish Council response and not the
earlier draft version. Paradigm had requested to meet with the Parish Council
to go through its response to each point raised, and this offer remained open.
Councillor D Bray agreed to provide a response to Paradigm. The Chairman thanked Matthew Bailes and
Martyn Jones for their attendance and presentation. Note:
Councillors D Varley and C Ford entered the meeting at 6.36 p.m. and 6.57 p.m.
respectively. |
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To approve
the minutes of Full Council held on 12 November 2019. Additional documents:
Minutes: The minutes
of Full Council held on 12 November 2019 were approved and signed by the
Chairman as a correct record. |
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Declarations of Interest Minutes: Councillors
P Martin and V Martin declared a personal family interest in item 8.2, Chiltern
Dial a Ride funding. |
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Announcements To receive
any announcements from: a)
Chairman b) Cabinet
Leader c) Head of
Paid Service Minutes: (a)      Chairman’s Engagements A
list of Engagements carried out by the Chairman and Vice-Chairman of the
Council between 31 October and 27 December 2019 had been circulated. (b)      Chairman’s Announcements The
Chairman had no announcements to make. (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
Head of Paid Service advised that a Special Cabinet meeting would be taking
place in February to make decisions in relation to the procurement of a new
joint waste contract with South Bucks and Wycombe District Councils. Once
confirmed, details of the meeting including time, date and location would be
circulated to all Members. |
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Cabinet Recommendations To receive
and consider the recommendations of the Cabinet for the meetings held on 15
October (item 9.2) and on 7 January 2020 (item 9.1)Â and to receive questions and answers on any
of those recommendations in accordance with Rule 11.1 of the Procedural Rules. |
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Community Infrastructure Levy Charging Schedule PDF 68 KB Minutes: Full Council was asked to approve the recommendations of the
Cabinet from its meeting on 7 January 2020 to adopt for publication and
implement the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) Charging Schedules as
appended to the report as Appendix 1. This followed the successful examination
in public which took place on 5 November 2019 and the Examiners report,
appended as Appendix 2 to the report, which was received on 13 December 2019. At its meeting on 7 January, in addition to those outlined in the
report, Cabinet recommended a further recommendation for approval by Council.
This was tabled at the meeting and was as below: “That on site
developments of 400 housing units or more where the actual deliverability of
the Council’s housing targets is being placed at risk by the failure of the
developer to accept liability for the delivery of the approved scheme and contributions towards specified
infrastructure elements, which are directly related to the housing development in
question, when there is a compelling need for such in the public interest, and
when the Council has provided a clear statement of justification and
cost-estimate for the said work or contribution, the Council affirms its
intention to use its Compulsory Purchase Powers for proper planning purposes. Furthermore,
on housing development sites where viability calculations rely on forward
estimates of sale prices for the market housing units, the Council will
incorporate in relevant S 106 agreements its entitlement to a positive
claw-back of a proportion of any sale values in excess of the aforementioned
forward estimates.†Councillor P Martin explained the background to the additional
recommendation and advised Council that this had been discussed at length by
the Planning and Economic Development Policy Advisory Group. Previously in the
Chiltern District development had been on a small scale which had provided no
contribution to infrastructure. Members noted that CIL was charged on a £s per
square metre basis which related to developments of buildings over 100 square
metres new build floor space and the Council was setting a threshold whereby
developments of 400 homes or more or on sites of 10 hectares or more will be
CIL zero rated. On these developments, financial contributions would be
negotiated and legally bound through S106 and S278 agreements. In all parishes,
15% of CIL receipts would be passed to the relevant town or parish council for
them to spend on local infrastructure projects. Members had concerns that the Council could not afford for
infrastructure to not be delivered and referred to Government statements on the
S106 system highlighted the difficulty in ensuring that infrastructure projects
were fully funded. The Council needed to be robust in negotiating viability
assessments with developers with Section 106 agreements being used to secure
new infrastructure that was used to support individual development schemes and
CIL being used to fund new infrastructure that was required to support a number
of developments. Therefore, the recommendation had been added so that the
Council would be able to use compulsory purchase powers if the developer was
not contributing enough funding to infrastructure. A Member commented that the infrastructure funding gap was a
further concern and that any infrastructure plan linked to the local plan
should be fully costed and be in operation as soon as a new development is
habitable. It was moved by Councillor P Martin, seconded by I Darby and RESOLVED - 1.
the Charging Schedule be adopted and the Community Infrastructure
Levy be implemented on 17 February 2020;
3. any decisions required for Parts 7 Application of CIL, Part 8
Administration of CIL, Part 9 Enforcement of CIL and Part 10 Appeals be
delegated to the Acting Chief Executive in consultation with the Portfolio
Holder for Planning and Economic Development; 4. the decision to take proceedings in relation to any CIL offence be delegated to the Acting
Chief Executive in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Planning and
Economic Development and the Head of Legal and Democratic Services 5. it be noted that these delegations novate to the relevant officers
and Portfolio Holders of Buckinghamshire Council.
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Chiltern Dial a Ride Funding PDF 75 KB Minutes: Full Council was asked to approve the recommendations of the
Cabinet from its meeting on 15 October 2019 to award a grant of £39,378 to
Chiltern Dial a Ride for the purchase of a new vehicle. At its meeting on 15
October, Cabinet sought clarification on a number of issues which had since
been resolved, and were subject to a further report to the Services Overview Committee
on 26 November 2019. Council recognised the valuable service Chiltern Dial a
Ride provided. It was moved by Councillor L Walsh, seconded by Councillor I Darby
and RESOLVED - That a grant
of £39,378 be awarded to Chiltern Dial a Ride for the purchase of a new
vehicle.  |
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Verbal Reports from the Leader, Cabinet Members or Chairman of a Committee To receive and consider verbal update reports (if any) from the Members listed above, and to answer questions on any of those reports from any Member of the Council in accordance with Rule 11.1 of the Procedural Rules. Minutes: a) Councillor P Martin - Portfolio
Holder for Planning and Economic Development Councillor P
Martin reported that the appointed inspectors to the Chiltern and South Bucks Joint
Local Plan had sent the Councils over 40 questions that required responding to,
Council was advised that as of 20 December 2019 all questions had been
responded to. b) Councillor L Walsh - Portfolio
Holder for Healthy Communities Councillor L
Walsh reported that nominations were open for the Council’s Community Awards
2020, the awards were a chance to recognise the volunteers and community
champions who do so much to enrich life in the district. The closing date for
nominations was 31 January 2020. Further, Council was advised that there would
be two ‘five steps to be volunteer ready’ training sessions held at the Council
offices on 16 January 2020 which would provide skills to recruit and retain
volunteers and members were asked to encourage attendance amongst contacts. c) Councillor J Gladwin - Chairman of
Audit and Standards Committee Councillor J
Gladwin advised that the Council’s audited accounts had now been signed by the
Council’s external auditors.  |
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Questions with Notice (if any) The
Chairman of the Council; Cabinet Leader or a Cabinet Member; or Chairman of any
Committee to receive a question on any matter in relation to which the Council
has powers or duties or which affects the District. Questions must be given in writing
to the proper officer 3 clear days before the meeting, or if it relates to
urgent business by 4pm on the day of the meeting, in accordance with Rule 11.2
of the Council Procedure Rules. Minutes: There were
no questions. |
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Petitions (if any) To
receive petitions and/or deputations (if any) from members of the public
including provisions allowing members to ask questions of clarification at the
discretion of the Chairman. Minutes: There were no petitions. |
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Joint Arrangements and Outside Organisations (if any) To
receive reports about and receive questions and answers relating to any joint
arrangements or external organisations. Minutes: There were
no reports. |
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Motions (if any) Written
notice of every motion, signed by at least 2 Members, must be delivered to the
proper officer at least 7 clear days before the meeting in accordance with
Procedure Rule 12. Minutes: No Motions
had been received. |
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Exclusion of the Public To resolve
that under Section 100(A)(4) of the Local Government Act 1972 the public be
excluded from the meeting for the following item(s) of business on the grounds
that it involves the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Part
I of Schedule 12A of the Act. Minutes:
Paragraph 1 - Information relating to any
individual |
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Report of the Cabinet Leader on Honorary Aldermen The Leader to announce the name
and procedure for the appointment of Honorary Aldermen to be undertaken at a
Special Meeting of Council. Minutes: The Leader of the Council reported to Council that following
discussions between the Groups, agreement had been reached to confer honorary
alderman status on ex-councillor Noel Brown. The Leader advised Council of the
39 years Noel Brown had spent as a District Councillor from 1976 to 2015. During
this time the roles held by Noel Brown included Portfolio Holder for Health,
Housing, and Community Safety, Portfolio Holder for Strategies and Planning,
Chairman of the Planning Committee as well as Chairman of the Council. It was moved by Councillor I Darby, seconded by Councillor P Jones
and unanimously RESOLVED -
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