Meeting documents

To receive the minutes of the meeting held on 9 March 2017.

The minutes of the meeting held on 9 March 2017 were confirmed.

To receive any declarations of interest

There were no declarations of interest.

To consider any reports/updates from the Portfolio Holder or Members on Outside Bodies.

There were no updates from Members.

The Portfolio Holder and Head of Service to update Members on Part I current issues relating to the PAG and to receive feedback from Members (if any).

To be discussed in the following minutes.

The PAG received a report which set out proposals to revise Building Control Charges by simplifying the scheme and increasing some of the charges.

Having considered the advice of the PAG, the Portfolio Holder APPROVED the revised Building Control Charges Scheme attached at Appendix 1.

The PAG received a report which set out proposals to revise Building Control Charges by simplifying the scheme and increasing some of the charges.  It was explained to the meeting that the fee structure was designed to cover the costs of the service but any extra income would be invested into the service.  It was intended to save costs by reducing the need to issue invoices and process cheques.  Recent investments in the service included the use of Ipads and a Building Control App should result in a reduction in the use of paper.  The service was also developing partners across district boundaries to keep a consistent flow of work and develop the business.

Having considered the advice of the PAG, the Portfolio Holder RESOLVED that the revised Building Control Charges Scheme attached at Appendix 1 be approved.

The PAG received a report that advised members on new statutory requirements for the Council to prepare and publish a Brownfield Land Register for South Bucks District and which sought agreement from the Portfolio Holder to carry out consultation on a draft Register.

Having considered the advice of the PAG, the Portfolio Holder APPROVED the proposed consultation on a draft Brownfield Land Register for South Bucks District.

And further

The PAG received a report that advised members on new statutory requirements for the Council to prepare and publish a Brownfield Land Register for South Bucks District and which sought agreement from the Portfolio Holder to carry out consultation on a draft Register. The PAG noted that further authority would be sought from Cabinet and Full Council to approve the final Register.

There was a requirement for the Register to be published by 31 December 2017.  It was noted that much of this information was already in the public domain as many sites were already included in the Housing and Economic Land Availability Assessment.  It was asked in what format it would be published and it was advised that this was also prescribed by government and would be in the form of an Excel spreadsheet on the website, with hard copies in both Council’s Receptions.

Having considered the advice of the PAG, the Portfolio Holder RESOLVED that the proposed consultation on a draft Brownfield Land Register for South Bucks District be approved.

And further

There was an update of the progress on the project to date and the forward planning for the project.  It was noted that whilst the Act of Parliament granted deemed planning permission for the HS2 project, there were still certain approvals that had to be secured from the planning authorities under Schedule  17 of the Act.  Buckingham County Council was to lead the local Traffic Liaison Group, responsible for traffic management schemes.  The County Council were also dealing with all matters related to waste and excavated material.

The Main Works Contractors (MWC) had been appointed in July 2017 and were designing the railway scheme over the next 18 months and were responsible for obtaining the necessary Schedule 17 approvals from the local planning authorities.  The statutory time obligations and lack of local expertise had led to a recommendation that the Council commission Land Use Consultants (LUC) to provide landscape advice on Schedule 17 matters.  LUC has acted as landscape consultant previously for the Bucks authorities in the HS2 project and was currently working with the Chilterns AONB Group, and therefore has considerable knowledge and experience of the project and the Buckinghamshire area.

Under the Service Level Agreement (SLA), HS2 Ltd had agreed to fund the work of consultants but has capped its rate of pay as part of its cost limitations.  LUC has agreed to undertake the work within the fees rates offered by HS2 and therefore there is unlikely to be any cost to the Council.  The work is likely to continue for a period of 6 years and involve about 150 applications across both authorities.  An exemption to the usual contract procedure rules had therefore been requested from the Management Team, due to the urgency, specialist knowledge requirement and historical involvement of LUC.

The meeting also discussed the Colne Valley Regional Park Panel (CVRPP).  It was noted that SBDC had been a member since the group was created to mitigate the effects of the HS2 development and was currently the commissioning authority for the Additional Mitigation Projects Plan phase which would be completed by March 2018.  Agreement was sought from this Policy Advisory Group to continue to act as commissioning authority on the Additional Mitigation Projects should the panel request the Council to do so to ensure that the work is carried out properly throughout the construction phase.  It was agreed that SBDC were best placed to assume this role.

RESOLVED

That the current position be noted and:

To consider any other business which the Portfolio Holder considers is urgent.

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