Meeting documents

A presentation was conducted by Chief Constable Sara Thornton CBE QPM who was accompanied by Superintendent McLean and Anthony Stansfeld (Police Commissioner for Thames Valley). 

(A full copy of the presentation material is available from Democratic Services).

The presentation covered information on the annual assessment of police effectiveness, efficiency and legitimacy known as the PEEL Programme.

Other information provided related to strategic objectives for 2014/15.  These included cutting crimes of greatest concern to the community, increasing the visible presence of the police and improving communication with the public to assist in cutting crime.

Members asked a number of questions following the presentation, some which had been submitted in advance of the meeting. Councillor Metcalfe enquired regarding the location and operator of the non-custodial reception facility for mental health related police interventions.  He also asked about its relationship with Thames Valley Police. 

It was agreed that a written answer would be provided for circulation to all Members.

The Council thanked the presenters and for their attendance and also wished the Chief Constable well in her future role.

To receive apologies for absence

Apologies were received from Honorary Aldermen J M Blanksby, M B Oram and Mrs K M Peatey MBE. Councillors: M C Appleyard, W J Bendyshe- Brown C A Ditta, M Hanif, Mrs J Langley, S P Lacey, Mrs D V E Morgan, Mrs M L Neudecker, Ms R Knight and J A Savage.  

To approve as a correct record the minutes of the meetings of Council held on 6 October 2014.

RESOLVED: That the minutes of the meeting of the Council held on 6 October 2014 be approved as a true record and signed by the Chairman.

To receive any disclosure of disclosable pecuniary interests by Members relating to items on the agenda.  If any Member is uncertain as to whether an interest should be disclosed, he or she is asked if possible to contact the District Solicitor prior to the meeting.

Members are reminded that if they are declaring an interest they should state the nature of that interest whether or not they are required to withdraw from the meeting.

No declarations of interest were received.

To receive such communication as the Chairman of the Council may wish to make.

(a)       WWI Commemoration

The Chairman reported that there had been a number of events since the last meeting of the full Council, commemorating the start of World War 1.  There had been a memorable tea at Sands Village Hall and a photographic show of Sands prior to the First World War.

(b)       Poppy Launch Appeal

The Poppy Launch Appeal had been followed by a Sunday Church Service.  Members were urged to become involved in further events, which were in the process of being developed.

(c)       Muslim Community Group

The Chairman reported that some Ahmadiyya Muslim Community Group representatives had made a kind donation to the Kidsinsport Charity. The Chairman`s chosen charity for the year.

(d)       The Chairman informed Members regarding her interview on Wycombe’s own radio station "Wycombe Sound".  It was reported that currently run by volunteers and was an air between 27 November and 24 December.  It was anticipated that Wycombe Sound would be making a bid to OFCOM for a 5 year local community radio station license.

(e)       Piddington Horticulture Society

The Chairman reported on her delightful evening and Christmas dinner at the Horticulture Society Christmas Party, where food was provided for the elderly people of Piddington.  This was largely through the efforts of the Piddington Community, who ran fundraising activities during the course of the year.

Written questions may be asked of the Leader or any Cabinet Member. If submitted by 12 noon on Thursday 11 December 2014.  Questions will be submitted in the order in which they are received.

A questioner will have a maximum of 1 minute to ask a question, and the answer shall not exceed 3 minutes. Any questioner may put one supplementary question without notice within a maximum time of 1 minute and the answer may not exceed 2 minutes

There were no public questions.

Questions to the Leader or any Cabinet Members must be submitted by Thursday 11December 2014.  Questions will be taken first from Leaders of the political parties in order of number of Members.

Other Members will be called upon in the order in which questions have been received.  Every Member asking an oral question is permitted to ask one supplementary a question without notice provided that it does not introduce any new matter. The appropriate Member will respond to any questions remaining unanswered at the expiry of 30 minutes in writing. 

Any question remaining unanswered after 30 minutes will be answered within 10 working days in writing after the meeting by the appropriate Member and appended to the minutes of the meeting.

(a)       Question from Councillor B Pollock to the Leader of the Council

"Given the problems caused by flooding across Wycombe District last winter, can the Leader let us know what arrangements are in place should  a similar such problem occur again over the next few months?"

Response from Councillor R Scott (Leader of the Council)

"We have established and validated multi-agency plans in place to respond to any emergency. In future flooding events, as was the case this year, we will respond to requests for assistance from residents in emergency situations, and signpost people to get the help they need as far as possible. The Council will continue to issue sandbags, which is not a statutory duty of the District Council, and earlier this year we arranged distribution of over 15,000 sandbags to various communities around the District, giving very practical help to residents affected by flooding.

As is customary after any incident, following the severe weather last winter we undertook an internal debrief to identify positives from our response and also highlight any gaps / lessons to enhance our planning arrangements going forward.

Some of the changes we made as a result of this process include clarification of our emergency plan activation arrangements and roles and responsibilities to ensure that we are able to assist residents in as timely and proportionate way as possible. We have also revised the flooding pages on our website so that residents have easy access to the information that they need and have offered advice and guidance to residents in the winter edition of District Times which was sent to all households in November.

We have already undertaken advance planning meetings with key internal stakeholders to make sure that those involved in the response to flooding, or indeed any emergency, are able to make timely decisions, based on sound intelligence. We have also established a formal out of hours emergency planning arrangement with Bucks County Council so that we can respond to incidents that arise outside of office hours.

As well as assessing the WDC response we were also involved in a multi-agency debrief with partners from across the Thames Valley. Actions arising out of this have included revisions to multi-agency tactical plans and clarification of the command and control structures in the area.

Residents have been able to apply for a number of schemes which were launched in the Spring, including council tax and business rate relief and ‘repair and renewal grants’, to help them cope with the cost of flooding and also make their homes more resilient to future events, and it should be noted that it is a homeowners responsibility to protect their own property.

One positive outcome from the flooding was the growth in on the ground community action. Along with partners from the Environment Agency and Bucks County Council we are working with Medmenham Parish Council and Marlow Town Council to assist them in developing practical community led flood planning which will enhance and support the council and emergency  ...  view the full minutes text for item 56.

(i)            Council to receive any petition from a member of the public or from a Councillor on behalf of a member of a member of the public as notified by the deadline of 5pm on Monday 8 December 2014.

(ii)          Council to consider any petition already received that meets the required number of signatures to qualify for a debate by Full Council. (The petition organiser will have 5 minutes to present the petition and then Council will debate the matter for a maximum of 15 minutes and decide how to respond to the petition).

No petitions were received by the deadline of 5pm on Monday 8 December 2014.

To receive the minutes of and consider any recommendations from the following meetings:

Special Cabinet                   20 October 2014

Cabinet                                  17 November 2014

Special Cabinet                   11 December 2014 (To Follow)                            

RESOLVED: That the minutes of the meeting of the Cabinet held on 20 October, 17 November and 11 December 2014 be received, and the recommendations as set out at minute numbers 56, 61, 62, 64, 70 and 71 be approved and adopted.

To receive the minutes of and consider any recommendations from the following meeting:

Standards Committee                     14 October 2014

RESOLVED: That the minutes of the meeting of the Standards Committee held on 14 October 2014 be received.

To receive the minutes of and consider any recommendations from the following meetings:

Improvement & Review Commission                   12 November 2014

Special Improvement & Review Commission     11 December 2014(follow)            

The Chairman rose to present the minutes and was pleased to announce that the final meeting of the Urgent Health Care Review was to take place in January.  He would be presenting the final report at the February Council Meeting.

RESOLVED: That the minutes of the meeting of the Commission held on 12 November and 11 December 2014 be received.

To receive the minutes of and consider any recommendations from the following meeting:

Audit Committee                  20 November 2014

In the absence of the Chairman of the Committee, Councillor J Richards OBE rose to present the minutes of the meeting.

RESOLVED: That the minutes of the meeting of the Audit Committee held on 20 November 2014 be received.

To receive the minutes of and consider any recommendations from the following meeting:

High Wycombe Town Committee             25 November 2014

RESOLVED: That the minutes of the meeting of the High Wycombe Town Committee held on 25 November 2014 be received.

To receive the minutes of and consider any recommendations from the following meetings:

Planning Committee                       24 September 2014

Planning Committee                       22 October 2014

RESOLVED: That the minutes of the meeting of the Planning Committee held on 24 September and 22 October be received.

To receive the minutes of and consider any recommendations from the following meeting:

Regulatory & Appeals Committee             26 November 2014

In the absence of the Chairman, Councillor R Wilson rose to present the minutes.

RESOLVED: That the minutes of the meeting of the Regulatory and Appeals Committee held on 26 November 2014 be received and the recommendations as set out at minute numbers 16, 17 and 18 be approved and adopted.

To consider the following Notices of Motion submitted by the deadline of noon on Thursday 4 December 2014.

(i)            The following Notice of Motion is submitted by Councillor B R Pollock and seconded by Councillor Ms P L Lee:

"On 20 October 2014 Wycombe District Council`s Cabinet reached a decision to release the reserved sites identified in the Core Strategy.  Despite the item being referred back to the Cabinet by the Improvement & Review Commission in which they raised a number of salient points, Cabinet has continued to press forward with this release.

This decision has been made without reference to Full Council which is the sovereign body of the authority.  Moreover local members were given only one minute to speak at the original Cabinet meeting and, other than the Members of the Improvement & Review Commission present on the 12 November no other Councillor has had a vote on this issue despite it being of enormous importance to many of the residents of Wycombe District.

Taken together with erroneous mathematical data, an approach to infrastructure issues which goes against that in the Core Strategy and a failure to take into account Government guidance issued on the 6 October which explicitly states that Councils that have large areas of Green Belt may be restricted in the number of homes they can build, this Council has no confidence in the decision taken by the Cabinet at its meeting on 20 October, and reconfirmed at its meeting on 17 November in respect of the release of the reserve sites."

(ii)          The following Notice of Motion is submitted by Councillor B R Pollock and seconded by Councillor Ms P L Lee:

"This Council believes its Constitution should be amended to ensure that in future the Council takes the final decisions on non-statutory planning plans and policies, to ensure the democratic involvement of all elected Councillors on matters of district- wide importance and to ensure the Full Council acts as the ultimate decision-making body in such matters."

(i)      The following notice of motion was proposed by Councillor B R Pollock and seconded by Councillor Ms P L Lee.

"On 20 October 2014 Wycombe District Council`s Cabinet reached a decision to release the reserved sites identified in the Core Strategy.  Despite the item being referred back to the Cabinet by the Improvement & Review Commission in which they raised a number of salient points, Cabinet has continued to press forward with this release.

This decision has been made without reference to Full Council which is the sovereign body of the authority.  Moreover local members were given only one minute to speak at the original Cabinet meeting and, other than the Members of the Improvement & Review Commission present on the 12 November no other Councillor has had a vote on this issue despite it being of enormous importance to many of the residents of Wycombe District.

Taken together with erroneous mathematical data, an approach to infrastructure issues which goes against that in the Core Strategy and a failure to take into account Government guidance issued on the 6 October which explicitly states that Councils that have large areas of Green Belt may be restricted in the number of homes they can build, this Council has no confidence in the decision taken by the Cabinet at its meeting on 20 October, and reconfirmed at its meeting on 17 November in respect of the release of the reserve sites."

In proposing the motion, Councillor Pollock emphasised that all Members had been elected as District Councillors and as such should all have been involved in the vote on the decision as to whether or not to release the 5 reserved sites.  He strongly believed that this should not have been limited to a cabinet only decision on such a matter of district wide importance.  He also highlighted that things that had changed within the core strategy whereby infrastructure was no longer the main priority, and called upon fellow Members to take the opportunity to review and revisit the decisions made in the best interests of the residents of Wycombe.

The Seconder of the motion reserved her right to speak later in the debate.

The Leader was the first to speak in opposition to the presented motion, stating that it was a purely opportunistic and politically motivated motion, designed to re- ignite the concerns of certain groups of residents within the district. He highlighted that all matters had been fully discussed in public and had been answered on numerous occasions by the Cabinet Member for Planning and the Head of the Planning & Sustainability.

He went on to explain that the Cabinet understood and acknowledged the concerns that residents had and that it would do everything possible to ensure any developments were appropriate, which supported the infrastructure.  

Councillor Green also rose to oppose the motion stating that the decision had been a difficult one.  It had been the duty of the Council to take and act upon the professional officer advice received.  This view was  ...  view the full minutes text for item 65.

To receive details of any written questions submitted before the deadline of 12 noon on Thursday 11 December 2014.

There were none.

To note the following changes to Committee membership in accordance with Standing Order 18(9):

Councillor Ms R Knight to serve as Standing Deputy on the Standards Committee.

The following changes to Committee Membership were noted in accordance with Standing Order 18(9).

Councillor Ms R Knight to serve as a Standing Deputy on the Standards Committee.

The following individual decisions have been published since the last ordinary meeting of the Council held on 6 October 2014.

Allocation of Community Support Grants 2014-15 to Wycombe Youth Action 1.12.14 – 31.3.15 

The individual decision published since the last meeting of the Council was noted.

The Chairman took the opportunity to wish the whole council a very Happy Christmas and New Year.  In the spirit of the occasion the Chairman and Vice Chairman invited everyone present to join them for mince pies and mulled wine at the close of the meeting.