Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Chesters, Davis, Gubb, Hunt, Lofthouse, Orange, Saxby, Topham and Topps.

The Senior Corporate and Community Services Officer advised that Councillors Phillips and Yabsley would be arriving late.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting held on 28 September 2022 (circulated previously) be approved as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

The Chair advised that the informal Planning Committee site inspections which were due to take place on Friday 25 November 2022 had been cancelled due to the lack of confirmation of attendance form Members of the Planning Committee.

There was no business brought forward by or with the consent of the Chair.

There were no questions submitted by the Public and/or petitions under Part 4, Council Procedure Rules, Paragraphs 8 and 9 of the Constitution.

(a)  To receive the following notice of motion from Councillor Patrinos

“First Past the Post (FPTP) elections originated when large land-owners dominated parliament and voting was restricted to property-owning men.

In Europe, only the UK and authoritarian Belarus still use archaic single-round FPTP for general elections. Meanwhile, internationally, Proportional Representation (PR) is used to elect parliaments in more than 80 countries. Those countries tend to be more equal, freer and greener.

PR ensures all votes count, have equal value, and those seats won match votes cast. Under PR, MPs and Parliaments better reflect the age, gender, and protected characteristics of the nation and of local communities such as North Devon. It brings wider participation and increased levels of ownership of decisions taken.

PR would also end minority rule. In 2019, 43.6% of the vote produced a government with 56.2% of the seats and 100% of the power. This means that many votes are wasted. That isn’t democratic. Outside of General Elections, most ways of electing parliaments and assemblies in the UK don’t involve wasting so many votes – fairer proportional systems are used, where every vote makes a difference and parties can no longer dominate for decades without real challenge. The number of seats can actually reflect how people vote and people are more likely to feel that their voice is heard, and can still keep the link between the constituent and their representative.

PR is already used to elect the parliaments and assemblies of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. So why not Westminster?

Council therefore resolves to write to HM Government calling for a change in our outdated electoral laws to enable Proportional Representation to be used for general elections.”

(b)  To received the following notice of motion from Councillor Lofthouse

“Community energy motion

Council notes:

• There needs to be a fundamental change in how we generate and consume energy in all aspects of our lives. Both electricity generation and distribution are undergoing rapid evolution, in both shape and scale.
• The distribution grid, must now cope with power flows in both directions, in scale.  Electrification of;  heat, cooling and transport will require a quadrupling of electricity capacity. Local, community-based energy schemes can make a significant contribution to addressing both issues and encourage a sense of local empowerment to tackle climate change.
• Community schemes encourage local generation and storage to match local demand thus relieving pressure on the grid. Local schemes would be given new impetus and be able to contribute more renewable energy if local people could buy their electricity directly from local suppliers. But the disproportionate cost of meeting regulatory approvals makes it impossible to be a local energy supplier at a local scale and so, under the current system, this local energy gets sold back to the central grid.
• The Local Electricity Bill is a private members’ bill with cross-party support that was introduced unopposed in June 2020. If this Bill was passed in Parliament it would give the energy regulator, OFGEM, a  ...  view the full agenda text for item 53.

(a)  To receive the following notice of motion from Councillor Patrinos

Councillor Patrinos presented his notice of motion to Council.

It was moved by Councillor Patrinos and seconded by Councillor Biederman “that the notice of motion be adopted subject to the inclusion of “National Leaders for the Labour, Liberal Democrat and Green Parties””.

RESOLVED that the Council write to HM Government, Leaders for the Labour, Liberal Democrat and Green Parties calling for a change in our outdated electoral laws to enable Proportional Representation to be used for general elections.

(b)  To receive the following notice of motion from Councillor Lofthouse

It was moved by Councillor Walker and seconded by Councillor Wilkinson “that the notice of motion be adopted.”

RESOLVED that Council:

(a)       Ask our M.P. to support the passage into law of this Bill;

(b)       Write to the Minister of State for Business Energy and Industrial Strategy, supporting the aims of the Bill and asking for these aims to be taken into account in the forthcoming Energy White Paper.”

(NB. Members only need to re-declare any interests previously declared at Committee and Sub-Committee meetings if the item is discussed at Council).

The following declarations of interest were announced:

Councillor Crabb – Item 16: Disclosable pecuniary interest as his company Crabb Contractors Ltd operated the land train and was a sub-contractor to North Devon Council.

Councillor Fowler – Item 16: Other registerable interest as an Ilfracombe Town Councillor.

Councillor Pearson – Item 16: Other registerable interest as an Ilfracombe Town Councillor.

Councillor Turton – Item 16: Other registerable interest as an Ilfracombe Town Councillor.

There were no questions received by Members submitted under Part 4, Council Procedure Rules, Paragraph 10 of the Constitution.

Superintendent Toby Davies to report.

Council received an update from Superintendent Toby Davies, Local Policing Commander for North and West Devon.  He provided an update on the policing response further to the two sexual assaults which had taken place in the Gorwell/Bear Street areas of Barnstaple on 25 September and 2 October 2022. There had been a slight increase in the levels of crime over the past 12 months.  In Barnstaple there had been an increase in 30% over the past 2-3 months.  In Braunton and South Molton areas, there had been a 20% decrease over the past 2-3 months.  However, the force remained one of the highest in the region in terms of outcomes and solving more crimes.  The level of hate crime had increased significantly over the past 6-7 months due to the good level of reporting. The force was working with partners in relation to zero tolerance to hate crime and there was currently more police present mainly in the Barnstaple town centre area. Funding had been secured through the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner over the next 18 months in relation to safer streets and the first meeting of the Safer Streets Partnership was due to take place on 24 November 2022.  Tim Birtwisle was the lead officer. The partnership would be considering improvements being made to lighting, designing out, provision of CCTV and extension of the street marshall scheme. It would also include ringfencing and prioritising policing, provision of support case works, youth intervention work with schools and the provision of a community hub space in the town centre where partners and the police could meet.  He urged people to have a positive image of the Barnstaple town centre as the crime increase was relative to North Devon and it still remained one of the safest places. He also provided an update on the force engaging with the His Majesty’s Inspectorate in relation to being placed in special measures in relation to call handling and on the staffing levels.

There then followed a question and answer session.

Councillor Bushell requested that his contact details be passed to Superintendent Davies.

Report by Leader of the Council (attached).

Council considered and noted a report by the Leader of the Council (circulated previously) regarding work that had been undertaken since the last Council meeting. 

Councillor Worden provided updates on:

·       The multi-agency work that was being carried out to support asylum seekers and thanked everyone involved in putting support in place.

·       That a bid had been submitted to the Cultural Development Fund at the end of last week in relation to Bridge Buildings.

·       The planting of 20,000 trees at the Yeo Valley Community woodlands would commence on 4 December 2022 from 11.00 am onwards and everyone was welcome to attend.

Questions to the Leader or the Chair of a Committee submitted under Part 4, Council Procedure Rules, paragraph 10.4 of the Constitution.

The following questions were submitted in advance of the meeting and responses provided by the Leader were circulated separately:

(a)  Question for the Leader from Councillor Ley “Out of common courtesy, I request to be informed of the outcome of an issue which arose in April 2020 when I received a complaint, made by a Council employee, alleging a serious breach of the members code of conduct.  This was referred to a firm of external specialist solicitors, who conducted their investigation in October 2020, subsequently issuing a draft report in early May 2021, which concluded that there had been no breach of the members code of conduct.  Thinking this was the end of the matter, the complainant then came back with a further 20 questions which I was requested to respond to.  Since doing so on 31-5-21, I have been kept completely in the dark, why?”  Councillor Worden, Leader’s response “This Code of Conduct investigation was carried out by an independent third party firm of solicitors and co-ordinated by the previous Monitoring Officer.  On review of the file associated with this investigation it has been discovered that Councillor Ley is indeed correct that the report concluding the investigation was not sent to him, or notification of the outcome provided, as it ought to have been.  From a review of the file it is apparent that this was an omission and one which the current Monitoring Officer is happy to rectify and, indeed, has done and Cllr Ley is now in receipt of the final report.  The Monitoring Officer is content to discuss the conclusions of the report with Councillor Ley and address any questions he may have although, since this is a confidential report, it is better that this is done outside of a public meeting.” In response to a supplementary question from Councillor Ley in relation to the cost and who had paid, the Director of Resources advised Councillor Ley to speak with the Monitoring Officer.

(b)  Question for the Leader from Councillor Pearson “We live in a beautiful environment but it is blighted in places by fly-tipping and littering. I and others have asked that we deploy a mobile camera in known hot-spots in order to support and improve enforcement. There have also been requests for in-vehicle cameras to provide evidence to support enforcement actions. I would like to know why these requests have not been fulfilled and whether it is in fact policy not to support enforcement with the available technology.”  Councillor Worden, Leader’s response “Councillor Pearson is correct that we do live in a beautiful environment that needs to be protected.  As Councillor Pearson knows, the Council does take fly-tipping very seriously and is active in investigating and prosecuting those people that commit those offences.  The last successful prosecution was only a few weeks ago resulting in a total liability on the offender of just short of £1000.  In investigating those crimes, the Council uses a range of investigative techniques and has considered the use of  ...  view the full minutes text for item 58.

Report by Director of Resources and Deputy Chief Executive (attached).

Council considered a report by the Director of Resources and Deputy Chief Executive (circulated previously) regarding the Budget 2023-24 and Medium Term Financial Strategy Refresh.

The Director of Resources and Deputy Chief Executive outlined the report to Council. 

Councillor Lovering left the meeting.

The Director of Resources and Deputy Chief Executive advised that recommendation 2.4 should be amended to read “That the delegated power be given to the Chief Executive, in consultation with the Leader, to agree the terms of the transfers of public conveniences to the relevant parish/town councils and other organisations, and where agreement cannot be reached prior to April 2023, the closure of the facility will be explored but with a further report to come back to Strategy and Resources.”

It was moved by Councillor Worden and seconded by Councillor Leaver “that the recommendations in the report (as amended) be adopted.”

In response to questions, the Director of Resources and Deputy Chief Executive advised the following:

·       The Member Working Group had reviewed car parking charges set by neighbouring Councils, a number of which set different level of charges for town and coastal areas.  Some other Councils had set its fees a lot higher than was proposed in this report. The all day fee of £15 was reflective of the number of hours i.e. 10 hours when the car park was open. The reflective time was in line with fees set by other neighbouring Councils. The fees set for private car parks were unknown.

·       A number of other Councils had introduced charges for motorhome parking in some of their car parks. If Council approved the fee for motorhomes, then a policy would be presented to a future meeting of the Strategy and Resources Committee which would also include that motorhomes must be self-contained and have their own toilet facilities. The proposed new charge would also be included within the off street parking charges consultation and local businesses would be consulted as part of this process.

·       Council had previously approved capital allocation for the procurement of houses for temporary accommodation a few years ago. These properties were being utilised, however, the demand had increased and a number of households were still being placed in bed and breakfast accommodation.  Therefore, there was now a need to consider procuring additional properties for temporary accommodation which was a more cost effective model.

·       The Performance and Financial Management Quarter 2 report 2022/23 included a project within the capital programme for the harbour infrastructure at Ilfracombe. This project also included the resurfacing of Marine Drive.

·       The comments made regarding the non collection of green waste for a period of time was accepted, however side waste was collected at the next collection.

·       The proposed changes to car park charges had been recommended by the Member Working Group.

·       £140,000 had been included within the budget figures for public conveniences representing a potential part-year saving, however the annual costs were around £300,000 of this income stream within the budget.  The Council’s net budget was £13m. Business  ...  view the full minutes text for item 59.

Report by Head of Environmental Enhancement (attached).

Council considered a report by the Head of Environmental Enhancement (circulated previously) regarding Material Recovery Facility Improvements.

Councillor Walker left the meeting.

It was moved by Councillor Pearson and seconded by Councillor Prowse “that the recommendations in the report be adopted”.

In response to questions, the Head of Environmental Enhancement advised the following:

·       The proposed baler system was adaptable and would enable other materials to be collected and recycled such as tetra packs. It would also provide future proofing for the recycling service. The baler also separated and sorted different materials into different bales. This would reduce the future level of staffing required in the yard.

·       Kerbside sorting of recyclable materials would continue to take place. Defra’s advice was that kerbside sorting of recyclable materials was still the most effective way of sorting and to obtain greater recycling rates.

·       The Council collected materials that were a statutory requirement. Discussions were still taking place regarding future collection streams.

·       Opportunities for external funding would continue to be explored.

In response to questions, the Director of Resources and Deputy Chief Executive advised the following:

·       The Council only borrowed at the time the amount was required externally from PWLB.  It was forecast that the borrowing rates would come down over the medium term which is when it was anticipated that the majority of the borrowing would be required for this project.

·       The external borrowing would be over a 40 year period.

·       There was a separate annual revenue maintenance budget.

In response to a question, the Chief Executive advised the following:

·       In relation to paragraph 4.6 of the report, no formal response had been received from Torridge District Council.  If Torridge District Council responded to advise that they would be in agreement to share material recycling facility then this would be explored as it was a good way forward and a separate report would be presented to Council. The Council would continue to seek a response from Torridge District Council.

RESOLVED that:

(a)  The proposed programme of works outlined in this report be approved;

(b)  The Capital Programme be varied by £2,659,000 for the remedial and improvement works at Brynsworthy Environment Centre;

(c)  Subject to (b); that funds of £2,659,000 be released for the remedial and improvement works will come back to Members for decision through the quarterly Performance and Financial Management reports once costings around the baler and a project plan outlining overall delivery timeline have been confirmed.

Report by Director of Resources and Deputy Chief Executive (attached).

Council considered a report by the Director of Resources and Deputy Chief Executive (circulated previously) regarding the Rural England Prosperity Fund.

It was moved by Councillor Worden and seconded by Councillor Leaver “that the recommendation in the report be adopted”.

RESOLVED that the two proposed schemes for the Rural England Prosperity Fund and the interventions proposed be approved.

Report by Head of Place, Property and Regeneration (attached).

Councillor Crabb declared a disclosable pecuniary interest and left the meeting.

Council considered a report by the Head of Place Property and Regeneration (circulated previously) regarding options for the Ilfracombe Dotto Land Train.

Councillor Pearson declared an other registerable interest and left the meeting.

It was moved by Councillor Worden and seconded by Councillor Bushell “that the recommendations in the report be adopted subject to the option in recommendation 2.1 being to offer to gift the Dotto Land Train asset to Ilfracombe Town Council”.

RESOLVED that:

(a)   The Council offer to gift the Dotto Land Train asset to Ilfracombe Town Council;

(b)   The agreement to rent the existing storage facility and agreement to the current route be confirmed with Ilfracombe Town Council.

RESOLVED that it being 9.30 pm the meeting continue in order for the remaining business to be transacted.

Report by Director of Resources and Deputy Chief Execuitve (attached) to the Strategy and Resources Committee on 7 November 2022.

Council considered the Mid Year Treasury Management report 2022-23 to the Strategy and Resources Committee on 7 November 2022 (circulated previously).

To receive the report of the Policy Development Committee held on 17 November 2022 (to follow).

Councillor D. Spear, Chair of the Policy Development Committee presented the Committee’s report on the Mid Year Treasury Management report 2022-23 to the Policy Development Committee on 17 November 2022 (circulated previously).

To receive the report of the meeting of the Strategy and Resources Committee held on 7 November 2022 (attached).

Councillor Worden, Chair of the Strategy and Resources Committee reported the recommendations of the Strategy and Resources Committee held on 7 November 2022 on the Mid Year Treasury Management report 2022-23 (circulated previously).

It was moved by Councillor Worden and seconded by Councillor Roome “that minute 62 of the report of the Strategy and Resources Committee held on 7 November 2022 regarding the Mid Year Treasury Management report 2022-23 be adopted”.

RESOLVED that minute 62 of the report of the Strategy and Resources Committee held on 7 November 2022 regarding the Mid Year Treasury Management report 2022-23 be adopted.

Report by Director of Resources and Deputy Chief Executive to the Strategy and Resources Committee on 7 November 2022 (attached).

Council considered the Performance and Financial Management Quarter 2 report 2022-23 to the Strategy and Resources Committee on 7 November 2022 (circulated previously).

To receive the report of the Policy Development Committee held on 17 November 2022 (to follow).

Councillor D. Spear, Chair of the Policy Development Committee presented the Committee’s report on the Performance and Financial Management Quarter 2 report of 2022/23 (circulated previously).

To receive the report of the meeting of the Strategy and Resources Committee held on 7 November 2022 (attached).

Councillor Worden, Chair of the Strategy and Resources Committee reported the recommendations of the Strategy and Resources Committee held on 7 November 2022 on the Performance and Financial Management Quarter 2 report of 2022-23 (circulated previously).

It was moved by Councillor Worden and seconded by Councillor Roome “that minute 63 (f) of the report of the Strategy and Resources Committee held on 7 November 2022 regarding the Performance and Financial Management Quarter 2 of 2022-23 be adopted”.

RESOLVED that minute 63 (f) of the report of the Strategy and Resources Committee held on 7 November 2022 regarding the Performance and Financial Management Quarter 2 of 2022-23 be adopted.

Chief Executive to report.

The Chief Executive advised Council that he held the statutory position of the Electoral Registration Officer. There was a requirement to appoint a Deputy Electoral Registration Officer as the previous Deputy Electoral Registration Officer had recently left the Council. He recommended that Adam Tape, Head of Governance be appointed as the Deputy Electoral Registration Officer.

It was moved by Councillor Biederman and seconded by Councillor Roome “that Adam Tape, Head of Governance be appointed as the Deputy Electoral Registration Officer.”

RESOLVED that Adam Tape, Head of Governance be appointed as the Deputy Electoral Registration Officer.

Council is recommended to note the schedule of Committee minutes and approve recommendations as listed below:

(i)            4 November 2022

RESOLVED that the following minutes of the Joint Planning Policy Committee (circulated previously) be noted and adopted as follows:

(i)            4 November 2022

(i)            22 September 2022

(ii)          11 October 2022

RESOLVED that the following minutes of the Licensing and Community Safety Committee (circulated previously) be noted and adopted as follows:

(i)            22 September 2022

(ii)          11 October 2022

(i)            28 September 2022

(ii)          13 October 2022

(iii)         19 October 2022

(iv)         9 November 2022

RESOLVED that the following minutes of the Planning Committee (circulated previously) be noted and adopted as follows:

(i)            28 September 2022

(ii)          13 October 2022

(iii)         19 October 2022

(iv)         9 November 2022

(i)             17 November 2022 (attached).

RESOLVED that the following minutes of the Policy Development Committee (circulated previously) be noted and adopted as follows:

(i)            17 November 2022

(i)             7 November 2022

a.    Minute 70: Council Tax Reduction Scheme

RESOLVED that the following minutes of the Strategy and Resources Committee (circulated previously) be noted and adopted as follows:

(i)            7 November 2022

a.    Minute 70: Council Tax Reduction Scheme