Agenda, decisions and minutes

The Executive Member for Strategic Planning and Transport submitted a report on the Bishop’s Stortford Conservation Area Appraisal following public consultation.  He detailed the outcome of the public consultation in the report now submitted and advised that some comments had been taken on board.

The Appraisal identified the special character of the Conservation Area together with the elements that should be retained or enhanced and those which detracted from the identified character.  Once adopted by the Council, the Appraisal would become a ‘material consideration’ in the process of determining planning applications.  It would also link into the development of neighbourhood planning.

Various Members supported the proposals and thanked the Officers involved for engaging with local residents, the Town Council and the Civic Federation.  In response to comments made concerning the need for monitoring and enforcement, the Executive Member referred to available resources and reminded the meeting of forthcoming budget discussions at various meetings, where such resource levels could be reviewed.  He also referred to the duties and responsibilities of the Conservation and Landscape Officers, the Enforcement team and the wider Planning team.

The Executive Member undertook to provide an updated schedule of outstanding Appraisals/Plans for reporting to the Executive.

The Executive supported the recommendations as now detailed.

RECOMMENDED - that (A) the responses to the public consultation be noted and the Officer responses and proposed changes to the Bishop’s Stortford Conservation Area Appraisal be agreed;

(B)      authority be delegated to the Head of Planning and Building Control, in consultation with the Executive Member for Strategic Planning and Transport, to make any further minor and consequential changes to the Appraisal which may be necessary; and

(C)      the Bishop’s Stortford Conservation Area Appraisal be adopted.

The Executive Member for Strategic Planning and Transport submitted a report on the Sawbridgeworth Conservation Area Appraisal following public consultation.  He detailed the outcome of the public consultation in the report now submitted and advised that some comments had been taken on board.

The Appraisal identified the special character of the Conservation Area together with the elements that should be retained or enhanced and those which detracted from the identified character.  Once adopted by the Council, the Appraisal would become a ‘material consideration’ in the process of determining planning applications.  It would also link into the development of neighbourhood planning.

The Executive supported the recommendations as now detailed.

RECOMMENDED – that (A) the responses to the public consultation be noted and the Officer responses and proposed changes to the Sawbridgeworth Conservation Area Appraisal be agreed;

(B)    authority be delegated to the Head of Planning and Building Control, in consultation with the Executive Member for Strategic Planning and Transport, to make any further minor and consequential changes to the Appraisal which may be necessary; and

(C)    the Sawbridgeworth Conservation Area Appraisal be adopted.

An apology for absence was submitted on behalf of Councillor M Tindale.

RESOLVED – that the Minutes of the Executive meeting held on 2 September 2014, be approved as a correct record and signed by the Leader.

That East Herts Council inform Hertfordshire County Council that it objects to the proposed service reductions proposed in its ‘Public Consultation: Have Your Say On A More Efficient Bus Service For Hertfordshire, July 2014’ for the reasons contained at paragraphs 2.4 to 2.23 of the report submitted, which should form the Council’s formal response.

The Executive Member for Strategic Planning and Transport submitted a report on the public consultation undertaken by Hertfordshire County Council on proposals to implement a reduction in the provision of subsidised bus services in Hertfordshire, which would involve the deletion of some evening and Sunday services.  He also set out a proposed response to the proposals. 

The Executive Member objected to the proposed service reductions and also referred to the impact on infrastructure issues relating to the emerging District Plan.  Other Members also voiced concerns citing examples of poor service in their wards.

The Executive approved the proposed response as now submitted.

RESOLVED - that East Herts Council inform Hertfordshire County Council that it objects to the proposed service reductions proposed in its ‘Public Consultation: Have Your Say On A More Efficient Bus Service For Hertfordshire, July 2014’ for the reasons contained at paragraphs 2.4 to 2.23 of the report submitted, which should form the Council’s formal response.

That (A) investment of £10m in each of the two selected property funds now detailed be approved;

(B)     before final agreement to invest in actual funds, the Council will ensure that the most up to date legal advice about investment is considered; and

(C)    at the time of investment, the Director of Finance and Support Services, in consultation with the Executive Member for Finance, is delegated the powers to sign off the specific terms of the investment as long as these are not significantly different from those terms outlined in this report.

The Executive Member for Finance submitted a report recommending two property investment funds.  In his absence, the Leader presented the report to the meeting.  He also cautioned Members that Essential Reference Paper ‘C’ of the report submitted contained exempt information as defined in paragraph 3 of Part I of Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act 1972.  He expressed his wish to consider the matter in the public arena as far as possible.  However, if Members wished to ask detailed questions relating to this document, the meeting could exclude the press and public.

At this point (7.45 pm), the meeting was adjourned in order that further copies of the exempt Essential Reference Paper C’ could be obtained, as it had become evident that this had been wrongly omitted from the agenda papers for all Members.  At 7.53 pm, the meeting reconvened.

The Leader reminded Members of the rationale for these proposals and the Council’s need to maximise its income.  He explained the process undertaken for selecting the funds now detailed in the report submitted.

A number of Members asked questions and made comments.  The Leader responded by confirming that the income generated could be used to support the Council’s revenue budget and that the Medium Term Financial Plan (MTFP) reflected this.  He explained the fees structure and the role of Capita in advising the Council.  The investments would be in accordance with the Council’s Treasury Management Strategy which indicated the types of investments and criteria to be met.

The Leader also confirmed that assurances had been received that no single investor was so large that their withdrawal could impact adversely on the funds overall.  There were also safeguards in place with the flexibility provided by recommendation (C), as the lead in time was up to 9 months and the situation could change.

The Executive approved the proposals as now detailed.

RESOLVED - that (A) investment of £10m in each of the two selected property funds now detailed be approved;

(B)      before final agreement to invest in actual funds, the Council will ensure that the most up to date legal advice about investment is considered; and

(C)      at the time of investment, the Director of Finance and Support Services, in consultation with the Executive Member for Finance, is delegated the powers to sign off the specific terms of the investment as long as these are not significantly different from those terms outlined in this report.

That (A) the budgetary variances set out in paragraph 2.1 of the report be noted;

(B)     a virement of £20,000 from the Agency budget to the Salaries budget as set out in paragraph 2.5 of the report, be approved; and

(C)    an additional £12,000 from the contingency budget as set out in paragraph 2.15 of the report submitted be approved.

The Leader of the Council submitted an exception report on performance and finance monitoring for East Herts Council for August 2014.

He advised that in respect of EH 192 – percentage of household waste sent for recycling, the latest figure was 53.4%.

In relation to Essential Reference Paper ‘A’, the Executive Member for Health, Housing and Community Support suggested that the health and wellbeing implications had not been fully addressed and should be reviewed in future reports.

The Executive approved the recommendations now detailed.

RESOLVED - that (A) the budgetary variances set out in paragraph 2.1 of the report be noted;

(B)      a virement of £20,000 from the Agency budget to the Salaries budget as set out in paragraph 2.5 of the report, be approved; and

(C)      an additional £12,000 from the contingency budget as set out in paragraph 2.15 of the report submitted be approved.