Agenda and draft minutes

To receive any announcements from the Chair.

The Chairman said she had a busy summer of attending events across the District, including garden parties and a number of flag raising events for the emergency services and Pride.

The Chairman welcomed Councillor Bull back to the Chamber after his recent illness.

To receive any announcements from the Leader of the Council.

The Leader said that he had attended the second visioning workshop for the refresh of the District Plan which was key to ensure that the right kind of development was in place.

He congratulated the Environmental Health team who had received the Gold Level from the RSPCA for their work in animal activity licences. He also congratulated Ellen Tooley, who works for APCOA in Bishops Stortford as part of the parking services team, who was recently awarded the Front Line Award at the British Parking Awards.

The Leader said that DEFRA had recognised the council’s Air Quality Action Plan as an example of best practice which had been published on the DEFRA website as an example to other council’s to develop their own plans.

The Leader said that he had also attended the opening of Castle Park in Bishop’s Stortford and the opening of BEAM in August. He thanked the officers involved in these projects and the previous administration who had led on these projects.

To receive any Members’ apologies for absence.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Cox, Hollebon, Smith, Woollcombe and Woolf.

To approve as a correct record and authorise the Chair to sign the Minutes of the Council meeting held on 24 July 2024.

Councillor E Buckmaster said that there was an error under minute number 109 – Local Government Funding. He said that the £6.2 billion funding gap was a national figure and not related to Hertfordshire County Council.

Councillor Horner proposed, and Councillor Hill seconded a motion that the Minutes of the meetings held on 24 July 2024 be approved as a correct record and be signed by the Chairman. On being put to the meeting and a vote taken, the motion was declared CARRIED.

RESOLVED – that the Minutes of the meetings held on 24 July 2024 be approved as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

To receive any Members' declarations of interest.

There were no declarations of interest.

The Head of Legal and Democratic Services confirmed that he had given a dispensation to all Members to take part in the motion on the Winter Fuel Allowance so they could debate freely.

Keeley Haylett presented the petition on the Folly Island proposed refuse plans.

The Executive Member for Environmental Sustainability responded to the petition.

As the local ward councillor, Councillor Daar spoke in response to the petition. She said that Folly Island was a special part of the ward and said she recognised the concerns about the beauty of the area. She reiterated that the Executive were committed to finding a mutually agreeable solution whilst meeting the obligation from central government.

To receive any public questions.

The full responses to the submitted Public Questions can be found in the supplementary document here.

To receive any Members' questions.

The full responses to the submitted Members Questions can be found in the supplementary document here.

To receive a report from the Leader of the Council and to consider recommendations on the matters below:

The Leader of the Council presented a report setting out recommendations to the Council made by the Executive at its meeting on 3 September 2024. He said that the Executive also met on 1 October 2024, but there were no recommendations to Council.

The Executive Member for Corporate Services presented the recommendation to Council. He said that there had been recent changes to the Complaint Handling Code by the Ombudsman to ensure that there was consistency and fairness in the complaint handling process across councils. He said that this new code had meant there needed to be amendments to the persistent and unreasonable behaviour policy.

Councillor Dumont proposed that the recommendation in the report be supported. Councillor Goldspink seconded the proposal.

Councillor Goldspink said she supported the recommendation and said she was glad that East Herts were open and transparent about their complaints process.

Councillor Deering said that the Conservative group supported the recommendation.

The motion to support the recommendations having been proposed and seconded was put to the meeting and upon a vote being taken, was declared CARRIED.

RESOLVED - That the updated Persistent and Unreasonable Behaviour Policy be adopted.

The Executive Member for Planning and Growth presented the recommendations to Council. She said that the council, as the local planning authority, had to prepare a Local Development Scheme to set out a timeline to produce development plan documents. There was a new government consultation on proposed reforms of the National Planning Policy Framework and changes to the planning system which meant the new plan making process would be implemented from Summer 2025.

The Executive Member for Planning and Growth said that the timetable set out in the report may be subject to change as the scheme assumed that the relevant secondary legislation would be published in September 2025. She said that the council would continue to focus on updating the evidence base to support the District Plan review.

Councillor Glover-Ward proposed that the recommendations in the report be supported. Councillor Copley seconded the proposal.

Councillor Deering said that the Conservative group would be supporting the recommendations.

The motion to support the recommendations having been proposed and seconded was put to the meeting and upon a vote being taken, was declared CARRIED.

RESOLVED – That (a) the East Herts Local Development Scheme be agreed to take effect from October 2024; and

(b) the Local Development Scheme is published on the council’s website.

The Leader of the Council presented the report to Council. He said that Richard Cassidy had made the decision to leave the council after five years and he thanked him for his service and leadership. He said that the process of appointing a successor was defined by the Constitution and the Chief Officer Recruitment Committee met on 19 September 2024 and unanimously agreed to appoint Helen Standen as Interim Chief Executive and Returning Officer. He said that the appointment needed to be ratified by Council.

Councillor Crystall proposed that the recommendations in the report be supported. Councillor Goldspink seconded the proposal.

Councillor Goldspink supported the comments from the Leader and said she was pleased to support the appointment.

Councillor Jacobs asked for clarification around the recommendation for making the appointment for 18 months.

Councillor Crystall said that there were currently challenges in recruitment for local authorities. He said that it was important to make the right appointment and have the flexibility for long notice periods for Chief Executives.

Councillor E Buckmaster said that the original recommendation to the Chief Officer Recruitment Committee suggested making the appointment for 18 months. He said that the committee agreed to amend to up to 18 months to ensure that the recruitment process was done as soon as possible.

Councillor Boylan said he supported the recommendations but asked about the backfilling of the Deputy Chief Executive role.

Councillor Crystall said he was looking at backfilling and there was some ideas already about how to do that.

Councillor Deering thanked Richard Cassidy for his service on behalf of the Conservative group. He congratulated Helen Standen on stepping up to take on this role. He said that he thought some consideration should be given to a shared Chief Executive with another local authority and hoped that the process would happen as soon as possible as and he looked forward to the next steps.

Councillor Crystall said everyone wanted certainty and said the recruitment process would have cross party involvement.

Councillor Daar said she was grateful that the Deputy Chief Executive was willing to step as and it would be settling for staff to have a familiar face through a time of change.

Councillor Dumont said making the right decision was important and not the speed at which the decision was made.

Councillor Deering said that the Section 151 Officer was retiring at the end of the year and said he would like to thank him for his service.

The motion to support the recommendations having been proposed and seconded was put to the meeting and upon a vote being taken, was declared CARRIED.

RESOLVED – That (A) the appointment of Helen Standen to the role of Interim Chief Executive and Head of Paid Service for a period of up to 18 months be ratified.

(b) Helen Standen be appointed as the Electoral Registration Officer and Returning Officer for up to 18 months.

The Leader of the Council said that guidance states that councils should carry out a Community Governance Review every 10-15 years. He said that Council agreed at its last meeting to carry out a review and set up a working group to consider areas for review. He said that the review gave town and parish councils an opportunity to change and the report set out the terms of reference and timetable for the review.

Councillor Crystall proposed that the recommendation in the report be supported. Councillor Thomas seconded the proposal.

Councillor Parsad-Wyatt referred to paragraph 2.6 of the report about Sawbridgeworth Town Council. He asked the nature of the consultation as there were specific references to the warding of Sawbridgeworth.

Councillor Carter asked how the consultation would work and where the weighting would lie for changing boundaries.

The Head of Legal and Democratic Services said that it was difficult to pre-empt the consultation response and it would be for the working group to consider all responses and create draft recommendations.

Councillor E Buckmaster said that the Sawbridgeworth warding arrangements was an officer suggestion and said that Sawbridgeworth was a tight, urban area with a cohesive community. He said that the only benefit would be a shorter count. He said the community feeling was the most important consideration.

Councillor Boylan said that Sawbridgeworth did not appear in the terms of reference list and said the heading was misleading.

The Head of Legal and Democratic Services said that the list in the terms of reference was those parish councils that had said they would like to be included in the review but the terms of reference did reference that the review would take place across the district.

The motion to support the recommendation having been proposed and seconded was put to the meeting and upon a vote being taken, was declared CARRIED.

RESOLVED - That the Terms of Reference for the Community Governance Review at Appendix A be agreed, signifying the formal start of the Review and commencement of the first stage consultation.

The Leader of the Council presented the recommendation to Council. He said that the Council had previously delegated authority of the delivery of the Old River Lane project to the Head of Strategic Finance and Property at its meeting on 18 March 2021. He said that the current post holder was retiring at the end of November so the delegation needed to be updated. The report recommended that the Head of Communications, Strategy and Policy be given delegated authority for this function.

Councillor Crystall proposed that the recommendation in the report be supported. Councillor Swainston seconded the proposal.

Councillor Estop said that she felt decisions relating to the Old River Lane project should be the responsibility of the Executive or the Delivery Board. She said that the delegated authority was not clear on the scope of powers and prompted concerns that the decision-making lacked transparency and accountability.

Councillor Goldspink said she was a member of the Old River Lane Delivery Board and said the Board had made efforts over the last 18 months to improve transparency by publishing its decisions and minutes on the council’s website.

Councillor Jacobs felt the recommendation was unclear and wanted clarity as to how far the delegated authority went.

The Head of Legal and Democratic Services said that no decision would be taken by the officer without consultation with the Old River Lane Delivery Board as per the recommendation.

Councillor E Buckmaster said it was common practice to delegate authority to officers.

Councillor Estop said the report did not set out the level of responsibility and said there had been a history of questionable decisions.

Councillor Dumont said that the terms of reference were linked in the report.

The motion to support the recommendations having been proposed and seconded was put to the meeting and upon a vote being taken, was declared CARRIED.

RESOLVED - To delegate to the Head of Communications, Strategy and Policy, in consultation with the Old River Delivery Board operating in line with its Terms of Reference and the S151 Officer (or Deputy S151 in their absence), the authority to make decisions relating to the delivery of the Old River Lane project.

Councillor Holt presented his motion on notice. Councillor Parsad-Wyatt seconded the motion and reserved his right to speak.

Councillor Daar proposed the following amendments to the motion.

·       To add as a fourth paragraph: “Whilst we recognise the new Labour led government’s need to deal with the debts inherited from the previous Conservative led administration, we feel the burden of paying for cuts should fall on the broadest shoulders not those of the most vulnerable.  We urge the government to make up the shortfall in funding through a windfall tax on energy companies in the immediate term whilst other longer-term options are explored.  Locally we have already seen the effects of austerity on the vulnerable and cannot support any extension of this approach.  In addition, we oppose further rises in the energy price cap which affect the most vulnerable adversely.”

·       To add under point 2 under ‘This Council Observes’: “We also recognise that pensioners struggling with their heating bills will also be unable to afford upgrades to home insulation.”

·       Add a new point 2 under ‘This Council Resolves to’: “Call for the minister responsible for the environment:to support pensioners, by increasing funding for free home insulation schemes in order to make the winter fuel payments go further.”

·       Add the words “not receiving Pension Credit’ after pensioners in point 3.

·       To add under point 3 under ‘This Council Resolves to’: We need to see a review of all possible ways of organising a better and fairer way of assessing the needs of pensioners for receipt of the Winter Fuel Payments. This would ensure that it is targeted so that all pensioners who need the payment would receive it, not just those on the lowest incomes.

·       To add the words ‘environmental sustainability’ in the final paragraph.

Councillor Daar spoke to the amendment and said that she supported the motion fully but felt the fourth paragraph was an important addition for honesty and transparency. She felt that residents needed to have the context that has led to the decision and poor choices from the previous and current government has impacted residents locally.

Councillor Horner seconded the motion and reserved his right to speak. 

Councillor E Buckmaster said he supported the original motion. He said as a former Executive member, the council had provided £30 million to get funding out to community groups and small business. He said he was shocked by the move by the Labour government to remove the winter fuel allowance and said they had blamed it on difficult decisions. He said that there were no difficult decisions but there were options and felt the government had made the easy choice to take away from the most vulnerable who did not have the option to fight back. He said that he liked some of the amendments proposed but not all so he would be supporting the original motion.

Councillor Butcher said he supported the amendments proposed as it made important points.

Councillor Jacobs said that the Green/Liberal Democrat administration should  ...  view the full minutes text for item 184.

The Leader of the Council represented the urgent report to Council. He said that if a member of a local authority failed throughout a period of six consecutive months to attend a qualifying meeting, they would cease to be a member unless their failure to attend was approved by the authority before the expiry of that period. He said that this report asked Council to extend the time period for Councillor Woolf due to her ongoing work commitments overseas.

Councillor Crystall proposed that the recommendations in the report be supported. Councillor Goldspink seconded the proposal.

Councillor Deering said he was grateful for the Council’s supporting and understanding in bringing this report.

The motion to support the recommendations having been proposed and seconded was put to the meeting and upon a vote being taken, was declared CARRIED.

RESOLVED - That Councillor Frankie Woolf be granted a waiver of the six-month attendance rule, in accordance with Section 85(1) of the Local Government Act 1972, and an extension of the time limit to the meeting of Council scheduled for 26 February 2025.