Agenda and minutes

There were no declarations of interest at the meeting.

To receive the minutes of the meeting of the council held on 23 February 2022 and to authorise the Chairman of the Council to sign them as a correct record.

The minutes of the meeting held on 23 February 2022 were submitted, approved and signed by the Chairman.

The Chairman gave an update on the 9 events he had attended, which included:

·         Buble Song Book fundraiser in Tenterden.

·         Common Wealth Flag Raising in New Romney.

·         Maidstone Mayor Quiz night fund raiser.

·         Dartford Mayor event fund raiser.

·         Gravesham Gurdwra Temple event.

·         Faversham Ball event fund raiser.

·         Sevenoaks Quiz event fund raiser.

He stated that the Vice Chairman had gone on a visit to Shepherd Neame, and also advised that the Deputy Leader had attended the International Ladies Day in New Romney on his behalf.

There were no petitions to be presented.

There were no questions from the public.

(Questions can be found on www.folkestone-hythe.gov.uk from noon 2 days before the meeting, on Modern.gov, under the agenda for this meeting).

Up to 45 minutes is allowed for questions from councillors.

The questions asked, including supplementary questions (if any), and the answers given are set up in Schedule 1, appended to these minutes.

The Leader gave the following announcements:

“Thank you Chairman, and good evening to you all.

A couple of the questions this evening were about Ukraine.

I want to talk about how we individually can support the Ukrainians, both in Ukraine, and in the refugee camps in Poland.

This afternoon the Chief Executive and I visited the coordinating centre run at the Bigjigs site by Peter Ireland, and we learnt just how much people are donating, so far they have arranged for 9 lorries loaded to mainly go to the Ukraine and a few to Poland, and another leaves tonight.

What is becoming evident is that the donations need to become more targeted and without a doubt, the best way to facilitate this is to donate money.

Medicines, food and personal necessities are now a much higher priority and cash donations enable some really good deals to be done, especially for food.  Also, they enable purchases to be made in Ukraine and Poland thereby greatly reducing transport costs.

Our website gives the link to the crowd funding site for donations to this initiative. They will still be taking donations in kind as listed on our website under the banner Support for Ukraine.

I must say, that the public response to this crisis has been absolutely astonishing.

I hope that tonight will be a stepping stone for the amazing future of Folkestone and Hythe.  I am of course, talking about the adoption of the Core Strategy Review, a wonderful piece of work, and it is not just me who thinks so, look at the highly positive remarks from the Inspector. It is never easy to get one of these strategies through the inspectorate but the Dynamic Duo of Adrian and David along with their team have managed it.

So, I publicly thank them for their achievement and hope that this Council will endorse their work by adopting the Strategy tonight”.

Councillor McConville, on behalf of the Opposition, responded to the points raised and stated that he agreed with all the sentiments with regard to the terrible tragedy in the Ukraine, and he welcomed all help.  He added that it was important to reflect on the earlier points about how the council could help all refugees in the whole within the town. He added that hopefully these sorts of outpourings would only increase, and help to deliver aid to places also suffering, such as the Ukraine.

Proposed by Councillor Monk,

Seconded by Councillor Mrs Hollingsbee; and

RESOLVED:

That the announcements of the Leader be noted.

(Voting figures: 27 for, 0 against, 0 abstentions).

The Labour Group has raised the following matter:

Council Notes:

That we currently have a "Statement of Community Involvement" which has not been updated since 2015

That this statement makes reference to a number of outdated plans and terms including:

- Shepway District Council including email addresses

- Corporate Plan 2013-18:

- Shepway Economic Development Strategy 2014-2019:

- Shepway Community Compact 2013

That this current statement does not include information for residents in how to engage with updated planning systems, including MyAccount.

Council Believes:

That by having these outdated documents accessible on our website, to the public, we are not placing a high enough value on community involvement.

There are community groups active in the district who have a passion for both planning and development and promotion of history and heritage. These groups should be utilised by the council for their input in preparing documents such as these.

That with a number of large development proposals currently being looked at by this council, a document such as this should be as current as possible.

That a revitalised pledge towards community involvement in the council's planning agenda will only be beneficial during the duration of the council's current local plan.

Council Resolves:

To renew the current "Statement for Community Involvement" document by the end of 2022

To engage with all residents and stakeholders of the district with regards to the renewal of the document.

To consider amending but not limiting to the following

- The title of the document

- Our Community Involvement Principles

- How we consult

- Reaching the Seldom Heard

Debates on opposition business shall be limited to 30 minutes.  If the time limit is reached or the debate concludes earlier, the leader of the group raising the item shall have a right of reply.

The Council shall:

a)         Note the issue raised and take no further action;

b)         Refer the issue to the cabinet or relevant overview and scrutiny committee, as the case may be for their observations before deciding whether to make a decision on the issue;

c)         Agree to examine the matter as part of a future scrutiny programme;

d)         Adopt the issue raised by opposition business provided that the decision so made is within the policy framework and budget.

The Leader of the Labour Group, Councillor McConville, set out the Opposition Business which related to the council’s Statement of Community Involvement. 

Proposed by Councillor McConville,

Seconded by Councillor Monk; and

RESOLVED:

That Option (b) (refer the issue to the Scrutiny Committee, for their observations before deciding whether to make a decision on the issue) be agreed for the business below:

That the current "Statement for Community Involvement" document be renewed by the end of 2022.

That engagement take place with all residents and stakeholders of the district with regards to the renewal of the document.

To consider amending but not limiting to the following:

- The title of the document

- Our Community Involvement Principles

- How we consult

- Reaching the Seldom Heard

(Voting figures: 27 for, 0 against, 0 abstentions).

There are no motions on notice.

There were no motions on notice.

The Gambling Act 2005 requires the council, in its role as the local licensing authority, to prepare a Statement of Principles related to the exercise of its local licensing of gambling. The Statement of Principles must be reviewed every three years and the current statement runs until April 2022. The Statement of Principles has been reviewed and updated to cover the next three year period from 2022 to 2025. This report seeks approval from Full Council to adopt and publish the updated statement.

This item was withdrawn from the agenda and would return to a future meeting.

This report summarises the findings of the planning Inspectors’ report into the Core Strategy Review. The report recommends that Council proceeds to adopt the Core Strategy Review, with the main modifications identified by the Inspectors, so that the plan can be used to make decisions on planning applications.

The report summarised the findings of the planning Inspectors’ report into the Core Strategy Review. The report recommended that Council proceeds to adopt the Core Strategy Review, with the main modifications identified by the Inspectors, so that the plan can be used to make decisions on planning applications.

Proposed by Councillor Monk,

Seconded by Councillor Mrs Hollingsbee; and

RESOLVED:

1.         That report A/21/35 be received and noted.

2.         That the final report of the planning Inspectors who carried out the examination of the Core Strategy Review (Appendix 1) be noted;

3.         That amendments to the Core Strategy Review be approved incorporating:

a)      The Inspectors’ main modifications and amendments to the policies map as set out in Appendix 2; and

b)     Any other minor formatting changes or typographic corrections that are necessary for clarity or comprehension; and

4.         That the Folkestone & Hythe District Core Strategy Review be adopted, incorporating the amendments set out in recommendation 3, to form part of the development plan for the district.

(Voting figures: 15 for, 2 against, 10 abstentions).