Agenda and draft minutes

This session is limited to 30 minutes.

1.    From Ms A Dakin to Councillor Monk, Leader of the Council

Why was ground clearance work, including the removal of trees and shrubs, undertaken at Princes Parade during nesting season, in clear contravention of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, and who was responsible for this decision?

2.    From Ms M Lawes to Councillor Peall, Cabinet Member for Enforcement, Regulatory Services, Waste & Building control

What planning and preparedness has this council put in place to address the issues that occurred last spring/summer (to include damage to coastal park, parking issues, insufficient toilets in beach areas of the district, lack of bins, residents blocked from getting in & out of The Stade, lack of bin collections, harm to the Warren, coach loads turning up to party on our beaches etc), to ensure this does not harm our coastal areas this spring/summer?

1.    From Ms A Dakin to Councillor Monk, Leader of the Council

Why was ground clearance work, including the removal of trees and shrubs, undertaken at Princes Parade during nesting season, in clear contravention of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, and who was responsible for this decision?

ANSWER:

Thank you for your question Ms Dakin.

All ground clearance works for the whole project are undertaken not only by using our in-house qualified staff, but also by using independent ecological consultants- Lloyd Bore consultancy.  They have been appointed to provide an independent overview of the ecological aspects of the project and ensure the appropriate measures are in place and that the council acts legally and in line with the overall ecology plan.  The consultants have overseen and have had full view of all the works undertaken and have not identified any contravention of the above act mentioned.  I do also have to say that our staff are fully aware of the Act and are suitably qualified to ensure that all measures are in place to avoid harm to any nesting birds.

I am also aware that separately representations have been made to the police about breaching the above Act.  The police have responded that as far as they are concerned the Council have undertaken appropriate due diligence and that there is no indication of any criminal offence having taken place.

In summary, the Council has been responsible in carrying out its responsibilities and I reject your assertion that we have acted in contravention of the law.

2.    From Ms M Lawes to Councillor Peall, Cabinet Member for Enforcement, Regulatory Services, Waste & Building control

What planning and preparedness has this council put in place to address the issues that occurred last spring/summer (to include damage to coastal park, parking issues, insufficient toilets in beach areas of the district, lack of bins, residents blocked from getting in & out of The Stade, lack of bin collections, harm to the Warren, coach loads turning up to party on our beaches etc), to ensure this does not harm our coastal areas this spring/summer?

ANSWER:

Thank you for your question Ms Lawes.

Last summer due to the Covid-19 pandemic the District experienced a massive increase in visits from tourists and higher use from residents across all of our parks, open spaces and beaches. Officers worked tirelessly throughout the summer to address the issues as they arose and to try to pre-empt what the next behaviour change would be. Particular issues arose in our key coastal spaces such as the Warren, the Coastal Park, Sunny Sands (The Stade) and the popular beaches on the Marsh such as at Greatstone, Littlestone, Dymchurch and St Mary’s Bay.

In anticipation once again of the expected larger than normal visitor numbers officers have been working as a cross organisation group to discuss lessons learnt, and the steps that will be put in place for this summer to minimise disruption for our residents across the District.

The  ...  view the full minutes text for item 1.

This session is limited to 45 minutes.

1.    From Councillor J Martin to Councillor Monk, Leader of the Council

You recently told us that you anticipate building work to begin on Princes Parade in 2022 but there are millions of pounds of costs missing from the financial viability assessment report published by Savills, on the 13th July 2017. The missing costs are caveated by in the third paragraph under Section 1.6 "Background" (page 4). Can the Leader tell me why he has prevented the Council's consultants meeting with me, as previously arranged, to discuss their financial viability assessment?

2.    From Councillor Whybrow to Councillor Monk, Leader of the Council

Does the council now have permission to stop up and realign the road at Princes Parade?

3.    From Councillor Whybrow to Councillor Godfrey, Cabinet Member for  Housing, Transport and special projects

The funding for the Princes Parade project includes £1.4m from the off-site s106 affordable housing contribution from the Imperial development. Can you please confirm that this means that there will be additional affordable housing over and above the 30% due from the Princes Parade development itself?

4.    From Councillor Treloar to Councillor Monk, Leader of the Council

How many trees have been cut down on the north side of the canal in the recent Princes Parade mitigation work, including live and dead trees?

5.    From Councillor Treloar to Councillor Monk, Leader of the Council

Where does the council propose to site the artificial badger sett that the badgers from Princes Parade are going to be moved to?

6.    From Councillor J Martin to Councillor Monk, Leader of the Council

Prior to the felling of over 100 trees, during the first couple of weeks of this month, on the North Bank of the Royal Military Canal at Seabrook, was an ecological survey carried out to establish how many birds had begun nesting in the trees along the Canal Bank?   

7.    From Councillor Wade to Councillor Monk, Leader of the Council

Were you aware that according to the Lloyd Bore report published on 3rd July, 2018, the realigned road at Prince's Parade will be as close as 13.32 metres from the Royal Military Canal?

8.    From Councillor McConville to Councillor Monk, Leader of the Council

In the recent budget, it was announced that a new levelling up fund would be available to local councils. Folkestone and Hythe are in the priority 1 list of councils. What are the council's plans, both in terms of confirming an application and how would an application propose the use of £20 million.

9.    From Councillor McConville to Councillor Monk, Leader of the Council

With the recent news of the opening of a new Job Centre in Folkestone and records showing an increase in over 2000 unemployed in the last 12 months across the district, on the back of poor retail and hospitality sectors, what strategic plans do the council have to play an active role in increasing employment for the district's residents?

10.From Councillor Meade  ...  view the full agenda text for item 2.

1.    From Councillor J Martin to Councillor Monk, Leader of the Council

You recently told us that you anticipate building work to begin on Princes Parade in 2022 but there are millions of pounds of costs missing from the financial viability assessment report published by Savills, on the 13th July 2017. The missing costs are caveated by in the third paragraph under Section 1.6 "Background" (page 4). Can the Leader tell me why he has prevented the Council's consultants meeting with me, as previously arranged, to discuss their financial viability assessment?

ANSWER:

Thank you for your question.

Due to the 18 month delay in delivering the project, as a result of the unsuccessful legal challenge bought against the council, certain delivery aspects are being re-worked. 

In due course relevant documents will be made available to the relevant decision-makers.

In the meantime, we will publish by tomorrow morning, the Princes Parade financial overview on the Princes Parade website, which gives an idea of the decisions made, the costings and timeline for that.

SUPPLEMENTARY QUESTION:

What is going to happen to the land at Nichols Quarry?

ANSWER:

I will find out and provide a written response.

Following the meeting, the following response was given:

The land at Nichols Quarry was provided as an option within the section 106 agreement with the developer.  The Council could take this land and use it for sports, leisure and community facilities or, alternatively, the council would be provided with a financial contribution for such facilities elsewhere.  The council has decided to build the facility on Princes Parade and therefore will receive a financial contribution from the developer to support that project.  This means that the land identified at Nichols Quarry will revert back to the developer and they will be able to consider the future use of the land.  If they want to develop this land, then this would be subject to the normal planning requirements including the need for local facilities and developers contributions.

2.    From Councillor Whybrow to Councillor Monk, Leader of the Council

Does the council now have permission to stop up and realign the road at Princes Parade?

ANSWER:

Thank you for your question.

You will be aware that there was a statutory consultation on the stopping up of the road.  This is a separate application and consultation from the Planning Application and is subject to Secretary of State Approval.

This process was temporarily halted alongside the project as a whole whilst the judicial review was undertaken until the planning application could be confirmed.  Now that this has happened, we will revisit the consultation and the responses received via Secretary of State for Transport’s Office to agree the final report.  The final decision as to whether a stopping up order is agreed will be with the Secretary of State for Transport’s Office.

SUPPLEMENTARY QUESTION:

If that has not been resolved, was it not somewhat premature to carry out the devastating work on the north bank of the canal bank last week?

ANSWER:  ...  view the full minutes text for item 2.