Resolved:  That the Minutes of the meeting of the Council held on 21 July 2015 be approved and signed as a correct record.

No further declarations of interest were received. 

The Chairman reiterated his apologies for missing the last Full Council meeting in July, and was grateful to Cllr Raikes for deputising.  He was pleased to announce that the Law Society had recently awarded the in-house Legal Section “Excellence in legal practice management and client care”; and that due to the efforts of the Countryside Ranger, Ray Froud, and David Boorman, working with Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) and the Forestry Commission, extensive felling and coppicing works at Farningham Woods appeared to have prevented the spread of the Oriental Chestnut Gall wasp, which, if allowed to spread, would have been devastating to the chestnut population in the UK.

The Chairman further announced that the Council’s HERO scheme (Housing Energy and Retraining Options) had been commissioned by Dartford Borough Council with two surgeries each week. The scheme was fully funded by income and a little external funding.

Finally, with Council’s agreement, he would take agenda item 6 (c) after item 11. 

No questions had been received.

No petitions were received.

a)                 Christmas Parking 2015

Councillor Fleming proposed and Councillor Dickins seconded the recommendations from Cabinet.  The report sought authorisation for the cost of funding for the agreed free concessionary parking at Christmas 2015, be met from Supplementary Estimates.

Resolved:  That the cost of funding free parking for two Saturdays at Sevenoaks and Westerham, 12 and 19 December 2015 preceeding Christmas, be met from Supplementary Estimates.

b)                 Senior Management Restructure

Councillor Fleming proposed and Councillor Lowe seconded the recommendations from Cabinet.  The report set out a proposal for a restructure of the Council’s senior management as part of the Council’s efforts to deliver on its vision and promises to the community, to meet future challenges and to support the Council in delivering the savings required to achieve a 10 year balanced budget that was self-sufficient and no longer reliant on direct financial support from central Government.

Resolved:  That

a)        the proposed senior management structure as set out in Appendix A to the report, be approved;

b)        the new senior management structure take effect from 1 April 2016;

c)         the posts of Chief Housing Officer and Chief Officer Legal & Governance be deleted from the end of May 2016 following offers of voluntary redundancy from the post holders;

d)        the post holder of the Head of Legal & Democratic Services role be appointed as Monitoring Officer, effective from 1 April 2016;

e)        the appointment of the Chief Finance Officer as section 151 Officer, be effective from 1 April 2016; and

f)          authority be delegated to the Monitoring Officer to make the necessary consequential changes to Part 13 of the Constitution entitled “Officer Responsibilities and Delegations” in order to take account of the changes in senior management set out within the report.

a)                 Feedback and approval of Statement of Licensing Principles for Gambling Act 2005

Councillor Fleming proposed and Councillor Mrs. Morris seconded the recommendations from Licensing Committee.

Resolved:  That the revised policy be adopted.

b)                 Appointment of Deputy Electoral Registration Officer and Returning Officer for Parish Polls

Councillor Fleming proposed and Councillor Pett seconded the recommendations from the Governance Committee.

Resolved:  That

                          a)     the Chief Officer for Corporate Support be appointed Deputy Electoral Registration Officer for the Sevenoaks District Council, and

                          b)     the Chief Executive be appointed as Returning Officer for any polls held under the Parish and Community Meetings (Polls) Rules 1987.

a)                 Membership of Committees and Outside Organisations

It was moved by Councillor Fleming, seconded by Councillor Firth and

Resolved:  That

a)        Cllr McArthur be appointed to the Audit Committee; and

b)    Cllr Lowe be replaced by Councillor Mrs Bosley on the Sevenoaks Leisure Board of Trustees.

b)                 Employment Stability Policy

It was moved by Councillor Fleming, seconded by Councillor Lowe and

Resolved:  That the Employment Stability Policy be adopted.

c)                  Local Council Tax Support Scheme 2016/17

It was moved by Councillor Fleming, seconded by Councillor Searles and

Resolved:  That, as resolved by Council on 27 November 2012, Members approve that from 1 April 2016 all residents of working age receive a deduction on the amount of council tax support they are entitled to, calculated in accordance with the Council’s local council tax support scheme, of 18.5%.

No questions had been received.

No motions had been received.

The Leader of the Council reported on the work that he and the Cabinet had undertaken in the period 6 July to 23 October 2015. 

c)         Development of Sennocke & Bradbourne Car Parks

Councillor Fleming proposed and Councillor Lowe seconded the recommendations from Cabinet.  The report sought approval to develop the Sennocke Car Park and Bradbourne Car Park sites to provide a branded hotel and additional car parking capacity.

It was moved by the Chairman and

Resolved:  That, under section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public be excluded from the meeting for the following item of business on the ground that likely disclosure of exempt information was involved as defined by paragraph 3 (Information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person (including the authority holding that information) as identified in Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act 1972.

Members discussed the information contained within the confidential appendices.

Resolved:  That

a)        the proposed schemes be proceeded with;

b)        a Development Management Agreement and Agreement for Lease be entered into with the preferred Development Management Consultant and preferred Hotel Operator on the terms outlined in the confidential Appendix D to the report; and

c)    the development is in the public interest and therefore the land be appropriated for planning purposes in accordance with Section 122 of the Local Government Act 1972 and subject to the powers provided by Section 237 of The Town and Country Planning Act 1990.