Reolved: That the Minutes of the meeting of the Council held on 23 July 2019, be approved and signed as a correct record.

No additional declarations of interest were received.

The Chairman announced that in September he had hosted a charity wine tasting evening and tour at the Mount Shoreham, which highlighted a local business in the district. The event was well supported by Mayors and Chairman from Kent and Surrey and colleagues which raised £570 for Demelza. On 24 November 2019, he would be hosting a charity curry lunch at the Rajdani in West Kingsdown which looked like it would be another successful event with nearly all 100 tickets sold.

The Chairman reported that since the last meeting in June, he and the Vice Chairman had attended over 100 community events within the district. The Council joined in with fundraising for Children in Need on Friday 15 November and he had been invited to judge the bake off entries, and fancy dress, which raised over £600.

The next ‘Run, walk or push against Dementia’ event was taking place on 10 May 2020, and encouraged everyone to sign up to take part. The Big Sing would also be taking place on 4 May 2020, and groups had until 28 February to register.

Finally, the Chairman announced exciting news that the Council was finalists in two categories in the Investors in People Awards. The first was for Investors in People Platinum Organisation of the Year and Leader of the Year for the Council’s Chief Executive, Dr. Pav Ramewal.

No questions had been received.

No petitions had been received.

(a)         Christmas Parking 2019

Councillor Fleming moved and Cllr Dyball seconded the recommendation from Cabinet, which sought funding for free parking to be provided for two weekends leading up to Christmas, on Saturdays and Sundays, 14 & 15 and 21 & 22 December 2019.

Resolved: That the cost in terms of loss of income for free Christmas parking be met from Supplementary Estimates.

(a)          Review of Polling Districts, Polling Places and Polling Stations

Councillor Eyre moved and Councillor Pearsall seconded the recommendation from Governance Committee. The report sought approval for minor adjustments to a Polling District and polling places.

Councillor Eyre spoke to the motion stating that all district councils were required by law to complete a review of polling districts and places every 5 years. Supporting responses were received from Acting Returning Officers for the Parliamentary constituencies representing Sevenoaks District Council and 11 further consultation responses were received. As a result of feedback and submissions some changes to polling places were recommended and agreed at the Governance Committee.

Some Members disagreed with the recommendation as some residents were disadvantaged and had to travel a long way to the polling station. Members discussed that this could happen where ever the polling station was located and there was the opportunity to elect for a postal vote.

Resolved: That

a)     the minor adjustment to the boundary between poling districts BZ (Lower St. John’s) and CC (Upper St. John’s), be agreed

b)     all other polling district boundaries be retained and unchanged; and

c)     the proposed polling places as set out in Appendix C to the report be agreed. 

(b)         Report of the ‘Chairman Role’ Working Group

Councillor Eyre moved and Councillor Pearsall seconded the recommendation from Governance Committee. The report sought for the adoption of the working group recommendations.

Resolved: That

a)    the report of the Members working group and its recommendations be noted;

b)   the Member working group recommendations be adopted subject to any necessary growth item being approved through the formal budget-making progress; and

c)    any recommendations for growth be referred to the next meeting of the Finance Advisory Committee for consideration.

(c)          To approve the minutes of the Appointments Committee held on 7 November 2019

Councillor Fleming moved and Cllr Dyball seconded that the Minutes of the Appointments Committee held on 7 November 2019, be agreed and signed by the Chairman as a correct record.

Resolved: That the Minutes of the Appointments Committee held on 7 November 2019, be agreed and signed by the Chairman as a correct record.

(a)          Net Zero Report

Councillor Fleming moved and Councillor Dickins seconded the report which sought the agreement of the Council’s aspiration to reach Net Zero by 2030.

The Leader spoke to the motion stating that the Council was a forward –thinking authority which led by example for implementing policies which improved the District and embraced innovation and therefore the Council would unambiguously commit to working towards Net Zero 2030 and set out two stages to achieve this. Stage 1 would be the actions for the Council to fully to move to Net Zero 2030 by the undertaking of the immediate actions and commitments and stage 2 would be the actions and commitments to be further investigated by the working group.

Councillor Kitchener moved and it was seconded to establish an additional cross party task and finish group.

Councillor Fleming responded that he was committed to take the Net Zero 2030 forward working across the parties once the Terms of Reference had been established by Cabinet.

The motion was put to the vote and it was lost.

Members discussed the report and welcomed the commitment to achieve net zero by 2030. Members discussed some of the actions suggested in the report and if some of the actions and commitments could be developed further. Councillor Fleming advised that the actions set out were deliverable ideas and initiatives that could be undertaken by the Council, however until there were changes within the National were planning system the Council could only do what was permitted by law but the local planning policies can be changed within the Council’s control. The Council would lead the way for long term change with practical solutions.

Resolved: That

a)     the aspiration to reach Net Zero by 2030 be endorsed; and

b)     it be recommended to Cabinet to develop an action plan to support the delivery of the proposed staged actions in support of Net Zero 2030.

(b)         Draft Calendar of Meetings 2020/21

Councillor Fleming proposed and Councillor Dickins seconded the report which sought approval for the draft calendar of meetings 2020/21.

Resolved: That the draft calendar of meetings for 2020/21 be approved subject to formal adoption at the Annual Meeting on Council on 12 May 2020.

Two questions had been received from two Members in accordance with paragraph 19.3 of Part 2 (The Council and District Council Members) of the Constitution.

Question 1: Cllr Clayton

“What consultation has Sevenoaks District Council taken in preparing its response to the Climate Emergency declared by National Government and KCC, and will the District Council support and promote the measures identified in more local initiatives such as the Sevenoaks Neighbourhood Plan and the Otford Neighbourhood and Traffic Plans which aim to bring together action closer to individual communities?"

Response: Leader of the Council

Appendices A and B to the Net Zero report set out the direction of the Council. A Green Summit in spring/summer 2020 would bring together groups, organisations, companies and experts to engage and inspire residents. The Local Plan, Neighbourhood plans and environmental plans would all be considered for the district. 

No supplementary question was asked.

In accordance with the Constitution, no further discussion was allowed.

Question 2: Cllr Dr Canet

“What measures can this Council action to encourage the development of diverse housing for the needs of residents? Particularly, suitable housing for older private owner residents to enable them to manage the extra needs of their increasing age, without the necessity of being in a care home?”

Response: Leader of the Council

The majority of older people had expressed the desire to continue to live independently as they aged, as reflected within the Local Housing Needs Study, Strategic Housing Market Assessment, the Council’s latest Housing Strategy and latest Draft Local Plan. A Key aim was to enable the delivery of smaller housing that was well designed with older age and accessibility in mind and which people would be better abled and more willing to downsize to in the future.

Housing that was designed to the Lifetime Homes Standard would be convenient for most, without the necessity for substantial alterations. A lifetime home would meet the requirements of a wide range of households, and was helpful to everyone in ordinary daily life. Policy SP5 of the Core Strategy specifies the District Council would seek homes that meet the Lifetime Homes Standard (now Building Regulation Part M4(2)). Bellway and West Kent Housing Association were fully compliant with his request.

42 properties in Oakley Park, Edenbridge were all built to the Lifetime Homes Standard’ and future work will involve looking at mobile home parks across the District.

No supplementary question was asked.

In accordance with the Constitution, no further discussion was allowed.

No motions had been received.

The Leader of the Council reported on the work that he and the Cabinet had undertaken in the period 8 July to 1 November 2019.

In response to a question, the Leader confirmed that other Councils with the exception of those with transport in their remit, were currently not progressing with climate change policies.