Resolved:  That the Minutes of the meeting of Annual Council held on 25 May 2021 be approved, and signed as a correct record.

No additional declarations of interest, were received.

The Chairman announced that she had nearly been in her new role as Chairman of the Council for two months, and had so far, despite restrictions attended 25 events, of which 23 had been in the District alone. So far, she had received more than 90 invitations and planned to attend as many as she could. The Chairman and Michael, had the great pleasure of attending the Bishop of Rochester’s retirement service, which had been a wonderful occasion for an amazing man, that was held in Rochester Cathedral. Only 120 dignitaries were invited and it was a great honour for Sevenoaks to be included.  She expressed her delight that her diary was very quickly filling up for the coming months ahead as they looked towards getting back to normality with lockdown restrictions lifting.

She further announced that she was delighted to have been able to host her Civic Service on Saturday 17 July; it was very well attended even though restrictions were still in place.  She had many more events planned for the rest of her year, and reminded Members of the next three charity events she had planned; a visit to Coakham Farm, beer tasting at Westerham Brewery and a visit to Eagle Heights with all proceeds supporting the invaluable work carried out by DAVSS.

Along with Cllr Hogarth, the Chairman had judged the entries for ‘In Bloom’, and had been amazed by the breadth and variety of the gardens brightening up the district and supporting wildlife. There was also lots of positive work around the Council’s net zero ambitions to be seen, including solar powered bins that tell us when they were full, cutting down on wasted collection journeys. She also reminded Members that the four weeks of family fun days were about to begin full of free activities for all. There were also free family nature trails over the school holidays to encourage young people to love local wildlife.

No questions had been received.

No petitions had been received.

a)            Adoption of Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) Management Plans

Councillor Fleming moved and Cllr Thornton seconded the recommendations from Cabinet, which sought approval for the adoption of the Kent Downs and High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty Management Plans.

Resolved:  That the Kent Downs and High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty Management plans, be adopted.

a)             LGA Model Code of Conduct – Recommendation of Working Group

Cllr Ball moved, and Cllr Raikes seconded the recommendation from the Standards Committee, which sought the retention of the existing Sevenoaks District Council Members’ Code of Conduct.

Resolved:  That the

a)      work of the LGA on a Model Code of Conduct, be noted; and

b)     existing Sevenoaks District Council Members’ Code of Conduct, be endorsed and retained.

b)             2023 Parliamentary Boundary Review

Cllr Eyre moved, and Cllr Nelson seconded the recommendation from the Governance Committee, which sought the approval of a consultation response to the Boundary Commission for England based on the views collated from Members following consultation with the Chairman of Governance Committee.

The Leader spoke to the motion stating that proposals put forward disadvantaged a number areas to the north of the District in terms of moving them out of the Sevenoaks District boundary, whilst then including a part of the Dartford Borough into the parliamentary consistency.

Members discussed the report, and some concerns were expressed that the move would not make sense for the communities which would be affected by the proposals and their needs should be put first in considerations. There was support for Ash, and New Ash Green, and Hartley and Hodsoll Street to be into the same Parliamentary Constituency but to remain in Sevenoaks, rather than Tonbridge.

Resolved:  That the

a)      initial proposals from the Boundary Commission for England Parliamentary boundaries for the Sevenoaks District Council area from 2023, be noted; and

b)     submission of a consultation response to the Boundary Commission for England based on views collated from Members and following consultation with the Chairman of the Governance Committee, be approved.

c)             Protocol on Councillor and Officer Relations

Cllr Eyre moved, and Cllr Nelson seconded the recommendation from the Governance Committee, which sought approval for the revised protocol on Councillor and Officer relations and for the Monitoring Officer to be delegated authority to amend the protocol as from time to time may be necessary.

Resolved:  That the

a)      Revised protocol on Councillor and Officer relations be approved and adopted; and

b)     Monitoring Officer be delegated authority to amend the Protocol on Councillor and Officer Relations as from time-to-time may become necessary.

d)             Contracts Procedure Rules

Cllr Eyre moved, and Cllr Nelson seconded the recommendation from the Governance Committee for the adoption of the revised Contracts Procedure Rules, and for the Monitoring Officer to be delegated authority to amend the protocol as from time to time may be necessary.

Resolved:  That the

a)    revised Contracts Procedure Rules, be approved and adopted; and

b)    Monitoring Officer be delegated authority to amend the Contracts Procedure Rules as from time-to-time may become necessary.

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 5 April 2021 to 2 July 2021. The Leader took the opportunity to highlight that he had attended the first in person Corporate Induction since the start of the Coronavirus Pandemic.

Members noted the report presented by the Chairman of the Audit Committee, Councillor McGarvey.