Resolved: That Cllr. Hogarth be appointed as Chairman of the Committee for the ensuing municipal year.

(Cllr. Hogarth in the Chair)

Resolved: That Cllr. Maskell be appointed as Vice Chairman of the Committee for the ensuing municipal year.

To agree the Minutes of the meeting of the Committee held on 7 March 2017, as a correct record

Resolved: That the minutes of the meeting held on 7 March 2017, be approved and signed by the Chairman as a correct record.

Any interests not already registered

Cllr. Scott advised that she would leave the meeting and not take part in the debate or voting thereon in relation to agenda item 8.

There were none.

The Portfolio Holder and Chairman reported that the launch of Visitor Economy at Riverhill house was a successful event with different representatives from visitor attractions across the District. It provided the opportunity for sharing information, experiences and networking. He also advised that the Economic Development team had provided an example of practical advice to help a business that was expanding to remain in the District.

With the agreement of the Committee, the Chairman took agenda item 7 after agenda item 11 and took agenda item 12 after agenda item 10.

There were none.

The Community Safety Manager presented a report which looked at the work of the Community Safety Partnership from April 2016 – March 2017, taking into account all aspects of the Partnership reflecting on crime trends, CSU and successes. Members also received a presentation.

In response to questions Members were advised that figures for violence against a person included a percentage of Domestic Abuse reports. It was requested by Members that figures for reported domestic abuse cases within the category violence against the person be circulated along with how the successes of speed watch was recorded.

Action 1: For Community Safety Manager to provide figures for reported domestic abuse and how the successes of speed watch were recorded.

Resolved: That the report be noted.

(Cllr. Scott left the meeting for the above item and did not take part in the debate or voting thereon)

The Community Safety Manager presented a report which provided an overview of the Dunton Green Community Development project, which outlined the main findings from the community consultation that had taken place along with an overview of the projects implemented and the additional funding received.

Resolved: That the report be noted.

The Chief Officer Environmental and Operational Services presented a report detailing the Council’s statutory responsibility for dealing with a civil emergency. The Main responsibilities were to provide humanitarian aid, recovery and mutual aid to other responders.

In response to questions he advised that in an emergency Members’ roles would be to provide the correct and necessary information to the public who may be enquiring. Training opportunities for Members was being looked into.

In response to questions Members were advised that there were three major rest centres identified in the District, however if the emergency was more than the rest centres could provide then help would be sought from neighbouring authorities as part of the mutual aid. A log would be kept to ensure that anyone who approached the council for assistance or were in a rest centre would be known so that communication was not lost.

Resolved: That the report be noted

The Economic Development Officer presented a report which summarised performance of the targets in the Economic Development Strategy. Performance against the targets had improved since the last report and 86% of the targets were reported as green, 12% as amber and 2% as red.

The Committee was shown a slide detailing what the Economic Development Team Offers for businesses.

Resolved: That the report be noted.

Guest speaker, Richard Reid (of Richard Reid and Associates (architects and master planners)) .

The Committee welcomed Richard Reid (of Richard Reid and Associates (architects and master planners)) to the meeting. Mr. Reid gave a presentation to Members on the importance of development to the local economy.

As part of a discussion about design, it was thought that it was as important to pay attention to the spaces between buildings as well as to the design of the building themselves. Low density areas were not always more attractive and mixed uses of areas needed to be considered carefully.

The Chairman exercised his discretion and allowed a Member of the public to address the Committee. In response to a question Mr. Reid advised that structures needed to provide flexibility over time. The Chairman also advised consideration needed to be given to planning policies to provide flexibility, including through the local plan.

Mr. Reid informed Members that it was important for communities and to be involved with planning and for intergenerational comments to be sought, to help encourage excitement for developments.

The Chairman thanked Mr. Reid for his attendance.

During the discussion of agenda item 12 the Committee became inquorate and continued with informal notes.

The work plan was noted.