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

 (Cllr. Mrs. Hunter in the Chair)

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

Any interests not already registered.

No additional declarations of interest were made.

Minutes of the meeting of the Local Development Framework (LDF) Advisory Group held on 31 January 2013.

In response to a query concerning whether Action 1 – ‘Officers to provide Members a briefing note explaining the status of the Allocations and Development Management Plan before and after inspection’ within the minutes, the Group Manager, Planning advised that he would arrange for this to be done for all members of the committee as soon as possible.  A Member commented that it would also be useful to have a list of planning supplementary documents and which ones had or had not been adopted.

Action 1:  The Group Manager, Planning to circulate the briefing note on Allocations and Development Management Plan as previously agreed, and a list of supplementary planning documents.

Resolved: That the minutes of the meeting of the Local Development Framework Advisory Group held on 31 January 2013 be approved and signed by the Chairman as a correct record.

The Portfolio Holder for Local Planning and Environment advised that he had monthly meetings with Officers.  It was early days in his new position.  He had recently opened two lots of tenders and had a briefing on Gypsy sites.  He also advised that the former Kent Waste Partnership had re-launched itself as the ‘Kent Resource Partnership.’  The Partnership had been flagged by Parliament as an example of best practice.

The Chairman advised that on behalf of the Portfolio Holder, she would be attending a launch at the Weald of a new campaign entitled “Caps On”, encouraging caps to be left on glass bottles at time of recycling. 

A Member queried whether the commitment to a briefing on traveller sites given under the old governance structure would be upheld.  The Group Manager, Planning confirmed that it had been given and it was hoped that a briefing would be arranged before the consideration of the report September.  The Portfolio Holder for Local Planning and Environment invited members to attend his portfolio holder briefing on Thursday 4 July 2013 at 3 p.m. where this would be discussed.

There were none.

Verbal presentation.

The Group Manager – Planning; Head of Environmental and Operational Services; and Head of Housing and Communications gave brief presentations to the meeting regarding their areas of responsibility and which of these areas came within the remit of the Advisory Committee. They also explained which matters they considered would be key upcoming issues and future challenges faced.

Within planning policy a Member queried why the national planning policy framework had not been mentioned and commented on the helpful document the Group Manager Planning had produced setting out how Sevenoaks complied with the framework, summarising the main issues and concerns arising from the provision of new development whilst protecting the environment.  With reference to the new permitted development rights, the Group Manager Planning advised that all Members should have received a copy of the presentation he had given to the Town and Parish Councils and he was happy to receive any questions Members may have.  Members were concerned as to whether there was anyway to protect areas that were in the early stages of becoming a conservation area.  The Group Manager Planning advised that these areas were only protected if they had already been designated before the end of May 2014.  It was a lengthy process and if there were an attempt to speed up the process it could be at the expense of reviewing existing Conservation Area Management Plans (CAMPs).  With reference to listed buildings there was a commitment in the Core Strategy to prepare a local list and if a parish council wished to take a lead in this there was guidance available.  However sites identified within neighbourhood plans did not circumvent the formal process but did provide evidence to justify designation. 

Action 2:  Conservation Officer to be asked to supply information on identifying possible properties for listing to the Hextable Parish Clerk.

In response to questions the Head of Environmental and Operational Services advised that it was not possible to use red diesel, but the Council did have it’s own fuel pumps and the tendered cost of diesel was lower bought direct compared to filling station prices.  Non statutory services such as Cesspool emptying and trade waste collections  were regularly reviewed as they needed to remain profitable and helped subsidise statutory duties.  If they were not financially viable consideration would be given to withdrawing the service.  The Council did not always supply the cheapest price but the customer base remained high due to the high level of service provided. 

Members agreed that they would like the Housing Standards and Energy Conservation Officer to attend a future meeting.

Members discussed the draft work plan and the following was agreed:

·         Westerham Conservation Area Management Plan to be moved to the meeting in March 2013;

·         the Housing and Energy Conservation Officer to attend the meeting in September 2013;

·         a report to come to the meeting in September on the possibility of mitigating the impact of the new permitted development rights on potential CAMPs, with a short presentation;

·         a standing item on monitoring key performance indicators for the Committee’s areas of responsibility;

·         the Group Manager, Planning to discuss with the Senior Planning Policy Officer a suitable timescale to report to the meeting on the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL); and

·         a future report if felt necessary after the seminar on affordable housing contributions to take place in September 2013.

Members felt that an extra meeting may be required around January 2013 if it was felt necessary.