Cllr. Skinner proposed the following motion, which was seconded by Cllr Leaman.

 

“This Council notes:

·      The need for increased affordable housing that has been identified in the Housing Strategy: and

·      The consistent failure of the Council to meet that need over a number of years, including repeated failure to utilise the Council's own land to meet this need.

 

The Council therefore resolves:

·      To make an urgent step change in its commitment to the supply of affordable housing in order to sustain a vibrant and prosperous community in Sevenoaks District, particularly in light of cost of living crisis facing many local families: and

·      To set a positive example to all developers, by using its own land for the development of affordable housing”

 

Speaking to the motion, Cllr. Skinner stated that the issue was important and complicated and he accepted that there were no easy solutions to the problems faced. He hoped to work together with Officers and all Members to ensure progress would be made. He clarified why it was important to have affordable housing in the district so that young people would be able to live here, those that were born here would not need to move away, and people would want to live her. The community was getting older and if there was no affordable housing then those required to do important jobs, teachers, drivers, shops assistants etc, and this would have an impact on the cost of delivering services. Communities would become less environmentally sound and would require travel to district which would add to carbon emissions.

 

He further stated that for Sevenoaks to be a special place to live, work and enjoy it would require housing that would bring social economic and environmental benefits to sustain a vibrant community. There were complexities across the country regarding affordable housing especially where there was high percentage of Green Belt land in the District and it was important to safeguard land and finances. However by using district council land for this development this would show leadership, the land would be benefited by economic, social or environmental reasons and therefore disposal of the land at less than market value would meet those three tests for building affordable housing. 

 

Members debated the motion noting the need for affordable housing and the policies and legislation which would allow for council owned land to be disposed of at lower than market value. Discussion continued with further points raised on the construction industry challenges, the district being 93% green belt, Conservation areas, and a number Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The council was committed to affordable housing as it had been demonstrated through the Local Plan and Quercus Housing. There were however, competing priorities and financial challenges.

 

An amendment to the motion was moved by Cllr. Horwood and duly seconded as:

“This Council notes:

·     The need for increased affordable housing that has been identified in the Housing Strategy.

 

The Council therefore resolves:

·      To reaffirm its commitment to the supply of affordable housing in order to sustain a vibrant and prosperous community in Sevenoaks District, particularly in light of the cost of living facing many local families: and

·      To set a positive example to all developers, by using its own land for the development of affordable housing, where financially viable to do so”.

 

Members debated the amendment. Some Members expressed concern that there would be little change to making progress to address the need of affordable housing in the district. Other points raised in debate, included the emerging local plan, the importance of affordable housing, and the number of affordable housing that had been built in the District in comparison to other Local Authorities. It was raised in debate that there was a lack of understand the Councils approach to Affordable Housing and detailed within the Council’s Housing Strategy it addressed the council building housing but also rural exception sites. The Council had been working to put these sites in, but had faced problems with residents and parish councils objecting to these affordable housing sites. Finances were also raised in debate, that the Council had responsibility to its residents by managing finances appropriately.

 

In his right of reply to the amendment Cllr Horwood highlighted financial viability and if that wasn’t allowed when looking at development of sites, it would result in the council having to borrow money or the impact it would have on other services provided or services being cut. He highlighted the trusted approach from Officers when they looked at sites to enable or make affordable housing possible when it was viable.

 

In exercising his right of reply, Cllr Skinner advised that following financial viability it would be treated as requirement to get full market value not full value with social, economic and environmental reasons. He expressed some concern that the local plan did not fully address the affordable housing needs and the need to affirm a step change and take leadership.

 

The amendment was put to the vote and the amendment was carried.

 

Debate continued on the substantive motion.

 

After further debate, Cllr Skinner gave his right of reply and the motion was put to the vote.

 

The substantive motion was carried.

 

Resolved: That the Council

 

a)      Noted the need for increased affordable housing that has been identified in the Housing Strategy.

 

b)      reaffirm its commitment to the supply of affordable housing in order to sustain a vibrant and prosperous community in Sevenoaks District, particularly in light of the cost of living facing many local families: and

 

c)      set a positive example to all developers, by using its own land for the development of affordable housing, where financially viable to do so

 

Cllr. Manston proposed the following motion, which was seconded by Cllr. Thornton.

 

“This Council wholeheartedly supports the Local Government Association’s “Debate not Hate” campaign and pledges to:

 

·   Sign up to the Debate Not Hate campaign on the LGA website

·   Write to the MPs for Sevenoaks District to ask them to support the campaign

·   Write to the Government to ask them to work with the LGA to develop and implement a plan to address abuse and intimidation of politicians

·   Ensure that every Member of this Council receives a copy of the Debate Not Hate campaign report

·   Take a zero-tolerance approach to abuse of councillors and officers

·   Ensure the council has a clear reporting mechanism which councillors can use to monitor and record incidents of harassment and abuse of councillors and officers

·   Regularly review the support available to councillors and officers in relation to abuse, intimidation and personal safety

·   Work with the local police to ensure there is a clear and joined-up mechanism for reporting threats and other concerns about the safety of councillors and their families and discuss the need to take a preventative approach that accounts for the specific risks that councillors face, as they do with other high-risk individuals like MPs.

Cllr. Manston spoke to the motion stated that the campaign was led by the Local Government Association which all Councillors would benefit from. Debating and disagreeing with each other was a healthy part of democracy but abuse and intimidation was not and the increasing levels of abuse and intimidation aimed at politicians in person and online prevented people from standing for election and undermined local democracy. Casting minds back to the brutal murders of MPs showed extreme hate to politicians and ignoring this type of behaviour at all levels normalised that behaviour and could lead to more extreme cases. It was important to demonstrate a zero tolerance towards abuse and intimidation. The council was 47% female and three out of the four Group Leaders were women and it was important to have this level of diversity. With other changes since the election in May it was also imperative to highlight the importance of respectful and inclusive debate. She expressed the importance of being able to sympathise with residents situations especially as having being subject to antisocial behaviour including intimidation.

 

Members debated the motion, detailing the importance of being out there for residents but how this was without risk with being easily contactable when signing up as a Councillor and social media and how to manage being targeted by abusive comments through keyboard worriers. Members expressed concern that being subject to wider abuse could prevent further diversity of the councillors. Members discussed the importance of supporting the motion as it demonstrated the importance of robust and respectful debate. Some Members gave examples of when they had been the subject of abuse from the public and within the Chamber debate the importance of keeping debate polite.

 

The motion was put to the vote and it was

 

Resolved: That the Council wholeheartedly supports the Local Government Association’s “Debate not Hate” campaign and pledged to:

 

·   Sign up to the Debate Not Hate campaign on the LGA website

·   Write to the MPs for Sevenoaks District to ask them to support the campaign

·   Write to the Government to ask them to work with the LGA to develop and implement a plan to address abuse and intimidation of politicians

·   Ensure that every Member of this Council receives a copy of the Debate Not Hate campaign report

·   Take a zero-tolerance approach to abuse of councillors and officers

·   Ensure the council has a clear reporting mechanism which councillors can use to monitor and record incidents of harassment and abuse of councillors and officers

·   Regularly review the support available to councillors and officers in relation to abuse, intimidation and personal safety

·   Work with the local police to ensure there is a clear and joined-up mechanism for reporting threats and other concerns about the safety of councillors and their families and discuss the need to take a preventative approach that accounts for the specific risks that councillors face, as they do with other high-risk individuals like MPs.

 

At 20.57 the Chairman adjourned the meeting for the comfort of Councillors and Officers.

At 21.05 the meeting reconvened.

 

Cllr. Robinson proposed the following motion, which was seconded by Cllr. Clayton

 

“This Council believes its proceedings should be transparent and that Councillors should be accountable to the residents whom they represent.

 

This Council therefore resolves that as soon as possible:

·     All public meetings of the Council, Cabinet and Committees will be recorded on video, this record will be made immediately available, and will be saved on a publicly available website.

·     A system of electronic voting will be installed to make it straightforward and efficient to record the votes of individual Councillors.”

 

Cllr. Robinson spoke to the motion detailing the importance of recording meetings and making them publically available would demonstrate transparency to the residents of the District and hold Members accountable to those who had elected them. A recorded voted system would demonstrate how individual members have voted on issues.

Members discussed the benefit of recording meetings making these available to the public and be accessible online.

An amendment was moved by Cllr. Thornton and was seconded by Cllr Clayton to add a third point of

“that the Governance Committee consider a protocol for the recording of public meetings and the use of the electronic voting system to recommend to Council for inclusion within the council’s constitution. 

 

Cllr. Thornton spoke to the amendment detailing that many Authorities were already streaming meetings with the recordings being available online and it was something that she had also been considering being implemented. She advised that it would be important for a protocol in place as it would offer a level of protection around context and the consideration of data protection. Debate took place on the amendment which Members expressed their support.

 

The amendment was put to the vote and it was carried.

 

Debate continued on the substantive motion.

 

The motion was put to the vote and it was

 

Resolved: That

 

a)   all public meetings of the Council, Cabinet and Committees will be recorded on video, this record will be made immediately available, and will be saved on a publicly available website.

 

b)   a system of electronic voting will be installed to make it straightforward and efficient to record the votes of individual Councillors.

 

c)   that the governance committee consider a protocol for the recording of public meetings and the use of the electronic voting system to recommend to Council for inclusion within the council’s constitution. 

 

Cllr. Streatfeild proposed the following motion, which was seconded by Cllr Shea.

“This Council notes that:

·     Small Business Saturday 2023 is coming up on 25 November. Small Business Saturday has grown into a significant event – with £1.1 billion spent at small businesses during the 2020 event alone.

·    This is an excellent opportunity to promote small businesses across Sevenoaks District and to celebrate the contribution smaller businesses make.

 

This Council therefore resolves:

·     To ask the Chief Executive and Heads of Service to ensure that the Council participates fully in Small Business Saturday on 25 November 2023.

·     To request that officers work closely with local business organisations and smaller enterprises across the District to make them aware of the day and encourage them to sign up.

·     To ensure that Small Business Saturday is promoted thoroughly and prominently on the Council’s website, social media channels and other external communications.

·     To make parking free in all District Council car parks on 25 November 2023 and on five following days in the lead up to Christmas.”

Cllr Streatfeild spoke to the motion stating the Tunbridge Wells Borough Council had offered six free parking days in the lead up to Christmas and some residents would need to decide where to do their Christmas shopping. This would promote the District’s own towns and encourage shopping and it would bring a number of benefits. Small Businesses over the past five years had had a difficult time and Christmas trade was a way of getting through the winter season and so it was important to encourage Christmas trade to support small businesses. Lots of residents were also facing hardship with the cost of living and this would give an opportunity to park for free and this would benefit businesses and the vulnerable residents would be supported.

 

Members debated the motion considering the date of small business Saturday and Officers had been working on communicating Small Business Saturday on 2 December 2023. There was a lot of work that supported small businesses by the Council and Small Business Saturday through its business networks, Small Business Rate Relief, Team Around Your Business, social media, Sevenoaks So Much More website, a West Kent Business Expo and a competition at Meeting Point. Further details within the debate detailed the other ways in which small businesses were support throughout the year and the level of support which small businesses had received since the pandemic and support which was provided throughout the year. The Federation of Small Businesses Local Leadership Pledge, strengthening support for the District’s small businesses, was signed up to in 2022 and resigned in 2023. Pursuant to rule 22.7 Cllr Streatfeild altered his motion to reflect that Small Business Saturday was 2 December 2023, with the consent of the meeting.

 

Debate continued on the motion with some Members expressing concern that free parking would have an impact on the budget. Other Members expressed that there were alternatives that could be considered in regard to free parking options which would not have a significant impact on the budget, in particular if it was on a day when numbers of shoppers in the district was lower. Members continued to debate free parking and some Members expressed concern that free parking would have to be absorbed into the budget which would have to be considered within the budget and the impact this could have going forward. Members were reminded that consultation was taking place on freezing parking fees which would benefit shoppers all year.

 

In exercising his right of reply, Cllr Streatfeild took the opportunity to remind Members that free parking had been provided by the Council in the past and the financial loss had been covered through supplementary estimates.

 

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

 

Cllr. Lindop proposed the following motion, which was seconded by Cllr. Purves.

“Thiscouncil recognisesthe scaleand magnitudeof theclimate andnature emergencyand pledgesto:

 

?    Publiclydeclare aClimate andNature Emergency

?    Reduceemissions fromthe Council’sestate tonet zeroby 2030

?    Do all wecan toreduce carbonemissions fromSevenoaks District  to netzero by2050

?     Takethese stepsto achievenet zerofor thecouncil anddistrict:

a)    Developa ClimateChange Strategy

b)    Establisha ClimateChange Panel

c)     Convenea ClimateChange CommunityForum

d)    Reporton progressvia FIACand Cabinet

e)    Providea detailedClimate ChangeAssessment onall newundertakings

f)       Ensurethat annualbudgeting allowsfor theabove NetZero goals

g)    Writeto Governmentto callfor thepowers, resourcesand fundingto achieveNet Zero”

 

Cllr Lindop spoke to the motion detailing that children were more likely to face the impacts of pollution quicker than adults and this would cause them greater harm over the years than adults. By committing to a climate emergency it would demonstrate the commitment to protect the planet.

 

Members debated the motion, with some Members highlighting that Sevenoaks was one of the only Council’s in Kent to not declare an emergency with climate change. SDC had a net zero policy but it was questioned as to whether it went far enough.  The climate change policy in the local plan was discussed as well as small businesses and the impact climate change was having on them.

In response to some of the points discussed so far, it was raised that although many other councils had declared a climate emergency, the actions and degree to which the actions had been taken varied. Whereas Sevenoaks had actively participated with partnership groups such as Kent Council County Climate Change Network, and a Climate Change Strategy was currently being developed by officers and would be presented to Cleaner and Greener Advisory Committee in due course.  One particular area where the Council was directly facilitating a climate resilient district was through the development of its emerging Local Plan.However it was important to be mindful of managing expectations and that there was no quick fix. Influencing behaviour change, even just small changes at a time, takes time to multiply into large contributions that transpire into physical results, such as a reduction in emissions.  

 

Tackling the challenge of climate change isn’t limited to built development, and the Plan also set out local policies on design, flood risk and water management, transport, open space, biodiversity and more, to ensure a robust and joined up approach to tackling climate change over the plan period to 2040.  

 

At 22:20 it was moved by the Chairman that, in accordance with rule 16.1 Part 2 of the Constitution, Members extend the meeting beyond 10.30pm to enable the Committee to complete the business on the agenda.

 

Debate continued on the motion, concerning recycling rates, flooding and importance of high quality buildings. Thoughts were also given to joined up thinking and travel to the District.

 

It was moved by Cllr. Grint and duly seconded by Cllr. Edwards-Winser that the motion be put.

 

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

 

Cllr Lindop exercised his right of reply stating that he hoped that the voice of those most in need would not be overlooked.

 

The Chairman moved to take the vote. In accordance with the Council’s constitution, Part 2, paragraph 24.4, five Members of the Council stood and demanded a recorded vote on the motion.

 

The motion was put to the vote.

For	Against	Abstention
	Abraham
Alger
	Baker
	Ball
	Barnes
	Barnett
	Bayley
	Bulford
Camp
	Clack
Clayton
	Penny Cole
	Perry Cole
	G. Darrington
	P. Darrington
	Dyball
	Edwards-Winser
Granville
	Grint
Gustard
	Harrison
	Haslam
	Horwood
	Hogarth
Hudson
Kitchener
	Layland
Leaman
Lindop
	Malone
Manamperi
Manston
	Maskell
	C.Morgan
J.Morgan
Purves
	Reay
Robinson
	Roy
	Scott
Shea
Skinner
Streatfeild
	Thornton
Varley
Waterton
	White
	Williams
19	29	0

 

The motion was lost.