To approve the minutes of the Council meeting held on 22 February 2018.

RESOLVED

that the minutes of the Council meeting held on 22 February 2018 be approved as a correct record.

To receive from Members any declarations of interest.

Councillor Mrs Gurney declared a personal and prejudicial interest in item 10 ‘Central Bedfordshire Local Plan’ due to her being a tenant of Manor Farm, Everton.  She was absent from the Chamber during the item.

Councillor Jamieson declared an interest in item 11 ‘RAF Henlow Site as he knew some of the interested parties.  He remained present for the item.

To receive any questions, statements and deputations from members of the public in accordance with the Public Participation Procedure as set out in Part 4G of the Constitution. 

The Chairman invited the public speakers to make their statement in accordance with the Public Participation Scheme.

Central Bedfordshire Local Plan

Mrs Peall, resident of Lidlington, was disappointed at the scale of proposed development for Lidlington.  She suggested this should be reduced and other suitable sites could be developed, including brownfield land and sites at Aspley Guise and Marston Thrift.  She felt this approach could deliver the same number of homes and cause less damage to the environment and to existing communities.  She raised concerns about the impact of overdevelopment on the environment, wildlife, character of the village, increased traffic and coalescence.  She also raised concerns about the proposed development by Covanta Energy at Rookery Pit as this would also bring additional noise and air pollution, making the area unattractive.

Ms Spearing, Chair of Ridgmont Parish Council, acknowledged the need to have a Local Plan and that the timetable for submitting the Local Plan to the Secretary of State had been driven by the Government as had the methodology for calculating the level of housing need.  She felt that the Local Plan had not taken into account feedback from the public and that the Council had not engaged with the community.  There had been a high number of objections as this had been the first opportunity for the public to raise issues with the proposed site allocations.  The minor modifications paper had not included the objections from the community as these would be left for the Planning Inspector to consider.  The proposed development would have an impact on infrastructure, the environment, agricultural land and the Greensand Ridge.  She felt that the Council had not assessed the landscape along Greensand Ridge, the preferred site at Marston Gate was not appropriate and the core principles set out in the National Planning Policy Framework had not been followed.  The residents of Ridgmont would be putting their objections to the Planning Inspector.

Mrs Pisano, resident of Tempsford, emphasised that the role of a councillor was to represent the views of local residents.  The majority of people who had responded to the consultation on the Local Plan had objected and she felt that there had been a lack of transparency and communication.  She stated that Tempsford was unsuitable for development due to the risk of flooding.

Mr Anderson, resident of Tempsford, explained that Tempsford had been identified as a location for future growth.  He felt that this area should not be part of the Local Plan as it had not been included in the original draft of the Plan and it was not prominent within the second draft.  The consultation on the site had not been adequate and there was no mention of the process for dealing with those sites identified for future growth and there was no technical evidence available.  Tempsford was a high flood risk area and its potential development would cause serious risks to existing and new development.  There would be a lack of open space, biodiversity  ...  view the full minutes text for item 80.

To receive and discuss petitions if any, in accordance with the Public Participation Procedure as set out in Part 4G of the Constitution.

No petitions were received.

The Chairman to announce any matters of communication.

The Chairman thanked Members for their support and wishes during her recent illness.

The Chairman had attended:

·         the Houghton Regis Civic Service and acknowledge the work of the local ward Councillors; and

·         the opening of the new tidy tip at Thorn Turn, Houghton Regis.

The following Central Bedfordshire businesses had been recognised in the 2018 Queens Award for Enterprise:

·         Peli Bio Thermal, Leighton Buzzard

·         FAI Automotive, Leighton Buzzard

·         AC PLC, Marston Moretaine

·         iCandy World Limited, Biggleswade.

The Leader of the Council to announce any matters of communication.

The Leader had no announcements to make.

To receive reports from up to three Executive Members on recent matters of interest and ask questions on matters contained within the reports.

Reports are anticipated from:

·         Councillor Hegley, Executive Member for Adults, Social Care and Housing Operations

·         Councillor Dalgarno, Executive Member for Community Services.

Councillor Hegley, Executive Member for Adults, Social Care and Housing Operations provided an update on the activities taking place within her portfolio, including:

·         Customer Services, residents were encouraged to use the Council’s website for help and information, wherever possible;

·         homelessness in Central Bedfordshire which was often due to evictions by private landlords.  Following the introduction of the Homelessness Reduction Act the number enquiries had risen from 60 to 150;

·         Adult Social Care had produced a leaflet about service demands, costs and how adult social care works;

·         there was a briefing session scheduled for the 25 May on managing the demands of an aging population;

·         Councillor Maudlin was now the Deputy Executive Member for Adults, Social Care and Housing Operations; and

·         the Cheering Volunteering Awards Evening would take place on 5 June.

Councillor Dalgarno, Executive Member for Community Services gave a presentation on Greensands Ridge.  Greensands Country was led by Bedfordshire Rural Communities Charity and the Greensands Trust.  They had received lottery funding to manage the project to promote Greensands Ridge and Central Bedfordshire Council was participating in this project.  It was hoped that this would improve tourism in Central Bedfordshire.  There would be events held between 26 May and 3 June to launch the project.  The project was looking for volunteers to help run these events.

There were no questions from Members on the presentations.

To consider a recommendation from the meeting of the Executive, 3 April 2018and answer questions asked under Part 4A, Rule No. 13.1 of the Council’s Procedure Rules.

·         Capital Budget Monitoring Forecast Outturn Report (Quarter 3)

The Council considered a recommendation from the meeting of the Executive held on 3 April 2018, seeking an increase in the capital budget for the Stratton Phase 5 project from £2.7m to £4.6m in 2018/19.

RESOLVED that the budget for the Stratton Phase 5 project be increased from £2.7m in the 2018/19 Capital Programme to £4.6m, as set out in paragraphs 54 and 55 in Appendix A to the Executive report.

The decision was unanimous.

To approve the draft Local Plan for submission to the Secretary of State.

Please note that the Central Bedfordshire Local Plan considered by the Executive on 9 January 2018 will be referred to and can be viewed via the following link:

http://centralbeds.moderngov.co.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=577&MId=5348&Ver=4

The Council considered a report from the Executive Member for Regeneration that presented the submission version of the Central Bedfordshire Local Plan.  The report sought approval to submit the draft Plan to the Secretary of State on 30 April 2018.  The final submission draft had been prepared using a range of evidential work.  Feedback from the consultation had been used to propose minor modifications to the Plan which would be submitted alongside all representations and supporting evidence to the Secretary of State.

In response to questions, the Executive Member for Regeneration explained:

·         that the Council would have to use the Government’s proposed methodology for determining the level of housing need if the Local Plan was not submitted.  The housing need figure for Central Bedfordshire was 2,553 homes per annum based on the proposed methodology, representing a 60% increase on the Council’s current objectively assessed need of 1600 homes per annum;

·         that minor modifications had been proposed and were set out in the Agenda.  The Planning Inspector would be able to make changes to the Local Plan following consideration of all the evidence submitted prior and during the Public Examination;

·         Luton Borough Council had not confirmed that the duty to co-operate requirements had been met and Officers would be working with Luton to try to reach agreement; and

·         there had been 1,365 objections received from residents in Barton-Le-Clay and reiterated that the Council would be forced to accommodate even more homes if it did not have a Local Plan in place.

RESOLVED to authorise the submission of the Local Plan to the Secretary of State for examination.

Upon being put to the vote 47 Members voted in favour and 3 Members voted against the resolution.

To outline the significant opportunity to regenerate the strategically important site at RAF Henlow and seek endorsement for Central Bedfordshire Council to explore options to transfer or purchase ownership of the RAF Henlow site from the Ministry of Defence.

The Council considered a report from the Executive Member for Regeneration that outlined the significant opportunity to regenerate the strategically important site at RAF Henlow.  The report sought endorsement to explore options to transfer or purchase ownership of the RAF Henlow site from the Ministry of Defence (MOD).

In response to a question, the Executive Member for Regeneration explained it was part of a programme by the Government to release sites, primarily MOD sites.  The proposal from the Defence Infrastructure Organisation was to build 2,700 houses.  The Council felt that it would be appropriate for mixed use, including science, technology, space exploration and commercial developments.

In response to a question, the Executive Member for Corporate Resources confirmed that Council were being asked to support the process in principle and any further developments would follow the normal governance process.

RESOLVED that the exploration of options to transfer or purchase the RAF Henlow Site be supported.

The decision was unanimous.

To consider motions by Members of the Council under Part 4A, Rule No. 17 of the Council’s Procedure Rules in the order received.

No motions were received.

To answer written questions from Members of the Council under Part 4A, Rule No. 13.2 of the Council’s Procedure Rules.

No written questions were received.

To answer Open Questions asked by Members of the Council under Part 4A, Rule No. 13.7 of the Council’s Procedure Rules.

The Chairman invited the Minority Group Leaders to ask a question, prior to the consideration of questions that had been placed in the Open Question receptacle.

(1)     Councillor Zerny enquired whether the Council had any plans to introduce identification checks for voters at the local elections in May 2019.

          The Leader of the Council explained that this was a Government driven scheme and was currently being piloted in different parts of the Country.

(2)     Councillor Ryan asked for an update on the proposals for the Kingsland Site, Houghton Regis.

          The Executive Member for Regeneration explained that the approach to the regeneration of Houghton Regis was being considered.  Proposals submitted by the Legacy organisation were being considered. He confirmed that the ward Members for Houghton Regis would be involved in any discussions.