The Chairman advised of a change to the running order of the meeting, to bring forward the item on the Council Tax Support Scheme.

To approve the Minutes of the Meeting held on  9 September 2015 (Minutes Nos. 202  - 210)  as a correct record.

The Minutes of the Meeting held on 9 September 2015 (Minute Nos. 202 – 210) were taken as read, approved and signed by the Chairman as a correct record.

Councillors should not act or take decisions in order to gain financial or other material benefits for themselves or their spouse, civil partner or person with whom they are living with as a spouse or civil partner.  They must declare and resolve any interests and relationships.

The Chairman will ask Members if they have any interests to declare in respect of items on this agenda, under the following headings:

(a)          Disclosable Pecuniary Interests (DPI) under the Localism Act 2011.  The nature as well as the existence of any such interest must be declared.  After declaring a DPI, the Member must leave the meeting and not take part in the discussion or vote.  This applies even if there is provision for public speaking.

(b)          Disclosable Non Pecuniary (DNPI) under the Code of Conduct adopted by the Council in May 2012.  The nature as well as the existence of any such interest must be declared.  After declaring a DNPI interest, the Member may stay, speak and vote on the matter.

Advice to Members:  If any Councillor has any doubt about the existence or nature of any DPI or DNPI which he/she may have in any item on this agenda, he/she should seek advice from the Director of Corporate Services as Monitoring Officer, the Head of Legal or from other Solicitors in Legal Services as early as possible, and in advance of the Meeting.

No interests were declared.

The Cabinet Member for Finance and the Revenues and Benefits Manager  (Technical and Financial) have been invited to attend (report added 7^th October 2015).

The Chairman welcomed  the Cabinet Member for Finance, the Revenues and Benefits Manager and the Head of Finance.  The Cabinet Member for Finance advised that there had been no change in the recommendation from  2015/16 to 2016/17.

A Member asked how many properties had been empty for more than two years and was advised that there were approximately 65 long term empty properties and that staff working on the empty homes scheme were made aware of this.  In response to a further question, the Revenues and Benefits Manager advised that pensioners on a low income received full Council Tax support.

The Chairman referred to Table 5 in the report and sought confirmation on the amount collected. The Revenues and Benefits Manager advised that she hoped to maintain the level of collection, around another £200,000 had been collected from 2013/14 and future amounts could fluctuate due to fraud issues, changed earnings or benefit renewals.

A Member was concerned that outstanding amounts were not just written off and was advised that debts were collected continuously and not written off.

The Chairman advised that the document would be reviewed and any changes considered. He thanked the Cabinet Member for Finance, the Revenues and Benefits Manager and the Head of Finance for their attendance.

The Cabinet Member for Regeneration and the Director of Regeneration have been invited to attend (report added 7th October 2015).

The Chairman welcomed the Cabinet Member for Regeneration, the Director of Regeneration and the Special Projects Manager.

The Cabinet Member for Regeneration introduced the report and gave an update on progress.  A Member referred to the map attached to the report and questioned the dates for commencement of works; he was advised by the Director of Regeneration that the map was out of date and he would provide an updated, more readable map. The Director of Regeneration also gave a summary of outstanding issues; detailed  design and highway issues; conclusion of  the Section 106 Agreement; and agreement of the lease of the cinema (heads of terms had been agreed).  He advised that work was not likely to commence before March 2016 and that the building of the multi-storey car park would commence at the same time as the development of site 1. Due to the loss of parking at that site, temporary parking was to be provided at the Biffa waste site. There would also be a cut-through access through to the High Street.

A Member was concerned about the effect on shops at the west end of the High Street with the loss of the car park at Cockleshell Walk and the Special Projects Manager agreed to provide the Member with more detail on car parks.

In answer to questions from Members, the Director of Regeneration advised that Quinn Estates and Hause and Holm had signed a deal for all of the phase 1 residential units at site 1, the residential apartments at site 2 that would be 1-bedroom apartments for private rent and site 3 that would be similar.  He also advised that there would be more than 300 car park spaces in the multi-storey car park at site 5, the retail area at site 6 covered 35,000 square feet and the 7-screen cinema at site 4 was 29,000 square feet.  Negotiations were taking place with major restaurant chains to rent the ground floor of the cinema site and the report in the planning approval set out details of the remodelling of highways in this location.

After further questions, Members were advised that there would be approximately 500 cinema seats, the anticipated opening of the cinema was at the end of 2017 and the cinema operator would tailor the opening times to suit the local need.

A Member acknowledged that it was a large, complex project which was only partly under the Council’s control, but was concerned at the lack of progress and more definitive timing of the development.  The Cabinet Member for Regeneration advised that with so many partners involved, so many processes to go though and some unpredicted issues, the Council did not have full control of the scheme, but the project was moving in stages and there were regular operational, directional and partner meetings and on-going discussions.  A timetable had not been given as delays caused disappointment and only non-confidential information was released.  In response, a Member was concerned that Members and the public were  ...  view the full minutes text for item 268.

The Cabinet Member for Housing and Head of Resident Services have been invited to attend.

The Chairman welcomed the Cabinet Member for Housing and the Head of Resident Services to the meeting.

The Cabinet Member for Housing referred to the objectives of the Housing Services Performance Review and advised that the provision of temporary accommodation was an issue for all district councils, not just Swale.  He explained that Housing Services worked with those people who presented as homeless, landlords and with young people to prevent homelessness, but numbers of homeless were increasing.

The Head of Resident Services explained that Swale’s housing problems were similar to those in Thanet and advised that the main issues were residents with mental health issues unable to access private housing, lack of affordable or supported housing, families moving to the Borough from more expensive areas and lack of suitable-sized properties.  She advised that after the recent purchase of a property to house families, another property was already being sourced.

A Member gave examples of inadequate properties and landlords’ unfair eviction action, and suggested a Registered Landlord Scheme and outlined its benefits.  She also suggested Members should shadow the Housing Enforcement Team and highlighted the lack of four and five bedroom properties to house larger families.

A Member asked what the review was hoping to achieve and suggested using the data from the Temporary Accommodation Provision for Swale Homeless Households report presented to the Cabinet meeting on 7 October 2015 to see if these objectives were met.

A Member suggested the review should go wider than focusing just on temporary housing and agreed that private landlords should be examined and representations sought from them in order for the Council to work more effectively with them.  He gave examples of poor landlords and suggested that more pressure should be put on Central Government for longer tenancy agreements.  He sought clarification from the Head of Resident Services whether the number of affordable homes being built would continue to fall lower than last year’s level of 73, and how much private accommodation was available in different areas of the Borough.  He also suggested communicating with Amicus Horizon and other housing associations to unlock opportunities for building more accommodation in the future.

A number of Members supported the suggestion of a Landlord Register.  Other suggestions included the review of rural area landlords; the prosecution of landlords who provided sub-standard housing; developers to be encouraged to supply 1-bedroom houses as there was a shortage of accommodation to downsize to; a shared ownership scheme; mobile homes as cheap, affordable temporary or permanent accommodation and the Council leasing properties from private landlords.

In answer to the suggestions and questions raised, the Head of Resident Services responded with the following:

·         There were an increasing number of larger families but Housing Associations were not building larger properties

·         It was difficult to secure evidence in cases of unlawful evictions but the new Protection of Eviction Act came into effect last week to assist

·         Landlords were prosecuted; the team were very proactive

·         Due to regulations, they had been unable to compile a  ...  view the full minutes text for item 269.

The Chairman will provide a verbal report.

Members noted the decision on the Members’ Localism Grant.

The Committee is asked to review the updated log of recommendations (attached).

The Policy and Performance Officer introduced the report and advised that in future reports he would be removing the reviews that had been implemented.  Members resolved that the report be noted.

The Committee is invited to consider the updated review plans on:

·         Planning Services (revised plan)

·         Tourism and Leisure (revised plan)

The Policy and Performance Officer introduced the report and advised that the review plans had been updated to reflect the discussion at the last meeting.

A discussion ensued and the Chairman suggested a task and finish group for the Housing review with a Member leading for each area of the Borough.  It was agreed that Councillor Mike Dendor with assistance from Councillor Derek Conway would lead for the Sittingbourne area, Councillor Mike Henderson would lead for Faversham and the Chairman with assistance from Councillor Harrison would lead for the Isle of Sheppey.

The Policy and Performance Officer advised that the Head of Planning Services would be in attendance at the Local Plan Enquiry in November and December 2015 and the Chairman agreed that the Development Control Review should be delayed until early January 2015 in order that the Head of Planning Services could give the review his full attention.

A discussion took place to consider the appropriate time to commence the Leisure and Tourism review.

Members resolved that the new plans be agreed.

The Committee is asked to consider updates on other reviews.

There were none.

The Committee is asked to review and discuss the Committee’s Work Programme (attached) for the remainder of the year.

The Policy and Performance Officer confirmed an extra Scrutiny Committee had been arranged to take place on 9 December 2015 at 5pm in the Council Chamber, Swale House to discuss Fees and Charges.

The Chairman recommended that the Sittingbourne Town Centre Regeneration team should return to the Scrutiny Committee in the future. Members agreed that the Planning Services review should commence on 13 January 2016  and the Leisure & Tourism Review on 10 February 2016.  The Chairman suggested that a representative from Amicus Horizon should be invited to attend the meeting on 11 November 2015 as part of the Housing Review, and suggested Chief Inspector Tony Henley was invited to attend a future meeting.  A Member suggested that other Housing Associations could also be invited to attend.

The Committee is asked to consider the Forward Plan with a view to identifying possible items for pre-decision scrutiny.

The Policy and Performance Officer introduced the item for information.  A Member sought clarification on the Faversham Recreation Ground – Proposed Heritage Lottery Fund Bid and the Policy and the Performance Officer agreed to seek more information.