minutes

The Minutes of the Meeting held on 1st July 2009 (Minute Nos. 132 - 149) were taken as read, approved and signed by the Chairman as a correct record, subject to the amendment to include Mrs Prescott's apologies.

declarations of interest

No interests were declared.

public session

There was no discussion on this item. The Chairman invited members of the public to speak on the agenda items below.

part b minutes for information

local needs affordable housing schemes for rural villages

The Planning Policy Manager welcomed Amber Christou, the new Head of Housing Services at Swale Borough Council (SBC), to the meeting.

The Planning Policy Manager introduced her report which outlined rural affordable housing and suggestions for the way forward on its planning and delivery in Swale. She explained that following the Taylor Review of the Rural Economy and Affordable Housing, the importance of providing rural housing had been recognised and the contribution this made to supporting local business and the rural economy. The Planning Policy Manager reported that if a need for rural housing was found, via a Parish survey, then a site, often on the edge of a village could be identified for this type of housing. These would then become affordable houses in perpetuity.

The Head of Housing Services advised that a new housing policy was currently being developed and suggested that the Rural Forum could have some input in steering the policy in the right direction.

A representative from Lower Halstow Parish Council welcomed the inclusion of affordable housing to the Core Strategy and advised that an affordable housing scheme had recently been opened in Lower Halstow. The Executive Member for Sustainable Planning and Culture congratulated those involved in progressing the scheme.

A Member brought attention to point 11 in the report and questioned how successful Maidstone and Ashford had been in allotting three out of five dwellings to affordable housing in rural areas. The Planning Policy Manager advised that she would follow this up.

Planning Policy Manager

A Member raised concern with policies on rural development and whether rural housing could be unsustainable. He considered that affordable housing may upset the balance of village life.

The Executive Member for Housing welcomed the report and acknowledged that there was room for an increase in the provision of sites for rural affordable housing in Swale. The Leader stressed the importance of this type of housing to ensure that the viability of villages was maintained and he emphasised that it should be local people who fulfil the need for the housing.

use of paper waste and sludge by farmers on land

The Environmental Response Team Manager welcomed Andrew Ogden, from the Environment Agency (EA), to the meeting.

The Environmental Response Team Manager introduced his report, which provided an update on the issues of materials being spread on agricultural land. He explained that paper sludge, sewage sludge, compost and farmyard manure had been spread throughout the summer and there had been significant interest because of the odours that had been emitted. He reported that the materials were spread as a way of recycling and reducing waste. Recognised practices were in place and SBC and the EA were working together to ensure that codes of practice were adhered to ensure that the impact on communities was reduced. The Environmental Response Team Manager explained that it was important to recognise that there had been many spreading activities within Swale throughout the summer, yet the vast majority of substantiated complaints had been received from a small handful of isolated incidents.

Mr Ogden confirmed that spreading was the most desirable way to get rid of waste materials and offered a good quality addition to the quality of the land. He acknowledged that sometimes things could go wrong which resulted in odours. The supply chain would be looked at and co-operation sought to ensure odours were reduced.

A member of the public queried the amount of people who had complained about the smell and Mr Ogden explained that overall in Kent, complaints had been low. Mr Ogden explained that responses to complaints were dealt with quickly and the Environment Agency endeavoured to find the cause of the smell. He explained that treatment processes were enhanced regularly and that this type of recycling was evolving all the time and needed to be monitored to prevent further problems. He advised that if the process was correctly managed and problems solved, then incidents should be reduced. He advised that ploughing the waste materials into the soil was best practice. Sewerage was tested to control any impact on water supply.

In response to a question, a National Farmers Union representative advised that generally farmers did not get paid to dispose of the waste on their land.

The Environmental Response Team Manager advised that recognised practices ensured that 99.9 per cent of pathogens were destroyed before the waste was added to the land.

Discussion ensued on the environmental benefits of improving the treatment methods of spreading rather than using chemical fertilisers and the benefits of spreading rather than landfill.

The Environmental Response Team Manager advised that evolving new technology should minimise problems of spreading occurring again.

opportunities for grants under the leader programme

The Programme Manager - Kent Downs and Marshes Leader introduced his report which outlined the Rural Development Programme for England Leader as a way of spending money on local rural issues, identified by people living in the local area. He outlined the objectives and priorities that had to be met in order for funding to be considered.

Nine projects had been funded so far and the Programme Manager welcomed further applications to the programme.

annual local government association (lga) rural commission and conference

The Leader introduced his tabled report following the Rural Commission and Conference held on 8th and 9th September 2009. He advised that presentations from the conference could be viewed on the LGA website.

department for environment, food and rural affairs (defra) food policy package

The representative from the NFU introduced this item and explained that DEFRA had published a package of materials on aspects of food policy related primarily to UK food security and the development of a sustainable food system. He outlined the various stages of the process and explained that responses to the package were required by 16th October 2009.

Some Members supported this and encouraged a response from SBC.

sustainable food and farming charter

The Project Officer (Environment), Swale Forward, introduced this item and explained that a report had been submitted to the Executive on 26th August 2009 which recommended that the Charter be referred to the Swale Rural Forum to consider the possible development of a partnership based action plan to help develop, encourage and facilitate local measures to achieve the objectives set out in the Charter.

The representative from the NFU agreed to take a lead on the action plan.

RECOMMENDED:
(1) That an action plan be developed and taken forward by the NFU.

Mr Attwood

termination of the post bus service

Councillor Lewis, Milstead Parish Council explained that notice of termination of the post bus service had been received. She emphasised the importance of the service to local people and advised that alternative options for a bus service had been looked into. Councillor Lewis highlighted that there would be a section of Swale who were unable to use their bus passes because of the withdrawal of the post bus.

Discussion ensued on various options that could be considered which included the Kent Karrier and a community owned bus. Some members of the public considered the use of volunteer workers on a community bus was not ideal.

action plan

The Project Officer (Environment), Swale Forward, introduced this item which outlined the way forward for the Forum. She asked the Forum to consider whether the Action Plan was working and whether it was still required.