minutes

The Minutes of the Meeting held on 19 November 2013 (Minute Nos. 400 - 411) were taken as read, approved and signed by the Chairman as a correct record.

declarations of interest

No interests were declared.

public session

Mr Haynes, a resident of Doddington, raised concern that hedgerows in parts of Bredgar and Milstead had not been cut back.

There was some discussion about whether it was KCC Highways or the landowners responsibility and Mr Haynes agreed to liaise with the Chairman about site details so that letters could be sent to the relevant persons to seek to resolve the problem.

Councillor Prescott

Mr Hopper, a resident of Bredgar, queried who was responsible for preparing the Briefing Note for agenda item No. 6 - Gypsy/Traveller Community. He raised objection to the 'common myths' section which he felt was offensive to both the gypsy and traveller community and the settled community and unnecessary.

Shelly Rouse (Spatial Planning Officer, Swale Borough Council) advised that the document had been produced by herself, James Freeman (Head of Planning, SBC) and one of SBC's legal officers.

Mr Taylor, resident of Hartlip, also felt that the briefing note did not deal with the real planning issues with regard to gypsies and travellers. He queried the statistic quoted in the document relating to the number of planning applications received and approved by the settled community. He stated that the figure did not take into consideration that the settled community were applying for changes to existing developments, whereas gypsy and traveller applications were usually on land currently untouched by development.

Councillor Barnicott, as Chairman of the Planning Committee, stated that the briefing note had been prepared in order to address questions that are raised regularly by local residents when Members are considering planning applications.

Mr Tinsley, Mrs Back and Mrs Tinsley spoke individually about their concerns in respect of Kent County Council (KCC) proposals to relocate Tunstall village school and build a new school on Grade II agricultural land. They raised the following concerns: the lack of consultation with local residents; the proposed design for the new school was 'ugly'; concern that other local schools may be closed to fill the 420 places proposed at the school; local roads would not be able to support such a proposal; road was already used as a cut-through to the motorway; there was no footway and children would need to negotiate a busy main road; would have a detrimental impact on existing access to residential properties; flooding issues in the vicinity needed to be addressed and considered as part of any planning application; and risk of underground contamination.

The Chairman advised that some Members of the Forum also sat on SBC's Planning Committee. They could not therefore comment at this stage otherwise they would prejudice their decision when it was considered at Planning Committee. He thanked the residents for raising the issue.

Mr Willis, Bredgar Parish Council, asked the Members of the Rural Forum to be aware that that Central Government had provided a Council Tax supplementary grant that SBC had decided not to pass on to Parish Councils. He stated that the affect of that was that in order to maintain a precept the Parish Council precept would have to increase by 8%.

Councillor Bowles responded and stated that the grant from Government was not 'ring-fenced'. He reminded Mr Willis that SBC had written to all Parish Councils the previous year about whether they wanted funding on a 'one-off' basis, some had and others had not; it was each individual Parish Councils choice. Councillor Bowles stated that the £120,000 grant equated to three members of staff at SBC. He added that SBC also needed to consider the urban un-parished areas of Swale.

part a minutes for recommendation to cabinet

order of business

The Chairman altered the order of business as minuted.

update from kent police.

The Chairman welcomed Chief Inspector Tony Henley and Inspector Evan Jones to the meeting.

Chief Inspector Henley gave updates on issues raised at the last meeting: the Community Centre in Warden had been reimbursed for use of their hall following a serious incident in the vicinity; and the issue of dilapidated buildings in Newington had been passed to specialist planning officers for investigation.

Inspector Evan Jones gave an update on the latest Operation Nonagon raid on 31 January 2014. Two search warrants had been issued and raids carried out including one at a farm in Iwade. Offences included fly-tipping and cannabis cultivation.

Councillor Gerry Lewin thanked officers for dealing with rural crime and for their work carried out to-date as part of Operation Nonegon.

Inspector Jones spoke about the newly formed Rural Police Unit, which consisted of volunteer Police Officers who were present at the meeting. He urged members of the Forum and residents to speak to them after the meeting if they had any rural issues.

Chief Inspector Henley spoke about the rural police buses initiative which had not been as well attended by residents as hoped. He stated that they would explore the possibility of the buses being available outside rural primary schools that were experiencing parking problems. The timetable for the buses would be published in April 2014.

Mr Best, a resident of Bredgar, asked for assurances that when crime was reported that it was logged as a crime and not an incident.

Chief Inspector Henley drew attention to the recent press coverage about crime recording in Kent. He explained that following a scrutiny inspection it was established that 1 out of 10 reports of crime in Kent had not been logged correctly. He stated that the figures had not been deliberately corrupted but was concerned that trust of the Police service had been damaged as a result, and stressed the importance of ensuring that the service provided by the Police was open and transparent.

Chief Inspector Henley stated that following the review it had been established that crime in Kent had gone up, but not as much as had been reported. Chief Inspector Henley stated that they could provide a presentation on services they provided at a future meeting of the Forum.

The Chairman thanked Chief Inspector Henley and Inspector Jones for their update.

kent downs area of outstanding natural beauty (aonb)

The Chairman welcomed Mr Nick Johannsen (Director, Kent Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB)) Unit to the meeting.

Mr Johannsen gave a presentation on the Kent Downs AONB. The presentation outlined what AONBs were and that there were two in Kent. Mr Johannsen explained that the purpose of AONBs was to 'conserve and enhance the natural beauty of the landscape'.

Mr Johannsen stated that Kent Downs AONBs aim was also to support the economic uses. The Kent Downs was one of the UK's most biodiverse woodlands. The AONB also sought to preserve the historic and cultural heritage of the downs.

Mr Johannsen spoke about the current adopted AONB Management Plan which was currently being reviewed. The new Management Plan would be adopted March 2014.

In response to queries from a member of the public, Mr Johannsen stated that the AONB Unit was employed by Kent County Council but was funded and worked on behalf of the Joint Advisory Committee (JAC). The AONB Unit gave formal and informal advice on planning applications. He stated that their Management Plan did not include specific policies on gypsy and traveller sites but these were considered on a case by case basis.

Mr Tinsley, spoke about plans to re-locate Tunstall School on Grade II farmland and queried whether this was something that would be of interest to the AONB Unit? Mr Johannsen stated that whilst he was not aware of the site they would be interested if it affected the setting of an AONB.

The Chairman thanked Mr Johannsen for his presentation.

gypsy/traveller community

The Chairman welcomed Shelly Rouse (Spatial Planning Officer, Swale Borough Council) to the meeting.

Parish Councillor Tucker stated that she appreciated that it was possibly a little ambitious in trying to change the Human Rights Act but the settled community did not understand why the Gypsy and Traveller community were seemingly singled out for preferential treatment with regard to planning applications. She stated that there was a high concentration of sites within Upchurch and it had reached saturation point.

Parish Councillor Tucker raised concern that there appeared to be no limit to the amount of pitches allowed on any one site. She stated that local authorities needed to look at how they could better engage with local communities about the issue.

Mr Graham Addicott, Chairman of Hartlip Parish Council, concurred with Parish Councillor Tuckers comments. He stated that the briefing note did not seem to be supported by evidence and that the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) allowed the gypsy and traveller community to live in rural areas where the settled community would not be allowed to. He stated that it was the view of Hartlip Parish Council that the pendulum had swung too far in the favour of the gypsy and traveller community. He added that local authorities and parish councils needed to work together to ensure fair planning policies for all and work to change current law if necessary.

Councillor Bowles supported the view expressed by the Parish Council representatives and that Borough Councillors were also frustrated by current regulations.

Councillor Lewin, Cabinet Member for Planning, stated that it was not just an issue with the Human Rights Act but also embedded within planning policy. Councillor Lewin spoke about the emerging Core Strategy which enabled sites to be provided in urban areas.

In response to a query, Councillor Barnicott stated that Members of the Planning Committee were not over-ruled by Officers when considering gypsy and traveller applications and often went against officer recommendations. However Members had to consider planning regulations and ensure that any decision they made could be supported on appeal otherwise the authority could be liable for costs.

Parish Councillor Willis, Bredgar Parish Council, made the following points: could SBC explore the possibility of purchasing sites that the gypsies could then rent, these could then be presented to the magistrates court?; and the report produced by Office for National Statistics states 42% of Gypsy and Travellers live in settled communities and they do better compared with those in rural communities, who have poor health indices and education.

Councillor Lewin stated as a way forward that Parish Councils concerned about the issue should write to their MP about the possibility of changing national planning policy. He also spoke about the Gypsy and Traveller Site Allocations document which was due for public consultation in February 2014 and urged parish councils to make their views known.

Parish Councillor Tucker raised concern that some wording about being prejudiced on the document did make it very difficult to make comment.

Councillor Lewin asked Parish Councillor Tucker to speak to him about her concerns and he would, as Cabinet Member for Planning, look to address the issue.

Members of the public made the following comments: believe the Human Rights Act was a 'red herring'; statistics in the briefing note were flawed; settled community liaised with planning officers before submitting a planning application, the gypsy and traveller community often did not; and planning enforcement seemed to take action against the settled community but not gypsies and travellers.

Mrs Rouse stated that she was not able to comment on planning enforcement issues and any concerns should be referred to SBC's planning enforcement team. She stated that officers understood the frustrations raised and that it was important that everyone worked together to provide suitable sites locally.

Mrs Rouse drew attention to the public consultation on the Gypsy and Traveller Site Allocations which was due to commence on 24 February 2014. Stakeholder workshops were planned and it was important for local communities to put their views across.

The Chairman thanked the Spatial Planning Officer for attending the meeting.

highway issue - ringlestone road/ladewood hill, doddington

The Chairman drew attention to the update from KCC Highways which was tabled.

Mr Haynes, resident of Doddington, stated that the on-going problems at the site were resulting in the road becoming dangerous for vehicles to negotiate. He stated that he had attended a meeting at the site with Alan Blackburn (KCC Highways) who had agreed that the drains needed to be repaired before re-surfacing works could commence. He considered that the tabled update from KCC Highways was a disgrace.

Mr Cuthbert, resident of Doddington, stated that the issue had been on-going for some years. He stated that the landowner had volunteered posts and the use of his land to install suitable drains.

Councillor Bowles stated that he had written to Kathryn Lewis (Drainage & Flood Manager, KCC Highways) to arrange for her to meet with him, Councillor Prescott and parish council representatives on-site to discuss the situation.

rural business opportunities

Members noted the Rural Roundup attached to the agenda.

urgent item - kent county council (kcc) response to parking problems outside village schools and speeding in rural areas

The Chairman drew attention to the response to parking problems outside village schools and speeding in rural areas which was tabled.

Mr Harrison, Headteacher Lynsted and Norton Primary School, raised the issue of parking problems outside the School. He sought reassurances that KCC, the Police, SBC and Parish Councils were working together to resolve the issue.

The Chairman was handed an Action Committee Report from Lynsted and Norton Primary School which would be forwarded to the relevant partners.

Chief Inspector Tony Henley drew attention to the www.responsibleparking.co.uk website which offered advice, but raised concern that schools did not appear to be aware of the site. He noted the response from the Cabinet Member for Transport & Environment which he considered to be un-helpful. Chief inspector Henley stated that some responsibility was with the schools but it was a partnership issue and not just about enforcement but finding a solution to the issue. The Police had other priorities and it was a case of balancing that against the resources they had.

Inspector Evan Jones reported that Kent Police had recently carried out speed checks in rural Sittingbourne and the majority of those that were stopped were local people including parents dropping off their children at local schools. He spoke about a national scheme where parents were banned from driving their children to school and that this could happen in Kent.

Some Councillors spoke about similar problems within their wards. Councillor Monique Bonney stated that the issue of parking problems was a constant battle and the Forum should keep the item as an agenda item. She also raised concern that parishes were being 'brow-beaten' by KCC to expand their village schools.

Members of the public raised the following points: concerns about a school bus driver not driving responsibly; the speed limit needs to be reduced; the responsible parking website needs to be better publicised; and if the Police could fund the Rural Engagement Bus why could they not police parking outside schools?

adjournment of meeting