The Chairman will advise the meeting of the evacuation procedures to follow in the event of an emergency.

The Chairman drew attention to the evacuation procedure.

To approve the Minutes of the Meeting held on 3 February 2016 (Minute Nos. 468 - 480) as a correct record.

The Minutes of the Meeting held on 3 February 2016 (Minute Nos. 468 – 480) were taken as read, approved and signed by the Chairman as a correct record, subject to Minute No. 480 on page 512 to refer to Minute No. 376 in the last paragraph with reference to Parking in Swale, not Minute No. 379.

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.

Cabinet Member for Environmental and Rural Affairs

Cabinet considered the report of the Head of Commissioning and Customer Contact and the above Cabinet Member which set out details of the procurement of services to complete the works to replace the collapsed wall in Newington Car Park.

A Member stated that Newington Parish Council had requested that the work be carried out during the quiet period in August, so that potential disruption to the operation of the village hall was kept to a minimum, and that alternative parking arrangements be made available if the work was outside the August period.  The Member also asked how long the works were likely to continue for?

The Cabinet Member for Environmental and Rural Affairs advised that the schedule of works was likely to be between eight and ten weeks.  The start date was presently unknown.  He confirmed that only part of the Car Park would be affected by the works, and that 24 or 25 spaces would remain in operation during the period of the wall replacement.  He explained that there was bound to be some disruption, but Newington Parish Council and the Village Hall Committee would be kept up-to-date with progress.

The Ward Members thanked the Cabinet Member and officers who had worked on the project.

Resolved:

(1)      That the tender for the works to replace the collapsed wall in Newington Car Park, be awarded to Colwin Construction for the sum of £89,588.

Cabinet Member for Finance

Cabinet considered the report of the Head of Property Services and the above Cabinet Member which set out a proposal to offer Paul Weeks of Vintage Vending a 25 year full repairing lease to occupy the property at The Leas, Minster-on-Sea.

Several Members spoke in support of the proposal and welcomed the new use for the hut.

A Member queried the last sentence in paragraph 3.1 of the report, and whether it should be amended so the occupier should, rather than be “expected” to cover all outgoings, he “will” cover all outgoings.

The Cabinet Member for Finance advised that the occupier would cover the outgoings, including building insurance, utility costs etc.

The Chairman brought Members’ attention to Appendix II, the confidential paper for this item.  Members did not discuss the information on the paper, so it was not necessary to go into closed session.

Resolved:

(1)      That the grant of a 25 year lease to Vintage Vending be granted.

(2)      That delegated authority be given to the Head of Property Services to finalise the terms of the lease in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Finance.

Cabinet Member for Finance

Cabinet considered the report of the Head of Property Services and the above Cabinet Member which set out details of the current and proposed arrangements for outgoing post distribution from Swale House.

The Cabinet Member for Finance explained that the proposal allowed savings to be made, whilst retaining a good service.

Resolved:

(1)      That the Council enters into a contract with OnePost Ltd for the outgoing distribution of post from Swale House for a period of four years from 1 April 2016 at an estimated total contract value of £760,000.

(2)      That the Head of Legal Partnership, in consultation with the Head of Property Services be authorised to undertake all steps in relation to negotiating and entering into the contract and to sign the contract.

Cabinet Member for Environmental and Rural Affairs

Cabinet considered the report of the Policy and Performance Manager and the above Cabinet Member which sought adoption of the Kent Environment Strategy (KES) by the Council.

The Cabinet Member for Environmental and Rural Affairs considered Swale Borough Council (SBC) was one of the leading authorities on this subject, and could be proud of its credentials on environmental matters.  He acknowledged the Leader’s work on this, and thanked the Climate Change Officer for her involvement in bringing this forward.

The Climate Change Officer reported that she had recently attended the Implementation Action Plan Workshop, and explained that KES was a partnership document, which helped to retain SBC’s position in Kent.

Members welcomed the Strategy.  They considered that work on this matter would grow exponentially in the future, and that SBC was leading in this field.

Resolved:

(1)      That the refreshed Kent Environment Strategy be adopted by the Council.

Leader

Cabinet considered the report of the Policy and Performance Manager and the Leader which set out the purpose of the high-level action plan which supports the delivery of the four-year Corporate Plan, and asks Members to adopt the 2016/17 version of the Plan.

The Leader gave credit to the Chief Executive and the Policy and Performance Manager on the work they had carried out on the Corporate Plan.  He advised that reference to particular Cabinet Members in Appendix I in the report would need to be amended, following changes to Cabinet portfolios.

A Member, who was not a Cabinet Member, made the following comments:  how many households were living in temporary accommodation, both in, and out of, Swale?; how many long term empty homes were there in Swale?; consider the target for parking penalty charge notice recovery rate in the future should be higher than 65%; clarification sought on the graffiti item; and planning refusals/delegations targets should not be a Council objective.

The Leader advised that the planning items, were not targets, but a method of recording the information.

The Chief Executive advised that the information requested on accommodation statistics could be forwarded to the Member.  He explained that the target of 65% for parking penalties included appeals, and benchmarking data suggested that 65% was a suitable target.  Areas with graffiti issues were given a spot-clean and rated on a 1-5 score.  He further advised that planning was subject to a national performance regime, with potentially significant penalties applying to underperforming authorities.

The Cabinet Member for Planning explained that the process of development management ensured that applications were managed at an early stage.

Members welcomed the document, and the Chairman thanked the input from the Policy Development and Review Committee.

Recommended:

(1)      That the Corporate Plan action plan for 2016/17 (§3.2 and Appendix I) be adopted.

(2)       That the corporate performance indicator set for 2016/17 and associated ‘hard’ targets for 2016/17 and ‘soft’ targets for the following two years (§3.8 and Appendix II) be adopted.

(3)       That delegated authority be given to the Chief Executive, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Performance, to amend performance indicators and targets during the course of the year should this become necessary (§3.9).

Cabinet Member for Finance

Cabinet considered the report of the Head of Finance and the above Cabinet Member which set out the revenue and capital projected outturn for 2015/16 as at the end of December 2015.  The report is based on service activity up to the end of December 2015, and is collated from monitoring reports from budget managers.

The Cabinet Member for Finance advised that further savings were being made by improved contract management, and this resulted in a soundly managed and efficient Council.  He reported that as a result Council Tax had been kept at the same level for six years.  He explained that the items listed at Appendix I on page 98 of the report were “one-off” expenditure items.

Members congratulated the Cabinet Member, Head of Finance, and the Finance Team for the work they had carried out.

Resolved:

(1)      That the projected revenue underspend on services of £943,300 for 2015/16 be noted.

(2)      That the projected capital underspend for 2015/16 of £650,000 to end of December 2015 be noted.

Cabinet Member for Localism, Sport, Culture and Heritage

Cabinet considered the report of the Head of Property Services and the above Cabinet Member which set out an option agreement for the Council to obtain Land to site B at the Wharf site in Sittingbourne from Essential Land at no cost to the Council.

Members welcomed the proposal and the boost it would give to tourism and education locally.

Resolved:

(1)      That delegated authority be given to the Head of Property Services in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Finance and the Cabinet Member for Localism, Sport, Culture and Heritage to draw down land on the Wharf site in Sittingbourne under an option agreement with Essential Land to be used for a new Dolphin Barge Museum.

(2)      That delegated authority be given to the Head of Property Services in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Finance and the Cabinet Member for Localism, Sport, Culture and Heritage to enter into a new 125 year lease with The Dolphin Barge Museum for Land on the Wharf Site in Sittingbourne to be used to construct, maintain and operate a new Dolphin Barge Museum.

Cabinet Member for Regeneration

Cabinet considered the report of the Head of Commissioning & Customer Services and the above Cabinet Member which set out an update on progress with the two phases of beach hut construction in Minster to-date, and proposals for introducing a further 10 huts in Leysdown.

Members spoke in support of the proposal and the benefits it would bring to the surrounding area.

The Head of Commissioning and Customer Contact reported that consultation on the proposed site in Leysdown was ongoing.  This had been largely positive, but there had been some concerns with a higher level of anti-social behaviour in Leysdown.  He considered that if the project was managed in the same way as the beach huts in Minster, it could result in an increased level of pride within the surrounding area, and was an overall positive move.

Resolved:

(1)     That the beach huts scheme with a further twenty huts to be constructed at Leysdown continues.  The final mix of huts available for rent or sale to be agreed by the Head of Commissioning & Customer Contact in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Regeneration and the Cabinet Member for Finance.

(2)     That the capital budget allocation of £60,000 for the provision of the beach huts and associated safety barriers be approved.

In accordance with Part 3.6.2 of the Constitution (Appointments to outside bodies made by Cabinet) it is proposed that Councillor Ken Pugh be appointed to The Swale District  Advisory Board (number 35) replacing Councillor Mike Whiting.

In addition the Leader will be appointed to the ‘Executive Body of the Kent Downs and Marshes LEADER´ in the role of ‘advisory and decision-making’.

The Leader reported that, following changes in Cabinet portfolios, Councillor Ken Pugh would be appointed to The Swale District Advisory Board, replacing Councillor Mike Whiting.

He further advised that he had been invited to sit on the Executive Body of the Kent Downs and Marshes LEADER.

Resolved:

(1)       That the verbal update be noted.

The Chairman drew Members’ attention to the tabled paper which set out the recommendations from the Swale Rural Forum meeting held on 23 February 2016.  He advised that Minute No. 521 was not the within SBC’s remit.  In addition, the proposal within Minute No. 524 had been discussed at the General Purposes Committee held at 5pm on 2 March 2016, and had not been supported by that Committee.

Resolved:

(1)       That Minute Nos. 521 and 524 be noted with no further action.

The Chairman drew Members’ attention to the tabled paper which set out the recommendations from the Local Development Framework Panel meeting held on 25 February 2016.

Resolved:

(1)       That the recommendations in Minute Nos. 534 and 535 be approved, subject  to a change on the tabled paper to read ‘Parks and Open Spaces improvement grant scheme’ on Minute No. 535.

As this was the final scheduled Cabinet meeting of the municipal year, the Chairman thanked Cabinet Members, visiting Members, and officers for their contribution to Cabinet meetings over the last year.

To decide whether to pass the resolution set out below in respect of the following item:

That under Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the press and public be excluded from the meeting for the following item of business on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act:

3 – Information relating to the financial or business affairs of any individual including the authority holding that information.

This was not required.

This item was not referred to in the meeting.