The Leader advised that last Friday he had attended the Strategy Board meeting in Purfleet of the South East Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) on behalf of Kent and Medway. This was one of 38 such partnerships across the country, responsible to government for funding enterprise, investment and economic growth in Kent, Essex and East Sussex.

The Leader South East LEP was the largest LEP outside London and it had been felt for a long time that it was too large. The concept that a community of common economic interest could include three large counties had been questioned for several years but the Government had refused to adapt.  The Leader was sure that there must be common ground of some sort between us and, say, Braintree in Essex but he was not convinced it was local.

More recently the Government had decreed that each LEP should be reduced to 20 permanent members, whatever their comparative sizes. When SELEP questioned the viability of this they were told to conform or get no funding.  The Leader said that this was quite alarming for Kent. It reduced Kent and Medway to only seven representatives and since five of them were from the business community and as Kent County Council (KCC) and Medway Unitary were higher tier authorities, this meant that Kent District Councils like Swale were excluded from direct representation.

Given the very significant funding role of the LEP, the Leader said that the Council must do what it could to play a role in Kent and Medway groups that could act as a lobbying force. SELEP made key decisions on the allocation of Local Growth Funds, and the Growing Places Fund that provided capital to start-up and growing businesses.

The Leader advised that extensive discussions were taking place between them and U and I of the Spirit of Sittingbourne on those considerable parts of the Development Agreement that were yet to executed. Because the outcome was far from clear and not yet one that we would favour, the Cabinet on 25 September 2019 extended the period in which the partners could resolve where they stand in relation to the agreement. That extension lasted until 19October 2019 and that would be the last such delay in resolving where we might go.  Meanwhile, progress was being made on phase 1. As  indicated at the last meeting, the Leader said it would be necessary for the Planning Committee to consider an amendment to the original planning agreement, and this would happen soon.

Interesting discussions had taken place about making the best aesthetic use of the public space between the development and the station. They would need to consider the budget implication of any project and consider the artistic expectations of the thousands of people we hope it will attract.

It was a major concern of this Council to ensure that all the units were let, and there were now four out of seven. Cabinet Members had had a very well-informed briefing from Savills who were acting as consultants. The reality was that the market for the kind of diners originally envisaged for all seven units had declined in the last two years and it might be sensible to consider more realistic alternatives to national chains, looking more regionally or at other options consistent with an attractive leisure use. Cllrs Monique Bonney, Sarah Stephen and the Leader had a very encouraging meeting on Monday with Light Cinema and had explored other exciting options for the leisure area.

Earlier in the meeting the Leader referred to a KCC proposal to Government to bring forward major infrastructure investment in the County in return for the County delivering on Government housing targets. The variation on what the Council had come to expect was that instead of each district attempting to meet separate targets, many like us in the face of infrastructure restraints but also in a market where such figures were unrealistic, the Government would be expected to take a commitment from the County as a whole, so that districts delivering above expectation would compensate for those that could not meet the target. It was expected that the East Kent Districts would add new housing above their Local Plan targets, through the adoption of garden community investments. They would do so with the expectation that they would be the principal beneficiaries of infrastructure investment. That implied that if Swale was below target, it would get less infrastructure, but there were instances where the location of infrastructure in Swale might have a significant impact on the East Kent economy, Brenley Corner for example.

The Leader considered that this was superficially attractive, depending on whether the Government would ever buy into this. However, he did express caution at the Kent Leaders meeting. There was an obvious concern that this looked like a concession to Government, that the Government would take the bonus of extra East Kent homes but did not relax the pressure on councils to take the additional housing with no regard for infrastructure. There was also the inevitable danger that the East Kent districts did not meet those targets and that would have consequences.

The Leader advised that KCC had a new leader, and he hoped that the Council would build a stronger relationship with the new leader.

The Leader concluded his statement by saying that this was the last full council meeting to be graced by our head of democratic services Katherine Bescoby. Those of us who have been here for many years have become used to her extraordinary competence and humour. It would be strange to hold election counts at the soulless Sports Hall in Sittingbourne without seeing Katherine gliding calmly from table to table. Our loss would be Canterbury City’s gain and he was sure that Members all wished her happiness in the future.

The Leader of the Conservative Group was invited to respond.  He began by thanking the Leader for the update, acknowledging the comments regarding SELEP and that representation by district councils in Kent on SELEP was woeful.  He welcomed Roger Gough as the new Leader of KCC, and he hoped the Council could build a productive relationship with him, and wished him well for the future.  He also recognised the work undertaken by Paul Carter CBE throughout his career throughout local government both at district and county level, in particular being Leader for 14 years during unprecedented times, and his influence nationally referring to his work as Chair of County Council’s Network and the Grenfell Task and Finish Group.  He also recognised the contribution made by Katherine Bescoby and personally thanked her for her support and guidance over the years and wished her well for the future in her new role.  The Mayor said that Katherine had been an outstanding officer and also added his thanks.

The Leader advised that time had not allowed for him to talk about Paul Carter in his update, but praised him for his ability to grasp detail quickly (regardless of the politics) and his sound judgement, and his pride in Kent, and wished him well for the future.