The Leader advised that at the end of January 2020, he had several meetings all concentrating on a familiar topic, the tension between Government housing growth targets and Local Government’s view of the reality behind those targets.  He said that firstly himself, Councillors Bonney and Baldock met the then Housing Minister, Esther McVey, a meeting facilitated by Gordon Henderson MP and attended by him. They spent half an hour, each competing for airtime, rehearsing views that were probably known to this Council including Mr Henderson’s view that all 10,000 additional houses should be built in Faversham, a view Members may wish to pass onto residents of Faversham and their MP.   The Leader added that as Ms McVey did not survive the reshuffle, the value of the meeting was probably limited.

The Leader said that the following day he attended meetings of the Greater North Kent Leaders and then Kent Leaders and overwhelmingly they took a view that was very similar to Swale Borough Council’s; that houses already delivered were suffering a chronic infrastructure deficit and that, with some exceptions, future Government expectations were excessive. The following day the Leader attended South East England Council Leaders, which also included presentations from a London Borough and the Greater London Council. He said that, again, the consensus was that Government expectations of both London and the South East were unrealistic and based on a very speculative analysis of need.

The Leader said that the new Government may want to re-assess this concentration on London and the South East, which made up two thirds of the overall target and they may be influenced by their declared aim for greater economic growth in the North, the growing doubts about building on areas of potential flooding and the possibility that the construction industry may not be able to deliver due to skills shortages.

The Leader explained that Swale Borough Council wanted to deliver housing growth on their own terms, meeting local need, with developments that were environmentally sustainable and conscious of the need to build communities not dormitories. He added that there was not a vacuum.

Referring to the difficulties with bin collections last year and recent press interest, the Leader had requested a personal meeting with senior managers at Biffa and met the national Director of Operations the previous week to seek assurances on performance. The Director of Operations apologised for the level of service received and outlined the steps they had taken and were taking in order to avoid this in future. These included changes to operational management in Swale and improvements in the work ethic. The Leader said that whilst this would be monitored closely, he was persuaded that they recognised the issues and were bringing in more resource and vehicles in order to avoid future problems at peak periods of the year.

On 10 February 2020, along with officers of the Council and Cabinet Members, the Leader met with the Chief Executive and Chairman of Swale Community Leisure (SCL). He said that the meeting had added focus due to the damage inflicted on the Swallows roof the previous day.  The Leader advised that this was the trust that managed the Swallows and Sheppey Leisure Centres on SBC’s behalf. He said that the Administration was building a positive working relationship with them and were keen to hear about their plans to create ‘better leisure for local people’. He went on to say that their facilities and programmes had seen real improvement over recent years with the refurbishments and this was reflected in increased visits from a more diverse range of people.   He said that an exemplar project was the new health studio at Sheppey. The Leader said that it now had 208 users from deprived communities and with chronic health needs, and really did address SBC’s priorities of tackling social exclusion and improving the health and wellbeing of those most in need. He added that feedback from users had been impressive.   The Leader said that SBC would continue to talk to SCL about future provision, bearing in mind the Administration’s priorities, which included inclusivity in the use of the centres.

The Leader said that delivery of the Spirit leisure scheme continued apace and he was delighted to announce that the Travelodge and Loungers agreed practical completion last Wednesday 19 February 2020. He said that the Light cinema was fitting out and would be open by July ready for Top Gun, Ghostbusters and the Minions premieres.  He said that it was anticipated that Nando’s and Pizza Express would be ready for the cinema and it was exciting to think that Bourne Place would be animated by all this activity by early summer 2020.

The Leader said that there had been some robust debate recently around an infrastructure issue. He said that he welcomed robust debate and recognised an essential tool of any capable politician is to interpret situations to their own point of view. However, the Leader said he recoiled from people calling each other liars.  The Leader said that this week there had been further ill-informed Parliamentary interest in SBC’s affairs and he thought that the Sittingbourne and Sheppey MP should take greater care over what he said.  He said that the Conservative Group on SBC behaved entirely properly but to Mr Henderson, quoting Prime Minister Clement Attlee “A period of silence on your part would be most welcome.”

In concluding his Leader’s Statement, the Leader said that the investigation into a current Member had concluded that there had not been a breach of the code of conduct, and that restrictions on the Member’s access to staff had now been lifted.

The Deputy Leader of the Conservative Group acknowledged the Leader’s concern about housing numbers and said he would ask Mr Henderson about his comments.  He was pleased that the waste collection service was improving, supported the importance of active lives highlighting the new outdoor gym at Faversham Recreation Ground and welcomed the progress in the leisure facilities at Bourne Place.

The Leader referred to Government housing numbers and also acknowledged that Mr Henderson’s comments may have been made during excitable debate but suggested that in such cases an apology would be appropriate.