Agenda, decisions and minutes

To confirm as a true record the Minutes of the meeting held on 14 July 2022.

RESOLVED:

THAT the minutes of the meeting held on 14 July 2022 be approved.

To invite Members to declare any interest they might have in the matters on the agenda.

Councillor Lucioni declared an interest in minute item 28a – Better Care Fund as she was employed as a Personal Assistant.

Questions may be asked without notice but to guarantee a full reply at the meeting, a question must be put including the name and address of the questioner by delivery in writing or by electronic mail to Democratic Services at democratic.services@iow.gov.uk, no later than two clear working days before the start of the meeting. Cabinet is usually held on a Thursday, therefore the deadline for written questions will be Monday 5 September 2022.

No written questions were received.

Verbal questions were received from Paul Townsend of the Sustainable Freshwater Group who asked why the Alliance group was persisting with the draft Island Plan, when the ONS shows that it would exacerbate demographic imbalance on the IW. The number of new builds on the island drops to under 100 per annum which was greatly below the number currently suggested in the Plan.

A response was given by the Chairman that the matter would be considered and a decision made later in the meeting.

Angus McLeod from Build a Better Bembridge asked why had the Corporate Scrutiny Committee ignored the recommendations made by the working group.

The Chairman responded that the Cabinet would be considering the recommendations before them from the Corporate Scrutiny Committee.

Elizabeth Key also from Sustainable Freshwater asked why the Alliance group was persisting with the draft Island Plan when settlement boundaries have been extended without proper consultation with local communities. A written response was requested.

The Chairman indicated that a written response would be sent.

The Chairman expressed thanks to the various organisations which had put a lot of work into organising events over the year, including the Garlic Festival and Scooter Rally from which positive feedback had already been received, and the Wight Proms.

That Cabinet approves the Performance and Finance Report for the Quarter ended 30 June 2022, and the priority report detail as set out in appendices 1-10,together with the council’s financial position as set out at 11-14.

The report had been reviewed internally and by the Corporate Scrutiny Committee. Questions had been raised at the Corporate Scrutiny meeting regarding the Floating Bridge, to which responses were being provided. There had been a suggestion that charts within the report should be bar charts rather than line graphs, and that trends should also be shown.

RESOLVED:

That Cabinet approves the Performance and Finance Report for the Quarter ended 30 June 2022, and the priority report detail as set out in appendices 1-10, together with the council’s financial position as set out at 11-14.

The Cabinet agrees to:

i)                 consider and support the continuation of Better Care Fund arrangements and plan for 2022/23.

ii)               delegate authority to Director of Ault Social Care and Housing Needs to agree a deed of variation to the current section 75 agreement incorporating the BCF plan for 2022/23 in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care, Public Health and Housing Needs.

An explanation was given that this was a central government requirement, which would be signed off by the Health and Wellbeing Board following approval by Cabinet.

RESOLVED:

Cabinet agrees:

(a)            to provide provisional consent to the transfer of the ownership of the service provider and novation of the works and operating sub-contract to the entity know as Thalia Waste Management subject to the completion of suitable due diligence processes.

(i)              between now and the date of transfer, to agree terms of the legal documentation in Amey Waste Treatment and Ferrovial;

(ii)             the completion of financial due diligence prior to the date of transfer.

Cabinet approves that the decision to complete the consent legal documentation is delegated to the Director of Neighbourhoods in consultation with the Cabinet Member and section 151 officer and is subject to:

(b)            Satisfactory completion of legal documentation maintaining a no better, no worse position for the council

(c)             Satisfactory completion of financial due diligence

The change of ownership of the waste company, due in autumn 2022 was explained in more detail and Cabinet were asked to give conditional consent to the transfer as detailed in the report.

RESOLVED:

Not to approve the restrictions that are subject to this report in relation to THE ISLE OF WIGHT COUNCIL (HORSEBRIDGE HILL, NEWPORT) (TRAFFIC REGULATION) ORDER NO 1 2021 and to abandon the proposal.

The report was taken as read, however Option 2 was proposed as the TRO was not in accordance with the recently approved council policy. It was suggested that any decision on the proposed TRO should wait until after the completion of the speed review currently being undertaken.

RESOLVED:

Not to approve the restrictions that are subject to this report in relation to THE ISLE OF WIGHT COUNCIL (HORSEBRIDGE HILL, NEWPORT) (TRAFFIC REGULATION) ORDER NO 1 2021 and to abandon the proposal.

Not to approve the restrictions that are subject to this report in relation to THE ISLE OF WIGHT COUNCIL (VARIOUS STREETS, FRESHWATER) (TRAFFIC REGULATION) ORDER NO 1 2022 and to abandon the proposal.

As with the previous item, the report was taken as read and Option 2 was proposed as the TRO was not in accordance with the recently approved council policy.

RESOLVED:

Not to approve the restrictions that are subject to this report in relation to THE ISLE OF WIGHT COUNCIL (VARIOUS STREETS, FRESHWATER) (TRAFFIC REGULATION) ORDER NO 1 2022 and to abandon the proposal.

1.     To agree the current version of the draft Island Planning Strategy (see appendix 1) with the changes recommended by Corporate Scrutiny Committee; namely Recommendation 2a – Protecting the Environment unless development on greenfield is absolutely necessary, Recommendation 3 – Second/Holiday homes, Recommendation 4 – Environment and Commitment to Carbon Net Zero and recommendation 5 – Freeport status, and with the addition of the paragraphs numbered 7.40 to 7.45 as set out below to be added to Policy KPS2;HA44 Newport Harbour.

2.     To recommend to Full Council that the draft Island Planning Strategy (dependant on the choice of option 1, 2 or 3) is published for the Regulation 19 period for public representation and then submitted to the Planning Inspectorate for examination; and                            

3.     To recommend to Full Council to delegate any final editorial and presentational changes to the Island Planning Strategy prior to publication and submission, to the Director of Regeneration in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Planning and Enforcement, so long as they do not materially alter the intention of the version agreed by Full Council.

7.40 The Council is aware that allocated site KPS2 Newport Harbour may represent the first phase of a wider regeneration opportunity within Newport Town Centre. Working with other stakeholders, including various public sector landowners, the Council will undertake feasibility studies and technical evidence work to establish whether any opportunities can be unlocked to further enhance the county town and deliver on the Council’s regeneration aspirations.

7.41 The Council considers that a range of technical work is needed to fully understand the potential within public sector owned land, including dialogue with private landowners over the potential and future for their land. The Shaping Newport Place Plan Report and the recommendations within it will be a key piece of evidence to help inform any regeneration proposals, this includes a focus on improving public realm and making the town centre a more pleasant place to live and work.

7.42 Undertaking this work will help the Council understand whether there is the opportunity to bring forward a high quality, sustainable mixed-use regeneration scheme providing housing to meet local need, new and enhanced commercial floorspace and sustainable transport improvements whilst maintaining a strong civic presence in the town centre.

7.43 The outcome of this technical work will help to establish the possible yield (both dwellings andfloorspace), potential delivery timescale andidentify a mixof development that could be accommodated on multiple sites. It will also be necessary to consider the most appropriateplanning policy and delivery mechanism to help bring forward any proposals. Section 10 of theIPS includesreference tousing theoutcomes ofany feasibilitystudies andtechnical workto determine whichelements ofthe IPScould bereviewed toincorporate theseoutcomes.

7.44 Any such scheme would support existing and new local businesses within the town centre through increased footfall and help to achieve the aims of the Newport Heritage Action Zone (HAZ) to restore key buildings and traditional shopfronts, improve public  ...  view the full decision text for item 31a

The Draft Plan was the culmination of four years work, with much consultation having been undertaken and many responses received, following which some amendments had been made.

There was concern from some members that the figures in the Plan did not accord with those produced by the Office of National Statistics and it was believed that some authorities had used the ONS figures since 2014 which had been accepted by the Planning Inspector. There was also concern that the draft Plan would not solve the issue of affordability.

The Cabinet Member for Planning and Enforcement explained that the methodology used by the government for the island was being questioned, and the council was looking for the ability within the Plan to be flexible to allow for changes to government policy. It was important not to delay the process as the timescale was fairly long and the longer it was left, the less ‘teeth’ the planning committee would have with regard to developments.

It was accepted that a range of housing was needed across the island and the council was trying to find solutions to the lack of rental properties available. There were currently 165 households in temporary accommodation.

The Corporate Scrutiny Committee had considered the Plan and had made further recommendations, which had resulted in amendments being made to the recommendation before Cabinet which was read out in full.

A short delay until November was suggested as the new prime minister had indicated she would abolish housing targets by amending the Levelling Up Bill, due to be published in September. However, it was believed that the Plan should now be advanced without any further delay. It was a holistic document, not only focused on housing, and may well face further amendment between Full Council and the Planning Inspector. The Monitoring Officer confirmed that decisions of the Full Council could be revisited in certain circumstances. The LGA had made clear at the recent peer review that a Plan was needed as soon as possible, and it was believed the Plan was the best available at this stage.

RESOLVED:

1.   To agree the current version of the draft Island Planning Strategy (see appendix 1) with the changes recommended by Corporate Scrutiny Committee; namely Recommendation 2a – Protecting the Environment unless development on greenfield is absolutely necessary, Recommendation 3 – Second/Holiday homes, Recommendation 4 – Environment and Commitment to Carbon Net Zero and recommendation 5 – Freeport status, and with the addition of the paragraphs numbered 7.40 to 7.45 as set out below to be added to Policy KPS2;HA44 Newport Harbour.

2.   To recommend to Full Council that the draft Island Planning Strategy (dependant on the choice of option 1, 2 or 3) is published for the Regulation 19 period for public representation and then submitted to the Planning Inspectorate for examination; and                            

3.   To recommend to Full Council to delegate any final editorial and presentational changes to the Island Planning Strategy prior to publication and submission, to the Director of Regeneration in  ...  view the full minutes text for item 31a

To invite Cabinet Members to provide a brief update on matters concerning their portfolio.

No Cabinet Member announcements were made.

Cabinet Members to identify decisions which need to be amended, added or to be removed from the Forward Plan.

The contents of the Forward Plan were noted with no amendments.

To guarantee a reply to a question, the question  must be submitted in writing or by electronic mail to democratic.services@iow.gov.uk no later than 5pm on Tuesday 6 September 2022. A question may be asked at the meeting without prior notice but in these circumstances there is no guarantee that a full reply will be given at the meeting.

There were no questions from Members.