Agenda item
Notice of Motions
In accordance with Council Procedure Rule 12, the following Motions have been received:-
a) Motion – Scrap the Proposals in the Planning White Paper
Proposed by Councillor Rachel Coxcoon, Seconded by Councillor Joe Harris:
Council notes:
The significant concerns expressed through the ballot box in Chesham & Amersham over the Conservative Government’s proposed Planning Reforms, including:
· Loss of democratic accountability within the planning system, under a proposed zoning system that would grant presumed consent to development in two of the three zones.
· No commitment to using the planning system to tackle climate change, either through genuinely sustainable placemaking, or through the imposition of a building standards system that will deliver zero-carbon homes.
· The expansion of Permitted Development Rights under this Government, which have already led to the development of ‘modern day slums’.
· Widespread concerns and condemnation of the Planning White Paper proposals across Local Government, The Planning and Architecture Sector, and organisations concerned with protecting green spaces and heritage.
Council is concerned that:
Government proposals to deregulate planning will remove the rights of residents to influence or object to inappropriate development where they live.
The Government's proposals pass the costly burden of design codes from developers to local government, and result in codes that will hold no statutory weight.
The proposals in the White Paper, coupled with the weakness of the proposed Future Homes Standard and Design Codes and the ease with which Permitted Development Rights can now be used, means that the planning system is in danger of becoming an active enabler of the climate crisis, rather than part of the solution.
And finally,
That the proposals in the White Paper, designed principally to speed up the delivery of much needed housing, are doomed to fail on this crucial point, since the slow delivery of housing is demonstrably not a result of delays within the planning decision-making system. Rather, it is the result of land-banking and market manipulation by the development industry. Almost a million homes already have planning permission but have not been built out. Zoning, and thus the allocation of more land for housing, will secure
land value increases for a small number of major development companies, but will not alter the speed at which housing comes to the market.
Council believes that:
Residents have the right to a say over development that will change the area they live in.
Local councils, in consultation with their businesses and residents are best placed to understand the issues in their area and respond with a spatial strategy tailored to that area.
The planning system is not fit for purpose if climate change is not the pre-eminent test in decision-making, and local planning authorities are not required to manage emissions through the planning system.
International evidence shows that zoning systems, far from producing the simplified system that advocates suggest, can often result in less transparent, less accountable decision-making than a discretionary, plan-led system.
The development industry, not the planning system, is the main cause of slow housing delivery.
Council calls for the Government to:
Scrap the proposals in the Planning White Paper and instead look to the proposals in the 2017 Raynsford Review of planning to shape a fairer, more sustainable, people-centred system.
Ensure that any re-imagined planning system has a statutory purpose at its heart, to be defined in the Planning Acts. We suggest the following, from the October 2020 Common Ground Publication:
“The purpose of the planning system is to positively promote the spatial organisation of land to achieve the long-term sustainable development of the nation and the health, safety and wellbeing of individuals. In the Planning Acts, ‘sustainable development’ means managing the use, development and protection of land, the built environment and natural resources in a way, or at a rate, which enables people and communities to provide for their social, economic and cultural wellbeing while sustaining the potential of future
generations to meet their own needs.”
And finally,
Ensure that the Planning Acts and the Climate Change Act are bound together in law, making climate change considerations a central test in any planning policy making and decision-making process.
b) Motion - Community Funding for the 2022 Queens Platinum Jubilee Celebrations
Proposed by Councillor Julia Judd, Seconded by Councillor Stephen Hirst:
Council notes that the May Bank Holiday Weekend 2022 will be moved to Thursday 2 June 2022 and an additional Bank Holiday will see a four - day weekend to celebrate Her Majesty The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee – the first time any British monarch has reached this historic milestone.
This will also mark the first truly large community gathering since 2019 owing to the Covid-19 pandemic, so could arguably be considered a double celebration. There is likely to be a strong appetite from communities to celebrate this unique milestone.
There is no recent parallel for such an event, the closest being the Armistice commemorations and town and villages will benefit froma long lead time to plan , agree the format and issues such as road closures, refreshments and even catering.
This council therefore resolves to set aside specific community funding to support communities to run special events over the weekend, enabling them to kick-start their plans to organise a one off never to be forgotten event.
c) Motion – Cotswold Shopping Festival
Proposed by Councillor Richard Morgan, Seconded by Councillor Stephen Hirst:
“After the successful vaccine rollout, it seems that the COVID-19 lockdown
restrictions will be fully lifted on Monday 19 July (in what some people have labelled “Freedom Day”)
As we all know, throughout the pandemic many of our local businesses have been significantly impacted, and our high streets and town centres have been particularly hard hit.
As Freedom Day approaches, we believe that this Council has a duty to support our high streets and encourage people back into our town centres and help build consumer confidence. For this reason we would like to propose the following Motion:
· CDC launches a “FREE FOR THREE” parking scheme. This would involve offering free parking in CDC Car Parks for three days (Preferably a Friday, Saturday, Sunday long weekend).
· During the “Free for Three” period, CDC would also hire several local musicians, street performers and children’s entertainers to provide small scale, modest popup shows. These small business owners have also been hard hit during the pandemic so are worthy of support.
· Launch a social media campaign and a PR campaign to publicise a “Free for Three” shopping festival. The marketing to be themed around:
o Visit our town centre and park for free.
o Bring the whole family and enjoy some local street entertainers.
o Do your shopping in our amazing shops and support small business owners.
Retail research has shown that if you can attract a customer to your shop three times, they become a loyal customer and visit again and again. For this reason, if the first “Free for Three” event is successful we should consider running it again. (Once a month for three months.)”
d) Motion – Dog Waste Bin Provision
Proposed by Councillor Julia Judd:
“This Council notes that an unexpected consequence of Covid-19 has been an escalation in dog ownership. According to the Pet Food Manufacturers' Association over 12 million of us now own a dog and their Covid-19 Pet
Survey confirms a staggering rise in pet acquisition with dogs being the most popular at 57%.
Many Cotswold parishes suffer from an over-supply of dog waste causing the bins to fill up quickly. It is common to see dog waste bags lying on the ground around overflowing bins, photos of this regularly appear on Social Media, especially in Tetbury.
It is also common to see filled dog waste bags hanging from trees, trodden into footpaths, dropped in grit bins, left lying by gateways or on top of Cotswold stone walls. Requests from Parishes for extra dog waste bins and more frequent collections have been turned down, even if Parishes are prepared to pay for the new bins.
Waste collection is a core service which all Councils are expected to deliver,
Council Tax Payers expect it and pay for it. It is a service which upholds the
Council’s Civic Pride agenda and is imperative for public health.
One Cotswold village was told ‘we are currently unavailable to install any additional litter / dog waste bins…..we have had to put (this) in force across the whole of the district for various reasons and has been previously raised with Cabinet Member Cllr Andrew Doherty. As a result of COVID 19 we have received a high volume of requests for additional bins, we are unable to fulfil these requests at the present time as we have reached our limit on capacity and the amount of weight the vehicle can collect on each round. We are hopeful that with the easing of lockdown measures the volume of waste will reduce to pre-lockdown figures and we can start looking at getting any additional bin requests installed.’ This response implies the Council considers that the problem might go away post Covid-19.
The Ubico team in Chipping Campden were surprised to hear from Cllr Blomefield that we have been told that collection efforts are at maximum capacity, as public bin waste is less than normal owing to there being fewer tourists over the pandemic.
New signs on the bins include information to contact the Council that the bin needs to be emptied and also to encourage people to take their dog waste bags home with them. This rather defeats the purpose of the bins in the first place but more to the point, many people will choose not to take them home, especially if they are travelling in a car, as it is such an unpleasant and potentially hazardous thing to do.
Waste collection is a mandatory, core service. Residents, especially those in towns and bigger villages are suffering from poor service. This situation needs
resolving and I ask that Council resolves to approve the appropriate
funding to ensure that sufficient bins are made available and regularly emptied before they overfill.”
e) Motion – 20mph is Plenty Where People Are
Proposed by Councillor Jenny Forde, Seconded by Councillor Andrew Doherty:
This Council:
· believes that 20 mph is plenty where people are;
· agrees with and supports the UK Government’s recent endorsement of The Stockholm Declaration, which stipulates in Resolution 11 that a council should “mandate a maximum road travel speed of [20mph] in areas where vulnerable road users and vehicles mix…except where strong evidence exists that higher speeds are safe”;
· resolves to formally adopt Resolution 11. In practice, this means that the default speed limit on the Cotswold District's urban and rural residential streets will be 20mph, except on main roads where speed limits, if higher, must be both safe and appropriate;
· calls on Gloucestershire County Council, as the Local Highways Authority, to consult the county’s District Councils, Parish Councils and communities to identify all the roads which should adopt a 20mph speed limit no later than 30 April 2025 and to make significant progress towards realising these changes in tandem - establishing 20mph limits in identified places quickly if communities agree;
· calls on Gloucestershire County Council to provide the necessary funding, to achieve the goal of making our residents feel safe and be safe, across the Cotswolds.”
Minutes:
Members had been given notice of a number of Motions, detailed on the agenda.
a) Motion – Scrap the Proposals in the Planning White Paper
Proposed by Councillor Rachel Coxcoon, Seconded by Councillor Joe Harris.
Council noted that the debate around the motion needed to take place before any further proposals were made.
Councillor Rachel Coxcoon provided further context around the motion.
The Leader of the Council, Councillor Joe Harris reserved his right to speak.
Councillor Clive Webster expressed his support for the motion.
Councillor Patrick Coleman expressed his concerns around how the Government would manage the process of amending the planning regulations.
Councillor Stephen Andrews proposed that the motion moved to a vote.
Councillor Joe Harris expressed a view that the proposed planning amendments would not benefit local communities.
Councillor Rachel Coxcoon provided a summary of the motion.
RESOLVED that the motion was carried.
Record of Voting – for: 16, against: 0, abstentions: 10, absent: 8.
b) Motion - Community Funding for the 2022 Queens Platinum Jubilee Celebrations
Proposed by Councillor Julia Judd, Seconded by Councillor Stephen Hirst.
Council noted that this motion would be considered by the Cabinet as it had financial implications.
Councillor Julia Judd provided further context around the motion and requested that a figure of £500 per ward Member be added to the motion so that the final paragraph then read:
‘This council therefore resolves to set aside specific community funding of £500 per Ward Member to support communities to run special events over the weekend, enabling them to kick-start their plans to organise a one off never to be forgotten event’.
Councillor Mike Evemy expressed a view that due to the financial implications arising from the revisions to the motion, it was appropriate for the matter to be considered formally at Cabinet so further work on the financial details could be completed.
RESOLVED that the matter would be formally considered by Cabinet at its November 2021 meeting.
c) Motion – Cotswold Shopping Festival
Proposed by Councillor Richard Morgan, Seconded by Councillor Stephen Hirst.
RESOLVED that this motion was withdrawn.
d) Motion – Dog Waste Bin Provision
Proposed by Councillor Julia Judd.
RESOLVED that this motion was withdrawn.
e) Motion – 20mph is Plenty Where People Are
Proposed by Councillor Jenny Forde, Seconded by Councillor Andrew
Doherty.
Councillor Jenny Forde provided further context around the motion.
Councillor Andrew Doherty expressed his support for the motion.
Councillor Roly Hughes expressed is support for the motion.
Councillor Stephen Hirst addressed the Council and informed members that Gloucestershire County Council had every intention of adopting 20mph maximum speed limits in areas where vulnerable road users and vehicles mixed.
Councillor Lisa Spivey expressed her support for the motion.
Councillor Rachel Coxcoon expressed her support for the motion.
Councillor Clive Webster expressed his support for the motion.
Councillor Stephen Andrews addressed the Council and emphasised the importance of continuing to lobby partners to achieve the amending of speed limits.
Councillor Ray Theodoulou addressed the Council and expressed a view that it would be important to secure the support of the police in relation to the revision of speed limits across the District.
Councillor Joe Harris wished to place on record his thanks to Councillor Roly Hughes for his work around the ’20 is plenty’ scheme and acknowledged the importance of ensuring this was formally adopted in order that lives could be saved.
Councillor Gina Blomefield expressed her support for the motion
Councillor Jenny Forde provided a summary of the motion.
RESOLVED that the motion was carried.
Record of Voting – for: 26, against: 0, abstentions: 0, absent 8.
The Chair of the Council, Councillor Dilys Neill and all Members wished to place on record their thanks to Democratic Services for their help in ensuring the meeting had run smoothly.