In accordance with Council Procedure Rule No 10 to consider Motions on notice from Members. Motions must be received in writing or by email to the Monitoring Officer by 12 noon twelve clear working days before the meeting.
The following Motions have been submitted:-
Motion ‘A’ Moved by Councillor C Cupit and Seconded by Councillor A Dale
The Conservative Group notes with disappointment the statement by the relevant portfolio holder at the last Full Council meeting that the new administration would not be supporting the previous Council’s unanimous commitment on the 28 November 2022 to extend the garden waste collection period throughout the winter period.
Council notes that the extension of green bin collections is something many residents across the District have requested to facilitate and encourage increased recycling rates and reducing waste.
Council therefore resolves to extend green bin collections throughout the winter period on an at least monthly collection basis from Winter 2023.
Motion ‘B’ Proposed by Councillor D Hancock
Council notes:
· Management fees are becoming a common method by developers to charge new home buyers to cover provision of services for things such as play areas, communal gardens and private roads.
· The use of these communal areas in not limited to the residents that have to pay the management fees.
Council believes:
· Management fees are effectively an additional tax on new home buyers.
· These fees should be abolished and that developers should pay a fixed fee to via Section 106 agreements to fund these communal areas and have them adopted by the relevant local authority.
Council resolves:
· To relay the Councils position through the LGA and East Midlands Councils so that lobbying can be carried out to government to change the legislation.
· To write to Lee Rowley MP and Mark Fletcher MP to lobby the government to change the legislation.
Motion ‘C’ Proposed by Councillor R Shipman
Council notes:
· There has been a worrying increase in illegal encampments in North East Derbyshire over the last couple of years.
· Derbyshire Police have been given Section 61 and 62 powers to allow them to robustly tackle illegal encampments.
Council believes:
· Senior Derbyshire Police Representatives could and should do more when it comes to tackling illegal encampments, instead of leaving it to land owners to deal with the problem.
· The illegal encampments task force setup by the Police and Crime Commissioner has not been effective in preventing illegal encampments in North East Derbyshire.
Council resolves:
· To write to the Police and Crime Commissioner, Angelique Foster, and the Chief Constable, Rachel Swann to ask them to commit to use their existing powers and to explain why this hasn’t been done thus far.
· To report the response to the letter back to Councillors.
Motion ‘D’ Proposed by Councillor P Windley
Council notes:
· The lengthy time it took to adopt the current local plan.
· The need for more social and affordable housing within North East Derbyshire.
· Existing settlements in North East Derbyshire are being overdeveloped, and lacking infrastructure.
Council resolves:
For the relevant scrutiny committee and cabinet to create a strategy with a view to;
1. Begin the process of developing a local plan and begin consultation with local residents as early as possible.
2. Only develop on Council owned land with Social and affordable housing projects.
3. Explore options to build a new settlement in North East Derbyshire with the necessary infrastructure to support such a development.
Minutes:
MOTION ‘A’
Members considered a motion submitted by Councillor C Cupit, which called on the Council to extend green bin collections to at least a monthly collection basis from Winter 2023. The full text of Councillor C Cupit’s Motion, set out as Motion ‘A’ was included on the agenda for the meeting.
Councillor C Cupit argued that an extension to the collection period had been unanimously support by Council in November 2022. The extension would also be popular with residents, who now have to dispose of more garden waste as a result of longer growing seasons.
Councillor A Dale seconded the motion and reserved his right to speak.
Councillors R Welton and D Hancock spoke in favour of the motion. They argued that the policy had previously enjoyed cross-party support and reflected the concerns raised by residents.
Councillor N Barker responded that this matter had been resolved during Councillor H Liggett’s question at the previous meeting of Council. He informed Council that the motion that had been agreed at the meeting on the 28 November 2022, marked as Motion ‘D’, which can be viewed at Minute: COU/58/22-23, had stated that Council would extend the garden waste collection period, not that garden waste would be collected throughout the entire winter period. The collection period had already been extended by three weeks, the proposed motion was uncosted and unfunded.
Councillor R Shipman argued that if the budget had already been agreed then this would not pose an extra financial commitment. He suggested to Members that some people might start burning garden waste if the collection period was not extended. He also expressed his concern that people were not being encouraged to compost their waste.
Councillor S Pickering reiterated that the collection period had been extended by three weeks. If this was extended to cover the whole winter period, then this would lead to an increase of only 2.5% in terms of recycling but would cost an additional £82,000. Council heard that there were alternatives in place for residents such as waste recycling centres.
Councillor A Dale explained that the funding for this extension had been included in the budget inherited by the Administration and that the cost of an extension would not be significant.
Councillor C Cupit used her right of reply to share her disappointment at the response. She suggested that encouraging residents to drive to a waste recycling centre would not be environmentally sustainable.
At the conclusion of the debate the Motion was put to the vote and defeated.
MOTION ‘B’
Members considered a motion submitted by Councillor D Hancock which called on the Council to lobby the Government to change the legislation to prevent developers from using management fees to charge new home buyers for the provision and maintenance of play areas, communal gardens and private roads. The full text of Councillor D Hancock’s Motion, set out as Motion ‘B’ was included on the agenda for the meeting.
Councillor R Shipman seconded the Motion but reserved his right to speak.
Councillor A Dale declared an interest in the current Motion due to his role as a Director of the Northwood Development Group and informed Council that he would not participate in Council’s discussion of or determination on the motion.
Councillor N Baker suggested that the Council should be conscious of potential costs down the line for maintaining areas such as green spaces and parks when making planning decisions and setting conditions.
Councillors N Barker and C Cupit recognised the issues contained within the Motion but informed Members that there was a new Levelling-up and Regeneration Bill coming through Parliament which would contain a new infrastructure levy and that the Motion was pre-emptive of these changes.
Councillor C Cupit suggested that the relevant Scrutiny Committees should be asked to investigate this issue.
Councillor R Shipman argued that it would be better to influence legislation before it has been passed into law. He agreed with Councillor C Cupit that it would be worthwhile for this issue to be tackled by the relevant Scrutiny Committees.
Councillor D Hancock exercised his right of reply to echo the comments made by Councillor R Shipman. He informed Councillor C Cupit that he would have accepted a friendly amendment to refer the issue to Scrutiny if one had been proposed. He appealed to the Labour Group to reconsider their position and support the Motion.
At the conclusion of the discussion, the Motion was put to the vote and defeated.
MOTION ‘C’
Members considered a Motion submitted by Councillor R Shipman which called on the Council to write to the Police and Crime Commissioner and the Chief Constable and ask them to commit to use their existing powers in order to prevent illegal encampments throughout the District. The full text of Councillor R Shipman’s Motion, set out as Motion ‘C’ was included on the agenda for the meeting.
Councillor D Hancock seconded the Motion and reserved his right to speak.
Councillors N Barker, J Barry, C Cornwell, C Cupit and A Dale spoke against the Motion. They argued that the Illegal Encampments taskforce was carrying out good work and helping to alleviate the issue of illegal encampments.
Councillor C Cupit informed Council that the powers contained within Section 61 and 62 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 were used when it was appropriate to do so and had been used in relation to an incident at Grassmoor.
Councillor F Adlington-Stringer spoke against the Motion. He argued that the travelling community was valued and that a better nationwide strategy was required in order to provide safe spaces for these communities to exist.
Councillor M Foster explained that the powers contained within Section 61 and 62 require threatening or abusive words or behaviour or damage and six or more vehicles to be involved. Therefore, it was not always possible or appropriate for the police to use these powers.
Councillor D Hancock reminded Members that the Motion was in reference to all illegal encampments and did not refer to travellers. Councillor D Hancock finished by outlining a number of areas where the Illegal Encampments Taskforce had not worked well.
Councillor R Shipman exercised his right of reply to echo the words of Councillor D Hancock and to remind Members that the Motion did not refer to travellers. He informed Council that the Motion was in relation to the police not using the powers contained in Section 61 and 62 and to encourage them to do so when appropriate.
At the conclusion of the debate the Motion was put to the vote and defeated.
MOTION ‘D’
Members considered a Motion submitted by Councillor P Windley which called on Council to begin the process of developing a Local Plan and to begin consultation with residents as early as possible. The Motion also called on Council to only develop on Council owned land with Social and affordable housing projects and to explore options to build a new settlement within the District. The full text of Cllr P Windley’s Motion, set out as Motion ‘D’ was included on the agenda for the meeting.
Councillor R Shipman seconded the Motion and reserved his right to speak.
Councillor N Barker responded by contending that the new Working Group would consider the scope of the Local Plan and that the allocation for additional land would be an evidence-led process and would not be prejudged at this stage.
Councillor A Dale agreed that communities should be consulted on the Local Plan as early as possible. He supported the goal of providing more affordable homes but contended that the provision of open market sale would also be important. He also expressed interest in the principle of establishing a new settlement as a way of reducing further development on existing settlements but explained that he and the Liberal Democrat Group had disagreed in the past over the potential location of such a settlement.
Councillor H Wetherall echoed the comments made by Councillor A Dale and explained that a mixed economy approach to housing development would be more beneficial.
Councillor C Cupit spoke against the Motion. She argued that Members and the public as a whole ought to be consulted as part of the review process.
Councillor R Shipman argued that the Local Plan Review process should be started soon and that local communities ought to be consulted.
Councillor P Windley exercised her right of reply to inform Council that the Motion focussed on involving residents and planning for more social housing.
At the conclusion of the debate, the Motion was put to the vote and defeated.