Agenda item - First year review of the Council's Constitution

Recommendations from the Constitution and Governance Committee.

Councillor Ross Henley proposed the recommendations which were seconded by Councillor Tim Kerley.

Having been duly proposed and seconded, the Council RESOLVED to:-

i. Agree the proposed changes to Part B – Public Participation as shown in Paper A and the tracked changes in Appendix 1 of Paper A

ii. Agree the proposed changes to Part C – Council Procedural Rules as shown in Paper B and the tracked changes in Appendix 1 of Paper B

iii. Agree the proposed changes to Part D4-Licensing and Regulatory Committee Terms of Reference, Part D5 – Licensing sub-committee hearing procedure and specific delegations for the Licensing Functions as shown in Paper C and the tracked changes in Appendices 2, 5 and 7 of Paper C

iv. Agree the proposed changes to Part D8 – Planning Committees Terms of Reference as shown in Paper D and the tracked changes in Appendices 4,5, 7 and 8 of Paper D. Note the further review work that Constitution and Governance Committee will undertake during 2024/25 as set out in Paper D.

v. Agree the proposed changes to Part I2 – Officer Scheme of Delegation as shown in Paper E and the tracked changes in Appendices 1 and 2 of Paper E

vi. Agree the proposed changes to Part I7 – Financial Regulations as shown in Appendix 1 of Paper F.

The Chair of the Constitution and Governance Committee, Councillor Ross Henley, introduced the report on the review of the Council’s Constitution which the Constitution and Governance Committee considered and endorsed at its meeting on 17 April 2024.

The report detailed the phased review of key elements of the Constitution which had been carried out over a series of working group meetings led by elected members and supported by officers from Democratic Services, Legal Services, Licensing and Planning.

The key areas of focus for the review included:-

· Part B - Public Participation (Paper A)

· Part C – Council Procedures (Paper B)

· Parts D4 and D5 Licensing and Regulatory Committee Terms of Reference (Paper C)

· Part D8 Planning Committee Terms of Reference (Paper D)

· Part I2 Officer Scheme of Delegation (Paper E)

· Part I7 Financial Regulations (Paper F)

During the discussion, the following points were raised:-

· Councillors spoke about the working groups and how they had been established.

· Some councillors raised concern that the financial regulations had not been looked at as part of the working group review.

· Councillors thanked the Chair of the Constitution and Governance Committee for allowing an in depth debate of the review at the last committee meeting.

Councillor Dave Mansell proposed an amendment, which was seconded by Councillor Bob Filmer. The amendment had been brought forward based on the concerns raised on the process followed for the review, working groups and workshop:-

In Paper D, replace recommendations on Part D8 – Planning Committee Terms of Reference with the following new 2.1, 2):

· Refer the proposed changes to Part D8 – Planning Committee Terms of Reference to Constitution and Governance Committee for further review after requesting feedback on the proposed changes from Council Members.

This change deleted current 2.1, 1), 1. and deleted and replaced 2.1, 2).

During the discussion on the amendment, the following points were raised:-

· Councillors queried the 2-day consultation period for planning applications, which needed looking into again as part of the next review.

· Some councillors raised concern that the amendment was requesting changes that were contrary to what they wanted to achieve.

· Councillors highlighted that a review on the Planning Committee Terms of Reference had just been carried out and had included feedback from all the Planning Committee Chairs and Vice Chairs, the Lead Member and many of the Planning Officers.

· The Lead Member for Economic Development, Planning and Assets advised councillors on the huge amount of work that had been carried out as part of the review and the wide spectrum of people that had been involved. The results produced from the review still might not be perfect, but the Constitution and Governance Committee had requested that the Terms of Reference be reviewed again in 6 months’ time.

· Councillors wanted to get the process correct for planning applications.

· Councillors talked through the planning process and that the 2-day period for consultation was enough time for councillors to give feedback.

· Councillors spoke on other areas of concern which included non-determination.

· Councillors from the Constitution and Governance Committee spoke on the process followed by the review and that there had been plenty of input given on the changes proposed within the report.

· The Monitoring Officer advised councillors who had been involved and invited to the working group meetings, workshop and the April meeting of the Constitution and Governance Committee and that there had been plenty of chances for input into the changes to the Constitution.

The vote was taken for the amendment, which was lost. Therefore Councillor Dave Mansell proposed a second amendment, which was seconded by Gwil Wren:-

Amendments to Paper D, Recommendation 2.1

Add ‘with the following amendments’ to end of 2.1, 1) 1. and then the text that follows.

The amended recommendation then read:

1) Agreed the proposed changes to the following parts of the Council’s Constitution:

I. Part D8 – Planning Committee Terms of Reference (see Appendices 4 and 5) along with the following amendments to the proposed changes:

After new 5.6 a, replace new 5.6 b-c (and original 8.6 b-e) with following new clauses:

b) If the Officer recommendation was ultimately in agreement with views of the Local Unitary Councillor, the decision would be delegated to Officers.

c) If the Officer recommendation was ultimately not in agreement with views of the Local Unitary Councillor, the application would be referred to the area-based Planning Committee for a decision, unless the Local Unitary Councillor withdrew their request within 5 working days of being sent the Officer report and recommendation.

d) The Chair or Vice-Chair of the relevant area-based Planning Committee might consult the Local Unitary Councillor about their request for referral to Committee once they had been sent the Officer report and recommendation. Only the Local Unitary Councillor could withdraw their referral request within 5 working days of being sent the Officer report and recommendation.

Amended Text

With these amendments the new proposed text for 5.6 will be as follows:

5.6 Local Unitary Councillor referral of planning applications to Planning Committee:

a) Within 28 days of being notified of a Planning Application, the Local Unitary Councillor and/or a Local Unitary Councillor of an adjoining division could request referral of the application to the relevant Planning Committee by notifying the Planning Service, in writing, with material planning reasons.

b) If the Officer recommendation was ultimately in agreement with views of the Local Unitary Councillor, the decision would be delegated to Officers.

c) If the Officer recommendation was ultimately not in agreement with views of the Local Unitary Councillor, the application would be referred to the area-based Planning Committee for a decision, unless the Local Unitary Councillor withdrew their request within 5 working days of being sent the Officer report and recommendation.

d) The Chair or Vice-Chair of the relevant area-based Planning Committee might consult the Local Unitary Councillor about their request for referral to Committee once they had been sent the Officer report and recommendation. Only the Local Unitary Councillor could withdraw their referral request within 5 working days of being sent the Officer report and recommendation.

During the discussion on the second amendment, the following point was raised:-

· Councillors requested clarification on the amendment and the proposed changes to the planning processes.

The vote was taken for the second amendment, which was lost.