Agenda and minutes

Councillor Greenhalgh declared an other interest in agenda item 13 – East Midlands Devolution (member of Derbyshire County Council).

RESOLVED:

That the minutes of the meetings held on 6 October 2022 and 24 November 2022 be approved as a correct record.

The purpose of the report was to inform members of the Council’s overall performance and financial position for the period ended 30th September 2022 (“Second Quarter 2022/23”). The report was considered by the Corporate Select Committee on 5 December 2022.

Options considered:

Detailed analysis was contained within the appendices.

RESOLVED:

That the Second Quarter 2022/23 financial, procurement and performance position detailed in Appendices A, B and C and summarised at 3.3 of the covering report be noted.

The report presented the Council’s updated draft Medium Term Financial Plan (MTFP). The MTFP presented the Council’s priorities in the context of the likely resources available, providing a financial context to future decision-making. It was reflective of the current financial position of the Council part way through the 2022-23 year and contained a large number of assumptions that would be refined and quantified to inform a final version of the MTFP for approval in February 2023. To this extent, the report and its contents should be considered indicative.

The report was considered and noted by the Corporate Select Committee on 5 December 2022.  Members of the Committee were assured that the reserve for climate change actions remained and that the impact of actions on the environment was built into the planning and delivery of the financial plan.

Options considered:

There were no options to consider at this stage. Options were being developed and would to be refined to close the financial deficits highlighted in the updated plan.

RESOLVED:

That the updated draft Medium Term Financial Plan (Appendix A) be approved prior to being refined in advance of full approval in February 2023.

The report considered the support that the Council provided to residents in the face of the cost-of-living crisis and, specifically, rising energy costs.  The report was considered by the Economy and Growth Select Committee on 20 October 2022.  Training was in place and would be launched in the next two weeks.

Options considered:

The report set out the current position and initial steps that the Council intended to take, however, it was important that the Council adopted a flexible approach to emerging issues and opportunities.

RESOLVED:

1.    That the action being taken to respond to the cost of living crisis be noted.

2.    That the creation of a Fuel Bank for the High Peak to support those residents paying for their household energy via a pre-payment meter and who are experiencing fuel poverty be supported.

The report proposed a revised approach to conducting consultation and engagement across the Council following feedback from the Local Government Association’s Corporate Peer Challenge.  The Policy would apply to the majority of the Council’s activities except for those within Planning and Development where the process for consultation and engagement was covered within the Statement of Community Involvement.

The report was considered by the Corporate Select Committee on 5 December 2022.

Options considered:

·       That the proposed focus for corporate consultation and the revised Consultation and Engagement Policy is approved (recommended).

·       That the proposed focus for corporate consultation and the revised Consultation and Engagement Policy is not approved (not recommended).

RESOLVED:

That the Consultation and Engagement Policy and the proposals made at section 8 of the report with regards to the conduct of a Residents’ Survey be approved.

The purpose of the report was to recommend that the Council approves the implementation of a revised Local Council Tax Reduction Scheme with effect from 1^st April 2023. 

The report was considered by the Corporate Select Committee on 5 December 2022.  The Committee suggested that the impact of an increase in the capital limit to £10,000 be considered and whether a stepped approach from £10,000 to £16,000 may be feasible in an effort to establish the fairest way of delivering the scheme.

Options considered:

The alternative to introducing a new scheme for Local Council Tax Reduction from 2023/24 was to leave the existing scheme in place. This would be a short-term option; lead to continuation of complexity of its understanding by residents, increasing costs of administration; and in the longer term, significantly affect the collection of Council Tax and the effectiveness of the scheme to support households within the Council’s area. If the existing scheme remained our proposal would be to remove the calculation letter that accompanies the bill currently and set a monetary limit on the changes to Universal Credit reported by the DWP, so that there were fewer changes to Local Council Tax Reduction. In addition, we would allow using the amount of Income advised by DWP without any adjustment to aid automation and increase the allowable time for backdating where good cause was shown to 6 months.

RESOLVED:

That the introduction of a new income banded / grid scheme for working age applicants with effect from 1^st April 2023 to improve its understanding by residents,  reduce the administrative burden placed on the Council by the introduction of Universal Credit and to increase the overall level of support for the lowest income families be approved subject to a review of the capital scheme detailed above.

The report briefed Councillors on the new Peak District National Park Management Plan 2023-28 and any implications for the Borough Council.

Options considered:

The Council had a legal duty to consider the purposes of the National Park in its decision making. The merits of alternative options regarding the delivery of actions identified for District /Borough Councils would need to be considered when the Council comes to set its own work programme.

RESOLVED:

1.     That the proposed Peak District National Park Management Plan 2023-28 be noted.

2.     That the actions identified for District / Borough Councils in the Delivery Plan in more detail when establishing its own corporate priorities and work programmes.

The report notified councillors of the draft Developer Contributions Supplementary Planning Document (SPD) and plans for public consultation. Feedback on the document and plans for consultation were also sought. 

Options considered:

There are no alternative options to consider.

RESOLVED:

1.     That the purpose and content of the draft SPD be noted.

2.     That the findings of the Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) and Habitats Regulations Assessment (HRA) screening reports be noted.

The report considered a revised version of the Council’s Statement of Community Involvement prior to public consultation.

Options considered:

The Executive had two alternative options to consider:

Option 1 – Decline to approve a Statement of Community Involvement for consultation. Local planning authorities are required under Section 18 of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 (as amended) to produce a Statement of Community Involvement. (Not recommended)

Option 2 – Approve a Statement of Community Involvement for consultation. The Statement of Community Involvement (SCI) describes how the Council will seek to engage with residents, businesses and other organisations in decision making on planning policy documents and planning applications in the part of the High Peak outside of the Peak District National Park. (Recommended)

RESOLVED:

1.     That the contents of the report be noted.

2.     That authority be delegated to the Executive Director for Place to make amendments to the Statement of Community Involvement document as requested by the Local Plan Steering Group and approved by the Executive.

3.     That the Executive delegates authority to the Executive Director for Place to make non-material amendments to the Council’s Statement of Community Involvement document to the address formatting issues and insert / update images to aid interpretation and improve aesthetic quality.

To report sought approval for the publication of the Local Plan Early Engagement document for feedback from the public.  A draft of the document was discussed by members of the Local Plan Steering Group which requested a number of changes, including:

·       A number of formatting and grammatical corrections (e.g. retaining all questions on a single page)

·       Amending the commentary on climate change to refer to the scope for mandating higher environmental performance in new housing in the context of national plans to deliver zero carbon ready homes through the Future Homes Standard building regulations from 2025. Concerns were raised that the Council may need to implement its own policy to mitigate the risk of the Future Homes Standard not coming to fruition nationally.

·       Updating the introduction to include more attention grabbing details e.g. housing figures

The above changes would be in addition to plans to include more images in the document to make it more visually appealing.

It was agreed that a revised version of the document would be circulated to members of the Steering Group for written comments prior to consultation. If deemed appropriate, a further Steering Group meeting may also be held prior to the consultation.

It was also agreed that copies of the consultation documents would be made available at all locations where planning applications are held.

Options considered:

Option 1 (recommended) – to follow the recommendations set out in section 2 of this report. This option enables early engagement on the Local Plan to proceed in line with the agreed timetable (Q1 2023) as set out in the adopted Local Development Scheme.

Option 2 (not recommended) – not approving the publication of the early engagement document would lead to a delay in Local Plan preparation and would result in the Council not adhering to its commitment of public engagement in Q1 2023 as per the Local Development Scheme. A delay would result in this stage being deferred until after the local elections in May and have consequential implications for the timing of the following consultations and risk delaying adoption.

RESOLVED:

1.     That the publication of the draft Local Plan Early Engagement document be approved, subject to any requested amendments from the Local Plan Steering Group.

2.     That authority be delegated to the Executive Director for Place to make amendments to the draft Local Plan Early Engagement document (appended) as requested by the Local Plan Steering Group and approved by the Executive.

3.     That authority be delegated to the Executive Director for Place to make non-material amendments to the draft Local Plan Early Engagement document to the address formatting issues and insert / update images to aid interpretation and improve aesthetic quality.

4.     That the arrangements for the public engagement be approved, subject to any requested amendments from the Local Plan Steering Group.

The purpose of the report was to provide a summary of the East Midlands County Combined Authority (EMCCA) proposal and the associated consultation process following the devolution deal offer from government that was announced on 30th August 2022. The report was considered by the Corporate Select Committee on 5 December 2022.  The Council’s response would be circulated to group leaders prior to submission.

Options considered:

There were no detailed options to consider

RESOLVED:

1.     That the proposal for the creation of the East Midlands County Combined Authority (EMCCA) as set out at Appendix A and summarised in Sections 9 and 10 of the report be noted.

2.     That the consultation process as detailed in Section 11 of the report be noted.

3.     That the issues highlighted in Section 13.3 be considered and identify any other issues that should be included in the Council’s formal response to the consultation.

RESOLVED:

That the press and public be excluded from the meeting during consideration of the following item of business as there may be disclosure of exempt information as defined in Part I of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972.

RESOLVED:

That the exempt minutes of the meetings held on 6 October 2022 and 24 November 2022 be approved as a correct record.

The Executive approved a report that sought to write off balances which were deemed non recoverable.