Minutes:
Questions submitted by Councillor Gordon Hook:
1 Teignbridge acquired approx £400,000 from unreturned change in its car parks since 2011. How has this money been used? Into which account did it go?"
Answer by Leader
I don’t agree with the figure quoted in the question. The over vend from off street car parking from 2010-11 to 2015-16 is £338,827 as stated in the reply to the Freedom of Information request number 9466.
These funds have been utilised to offset other variances within the revenue budget and reported as they arise as part of the management accounts reports to Executive. They have not been allocated to a separate pot but form part of the income and expenditure streams which balance our general fund. Where car parking surpluses have been made against budget we have in the past and will in the future be reinvesting elements of this surplus back into the service through the capital programme.
Supplementary question
In response to a supplementary question the Leader advised that change was also not given prior to 2010, and the provision of change giving machines are of a cost in which the Council does not wish to invest.
2 Will the Leader join with me and condemn those who are spoiling our towns and villages with graffiti?
Answer by Leader
I don’t believe any of us in the chamber condone graffiti.
3 Will he establish an "anti graffiti" hit squad to respond to these acts of vandalism by the use of anti graffiti paint to eliminate these eye sores?
Answer by Leader
The Council already has a service to deal with graffiti. The Council has a ‘report it’ page on its website www.teignbridge.gov.uk to encourage reporting of graffiti and can also provide a service for the removal of graffiti from private property for a cost. It can also be reported via the Environment Hotline 0800 328 6402.
Additionally, there are a number of companies operating in the area who also offer a graffiti removal service.
We currently operate a single, towable high pressure jet wash used in conjunction with graffiti cleaning gels and wipes. This is operated by the High Speed Roads litter team when required in addition to their scheduled daily and other ad-hoc work.
We currently only remove graffiti from TDC properties, land or assets free of charge. Offensive graffiti on TDC assets is prioritised and removed as soon as possible. We occasionally undertake work for DCC Highways at their request where safe to do so and with their authorisation. We deal with approximately 30 cases of graffiti clearance per year at present with a further 19 cases reported that we do not action clearance on ourselves as are private assets and notify utility companies and/or owners where possible. Wherever we undertake removal of graffiti from a 3rd party’s asset we first have to gain authority, we do not have the power to enter private property to undertake clearance works without authorisation.
Supplementary Question
Councillor Hook suggested a cross party action group, made reference to a resident waiting for 30 minutes when calling the hotline, and commented that Teignbridge should be more entrepreneurial. In response the Leader referred to the mechanisms, tools and partnerships that the Council has at its disposal to deal with graffiti. The Council is also focusing on youth crime to address graffiti. The Council is one of the most entrepreneurial local authority.
4 Will he instruct an officer to contact local utility companies/Network Rail/Devon CC and local businesses who are experiencing graffiti seeking their active cooperation in eliminating graffiti and tidying up the premises for which they are individually responsible? Will he further offer these various organisations a graffiti cleaning service for which they will be charged, as a means of both cleaning up our towns and also generating revenue for the council? In so doing will he then publicise those who help and cooperate, and those who don't?
Answer by Leader
We do notify 3rd parties where possible and please see answer 3 about alternative services open to affected property owners.
5 Will he urge the local police, in conjunction with our own anti - social behaviour officers, to investigate what appear to be the increasing number of acts of graffiti vandalism and encourage them to take action by prosecuting those found to be responsible?
Answer by Leader
Yes. Our Anti-Social Behaviour Officer works with the Neighbourhood Policing teams across the district with regards to incidents of graffiti. A database of images is maintained for research and investigative purposes. This assists identifying areas of our district to target intervention. We work with all agencies to identify perpetrators and take appropriate action. I have asked that these concerns be raised at the next Multi Agency Anti-Social Behaviour meeting at the end of January to raise awareness and seek intelligence to identify the perpetrators.
Supplementary Question
In response to a question on how many prosecutions have occurred in the last 12 to 18 months for graffiti vandalism, the Leader advised that he did not have such information available and would arrange for a written answer.
6 How many vehicles currently make up the waste management departments fleet of vehicles?
Answer by Portfolio Holder for Environment Services
45 front line waste collection service vehicles. Whilst there was a considerable increase in fleet size during the service improvements of 2015 the overall service cost did not increase significantly due to increased income levels and higher vehicle efficiency.
7 How many vehicles did the department use in 2009 / 2013 / 2015?
Answer by Portfolio Holder for Environment Services
2009 = 27
2013 = 27
2015 = 46 – The increase was required to enable weekly recycling collections of additional materials including separate food waste and additional plastics.
8 How many vehicles would be required if Council opted for a three weekly residual bin collection service?
Answer by Portfolio Holder for Environment Services
We are not able to provide an answer to this question at this stage as it requires complex remodelling of the service. We have planned to undertake service remodelling work during 2018/19 which will provide information relating to resource impacts and help inform decisions on any service changes.
Whilst there is likely to be a reduction in the number of residual waste vehicles required this has to be balanced against displacement of waste to recycling rounds generating greater vehicle capacity requirements there and the increasing number of households to be served upping demand on the existing fleet.
9 What would the financial implications be to the council in the event of changing to a three weekly residual collection?
Answer by Portfolio Holder for Environment Services
We are not able to provide an answer to this question at this stage as it requires complex remodelling of the service and related budgets. We have planned to undertake service remodelling work during 2018/19 which will provide information relating to resource impacts and help inform decisions on any service changes.
Questions submitted by Councillor Connett:
1. How much did the Teignbridge Local Plan cost to complete and publish?
Answer provided by PH for Planning & Housing
It is not possible to answer this question with any degree of certainty, since it would involve an assessment of what proportion of staff time within the spatial planning and delivery team was spent on the local plan rather than on a variety of other work and projects including policy advice on planning applications, Community Infrastructure Levy work, green infrastructure and cycle delivery, masterplanning, monitoring, research, corporate policy input and management. The direct costs of consultants are set out in the next answer.
2. How much did the Council spend on Consultants to help undertake research and prepare the Local Plan?
Answer provided by PH for Planning & Housing
The following table sets out the figures for each year.
|
2009/10 |
2010/11 |
2011/12 |
2012/13 |
2013/14 |
2014/15 |
|
293,194 |
125,364 |
65,723 |
117,880 |
98,478 |
917 |
3. Based on researched evidence, is it correct that the Teignbridge Local Plan requires developers to provide up to 30% affordable housing?
Answer provided by PH for Planning & Housing
The local plan contains the following policy applying various affordable housing targets; the 30% target applies to the rural areas outside the settlements referred to in a(i) and a(ii).
WE2 Affordable Housing Site Targets
To ensure that housing sites provide for the range of housing needs:
a) all open market housing sites including change of use and conversion to dwellings within the district with a capacity of more than 4 dwellings will provide affordable housing in accordance with the following targets (to apply only upon the introduction of Community Infrastructure Levy within Teignbridge);
i. 20% within the settlement limits of Newton Abbot and Kingsteignton;
ii. 25% within the settlement limits of Dawlish, Teignmouth and South West of
Exeter urban extension, and;
iii. 30% in any other location
b) the provision of affordable housing is a high priority in considering planning applications, however if independently verified evidence is submitted which proves that the affordable housing target renders the site undeliverable, a reduced level of provision or other alterations to the scheme sufficient to bring it forward will be negotiated;
c) affordable dwellings will be sold by developers to a Registered Provider
(Housing Association) or other appropriate managing organisation at a price
which retains their affordability without the need for external grant funding.
These prices will be approved annually by the Council; and
d) on sites which meet criterion a) of this policy, but on which the provision of
affordable housing would not be an efficient use of resources or would be
otherwise inappropriate, a contribution towards affordable housing provision
elsewhere in Teignbridge will be required, based on the purchase price referred to in criterion c) of this policy.
4. Since the Teignbridge Local Plan was adopted, is it correct that the council has awarded planning permissions with lower levels of affordable housing to developers because their own viability shows they cannot afford to provide the levels of affordable homes in the Local Plan?
Answer provided by PH for Planning & Housing
Yes
5. Was the researched evidence on which affordable housing is based in the Local Plan flawed?
Answer provided by PH for Planning & Housing
No. The local plan research was carried out on a more general basis, taking an overview of the area and using existing information and data as recommended by NPPF and confirmed in the PPG advice referred to later in this answer. It is not feasible to undertake viability assessments at local plan/CIL stages to the same level of detail as for individual planning applications. To do so would have increased the £57,162 spent on viability evidence during the local plan and CIL preparation considerably and in any case would have been overtaken by changes in houses prices, development costs and additional information in the intervening years.
The Local Plan policy WE2 criterion (b) provides a basis for additional viability information to be taken into account when planning applications are submitted. This accords with the national planning policy framework paragraph 50 which states that “policies should be sufficiently flexible to take account of changing market conditions over time”. It is also in line with the legal requirements associated with S106 planning obligations which require that obligations are fairly and reasonably related to the development in scale and kind.
This national legislation and policy is supported by more specific advice in the National Planning Practice Guidance which includes the following relevant paragraphs
“Decision-taking on individual schemes does not normally require an assessment of viability. However viability can be important where planning obligations or other costs are being introduced. In these cases decisions must be underpinned by an understanding of viability, ensuring realistic decisions are made to support development and promote economic growth. Where the viability of a development is in question, local planning authorities should look to be flexible in applying policy requirements wherever possible.”
“Decision-taking on individual applications does not normally require consideration of viability. However, where the deliverability of the development may be compromised by the scale of planning obligations and other costs, a viability assessment may be necessary. This should be informed by the particular circumstances of the site and proposed development in question. Assessing the viability of a particular site requires more detailed analysis than at plan level.
A site is viable if the value generated by its development exceeds the costs of developing it and also provides sufficient incentive for the land to come forward and the development to be undertaken.”
“In making decisions, the local planning authority will need to understand the impact of planning obligations on the proposal. Where an applicant is able to demonstrate to the satisfaction of the local planning authority that the planning obligation would cause the development to be unviable, the local planning authority should be flexible in seeking planning obligations.
This is particularly relevant for affordable housing contributions which are often the largest single item sought on housing developments. These contributions should not be sought without regard to individual scheme viability. The financial viability of the individual scheme should be carefully considered in line with the principles in this guidance.”
These are all material considerations in the consideration of planning applications and the local planning authority must take them into account.
6. Does the Council continue to believe it will deliver the level of affordable housing in the Local Plan, while it continues to accept much lower levels from developers?
Answer provided by PH for Planning & Housing
It is difficult to make forecasts given the variety of factors involved, but current performance puts the council over a year ahead of target in affordable housing provision. From 2013 – 2018 the local plan projects 564 affordable housing completions in policy WE1. Monitoring indicates that 834 affordable homes have been completed in Teignbridge up to October 2017.
7. How many Housing units currently have planning permission in Teignbridge but have not yet been started?
Answer provided by PH for Planning & Housing
3181
8. In light of the report presented at the recent Standards Committee meeting, will the Leader of the Council advise the authority’s staff and councillors when an apology is not an apology?
Answer provided by Leader
The matter to which you refer has been reported to the Standards Committee, a comprehensive process has been followed with published findings. As Leader and as one of 46 Councillors who represent the public on this Council, I am at ease with the outcome of their work. I have no further comment to make.
Councillor Connett referred to the Councillor’s subsequent comments to the media which appeared to undermine the apology. He also referred to the possible scenario of a member of staff commenting on the appearance of a Councillor.