Policy and Resources Committee - 5 December 2022

POLICY AND RESOURCES COMMITTEE

NOTICE AND AGENDA

For a meeting to be held on Monday 5 December 2022 at 7.30pm in the Penn Chamber, Three Rivers, Northway, Rickmansworth.

Members of the Policy and Resources Committee:-

Councillors

Sarah Nelmes (Chair)

Stephen Giles-Medhurst (Vice-Chair) (Infrastructure

& Planning Policy)      Paul Rainbow (Transport & Economic Development)

Andrew Scarth (Housing)

Stephen Cox

Phillip Hearn

Chris Lloyd (Leisure)

Keith Martin (Resources & Shared Services)

Abbas Merali      Roger Seabourne (Community Safety & Partnerships)

Reena Ranger

Ciaran Reed

Phil Williams (Environmental Services,  Climate Change & Sustainability)

Joanne Wagstaffe Chief Executive

25 November 2022

The Council welcomes contributions from members of the public on agenda items at the Policy and Resources Committee meetings. Details of the procedure are provided below:

For those wishing to speak:

Members of the public are entitled to register and identify which item(s) they wish to speak on from the published agenda for the meeting.  Those who wish to register to speak are asked to register on the night of the meeting from 7pm.  Please note that contributions will be limited to one person speaking for and one against each item for not more than three minutes.

In the event of registering your interest to speak on an agenda item but not taking up that right because the item is deferred, you will be given the right to speak on that item at the next meeting of the Committee.

Those wishing to observe the meeting are requested to arrive from 7pm.

In accordance with The Openness of Local Government Bodies Regulations 2014 any matters considered under Part I business only of the meeting may be filmed, recorded, photographed, broadcast or reported via social media by any person.

Recording and reporting the Council’s meetings is subject to the law and it is the responsibility of those doing the recording and reporting to ensure compliance.  This will include the Human Rights Act, the Data Protection Legislation and the laws of libel and defamation.

The meeting will not be broadcast/livestreamed but an audio recording of the meeting will be made.

1.   APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE

2.   MINUTES

To confirm as a correct record the Minutes of the Policy and Resources Committee meeting held on 7 November 2022.

3.  NOTICE OF OTHER BUSINESS

Items of other business notified under Council Procedure Rule 30 to be announced, together with the special circumstances that justify their consideration as a matter of urgency. The Chair to rule on the admission of such items.

4.         DECLARATION OF INTERESTS

To receive any declarations of interest.

POLICY

5.     LOCAL DEVELOPMENT SCHEME (LDS)

This report seeks Members approval of a revised Local Development Scheme (LDS) to incorporate a Regulation 18 ‘Additional Sites for Potential Allocation’ consultation in place of the previously agreed further Regulation 18 consultation. This change is being proposed so as to ensure the Local Plan remains on course for 2025 Adoption as currently set out in the Council’s extant LDS (January 2022).

6.     REQUEST TO CHANGE THE NAME OF THE PENSIONER FORUM

To receive a report to consider a change of name of the Pensioner Forum to Senior  Forum

7.    SCHEME OF PUBLICATION – FREEDOM OF INFORMATION

This report seeks approval of the revised Freedom of Information Publication Scheme.

8.   REVIEW OF STRATEGIC RISKS

This report gives details of progress against the Risk Treatment Plans for the Strategic Risks relating to the priorities identified in the Corporate Framework 2020-2023

RESOURCES

9.   BUSINESS RATES POOLING

To seek approval to enter into a business rates pool with Hertfordshire County Council (HCC) and a number of other Districts within the County for 2023/24.

10.    CIL SPENDING APPLICATIONS

The report seeks to allocate a 25% uplift on 2 previously approved leisure projects. Total uplift of £180,500 is needed to cover the increase in the supply chain for materials and labour since funding was first agreed (February 2022) and is for local infrastructure projects to support growth in Three Rivers.

The report has been presented to this Committee, ahead of the budget setting process, to avoid further price increases and delays in project mobilisation.

This uplift is required in order to offset current shortfalls in materials and labour.  These are market force driven and it has been reported to Officers from a number of suppliers in the leisure equipment industry that another predicted price rise is due in December 2022/January 2023. Officers are keen to secure the current costs before these widely reported market price increases.

11.   DISCRETIONARY FEES AND CHARGES 2023/24

The Council regularly reviews the level of fees and charges set for discretionary services and services where charges are set locally.  Fees and Charges were last reviewed in Autumn 2021 with the latest charges introduced from 1 April 2022.

Where the Council has discretion over the fee or charge, the Council aims to recover the full cost of delivering the service. As such, fees will usually increase in line with cost pressures.

A schedule of proposed fees and charges effective from 1 January 2023 is set out in Appendix 1 and a schedule of fees and charges effective from 1 April 2023 is set out in Appendix 2.

Revised appendix 1 following meeting:

12.   MEMBERSHIP OF THE LOCAL PLAN SUB-COMMITTEE

To receive a verbal amendment to the membership of the sub-committee.

13.   WORK PROGRAMME

To receive the Committee’s work programme.

14.   OTHER BUSINESS – If approved under Item 3 above

15.   EXCLUSION OF PRESS AND PUBLIC

If the Committee wishes to consider the remaining items in private, it will be appropriate for a resolution to be passed in the following terms:-

“that under Section 100A of the Local Government Act 1972 the press and public be excluded from the meeting for the following items of business on the grounds that it involves the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined under paragraph 3 of Part I of Schedule 12A to the Act. It has been decided by the Council that in all the circumstances, the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information.”

(Note:  If other confidential business is approved under item 3, it will also be necessary to specify the class of exempt or confidential information in the additional items.)

1.    TO RECEIVE THE RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THE LOCAL PLAN SUB-COMMITTEE

2.    PROPERTY MATTER - MOOR PARK

3.    OTHER BUSINESS – If approved under item 3 above

For any enquires on the agenda please email the Committee Team at committeeteam@threerivers.gov.uk