Agenda and draft minutes

Members are asked to declare any interest and the nature of that interest which they may have in any of the items under consideration at this meeting.

None advised.

To confirm the Minutes of the meeting of the Committee held on 9^th March 2023.

A typographical error was noted at paragraph 72; it should read 76 members rather than 75.

RESOLVED:

With the above correction, that the Minutes of the Democracy and Standards Committee held on 9th March 2023 be approved and signed as a correct record.

To receive communications from the Chair.

The Chair proposed an amendment to recommendation e) of the report to increase the number of members on each Development Control Committee from 9 to 11.

The Democracy and Standards Committee agreed to the amendment.

The Director of Legal and Democratic presented the report which had been deferred in part from the previous meeting in March. Full Council had agreed that the number of area committees be reduced from 3 to 2, now shape and size of committees was still to be established.

The Executive Director – Place gave a presentation which focused on the governance arrangements of the 2 proposed planning committees

During the presentation, Members made comments and the following points were raised:

·       There was concern raised around democracy and accessibility in terms of Northampton-based applications being determined outside of Northampton

·       Remote access was vital to enable members of the public to participate – facilities were in place in Towcester and Northampton enabling remote access for speakers and officers if required.

·       It was noted that the proposed change would be a trial, and that the findings of the trial period would be reported back to the Democracy and Standards Committee.

·       Work was ongoing with town and parish councils to help them better understand and maximise their role in terms of planning.

·       Where planning applications for the South committee were exclusively Northampton-based, those meeting should be held in Northampton rather than Towcester.

·       LAPs (Local Area Partnerships) would be split up if the proposed ward splits were approved, however it was noted that these would be out of date in 2 years following the boundary changes.

·       Historically it had been the case that applications were approved with seemingly little or no thought to the wider impacts, leading to the degradation of communities and decisions not in line with the Council’s priorities.

·       A single Local Plan for West Northamptonshire would be instrumental in providing a consistent and cohesive approach to planning across West Northamptonshire.

·       Decision-making should be more robust and have regard to place-shaping.

Sally Pagano addressed the Committee and urged the Committee that where unprofessional working relationships were identified, residents would welcome a decision of replacement staff being appointed to rebuild residents’ faith in the planning process. Officers’ hands appear to be tied in respect of HMOs. Regarding HMOs, the Council had powers under the Localism Act and the Housing and Planning Act 2006 to implement enhanced controls and act on local priorities but judging by the council’s inaction on some matters, it seemed the case that the Council was not serving residents effectively. Councillors could not make sound decisions on applications in an area of which they had no knowledge; Ward Councillors attended residents’ meetings and had local knowledge and had been elected by residents to speak on their behalf.

Lynette Marsden addressed the Committee and commented that the proposed changes were being pushed through with little thought how they would impact communities. She had been giving evidence to the HMO Working Group but noted that there was still no sign of the report. The needs for different areas varied between urban and rural areas. The proposed divide seemed to have been hastily drawn up and needed revisiting; it should be urban/rural split.

Councillor  ...  view the full minutes text for item 78.

The Chairman to advise whether they have agreed to any items of urgent business being admitted to the agenda.

None advised.