Councillors and committees

Agenda and minutes

Venue: Council Chamber, Woodhatch Place, 11 Cockshot Hill, Reigate, Surrey, RH2 8EF

Contact: Joss Butler  Email: joss.butler@surreycc.gov.uk

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42/23

APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE AND SUBSTITUTIONS

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    To receive any apologies for absence and notices of substitutions under Standing Order 41.

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    Apologies for absence were received from Richard Tear and Jeffrey Gray.

43/23

MINUTES OF THE LAST MEETING pdf icon PDF 233 KB

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    To confirm the minutes of the meeting held on 7 June 2023.

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    Minutes:

    The Minutes were APPROVED as an accurate record of the previous meeting.

44/23

PETITIONS

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    To receive any petitions from members of the public in accordance with Standing Order 84 (please see note 5 below).

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    There were none.

45/23

PUBLIC QUESTION TIME

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    To answer any questions received from local government electors within Surrey in accordance with Standing Order 85 (please see note 6 below).

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    There were none.

46/23

MEMBERS' QUESTION TIME

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    To answer any questions received from Members of the Council in accordance with Standing Order 68.

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    There were none.

47/23

DECLARATIONS OF INTERESTS

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    All Members present are required to declare, at this point in the meeting or as soon as possible thereafter

    (i)            Any disclosable pecuniary interests and / or

    (ii)           Other interests arising under the Code of Conduct in respect of any item(s) of business being considered at this meeting

    NOTES:

    ·         Members are reminded that they must not participate in any item where they have a disclosable pecuniary interest

    ·         As well as an interest of the Member, this includes any interest, of which the Member is aware, that relates to the Member’s spouse or civil partner (or any person with whom the Member is living as a spouse or civil partner)

    ·         Members with a significant personal interest may participate in the discussion and vote on that matter unless that interest could be reasonably regarded as prejudicial.

     

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    There were none.

48/23

PLANNING ADVISORY SERVICE REVIEW OF THE PLANNING AND REGULATORY COMMITTEE pdf icon PDF 300 KB

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    To inform the Committee of the outcome of a review of the Planning and Regulatory Committee (P&R) that was undertaken by the Planning Advisory Service (PAS). The review was commissioned by the County Council to consider the effectiveness of the committee processes and conduct and to suggest ways in which the operation of the committee could be improved.

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    Officers:

    Caroline Smith, Planning Group Manager

    Sian Saadeh, Planning Development Manager

     

    Key points raised during the discussion:

     

    1.    Officers introduced the item and stated that the report was to inform the Committee of the outcome of a review of the Planning and Regulatory Committee (P&R) that was undertaken by the Planning Advisory Service (PAS). The review was commissioned by the County Council to consider the effectiveness of the committee processes and conduct and to suggest ways in which the operation of the committee could be improved. Members noted that the overall conclusions of the committee was that it was well-run and functioned effectively. Further to this, it was noted that any constitutional changes would need to be approved at the meeting of the County Council.

    2.    The Chairman stated that he would list each of the recommendations provided within the report and ask Members and Officers for comments. It was also noted that any changes would be reviewed after six months. The following comments were made.

     

    a.    Recommendation 1: Reporting Performance

     

    3.    No comments from Members.

     

    b.    Recommendation 2: Annual Planning Committee Monitoring Visit.

     

    4.    Officers suggested that monitoring visits were held every spring to allow Members to visit sites that they had previously made decisions on. Cllr Powell suggested that the committee also review conditions that had previously been agreed and assess the council’s ability to enforce. The Chairman noted the suggestion and stated that officers would need to consider any legal restrictions of a Member review of a site’s conditions.

     

    c.     Recommendation 3: Publish Planning Committee Decisions.

     

    5.    Officers highlighted that only the committee’s ‘resolution’ could be published as the decision was not usually implemented until some time after the meeting. Officers added that more consideration was needed on whether Recommendation 3 was feasible and helpful.

     

    d.    Recommendation 4: Regulation 3 Planning Applications.

     

    6.    Officers stated that there was also an opportunity for training across the wider authority on the role of the Planning and Regulatory Committee in respect of Regulation 3 applications.

    7.    Councillor Lewanski asked whether the committee could make training mandatory. Officers stated that they did not believe it was possible to make training mandatory however they could strongly recommend attendance. Members further stated the importance of Members and officers in the authority having a good understanding of the committee’s processes.

     

    e.    Recommendation 5: Review Delegation Definition.

     

    8.    No comments from Members. 

     

    f.      Recommendation 6: Speaking at Committee Process.

     

    9.    The Chairman provided an overview of the recommendation and stated that he believed that the current process of a maximum of five objectors and five supporters over 30 minutes could sometimes be an overload of information for Members. Cllr Lewis stated that he felt that Members should have the opportunity to allow additional time to speakers if their speech was particularly relevant to the decision of the committee. Officers highlighted that Recommendation 7 included a proposal to allow Members to ask for clarification from speakers. Cllr Powell further added that it would be helpful  ...  view the full minutes text for item 48/23

49/23

ENFORCEMENT & MONITORING UPDATE REPORT pdf icon PDF 229 KB

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    This report highlights Planning enforcement and monitoring work during the period from 1 April 2022 – 31 March 2023.

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    Officers:

    Ian Gray, Planning Enforcement Team Leader

     

    Key points raised during the discussion:

     

    1.    The Planning Enforcement Team Leader introduced the report and provided Members with a brief overview of the enforcement team and their structure. Further to this, Members noted a brief overview of the report as included within the meeting’s agenda.

    2.    In regard to paragraph 1.4 which was regarding the site monitoring visits which been significantly affected, Cllr Hulley asked how confident officers were that they would meet their target of 80%. The Team Leader confirmed that he was confident that the target could be met as the number of officers within the team had increased.

    3.    Cllr Lewis asked whether the local councillor was notified of any enforcement issues within their division. The Team Leader explained that officers considered the information that had been received, which was usually quite extensive, and did not actively seek further information from local councillors. Cllr Lewis asked whether it would be possible to at least notify the local councillor of an enforcement issue. Officers noted the comment and stated that they would consider this further outside the meeting. Cllr Powell further encouraged officers to consider notifying the local Member. Following the discussion, the Chairman raised concerns with consulting a local Member too early in an enforcement process but felt that it was something officers should consider.

    4.    Members noted that it would take time for newer member of the enforcement team to get a good understanding of the planning enforcement environment within the county.

    5.    Members noted that Legal officers liaised closely with the enforcement team to provide advice when necessary and, further to this, highlighted the large workload officers faced when considering enforcement action..

    6.    Cllr Powell stated that it would be helpful to have an understanding of the issues officers faced when working through the enforcement legal system and how officers felt it could be improved. The legal representative at the meeting stated that one of the issues she faced was due to the limited resources available to agencies when addressing issues, such as waste enforcement issues, within the county.

     

    Actions / Further information to be provided:

     

    None.

     

    Resolved:

     

    The Committee noted the report.

50/23

DATE OF NEXT MEETING

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    The next meeting of the Planning & Regulatory Committee will be on 27 September 2023.

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    The date of the next meeting was noted.