Agenda item

To consider a report by Councillor Mark Young, Lead Member for Planning, Public Protection and Safer Communities (copy enclosed) seeking Cabinet approval of amendments to the Terms of Reference for the Strategic Planning Group.

RESOLVED that Cabinet approve the draft amended Terms of Reference for the Strategic Planning Group (Appendix 1 to the report).

Councillor Mark Young presented the report seeking Cabinet approval of amendments to the Terms of Reference for the Strategic Planning Group.

Cabinet approved the establishment of a Strategic Planning Group (SPG) and its Terms of Reference in January 2018 to replace the Local Development Plan (LDP) Members Group.  The intention was to establish a smaller, more focused Group to provide corporate leadership and guidance in taking forward the replacement LDP through to formal adoption.  The Group had a non-executive role but reported back and made recommendations to Planning Committee, Cabinet and/or Council as appropriate.  At the SPG meeting in July 2019 it was proposed that the Terms of Reference be amended and following further discussions at meetings of Cabinet Briefing and the SPG, the Group had recommended that –

·         the core membership of the Group should not be changed

·         meetings should be open to all members to attend

·         members who were not core members of the Group would only be able to observe meetings and not contribute or speak

·         to allow for greater flexibility for the Group to meet more frequently as required the Group should meet every two months or as agreed.

Cabinet considered the report and recommendations put forward by the SPG and there were mixed views regarding the effectiveness of mechanisms for engagement and ensuring that all members had the opportunity to input and influence discussions and recommendations, particularly given the importance of the LDP.  Whilst some members felt that the process worked well for them and that ample opportunity was provided to raise issues and feedback through the Member Area Groups (MAGs) others questioned the effectiveness of the process, particularly where there were differing views on particular policies or strategies under consideration, and where meetings of MAGs were cancelled with a reliance on MAG representatives.  Main areas of debate focused on the following –

·         Councillor Brian Jones felt that the SPG had served its purpose and should be disbanded.  He considered the Terms of Reference to be undemocratic by not allowing members to speak and felt all members should be able to input.  He was aware of other members who were unhappy with the current arrangements

·         the Leader advised that the Group still had much work to do and he believed the MAGs to be an important part of ensuring open communication and input into the focus and direction of the Group’s work.  The process worked well for Ruthin MAG and if any issues arose from observing the SPG meetings they could be raised via the MAGs.  He also felt the democratic process had been observed with an opportunity for all members to be involved

·         Councillor Richard Mainon highlighted that it was a non-executive Group with only six MAG members but it had an influential role in shaping the replacement LDP which would have a huge long term impact.  Given the fundamentally important role of the Group he felt it was wrong to prohibit members from contributing and speaking at those meetings and he also advised that because two meetings of the Elwy MAG had been cancelled there had been no opportunity for them to input given the current processes in place, with Elwy MAG arguably having one of the most affected areas in the county.  The Group had seemed to take on a political dynamic but it was not politically balanced and he felt an appropriate way forward would be for the Group to be politically balanced and increased to twelve

·         Councillor Bobby Feeley advised that she was supportive of the Group and was confident in discussing any issue with the relevant member involved.  She felt that it was natural to have disagreements but did not consider it was due to politics but rather the different MAG areas within the county and she felt that members had a part to play in ensuring the success of the mechanisms in place.

The Lead Member responded to the issues raised and gave assurances that he and the team were happy to continue to meet with members to discuss matters relating to the LDP and respond to any concerns raised, and he provided some positive examples of where that approach had worked well.  Officers were working hard to engage and would be attending each MAG meeting during January/February to further consult with members.  The Group had deliberately been set up as a small focused Group and the MAGs were a crucial part of its success with MAG representatives being chosen by each MAG.  He urged members to support and challenge the Group and its work in moving forward together for the good of the authority rather than making it a political issue.  The Chief Executive responded from an officer perspective advising that there was still much work to be done on the LDP and much that required members’ scrutiny.  The reasoning behind a smaller focused Group was to provide detailed scrutiny on the sheer volume of work which could not be achieved through a whole Council medium but assurance could be taken that matters would be brought back before Cabinet and Council for consideration.  For clarity it was stated that the Group had no decision making powers and only had the ability to make recommendations.

Councillor Huw Hilditch-Roberts put forward a scenario where there were differing opinions within the MAGs and queried at what point within the process could the local member change or influence matters.  He also reiterated previous concerns of Ruthin MAG regarding the proposed reduction in employment land.  The Lead Member and officers responded that every key stage of the LDP was a decision for full Council and would be for all members to debate.  In terms of the MAGs it was the responsibility of the MAG representative on the SPG to report back from their MAG and they could report back where there was dissension between the MAG members.  The SPG was not a decision making body and could only make recommendations.  With regard to employment land in Ruthin much work had been ongoing in that regard and officers had met with local members on site and were happy to discuss any concerns raised by members.  Officers would be attending all MAGs early in the New Year to discuss candidate sites put forward and the process for that which would provide further opportunity for members to raise any issues.

The Leader invited questions from non-Cabinet members.  Councillor Meirick Davies felt strongly that all members should have the opportunity to speak at SPG meetings and given that the last Elwy MAG meeting had been cancelled there had been no opportunity to input into the process.  Councillor Peter Scott suggested that the size of the Group be increased and to allow for an additional MAG representative and believed that substitute MAG representatives should also attend each meeting for continuity.  The Leader clarified that the proposed changes to the Terms of Reference had been recommended to Cabinet by the SPG as to how best they could move forward and the Lead Member confirmed there may be some discretion for non-Group members to speak in particular circumstances.  In terms of communication the Chief Executive reported upon extensive consultation with members and wider stakeholders and reiterated that MAGs and their representatives on the SPG had a clear role in terms of communication to ensure feedback between the Groups.  Councillor Alan James (Rhyl MAG representative) reported upon the hard work of the SPG and regular feedback between the Groups.

Having considered the recommendations of the SPG Cabinet voted 4 in favour of the recommendations and 3 against the recommendations and it was subsequently –

RESOLVED that Cabinet approve the draft amended Terms of Reference for the Strategic Planning Group (Appendix 1 to the report).