Agenda and minutes

Venue: The Ridgeway, The Beacon, Portway, Wantage, OX12 9BY

Contact: Steven Corrigan, Democratic Services Manager 01235 422526 Email: steven.corrigan@southandvale.gov.uk 

Items
No. Item

1.

Election of chairman

To elect a chairman of Council for the municipal year 2018/19.

 

Minutes:

The outgoing chairman, Councillor Reg Waite, reviewed his year as chairman of the council. He thanked councillors, his escort, Mrs Dee Waite, his vice-chairman, Councillor Monica Lovatt, officers and his chaplain, Pam Rolls, for their assistance and support. During the year he had attended many engagements and raised over £8,000 for his chosen charities – Children’s Air Ambulance and the Alzheimer’s Society.

Councillor Monica Lovatt was nominated as chairman for the 2018/19 municipal year.

 

RESOLVED:  to elect Councillor Monica Lovatt as chairman of the council for the 2018/19 municipal year, until the next annual meeting of the Council in May 2019.

 

Councillor Reg Waite presented Councillor Monica Lovatt with the chain of office. 

Councillor Monica Lovatt signed her declaration of acceptance of office, presented Councillor Waite with the past chairman’s badge, her husband, Councillor Sandy Lovatt, with the escort’s badge and made an acceptance speech. She advised that her chosen charity is Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Families Association (SSAFA).

Councillor Monica Lovatt in the chair.

 

2.

Appointment of vice-chairman

To appoint a vice-chairman of Council for the municipal year 2018/19.

 

Minutes:

Councillor Ben Mabbett was nominated as vice-chairman.

 

RESOLVED:  to appoint Councillor Ben Mabbett as vice-chairman of the council for the ensuing year.

The chairman presented Councillor Ben Mabbett with the chain of office.

Councillor Ben Mabbett signed his declaration of acceptance of office and made an acceptance speech.

 

3.

Apologies for absence

To record apologies for absence.

Minutes:

Apologies for absence were submitted on behalf of Councillors Mike Murray, Janet Shelley and Henry Spencer.

4.

Minutes pdf icon PDF 606 KB

To adopt and sign as a correct record the Council minutes of the meeting held on 14 February 2018 - attached. 

Minutes:

RESOLVED: to approve the minutes of the meeting held on 14 February 2018 as a correct record and agree that the chairman sign them as such.

 

 

5.

Declarations of disclosable pecuniary interest

To receive any declarations of disclosable pecuniary interests in respect of items on the agenda for this meeting.  

Minutes:

None.

6.

Urgent business and chairman's announcements

To receive notification of any matters which the chairman determines should be considered as urgent business and the special circumstances which have made the matters urgent, and to receive any announcements from the chairman. 

Minutes:

The chairman provided housekeeping information and invited councillors to join her for refreshments following the meeting.

 

She advised that prior to the Council meeting Margaret Reed, Head of Legal and Democratic, had received written notice from Councillor Matthew Barber that he had resigned as leader of the council. On behalf of the council, the chairman thanked him for his service to the council as leader since 2011.

 

She congratulated Councillor Emily Smith on her election as leader of the Liberal Democrat Group and therefore leader of the opposition.

 

She advised that former councillor Tommy Thompson had died on Tuesday 24 April 2018. The funeral will be held on 22 May at 11.30am at St Giles Church, Great Coxwell.

 

Councillor Debby Hallett responded by wishing Councillor Matthew Barber best wishes for what comes next in his life having witnessed his growth from an intelligent decision maker to a wise leader and stated that he leaves some pretty big shoes to fill. Whilst she disagreed with his policies, and the way they have been implemented, she respected him as leader of the main political group and of the council. He tried to keep to his word, listened to those who disagreed with him, saw things from other people’s perspective and worked to make things better.

 

Councillor Yvonne Constance made the following personal statement of appreciation for Councillor Matthew Barber’s service to the Vale.

 

“All good things come to an end and I want to make a personal statement of appreciation for his service to the Vale.

 

We were both elected in 2003, when Matt was only 21, but it was very quickly clear he had an interest and a grasp of the issues way beyond his years.  Born to the role I decided, and knew he followed a grandfather.

 

In 2011 he became leader of the Council and we benefitted immediately from his strong strategic vision; his intelligent appraisal of pros and cons of every issue; his decisiveness; his attention to impact on the residents, and from the articulate fluent statements about everything – always lightened by humour I have never been able to do!

 

And disagree we have done – more than once, but he leaves today with impressive achievements: These are the big strategic ones – all these achieved whilst ensuring an efficient and responsive Council was delivering services in the here and now:

·         Delivered Part 1 of the Local Plan and houses to meet Housing Land Supply – ahead of all in the County, and I now know ahead of all in the Region too

·         Made shared administration work with SODC, and without accepting any undue costs for the Vale

·         Agreed a future for the Vale in the Unitary bid – still to be decided by the Minister

·         Agreed future funding for infrastructure for the Vale in the Oxfordshire Growth Deal

 

These are big shoes to fill . . . . .  . and I thank you Matt for exceptional service in your time as Leader of the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

7.

Public participation

Minutes:

None.

8.

Election of leader of the council

This item has been included on the agenda with the agreement of Councillor Matthew Barber who has indicated his intention to resign from his current position as leader of the council before the date of this meeting.

 

To elect a leader of the council for a term ending on the date of the annual Council meeting in May 2019.

 

Minutes:

RESOLVED: to elect Councillor Roger Cox as leader of the council for a term ending on the date of the annual meeting of Council in May 2019.

 

9.

Appointments to the Cabinet

The chairman will ask the leader to announce his/her deputy leader and appointments to the Cabinet and the allocation of portfolios.

 

Minutes:

Councillor Roger Cox appointed Councillor Ed Blagrove as the deputy leader of the council and councillors Alice Badcock, Eric Batts, Mike Murray, Robert Sharp and Elaine Ware as Cabinet members with portfolios as follows:

 

Councillor Roger Cox                Leader, planning, partnership and insight

Councillor Alice Badcock          Community services

Councillor Eric Batts                  Legal and democratic 

Councillor Ed Blagrove             Deputy Leader, corporate services

Councillor Mike Murray             Regeneration and development

Councillor Robert Sharp           Finance

Councillor Elaine Ware              Housing and environment

 

He appointed Cabinet members to the following:

Oxfordshire Growth Board – CouncillorRoger Cox, with all other cabinet members as substitutes

Five Councils’ Partnership Corporate Services Joint Committee – Councillor Roger Cox, with all other cabinet members as substitutes

Safer Oxfordshire Partnership Oversight Committee CouncillorEric Batts 

South and Vale Community Safety Partnership – CouncillorEric Batts 

 

10.

Appointments to committees, panels and joint committees for 2018/19 pdf icon PDF 225 KB

To consider the report of the head of legal and democratic on the appointment to those committees required to be politically balanced, together with the Area Committees, Licensing Acts Committee and joint committees and to authorise any consequential changes to the constitution - attached.

 

Minutes:

Council considered the report of the head of legal and democratic on the appointment of those committees and joint committees which are required to be politically balanced; together with the Licensing Acts Committee, the area committees and appointments to joint bodies.

 

The chairman referred to the following recommendation tabled at the meeting covering these appointments and to reflect the allocation of the vacant committee positions.

That for the 2018/19 municipal year Council:

1.            appoints the committees and panels and allocate seats to each political group as set out in the schedule circulated at the meeting;

2.            allocates one of the Conservative Group’s seats on the Planning Committee to the Liberal Democrat Group;

3.            appoints councillors and substitutes to sit on the committees and panels as set out in the schedule circulated at the meeting;

4.            appoints councillors to the Licensing Acts Committee as set out in the schedule circulated at the meeting;

5.            appoints chairmen and vice-chairmen as set out in the schedule circulated at the meeting;

6.            appoints all local members representing the wards covered by the relevant area committees to those committees for the 2018/19 municipal year with the following chairmen: 

·         Abingdon and North East – Councillor Mike Badcock (Chairman); Councillor Helen Pighills (Vice-Chairman) 

·         Faringdon – Councillor Simon Howell (Chairman); Councillor Anthony Hayward (Vice-Chairman)

·        Wantage – Councillor St John Dickson (Chairman); Councillor Ben Mabbett (Vice-Chairman)

7.            appointsCouncillor Monica Lovatt as the council’s representative on the Oxfordshire Joint Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee;

8.            appoints Councillor Eric Batts as the council’s representative on the Thames Valley Police and Crime Panel;

9.            appoints the following to the Oxfordshire Growth Board Advisory Sub Groups:

·         Infrastructure – Councillor Mike Badcock

·         Housing – Councillor Janet Shelley

·         Joint Statutory Spatial Plan – Councillor Anthony Hayward

with all Conservative group members as substitutes;

10.         appoints councillors Chris Palmer, Ben Mabbett and Debby Hallett to the Oxfordshire Growth Board Scrutiny Panel;

11.         authorises the head of legal and democratic to make appointments to any vacant committee or panel seat and substitute positions in accordance with the wishes of the relevant group leader;

12.         authorises the head of legal and democratic to amend the constitution as necessary to reflect the arrangements set out in the report of the head of legal and democratic to the Council meeting on 16 May 2018.

RESOLVED: to

 

1.         appoint the following committees and panels for the 2018/19 municipal year and to appoint the membership, substitutes and chairmen and vice-chairmen as indicated to sit on them (see table below);

 

 

Planning Committee, 9 Members

Conservative (6)

Liberal Democrat (3)

Anthony Hayward

Jenny Hannaby

Robert Hall

Bob Johnston

Sandy Lovatt (Chairman)

Catherine Webber

Ben Mabbett

 

Stuart Davenport

 

Janet Shelley (Vice-Chairman)

 

Preferred substitutes

Conservative (6)

Liberal Democrat (3)

Yvonne Constance

Margaret Crick

StJohn Dickson

Helen Pighills

Katie Finch

Emily Smith

Chris Palmer

 

Julia Reynolds

 

Reg Waite

 

 

 

Scrutiny Committee, 9 Members

Conservative (7)

Liberal Democrat (2)

Mike Badcock

Debby Hallett (Chairman)

Matthew Barber

Judy Roberts

Robert Hall

 

Vicky Jenkins

 

Sandy Lovatt

 

Ben Mabbett

 

Chris Palmer  ...  view the full minutes text for item 10.

11.

Changes to the council's constitution pdf icon PDF 414 KB

 

To consider the report of the head of legal and democratic on proposed changes to the council’s constitution - attached.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Council considered the report of the head of legal and democratic and monitoring officer on proposed amendments to the council’s constitution.

 

RESOLVED: to:

 

1.         amend the constitution in the Summary and Explanation section and the Cabinet Arrangements and Procedure Rules to update the key decision definition by amending paragraph (a) to read: “to incur expenditure, make savings or to receive income (except government grant) of more than £75,000.”; 

2.         amend paragraphs 40 and 41 of the constitution’s Summary and Explanation section relating to the authentication of documents and common seal of the council to allow the head of legal and democratic, the chief executive, the legal services manager or a senior lawyer to sign and attest the sealing of documents;

3.          delete reference to the Five Councils’ Partnership Scrutiny Committee in paragraph 83 of the Scrutiny Committees Procedure Rules;

4.          amend paragraph 3 of the Planning Committee Procedure Rules to reflect the Vale Council’s decision on 14 February 2018 to reduce its Planning Committee membership from 11 to nine;

5.          authorise the head of corporate services “to act as the council’s data protection officer under the General Data Protection Regulations” and reflect this responsibility in the Proper Officer and Authorised Officer section of the constitution; 

6.          authorise the head of development and regeneration: “To determine applications from registered housing providers to waive the 80 per cent equity share restriction on shared ownership dwellings, on a case-by case basis, where such a restriction has been included within a section 106 planning agreement, and where the application meets the established criteria for granting the waiver.”; 

7.          authorise the head of development and regeneration: “To determine continuous market engagement requests and confirm support to Homes England for both grant and nil-grant applications from registered housing providers, for the inclusion of affordable dwellings or developments within the national affordable homes programme.”; 

8.          amend the delegation to the head of housing and environment in paragraph 4.3: “To authorise and serve any notices and take all necessary actions relating to the collection of waste, the provision of dustbins and to secure the removal of rubbish.  (S.34 PHA 1961) the council’s duties as a waste collection authority as set out in sections 45 and 46 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 (as amended).  [N.B. deleted text is crossed through, added text is in bold type];  

9.          authorise the head of housing and environment: “To authorise and serve any notices and take all necessary actions relating to the council’s duties as a principal litter authority in accordance with section 89 of the Environmental Protection Act1990 (as amended).”; 

10.       amend the delegation to the head of housing and environment in paragraph 19.2: “To exercise the council’s powers and duties under The Dangerous Wild Animals Act 1976, The Pet Animals Act 1951, The Breeding of Dogs Acts 1973 and 1991, The Animal Boarding Establishments Acts 1963 and 1970, The Zoo Licensing Act 1981, The Riding Establishments Acts 1964 & 1970, and the Breeding and Sale of Dogs (Welfare)  ...  view the full minutes text for item 11.

12.

Report of the leader of the council

(1)       Urgent cabinet decisions

 

In accordance with the scrutiny procedure rules, a Cabinet decision can be taken as a matter of urgency, if any delay by the call-in process would seriously prejudice the council’s or the public’s interest.  Treating the decision as a matter of urgency must be agreed by the chairman of the Scrutiny Committee and must be reported to the next meeting of the council, together with the reasons for urgency.

 

To receive any details of urgent Cabinet decisions taken since the last ordinary meeting of the council, (if any).

 

(2)       Delegation of cabinet functions

 

To receive details of any changes to the leader’s scheme of delegation. 

 

(3)       Matters affecting the authority arising from meetings of joint committees, partnerships and other meetings

 

To receive the report of the leader (if any). 

Minutes:

Councillor Roger Cox, Leader of the council, thanked Council for his election as leader of the council which was an honour.

 

He thanked Councillor Reg Waite, the outgoing chairman of the council, and wished good luck to Councillor Monica Lovatt, Chairman of the council, and Councillor Ben Mabbett, Vice-Chairman of the council. 

 

He expressed best wishes to Councillor Matthew Barber in his new role as full time deputy police and crime commissioner, Councillor Emily Smith as new leader of the opposition and Councillor Jane Murphy as the new leader of South Oxfordshire District Council.  

 

He highlighted a number forthcoming events/issues:

 

·         The chief executive embedding the new staffing structure with eight service areas;

·         Ms Donna Pentelow, the new head of community services, joining the council on 25 July;

·         The continued prospect of a unitary council;

·         The implementation of the Growth Deal;

·         The consultation on the Oxford/Cambridge Expressway;

·         The commencement of the Examination in Public of the Local Plan on 3 July;

·         The official opening of Abbey Meadows Pool on Saturday 16 June.

 

 

 

 

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Vale of White Horse District Council
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