Agenda item

To deal with written questions which Councillors may wish to put to the Chair of the Council, the Leader, a Cabinet Member, the Chair of any Committee or Sub-Committee, or a member of the Council appointed to any external body or joint authority, in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 12 (if any).

The Chair advised that two written questions had been received in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 12 from Councillor Turner and Councillor Manley and as set out in the Agenda Supplement.

1.    Question from Councillor Richard Turner to Councillor Stephen Gauntlett (Cabinet Member for Planning and Infrastructure).

“There are many occasions over the years when we, on the Planning Committee, are faced with changes in Affordable Housing numbers at reserved matters. Should viability be assessed in decision making?

There are occasions when the applicant at Reserved Matters stage submits detailed evidence of the new extra costs that have changed since the application and this reduces the Affordable Housing. A separate valuation is also submitted.

Whilst there are occasions when extra costs must be considered for genuine reasons. As the Conservative Shadow Lead Member for Planning, I would ask that reviews should be included in our new local plan policies as far as viability. This would strengthen the Planning Committee’s decision making and give the Council strength to any appeal.“

Response from Councillor Nicholson (on behalf of Councillor Gauntlett):

As Councillor Gauntlett had given apologies for the meeting, Councillor Nicholson responded verbally to the question at the meeting but indicated that Councillor Gauntlett would provide a further written response after the meeting.

Councillor Nicholson advised that the Government Guidance on this was clear that a viability review to claw back contributions, should the viability position improve, could only take place if the provision to do so was set out in the local plan. No such provision was in the current plan agreed by the previous administration.  However, this was something that could be considered for the emerging Local Plan, and Councillor Nicholson invited Councillor Turner and the Conservative Group to be part of the Local Plan Steering Group shaping its development.  In the interim, the Council had introduced open book viability assessments that were now more transparent, and had sought independent expert assistance to assess viability reports to make sure the community did not lose out. 

Supplementary Question -Councillor Turner indicated that he did not have a supplementary question, but thanked Councillor Nicholson for the response and indicated as Shadow Portfolio Holder for Planning he would wish to be involved in any decision-making on the emerging local plan.

2.    Question from Councillor Manley to Councillor Julie Carr (Cabinet Member for Recycling, Waste and Open Spaces) or Councillor Zoe Nicholson (Leader of the Council)

“Why is Lewes District Council finding it so difficult to keep the A27 clean, and to stop other authorities strimming litter?  What else is LDC doing to improve the state of our roadsides with regards to litter?”

Response from Councillor Nicholson and Councillor Carr

Councillor Nicholson that she understood this question related to a recent incident where strimming took place in an area before litter collection and where no notification had been received of the works, which was very disappointing. 

Councillor Carr echoed this frustration with the incident, as the Council had worked closely with National Highways and their Network Contractor and neighbouring local authorities since 2018/19 to clear litter from arterial routes running through the district, including the A27 and A26.  National Highways provided the Council with a 20-week forward plan of plan land closures and temporary traffic management controls, updated weekly, which enabled the Council to send out highly trained teams to carry out litter picking sessions, mainly at night.  This team could be mobilised at very short notice if there was a change to the schedule, which was why this incident where work was done without notice or consultation was particularly frustrating.  Councillor Carr highlighted that in addition the Council had used a roadside anti-littering campaign and social media messages to discourage littering across the District.  Councillor Carr gave assurance that the Council would continue to engage with National Highways to seek a better way of working which translated into tangible results on the ground.

Supplementary Question -Councillor Manley indicated that she did not have a supplementary question but thanked Councillor Nicholson and Councillor Carr for their responses.