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Maidstone Borough Council
Local Development Document Task and Finish Scrutiny Panel
Tuesday 24 January 2012
SCRAIP Response on the Reference from Council, Petition calling upon the Council to help protect the open countryside
Report of: Overview and Scrutiny Officer
1. Introduction
1.1 To consider the response from the Leader of the Council and Officers on the recommendation:
‘Cabinet consider commissioning a comparative exercise (with other district authorities) on Development Enforcement and policy concerning unlawful developments to assess if there was anything new that could be learnt and to benchmark Maidstone Borough Council’s process in this regard.’
2. Recommendation
2.1 The Committee is recommended to review the attached SCRAIP (Appendix A) and interview the Leader of the Council to gain understanding as to why the recommendation has been rejected.
3. Background information
3.1 At the Task and Finish Panel on 15th November 2011 the Committee considered a Reference from Council, Petition calling upon the Council to help protect the open countryside. The Committee considered the policy implications that could arise from the Reference and made recommendations accordingly.
3.2 The recommendation on Development Enforcement arose out of policy considerations within the petition. However, Development Enforcement is not within the Terms of Reference for the Task and Finish Panel so any further actions arising out of the interview will need to be considered by the Regeneration and Economic Development Committee to be taken forward.
4. Impact on Corporate Objectives
4.1 Considering the policy implications from the Reference from Council, Petition calling upon the Council to help protect the open countryside and making appropriate recommendations will help to deliver the Council’s objectives for the Borough to be a decent place to live.