Agenda item

Questions to the Leader of the Council

Councillor Moss asked the following question of the Leader of the Council:

In producing an acceptable core strategy the housing need of the Borough must be determined and supported by robust evidence.  Boroughs that have not used robust evidence have had their plans rejected by Planning Inspectors.  Does the Leader share my concern that Liberal circulations produced by their prospective parliamentary candidate, mislead the public by rejecting any notion of an evidence base and suggesting there is a choice in choosing some arbitrary housing figure?  The naivety of this assertion risks delaying the plan and therefore allowing developers a free for all in submitting planning applications for greenfield sites, which is resisted by the leadership of this Council.

The Leader of the Council responded to the question.

A supplementary question asked by Councillor Moss of the Leader of the Council was rejected by the Mayor on the grounds that it did not relate to the subject of the original question.

Councillor Newton asked the following question of the Leader of the Council:

Does the Leader agree that peak time traffic congestion in Maidstone is the worst in Kent?

The Leader of the Council responded to the question.

Councillor Newton asked the following supplementary question of the Leader of the Council:

Does the Leader accept that the already congested roads at peak times in Maidstone are totally inadequate to cope with the increased vehicle movements that will occur within the Borough if the proposal to construct between 17,100 and 19,600 new homes goes ahead?

The Leader of the Council responded to the question.

Questions to Cabinet Members

Councillor Mrs Parvin asked the following question of the Cabinet Member for Corporate Services:

At the meeting of the Council held on 18 September last, in reply to my question regarding the possibility of the VIC returning to the Town Hall, you replied that an element of the VIC would be returned, also staff of VAM were to be trained to assist them with answering questions from the public on where to go and what to see etc.  Can the Cabinet Member assist by informing Council of what progress has been made to date?

The Cabinet Member for Corporate Services responded to the question.

Councillor Mrs Parvin asked the following supplementary question of the Cabinet Member for Corporate Services:

Would the Cabinet Member agree that the presence of the VIC at the Town Hall would complement the ambience of Jubilee Square and the newly refurbished High Street for visitors to Maidstone?

The Cabinet Member for Corporate Services responded to the question.

Councillor Mrs Grigg asked the following question of the Cabinet Member for Environment:

The Wheatsheaf Junction in Loose Road and a number of other residential areas in the Borough have been identified as ‘choke spots’ where air quality is below the European Union minimum standards.  Can I therefore ask what rate of illness and deaths in Maidstone Borough are attributed to or exacerbated by traffic induced air pollution?

The Cabinet Member for Environment responded to the question.

Councillor Mrs Grigg asked the following supplementary question of the Cabinet Member for Environment:

Do you believe that the actions in Maidstone Borough Council’s Air Quality Management Plan are anywhere near sufficient to address the magnitude of the problem?

The Cabinet Member for Environment responded to the question.

To listen to the responses to these questions, please follow this link:

http://webcasts.umcdn.com/mbc079/interface