Agenda and minutes

There were no apologies for absence.

There were no urgent items.

It was noted that Councillor Mrs Gooch wished to speak on Agenda Item 11.  Councillors Butler and Mrs Paterson wished to speak on Agenda Item 12.  Councillor Cuming indicated that he was observing but reserved his right to speak on Agenda Items 11 and 12.

There were no disclosures by Members or Officers.

There were no disclosures of lobbying.

RESOLVED:  That all items be taken in public as proposed.

RESOLVED:  That the minutes of the meeting held on 2 February adjourned to 4 February 2015 be approved as a correct record and signed.

RESOLVED:  That the minutes of the meeting held on 4 February adjourned from 2 February 2015 be approved as a correct record and signed.

RESOLVED:  That the minutes of the meeting held on 11 February 2015 be approved as a correct record and signed.

The Chief Executive updated Cabinet on the performance of the Shared Planning Support Service for February 2015 as follows:-

The amount of planning applications processed during February were 107. Validation was taking an average of 7 days, with 50% being validated within 5 days.

Of other applications, such as tree applications, certificate of lawful development etc, there were 110 applications registered in February, 77% were validated within 5 days, which showed an improvement on the previous month.

Determination of planning applications were:-

2 major – 50% within time

25 minor – 64% within time

111 other – 92% within time

Appeals – During February, there were 5 appeals with a Council success rate of 60% compared to January, where the Council’s success rate was 66%.

RESOLVED:  That the report be noted.

Cabinet considered the report of the Joint Mid Kent Improvement Partnership (MKIP) Task and Finish Group relating to Governance and Communication.

DECISION MADE:

1.  That the draft responses to the recommendations made within the ‘Joint Scrutiny Task and Finish Group report on governance and communication’ be agreed; and

2.  That the Leader and Chief Executive be instructed to initiate a review which would include the MKIP terms of reference and range of shared service arrangements.

Cabinet considered the report of the Economic and Commercial Development Overview and Scrutiny Committee relating to the Twilight Economy Review.

RESOLVED:  Cabinet noted the recommendations of the Economic and Commercial Development Overview and Scrutiny Committee and asked that the responses from Officers and the relevant Cabinet Members come back to the next meeting in the form of a SCRAIP.

6.30 p.m. to 8.05 p.m.