Agenda and minutes

Resolved: That all items on the agenda be web-cast.

An apology for absence was received from John Foster, Economic Development Manager.

There were no substitute members.

There were no visiting members.

It was noted that Councillor Burton declared a personal interest in agenda item 8 by virtue of his membership of the Marden Business Forum.

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

Resolved:  That the minutes of the meeting held on 22 February 2011 be agreed as a correct record and duly signed by the Chairman.

Interview with:

Liz Harrison, Kent County Council Rural Regeneration Manager;

Huw Jarvis, Kent Downs and Marshes Leader Programme Manager; and

John Foster, Economic Development Manager.

The Chairman welcomed Liz Harrison, Kent County Council Rural Regeneration Manager and Huw Jarvis, Kent Downs and Marshes Leader Programme Manager to the meeting, and invited them to present their report to the Committee.

Mrs Harrison summarised the work that had been accomplished over the past two years, and informed the Committee outlined some of the key headlines from the Kent Rural Evidence Base work (an ongoing research project). This has utilised the 2004, Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) and Office for National Statistics (ONS) official urban and rural definition to produce specific rural datasets for Kent.

Mrs Harrison informed the Committee that 40% of Kent’s businesses were located in the rural areas, and although it was recognised that farming was an important component, it was not the only industry in rural areas.  Research had shown that there were many similarities between industries in the urban and rural areas and rural businesses generated £5.5 billion per annum to Kent’s economy.

Mrs Harrison stated that by 2050 the world population was due to reach nine billion, with a 30% increase in food required. The food sector was particularly important for Kent and was worth £2.6 billion per annum.  Growing concerns over global food security are leading to a reappraisal of the strategic importance of UK food production and in Kent a Food Sector Strategy is being developed.

In answer to a question Mrs Harrison informed the Committee that depending on the required levels of ‘E-channels’ it would be necessary to factor in that many rural areas and businesses have poor quality broadband provision.

The Committee queried the statistics that Mrs Harrison had mentioned regarding South Korea providing 250mb and asked if this was something the residents had to pay extra for, or was it considered the normal bandwidth to receive. Mrs Harrison stated that this was installed when South Korea had reconstructed its streets which enabled exchanges to be placed within many buildings. The Committee acknowledged this, and enquired into recent news that every medical library and centre in the UK had a network already available for the public to use, and whether Mrs Harrison could elaborate on this. Mrs Harrison informed the Committee that as part of its pilot they were looking into utilising the Kent public network which provides broadband access to public sector buildings across Kent e.g. schools and libraries.

In answer to a question, Mrs Harrison stated that the issues surrounding transport in the rural area were hard to address due to the lack of resources in the transport infrastructure. However, as there is no specific rural strategy covering this, she advised the Committee to refer any transport concerns within the review to the ‘Growth without
Grid-lock strategy’ and KCC’s Highways team, and would provide the Overview & Scrutiny Officer with this document to circulate to Members.

The Chairman asked if live work units should be promoted via planning or whether the Council would be better advised to restrain from permitting  ...  view the full minutes text for item 37.

The Committee considered the future work programme, it was noted that the end of year progress reports from the Leader of the Council, Cabinet Members for Regeneration and Leisure and Culture and the last witness for the rural economy will be considered at the next meeting.

The Chairman discussed the possibility of a day time meeting to discuss the tourism impact in the rural economy, as part of the review. The Overview and Scrutiny Officer informed the Committee of the availability of Mrs Christine Dier, Assistant Economic Development Officer and arranged that three Members would attend, with confirmation via email of the venue in due course.

The Chair and Vice Chairman confirmed that following a Scrutiny Chairman's Meeting on 30 March 2011, they will inform the Committee of any discussion required regarding a summary of the work achieved within this Municipal Year.

The Committee noted the 3^rd quarter performance monitoring report and the Overview and Scrutiny Officer informed the Committee of the progress made towards the rural economy review.

Resolved: That:

a)  The 3^rd quarter performance monitoring report be noted;

b)  The Chair and Vice Chairman will provide information following a Scrutiny Chairman's Meeting on 30 March 2011 prior to the next; and

c)  The work programme be noted.

6.32pm to 9.03pm.