Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Spooner.

Councillor Springett was present as a Substitute Member for Councillor Spooner.

The Chairman stated that Item 20: Response to Consultation on NHS 10 Year Plan would be taken as an urgent item to allow the response to be sent before the submission deadline.

In response to queries, the Head of Insight, Communities & Governance advised that the consultation for this item went live on Monday 28 October 2024 and the report was circulated on Friday 2 November 2024 as an urgent update, which was the earliest date possible.

Councillor Harper asked that it be noted that he objected to this being taken as an urgent item as not allowed enough time was given for consideration by the Committee.

It was agreed to adjourn the meeting for ten minutes to allow Members to read through the report.

The meeting was adjourned between 6.37 p.m. and 6.47 p.m. to allow Committee Members to read through Item 20: Response to Consultation on NHS 10 Year Plan.

There were no Visiting Members.

There were no disclosures by Members or Officers.

There were no disclosures of lobbying.

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

RESOLVED: That the Minutes of the meeting held on 2 October 2024 be approved as a correct record and signed.

In response to queries, the Head of Insight, Communities & Governance agreed to follow up outside the meeting on why the Strategic Plan item, which needed to go to Cabinet before April 2025, was not on the Forward Plan.

RESOLVED: That the Forward Plan relating to the Committee’s Terms of Reference, be noted.

The Cabinet Member for Healthier Stronger Communities introduced the motion and advised that he was enthusiastic to support it and promote Kent farmers.

Several Members expressed support for the motion, but it was suggested that an amendment be made that the possibility of small scale farmers markets within the town centre should be investigated, which was agreed.

RESOLVED to RECOMMEND to CABINET: That the Kent Farmers, Growers and the Wider Maidstone Food and Drink Industry be considered subject to the recommended amendment.

The Cabinet Member for Planning and Policy Management introduced the motion and expressed support for the Greensand Ridge to have a National Landscape (NL) designation, citing that it had a more diverse soil biodiversity than other, more intensively farmed, surrounding areas as well as being scenically attractive. He suggested that it may be worth considering a wider area for designation than the one referenced in the report appendices, which was based on the current Local Plan Landscape of Local Value, before approaching the Kent Downs National Landscape Unit at their Joint Advisory Committee.

Several Members were in favour of supporting the motion, though there were concerns raised around the cost of producing a report. In response to queries, the Head of Development Management advised that this would not cost much as the report could be produced with existing staffing and information that was already held.

RESOLVED to RECOMMEND to CABINET: That the Greensand Ridge – National Landscape Designation be considered.

The Cabinet Member for Healthier Stronger Communities introduced the report and stated that Kent and Medway Economic Partnership (KMEP) had invited comments from Kent Councils to inform their response to the Industrial Strategy (IS) Consultation. The consultation response included that:

·  The eight growth driving sectors with sub sectors, identified by the Department of Business and Trade, was considered an incomplete list. This had already been raised with and received well by KMEP. It had been fed back that the new IS should reference investment in sustainable agriculture, horticulture, regenerative farming methods and circular economy business models;

·  Sustainable development, jointly informed by employers and educational initiatives, should be a key part of school curriculum;

·  Electricity generation should be, ideally, fully decarbonised along with a significant reduction in demand through retrofit in existing business, public and personal use to allow for increased demand in sectors that require it. The aim should be for zero fossil fuel rather than allowing offsets;

·  National and local finance initiatives should prioritise local over global partnerships working with key partners through KMEP and with government support; and

·  Growth should not be met through development on the Green Belt and Grey Belt.

It was raised and agreed that sustainable energy was important to support increasing demand in the Borough. In response to queries, the Cabinet Member advised that the consultation response was intended to illustrate the change in view of the new administration. It was agreed to make typographical corrections to the response before submitting.

RESOLVED to RECOMMEND to the CABINET MEMBER: That

1.  The response to the consultation, at Appendix 1 to the report, be approved to allow the response to be sent by the submission deadline; and

2.  The response be used to respond to and inform the Kent and Medway Economic Partnerships consultation response.

The Head of Development Management introduced the report and stated that the Infrastructure Funding Statement (IFS) for the financial year 2023/24 was a government required record of income from Section 106 legal agreements and Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) and of expenditure of these funds, which needed to be published on the Council website by the end of the calendar year. The IFS outlined the types of CIL and where it had been spent.

During the discussion, it was raised that there was not a lot of income from CIL and it was suggested that reviewing the rates might be a good way to address this. The Head of Development Management confirmed that these had not been changed since introduction of CIL and would be a quick win.

Several Members queried specific projects and use of Section 106 money by external stakeholders. The Head of Development Management encouraged Members to make use the Exacom system to get more information around CIL and Section 106 and advised that other local authorities are also required to publish their own annual IFS.

RESOLVED: That the Infrastructure Funding Statement 2023-24, attached at Appendix 1 to the report, be noted.

The Cabinet Member for Planning Policy and Management introduced the report and advised that the consultation affected some properties in Bredhurst that received water from the Medway system under Southern Water. The response referenced existing policies in the Local Plan and highlighted water quality and waste water issues. It was advised that a letter setting out concerns with the waste water system in the Weald and parts of urban Maidstone would be sent separately.

In response to queries, the Strategic Planning Manager advised that the separate letter would be shared with the Committee before being sent. It was also raised that water companies often answer with ‘no comment’ in Planning application consultations and suggested that they be encouraged to engage more in their responses. The Cabinet Member agreed that this was a good point to include.

RESOLVED to RECOMMEND to CABINET: That the response to Southern Water’s Water Resource Management Plan consultation, attached as Appendix 1 to the report, be submitted to Southern Water.

The Principal Conservation Officer introduced the report and advised that this was a temporary solution drafted for areas that do not have a Conservation Area Appraisal or Management Plan and to support areas with outdated plans. This had previously been through public consultation.

RESOLVED to RECOMMEND to the CABINET MEMBER: That

1.  The proposed guidance document, at Appendix 2 to the report, be adopted as a material planning consideration; and

2.  The following work streams be explored (in accordance with the CAMP report attached at Appendix 1 to the report):

a.  An Article 4 Direction

b.  A Design Code for each of the Conservation Areas

The Principal Conservation Officer introduced the report and advised that, under the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990, it was required to review Conservation Areas from time to time. The review would go to public consultation with a slight amendment to the boundary to link the two conservation areas and protect some ragstone wall and to extend the boundary to include part of the railway buildings.

Officers thanked the Conservation Officer for her hard work on the report and it was requested to include an image of traditional windows to compare to images of UPVC windows in the review.

RESOLVED to RECOMMEND to the CABINET MEMBER: That

1.  The draft Conservation Area Appraisal and Management Plan – Review for Bearsted Conservation Area, at Appendix 1 to the report, be approved for public consultation; and
 

2.  The Head of Development Management be given delegated authority to undertake the necessary statutory requirements to undertake public consultation for the draft Bearsted Conservation Area Appraisal and Management Plan Review.

The Principal Conservation Officer introduced the report and advised that there was proposed extension to the Detling Conservation Area, which would go to public consultation for comments.

It was raised to record gratitude to the Parish Councillors and residents who had contributed so far.

RESOLVED to RECOMMEND to the CABINET MEMBER: That

1.  The draft Conservation Area Appraisal and Management Plan - Review, for Detling Conservation Area, at Appendix 1 to the report, be approved for public consultation; and

2.  Delegated powers be given to the Head of Development Management to undertake the necessary statutory requirements to undertake public consultation for the draft Detling Conservation Area Appraisal and Management Plan Review.

The Principal Conservation Officer introduced the report and advised that the Appraisal and Management Plan had already been through public consultation and review and was recommended for adoption, which the Committee were happy to approve as per the papers.

RESOLVED to RECOMMEND to the CABINET MEMBER: That the Conservation Area Appraisal and Management Plan for Marden Conservation Area, at Appendix 1 to the report, be approved for adoption.

The Principal Conservation Officer introduced the report and advised that there was a large, proposed extension to the Otham Conservation Area, which would go to public consultation for comments early next year and then be put forward for adoption.

RESOLVED to RECOMMEND to the CABINET MEMBER: That

1.  The Conservation Area Appraisal and Management Plan – Review, for Otham Conservation Area, at Appendix 1 to the report, be approved for public consultation; and

2.  Delegated powers be given to the Head of Development Management to undertake the necessary statutory requirements to undertake public consultation for the Otham Conservation Area Appraisal and Management Plan Review.

The Cabinet Member for Healthier Stronger Communities thanked officers for their hard work on the report and outlined the consultation’s proposed three main shifts within the National Health Service (NHS): to move care from hospitals into the community where appropriate, to move services from analogue to digital as appropriate and to move focus from treating to preventing sickness. The response outlines:

·  The current position of health and social care in Maidstone, including the needs of residents, where our services are performing well and current and anticipated challenges;

·  The importance of an integrated health and social care system to ensure movement between services and meeting the needs of vulnerable residents, which would require appropriate funding, workforce and resource to be in place;

·  Concerns that digital exclusion could affect residents who still use analogue; and

·  That a holistic approach and effective cooperation should be utilised when moving from treating to preventing sickness given that we have a two tier authority.

Several Members raised that services such as residential care centres, leisure centres and carers and community workers that previously took pressure off NHS services had suffered through funding cuts and lack of staffing and that it may be worth investing in these. It was also requested that mentions of dentistry, mental health and GPs be bolstered in the final response, which was agreed by the Health Policy Officer.

RESOLVED to RECOMMEND to the CABINET: That the response, attached at Appendix 1 to the report, be submitted by 2 December 2024 to the consultation for the NHS 10 Year plan, subject to the Committee’s requested amendments.

6.30 p.m. to 9.11 p.m.