Agenda and minutes

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Contact: Clare Rendell Email: c.rendell@somersetwestandtaunton.gov.uk 

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Items
No. Item

36.

Apologies

37.

Declarations of Interest

    To receive and note any declarations of disclosable pecuniary or prejudicial or personal interests in respect of any matters included on the agenda for consideration at this meeting.

     

    (The personal interests of Councillors and Clerks of Somerset County Council, Town or Parish Councils and other Local Authorities will automatically be recorded in the minutes.)

     

    Additional documents:

    Minutes:

    Members present at the meeting declared the following personal interests in their capacity as a Councillor or Clerk of a County, Town or Parish Council or any other Local Authority:-

     

    Name

    Minute No.

    Description of Interest

    Reason

    Action Taken

    Cllr C Booth

    All Items

    Wellington and Taunton Charter Trustee

    Personal

    Spoke and Voted

    Cllr S Coles

    All Items

    SCC & Taunton Charter Trustee

    Personal

    Spoke

    Cllr R Lees

    All Items

    Taunton Charter Trustee

    Personal

    Spoke and Voted

    Cllr M Lithgow

    All Items

    Wellington

    Personal

    Spoke

    Cllr J Lloyd

    All Items

    Wellington & Sampford Arundel

    Personal

    Spoke

    Cllr D Mansell

    All Items

    Wiveliscombe

    Personal

    Spoke

    Cllr P Pilkington

    All Items

    Timberscombe

    Personal

    Spoke and Voted

    Cllr M Rigby

    All Items

    SCC & Bishops Lydeard

    Personal

    Spoke and Voted

    Cllr F Smith

    All Items

    Taunton Charter Trustee

    Personal

    Spoke and Voted

    Cllr F Smith-Roberts

    All Items

    Taunton Charter Trustee

    Personal

    Spoke and Voted

    Cllr V Stock-Williams

    All Items

    Wellington

    Personal

    Spoke

    Cllr R Tully

    All Items

    West Monkton

    Personal

    Spoke

    Cllr B Weston

    All Items

    Taunton Charter Trustee

    Personal

    Spoke

    Cllr L Whetlor

    All Items

    Watchet

    Personal

    Spoke

     

38.

Public Participation

    The Chair to advise the Committee of any items on which members of the public have requested to speak and advise those members of the public present of the details of the Council’s public participation scheme.

     

    For those members of the public who have submitted any questions or statements, please note, a three minute time limit applies to each speaker and you will be asked to speak before Councillors debate the issue.

     

    Temporary measures during the Coronavirus Pandemic

    Due to the Government guidance on measures to reduce the transmission of coronavirus (COVID-19), we will holding meetings in a virtual manner which will be live webcast on our website. Members of the public will still be able to register to speak and ask questions, which will then be read out by the Governance and Democracy Case Manager during Public Question Time and will either be answered by the Chair of the Committee, or the relevant Portfolio Holder, or be followed up with a written response.

    Additional documents:

    Minutes:

    No members of the public had requested to speak on any item on the agenda.

39.

Executive Forward Plan pdf icon PDF 64 KB

    To receive items and review the Forward Plan.

    Additional documents:

    Minutes:

    (Copy of the Executive Forward Plan, circulated with the agenda).

     

    Councillors were reminded that if they had an item they wanted to add to the agenda, that they should send their requests to the Governance Team.

     

    RESOLVED that the Executive Forward Plan be noted.

40.

Somerset Climate Emergency Strategy and SWT Carbon Neutrality and Climate Resilience Action Plan pdf icon PDF 439 KB

    This matter is the responsibility of Executive Councillor for Climate Change, Councillor Peter Pilkington.

     

    The purpose of the Strategy is to provide a strategic overview of the key issues facing Somerset and the Councils in relation to the climate emergency and our shared ambition to work towards carbon neutrality for the county of Somerset by 2030 and to provide a strategic basis for partnership working going forwards on addressing these issues together, where a shared approach would be appropriate and improve the chances of delivery.

    The CNCR Action Plan sits alongside the Somerset-wide Strategy as the detail for how this Council proposes to address the specific issues, meet the goals and deliver on the outcomes that the Somerset-wide Strategy identifies.

    Additional documents:

    Minutes:

    The report was introduced by the Executive Councillor Peter Pilkington, Portfolio Holder for Climate Change.

     

    During the discussion, the following points were raised:-

    ·       It was commented that this Strategy set an example, with Councils showing cross-party leadership which would encourage the wider community to follow.

    ·       A query was raised as to whether the formation of the member led groups would be brought back to Full Council for sign-off, and how this work across the whole of Somerset?

    ·       It was confirmed that the future governance arrangements were yet to be finalised. The Somerset Waste Partnership model was one of the options being looked at.

    ·       A query was raised as to the impact of the Planning White Paper on these plans and it was confirmed that it was too early to say but this would be something to be monitored.

    ·       It was commented that a lot of Towns and Parish Councils had also declared Climate Emergencies and it would be useful to have a list of those who had done so and how they could work alongside.

    ·       Following on from the recommendation made at Scrutiny around ring-fencing £50,000 of the £500,000 fund for planting trees, a query was raised as to how the figure of £500,000 was arrived at and if this recommendation was adopted would something else be scrapped?

    ·       Concern was raised that the Council needed to have an iterative plan for tree-planting, and specifically stipulating the amount without the due diligence being undertaken on requirement would be counterproductive at this stage.

    ·       It was recognised that the Council could not operate alone on this issue.

    ·       It was stated that Climate Change was the Golden Thread of everything the Council was doing, with recent examples such as the E-Scooter Trial and the Free Trees scheme for Towns and Parish Councils evidence of this.

    ·       The Portfolio Holder thanked Councillors for the robust debate that had taken place at Scrutiny and he had taken on board the comments made.

     

     

    RESOLVED that Executive recommended to Full Council that:-

     

    1.     The Somerset Climate Emergency Strategy is adopted.

    2.     The Carbon Neutrality and Climate Resilience Action Plan is approved.

    3.     A local, multi-agency Climate Emergency Task Force is established to aid delivery and implementation of the Carbon Neutrality and Climate Resilience Action Plan.

    4.     A supplementary “Climate Change Fund” budget of £500,000 is approved within the General Fund 2020/21 Revenue Budget, funded from General Reserves, for the delivery of Somerset West and Taunton priority actions with delegated authority to the Director External Operations and Climate Change / Assistant Director Climate Change, Regulatory Services and Asset Management to agree those priority actions in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Climate Change. Council also be asked to approve the principle that any unspent balance of this Fund at the end of 2020/21 be carried forward to 2021/22 financial year.

     

     

     

41.

Coastal Protection Works Associated with the B3191 pdf icon PDF 256 KB

    This matter is the responsibility of Executive Councillor for Environment, Councillor Sarah Wakefield.

     

    This proposal follows on from the previously approved request that Somerset West and Taunton Council use their status as the Coastal Protection Authority to deliver a scheme on behalf of Somerset County Council.

    Additional documents:

    Minutes:

    The report was introduced by the Executive Councillor Sarah Wakefield, Portfolio Holder for Environmental Services.

     

    During the discussion, the following points were raised:-

    ·       As a Coastal Protection Authority, SWT was expected to bring forward protection schemes for areas designated under the Shoreline Management Plan as ‘Hold the Line’, which this area is entirely.

    ·       The Scrutiny Committee were unable to support the recommendations and instead provided their own statement, which was read to the Committee;

    ·        “Whilst the committee wished to support moves to protect the coastline and coastal communities, the Committee expressed significant concern about the potential for responsibility and long term liability and recommend Executive and Full Council fully understand and request details on the long term liabilities going forward to ensure a full understanding of the longevity of the scheme and mitigate long term liability and risk.”

    ·       In response, Officers clarified that the Council would appoint the designers and contractors as part of the scheme. The designers would help the Council understand the longevity of the scheme. The proposal would be based on an options appraisal and the professional design would provide the answers. The offer on the table was the subject of lengthy negotiations and was considered the best available.

    ·       It was commented that this was a power of the Council and the funding County Council provided.

    ·       The allusion from the Scrutiny comments of this being a bad deal were felt to be unfounded, considering the lengthy negotiations that had taken place and that this was the best deal available.

    ·       It was commented that the existing structure had been there since 1920 and the Environment Agency immediately declared it an emergency and allocated funds to be used.

    ·       This road was a strategic road and the economic impacts of not approving this scheme would potentially be disastrous.

    ·       It was considered that it was the Council’s duty to take on liabilities for the benefit of the people of the area.

    ·       In relation to queries relating to use of private land it was confirmed that there will be a need to use private land and early conversations were being had with the owners who were supportive of the scheme.

    ·       The Chair of Scrutiny sought reassurance over the affordability of it in the long-term, with expectations of liability over the next thirty and forty years. The commuted sum was hoped to be calculated correctly to cover the annual maintenance repair cost.

    ·       The Portfolio Holder amended the wording in her recommendation to insert the word ‘entirely’ into recommendations 1 and 3.

    ·       It was stated that the Council would make it clear in the agreement that SWT was not taking on liability for the B3191 road and the Council would, if the eventual commuted sum is not sufficient over a period of time, seek to return to Somerset County Council, or the relevant authority at that time, to understand their proposals for the road.

     

     

    RESOLVED that Executive supported the following to Full Council:

     

    1.     That Somerset West and Taunton Council agree in principle to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 41.

42.

Access to information - Exclusion of the Press and Public

    During discussion of the following item it may be necessary to pass the following resolution to exclude the press and public having reflected on Article 13 13.02(e) (a presumption in favour of openness) of the Constitution.  This decision may be required because consideration of this matter in public may disclose information falling within one of the descriptions of exempt information in Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act 1972.  The Council will need to decide whether, in all the circumstances of the case, the public interest in maintaining the exemption, outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information. 

    Recommend that under Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972 the public be excluded from the next item of business on the ground that it involves the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraph 3 respectively of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act, namely information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person (including the authority holding that information).

    Additional documents:

    Minutes:

    RESOLVED that under Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972 the public be excluded from the next item of business on the grounds that it involved the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraph 3 respectively of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act, namely information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person (including the authority holding that information).

43.

Confidential Report - Proposed Sale of Land

    This matter is the responsibility of Executive Councillor for Asset Management and Economic Development, Councillor Marcus Kravis.

    Minutes:

    The confidential report was introduced by the Executive Councillor Marcus Kravis, Portfolio Holder for Asset Management and Economic Development.

     

    RESOLVED that the Executive;

     

    1.     Approved the sale of the freehold interest in the property to the Highest Bidder for a commercially confidential sum and agreed to complete the sale by 18th December 2020.

    2.     Approved the sale of the freehold interest in the property to the Highest Bidder for a commercially confidential sum if the deadline above cannot be met.

    3.     Delegated authority to the Interim Assets Manager in consultation with the s151 Officer to agree final terms and complete the sale transaction.