LUTON/DUNSTABLE/HOUGHTON REGIS AND LEIGHTON LINSLADE GROWTH AREA JOINT PLANNING AND TRANSPORTATION COMMITTEE CONSTITUTION AND TERMS OF REFERENCE

CONSTITUTION

1. The joint Committee will have responsibility for all development planning (except minerals and waste) and transportation planning1 work of the local authorities in the “designated area”. Initially, the “designated area” will be the whole of the administrative areas of Luton Borough Council and South Bedfordshire District Council.

2. Each of the Constituent Authorities (Bedfordshire County Council, South Bedfordshire District Council and Luton Borough Council) shall appoint nominated Members (being elected members of the Council of the Constituent Authority) as members of the Joint Committee.

3. The membership of the Joint Committee is 6 Councillors from Luton Borough Council, 4 from South Bedfordshire District Council and 2 from Bedfordshire County Council.

4. Each of the Constituent Authorities shall appoint Members (being elected members of the Council of Constituent Authority) as a named substitute to their nominated Members of the Joint Committee. The Members appointed as a named substitute shall have full voting rights.

5. Each Constituent Authority Member shall have one vote. This shall be exercised by the Members who are an elected member of the Council. In the absence of that Member, it shall be exercised by the named substitute who is an elected member of the Council.

1 Co-ordination of existing transportation policies and programmes also initiation, preparation, adoption and review of a Local Transport Plan for the designated area. The Joint Committee will not make decisions on the major transport schemes already effectively funded and committed through LTP1 and the submitted LTP2, unless the Joint Committee is unanimous in a view that circumstances have changed in such a way as to necessitate reconsideration of the content of the LTP in respect of those schemes. The relevant major schemes are Translink Phase 1 (not including extension plans), East Luton Corridor Road Scheme and Luton Town Centre Improvements.

5/6 6. Each Constituent Authority Member of the Joint Committee shall serve upon the Joint Committee for as long as he or she is appointed to the Joint Committee by the relevant Constituent Authority but a Member shall cease to be a Member of the Joint Committee if he or she ceases to be a Member of the Council of the Constituent Authority appointing him or her.

7. Any casual vacancies howsoever arising shall be filled by the Constituent Authority from which the vacancy arises by informing by notice each of the other Constituent Authorities.

8. The Joint Committee shall appoint one of its Constituent Authority Members as Chairman and one as the Vice-Chairman, with re-election at the start of each municipal year.

9. The Joint Committee shall meet quarterly.

10. The Secretary may call additional meetings by providing at least 5 clear days’ notice to Members of the Joint Committee, for the purposes of resolving urgent matters arising between the quarterly meetings of the Joint Committee.

11. Meetings of the Joint Committee shall be rotated between locations in Luton and South Bedfordshire.

12. The role of Secretary to be alternated between South Bedfordshire District Council and Luton Borough Council. Meetings shall be called by the Secretary.

13. A meeting of the Joint Committee shall require a quorum of 7 of its Constituent Authority membership.

14. Subject to the provisions of any enactment, all questions coming or arising before the Joint Committee shall be decided by a majority of the Constituent Authority Members of the Joint Committee present and voting thereon. Subject to the provisions of any enactment, in the case of an equality of votes the Chairman shall not exercise a casting vote.

15. The Joint Committee may invite other local authorities and organisations to be Co-opted Members of the Joint Committee.

16. Each of the these bodies shall be entitled to appoint one person as a Co-opted Member of the Joint Committee.

17. Co-opted Members shall have no right to vote on questions coming or arising before the Joint Committee.

18. The Joint Committee may appoint sub-committees.

19. Meetings of the Joint Committee will be open to the public except to the extent that they are excluded under paragraph 20.

5/7 20. The public shall be excluded from a meeting of the Joint Committee during an item of business whenever it is likely, in view of the nature of the business to be transacted or the nature of the proceedings, that, if members of the public were present during that item, confidential information as defined in s.100A(3) of the Local Government Act 1972 or exempt information as defined in s.1001 of the Local Government Act 1972 would be disclosed to them.

21. The Joint Committee shall have the right to exclude Co-opted Members from any meeting or part of a meeting from which the public is excluded.

22. Scrutiny will be the responsibility of each individual Constituent Authority.

23. The Joint Committee will keep its constitution under review in respect of the “designated area” and the local authorities having full membership.

24. For any issues not covered by the above clauses, reference will be made to the model clauses set out by ODPM

Terms of Reference

The Joint Committee will act for the constituent Councils, with full delegation of Executive/Council powers, in the following matters within the “designated area”:

• Preparation, approval/adoption and maintenance of a Local Development Scheme and Local Development Documents for the designated area

• Preparation, approval/adoption and maintenance of a Local Transport Plan1 for the designated area

• Creating appropriate linkages between the Local Development Documents and the Local Transport Plan

• To oversee the consultation and liaison arrangements needed in respect of the Joint Committee’s functions and to co ordinate with Local Strategic Partnership and Community planning activities (note involvement of co-opted bodies in the Joint Committee to facilitate this)

• To oversee the resources, budget and work programme for all joint technical work, including appointment of consultants and the establishment, and steering of any Joint Technical Unit or other officer working arrangement established by the constituent authorities2.

1 As previous note on first page. 2 The Joint Committee will not be responsible for development control decisions or transport scheme detailed design and implementation decisions. Decision making on these matters will rest with the Committees, or the established officer delegated powers, of the Councils until such time as a local delivery body is established, when the arrangements will be reviewed.

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