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Mr S Hearse Chief Executive Torridge District Council Riverbank House Bideford Devon EX39 2QG DX 53606 BIDEFORD Tel : Bideford (01237) 428700 Date: 23 October 2020 FULL COUNCIL MEETING On: Monday 2 November 2020 At: 6.30 pm Venue: Virtual Meeting via Zoom with Public Access via YouTube https://tinyurl.com/TorridgeYouTube - https://tinyurl.com/TorridgeYouTube Temporary measures during the Coronavirus Pandemic: Members of the public attending meetings or taking part in the public forum are advised that all Council meetings taking place during the Covid-19 Pandemic will be filmed for live or subsequent broadcast via the YouTube channel - https://tinyurl.com/TorridgeYouTube NOTICE OF MEETING You are hereby summoned to the Meeting of the District Council at the aforementioned date and time Chief Executive To: Councillor D Brenton (Chair) Councillor P Christie (Vice-Chair) Councillors: R Boughton, C Bright, M Brown, D Bushby, M Clarke, C Cottle- Hunkin, R Craigie, A Dart, L Ford, J Gubb, P Hackett, P Hames, S Harding, C Hawkins, K Hepple, R Hicks, C Hodson, D Hurley, J Hutchings, T Inch, K James, D Jones, S Langford, N Laws, C Leather, R Lock, J Manley, D McGeough, J McKenzie, S Newton, P Pennington, G Rossi, P Watson and R Wiseman Members are requested to turn off their mobile phones for the duration of the meeting P R A Y E R S For those who wish to participate – Prayers will be held at 6.25 pm AGENDA PART I - (OPEN SESSION) 1. Apologies For Absence To receive apologies for absence from the meeting 2. Council Minutes (Pages 4 - 23) Confirmation of the Minutes of the Meeting of the Council held on 5th October 2020. 3. Public Contributions 15 minute period for public contributions (The deadline for registering to speak is by 2pm Thursday 29th October 2020. To register please email [email protected]). 4. Declarations of interest Members with interests to declare should refer to the Agenda item and describe the nature of their interest when the item is being discussed. 5. Agreement of Agenda Items Part I and II 6. To consider correspondence or other business especially brought forward by the direction of the Chair 7. T o answer questions submitted under Procedural Rule A9 8. Covenant for the hotel site Westward Ho! (Pages 24 - 41) To receive the report of the Senior Solicitor & Monitoring Officer 9. Great Torrington Neighbourhood Plan (Pages 42 - 142) To receive the report of the Planning & Economy Manager 10. Northern Devon Destination Management Organisation (Pages 143 - 149) To receive the report of the Planning & Economy Manager 11. Cycle of Committee Meetings 2021/22 (Pages 150 - 152) To receive the report of the Chief Executive 12. Notices of Motion 13. Petitions To receive petitions (if any) 14. Exclusion of Public The Chair to move: “That the public be excluded from the remainder of the meeting because of the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972” 15. PART II - (CLOSED SESSION) Items which may be taken in the absence of the public and press on the grounds that exempt information may be disclosed. 16. Major Projects Update To receive a verbal update from the Chief Executive 17. Confirmation of Chief Officers (Pages 153 - 156) To receive the report of the Leader of the Council & Chief Executive Meeting Organiser: Democratic Services Agenda Item 2 1 TORRIDGE DISTRICT COUNCIL FULL COUNCIL MEETING Remote meeting via Zoom Monday, 5 October 2020 - 6.30 pm PRESENT Councillor D Brenton (Chair) Councillor P Christie (Vice-Chair) Councillors R Boughton, C Bright, M Brown, D Bushby, M Clarke, C Cottle-Hunkin, R Craigie, A Dart, J Gubb, P Hackett, P Hames, S Harding, C Hawkins, R Hicks, C Hodson, D Hurley, J Hutchings, T Inch, K James, D Jones, S Langford, N Laws, C Leather, R Lock, J Manley, D McGeough, J McKenzie, S Newton, P Pennington, G Rossi, P Watson and R Wiseman ALSO PRESENT S Hearse - Chief Executive S Dorey - Senior Solicitor & Monitoring Officer S Kearney - Planning & Economy Manager D Heyes - Interim S151 Officer I Rowland - Senior Planning Policy Officer T Vanstone - Senior Electoral & Democratic Services Officer H Roper - Service Improvement Officer K Brown - Democratic Services Officer S Cawsey - Democratic Services Officer M Richards - Democratic Services Officer j McKenna Cornwall Council 43. APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Ford and Hepple. 44. COUNCIL MINUTES It was moved by the Chair, seconded by Councillor Hackett and - Resolved: That the minutes of the meeting held on 10 August be confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chair. A recorded vote was taken. Page 4 2 COUNCILLOR FOR AGAINST ABSTAIN BOUGHTON, R X BRENTON, D G X BRIGHT, C X BROWN, M X BUSHBY, D X CHRISTIE, P S X CLARKE, M X COTTLE-HUNKIN C X CRAIGIE, R X DART, A L X FORD, L GUBB, J X HACKETT, P J W X HAMES, P X HARDING, S X HAWKINS, C X HEPPLE, K HICKS, R H X HODSON, C X HURLEY, D X HUTCHINGS, J X INCH, A T X JAMES, K J X JONES, D X LANGFORD, S X LAWS, N X LEATHER, C X LOCK, R A X McGEOUGH, D A D X McKENZIE, J X MANLEY, J X NEWTON, S X PENNINGTON, P W X ROSSI, G X WATSON, P X WISEMAN, R X Page 5 3 (Vote: For 30, Abstentions 4) Matters Arising Minute No 2 – Matters Arising (Meeting 24 February 2020) Councillor Hames asked when the Special Council meeting to discuss the Local Plan will be held. The Chief Executive confirmed that a couple of dates were being considered for a number of special council meetings. The one being considered for the meeting for responding to the planning reforms white paper will be before the consultation closing date (23 October), on either October 19 or 26 October. Minute 38 Notices of Motion – from Councillor Hames: Affordable Housing Councillor Hames sought confirmation of when the Notice of Motion will go to Community & Resources. The Chief Executive explained that this item is a big part of the Strategic Plan, which was to be discussed later in the meeting. Affordable housing will form part of the action plan arising from the Strategic Plan. A report will be brought forward. However, the piece of work was quite extensive and complicated and, requiring a specialised skillset in terms of setting up a housing companies or building houses for example, could not be wholly completed by officers within the authority. Because of the wider ramifications, the report will need to be considered by Full Council. Once Members have considered the Strategic Plan and if adopted, the action plan will be drawn up based on those items Members wished to prioritise. 45. PUBLIC CONTRIBUTIONS Councillor David Chalmers, Mayor of Northam Councillor Chalmers addressed the Council on the Strategic Plan. Northam Town Council wanted to ensure that Northam, as the 2nd largest town in Torridge, by population, was included in the Strategic Plan and for it to be recognised that the town, in terms of tourism and employment, was a significant player in the district. This was particularly important when Torridge was looking at investment and support for businesses across Torridge. Mr Laurence Shelley Mr Shelly spoke on the subject of the planning system, in particular, about sustainable development. He had concerns about developments in Northam and Westward Ho! which demonstrated no model of sustainability; which did not meet the needs of residents and did not address future environmental challenges. Mr Shelley referred to the Torridge Housing Needs Assessment carried out 8 years ago. He cited Daddon Hill as an example of a development which did not address the findings of the Torridge Housing Needs Assessment. This particular Page 6 4 development did not include any bungalows to accommodate the aged group or those with mobility needs. He called for an up to date Housing Needs Assessment. The speaker expressed the opinion that the affordable housing requirement should be set at 30%. He felt schools and road infrastructure were regularly failing to meet the timely provision requirements as set out in Local Plan Policy SD23. With regard to the environmental element of the agreed developments, Mr Shelley spoke of car dependency if and when the school is eventually built; the lack of shops within walking distance and little surety of appropriate transport. Furthermore, there was no requirement for solar panels. He did not feel this was compatible with the move towards a low carbon economy. Mr Shelley concluded by talking about non-material aspects of planning and urged Councillors to think about the cumulative impact of the decisions taken. He stated that people felt disconnected with the democratic process and often believed there was no point in objecting. He made a plea that sustainability be put back at the forefront of planning considerations. Written Statements in support of Councillor Cottle-Hunkin’s Notice of Motion regarding the North Devon Hospital Maternity Unit The Chair agreed that, contrary to normal proceedings and in view of the personal nature of the contribution, an anonymous statement would, on this occasion, be heard. In addition to this statement, contributions had been received from Bryony McDonald, Jodie Tuttiett, Chloe Turner, Keeley Hewett and Hollie Sturman. The Chief Executive read out the statements relating individual experiences and emotions in light of attending scans and other maternity milestones alone without the support of a partner/family member. All statements confirmed their support for Councillor Cottle-Hunkin’s Notice of Motion. 46. DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST Members were reminded that declarations of interest should be made as and when the specific agenda item to which they related was under discussion.

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