MINUTES OF THE COUNCIL OF THE BOROUGH OF HARROGATE HELD AT THE CIVIC CENTRE, HARROGATE ON WEDNESDAY, 6 MARCH 2019 (FROM 5.30 PM – 7.31 PM) PRESENT: Councillor Bernard Bateman, MBE in the Chair. Councillor Margaret Atkinson, Councillor Chris Aldred, Councillor Philip Broadbank, Councillor Nick Brown, Councillor Rebecca Burnett, Councillor Mike Chambers, MBE, Councillor Trevor Chapman, Councillor Jim Clark, Councillor Richard Cooper, Councillor Ed Darling, Councillor John Ennis, Councillor Michael Harrison, Councillor Paul Haslam, Councillor Sid Hawke, Councillor Phil Ireland, Councillor Steven Jackson, Councillor Sue Lumby, Councillor Stanley Lumley, Councillor John Mann, Councillor Pat Marsh, Councillor Stuart Martin, MBE, Councillor Pauline McHardy, Councillor Samantha Mearns, Councillor Zoe Metcalfe, Councillor Ann Myatt, Councillor Victoria Oldham, Councillor Alex Raubitschek, Councillor Matt Scott, Councillor Nigel Simms, Councillor Graham Swift, Councillor Norman Waller, Councillor Tom Watson, Councillor Matthew Webber, Councillor Christine Willoughby and Councillor Robert Windass. Late Arrivals: XXX Early Departures: XXX 76 – APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE: Apologies for absence had been received from Councillors Sam Gibbs, Nigel Middlemass, Tim Myatt and Andy Paraskos. 77 – URGENT BUSINESS: There was no urgent business. 78 – DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST: Councillor Rebecca Burnett declared an interest in respect of Minute 87/18(01) on the basis that she was employed by Transdev and left the room during the debate and vote on the item. 79 – EXEMPT INFORMATION: There was no exempt information. 80 – MINUTES: Moved by Councillor Richard Cooper Seconded by Councillor Graham Swift and RESOLVED: That the Minutes of the meeting of the Council held on 13 February 2019 be approved as a correct record and signed by the Chair. 81 – COMMUNICATIONS: 01. Taekwondo Championships: The Mayor welcomed Mr Kambiz Ali of the K R Ali Taekwondo Academy to the meeting. The Mayor thanked Mr Ali for his work on the Taekwondo Championships held at the weekend in Harrogate which had 1 brought many visitors to the town. 02. Harrogate Town Football Club: The Mayor referred to Harrogate Town Football Club and thanked them for progressing well in the league which had resulted in an increase in visitors to the town. 03. Raising of the Commonwealth Flag: The Mayor advised that in line with previous year’s practice the Commonwealth flag would be raised at the Civic Centre on Monday 11 March. 04. The Army Foundation College: The Mayor advised that the Army Foundation College had indicated its intention to exercise its right to march through Harrogate town. There would be a Freedom Parade on the morning of Sunday 19 May involving approximately 600 soldiers. 05. Freedom Weekend: The Mayor further announced that the weekend of 18 – 20 May 2019 would be a ‘Freedom weekend’ with a concert with the Tewit Band on Friday, a Military Band on Saturday and the Freedom Parade on Sunday. 06. St George’s Day Dinner: The Mayor advised that arrangements were being made for a St George’s Day dinner. 82 – PUBLIC ARRANGEMENTS - PETITIONS: No petitions had been received. 83 – PUBLIC ARRANGEMENTS - QUESTIONS: The Mayor advised that he had received notification of one public question under Standing Order 27 and he invited the questioner to step forward and ask his question. Question to the Leader from Mr Peter Lilley I want to ask Coun Cooper a question in relation to the seriously under-performing Harrogate Convention Centre which operates under his chairmanship. In particular the recent decision to create a temporary role for the outgoing HCC director Simon Kent. Mr Kent’s new post, which I’m assuming wasn’t openly advertised, appears to comprise a curious collection of responsibilities including leading the Council’s commercial strategy. Since it’s been under Mr Kent’s leadership that the HCC has consistently failed to meet its financial objectives, this does seem a rather odd choice – and especially since he will only hold this role for seven months. As for one of his other responsibilities, developing a new five-year destination management strategy for the district, it seems equally strange to have assigned this role to someone on such a short-term contract. Besides, one would have thought it was the responsibility of Coun Lumley and the Board and CEO of VisitHarrogate to develop such a strategy. 2 So can you provide some more detail please about Mr Kent’s new role and how you justify paying both him and his successor, Paula Lorimer, a pro-rata salary of nearly £100,000 a year at the very time when the Council is actively considering axing some of its lowest-paid staff? Response: It is disingenuous to refer to HCC as seriously underperforming. HCC brings £50m to the local economy, supports thousands of jobs, and ensures the town remains lively and vibrant with many independent shops. I refer Members to a statement the Council issued on 14 January which featured in the Harrogate Advertiser on 19 January. The statement answers the questions raised. 84 – ACCOUNTABILITY OF THE EXECUTIVE AND COMMITTEE CHAIRS: The Mayor advised that in accordance with Standing Order 12(9) seven written questions had been received which would, in accordance with the Standing Order, be dealt with as the first questions under this item. He would then invite verbal questions of the Executive Members and Committee Chairs from other Members of the Council. Question to the Cabinet Member for Planning from Councillor Nick Brown It has been the practice of the Planning Department to promptly publish, quarterly, Housing Land Supply figures. In keeping with this excellent transparency could you please inform me what the 5 year Housing Land Supply figure is for the quarter ending December 31st 2018 and at the same time, as Planning Officers in some of their Planning Application Reports to the Planning Committee often refer to a "marginal" Housing Land Supply figure as a reason for approval, can you also inform me, because as I understand it actual Council Members formulate policy in this Council, what your definition is of a " marginal" 5 year Housing Land Supply and at what point is a figure over 5 years not considered "marginal" ? Response: Thank you for your question. In answering I'll reference an email conversation Councillor Brown and I had on 3rd February during which I answered the first part of his question. We are required to update the five year land supply annually and the latest update of September 2018 has been deemed sufficiently recent by the Local Plan inspector for his purposes and for decision making. I have most recently provided an update to members quarterly, even though I don't have to do so. Due to the intense workload of the planning policy team over the period of the local plan examination, the next update will be provided after all the hearings have taken place. Although the policy team are now engaged with the work that has been prescribed by the inspector at the hearings, I have asked for the calculation to be done. I plan to 3 update members with a new five year land supply calculation next month. In answer to the second part of Councillor Brown's question - since our September 2018 figure has been adjusted from 5.18 years to 5.56 years following the downwards adjustment of our housing need figure brought out through the Local Plan inspection, we are no longer referring to our five year land supply as marginal. This is consistent with case evidence from appeal decisions and that it the basis on which I have made the change. Planning committee members are aware of what this means for decision making and that advice can be seen in committee reports. Question to the Cabinet Member for Housing and Safer Communities from Councillor Matthew Webber Why are HBC tenants of the maisonettes on Newby Crescent not allowed to maintain and enhance their gardens whilst recent HBC tenants newsletters encourage the same residents to maintain their gardens? Response: Thank you for your question. The communal area outside the maisonettes on Newby Crescent was designed to be open space and is maintained by the Parks team. It would be prohibitively expensive to create private gardens by fencing off gardens for the tenants that want them. This is in terms of both the fencing and the additional cost to Parks of maintenance. Therefore it would not be possible to agree to tenants adding their own fences due to both the visual impact and the additional cost of gardening as stated above. Councillor Webber then asked a supplementary question and referred to changes in housing policy since the maisonettes had been built in the 1970’s. Many of the properties were now privately owned and the minimum age limit reduced meaning many were now occupied by families, not elderly people. Councillor Webber asked if gardens could be looked at again as it was something the residents wanted. The Cabinet Member agreed to ask officers to consider the matter. Question to the Cabinet Member for Housing and Safer Communities from Councillor Christine Willoughby Many areas of the district are blighted by empty properties which could be brought back into use as homes. So can the Cabinet Member for Housing please tell council when the new Empty Homes Officer will take up their post? Response: Thank you for your question, though I take issue with the suggestion that the area is blighted by empty homes. The Council has a robust policy in place for dealing with empty homes and bringing them back into use, including a compulsory purchase order in Councillor Willoughby’s own ward. The new Empty Homes Officer, James Tuck, starts the week commencing 11th March 2019. 4 Question to the Cabinet Member for Environment, Waste Reduction and Recycling from Councillor Philip Broadbank.