Agenda item

Councillor Lewis Strange, Ward Member for the Kelsey Wold Ward, submitted the following question to the meeting: -

1)        Question to Chairman of Council, from Councillor Lewis Strange, Ward Member for the Kelsey Wold Ward.

“I am asking you to place before the relevant committee for discussion as to whether at a plans and regulation committee (Planning Committee), it is a step too far in directing non Planning Committee Members who have supported or objected to an application to leave the room.

I can assure you those from North Kelsey, who were present on the evening, were amazed when that happened to me.

Chairman during the 18 years, I have served the Kelsey Wold Ward,  this has not been deemed necessary, and it now must raise questions as to why  it is thought to be necessary now. I am not alone in asking who was responsible for this political in- correctness.

I for one have every confidence in the Chairman to keep order, as he does at the County Council where this heavy-handed ruling does not take place.

Thank you.”

The Chairman of the Governance and Audit Committee, Councillor John McNeill, responded as follows: -

“Thank you for your question Councillor Strange.

You may recall that this Council decided to change the procedure at Annual Council earlier this year.  The new procedure extended to all Members the existing practice of Planning Committee Members leaving the room after speaking about an application in their ward, which has been the case for planning members for a number of years.

The Monitoring Officer’s report advised that, and I quote;

 “it is important that the public perception of influence is safeguarded against regardless of whether the speaker is a Planning Committee Member (acting in ward councillor duty) or a general Member of WLDC, particularly when that Councillor is a senior Member of the Council. This amendment is a response to complaints which have been received.”

Two complaints were received in 2018/19 regarding concerns about the potential undue influence of members remaining in the room while a decision was made.  Understandably, to combat the unequal treatment of those who are members of the committee and those who are not, it was decided to make the process uniform for all members.

I am sorry for the amazement of those from North Kelsey when you were asked to leave the room, but I suspect that this could have been lessened by better communication of committee procedure; something that we are actively working on.

There will be an opportunity for all Members to provide feedback on how the Constitution, including the rules around how committee meetings operate, early in the New Year as the Governance and Audit Committee will be considering the Annual Constitution Review at our meeting on 14th April 2020, ahead of Annual Council.  I would therefore encourage all Members to fully engage with this process, especially where there are any areas of concern or frustration, whether regarding this particular issue or any other.

Councillor Strange, please accept my assurance that I will work with the Monitoring Officer to ensure that this matter and the range of possible alternatives to safeguard the planning process from undue influence are considered during the forthcoming review.”

Having heard the response, the questioner re-iterated his position but thanked the Governance and Audit Committee Chairman for his offer to further review this practice.