Agenda and minutes

To agree the minutes of the previous meeting.

Cllr Riddick referred to those Cllrs marked as ‘present’ at the previous meeting and noted that Cllr Barrett & Cllr Ransley are marked as present but in item 2 (apologies for absence) it was noted they had submitted their apologies. 

The minutes from the meeting of 1^st December 2020 were agreed by the members present (subject to the above correction) to be signed by the Chairman at the next available opportunity.

To receive any apologies for absence.

Apologies for absence were received from Cllr Hearn. 

Cllr Johnson was not present.

To receive any declarations of interest.

There were no declarations of interest.

Mr Brian Kazer addressed the committee and asked;

Re agenda item 6, the final background paper listed is the draft Dacorum Infrastructure Delivery Plan (IDP) dated November 2020. Noting that is the same month as the draft Emerging Local Plan and that the IDP is a major part of the Plan, may I ask for the draft Infrastructure Delivery Plan to be prominently included on the Local Plan webpage together with its closing date for comments and a direct link to a comments document on the IDP. Whilst on the subject of consultation comments, can I ask that the access to the Local Plan comments questions be made far, far simpler than it is at present. It needs a direct link to the comments form, rather than what currently requires a 14 step process."

JDoe advised there is a separate link on the web page that will bring up all the background documents, including IDP.  There are also accompanying costing schedules.  JDoe advised that he would ask his colleagues to provide Member Support with a link to be sent to Mr Kazer.

None

JDoe addressed the committee and introduced colleagues accompanying him this evening; Pennie Rayner from the Strategic Planning Team and Elizabeth Griffiths who is the new S106 Officer.

JDoe took members through the report and apologised for the late circulation of the appendices which were circulated to committee by email earlier that evening; 2 single page documents breaking down S106 receipts and a listing of  CIL receipts collected in the last year.

Cllr Silwal referred to the administration costs in 2018-19 of £105k and those in 2019-20 of £140k, asking; why there is such a difference. 

JDoe responded that the figures represent 5% of the total funds received in that year, adding that the same applies to neighbourhood  funds. They are allocated as a percentage of the total received. JDoe advised that the Council has a total staff of 3 working on CIL and S106 and those staff are paid directly from these funds.

Cllr Silwall asked; how CIL is calculated.

JDoe responded that it is set out in the CIL charging schedules and it is calculated on floor area.  The base fee, as an example, for residential is set at £100 per sqm of floor space developed.  A typical 3 bed house might be approx. 100sqm so you would make a contribution of approx. £10k based on that indexed figure.  Rates vary across the Borough where we have 3 levels, the highest being in Berkhamsted where development opportunities and viability are higher.  There are different rates for different uses.  There are some exemptions, such as affordable housing.  It is only the net floor space gain that CIL is paid on.  CIL charging schedule is something that is kept under constant review.

Cllr Birnie asked if it is the case that instead of cash, developers can offer land against CIL.

JDoe agreed that there is a benefit in kind option.

Cllr Stevens returned to pg 11/12 and referred to the table regarding issuing funds, asking; if this allocation is taken only from CIL raised in Hemel Hempstead.

JDoe responded that the table shows the allocations agreed in 2016 based on the priorities the Council had at the time.  It is for the Council to revise that over time if deemed necessary.  CIL is entirely un-ringfenced, the Council can decide how it divides up payments across the Borough. 

Cllr Timmis referred to the 5% & 15% allocations and asked whether these are fixed. She commented that CIL would suggest that this is a levy to benefit the local area but in fact it is a tax that the Council can use wherever they wish and asked, as it ringfenced for infrastructure, whether that is something Members can scrutinise.

JDoe responded that the percentages are fixed in law.  We are required to hand out the 15% to the specific Town or Parish Council.  Otherwise, the Borough Council is the determining authority on how CIL is spent.  The Council agreed a protocol that it would engage with service providers to determine where CIL is  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

Cllr Birnie reiterated to the committee the role of the OSC committees.  He encouraged committee members to ensure they put on the work programme items that they want to consider and reminded members that they could email him at any time if there was any topic that they wished to add.

Cllr Timmis asked if there would be an opportunity to scrutinise the consultation responses to the Local Plan.

Cllr Sutton agreed that the results would be tabulated for scrutiny and confirmed that as soon as the consultation is complete it will come to this committee.

JDoe also stressed the importance of looking at the results of the consultation including a complete summary of the public responses which officers will prepare for the committee.

Cllr Birnie stressed the importance of being allowed sufficient time to fully scrutinise these results prior to the draft New Local Plan going to Cabinet.

Cllr Timmis referred to water and how it will be provided and said it would be interesting for the committee to hear from the water board how they intend to maintain supplies.

Cllr Ransley suggested sewage disposal should also be added.

Cllr Stevens referred to the Climate Emergency and asked for a report on prospective electric vehicle charging installations and possible additions to the Infrastructure Delivery Plan.

Cllr Hobson suggested having an enquiry into where plastic goes and also suggested a review of litter strategy.  The Cllr confirmed she would put the request for the item in writing to the Chair by email.

Cllr Anderson referred to a report on waste that is due to come to committee soon.

Cllr Beauchamp referred to the River Gade in Gadgebridge Park and the Environment Agency’s aspirations to re-route it, suggesting this as something this committee might want to consider.

Cllr Anderson commented that there is a lot to this matter and suggested Members might want to schedule a review of the project in the coming months as and when things develop.

Cllr McDowell commented that he feels the committee should be scrutinising the number of houses we are being asked to build within the Local Plan and would like to suggest inviting a Minister to committee for scrutiny of the numbers.

Cllr Anderson suggested also inviting opposition spokespersons.

JDoe suggested deferring the Hemel Garden Communities item from March to later in the year to make room for a call-in item.  JDoe will email Member Support to confirm