Agenda, decisions and minutes

To approve and sign the minutes of the meeting held on 7 February 2023.

The minutes of the meeting held on 7 February 2023, were taken as read, approved and signed by the Chair as a correct record.

Councillors are reminded of the need to declare any disclosable pecuniary interests that relate to business on the agenda and which have not already been included in the register of interests, before any discussion takes place on the item. Unless the interest is sensitive, you must also disclose the nature of the interest. In accordance with the Council's Code of Conduct, you must then leave the room and must not participate in any further discussion of the item.  Councillors requiring clarification should seek the advice of the Monitoring Officer prior to the day of the meeting.

No declarations of disclosable pecuniary interests were made.

To receive questions relating to items on the Agenda from members of the public and responses thereto.

Details of questions should be notified to the Corporate Manager Democratic and Civic Support by 10.00am at least three working days prior to the meeting. Further information about speaking at a committee can be found here: Speaking at a Committee

No questions from members of the public were received.

The Leader announced that the Labour Party organiser Eddie Lopez had sadly passed away after a long illness. Mr Lopez was a good friend to all who knew him, and the Leader passed on his thoughts and those of the Executive Members to his family.

To consider the report of the Chief Executive & Growth Director.

Agreed:

RECOMMENDED that Council:-

(1)   note the decision taken by the Chief Executive & Growth Director under delegated powers to appointment two Directors to the Board of Exeter City Living on a temporary basis; and

(2)   note that once a new Shareholder Representative has been identified to replace the Chief Executive & Growth Director, that the Shareholder Representative will undertake a review of Exeter City Living to include a review of progress, governance, future direction and the appointment process for the Managing Director position. The findings of the review, along with any appropriate recommendations will be brought forward for Members’ consideration.

Reason for Decision: As set out in the report.

The Executive received the report which provided information of a decision made by the Shareholder Representative to appoint two new Directors to the Board of Exeter City Living (ECL) under reserved matters through the Management Agreement for Exeter City Living. The appointments were on a temporary basis until 31st December 2023.

Members noted that the report addressed a perceived conflict of interest raised by the external auditor relating to the appointment of the Section 151 Officer and the Monitoring Officer to the Board, and had since stood down from their roles on Board.

The interim Chair of the Board had raised concerns about the ability to make decisions and appointments had therefore been made for a new Development Director and Finance Manager under delegated powers, in consultation with the Council Leader.

RECOMMENDED that Council:-

(1)   note the decision taken by the Chief Executive & Growth Director under delegated powers to appointment two Directors to the Board of Exeter City Living on a temporary basis; and

(2)   note that once a new Shareholder Representative has been identified to replace the Chief Executive & Growth Director, that the Shareholder Representative will undertake a review of Exeter City Living to include a review of progress, governance, future direction and the appointment process for the Managing Director position. The findings of the review, along with any appropriate recommendations will be brought forward for Members’ consideration.

To consider the report of the Director of City Development.

Agreed:

RESOLVED that the draft revised Article 4 Direction (including the Article 4 area plan) attached at Appendix A of the report be approved and the draft revised HMO Supplementary Planning Document (SPD) attached at Appendix B of the report be approved for public consultation.

Reason for Decision: As set out in the report.

The Executive received the report which set out the progress that had been made on reviewing the Article 4 Direction that restricted permitted development rights from dwellings (Use Class C3 of the Town and Country Planning (Use Classes) Order 1987 (as amended)) to Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs) (Use Class C4), together with the related HMO Supplementary Planning Document (SPD).

The Council’s Article 4 Direction had been in place since 2010 which restricted Permitted Development rights for homes converting to HMO’s and the areas covered by the Article 4 Direction had last been reviewed in 2014. The Council had also adopted a Supplementary Planning Document (SPD) in relation to HMOs which set out how planning applications for the conversion of homes to HMOs within the Article 4 area would be determined.

Members noted that a consultant had been recruited to review the Article 4 Direction and SPD, and had produced a report on future options which was outlined in Appendix C of the report. Members also noted that that Option 5 had been discounted and Option 2 was the preferred option for the future of the Direction.

The report sought approval to undertake a consultation on proposals to amend the Article 4 Direction and HMO Supplementary Planning Document in line with the preferred choice for option 2. Consultation was proposed to take place between May and July 2023 and would include information about the alternative options.

Councillor D. Moore, as an opposition group leader, spoke on this item. She raised the following points:-

·       The proposed option highlighted a potential disadvantage, in that the relatively small expansion in the area could reduce the supply of student HMOS’ and impact on rent. She enquired on whether these potential impacts would be monitored.

·       The preferred option in the report suggested that it would help maintain a balance between student and non-student homes for various areas and manage the relevant impacts. However, neither the draft SPD, the Article 4 Direction or Policy C1 of the St. James’s Neighbourhood Plan had defined what the balance would be. Other Council’s had defined how balance would be assessed in respect of individual planning applications and this was an opportunity for the Council to remove any ambiguity by doing the same.

·       It was important to understand the impact that HMO’s would have on an area, especially when combined with purpose built student accommodation and future Co-Living accommodation.

·       City Centre Wards were being let down by the lack of joined up thinking between policies and clarity on these matters, which would continue to cause difficulty for the Planning Committee in determining planning applications.

During the discussion the following points were raised:-

·        the report was welcomed by Members and thanks were given to the Planning Officers and consultants for the work undertaken;

·        HMOs were a concern in the Pennsylvania Ward and an expansion of the Article 4 Direction would be welcomed by residents, who had pushed for this to be considered by the Council;

·        option 2 in the report would  ...  view the full minutes text for item 38.

To consider the report of the Director of City Development.

Agreed:

RESOLVED that delegated authority be granted to the Director of City Development, in consultation with the Council Leader and Portfolio Holder for City Development, to prepare and submit a response to the consultation on the proposed submission version of the Teignbridge Local Plan based on the issues raised in report presented at the meeting.

Reason for Decision: As set out in the report.

The Executive received the report which set out the issues associated with the final consultation draft of the Teignbridge Local Plan in relation to cross-boundary implications for Exeter. Two particular areas of consideration which were close to the edge of the city were Attwells Farm near Exwick and Markham Village near Alphington.

Teignbridge District Council were working on the final draft of their plan, covering the period up to 2040 and were currently consulting on the final draft before it was submitted to the Planning Inspectorate. This was the last opportunity for Exeter City Council to respond to the plan before its submission. A key component of the Teignbridge Plan was their proposed Development Strategy. A significant element of this was on accommodating housing requirements by looking at proposals close to existing facilities and settlements to reduce travel requirements and support Net Zero.

Specific locations for consultation were at Atwell’s Farm, Peamore and Markham Village, which were located on the edge of the city. During previous consultations, the City Council has previously supported the Peamore proposal, but had raised concerns about the proposals for Atwell’s Farm and Markham Village in relation to the impact on landscape, infrastructure, and transport.

Particular reference was made to the emerging Exeter Plan and the Development Strategy, which focused on accommodating the majority of developments on brownfield sites in order to minimise the need to travel, regenerating areas and protecting the landscape setting of the city. It was appropriate for the Council to consider these aims when thinking about the potential impact of developments close to, but outside of Exeter. A formal response to the consultation would be submitted based on the issues raised for Atwell’s Farm and Markham Village.

Councillor D. Moore, as an opposition group leader, spoke on this item. She raised the following points:-

·       It was right for the Council to reject the proposed sites at Markham village and Atwell’s Farm, which would not be sustainable and would be car led housing estates developments, and wasn’t focussed on creating sustainable communities. She supported the reason for rejecting the proposals but considered that the report should also highlight that the areas were important agricultural land.

·       The Peamore and West Exe sites made up 46% of the Teignbridge proposed sites. The Council needed to look closer at the areas, such as Peamore, which had been identified as having a high impact on the Exeter air quality management area. The area was remote from local services and facilities and would require substantial investment to create paths for walking, wheeling and cycling.

·       The Teignbridge documentation stated that the major roads surrounding the site currently provided natural barriers to the expansion of Exeter and breaching these would have landscape implications. New communities would look to the city for amenities but would feel out of reach due to the natural barriers and would become car led developments.

·       The £50 million grant referred to in the report was focussed primarily on new junctions and roads and the Council needed  ...  view the full minutes text for item 39.

To nominate the Lord Mayor Elect and the Deputy Lord Mayor Elect for the 2023/24 Municipal Year.

Agreed:

RECOMMENDED to Council that Councillor K. Mitchell be nominated as Lord Mayor Elect for the 2023/24 Municipal Year and that Councillor Read be nominated as the Deputy Lord Mayor Elect for the 2023/24 Municipal Year.

Reason for Decision: As set out at the meeting.

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The Leader proposed, and the Deputy Leader & Portfolio Holder for Arts & Culture and Corporate Services seconded, that Councillor K. Mitchell be nominated as Lord Mayor Elect for the 2023/24 Municipal Council year, and Councillor Read be nominated as the Deputy Lord Mayor Elect for the 2023/24 Municipal Year.

Councillor K. Mitchell thanked Members for his nomination and highlighted that his term would also coincide with the 75^th Anniversary year of the NHS.

RECOMMENDED to Council that Councillor K. Mitchell be nominated as Lord Mayor Elect for the 2023/24 Municipal Year and that Councillor Read be nominated as the Deputy Lord Mayor Elect for the 2023/24 Municipal Year.