Hart Borough Council Cabinet Meeting

The minutes of 2 November 2023 were confirmed and signed as a correct record. 

Proposed by Cllr Neighbour; Seconded by Cllr Clarke.  Unanimously agreed by all those present at the meeting.

Apologies had been received from Cllr Collins.

No declarations of interest were made.

The Chairman made two announcements:

• A request had been received from Fleet Food Bank to help with storage as theirs was full and space was arranged at the Civic Offices

·       The lease for the former CAB building in Yateley had now been received and would be in place in the new year.

There were no items of public participation.

This report provided an update Cabinet on the draft Cycle & Car Parking in New Development Supplementary Planning Document (SPD) following public consultation and seek agreement to adopt the SPD.

Councillors noted:

• The SPD would allow the Council to insist on car parking standards across all new developments in Hart
• This would replace the guidance currently in effect

Councillors questioned:

• Whether the SPD was similar in detail to the Technical Advice Note (TAN) adopted at the end of 2022.  It was confirmed that the two documents were substantively the same.
• Why there was not a Zone around Winchfield station, similar to those around the other 3 stations in the District.  It was confirmed that this was due to the fact that there was little to no development around Winchfield station and therefore a non-residential zone around that station was not required
• Whether individual Neighbourhood Plans were affected or excluded by the adoption of the SPD.  It was confirmed that the SPD would take precedence.

Proposed by Cllr Cockarill; seconded by Cllr Radley

Councillors debated:

• The potential for rejecting planning applications if the associated car parking did not meet the requirements of the SPD
• That there was limited data available on car ownership of residential flats in town centres, to support any such rejections
• That an increased number of spaces for one bedroom flats had been included in the SPD, to allow for those residences which had more than one vehicle
• The need for any developer to justify any request to deviate from the standards being introduced

Decision

Cabinet unanimously agreed to:

• Adopt the Cycle & Car Parking in New Developments Supplementary Planning Document attached at Appendix 1 for planning and development management purposes, and

• authorise the Executive Director – Place, in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Place, to make minor alterations, clarifications and typographical corrections to the SPD prior to it being published

The Medium-Term Financial Strategy (MTFS) and the process of annual budget setting are significant decisions for Hart District Council. This report presents an interim review of the MTFS and seeks approval for various proposals that require action in the current financial year.

Councillors noted:

• The recommendation and paper was in two parts – one to look at the MTFS, and the second to consider some additional spend requests which were not included in the budget agreed in February 2023
• The two-part motion would be moved as one overarching recommendation
• That the S151 Officer would give a brief update on the Government’s early statement on this year’s settlement policy
• An addition to paragraph 5 of the report was proposed by the Chief Executive:
  • To cover the departure of the interim Development Manager, and to ensure resources were available to procure consultancy to assist the team, a sum of £27,000 be moved from general reserves

The Motion, including the additional request as above, was proposed by Cllr Radley and seconded by Cllr Neighbour.

It was questioned why any saving from the departure of the interim Development Manager was not being used to fund the consultancy.  It was explained that the £27,000 was additional to the 5 months’ salary being saved.

Cabinet members were pleased to note that the Council had the ability to invest in additional services, during a time when some other Councils found themselves in financial difficulty.  It was agreed that this was due to the prudent actions of the Finance Team and the Council as a whole.

The S151 Officer gave a brief update on the Government’s settlement statement.  He reminded Members that whilst the following financial year was looking stable, there was still work to be done on ensuring that the medium term forecast shortfalls were balanced.

It seemed that the Government settlement would be in line with CPI, and there had been confirmation of the council tax cap at 3%.  There would also be another round of new homes bonus, which it was felt Hart would be eligible for.

Decision

Cabinet unanimously:

i.               Noted the interim Medium-Term Financial Strategy.

Approved the budget requests set out in paragraph 5.1

The work programme was considered and amended as follows:

The Heathlands item for January would be correctly allocated to the Portfolio Holder for Communities.

The Planning Local Enforcement Plan would be taken to the March 2024 meeting, as it was to be expanded into a wider report.

The 2024/25 Budget would be correctly allocated to Finance

The Conservation Area Appraisals for Crookham Village and Crondall would be brought to the March 2024 meeting

The Hareshill Community Hall item would be dealt with under a scheme of delegation as an Executive Decision later in December.