Issue - meetings

Councillor J C Stilts referred to the recent problems with the payment machines in Butt Lane and White Horse Lane car parks and asking the Leader of the Council to assure the Council that this would be looked at by the Car Parking Working Group. In response, the Leader assured Members that this in terms of the reliability would be looked at by both Officers and the Working Group, especially in light of the issues caused when the machines went down over the weekend.

Councillor M G Bassenger asked the Leader if in light of the decision made earlier in this meeting whether the Council will have to review all its meetings with the NHS including the Health, Overview and Scrutiny Committee and Trust meetings. In response the Leader advised that he had messaged the Corporate Leadership Team regarding this and as a result of the earlier decision the Council would have to unpick every NHS meeting that it attends and if necessary, not attend those meetings.

Councillor A S Fluker asked the Leader of the Council if he would join him in thanking Mrs Longman for the enormous amount of work she had put into the Central Area Master Plan and the design code and note the importance of having local officers involved in the LDP review. He continued referring to a recent meeting of the Planning Policy Working Group where Members were asked to agree policy guidelines with regards to gypsy travelers and travelling showman and the potential of where these new site locations would be. Councillor Fluker asked the Leader if he agreed with him and rather than hold non-decision-making member briefings an update on the Local Plan review was brought to the Council as a matter of urgently and for the benefit of all Members so that they could look at the spatial planning, Healer and the call for sites. In response the Leader of the Council advised that he had requested briefings for all Members of the Council on the Local Plan as it was crucial to ensure that all Members were informed, and this was to be scheduled in an evening within the next month. If after this if Members felt there was the need and a decision was required a report could be brought forward to the Council.