Agenda and minutes

Apologies were received from Councillors Francis, Shimbart and Wade.

To receive any declarations of interests from Members.

There were no declarations of interest.

To confirm the minutes of the last meeting held on 13 November 2019.

Proposed by Cllr Satchwell and seconded by Cllr Sceal, the minutes of the previous meeting held on 13 November 2019 were signed and agreed as a correct record.

The Mayor drew Council’s attention to her amended report, which had been published as a supplementary item and superseded the report contained within the agenda.

There were no questions for the Mayor in respect of her published report.

Council to note the following casual change to appointments agreed by the Leader since the last meeting of the Council:

(i)     Operations and Place Shaping Board – Cllr Rennie appointed to a vacant seat.

Council noted the following casual change to committee appointments made by the Leader since the last meeting of Council:

(i)     Operations and Place Shaping Board – Cllr Rennie appointed to a vacant seat.

To receive questions from, and provide answers to, the public, provided they have been submitted in accordance with the requirements of Standing Order 13.4(f).

No public questions had been received under Standing Order 13.4(f)

To consider the following recommendation to Council arising from the meeting of the Cabinet held on 18 December 2019.  The agenda and reports for this meeting can be viewed via the following link:

http://havant.moderngov.co.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=128&MId=10860

(A)         Homelessness and Rough Sleeper Strategy

RECOMMENDED to Council that the Council’s Homelessness and Rough Sleepers Strategy and Action Plan 2019-2024 be adopted.

The Cabinet report, draft Homelessness Strategy and Action Plan are included within this agenda.

The Havant Borough Council Homelessness Review 2018/19 can be viewed via the following link:

https://havant.moderngov.co.uk/documents/s28696/App%20C%20FINALHavant%20homeless%20review%20v10.pdf

(B)       Council Tax Support Scheme 2020/21

RECOMMENDED to Council that the 2019/20 Council Tax Support Scheme is retained for 2020/21 but with the following amendments:

(i)        the Allowances and Premiums used in determining entitlement for working age claims are changed as set out in paragraph 4.3 (i) of the report;

(ii)        the Non-Dependant deductions used in determining entitlement for working age claims are changed as set out in paragraph 4.3 (ii) of the report; and

(iii)       That the necessary amendments are made to the Council Tax Support Scheme document and that it is then published in accordance with Local Government Finance Act 1992 Section 13A(2)

(C)     Council Tax Empty Homes Premium

RECOMMENDED to Council that the level of Empty Homes Premium on dwellings that have been unoccupied for more than two years, be applied as follows:

(i)            From 1 April 2020, 100% premium in addition to the full council tax charge for each dwelling unoccupied and unfurnished between two and five years, and 200% premium for dwellings unoccupied for more than five years;

(ii)          From 1 April 2021, 100% premium in addition to the full council tax charge for each dwelling unoccupied and unfurnished between two and five years, 200% for dwellings unoccupied between five and ten years, and 300% for properties unoccupied for more than ten years; and

(iii)         That in co-ordination with the Private Sector Housing Team, owners of dwellings that would be affected by the above changes are contacted during 2020, to encourage occupation and are informed of the changes to the level of premium.

(A) Homelessness and Rough Sleeper Strategy

Councillor Pike presented a recommendation to Council arising from themeeting of the Cabinet held on 18 December 2019.

Proposed by Councillor Pike and seconded by Councillor Lloyd it was RESOLVED that the Council’s Homelessness and Rough Sleepers Strategy and Action Plan 2019-2024 be adopted.

(B)  Council Tax Support Scheme 2020/21

Councillor Bowerman presented a recommendation to Council arising from themeeting of the Cabinet held on 18 December 2019.

Proposed by Councillor Bowerman and seconded by Councillor Smith it was RESOLVED that the 2019/20 Council Tax Support Scheme is retained for 2020/21 but with the following amendments: 

(i)  the Allowances and Premiums used in determining entitlement for working age claims are changed as set out in paragraph 4.3 (i) of the report;

(ii)  the Non-Dependant deductions used in determining entitlement for working age claims are changed as set out in paragraph 4.3 (ii) of the report; and

(iii) That the necessary amendments are made to the Council Tax Support Scheme document and that it is then published in accordance with Local Government Finance Act 1992 Section 13A(2)

(C)     Council Tax Empty Homes Premium

Councillor Bowerman presented a recommendation to Council arising from themeeting of the Cabinet held on 18 December 2019.

Proposed by Councillor Bowerman and seconded by Councillor Branson it was RESOLVED that the level of Empty Homes Premium on dwellings that have been unoccupied for more than two years, be applied as follows:

(i)      From 1 April 2020, 100% premium in addition to the full council tax charge for each dwelling unoccupied and unfurnished between two and five years, and 200% premium for dwellings unoccupied for more than five years;

(ii)      From 1 April 2021, 100% premium in addition to the full council tax charge for each dwelling unoccupied and unfurnished between two and five years, 200% for dwellings unoccupied between five and ten years, and 300% for properties unoccupied for more than ten years; and

(iii)      That in co-ordination with the Private Sector Housing Team, owners of dwellings that would be affected by the above changes are contacted during 2020, to encourage occupation and are informed of the changes to the level of premium.

The Leader had nothing to add to his published report.

Cllr Bains updated that the Supporting Families Project would be managed by Hampshire County Council from April and she thanked all of the departments who had worked hard to engage with the most troubled families in the Borough.

Cllr Bowerman advised that the training session on Nutrient Neutrality had been videoed and once edited would be available to Councillors to view.

Cllr Pike wished Mr James Clark, Manager and Registrar of Portchester Crematorium well in his retirement.  Since the Crematorium opened in 1958 it had only had three managers. Mr Clark had started his career at Portchester Crematorium in 1983 and became Manager and Registrar in 1989.

(i)                the Leader and Cabinet Leads to answer questions on matters within their respective reports.

(ii)           Chairmen to answer questions on minutes since the last Council meeting

At the invitation of the Mayor, the Cabinet Leads took questions from Councillors in connection with their published reports.

To receive questions from Councillors in accordance with the requirements of Standing Order 23.4(a).

Questions received under Standing Order 23 and their related responses are set out below:

Question 1 from Councillor Davis to Councillor Pike

With the continuous call for more and more housebuilding – can you report how many households in the Borough of Havant pay a “maintenance charge” to maintain their public grass, gardens, play areas, etc?

Response: We do not monitor exactly how many new homes have communal parts and so which pay a “maintenance charge” as we do not monitor the number of new builds that take place in this way. However, there will be a large number of homes which have been in existence for decades which this applies to. It would be impossible to ever be certain over this figure and be resource intensive to investigate the matter.

Question 2 from Councillor Davis to Councillor Pike

What percentage of the whole of the Borough of Havant do these households represent?

Response: This is unknown as the total number of homes is not possible to calculate.

Question 3 from Councillor Davis to Councillor Pike

Do all new building housing estates now have “maintenance fees/charges”?

Response: It is not an absolute necessity. However, for any development with S106 agreements, usually developments of more than 11 new homes, this is standard.

Question 4 from Councillor Davis to Councillor Pike

Can you explain why they pay this “maintenance charge” and pay a full council tax? Should their council tax not be reduced since Norse SE will not be required to maintain their state?

Response:

Maintenance charges are common across the country – this is not something specific to Havant Borough. These charges are payable by property owners to help fund the provision of services and carry out repairs and maintenance on the development the property is part of. It will fund the management and maintenance of common parts such as open space, playgrounds, sewers, drainage systems, roads and street lighting.

These charges arise out of obligations under Section 106 agreements and is often the case for new developments. This particularly applies to larger schemes however can apply to smaller schemes with communal areas, such as a communal hallway in a block of flats.

This started to come forward early in the millennium as Local Authority budgets became increasingly stretched and the additional maintenance of infrastructure in new developments would have exacerbated this, particularly if using non-standard materials. However this is not restricted to infrastructure that would be adopted by local authorities, measures such as sewers are often also managed through maintenance charges.

Nonetheless, it is acknowledged that this could create issues for the future. As such, our Pre-Submission Local Plan includes a specific policy on ‘Future Management and Management Plans’ (IN5). This looks for new infrastructure to be adopted by the relevant body in the first instance. If this is not the case, then the management of that should be set up in best practice way, giving new residents of that development a meaningful voice in the management of it  ...  view the full minutes text for item 51.

To receive urgent questions from Councillors submitted in accordance with the requirements of Standing Order 23.4(b).

No urgent questions had been submitted under Standing Order 23.

No Motions have been received.

No motions had been submitted.

RECOMMENDED that the draft Calendar of Meetings for 2020/21 be approved.

Proposed by Cllr Lowe and seconded by Cllr Davis it was RESOLVED that the draft Calendar of Meetings for 2020/21 be approved.

The Council to receive the minutes of Committees held since the last meeting of the Council:

Five Councils Corporate Services Joint Committee – 28 October 2019

Operations and Place Shaping Board – 28 October 2019

Development Management Committee – 30 October 2019

Business & Commercial Services Board – 12 November 2019

Development Management Committee – 21 November 2019

Governance, Audit and Finance Board – 27 November 2019

Licensing Committee – 3 December 2019

Proposed by Cllr Keast and seconded by Cllr Satchwell it was

RESOLVED that the minutes of Committees held since the last meeting of Council be received.