Agenda, decisions and minutes

To take any questions from members of the the Public

Please note:  Members of the Public are requested to inform the Democratic Servicers Officer before the meeting begins if they wish to ask a verbal question to the Committee.

No questions were asked or had been submitted by members of the public.

No questions were asked or had been submitted by members of the public.

Members are asked to declare the existence and nature of any Disclosable Pecuniary Interests in respect of any item of business to be considered at the meeting.

No declarations of interest were made by Councillors regarding items on the Agenda.

No declarations of interest were made by Councillors regarding items on the Agenda.

The Committee is asked to confirm as a true record the Minutes of the Meeting of the Committee held on 7 December, 2016 (attached) and to authorise the Chairman to sign them.

The Minutes of the meeting held on 7 December 2016 were agreed as a true record and signed by Chairman.

The Minutes of the meeting held on 7 December 2016 were agreed as a true record and signed by Chairman.

This report considers two petitions received regarding taxi rank provision in Epsom Town Centre, in the context of proposals to relocate a taxi rank as part of the Plan E Town Centre Highway and Public Realm Improvement Scheme.

The Committee:

(1)            Noted the petitions

(2)            Agreed that representations contained in the petitions be taken into account prior to any decision being made about whether to re-locate the taxi rank.

The Committee was informed that as part of Surrey County Council’s Plan E Highway Improvement Scheme changes were being made to improve the market place and surrounding roads and junctions.    This required the relocation of the taxi rank near to the Clocktower to another location on the High Street.  It was noted that whilst Epsom and Ewell Borough Council had responsibility for deciding the taxi rank location, it was probable that it would be in the location shown on the County Council’s Phasing Plan for the scheme, ie:  outside TK Maxx in place of the current bus stand which was being moved. 

The Epsom Licensed Taxi Drivers’ Association had anticipated that the decision to re-locate would be made in favour of the Plan E proposals, and had submitted a petition in two parts, one signed by members of the public and the second by licensed taxi drivers, with a combined total of 522 signatures.

The Committee was informed that the representations contained in the petitions would officially be taken into consideration at the time of the decision being made, which would trigger the commencement of the formal statutory process.  At that point members of the public would be invited to comment on the submission of a Road Traffic Order.  However, it was felt appropriate for Members to be informed of the representations prior to submission.

To that end, the Committee noted two verbal representations from the Epsom Licensed Taxi Drivers Association, who had concluded that if the taxi rank were to be located outside of TK Maxx it would adversely impact the drivers and the service currently provided to people using the Ashley centre.  There were also concerns expressed regarding the retention of a private hire operator with an office in the Clocktower.

The Committee whilst not in a position to influence the decision to move the taxi rank were sympathetic to the concerns expressed in the representations and the speakers were assured that they would be informed as soon as the details of the formal statutory process were confirmed.  At that point they would have the opportunity to repeat (and expand if desired) on their representations.

Accordingly, the Committee agreed the recommendations to note the petitions and that the representations contained in the petitions be taken into account before any decision was made about whether to re-locate the taxi rank.

This report sets out a proposed amendment to the Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Policy with regard to the process for obtaining Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks.  The Committee are asked to consider the implementation of an online DBS Update Service in addition to the existing paper disclosures.

The Committee considered the proposed amendment to the Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Policy with regard to the process for obtaining Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks, and agreed the following:

(1)            The implementation of an online Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) procedure for new applicants and existing Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Drivers.

(2)            The amendment of the Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Policy as set out in paragraph 1(c) with an additional amendment agreed as the meeting as follows:

Paragraph 1(c), line 5, remove the word ‘solely’.

The Committee was asked to consider the implementation of online Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks, in addition to the existing paper disclosures.  It was noted that the proposed online scheme was the most efficient and cost effective way of undertaking the statutory checks, for both the Council and the applicant. 

It was proposed to amend the Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Policy to include the introduction of online DBS checks and Members were requested to review the additional wording in the document and a further minor amendment suggested in the meeting.

Accordingly, the Committee agreed to the recommendations set out in the report, as follows:

(1)            The implementation of an online Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) procedure for new applicants and existing Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Drivers. 

(2)            The amendment of the Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Policy as set out in paragraph 1(c) with an additional amendment agreed at the meeting, as follows:

Paragraph 1(c), line 5, remove the word ‘solely’.

This report provides an update against our Key Priority Performance Targets for 2016 to 2017, under our new Corporate Plan.

The Committee:

(1)            Considered the performance reported in Annexe 1 to the report and did not identify any areas of concern;

(2)            Considered the actions that had been proposed or taken where performance was currently a concern as set out in paragraph 3.1 of the report.

The Committee was asked to consider the second report of 2016/2017 that measured key priority performance targets under the new Corporate Plan.

It was reported that since the publication of the agenda there had been one further update, i.e.: the Green Belt Study had been delayed and would be presented to the Licensing and Planning Policy Committee at a future meeting.  The Chairman acknowledged that lack of staff resources had affected work flow, but noted that new staff in place had positively impacted the situation.

The Committee agreed that the performance targets for 2016/2017 had been well thought out and successfully reflected the speed and quality of decision making for planning applications.

Accordingly, the Committee:

(1)      Considered the performance reported in Annexe 1 to the report and did not identify any areas of concern;

(2)      Considered the actions that had been proposed or taken where performance was currently a concern as set out in paragraph 3.1 of the report.

On Tuesday 7 February 2017, the Government published a series of proposed reforms that they believe will ensure that the housing market works for everyone.   The Government’s proposals are wide reaching and will have an impact on the Borough Council’s planning and housing service areas. 

The Committee will be briefed on the contents of the white paper, and the potential impact on the Local Plan programme.

The Committee were briefed on the contents of the white paper.

The Committee noted the publication of the Government white paper, ‘Fixing our Broken Housing Market’ and a brief summary of the key points proposed by the government, as follows:

·                 New national methodology for assessing and planning the housing needs target.

·                 Speed up building rates

·                 Measures to diversify the housing market

It was agreed that officers would prepare a more detailed brief of the proposed reforms and the potential impact on the Local Plan programme at the next Members’ Briefing scheduled for 30 March.  It was proposed that a subsequent report setting out the draft comments on the Housing White Paper will come before the Licensing and Planning Policy Committee at the next meeting in April.