Visitors and members of the public who are unfamiliar with the building and procedures are advised that:

(a)      The fire alarm is a continuous loud ringing. In the event that a fire drill is planned during the meeting, the Chair will advise of this.

(b)      Exit routes from the chamber are located on each side of the room, one directly to a fire escape, the other to the stairs opposite the lifts.

(c)      In the event of the alarm sounding, leave the building via the nearest safe exit and gather at the assembly point on the far side of the car park. Do not leave the assembly point or re-enter the building until advised to do so. Do not use the lifts.

(d)      Anyone unable to use the stairs should make themselves known during this agenda item.

The Mayor outlined the emergency evacuation procedure.

To approve the Minutes of the Meeting held on 30 July 2025 (Minute Nos. 236 - 255) as a correct record.

The Minutes of the Meeting held on 30 July 2025 (Minute Nos. 236 – 255) were taken as read, approved and signed by the Mayor as a correct record.

Councillors should not act or take decisions in order to gain financial or other material benefits for themselves, their families or friends.

The Chair will ask Members if they have any disclosable pecuniary interests (DPIs) or disclosable non-pecuniary interests (DNPIs) to declare in respect of items on the agenda. Members with a DPI in an item must leave the room for that item and may not participate in the debate or vote. 

Aside from disclosable interests, where a fair-minded and informed observer would think there was a real possibility that a Member might be biased or predetermined on an item, the Member should declare this and leave the room while that item is considered.

Members who are in any doubt about interests, bias or predetermination should contact the monitoring officer for advice prior to the meeting.

No interests were declared.

The Mayor said since the last Full Council meeting, she and the Deputy Mayor had carried out over 20 engagements. She highlighted the Sittingbourne and Sheerness carnivals, the Faversham Hop Festival, and VJ Celebrations and said the visit to the Big Cat Sanctuary was a joint visit enjoyed with the Mayor of Ashford. The Mayor referred to her visit to the Choral celebration in Maidstone at which the Sittingbourne choir performed in the ‘sing-off’. 

The Mayor said the Leader and herself had taken part in the Baton of Hope and it had highlighted the support that was needed for mental illness and suicide awareness.

Describing her visit to the Willows Day Centre in Milton Regis that day, the Mayor said it was the only day centre in the area which cared for those with dementia.

Looking to events coming up, the Mayor said the following day there would be a launch event at Master’s House, Sheerness, and a dementia event at The Swallows Leisure Centre on 6 October 2025. The Mayor said she was attending the unveiling of the Milton Regis sign and attending Faversham Carnival, both on 11 October 2025, and the launch of the Poppy Appeal in The Forum, Sittingbourne on 25 October 2025. The unveiling of the Kemsley sign and community garden would be held on 31 October 2025. The Mayor welcomed Members to attend any of the events listed.

To consider any questions submitted by the public.  (The deadline for questions is 4.30 pm on the Wednesday before the meeting – please contact Democratic Services by e-mailing democraticservices@swale.gov.uk or call 01795 417330).

There were no questions from the public.

To consider any questions submitted by Members.  (The deadline for questions is 4.30 pm on the Monday the week before the meeting – please contact Democratic Services by e-mailing democraticservices@swale.gov.uk or call 01795 417330).

The Mayor advised that one question had been submitted by Members.

Question 1 – Councillor Mike Whiting

During the debate on "Secondary School Places on the Isle of Sheppey" at the Full Council meeting held on 30 July, I raised the need for this council to engage with Kent County Council (KCC) as a matter of urgency to discuss KCC's Education Commissioning Plan. That Plan is currently being revised and due for publication in the autumn.

Left unchanged, the Plan will forecast a surplus of secondary school places on the Isle of Sheppey, with no plans to create more spaces. For this year's year-7 intake, the Plan showed a surplus of 39 places. We all know how wrong this forecast was. On secondary school offer day in the Spring, 60 Sheppey children were refused a place at the two local schools on the Island because they were full, with many being offered Abbey School in Faversham, over 25 miles away.

That same Plan (see pages 98 to 100) is currently showing a surplus of 34 places for next September (2026), and an average of 43 spare places for each year thereafter until 2035, despite 650 new homes currently under construction in Minster, a further 650 having just received planning permission east of Scocles Road, and approximately 1,000 more earmarked for Sheppey in the emerging Local Plan, with the majority of those in Queenborough.

What steps has the Leader taken to meet with KCC to ensure the forecasts in the 2026/2036 revision of the Education Commissioning Plan are more accurate, and that the revised Plan contains strategies and proposals to address any shortfall to ensure every Island family who wants a place at one of the two secondary schools for their children next September and beyond will get one?

Response – Leader

Officers and I met with the then conservative KCC Cabinet Member for Education and the Assistant Director for Education in December 2024, to discuss the Schools Commissioning Plan, during which it became clear that there were changes in approach to the provision of non-selective secondary places impacting on the Sittingbourne and Sheppey planning areas, about which Swale Borough Council had not been previously made aware. 

As we all know, the history of poor provision on the Island has meant that large numbers of students from the Island have historically sought school places in Sittingbourne.  This has meant that there are important inter-relationships in how provision on both Sheppey and in Sittingbourne is planned and delivered.  The changes and approach that were set out to us at the meeting raised serious questions for both Sittingbourne and Sheppey, which I set out in a letter in January 2025.  Having received no response, and in light of the issues some island students were experiencing in terms of the location of school placements, I followed this up with a second letter to KCC in the spring seeking both answers and a meeting.  Again, no response has been received.

I will continue to pursue  ...  view the full minutes text for item 362.

The Leader said:

“I’m delighted to begin tonight with some excellent news for Sheppey East. Our community has been awarded up to £20 million over the next ten years through the Government’s Pride in Place programme. This makes Sheppey East one of only 169 areas across the country to benefit from this long-term investment. The funding will provide up to £2 million each year, for the next ten years.

The key principle of this funding aims to ensure that local people will be at the heart of decision-making. To ensure, that, we will be establishing a new Neighbourhood Board by next summer, bringing together residents, businesses, and community leaders to shape the vision and oversee delivery. This is a golden opportunity to deliver real and positive change for our communities, building on the successes we’ve already achieved through the Sheerness Revival project and the UK Shared Prosperity Fund.

In addition to this decade-long commitment, Swale will also receive an immediate share of £150 million in capital funding to help kick-start improvements in our borough.

Having highlighted the Sheerness revival project it would be remiss of me at this point to let the opportunity pass without highlighting what an outstanding success our new Beachfields adventure golf course has proven to be.

Since opening eight weeks ago figures show more that more than 4,900 people have visited the heritage themed course after it was officially opened at the end of July.

Another example of investment in our community is the refurbishment of Sheppey Sea Cadets facility at Barton’s Point. With this council’s support, the facilities have been modernised with new classrooms, upgraded equipment, and even a ship simulator. This centre now supports over seventy young cadets, giving them skills, confidence, and opportunities for the future. It is an investment not just in those young people, but in the community they are proud to serve.

Turning to another area where local action can make a real difference, I reflect on September’s National Recycling Week when called on residents to help tackle contamination in our recycling bins. Every time a lorry load of recycling is rejected it costs around two thousand pounds. All too often this is caused by food, textiles, sanitary items, or black bags being placed in the recycling. It is also worthy of note that Food waste collections will become compulsory Nationally by April 2026 and as a reminder, food waste caddies are already available to our residents to assist. In short by recycling responsibly, we can save money, protect our environment, and make a real difference for Swale.

On a much more sombre note I feel that I must make mention of the recent vandalism of the Baby Memorial Garden in King George’s Playing Field in Sittingbourne.

This garden was created with the East Kent Baby Memorial Garden Charity to provide a place of reflection for families touched by pregnancy and baby loss. It is deeply upsetting that such a special place has been defaced.

While the personalised tiles remain  ...  view the full minutes text for item 363.

In proposing the motion, as set out on the Agenda, Councillor Lloyd Bowen described the commitment that elected Councillors gave when serving residents and standing up for their communities. He said the motion was about recognising those elected Councillors who served their residents, and passed away whilst still in office, whilst giving their last days and efforts to public service. Councillor Bowen quoted from a poem by Linda Ellis called The Dash. Councillor Bowen said some of their former colleagues never had the chance to retire or saw their last term completed and were still working for their residents until illness or sudden tragedy took them away, as they died in service.

Councillor Bowen set out the three proposals from the motion:

1.    To create a permanent memorial and appropriate civic space for Councillors who died during service;

2.    That when a Councillor passes away during their third term without reaching 12 years or three full terms, the title of Honorary Alderman be conferred upon them;

3.    That the records held by SBC be interrogated for those Members that were in their concurrent third term and passed away without reaching the end of the term or twelve years, and be recognised and awarded with the title of Honorary Alderman.

Councillor Bowen said that the motion sought to assure current and future Members and families of those elected that SBC cared, and their service would not go unnoticed.

In seconding the motion, Councillor James Hunt reserved his right to speak.

Members were invited to speak and made comments including:

·         Understood the sentiments and not against the idea but questioned the value of a memorial with the upcoming LGR disbanding SBC in its current form, and uncertainty around where any future office might be;

·         supported the motion;

·         commemorating the work of those that had given so much time and effort to the authority and the people of Swale was worthwhile;

·         a decision could be made on where to place an existing physical memorial if the building was no longer used for SBC at that time;

·         thanked Councillors Bowen and Hunt for bringing the motion forward; and

·         it was an honourable and kind thing to do.

Councillor Hunt said it should be remembered that a memorial was about keeping remembrance alive – not necessarily statues, but boards that gave a history of the people that served, such as the current Honorary Alderman Board in the Council Chamber. He added that after SBC was disbanded in its current form, the boards would still be kept and he hoped that whatever future Council there was, those listed would continue to be remembered.

In summing up, Councillor Bowen thanked everyone for their comments.  He said there was no detail on how a memorial was set up and drew attention to the Boards in the Council Chamber that listed Mayors and Honorary Alderman which could be used. Councillor Bowen said it was not necessary to consider what might happen after LGR, we needed to look at  ...  view the full minutes text for item 364.

In proposing the motion, Councillor Mike Whiting explained he had received complaints about works to convert a property in his ward to a House of Multiple Occupation (HMO) which were lawful, and which planning permission was not required. This meant local residents, including elected Members had no right to comment on the development, and the motion put forward sought to give communities across the borough the right to be heard on the subject of HMO’s. Councillor Whiting said a range of affordable properties were needed for local residents, and HMO’s could play a positive role. He said the motion did not seek to prevent HMO’s, but sought the Council’s ability to set its own HMO development policy and give the Planning Committee the right to refuse or include planning conditions and give the public the right to be consulted.

Councillor Whiting explained the different controls in place for large and small HMO’s under permitted development rights, and said removing the permitted development rights on small HMO’s would necessitate planning permission. He also explained that an immediate Article 4 direction took effect straight away but may make the Council liable for compensation should the application be considered and then refused within 12 months of submission. A non-immediate Article 4 direction came into effect 12 months after the decision to implement it, but prevented applicants from claiming compensation. Councillor Whiting said there was a risk with a non-immediate Article 4 direction of a rush of applications before the Article 4 direction took effect. He said there had been very few claims for compensation on those Councils that had chosen to impose an immediate Article 4 direction.

Turning to the second recommendation at 2.2 in the Agenda pack, Councillor Whiting said he believed the Council should expedite a Supplementary Planning Guidance Document (SPD) to address the aspects of HMO’s as set out in the motion, and he raised concern that the increase of HMO’s could be connected to increases in antisocial behaviour, increased pressure on car parking and the loss of single family homes. Councillor Whiting set out the benefits an SPD could provide to officers and members of the Planning Committee in managing HMO’s.

Referring to 2.3 in the motion, Councillor Whiting stressed the importance of consulting residents.

In seconding the motion Councillor Kieran Mischuk reserved his right to speak.

Members were invited to speak and made comments including:

·         Thanked Councillors Whiting and Mischuk for bringing the motion to Full Council;

·         noted the disruption that HMO’s could have on an area;

·         supported the motion which was about protecting communities, residents’ rights to speak and giving guidance to the Council;

·         considered landlords dividing properties to fit in as many people as they could was a negative, and the profits they made;

·         the motion would assist in making HMO’s fit for purpose;

·         sought clarification on the Use Class a refuge would fall under, as was concerned that a refuge might be publicly identified at Planning Committee;

·         there was a need to balance the desperate  ...  view the full minutes text for item 365.

The Leader introduced the report and proposed the recommendations.

In seconding the recommendations, the Deputy Leader reserved his right to speak.

Members were invited to make comments which included:

·         Reminded Members to act with dignity and be kind to Members;

·         sought clarity on why the report was not on blue paper and therefore not being discussed in confidential session; and

·         was concerned that the extension would continue indefinitely as it was in the public interest that wards were represented by a Councillor.

The Monitoring Officer explained that, in response to previous criticism that similar matters had been discussed in private session when some matters were in the public interest, the report had been written in such a way that it was not necessary to discuss in private session.

Councillor Richard Palmer proposed and Councillor Mishcuk seconded that each of the recommendations be voted on separately, but on being put to the vote, Members voted against.

Members continued to debate the substantive motion and made comments including:

·         The waiver did not restrict the extension to six months, it was unlimited;

·         clarified that the report referred to two Councillors, not three as referred to in the privacy and data protection implication at the end of the report;

·         gave examples of previous waivers given to Councillors who were unable to attend meetings in the Chamber but were still representing their residents by carrying out casework and answering phone calls and emails;

·         clarified that the subject Members in the report had not previously had a waiver;

·         noted the work the subject Members had carried out previously, wished them well and hoped to see them attending meetings in future and urged Members to act with dignity and respect.

The Mayor sent her good wishes to Councillors Roger Clark and Rich Lehmann.

The Deputy Leader reminded Members it was for residents to determine at the time of an election whether they were being represented by their Ward Member and he hoped that with the space the waiver gave to the subject Members, they could focus on their health and he sent his good wishes.

Resolved:

(1)  That health grounds were an appropriate reason to waive the requirement under s85 (1) of the Local Government Act 1972 for Councillor Roger Clark to attend a Council meeting within six months of his last attendance.

(2) That health grounds were an appropriate reason to waive the requirement under s85 (1) of the Local Government Act 1972 for Councillor Rich Lehmann to attend a Council meeting within six months of his last attendance.

In proposing the recommendations, the Leader reminded Members that the report had been considered  and agreed by the Audit Committee and the Policy and Resources Committee before being considered by Council.

Councillor Charles Gibson, Chair of the Audit Committee, seconded the recommendations and reserved his right to speak.

Members were invited to speak and they made comments including:

·         Thanked the Director of Finance and the Finance team for their work ensuring that reporting remained transparent, legally compliant and consistent with CIPFA’s code;

·         raised concern around how the increased adjustments to reported debt might raise concern to residents or external partners about the Council’s financial health; and

·         congratulated the treasury team on their ongoing good work.

The Leader and Councillor Charles Gibson thanked the treasury team for their work.

Resolved:

(1)  That the updated Treasury Management Prudential Indicators for 2025/26 be approved.

The Leader introduced the report and proposed the recommendations.  He thanked the Task and Finish group who met to discuss the proposals and referred to the Policy and Resources Committee agreeing the recommendations at their meeting on 10 September 2025.

In seconding the recommendations the Deputy Leader reserved his right to speak.

Members thanked the working group and referred to the useful, extensive discussions held at the working group.

The Deputy Leader said further information was provided following the Policy and Resources Committee meeting and this was helpful. He said some Member concerns had not been addressed earlier which delayed the process but additional information had now been considered and he was happy to second the recommendations.

Resolved:

(1)  That Members agreed  the introduction of charges for amendments to undetermined applications in accordance with the fee schedule as set out in paragraph 2.5 of the report.

(2)  That Members agreed the introduction of fees for monitoring biodiversity net gain (BNG) in accordance with the fee schedule as set out in paragraph 2.11 of the report.

(3)  That Members agreed the fee schedule for Planning Performance Agreements (PPA’s) as set out at paragraph 2.10 of the report.

(4)  That Members agreed the revised pre-application and post-decision advice fee schedule as set out in Tables 1, 2 and 3 at paragraph 2.6 of the report.

Councillor Lloyd Bowen, Chair of the Constitution Working Group, introduced the report and proposed the recommendations. He said the changes had been discussed and agreed at the Policy & Resources Committee, and were sensible and practical changes which helped ensure the constitution remained accurate, clear and fit for purpose. He highlighted the improvements and said they strengthened governance and made the constitution easier to apply in practice.

The Leader seconded the recommendations.

Members were invited to make comments which included:

·         Thanked Members of the Constitution Working Group;

·         did not support the annual re-election of the Leader;

·         Members sat on Committees on behalf of the Council, not on behalf of their ward;

·         questioned whether other Councils elected their Leader annually and how practical this was;

·         needed continuity for the Leader, particularly with the upcoming LGR;

·         reminded Members that amendments could be submitted in advance and this might lead to more efficient debates;

·         the annual election of Leader gave everyone the chance to support the Leader if they felt they had done a good job or otherwise;

·         clarified the Leader role was a one-year term, not a limit, just as Committee Chairs were elected annually; and

·         referred to the Localism Act which gave Councils the right to set the term.

Resolved:

(1)  That the amendments at Appendix I be incorporated into the Constitution.

(2)  That the Monitoring Officer be delegated to make the necessary changes to the Constitution.

The Meeting was adjourned from 8.35 pm until 8.45 pm.