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 Chair outlined the emergency evacuation procedure.

To approve the Minutes of the Meeting held on 15 July 2025 (Minute Nos. 186 – 189) as a correct record.

The Minutes of the Meeting held on 15 July 2025 (Minute Nos. 186 – 189) were taken as read, approved and signed by the Chair 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 Planning Officer (Policy) introduced the report which presented the proposed changes to the draft Statement of Community Involvement (SCI), following the six-week consultation, and recommended that the document proceeded to the Policy and Resources Committee and then Full Council for adoption.

The Planning Officer (Policy) referred to paragraph 2.6 on page 4 of the report, which set out some of the comments received.  He drew attention to Appendix I which set out the consultation responses and summaries.  The draft updated SCI was set out at Appendix II of the report.

The Chair invited questions from Members.

A Member referred to discussions at a recent meeting of the Policy and Resources Committee around having longer consultation periods for the local plan, and felt it should be included in the updated SCI.  The Chair recalled the meeting and said that no specific motion had been agreed at that meeting, but Members had concluded that a six-week consultation would be sufficient for the local plan, as Members could agree a longer consultation under exceptional circumstances.

A Member asked that it be noted that Members had not seen the glossary to the draft SCI.  In response, the Planning Manager (Policy) reported that this was due to timetabling and resource issues but it would be available for consideration at the Policy and Resources Committee.  She added that it would be the standard glossary and would include details of all the acronyms used within the SCI document. 

In response to a question from a Member, the Principal Planning Officer (Policy) confirmed that Southern Water had requested that Flood Risk Water Quality and Water Resources be in the list of material planning considerations for planning applications.  They had also suggested including the issue of ‘sustainable drainage’ but officers considered that the more general Flood Risk, Water Quality and Water Resources criteria was appropriate.

Councillor Angela Harrison proposed the recommendations in the report, which were seconded by Councillor Ann Cavanagh.

The Chair invited Members to make comments, and these included:

·         It was important to include sustainable drainage as a material planning consideration;

·         appendix II should include a comprehensive list of the statutory authorities;

·         important to highlight how the Council engaged with neighbouring local authorities as well as hard to reach groups and residents;

·         needed to be more explicit about how the Council was transparent in its reporting, as required by the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF);

·         appendix II should include some wording on the Council’s commitment to review the document within the next five years;

·         explanation of how representations to local residents were used and what feedback was given;

·         referred to paragraphs 7.13 and 7.14 of appendix II and stated that not all applicants engaged with the local community including Ward Councillors;

·         referred to paragraph 7.17 of appendix II and asked that the word ‘must’ replaced the word ‘should’ in the second sentence;

·         there should be an obligation on officers to inform Ward Members and Parish Councils when a major application was coming forward;

·         referred to paragraph  ...  view the full minutes text for item 315.