The Deputy Leader said:

“Firstly, as you may be aware, our leader Cllr Gibson has had an accident, which has led to a number of broken toes and ribs so you have me instead. I am sure we would all like to extend our best wishes to Tim and hope for a speedy recovery.

By way of an update, Councillor Gibson wrote to the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care Steven Barclay following the motion at our last full council meeting about this council's concerns regarding the inadequate provision of GP’s in our Borough. He also took the liberty of copying the letter to both of our local MP’s Gordon Henderson and Helen Whatley and he will let you all know when he receives a reply.

As this council battles with homelessness and temporary accommodation impacts I together with another 157 council representatives participated in a summit on the issue, organised by the District Councils’ Network (DCN).The scale of the problem was highlighted by a recent survey in which 96% of our member councils reported an increase in use of temporary accommodation with four-fifths of them describing it as ‘significant’. In a letter to Chancellor Jeremy Hunt signed by a cross party group of leaders, Councils are requesting:

·A rise in Local Housing Allowance rates; 

·Provision of £100m additional funding for Discretionary Housing Payments;  

·Provision of a £150m top-up to the Homelessness Prevention Grant; 

·A review of the cap for housing benefit subsidy rate for local authority homelessness placements. 

·Developing policy to stimulate retention and supply in the privately rented sector. 

It was also bitterly disappointing to hear that KCC have closed Blackburn Lodge on the Isle of Sheppey.  This is a cruel and disheartening move by KCC that will devastate both our residents and staff alike.

Our Council, through the Community Safety Partnership, worked with the Kent Police and Crime Commissioner to secure £323,000 from the Government’s Safer Streets Fund.

Members will recall, in fact a number of you will have taken part in last years LGA peer review the outcomes of which a subject to an action plan which was agreed by the policy and resources committee last month. The action plan included finalising a new corporate plan, with the input of staff and members, that will outline their strategic priorities and how they can be achieved within the agreed budget.

On another note, I am delighted to say that the threat to the closure of Faversham HWRC has been removed and it will now remain open. Members may recall that both Cllr Gibson and Cllr Lehmann wrote strongly worded letters to Kent County Council in opposition to the closures in support of the excellent work and lobbying that has been carried out by both members of this council (in particular those representing Faversham Wards) and of course members of the Faversham Town council. The outcome for residents in Faversham and the wider Swale Borough represents a victory for common sense.

On that theme Milton Creek Country Park, in Sittingbourne, which of course was once was once a landfill site, but now offers 128 acres of meadows, scrubs and aquatic habitats has been awarded gold in the South and South East in bloom awards for the ninth year in a row. The awards not only recognises an areas beautiful flower beds and displays, but also the efforts being made to protect and enhance the natural environment, the park of course being home to species which have not only National but International importance.

Faversham in Bloom won a Gold whilst Queenborough and Rushenden in Bloom received a Silver Gilt and Teynham in Bloom a Silver.

People can now have their say on two of Swale’s conservation areas thanks to a consultation that we have embarked upon. We have reviewed the existing conservation areas of Milton Regis and Cellar Hill and Greenstreet as part of our ongoing commitment to deliver the adopted Heritage Strategy, action plan.

On another note I would like to commend our enforcement teams who have been successful in bringing prosecutions for fly tipping and environmental health issues. A woman found to be involved in a fly-tipping appeared in court and was convicted and ordered to pay nearly £5,000 thanks to the work of our officers.

Equally, a local food hospitality premises has been subjected to closure following investigations from our Environmental Health team who following an emergency prohibition notice progressed the issue through the courts with costs being awarded against the owner.

All this demonstrates the dynamic and effective Council working hard on all fronts and achieving results despite the excruciating challenges that we face along with so many other Councils across the country.”

In response, the Leader of the Conservative Group sent his best wishes to the Leader. He referred to the motion from the last Full Council meeting and said this had put Swale on the map and created a lot of interest.  Referring to the Corporate Strategy, the Leader of the Conservative Group, said that homelessness and temporary accommodation was still a priority and he highlighted the financial difficulties for Central Government as well as local authorities. He praised the  work of the Police Community Support Officer (PCSO) for Teynham and Lynsted and also the Environmental Teams for their work in securing a successful prosecution.  The Leader of the Conservative Group said he was pleased to learn of the positive update that Faversham Recycling Centre would remain open and hoped this was permanent.  He also spoke of the temporary closure of Faversham Pool and said he hoped that would open again soon. Finally, he thanked the Chief Executive and the Deputy Leader for their assistance when the Teynham Scouts attended the last Planning Committee to obtain the Scout’s Democracy badge.

The Leader of the Liberal Democrats Group echoed the good wishes sent to the Leader and welcomed the Chief Executive back to the Chamber after her recent operation. She shared the concern over the closure of Blackburn Lodge, Sheerness.  The Leader of the Liberal Democrats Group welcomed the news on the Safer Streets bid and said it was a shame there was no funding for Faversham, but she understood the limitations.  She said a close eye was needed on the funding of the Faversham tip and she questioned where the funding was coming from, fearing cuts to youth and children’s services.

Other Members were invited to respond and made points including:

·      Deep disappointment and worry over the closure of Blackburn Lodge;

·      suggested a private charity took over Blackburn Lodge if Kent County Council (KCC) were unable to run it;

·      highlighted that only 23,000 social rent homes had been built since 2015 in the UK and Government needed to properly invest in social housing;

·      more support was needed for those that could not afford to rent;

·      supported investment in the Borough, particularly in the Milton Country Park, Sittingbourne and thanked the volunteers at the park;

·      raised concerns over communication that came from KCC around the Grovehurst Roundabout and other transport issues and asked that SBC confirmed with KCC that every avenue of communication to advise residents was being used;

·      difficulty in advising residents due to lack of transparency and communication from KCC;

·      asked that the Leader/Deputy Leader speak to Senior Police representatives around recruitment as there were currently 18 positions in the borough and only six were staffed;

·      advised Members that the consultation regarding closure of tips was currently paused and KCC had advised that all options were still on the table; and

·      said the KCC’s Policy and Resources Committee would be reporting on the closure of children’s centres and SBC had put in their views.

The Deputy Leader thanked Members for their comments.  He agreed that tackling homelessness was a priority, and he added that being forced to build houses in Swale that local people could not afford, did not assist the homeless situation.  The Deputy Leader said that the Police were recruiting, and the early signs were positive.  He agreed that that communication from KCC was poor.