Issue - meetings

(1)       The Committee was informed of a decision taken by the Cabinet Member to approve KCC’s response to the consultation by Swale Borough Council on the Swale Borough Council Draft Core Strategy.

(2)       Swale BC recently consulted on a Draft Core Strategy which set out their preferred amount of development to 2031, allocated key sites, and identified the infrastructure needed to support them. The Borough Council intended to submit their Core Strategy to the Secretary of State later in 2012, and when adopted after an Examination in Public it would replace the Swale Local Plan. 

(3)       Such decisions now came before the Cabinet Committee, which would advise the Cabinet Member on the decision he should take.  However, the timing of consultations was determined by the District and Borough Councils and there was a minimum duration of 6 weeks. The EHW Cabinet Committee met every ten weeks and it would not always be possible to place a report about KCC’s proposed response on a Committee agenda that would allow the response to be made within the consultation window.

(4)       The Group Spokesmen, Mr Robertson and Mr Cowan, were therefore consulted by Mr Brazier about the Cabinet Member’s proposed decision to approve KCC’s response, and raised no matters that needed to be recorded on the Record of Decision.  The decision taken was attached as Annex 1 to the report.

(5)       RESOLVED that the decision taken be noted.