At its meeting on 22 November 2016 the Standards Committee considered amendments to the Protocol for Councillors and Officers Involved in the Planning Process and RECOMMENDED TO COUNCIL that the revised Protocol be ADOPTED, subject to the following amendments:

·         Appendix A – Planning Obligations Officer Working Group – Terms of Reference – point 4 - amend to read ‘…on the draft Heads of Terms for major applications…’.

·         Appendix B – Summary Guide of Do’s and Don’ts – First point under ‘Do’ – amend to read ‘Do always involve Officers and structure ensure that any discussions with developers are structured and involve Officers’.

·         Appendix B - Summary Guide of Do’s and Don’ts – Point 12 under ‘Do’ – remove wording ‘Do use Meetings to show leadership and vision’.

·         Procedure for Planning Committee Site Visits – Paragraph 1.3 - amend to read ‘…visits subject to the this protocol….’

·         Procedure for Planning Committee Site Visits – Paragraph 3.2 – fifth bullet point – amend to read ‘Local Ward Members (see 2.1) will be asked to highlight any local issues relevant to the site visit’.

70.1           At its meeting on 22 November 2016 the Standards Committee considered amendments to the Protocol for Councillors and Officers Involved in the Planning Process and recommended to Councilthat the revised Protocol be adopted, subject to the following amendments:

·      Appendix A – Planning Obligations Officer Working Group – Terms of Reference – point 4 - amend to read ‘…on the draft Heads of Terms for major applications…’;

·      Appendix B – Summary Guide of Do’s and Don’ts – First point under ‘Do’ – amend to read ‘Do always involve Officers and structure ensure that any discussions with developers are structured and involve Officers’;

·      Appendix B - Summary Guide of Do’s and Don’ts – Point 12 under ‘Do’ – remove wording ‘Do use Meetings to show leadership and vision’;

·      Procedure for Planning Committee Site Visits – Paragraph 1.3 - amend to read ‘…visits subject to the this protocol….’; and

·      Procedure for Planning Committee Site Visits – Paragraph 3.2 – fifth bullet point – amend to read ‘Local Ward Members (see 2.1) will be asked to highlight any local issues relevant to the site visit’.

70.2           The report that had been considered by the Executive Committee had been circulated with the Agenda for the current meeting at Pages No. 93-176.

70.3           In proposing the recommendation, the Standards Committee Chair advised that, in May 2016, the Council had approved, with some slight amendments, the continuation of the Scheme of Public Participation at Planning Committee following its successful trial period. The Protocol for Members and Officers Involved in the Planning Process had been comprehensively reviewed in 2015 and had now been given further consideration in light of the continuation of the Public Participation Scheme. He therefore proposed that the Protocol, which was attached at Appendix 1 to the report, together with the additional amendments which were listed on the Agenda, be approved. He confirmed that the recommended Protocol took into account the views expressed by individual Members and by the Planning Committee which he felt was important.

70.4           During the discussion which ensued, a Member questioned whether it had always been the case that the Development Manager had the discretion to refuse a Member’s request for a site visit. In response, he was advised that this approach had been in operation since the new Protocol had been implemented in April 2015. In practice this had not happened to date; if it did happen, and the Member did not agree with the decision of the Development Manager, there was no formal appeals process in place but the Member could bring the issue to the attention of the Corporate Leadership Team and they would investigate. Referring to Paragraph 3.4.4 of the Protocol, a Member indicated that he was not aware of written records of formal meetings undertaken between Officers and developers. In response, the Borough Solicitor confirmed that this was designed to protect Councillors against claims of pre-determination. It did not apply in the same way to Officers as it was their job to process applications.

70.5           Referring to his own situation, a Member expressed the view that the Council needed to ensure there was a way of connecting to, and listening to, its customers for example the use of an Agents Forum. He felt this worked well in other areas and it was something that could be useful in Tewkesbury Borough.

70.6           Having considered the report and, upon being proposed and seconded, it was

                  RESOLVED          That the revised Protocol for Councillors and Officers Involved                               in the Planning Process be ADOPTED, subject to the following                             amendments:

·           Appendix A – Planning Obligations Officer Working Group – Terms of Reference – point 4 - amend to read ‘…on the draft Heads of Terms for major applications…’;

·           Appendix B – Summary Guide of Do’s and Don’ts – First point under ‘Do’ – amend to read ‘Do always involve Officers and structure ensure that any discussions with developers are structured and involve Officers’;

·           Appendix B - Summary Guide of Do’s and Don’ts – Point 12 under ‘Do’ – remove wording ‘Do use Meetings to show leadership and vision’;

·           Procedure for Planning Committee Site Visits – Paragraph 1.3 - amend to read ‘…visits subject to the this protocol….’; and

·           Procedure for Planning Committee Site Visits – Paragraph 3.2 – fifth bullet point – amend to read ‘Local Ward Members (see 2.1) will be asked to highlight any local issues relevant to the site visit’.