To receive any apologies for absence from Members.

Apologies were received from Mr Clifton and Mr Dale.

To receive any announcements by the Chairman.

The Chairman confirmed that his announcements had been circulated in advance of the meeting.

The Chairman noted the event held on 25 March 2018 to celebrate the retirement of Sir Laurence Howard KCVO OBE after 14 years as Rutland’s Lord-Lieutenant and the Centenary of the Royal Air Force.  The Chairman expressed thanks to the Chief Executive and Officers involved in organising this event.

The Chairman had written to the incoming Lord Lieutenant of Rutland, Dr Sarah Furness, on behalf of the Council, a response had been received which would be circulated to all councillors. 

To receive any announcements by the Leader, members of the Cabinet or the Head of Paid Service.

The Chief Executive, Mrs Briggs, confirmed that she had received a letter from Sir Lawrence Howard, thanking the Council for the event on 25 March 2018 and also for the support he had received during his 14 years as Lord Lieutenant.

In accordance with the Regulations, Members are invited to declare any disclosable interests under the Code of Conduct and the nature of those interests in respect of items on this Agenda and/or indicate if Section 106 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992 applies to them.

Mr Oxley declared a personal and prejudicial interest in Item 8 of the agenda as he knew the Parish Councillor registered to speak.  Mr Oxley would leave the meeting during discussion and debate on this item.

Mr Conde confirmed that he had been a member of the committee considering the Application at Item 8, but that he was not pre-determined and would keep an open mind during in relation to consideration of that item.

Mr Callaghan confirmed that he had been a member of the committee considering the Application at Item 8, but that he was not pre-determined and would keep an open mind during in relation to consideration of that item.

The Monitoring Officer, Mrs Mogg, confirmed that those members taking part in the Planning Committee on 13 March 2018 were not prevented from taking part in the referral at Item 8 as long as they approached with an open mind.

To confirm the Minutes of the 271^st meeting of the Rutland County Council District Council held on 12 March 2018.

The minutes of the 271^st meeting of the Rutland County Council District Council held on 12 March 2018 were confirmed by the Council and signed by the Chairman.

To receive any petitions, deputations or questions received from members of the public in accordance with the provisions of Procedure Rule 28. The total time allowed for this is 30 minutes.  Petitions, deputations and questions will be dealt with in the order in which they are received and any which are not considered within the time limit shall receive a written response after the meeting.

There were no petitions or questions from members of the public.

Notice of deputations in relation to item 8 of the agenda had been provided in accordance with Procedure Rule 28.  These would be heard at the relevant item on the agenda.

To receive any questions submitted from Members of the Council in accordance with the provisions of Procedure Rules 30 and 30A.

A question had been submitted by Mr Cross in accordance with Procedure Rule 30.

Mr Cross asked the following question to the Leader of the Council:

What was the remit given to the chairman of the Oakham Town Task & Finish group, and what was the detail of any contract with the chairman, including amount of remuneration, if any, that the chairman will receive?

Mr Hemsley, Leader provided the following response:

Remit

The Independent Chairman was provided with the following information:

•                There had been a Town Centre Proposal which included the introduction of a One Way System

•                The proposal had been withdrawn following the change of leadership and in anticipation of opposition to the One way system

•                Members were keen to keep momentum on improvements to the town

•                A motion was carried at Full Council on 15 January 2018 for Growth, Infrastructure and Resources Scrutiny Panel to convene a Task and Finish Group to consider the future of Oakham Town – a link to the meeting on 15 January 2018 was provided

•                A draft proposed timetable

Remuneration

£450 per day (excl. travel and VAT) – Mr Wade allows a day of time per meeting to include; preparation of reports and agenda; liaison with RCC, Group Members and members of the public; pre-meets; information gathering; the meeting itself; and agreement of minutes and communications following meetings. Mr Wade does not charge for travel time (he is based in Cambridge) and limits his travel costs to £44.10 per meeting/visit).

Mr Cross did not ask a supplementary question, but asked for the response to be circulated to members.  It was confirmed that the response would be included in the minutes.

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Mr Oxley left the meeting.

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To determine matters where a decision taken by a Committee has been referred to the Council in accordance with the provisions of Procedure Rule 110.

To receive Report No. 70/2018 from the Director for Places (Environment, Planning and Transport).

Report No. 70/2018 was received from the Director for Places, the purpose of which was to consider the planning referral of application 2017/0993/FUL, Cuckoo Farm, Ketton which had been referred to Council by 4 Members of the Planning and Licensing Committee in accordance with Procedure Rule 110.

Mr N Hodgett, Principal Planning Officer, gave a brief introduction showing the proposed plan of the site along with views from various aspects.  Mr Hodgett explained that the application was for change of use of part of an agricultural field on land at Cuckoo Farm, Stamford Road, South Luffenham to allow a seasonal campsite and associated facilities for up to 50 tents and small camper vans.

The Chairman invited the speakers against the referral to address members.

Ms Jodie Purvis, agent for the applicant, provided a deputation as below:

This genuine farm diversification scheme has been designed to complement existing agricultural operations with the three pillars of sustainability at its core. The proposal builds on the success of an existing holiday let onsite and would bring in additional revenue for the farm, whilst providing a learning experience for holiday makers and creating three jobs over the summer season. It achieves all of these benefits with no significant impacts upon the landscape or wider environment due to its temporary nature and minimalistic design; there is virtually no permanent development required.

In terms of location, the officer report states that this application is unsustainable due to its distance from a local service centre as outlined in Policy SP24, however; this policy does not put an actual figure on the recommended distance to local services. This site is easily accessible via foot or bicycle and includes a shop, which would reduce adhoc journeys to/from site. In any case, sustainability is not simply about location and other economic and environmental criteria must be carefully considered in line with other local and national policies.

A campsite usually requires a rural location and is generally not an activity undertaken on public transport. Rutland is a very rural region, requiring a car to reach nearly all tourist destinations. In short, being located nearer to Ketton would not prevent visitors from travelling by car, which appears to be the objective of local policies in relation to location of development.

Visibility from outside the site is limited to a single road some 450m away. Just because a development is visible does not automatically make it visually intrusive and none of the local planning policies actually state that campsites must be completely invisible as suggested by the case officer. From the A6121, the site is seen only in a glimpsed view from a passing car. There are no views from any other public vantage points, neighbouring properties or rights of way. The proposal would only be operational during Spring and Summer and the scene and scale of visibility would change daily as visitors come and go, with the maximum impacts only being at peak occupancy times.

The layout of the proposal maintains low  ...  view the full minutes text for item 743.

To determine matters where a decision taken by the Cabinet has been referred to Council by the call-in procedure of Scrutiny Panels, as a result of the decision being deemed to be outside the Council’s policy framework by the Monitoring Officer or not wholly in accordance with the budget by the Section 151 Officer, in accordance with the provisions of Procedure Rules 206 and 207.

No call-ins were received.

To receive Report No. 66/2018 from the Cabinet on recommendations referred to the Council for determination and to note the Key Decisions taken at its meetings held on 20 March 2018.

Report No. 66/2018 from the Cabinet was received, the purpose of which was to consider the recommendations of Cabinet referred to Council for determination and report to Council the Key Decisions made by Cabinet since the publication of the agenda for the previous ordinary meeting of the Council on 12 March 2018.

1)    Council NOTED the Key Decisions made by Cabinet since the publication of the agenda for the previous ordinary meeting of the Council 12 March 2018, as detailed in Appendix A Report No. 66/2018.

2)    20 March 2018

Decision No. 700

Report No. 52/2018

RUTLAND AGREED SYLLABUS

Mr Wilby introduced and moved the recommendation in the report.  Miss Waller seconded the recommendations.

During debate the following points were raised:

                        i.         Mr Oxley highlighted that section 2.2.1 stated that local authority maintained schools should follow the syllabus and requested clarification of situation with schools with areligious character.  Miss Waller clarified that this was dealt with at Section 2.2.2.

RESOLVED

To ADOPT Rutland Agreed Syllabus as the locally agreed framework for the teaching of Religious Education in Rutland schools.

To receive the reports from the Scrutiny Commission / Scrutiny Panels on any matters and to receive questions and answers on any of those reports.

No reports were received.

To receive reports about and receive questions and answers on the business of any joint arrangements or external organisations.

      i.         Miss Waller – Rutland and South Lincolnshire Access Forum

A sub-group of the forum were looking at the possibility of training people to lead walks for people with dementia and their carers, funding had been secured to carry out the training.  Miss Waller would send details out to Members and asked them to share with their Parish Councils, as the group would be seeking as may volunteers as possible.

To consider any Notices of Motion submitted by Members of the Council in accordance with Procedure Rule 34 in the order in which they are recorded as having been received.

No notices of motion had been received.

To receive items of urgent business which have been previously notified to the person presiding.

No matters of urgent business were received.