Council and councillors

To receive any questions submitted from Members of the Council in accordance with the provisions of Procedure Rules 27 and 28.

Two questions had been received from Councillors and these were taken in the order in which they were received.

Councillor R Powell asked her question to Councillor P Browne, Portfolio Holder for Planning and Property, as set out in the agenda supplement.

Councillor Browne in response thanked Councillor Powell for her support of the proposed policy EN3 in the draft Local Plan, it was explained that the Council’s approach was for on-site offsetting in the first instance but could not guarantee off-site mitigation would always be within Rutland, as the Council did not hold land available for these purposes and so was reliant on sufficient landowners in Rutland being willing to submit sites for accreditation. It was confirmed that the Council’s aspiration was to accrue a number of approved sites within Rutland to then be made available to developers.

It was also set out that the Council was still awaiting comprehensive regulations and guidance from central government regarding upcoming policy changes relating to bio-diversity net gains and it was unknown if this would give Council’s further powers that might enable mandating of off-siting to be within the county. Reference was also made to the ongoing work with Leicestershire County Council on a Local Nature Recovery Strategy for which a project plan was expected in the new year and would include a statement of the area’s biodiversity net gain priorities. 

In response to Councillor Powell’s supplementary regarding how the Council was proactively encouraging landowners to submit sites, Councillor Browne set out that the methodology was not yet determined as this was reliant on the upcoming policy changes from central government, but confirmed the Council would be working proactively with landowners in due course.

Councillor K Payne asked her question to Councillor C Wise, Portfolio Holder for Highways, Transport and the Environment, as set out in the agenda supplement.

As Councillor Wise had sent apologies for the meeting Councillor G Waller, Leader of the Council, responded upon her behalf. In response, Councillor Waller set out the main responsibilities of the Council in relation to flooding and those of other organisations and set out how these responsibilities had been specially undertaken across the county in relation to Storm Babet. It was confirmed a dedicated webpage had been established on the Council’s website with live information on incidents, current advice, and links to other services, and this page had been promoted through the Council’s various communications channels including social media. It was set a out a report on the impact of Storm Babet including all locations and the responses of all relevant bodies, it was confirmed this would include consultation with Parishes. It was noted that Storm Babet was not considered a significant flood incident for which funding from central government would not be available although further clarity was being sought from ministers. Parish Councils and residents were thanked for their local responses and it was noted that support for Parish Councils in preparation of local flood plans was available online: https://www.clearcouncils.co.uk/news/what-parish-and-town-councils-can-do-to-manage-flood-risk-in-their-community/

In response to a supplementary regarding specific action the Council was taking, Cllr Waller repeated a point that the Local Strategic Plan was subject to review including analysis of Storm Babet but added that discussions were ongoing with Leicestershire County Council on working collaboratively to address flood risk. It was set out the Cabinet was looking to create a new post that would include focusing on managing flood risk as part of the forthcoming budget.