To receive any written questions from Councillors.

Councillors may ask questions of Cabinet Members and Chairmen of Committees so long as a copy of the question is deposited with the Assistant Chief Executive, Legal and Democratic Services at least 3 working days prior to the meeting. A list of questions, set out in the order in which they had been received, was circulated at the beginning of the meeting. Councillors may also, at the discretion of the Chairman, ask one supplementary question on the same topic. The questions and summary of the answers are set out below.

 

Question from Councillor MAF Hubbard

 

Please list all meetings between members of the Cabinet and representatives of JS Bloor Ltd from January 1st 1998 to the present day

 

Answer from Councillor RJ Phillips, Leader of the Council

 

There are no records of any formal meetings taking place between Cabinet and representatives of JS Bloor Limited from 1 January 1998 to the present day.  It has not been possible to access the diary of the previous administration from 1998 to May 2003, though it is understood that a number of informal meetings did take place.  Since May 2003 there has been three informal meetings involving Cabinet Members on 1 May 2003, May/June 2007 and on 12 August 2008.  I have also met with JS Bloor Ltd., on 25 June 2003 with a B Morgan and I Green and one on 21 November 2007. The Leader was not aware of any other contacts between Members of the Council and representatives of JS Bloor

 

In response to a further question, Councillor Phillips advised that formal records of any meetings between Council officers and the developers would have been recorded but that meetings between Members and the developers would not have been.

 

Questions from Councillor AT Oliver

 

Would you please advise what the current position is with the planning application by Bloor Homes Ltd for 300 houses at Bullinghope.

 

The letter from Boyer Planning of 21/01/2004, on behalf of Bloor Homes Ltd, to the Chief Planning Officer of Herefordshire Council appears to dictate to our Planning Department the conditions under which they would get planning permission for the Bullinghope site, and also to outline the way it could be included in the revised UDP under the appropriate strategic policy context.  Does the Cabinet Member for the Environment believe it is appropriate for a developer to be instructing this Council’s planning officers on how to run their department, or is this the normal way that forward planning is developed within this Council?

 

Answer from Councillor JG Jarvis, Cabinet Member Environment and Strategic Housing

 

Given the current legal proceedings on the inclusion of the Bullinghope site no further work is being carried out on the current application submitted by Bloor Homes on this site.

 

The letter from Boyer is entirely typical of letters sent to the Council during the UDP process.  Its purpose was to promote the site for inclusion in the Plan and to suggest the basis on which that could be achieved.  In the event that a site was allocated in the UDP for residential purposes the basis on which that was eventually achieved in the Plan would be the result of a detailed series of negotiations/discussions with the developer and, in some cases, following the guidance of the inquiry Inspector.

 

In response to a further question on why a site, which was perceived as being unsuitable, was chosen Councillor Jarvis was unable to comment, as he was not in office at the time of the decision.

 

Questions from Councillor M Lloyd-Hayes

 

Did the change of political leadership in May 2003 lead to any changes of policy in relation to housing at Bullinghope or the funding of the Rotherwas Access Road?

 

On the morning of 28th July 2006, what meetings did the Leader have prior to Full Council 2006 and who attended this or these meetings?

 

Is it true that the Government could have funded the Rotherwas Access route recommended by the council’s own consultants?

 

Why did the council ignore the Planning Inspectors advice as well as that of the professional planning officers who rejected development at Bullinghope from the beginning?

 

Answers from Councillor RJ Phillips, Leader of the Council

 

It is impossible to say whether the change in political leadership would have affected policy decisions made, but it is unlikely.

 

I attended part of the Independent Group meeting and the Conservative Group meeting on the morning of 28 July 2006.

 

Yes, it is true that the Government could have funded this and any other route for the Rotherwas Access Road.  Unfortunately they chose not to. Ever since the purchase of the Rotherwas estate in the 1960s, successive Councils have strived to improve the access to the estate. Since the formation of Herefordshire Council in 1998, there had been several cross-political attempts to lobby Government Ministers on the issue of a Rotherwas access road with very little success.

 

The Council included the Bullinghope site in the UDP in order to meet future housing needs in the city and as a way of potentially securing funding for the Rotherwas Access Road.

 

In response to further questions, Councillor Phillips advised that he was never aware of any alternative routes for the relief road. He also made it clear that the sole reason the land at Bullinghope was added to the UDP because the Government had failed to supply the money for the construction of the relief road even through a great number of similar schemes in the West Midlands had been approved and funded.

 

Questions from Councillor H Davies

 

The Council’s own costs in defending the action in the High Court by the Dinedor Hill Association.  Please include external payments, staff, time, travelling and accommodation costs and all other expenditure that was incurred in relation to this Court case.

 

The costs of the Dinedor Hill Action Association awarded against the Council by Mr Justice Callings

 

The cost of officer, time travel, accommodation and any other costs involved in the meetings with JS Bloor to discuss and evaluate their various proposals in relation to housing at Bullinghope and road funding.

 

The costs so far of receiving the JS Bloor planning application for housing at Bullinghope and conducting a public Consultation including all time expended so far in preliminary discussions and evaluations.

 

Answers from Councillor JP French, Cabinet Member Corporate and Customer Services and Human Resources

 

The Council’s schedule of costs submitted to the court sets out the matter.  The total costs at the time were £14,793.75 which includes Counsel’s fees including staff time, disbursements, travel and accommodation.

 

There is an order limiting the recovery costs to £15,000.  These are still in the process of being agreed, however it is unlikely to be less than £15,000.

 

A number of informal meetings have taken place with officers in attendance.  It is estimated that these meetings have cost approximately £1,250 the majority of which is in officer time.

 

Given the current legal proceedings on the inclusion of the Bullinghope site no further work is being carried out on the current application submitted by Bloor Homes on this site.

 

In response to a further question, Councillor French stated that all accommodation costs were included in the totals given.

 

Question from Councillor ACR Chappell

 

Did the Leader of the Council inform the Chief Executive of the Council and its Legal Officers that he intended to move a motion at Full Council on July 28 2006 with the purpose of rejecting the Planning Inspectors recommendations about Bullinghope and the Cabinet decision to accept it? If so, when did he inform them and what was the response?

 

Answer from Councillor RJ Phillips, Leader of the Council

 

I refer to the routine meeting between the Cabinet and Corporate management board on 20 July 2006, when following the government’s refusal of funding for the Rotherwas access road under the Regional Funding Arrangements, the issue of the land at Bullinghope was discussed and I quote from the minutes:

 

“The Chief Executive advised that it would be unwise to react to any positive noises from Advantage West Midlands until a firm commitment had been received – the approach should be to ‘plan for the worst but hope for the best’. However Cabinet Members would need to take view on the position of Bullinghope within the UDP before Council on 28 July.  If action were not taken at Council it would be difficult to bring back in the future.  The advantages of reinstating Bullinghope as a housing development area included:

·        Supporting the case for growth points

• If it was considered that the development would take place there once the road was achieved it would be preferable to secure the development control advantages obtained by inclusion within the UDP

 

These advantages needed to be weighed against the potential for a challenge to the UDP process, although the current review of the Regional Spatial Strategy and the likelihood of additional housing requirement in the region may negate that concern.

 

Question from Councillor WU Attfield

 

What is the current status of the JS Bloor planning application for 300 houses at Bullinghope?

 

Answer from Councillor JG Jarvis, Cabinet Member Environment and Strategic Housing

 

Given the current legal proceedings on the inclusion of the Bullinghope site no further work is being carried out on the current application submitted by Bloor Homes on this site.

 

In response to an additional question, Councillor Jarvis said that it was not within the Council’s power to “draw a line under the incident” and the Council must go through the process once the judgement has been made.

 

Questions from Councillor GF Dawe

 

Did any members of the Cabinet receive any information prior to July 28 2006 about future housing requirements in Herefordshire that would have provided grounds to reject the Planning Inspectors recommendation on housing numbers to 2011?

 

What communications have Legal and Democratic Services (Herefordshire Council) had with JS Bloor or their legal advisers post-the High Court judgement? Please supply copies of letters, emails and telephone conversation notes.

 

What communications have the Planning Department (Herefordshire Council) had with JS Bloor or their legal advisers post-the High Court judgement? Please supply copies of letters, emails and telephone conversation notes.

 

Answers from Councillor RJ Phillips, Leader of the Council

 

Cabinet Members were not aware of any individual pieces of information regarding housing figures apart from the general ongoing discussions around the West Midlands government office’s proposed allocations for the Regional Spatial Strategy where three levels of housing numbers were used the maximum being 500 000.

 

The Leader also stated that a change in attitude between the meetings of Cabinet and Council was because no money was made available for the relief road. The position would undoubtedly have changed if the money had been secured.

 

Members of the public and Members are aware that JS Bloor is seeking leave to appeal against the High Court judgement. The Council is classed as an interested party in the case.  The litigation is therefore still ongoing, and such papers cannot be disclosed.