Agenda item

C Thomas presented the report circulated and amended recommendation (a) as the Steering Group did not have the authority to “agree” the amendments to the draft LDS, therefore this was amended to read “note”.

Joint Planning Team Manager

C Thomas advised that the closing date for applications was 12:00 midnight on that day (14 December 2006) and as yet no applications had been received.  There had been 238 enquiries on the Internet  and 3 application packs had been sent out.  The position would be reviewed the following day, after the deadline for applications, and it was suggested that Tribal be asked to undertake some research in relation to the potential applicants that had made enquiries via the Internet.  Members of the Steering Group expressed concern at the lack of applications and it was suggested that, if no suitable applications were received, that the possibility of a secondment from one of the 3 local authorities be explored. 

Joint Planning Team Office Location

C Thomas advised that a further focused search was being undertaken to explore underutilised voluntary/public sector accommodation however, if this was not successful, a local agent would be commissioned at the beginning of January 2007.  R Boulton referred to the ongoing search for a suitable accommodation and suggested that it may be appropriate to look for a Town Centre shop front premises from which the Joint Planning Team could work. Also it could be used to front a continuous PR campaign.  The Steering Group discussed the possibility of using a Town Centre shop and the additional benefits this would provide as an ongoing public relations opportunity. 

R Strugnell referred to the concern expressed in relation to the disappointing response to the advertisement to recruit the Joint Planning Team Manager post and also the time it was taking to agree an office location for the Joint Planning Team.  He expressed concern that no real progress seemed to be being made.  C Thomas suggested that there was a danger that not having a shared office location would mean that work was not progressing however, this was not the case and work was progressing in accordance with the programme.  He referred to the Resource Plan and the concerns expressed by GOEM that adequate resource had not been identified by all three Councils.  He suggested that all three Local Authorities should be ensuring that, as part of their individual budget processes, an appropriate amount was included to adequately fund the process.  Although he supported in principle the suggestion that the Team be based at a Town Centre shop front location, in practice this would be very expensive and would require additional resources.

Brand/Identity

It was noted that some art work showing different options for the “One Vision – Three Council” branding had been circulated and it was suggested that members of the Steering Group look at the suggested logos outside of the meeting and advise the Officers on the Programme Board of their preferences.

Submission of LDS and GOEM’s Consideration

The Chair referred to the letter that had been circulated at the meeting, sent by GOEM to R Fox at South Northamptonshire Council, in relation to the Joint LDS.  The letter expressed concern in relation to the timetable, which they felt was very ambitious and would be difficult to achieve.  GOEM was also expressing concern that the Local Development Documents and Supplementary Planning Documents had not been adequately scoped to give a clear indication of the remit of the documents and to define resources for delivery. 

The Steering Group discussed the concerns of GOEM in relation to the number of documents and the resourcing of the programme and S Barnes advised that South Northants Council had requested a meeting with GOEM to ascertain exactly what they required.  C Millar advised that Daventry District Council had had the same type of discussion with GOEM and there was concern that such matters should be dealt with through the democratic process.  Daventry District Council were sending a cross party letter to GOEM expressing these concerns.  S Barnes invited Daventry District Council members to participate in the meeting with GOEM should they wish to be involved.

S Pointer clarified that the main concern was that there was sufficient resources allocated to joint working and advised that Northampton Borough Council had reduced the number of documents they were going to produce to enable them to focus on the priorities and be sure that these could be delivered.  Also measures were in place to ensure that NBC could demonstrate that they were allocating adequate resources to delivering the programme. 

S Bovey referred to the previous discussions in relation to taking a joint approach and was comfortable that adequate resources would be available to ensure delivery.  However it would be a real concern if the Joint Planning Team Manager post could not be filled.

The Steering Group then discussed the resources that would be required to fund the programme, the need to appoint a Joint Planning Team Manager and to be able to demonstrate that real progress was being made. 

Agreed: (1) That the Steering Group note the resolutions of respective councils regarding the draft LDS.

                     (2) That if no suitable applications are received by the deadline consideration be given to agreeing a secondment from one of the three Local Authorities.

                     (3) That members of the Steering Group consider the branding/logo option circulated suggesting to the Programme Board which options they want to take forward for formal agreement.