Contact: Roger Lawes, ext: 6743 email: [email protected]

1. Summary

1.1 The annual tours for Members of the Regulatory Committee are a key feature in developing an understanding and appreciation of the complex issues that surround development control. In recent years the number of Members attending the annual tours has declined. A questionnaire was sent to all Members of the Committee to identify the reasons for this decline.

1.2 This report records the response to that questionnaire and makes proposals for future arrangements.

2. Background

2.1 The annual tours for Members are a key feature of the Regulatory Committee's work. The tours supplement training on procedural and legal matters by providing Members with the opportunity to judge for themselves if the impacts of the development that they had envisaged when coming to a decision have been borne out in practice. The tours are fundamental to developing the efficiency and effectiveness of the Committee.

2.2 Paragraph 9.1 of the Local Code of Conduct for Councillors and Officers dealing with Planning Matters requires "At least on an annual basis" for arrangements to be made "for Members to inspect a sample of implemented planning permissions in order that the quality of decisions can be assessed."

2.3 In recent years the number of Members attending the annual tours has declined. The questionnaire was sent to all Members to help identify the reasons for this decline so that future arrangements can be improved and member attendance increased. The questions were based on conversations with Members on the two recent tours and comments made at the Regulatory Committee.

3. Results of the Questionnaire

3.1 The Appendix summarises the responses to the eight questions posed in the questionnaire.

3.2 The majority appear content with the current balance of tours, two looking at planning matters and one at rights of way. Many agree that there would be advantages in establishing the tour dates at the beginning of the year as part of the general meetings cycle, although it is recognised that from time to time there would be unavoidable diary conflicts as Members juggle their various council and other commitments.

3.3 Although a few Members would value the benefit of being able to join the tours closer to home, there was general support for continuing to use the Castle as the formal start and end of tours.

3.4 Views about the length of tours were almost equally split between those who supported a whole day and those who supported half day.

3.5 Travelling time, walking and other practical considerations were not seen by the majority of Members as reasons for or against particular tours.

3.6 Some Members would like a bigger say in the sites visited. Although there was a small majority in favour of arranging tours at other times in the year than summer and early autumn which is the presently the case, only a third would be prepared to consider a tour during August.

4. Conclusions

4.1 It would appear from the responses to the questionnaire that the major cause of the decline in attendance on the tours is diary conflicts. There is a majority in favour of managing this problem by establishing the dates for the meetings as part of the annual meetings cycle in order to avoid conflict with routine council meetings.

4.2 There appears to be little support for the idea of reviewing the principle of avoiding August for the tours. Notwithstanding the lack of support from Members for such a review there are practical problems with August dates, not only because of staffing difficulties, but also the availability of guides from the businesses that the tours visit.

4.3 Generally speaking Members seem content with the way that tours are currently arranged, particularly if arrangements for specific tours can be tailored to meet individual needs for pick-up and/or drop-off at a local venue. The majority of Members want to have a greater say in the sites visited. Members might wish to consider the principle of highlighting particular sites as warranting a future visit at the meeting when the application is decided. Alternatively they might wish to debate a theme for the year's tours at one of the winter meetings.

Recommendations

(i) That the Chief Executive's Department be asked to arrange dates for the Regulatory Committee tours as part of the annual cycle of meetings;

(ii) That the Committee confirms that it would not wish tours to be arranged in August; and

(iii) That the Chief Planning Adviser prepares an annual report for the January or February meeting of the Committee recommending a theme for the year's tours based on events and discussions over the previous year.

9100/RL

Total number of responses 20