Rutland County Council Conservatives Defeated By Liberal Democrats, Local Plan Will Be Withdrawn and a New Plan to be Created but at what cost?
Councillors listened to petitions, deputations and questions.
There was a proposal to adjourn for a toilet break, this was not supported, leaving most of the public bemused, with comments being whispered, if they can't agree on that what hope to we have for the rest of the evening. At this point one Cllr jumped out of his seat and slumped against the glass clearly suffering from discomfort possibly a dodgy curry before the meeting. Fortunately he did not have to wait much longer before the loo break was permitted.
The infighting among the Conservative group was very obvious this evening, disagreements over increased prices of garden sheds.
The Libdems and at least on Tory suggested if the council supported the Conservatives proposal it would bankrupt the council rather like Northamptonshire.
Personally I think the council is heading that way the figure of a £2 million deficit was mentioned this evening.
So I was surprised the Libdems proposed to scrap the current plan knowing millions had already been spent on it and now they were proposing a further £1.4 million be spent on a new one. I wonder why the existing plan could not be revised.
Whichever option was agreed St Georges Barracks will be developed.
At the end of the meeting the Leader of the council certainly looked defeated, I wonder if this defeat will see a change of leadership. It was one of the biggest Tory defeats I have ever witnessed at Rutland County Council.
I am not sure this was a good day for the future of Rutland. There is a long period of uncertainty ahead. As the new plan is created. There will be an election in 2023 that should be an interesting one. with the possibility of increased council tax bills to pay for the new plan, I am not sure the next few year are going to get any better for Rutland.
It was good to see a Cllr wearing a Rainbow LGBTQ+ tie to show his support against discrimination. I was expecting a Cllr to take the knee during prayers that did not happen. Although it is unlawful for councils to pray in council meetings, Rutland County Council decided it would be fine to says prayers just before the meeting starts. Personally I think they should set aside a prayer room and not inflict that upon those who think it is pointless or even hypocritical.
A video of the full meeting will be publish tomorrow.
The Council agreed:
That Council:
1. Withdraw the submitted Local Plan (submitted to Government in February 2021) under
Regulation 22 of the Local Plans Regulations from the process of Examination in
Public following the decision made by Council on 22nd March 2021 not to accept the
offer of £29.4m Housing Investment Fund (HIF) grant funding which has impacted the
viability and deliverability of the proposed St. George’s Garden Village scheme and,
therefore, the wider development strategy affecting the soundness of the Local Plan.
2. Approves the creation of an earmarked reserve of £1,395,000 to resource the making
of a new Local Plan for the County and operating without a plan (as detailed in Section
5) and that authority be delegated to the Strategic Director of Places and the Section
151 Officer in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Planning and the Portfolio
Holder for Finance, Governance and Performance, Change and Transformation to
release funds from the earmarked reserve as required.
3. Approves that Council receives a quarterly statement of the Budget position in light of
the cost uncertainty so that it can track whether the earmarked reserve is sufficient or
can be released accordingly.
4. Approves the need to positively prepare and submit a new Local Plan informed by an
updated evidence base for the benefit of the County of Rutland, its residents and
businesses that will:
i. Deliver the corporate plan vision and themes for the County;
ii. Provide for sustainable growth to meet its objectively assessed housing and
employment needs, utilising and promoting sustainable transport wherever
possible, which will combine to contribute towards achieving the Government’s net
zero carbon emissions 2050 target;
iii. Protect and enhance the County’s heritage, character and natural capital (including
air quality, water resource management and biodiversity); and
iv. Ensure the timely delivery of all necessary infrastructure.
5. Approves the development of robust and effective strategic partnerships to support
plan-making through the duty to cooperate and required for a viable, deliverable and
sound plan.
6. Approves the establishment of a cross-party group to provide oversight of the process
of making a new Local Plan and delegates authority to the Strategic Director of Places
in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Planning to establish a governance
structure in line with the Corporate Project Management governance framework.
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