Issue - meetings

This report details how we have dealt with the legacy approaches in relation to planning requirements for temporary facilities, such as pop-up catering offers, events and sports facilities across the seafront and provides detail of progress made to improve staff awareness and understanding of the requirements to ensure that we confirm with all statutory and local requirements across the Commercial Operations service.

The Deputy Leader and Portfolio Holder for Connected Communities introduced a report, a copy of which had been circulated to each Member and a copy of which appears as Appendix 'C' to these Minutes in the Minute Book. She explained that a review had been undertaken following concerns raised around the lack of planning permission for some activities across the seafront and other service areas within Commercial Operations. She reported on progress made over the last nine months in improving transparency and accountability, with the support of the Director of Commercial Operations and the new Director of Planning and Transport, to ensure that staff were now fully aware of planning requirements. The review of the Seafront Strategy also provided an opportunity to reconsider the previous emphasis given to the commercial activities on the seafront.

Committee Members expressed concern at the approach applied to these activities in 2022/23 by the then Head of Planning. The Director of Planning and Transport confirmed that the advice provided had not been in line with best practice and that such proposals should be dealt with no differently than other applications. Members asked why this issue had not featured in the October 2023 Committee report, a reference to the Internal Audit Update report which had included a review of pop up/ temporary activities incorporating Bayside restaurant. The Head of Audit and Management Assurance confirmed that planning had not been one of the agreed scope areas of the review. The Committee was advised that while changes to the Council’s Constitution were still in progress the Director of Planning and Transport was referring all Council applications to the Planning Committee. A Committee Member also on the Planning Committee confirmed that a number of seafront/commercial applications had been determined by members in recent months, with all aspects thoroughly debated.

Committee Members stressed the importance of the seafront environment and the need for place-based planning and sought further assurance on procedures. The Deputy Leader welcomed the involvement of overview and scrutiny in the review of the Seafront Strategy. She explained that a revised strategy aimed to adopt a more holistic approach to the seafront, to reflect the Council’s current priorities, while maintaining the need to be responsive to change. The Director of Commercial Operations assured members that staff now had a clear oversight of planning applications, with support from the Planning team on process and timescales.

The Chairman of the Overview and Scrutiny (O&S) Board thanked the Director of Commercial Operations and her team for responding to the issues he had raised, most of which had now been addressed. He thanked the Deputy Leader for the helpful context provided in her introduction. He explained the serious nature of his concerns regarding the use of public open space for commercial operations delivered by the council or leased to external operators without applying for or being granted planning permission. He had raised these concerns at the highest level politically and corporately. As it was deemed a governance matter, he was advised  ...  view the full minutes text for item 10