Agenda item

Report of the Executive Director (Public Protection, Planning and Governance) setting out a recommended way forward for the Estate Management Scheme.

Report of the Executive Director (Public Protection, Planning and Governance) setting out a recommended way forward for the Estate Management Scheme (EMS) following consultation.

With the permission of the Chairman, Councillor M. Cowan spoke on this item expressing his disappointment that an Article 4 Direction(s) was not being taken ahead as there was support for controls in the area and recognition of the present shortcomings.

He referred to the different enforcement regimes that might give different results, backlog of unauthorised changes, agreement to the changes, Council rented properties, legal challenges, lack of publicity and awareness and consultation with Members. He believed that this was a U-turn which was a mistake. The Leader stated that the Council had a duty to consult.

(1)        The Decision Taken

RESOLVED:

(1)       That the Cabinet agrees to the principle of creating an EMS team to determine EMS applications and seek to resolve breaches of the Scheme through negotiation and enforcement action.

(2)       That the Cabinet agrees to the principle of establishing fees for EMS applications, to cover the costs of an EMS team. (Indicative fees were set out in the report).

(3)       That the Cabinet agrees to the production of a Welwyn Garden City EMS Design Guide to be funded from the existing review budget and undertaken by suitably qualified consultants following a procurement exercise.

(4)       That the Cabinet agrees an eight week period of public consultation which seeks views on these proposals to take the form of a letter to every property in Welwyn Garden City and also include meetings and workshops with residents and community groups to inform the design guide.

(5)       That Officers prepare a final report which sets out the responses to the public consultation, details the arrangements for an EMS team, details the fees for EMS applications and proposes the adoption of a design guide.

(2)        Reasons for the Decision

The Cabinet first considered a report on the review of the Welwyn Garden City EMS in July 2015 to seek to resolve ongoing problems and concerns regarding the Scheme’s administration, notably the different enforcement arrangements for freehold and leasehold properties. That report covered in significant detail a number of alternative options that could be considered with the main thrust of the report being to look at replacing the Scheme with one or more Article 4 Directions and to apply to the High Court Land Tribunal to vary or terminate the Scheme.

In August 2016, the Cabinet considered a report on the EMS which sought agreement to an eight week period of public consultation on alternative options for the future of the Scheme. The consultation took the form of a letter to all residents within the Scheme area and a slightly different letter to all other residents who lived within Welwyn Garden City. The letters were accompanied by an information brochure and a questionnaire. The consultation took place during October and November 2016 and was publicised on the Council’s website and in press articles. Responses were received from residents of the town and those from elsewhere.

The consultation was undertaken following legal advice on what, at the time, Officers considered might be the intended way forward which was to present a case to the High Court that the Scheme should be either varied or terminated and replaced with one or more Article 4 Directions. Legal advice specified that an Article 4 Direction would need to provide at least equivalent protection as the existing Scheme and that issues that could not be satisfactorily covered by an Article 4 Direction should be retained as part of the Scheme. In addition, the Council was advised to publicly consult on this, and alternative options, and to analyse the responses before proceeding.

In the proceeding months since the consultation, Officers had analysed the responses that were received from both residents of Welwyn Garden City and some from further afield with a view to finding a solution which was fair and equitable to all of the residents of the Welwyn Hatfield Borough. In particular, the current funding arrangements for the management of the Scheme which resulted in funding coming from planning application fees and Council Tax.

(Note: There were no declarations of interest by a Member(s) in respect of the matter decided).