Motion 1
Motion: LGR cost to local taxpayers and government
reimbursement
Council notes that:
• In the face of
potentially unlawful decision making, and allegations of
gerrymandering, the Labour Government has announced a review of
Local Government Reorganisation, with decisions in some areas
withdrawn and implementation work across Nottinghamshire
paused.
• Gedling Borough Council,
and Councils across the country, have already spent significant
amounts of taxpayers’ money and officer time preparing for
Local Government Reorganisation at the Labour Government’s
request.
• Much of this work has
been undertaken because councils were working to deadlines and
requirements set by the Labour Government.
Council believes that:
• Local residents should
not be left to pick up the bill for a process which the Government
has now chosen to pause.
• At a time when council
finances are already under enormous pressure, every pound
unnecessarily spent on Local Government Reorganisation is a pound
which cannot be spent on improving the services our residents rely
on.
• It should be
democratically elected local councils, in consultation with local
residents, to decide on whether or not to put forward (locally-led)
proposals for restructuring
Council resolves:
• To direct the Chief
Executive and Section 151 Officer to establish the full cost to
this Council of Local Government Reorganisation to date.
• To direct the Leader of
the Council to write to the Secretary of State and our local
Members of Parliaments making clear that:
o
Local taxpayers should not be expected to pay for
the Government’s LGR U-turn.
o
Call on the Government to reimburse this Council for
all costs incurred as a direct result of the Local Government
Reorganisation process.
o
Call on the Government to provide clear answers
about the future of Local Government Reorganisation before councils
are expected to spend any more taxpayers’ money on the
process.
o
To make clear this council’s view that the
Local Government Boundary Commission for England must be involved
in reviewing any local government boundary, ward and council size
proposals submitted to the Secretary of State by councils in due
course.
Proposed by Cllr Mike Adams
Seconded by Cllr Martin Smith
Motion 2
Motion: Application of parking standards to houses in multiple
occupation
This
Council notes that:
- Gedling Borough Council’s Parking Provision for
Residential and Non-Residential Developments Supplementary Planning
Document (SPD), adopted in February 2022, establishes minimum
parking standards for new development and is a material
consideration in the determination of planning
applications.
- The SPD states that its purpose is to ensure that new
development is supported by an appropriate level of parking and
provides a framework for determining and negotiating parking
requirements on planning applications.
- The SPD sets parking requirements according to factors including
the type and size of residential development, the number of
bedrooms and whether a site is located in an urban or rural
area.
- The SPD does not, however, expressly set out a specific parking
standard for Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs).
- The Nottinghamshire County Council Highway Design Guide does set
out parking standards for HMOs and sheltered accommodation but the
application of this guidance is not always clearly set out in
officer reports.
- Gedling Borough is experiencing an increasing number of planning
applications for HMOs, including applications involving the
conversion of existing family homes into properties accommodating
multiple unrelated residents.
- HMOs can generate significantly different parking demand from an
ordinary single-household dwelling, particularly where several
adults may each have their own vehicle.
- Where insufficient on-site parking is provided, additional
parking demand can be displaced onto surrounding residential
streets, increasing pressure on already limited parking capacity
and potentially affecting highway safety, pedestrian access and the
amenity of neighbouring residents.
- This Council’s current Parking Standards SPD recognises
that parking requirements should normally be met and that poorly
designed or insufficient parking can create problems for road
safety, pedestrians, cyclists, emergency vehicle access and the
efficient flow of traffic.
This
Council believes that:
- Residents should not be expected to bear the consequences of
inadequate parking provision arising from changes in the use of
residential properties.
- There should be a clear, consistent and transparent approach to
parking provision when planning applications for HMOs are
considered.
- HMOs should not be treated as though they were ordinary
single-household dwellings where the number of individual residents
and bedrooms may create a materially greater demand for
parking.
This
Council therefore resolves to:
- Ensure the application of the existing Nottinghamshire County
Council Highway Design Guide as a material consideration to all
planning applications for HMOs, including applications for changes
of use and extensions or alterations associated with an
HMO
- Ensure that consideration of the above guide is reflected in
planning reports and decisions in respect of HMOs.
Proposed by Cllr Helen Greensmith
Seconded by Cllr Stuart Bestwick