Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received on behalf of Councillor R. Bailes with confirmation provided that Councillor S.R. Colella was attending as her named substitute.  Apologies for absence were also received for Councillor H.D.N. Warren-Clarke.

To invite Councillors to declare any Disclosable Pecuniary Interests or Other Disclosable Interests they may have in items on the agenda, and to confirm the nature of those interests.

There were no declarations of interest nor of whipping arrangements.

The minutes of the meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Board held on 9^th September 2025 were considered.

Members highlighted that Councillors K. May, S. Baxter and K. Taylor, as the portfolio holders, were not listed as attendees to the meeting but had been present and spoken at the meeting.  Members agreed that this was a typographical error to note in relation to the minutes of the meeting.

A suggestion was made that an additional sentence should have been included in respect of minute no. 35/25 – Planning Enforcement reflecting inappropriate language that was alleged to have been used by a Member in attendance at the meeting.  The suggestion was made by some Members that where inappropriate language was not included, the accuracy of the minutes might be questionable.  However, Members were reminded to note that the minutes of meetings held at the Council were not verbatim. 

The Chairman requested that in future, where Members had concerns about the minutes, they should contact Officers with regard to the matter in advance of a meeting.

RESOLVED that, subject to the amendment detailed in the preamble above, the minutes of the Overview and Scrutiny Board meeting held on 9^th September 2025 be approved as a correct record.

A presentation on the Local Plan Consultation Methods was provided to the Board by the Strategic Planning and Conservation Manager. This followed a request by the Board at a recent meeting held on 9^th September 2025, for a report to provide an overview of the current methods of public consultation for the Local Plan, including the online consultation platform and to learn lessons for future consultation exercises.

The following key points were highlighted to Members:

• The consultation was being conducted in line with the Statement of Community Involvement.
• A new digital platform had been introduced, enabling online responses to be submitted alongside traditional consultation methods such as in writing via email, post or submitting written feedback at drop in events. 
• The digital platform was in line with National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) requirements, as specified by Government for the public to engage digitally.
• The platform had attracted nearly 30,000 visitors and generated approximately 7,000 responses, with a conversion rate currently standing at of 8.9% which compared favourably with other consultations.
• The bounce rate (the percentage of visitors who viewed only a single page before leaving, indicating a single page session without further interaction), also compared well to other online platforms.
• To date, 78% of respondents had been aged over 55.
• There had been limited engagement from younger demographics.
• The consultation process still had a few remaining weeks of engagement left to complete.  Therefore, the statics and data would vary at completion.
• There had been a small number of issues identified with the consultation platform, with only one reported as technical, however, issues had been minimal and quickly resolved. 
• Feedback indicated that some users may have anticipated more advanced functionality than the software currently offered.
• Data available to the Council indicated that the online consultation platform was the preferred method for many consultees to submit responses.
• The platform had been procured via the Government’s G-Cloud framework and built in-house by the Council’s planning team with support from the platform providers.
• Quality assurance exercises were conducted prior to the launch and minor updates had been made after the launch to the Council’s website pages dedicated to the consultation, such as amendments to the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs), the introduction of how-to videos and the addition of emoticons.
• The team were developing internal systems to manage and analyse the data efficiently. 

Following the presentation, Members provided key considerations as follows:

• Members requested clarification of how the software, provided by the developer, had been adapted in-house. – In response, it was explained that the developers had agreed on a set of core, basic elements for the software. The structure was then refined to enhance user friendliness, while certain features were deliberately removed as they were considered unnecessary. 

• It was queried if there was consistency in the reporting when comparing statistical analysis to other local authorities, considering the uniqueness of the software. -  Officers explained that although some elements were different, the platform provided useful guidelines to assist the user, if required.

• With  ...  view the full minutes text for item 50/25

There was no urgent business for consideration. </AI11>

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