Declarations of Interest
To receive declarations by members and officers of the existence and nature of any personal or prejudicial interests in matters on this agenda.
Minutes:
2.1 Councillor Bush explained that a week before the meeting, all four Members of the Sub-Committee were provided with a full set of papers including a detailed officer’s report on each application; together with bundles of every single letter or e-mail received in respect of every application, including all letters and emails containing objections or giving support. Members of the Sub-Committee read through everything in detail prior to the meeting. Accordingly, if an issue or comment made by a correspondent was not specifically mentioned at this meeting in the officers’ presentation or by Members of the Sub-Committee, it did not mean that the issue had been ignored. Members would have read about the issue and comments made by correspondents in the papers read prior to the meeting.
2.2 Councillor Jude declared, in respect of Item 4, that the application site was in his ward. He further declared that he had discussed the application with residents and expressed a view on it. He would therefore address the Sub-Committee and then stand down and leave the room during the consideration of the application.
2.3 Councillor Bush declared that in respect of Item 4 she had sat on a Planning Sub-Committee which had considered a different application on the same site previously. She also declared that was a Trustee of the Westminster Tree Trust.
2.4 The Chair stated that Councillor Rachael Robathan had an interest in respect of Item 8 on the agenda. She advised that the members sitting on the Sub-Committee were no longer required to apply for a dispensation from the Code of Conduct provided they could declare that they only knew Councillor Robathan through their membership of the Council and saw her at Council and related events. All members of the Sub-Committee advised that they were able to give that declaration in relation to Councillor Robathan.