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 Richard Beddoe explained that a week before the meeting, all four Members of the 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 e-mails containing objections or giving support. Members of the 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 Committee, it did not mean that the issue had been ignored. Members will have read about the issue and comments made by correspondents in the papers read prior to the meeting.
2.2 Councillor Beddoe also declared that in his capacity as Chairman of Planning, he gets to know a number of property developers and planning consultants, although he does not consider them his friends. He added that any Members of the Majority Party who had or would make representations in respect of the applications on the agenda were his friends.
2.3 Councillor Beddoe then further declared that in respect of item 8 on the agenda, the application site is in his Ward.
2.4 Councillor Tim Mitchell declared that any Members of the Majority Party who had or would make representations in respect of the applications on the agenda were his friends. He also advised that in his capacity as a Councillor for St James’s Ward, and as Cabinet Member for Finance, Property and Corporate Services responsible for the City Council’s property portfolio, he regularly met with members of the planning and property industry as well as residents’ associations and amenity groups.
2.5 Councillor Mitchell then made the following further declarations as they related to the specific applications on the agenda:
Item 3: That he had chaired a Licensing Sub-Committee that had considered a licensing application on the application site.
Item 6: That the application site is in his Ward, that he is a Council appointment on the Jubilee Hall Trust who had submitted an objection and that he will withdraw from the Committee during consideration of this item and address the Committee in his capacity as a Ward Councillor.
2.6 Councillor Susie Burbridge declared that any Members of the Majority Party who had or would make representations on the applications on the agenda were her friends. She declared that she is the Deputy Cabinet Member for Housing. Councillor Burbridge further advised that that she did meet architects and developers from time to time but had not seen or spoken to any in relation to the applications on the agenda.
2.7 Councillor Burbridge also declared that in respect of item 5, that she is familiar with the building on the application site.
2.8 Councillor David Boothroyd declared that he is Head of Research and Psephology for Thorncliffe, whose clients are companies applying for planning permission from various local authorities. No current schemes are in Westminster, and if there were, he would be precluded from working on them under the company’s code of conduct.
2.9 Councillor Boothroyd further declared that some Thorncliffe clients have engaged planning consultants who are also representing the applicants at the meeting: DP9 on item 3 and Savills on item 7. However, he advised that he does not deal directly with clients or other members of project teams, and planning consultants are not themselves clients.
2.10 Councillor Boothroyd then made the following further declarations as they related to the specific applications on the agenda:
Item 5: That he is a friend of Dafydd Elis who had submitted a response to the planning consultation.
Items 6: That he is a friend of Councillor Adam Hug who had submitted an objection.
Item 7: That he had sat on the Committee in August 2015 that had considered a previous application on this site.