Agenda item

(Director of Governance) To consider the attached report (DEV-001-2017/18).

The Senior Democratic Services Officer presented a report on the public seating arrangements for the Committee to consider.

The Senior Democratic Services Officer reminded the Committee that there had been a disturbance amongst members of the public at the meeting of Area Planning Sub-Committee West on 19 October 2016. This had resulted in the decision being taken to seat the members of the Planning (Sub-)Committees on the opposite side of the Chamber, and only allow those members of the public registered to speak to sit in the Council Chamber itself with all other members of the public to be seated upstairs in the Public Gallery. Following the implementation of these measures, Members of Area Plans Sub-Committee East had expressed a preference for all members of the public to be seated in the Council Chamber again, as they felt that it was difficult to gauge public opinion on specific proposals and for the public to follow the proceedings of the meeting if all but the registered speakers were upstairs in the Public Gallery.

The Senior Democratic Services Officer stated that, at their meeting on 20 April 2017, the Development Management Chairman and Vice-Chairman had agreed that each of the three Area Planning Sub-Committees plus the District Development Management Committee should individually consider and determine arrangements for public seating at their first meeting of the municipal year. The Committee was therefore requested to consider and agree its own arrangements for public seating for all future meetings.

The Senior Democratic Services Officer also informed the Committee that an investigation into the possibility of providing a visible security presence at all Council Planning meetings would be made, with the results reported to the Governance Select Committee in due course.

Some Councillors preferred all of the public to be downstairs, as the design of the Public Gallery prevented the unobstructed viewing of proceedings. However, other Councillors preferred that only the registered speakers be allowed downstairs. Cllr C Pond recounted that vicious threats were uttered to members of the Committee in the car park after an application in Abridge was considered, and Cllr Shiell recalled that agenda have been thrown from the Gallery by the public. Cllr C Pond also highlighted that the Monitoring Officer had been written to by Cllr C Roberts regarding the seating and security arrangements for Area Planning Sub-Committee South, which had recently returned to being held in the Council Chamber.

The Committee acknowledged that it heard contentious planning applications as a matter of course; the Chairman stated that he preferred the current arrangements as he felt safer and it was easier to clear the Council Chamber if there were any incidents. Cllr Stallan proposed that the current public seating arrangements be kept in place and this was agreed by the Committee.

Resolved:

(1)        That the public seating arrangements currently in operation be continued with, with only registered public speakers to be allowed in the Council Chamber and all other members of the public to be seated upstairs in the Public Gallery.