To receive any declaration of interests from Members.

There were no declarations of interest.

There were no urgent items of business.

The Motion, as printed in the agenda was proposed by Councillor Jefferies and seconded by Councillor Coxshall. The Motion read as follows:

1.    Members note with concern, and seek to debate, the decision taken by Cabinet on the 9 October, under item 16 of the agenda, which extends the timetable for the adoption of a Thurrock Local Plan, whilst placing a further financial pressure on the council.

2.    Further, members request that the Place Overview and Scrutiny Committee consider the said decision and seek assurances from both the cabinet member for Good Growth and the Executive Director of Place as to the potential implications of the extended timetable.

Councillor Jefferies presented his motion by stating in December 2023, members took the decision to move Regulation 18 in effort to formulate

a local plan. Under the agreed timetable, the consultation responses should have been digested and now moved onto Regulation 19, a genuine progress but disappointed that cabinet in October made the decision to delay the timetable by many months. Changes in Government and further delays had impacted on the agreed timetable. With serious questions over the implications of the decision taken in October these now needed to be probed by all elected members to ensure no repeat of past failures. Agreed the local plan was one of the single most important things the council would need to do and do this through the Place overview and scrutiny function, on behalf of members. One of the biggest challenges facing the council would be the formation of a local plan and should be looking at the here and now and not what came next. The BVI stressed the importance of agreeing a local plan as a sign of the council’s corporate recovery and the ability to deliver. Need to address urgently what the consequences would be of any further delay and how the Council could respond to that if that should arise. Concluded that he implored all members to agree to his motion this evening.

An amendment was received from Councillor Speight and seconded by Councillor Massey and read as follows:

Council members in this chamber this evening call on Thurrock Council through its officers to revisit the motion approved unanimously in September 2023 and to re-endorse it, with one significant change. We call on Thurrock Council to report on the management and achievements of Thurrock Council’s planning department since 2015 – with that report’s remit to be to produce a year-by-year performance analysis indicating the number of applications received, the number dealt with by delegation, the number progressed to committee and the number passed or rejected that have been contrary to officer recommendation. The report should produce a subjective judgement on the performance of the planning department over each of those years. In addition, the remit will include a full and detailed investigation into how and why the council has not been able to formulate a new local plan over the same period of time. When that report is completed, request  ...  view the full minutes text for item 81.