Social Value Ideas for Swale Borough Council

Major housing scheme approved with S106 obligations

The committee agreed the officer recommendation to grant outline planning permission for the Bobbing garden village scheme, subject to safeguarding conditions and completion of a Section 106 agreement…

“Right. So, the proposal is as set out on page seven to delegate to the head of planning to grant planning permission subject to appropriate safeguardi…”

HMO supplementary planning document adopted

The committee recommended adoption of the Houses in Multiple Occupation Supplementary Planning Document following consultation. Members discussed the need to manage HMO concentrations, particularly in…

“Thanks chairman. Um evening councilors. This um matter follows the full council meeting on the 1st of October 25 where a motion was brought relating t…”

Defend local planning powers

Council unanimously supported a motion opposing government planning reforms that would reduce committee control, cap committee size at 13, and require notification of proposed refusals for major housi…

“The intention is that the final regulations will come into force at the end of October. If this council wishes to express a view on these proposals be…”

Plan X service charge

The council approved applying a £48 service charge to fee-paying planning services delivered through the new digital platform Plan X. The charge is intended to cover the platform subscription funded i…

“Item 9. Plan for X software approach to service charges. I invite the leader to speak and propose the recommendation. [snorts] Uh thank you Mr. Mayor.…”

Section 73 Applications for Temporary Holiday Park Occupancy Extension

Eight Section 73 planning applications (references 25-50385 through 25-50392) were submitted to amend conditions on Kent Parks and associated sites to temporarily extend occupancy from 10 months to 12…

“The section 73 applications will provide a temporary solution for an existing on-site housing need, a form of hidden homelessness, whilst the long-ter…”

Planning service vacancy pressure

Planning overspent by £570,000 due to interim staffing costs and lower income. Officers said recruitment remains difficult, training takes time, and income targets will be reviewed for the 2027/28 bud…

“The planning overspend is once again a combination of the cost of interim staff to fill vacancies and income uh being lower than budget. Although the …”

Borough-wide HMO Article 4

The committee approved an immediate borough-wide Article 4 direction to remove permitted development rights for HMOs, alongside a borough-wide SPD setting standards for concentration, room sizes, bin …

“The first element of my motion was to bring the was the policy bit to remove permitted development rights that have allowed uncontrolled development o…”

Proceed to Reg 19 consultation

The working group recommended moving the draft local plan toward Regulation 19 consultation, subject to updates from the transport and air quality work, flood risk assessment, and final document proof…

“Thank you. So the report before you presents the draft regulation 19 local plan that is set out in appendix one, the draft nontechnical summary of the…”

Adopt HMO SPD

The council adopted the Housing in Multiple Occupation supplementary planning document following public consultation and committee consideration. The discussion highlighted the need for stronger HMO c…

“Uh thank you, Mr. Mayor. Um there are two recommendations here this evening before us. Uh the first one that members note the responses received to th…”

Borough HMO Standards SPD

Members discussed the borough-wide HMO supplementary planning document, which had been recommended unanimously by PNR the previous night for ratification by full council. The SPD covers concentration …

“The first was the HMO supplementary planning document or SPD which PNR agreed unanimously last night to recommend to full council for ratification. It…”

2025/26 outturn reduced reserve draw

The final 2025/26 outturn required a reserve draw of £581,000, which was £579,000 less than budgeted. Major pressures remained in housing and planning, but underspends on corporate overheads, capital …

“In terms of the revenue position, the budget did take from reserves was 1.16 million. Um, but in the end, we only needed to take £581,000 to get to a …”

Insurance contract extension approved

The council approved the first year extension on its split insurance contracts and delegated the second year extension decision to the head of finance and procurement, in consultation with the committ…

“In 2023 we tended for the insurance contract and we went out in lots for the first time rather than simply having one contract for all of our insuranc…”