Agenda item

·         MOT arrangements for taxis (Waste and Recycling Service Manager - Pat Swinton)

·         Development Management accredited agents scheme (Development Management Service Manager - Pat Reid)

Grounds maintenance issues

The district Council’s Scrutiny Committee looked at Grounds Maintenance issues at its meeting on 27 November 2012. The Committee was made aware of weaknesses in the current grounds maintenance contract, which was shortly due to expire. Officers were developing new contract arrangements which would be more robust and enforceable.

MOT arrangements for hackney carriages and private hire vehicles

The Waste and Recycling Services Manager gave an update on opportunities regarding MOT arrangements for hackney carriages and private hire vehicles.

·         Additional signs advertising the MOT service would be put up at the depot.

·         Hackney carriages and private hire vehicles were exempt from MOTs but were required to undergo two inspections a year.

·         It would be possible to investigate a discount scheme – members felt that this should be investigated and approaches made to taxi firms based in the district.

·         The consensus of councillors was that the preferred option was offering incentives rather than mandating firms use the Council’s service.

·         Members also agreed that there could be something displayed within taxis explaining they had been serviced by the local authority to act as a mark of confidence for customers.

Action point:

That the Waste and Recycling Service Manager should develop an incentive scheme which gives discounts to taxi companies for the inspections of hackney carriage firms and private hire vehicles within the district to present to the PDG at its meeting on 28 March 2013.

Development Management accredited agent scheme

The Development Management Service Manager gave the PDG an update on the accredited agent scheme introduced by Cornwall Council and how a similar scheme could be considered for South Kesteven.

·         Following a phased rollout, Cornwall Council had recently launched its accredited agent scheme across the county.

·         An agent who submitted three applications which were considered of satisfactory quality could ask to be added to the list of accredited agents. Applications submitted by those agents would then receive a cursory check.

·         If an accredited agent submitted an application of poor quality, they would be struck from the scheme.

·         Cornwall reported that once on the scheme agents generally performed well.

·         The Cornwall Council scheme was only usable by agents submitting plans electronically online and where associated plans were either A3 or A4 size; this meant only household application agents could be credited.

·         Following a review of the development management team’s performance, a household application team was being created. When this team was set up, it could be complemented by an accredited agent scheme like Cornwall Council’s.

·         Officers had begun holding an agents’ forum. It was suggested that proposals for an accredited agent scheme could be discussed to gauge interest.

·         Any accredited agent scheme introduced by the council would not prevent Councillors referring applications to the Development Control Committee.

Action point:

·         Following the creation of a household applications team, the Development Management Service Manager should consider an accredited agent scheme and gauge the interest of agents in such a scheme through the agents’ forum.

·         A progress update to be provided for the meeting on 28 March 2013.