*HC
15
The Leader gave an update on the draft Recovery Plan
and noted the update from the Overview & Scrutiny (O&S)
Committee meeting held on 1st September
2020. It was confirmed that, if the
recommendation was approved by the Hub Committee, then the next
stage would be for a further update to be presented to the O&S
Committee meeting on 10 November 2020, then the Plan would return
to the Hub Committee meeting on 1 December. Members were thanked for their input.
The Leader outlined some of his thoughts and
priorities on the plan moving forward and the importance of the
overarching themes of climate change, biodiversity and
well-being. These were summarised as
follows:
-
Firstly, developing a virtual/hybrid council which
would potentially allow the reuse of Kilworthy Park to support
additional community activities;
-
Secondly, ensuring total Broadband connectivity for
the whole Borough; and
-
Thirdly, fully supporting Tavistock as a gateway to
the World Heritage site and thus promoting the Borough’s
economy and businesses – linking heritage and cultural nodes
in the Borough via green transport, eg
long distance walkways, cycling routes with cycle hire hubs, and
electric charging points.
It was intended that the Council would be setting out
real and achievable goals in housing, including affordable
housing.
These emerging themes were likely to inform the
future strategic direction of the Council and would enable officers
to begin working on a new Corporate Strategy, which would then be
taken to Full Council on 25th May 2021.
The Chief Executive relayed the thoughts of the
Leader of the Opposition Group, who was unable to attend, which
were:
i)
bringing services out into the Community by evolving
the virtual aspect of the pandemic, with Formal Council meetings
hosted across the Borough, thereby utilising Kilworthy Park as a
site which would benefit the wider community, whilst retaining a
Council presence in Tavistock and Okehampton Town Centres as a gateway to the
Council;
ii)
enabling Broadband across the whole area to promote
online transactions as the norm and giving connectivity to the
community, helping to support the vulnerable;
iii)
active travel with cycling and walking linking the
outstanding natural environment and tourism. He suggested
that it is time to ‘park’ the rail link and focus on
delivering a sustainable alternative which could be a legacy for
this administration.
The Leader moved the recommendations and Cllr Samuel
seconded.
It was then
AGREED that the Hub Committee:
1. Note the
Council’s continuing response to the Coronavirus (COVID-19)
Pandemic;
2. Note the
outputs arising from the recent Member Workshops (as set out in
Appendix 1 of the presented agenda report);
3. Note the
progress on the development of the Recovery and Renewal Action Plan
(‘the Plan’) as detailed in Appendix 1 of the presented
agenda report;
4. Delegate
authority to the Group Leaders, in consultation with the Chairman
of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee, to nominate Members to
serve on the Task and Finish Groups (as outlined at Appendix
...
view the full minutes text for item *HC 15