Minutes:
Councillor Watkins
left at 19.21
Before the item began, the Leader invited Councillor Piccolo to
read his question as follows: can you explain why there has been
such a change in opinion, over the sale of the Billet Field site,
by the current administration, about the sale proposed by the last
administration. Councillor Coxshall replied that there were three
overarching reasons why, the first being the 3R’s policy that
had been adopted by the Council in 2016. He elaborated that the
3R’s were release, retain and reuse and all assets had been
analysed under this policy. He stated that the Billet Field Site
had been earmarked as retain in 2017, although the Council would
continue to analyse. He stated that the second reason was the Local
Plan which had been moving forward since 2014, and ensured that all
assets helped to deliver the bigger strategy of ‘work, rest
and play’. He stated that the third reason was the
undervaluation of the asset. Councillor Piccolo was then invited to
ask a supplementary question as follows: can you confirm the land
had been designated green belt and is therefore protected under
this status. Councillor Coxshall agreed that the land was
designated green belt, and a green belt review had been taken place
in 2019. He stated that the new Local Plan would help to protect
green belt, but would also help to deliver the Council’s
strategy of ‘play’ so residents could participate in
sports. Councillor Coxshall mentioned that the Football Association
had reviewed Thurrock and found the borough was under the suitable
number of football pitches, so the Council wanted to increase
participation in sport, and would be looked at through the Local
Plan.
Councillor Piccolo thanked Councillor Coxshall for his response,
and the Leader invited Councillor Coxshall to present the report.
Councillor Coxshall introduced the report and stated that the
proposed decision was to decline the request for the disposal of
the Billet Field Site. He described how a lot of time had passed
since 2014 when the process had started, and since then two stages
of the Local Plan had occurred, during which it had been decided
that the borough needed more homes and more participatory sport
under the ‘work, rest, play’ strategy. He outlined the
3R’s strategy and informed Members that the Council did not
want to sell assets that may be needed in the future, and Billet
Field had been identified for retention. He added that the Football
Association had found there to be a lack of football pitches within
the borough. Councillor Coxshall described how the site had been
undervalued in 2014, but the Council now wanted value for money. He
summarised and stated that the Council wanted to work with East
Thurrock United Football Club to find a new home if they needed
one, and did not want to see the club fail.
Councillor Hebb stated that even though he was Ward Councillor he
was open-minded and had considered both the pros and cons of
disposal of the site. He felt that the report should be looked at
from the Council’s perspective, as a property owner and as a
fan of East Thurrock United Football Club. He felt that the
applicant had put forward well-considered plans to create a good
space, which managed traffic and was of high quality. He added that
he also wanted to see security for East Thurrock United Football
Club, and felt they would be a good neighbour. He added that the
space was used by the community and should be kept open to protect
the borough’s green belt. He stated that as a property owner,
the Council wanted to make sure they received value for money. He
summarised and felt that there was still lots of work to do
regarding the site, and many questions still to be answered, but
felt it was premature to dispose of the site now.
Councillor Coxshall added that the Local Plan still needed to
evolve, so East Thurrock United Football Club could still deliver
plans in the future, but in the five years since the original
proposal, Thurrock Council had further analysed all assets. He felt
that as the Local Plan was currently being designed, it would be
inappropriate to lose land at this time, and the Council had to
consider the whole picture as a landowner. The Leader added that
the Local Plan did not just include houses, but all assets
including open space and football pitches. He felt that added value
was not just about money, but included value for the community and
Local Authority, and how the space could improve resident’s
lives. He also clarified that Cabinet had received correspondence
regarding a planning application for the Crooked Billet pub, but
this was not a part of the Billet Field site. He also clarified
that all statistics in the reports were correct that day. The
Leader also highlighted point 2.3 of the report to Members, which
stated that the previous Cabinet in 2014 had only agreed to
disposal of the land if planning consent had been given, but plans
were not currently at that stage. He summarised and stated that the
submissions received in April 2019 were high-quality and felt there
may be conversation in the future regarding disposal of the site.
He added that the Council wanted to see East Thurrock United
Football Club remain successful and would help them to look at
other sites across the borough if they so wished.
It was highlighted that Councillor Watkins would not be taking part
in the vote due to his declaration of interest.
RESOLVED: That Cabinet:
1. Considered the contents of the report and agreed that the
request to progress with the disposal of Billet Field be declined
at this time.
Reason for decision: as outlined in the report
This decision is subject to call-in
Councillor Watkins returned at 19.39
Supporting documents: