The GIS Manager introduced the report as set out in the agenda papers.

The Chair invited Members to ask questions and make comments and these included:

·         Referred to paragraph 13.1 on page 24 of the report, and said the words “…relevant Lead Member”, should be replaced with “…..relevant committee”;

·         referred to paragraph 5.5 on page 18 of the report, and said that consultation with the Local Ward Councillor on proposed street and road names was in the previous policy but currently there was no consultation with local ward Councillors;

·         referred to paragraph 5.7 of the report and asked that ‘portfolio holder’ be replaced with ‘relevant Chair’;

·         referred to paragraph 5.17 and asked whether the final fee had been included in the Council’s fees and charges?;

·         referred to paragraph 5.15 and that ‘organization’ be replaced with the correct spelling ‘organisation’;

·         referred to paragraph 10 and asked that SGN; UK Power Networks; and South East Water be added to the list;

·         would the policy be reviewed annually?;

·         referred to a typographical error in the first sentence of paragraph 9.3 on page 23 of the report that ‘..remand..’ should say ‘..renamed..’.; and

·         needed to ensure the policy had a nice glossy front page prior to publishing on the website.

The GIS Manager apologised that Members had not previously been consulted on proposed street and road names and would ensure that happened moving forward.  He confirmed that the final fee for the service was included within the Council’s fees and charges 2026-27 and they were often reviewed and kept in-line with other local authority fees.  He outlined the process for new development street naming which included the developer suggesting three names which would be reviewed by officers and they should then be forwarded to the relevant Ward Councillor for comment.

The Chair asked that she be included in emails forwarded to Ward Councillors so she could follow the process and ensure the relevant communication was taking place.  The GIS Officer agreed to this request.

The GIS Officer agreed to update the document as requested by Members.  He advised that the Policy would only be brought back to the Committee if there were any major changes proposed.  The Head of Environment and Leisure advised that reviewing the policy annually was a standard clause within the Council’s policy template and was for officers rather than Committee to check whether any new government legislation had been implemented that would require a change to the policy.

In response to points raised by the Chair, the GIS Officer reported that he attended the GIS Kent Forum where officers from other local authorities ensured all fees and charges and policies were in-line, and he was confident that if they needed to share the policy with other local authorities it would not be an issue.  He agreed to include any relevant links to the online version of the policy. 

A Member referred to paragraph 4.3 on page 16 of the report ‘To shorten the road naming process it is recommended that the developer consults with the local community, Parish/Town Council and local councillors for suggested names for new roads prior to submission’, and said the process appeared to be repeated under paragraph 5.5 on page 18 of the report “It is the policy of the Council to consult with the appropriate Local Ward Councillor and Parish or Town Council on proposed street and road names.’  In response, the Head of Environment and Leisure explained that it was necessary to include paragraph 5.5 as back-up in case the developer did not follow the process as requested.

In response to a question about how the Council would measure whether the improvements to the policy had worked the GIS Manager explained that for any complaints received, officers would be able to refer to the policy and this would free-up officer time.

Resolved:

(1)      That the amended Steet Naming and Numbering Policy as minuted be referred to the Policy and Resources Committee for approval.