Pip’s Patch

The full meeting of the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority (YDNPA) on Thursday, January 12, proved to be quite an anti-climax. The big question was – would they decide that the member champion for planning should not sit on the planning committee?

Gary Smith, the YDNPA director of conservation and community, maintained in his Review of the Member Champion Initiative, that there was a clear perception of a conflict of interest especially if the member champion for planning had been directly involved in working with officers and applicants to resolve  planning applications. Mr Smith added: “While it is entirely proper that the member champion for planning should not be constrained to always support the officer recommendations, any time that they do not do so can undermine the perception of their role as Champion of that area.”  Among the key roles of the member champions he listed “To champion the service within the Authority, and to represent and champion the service externally.”  One wonders if the officers want the member champion for planning to rubber stamp whatever they decide. If so that will not help in building good relationships between the Authority and those who live and work in the Yorkshire Dales. The member champion needs to be someone who does fully believe in the objectives of the National Park but at the same time can be a mediator between officers and applicants.  He or she should be prepared to disagree with planning officers so long as the alternative recommendation  is in line with YDNPA ‘s core objectives but also fosters the economic and social well-being of residents.

On Thursday, however, the full authority meeting got nowhere near discussing this interesting subject because the members did not accept the first recommendation in Mr Smith’s report: that to fit in with the new streamlined Authority the number of member champions should be reduced from eight to five. It was proposed that there should be one member champion for sustainable development which would amalgamate those for planning, forward planning and climate change and one for conservation (natural environment, cultural heritage and climate change).

N Yorks County Coun Roger Harrison-Topham commented that the Authority needed Renaissance Men to fill such complicated and diverse roles. Andrew Colley, and others argued that at a time when members needed to be more pro-active in the community  it wasn’t time to cut back on the number of member champions. It was pointed out that these member champions put in a their lot of time on a voluntary basis to fulfil such roles.

South Lakeland Dt Coun Ian McPherson stated: “What I hear is the enthusiasm and commitment of the member champions and it would seem as if we are throwing away a tremendous resource which doesn’t cost us. It enables members to be creative and to think outside the box and bring in fresh ideas.”

But with the debate moving towards accepting the status quo the Chief Executive, David Butterworth, reminded members that as yet they had done little to match the cuts made by the officers since it was announced that the grants to the Authority would be substantially reduced. He felt that the member champion initiative should be brought in line with the new structure of the Authority which now had three directorates rather than six departments.  He challenged the members to recognise and respond to the new financial and economic climate that the Authority was working in.

The Authority chairman, Craven Dt Coun Carl Lis, reproached Mr Colley for asking after Mr Butterworth’s comments: “Are members a mild irritation to officers rather than helping them?  We are here to promote the Park – we are here to support it.”

A very small majority of the members voted against the recommendation to amalgamate some of the member champion roles. There was also a close vote on the recommendation that the new member champion for corporate planning should not be able to sit on the Audit and Review Committee.  Coun Harrison-Topham said it wasn’t necessary to exclude the member champion and so lose so much expertise and knowledge. It would be sufficient, he felt, for the member champion to declare an interest and even leave the room if it was felt there was a conflict of interest. Coun Lis’s vote swung the vote in favour of the officer’s recommendation.

After that it was decided to send all the other recommendations back to the review panel. These included: “The job descriptions for member champions should be clarified and include guidance on how they are expected to carry out their role.”  Several at the meeting hoped that the review panel of four would discuss any recommendations more fully with other members, and especially the member champions, before they were brought back to the full authority for ratification.

Coming of Age?

“We are in our late teens or early 20′s,” Mr Butterworth said when explaining how the YDNPA had “come of age” and now had the expertise and experience to bring the role of Chief Finance Officer “in house”. This role had been fulfilled by a senior officer at North Yorkshire County Council since the YDNPA became independent of the county council in 1997. Members accepted the recommendation to let the YDNPA’s own head of finance take over this role from April this year – a move they were told will save the Authority £9,500 a year.