Minutes are a summary, not a word-for-word record. Below are points from the recording that matter for EXMO20 or the Local Plan, set against what the official minutes say about them. Judge for yourself: each clip opens at the moment it was said.
Housing number: provisional Option B proposal replaced by a firm vote
Important Minutes much briefer · Cllr Todd Olive (Chair) · Morning 01:08:30 ▶
Said in the meeting“…I'm going to make a proposal that we provisionally agree that the housing needs be calculated based on option B as set out in the report, subject to clarification being brought to committee subsequently regarding the viability of option D?”
The minutesMembers agreed that the housing needs be calculated based on Option B as set out in the report.
The first proposal kept Option D open for more work, as members had asked (the minutes record that request). It was replaced by a firm Option B decision, carried 12 to 2 (01:12:59). The minutes do not record the provisional proposal or the vote count.
Water and sewerage capacity ruled out of the housing-number debate
Important Not in the minutes · Cllr Brian Bailey · Morning 01:11:06 ▶
Said in the meeting“we've got the elephant in the room which is southwest water now we're going to plan for these new houses we all know at the moment we surface water can't cope with the amount of houses they've got”
The minutesNot recorded in the minutes.
The Chair replied (01:11:25) that the decision had to rest on 'the logic of the specific options, not based on the implications of those options'. Water capacity was raised and set aside when the housing figure was fixed.
Councillor asks about 113 excluded sites with about 6,000 homes
Important Not in the minutes · Cllr Colin Brown · Morning 02:04:10 ▶
Said in the meeting“what about the 113 sites that we've passed so far that are not in exclusion zones are not in green wedges are not in a national landscape there's 6,000 properties there what's wrong with them”
The minutesNot recorded in the minutes.
A member asked why constrained sites were back while unconstrained sites were not. The Chair answered that they had been moved on for the same reasons committee gave before (02:04:38). Relevant to the alternatives available to EXMO20.
Chair: no target for Exmouth, and more was allocated there than officers recommended
Important Not in the minutes · Cllr Todd Olive (Chair) · Morning 02:46:08 ▶
Said in the meeting“There was no target set for Exmouth. Officers recommended a set of sites to come forward, and you're correct. We did allocate more than that. No specific targets have been set for any of our towns, any of our villages.”
The minutesNot recorded in the minutes.
Replying to Cllr Ingham, who said the 3 September 2024 Exmouth allocations went about 140 homes beyond what was considered. Confirms on record that Exmouth got more than officers recommended and that no settlement targets existed.
Consultation feedback report: motion put was to note it
Minutes differ · Cllr Todd Olive (Chair) · Morning 00:40:47 ▶
Said in the meeting“I will move the recommendation that we note the feedback report here.”
The minutesThe proposed draft revised chapters in the Local Plan be endorsed, noting that they will need to be refined in readiness for the proposed Regulation 19 draft of the Plan.
In the recording the officer said the report was 'simply there for members to note' and the vote was to note it. The resolution in the minutes, endorsing revised chapters, does not match the motion put.
Total homes if all officer recommendations were accepted
Minutes differ · Ed Freeman (officer, Assistant Director) · Morning 00:43:50 ▶
Said in the meeting“You'll see of all the officer recommendations that are before you in this report, if they were all accepted and all those sites were allocated, that would accommodate 2,455. um so that gives a little bit of additional surplus um of 177 homes”
The minutesIt was noted that if all the ‘moved on’ sites detailed in the report were allocated the total allocation of dwellings would be 2,485 which would meet the shortfall and also give a small additional surplus of 177 dwellings.
The recording says 2,455 (2,278 + 177). The minutes say 2,485, which does not match their own surplus of 177. Check against the report and the clip.
Officer: the SEA requires all alternative options to be considered
Not in the minutes · Ed Freeman (officer, Assistant Director) · Morning 00:47:03 ▶
Said in the meeting“through uh the strategic environmental assessment process uh that we go through in terms of assessing sites we have to consider all alternative options so we would be equally at fault if we didn't consider those sites as we are potentially if we're challenged for not considering them”
The minutesNot recorded in the minutes.
Officer advice that failing to consider all alternatives carries a risk of challenge. Relevant to whether alternatives to EXMO20 were later looked for across the district.
Officer says the Lympstone 07 technical report contained an error
Not in the minutes · Ed Freeman (officer, probably) · Morning 02:02:59 ▶
Said in the meeting“it was recommended for allocation there was an error in the technical report yeah so it was it was recommended for allocation by officers”
The minutesNot recorded in the minutes.
A parish council speaker had just quoted the officers' assessment as saying the site was not appropriate for allocation (01:43:38). The site was then allocated 7 to 5 with 2 abstentions. Shows assessment documents could contain errors.
Councillor: members may not weigh water and transport capacity
Minutes much briefer · Cllr Paul Hayward · Afternoon 00:17:59 ▶
Said in the meeting“the town can realistically sustain with its infrastructure, but we're not allowed to talk about infrastructure and southwest water and transport because they are the domains of other authorities.”
The minutesHe raised concerns about the number of houses Axminster had already been allocated and asked Committee to consider whether Axminster had already taken its fair share.
A committee member's understanding that water, sewerage and transport capacity were outside what members could weigh when allocating. No officer corrected it. The same approach would apply to sites such as EXMO20.
Promise: Regulation 19 views on late sites to come back to committee before submission
Minutes much briefer · Ed Freeman (officer, probably) · Afternoon 01:35:44 ▶
Said in the meeting“The best we can do is run it, if members are minded to support the site, is to put it in the Regulation 19 plan and seek views through that route and then make sure it comes back through this committee so that those views are considered before any plan is submitted for examination.”
The minutesthe advice received was that if these sites were agreed for allocation they could be included in the Regulation 19 consultation which would give the public an opportunity to comment on them before it is submitted for examination.
The minutes do not record the commitment that Regulation 19 views come back to this committee before submission, or the officer's action (01:37:51) to report on how late sites would be flagged in that consultation.
The KC legal advice on late sites was a telephone conversation
Minutes much briefer · Damian Hunter (planning solicitor) · Afternoon 01:42:36 ▶
Said in the meeting“On this occasion it's myself who spoke to King's Council and has his view on things so we had a telephone conversation and we discussed it over the telephone so that's the note that I've got of this”
The minutesMembers noted that legal advice had been sought on a small number of new sites including some additional land in Honiton
The officer said legal opinions are summarised in reports, not published, but can be made available to members on request (01:42:07). The minutes do not record the form of the advice or that offer.
Officer accepts a contradiction with the spatial strategy
Not in the minutes · Ed Freeman (officer, probably) · Afternoon 03:20:33 ▶
Said in the meeting“yes I mean that I can see what your point there is a contradiction there in terms of the strategy”
The minutesNot recorded in the minutes.
Asked whether giving more homes to lower-tier villages than to Budleigh Salterton leaves the plan open to challenge at examination. The officer accepted a contradiction, explained by the national landscape. Relevant to soundness.