Making the Council work for you
In 2001 Wealden District Council adopted the Cabinet-style of local government. The 55-member Council decides the framework for all major decisions. A Cabinet, made up of eight members from the majority political party – currently the Conservatives – takes decisions within that framework on behalf of the Council and makes recommendations on new issues.
This year a number of changes were made to the Council’s structure to improve the delivery of its services, take on new responsibilities and allow councillors to take a bigger role in examining the district’s future needs.
The role of the ‘watch dog’ committees, the all-party Overview and Scrutiny committees has been re-arranged to enable a Select Committee, to look at the wider issues affecting Wealden and its inhabitants and make proposals to Cabinet and Council.
The three other Overview & Scrutiny Committees, are the Economic, Community and Cultural, Environment and Internal committees.
These review decisions taken by the Cabinet and refer objections to Council where it feels fit. Individual Councillors also have the opportunity to call-in Cabinet decisions for wider debate by the full 55-member Council.
To help quicken up the planning process, the number of Councillors on the District’s two decision–making planning sub-committees, Development Control North and Development Control South, has been reduced from 22 to 12. Sub-committee members will not be able to vote on planning applications in their own ward.
Members of the public can register before meetings to speak on specific applications at planning sub-Committee meetings but the number of speakers for and against an application is limited to two in relation to each application.
A new responsibility for Council is entertainment and alcohol licensing. These powers transfer from the Magistrates Courts to the Council in February 2005 and are carried out by the Liquor and Entertainments Licensing Committee.
