Members and Committees

River Coquet

Quick Links:

• Full Authority - papers for next meeting
• Development Management Committee - papers for next meeting
• Public Speaking Scheme for Development Management Committee  

Details of Forthcoming Meetings

The next meeting of the Development Management Committee is scheduled to be held on Wednesday, 15 February, 2012 at 11am at Northumberland National Park HQ, Eastburn, Hexham.  The agenda and reports will be made available prior to the meeting.

• Meetings of the Development Management Committee are open to the public*. The Authority operates a Public Speaking Scheme for Development Management Committee meetings. Details are available by following the link. Please ensure that requests to take part in Public Speaking at the meeting are submitted to the Corporate Administration team in accordance with the instructions contained in the guidance document.

*Items containing exempt informations as defined by Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act are circulated to Members and Officers only and will be discussed under Part 2 of the agenda by the Development Management Committee in private.

The next scheduled meeting of the Full Authority is scheduled to be held on Wednesday, 21 March 2012 at National Park Headquarters, Eastburn, Hexham at 1.30pm. The agenda and reports will be made available prior to the meeting.

• Meetings of Northumberland National Park Authority are open to the public*. Public Questions can be put to the meeting in accordance with the Authority's Public Question Time Scheme and must be received in writing ten working days before the meeting.

*Items containing exempt information as defined by Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act are circulated to Members and Officers only and will be discussed under Part 2 of the agenda by the members of the Authority in private.

Committee Chairmen and Lead Members

Leader/Chairman - John Riddle
Deputy Leader/Deputy Chairman -  Anthony Murray

Lead Members:

Mike Bell (Distinctive Place)
Sue Bolam (Corporate Resources)
Alasdair Mitchell (Thriving Communities)
Peter Nicholson (Welcoming Park)
Liz Stockdale (Living Working Landscape)
Anthony Murray (Planning Policy and Performance)

Committees

The main business of Northumberland National Park Authority is transacted at the meetings of the Full Authority which take place in March, June, September and December.  All Development Management matters are considered at meetings of the Development Management Committee which is scheduled to meet every month (usually the third Wednesday of the month). Matters relating to the Members' Code of Conduct are dealt with by the Standards Committee. There are also a number of advisory Member/Officer Panels eg  Strategic Leadership Panel and the Review Panel, as well as subject specific Working Groups and Task and Finish Groups.

Membership

Twenty two Members* are appointed to Northumberland National Park Authority to serve for a fixed term of appointment (renewable); six are appointed by Northumberland County Council in the May following local elections, ten are appointed by the Secretary of State for the Environment to represent local, regional or national interests in April of each year when a vacancy arises; and six are appointed by the Secretary of State for the Environment through a group selection process following parish council elections to represent the four parish groupings in the National Park (Hadrian's Wall; North Tyne and Redesdale; Upper Coquet; Cheviot) and additionally the Berwick/Alnwick and Tynedale groupings.

The 22 members of the Authority serve on various committees directly involved in the running of the National Park Authority and also on a number of outside bodies on which they represent the interests of Northumberland National Park.

Three Independent Members are appointed to serve on the Northumberland National Park Authority Standards Committee.

Opportunities to apply to become a Board Member of the Authority or an Independent Member of the Authority are advertised in local newspapers and on the website when they arise.

* April 2011 NOTE:  As from 1st April 2011 there will only be 20 serving Members for a temporary period following the end of the 10-year term of appointment of Adrian Hinchcliffe and the resignation of Brian Walters.  It is not expected that the Secretary of State will be appointing new members to national park authorities until the results and any resulting membership changes from the Defra and Local Governance Review are known later this year and therefore the vacancies will stand for the time-being.

Scheme of Delegation

The Authority has adopted a Scheme of Delegation to Committees and Officers to permit swift and effective policy and decision-making by members and managerial and operational decision-making by officers within a framework of accountability to Government and local people.  The Scheme of Delegation delegates powers from the National Park Authority to Committees and Sub-committees and establishes Terms of Reference for Working Groups and Panels which can advise the Authority.  It also delegates powers to the Chief Executive (National Park Officer) to execute business and take decisions within a policy and financial framework and further delegates the powers of the Chief Executive (National Park Officer) to members of the Strategic Management Team and all of those other officers duly authorised in writing.