Agenda, decisions and minutes

To approve, as a correct record, the minutes of the meeting of the Cabinet held on 04 September 2023.

Please note that there is an exempt minute for Agenda item 15 – Rocket House, Cromer, which is not included in the public agenda pack.

The minutes of the meeting held on 4^th September were approved subject to the following amendment on page 3, Recommendations from Cabinet Working Parties paragraph 2:

‘It was regrettable that they would lead to no increased growth in the parish’

Cllr C Cushing referred to Minute 45 – Rocket House Building, Cromer and asked when the requested briefing for Members was likely to take place. The Leader replied that a date had not been confirmed yet but it would be soon.

To receive questions and statements from the public, if any.

None received.

Members are asked at this stage to declare any interests that they may have in any of the following items on the agenda. The Code of Conduct for Members requries that declarations include the nature of the interest and whether it is a disclosable pecuniary interest (see attached guidance and flowchart)

None.

To determine any other items of business which the Chairman decides should be considered as a matter of urgency pursuant to Section 100B(4)(b) of the Local Government Act 1972

None.

To receive oral questions from Members, if any

The Chairman advised members that they could ask questions as matters arose.

To consider any recommendations referred to the Cabinet by the Overview & Scrutiny Committee for consideration by the Cabinet in accordance within the Overview and Scrutiny Procedure Rules.

There were no recommendations made to Cabinet at the meeting of Overview & Scrutiny Committee on 13^th September.

There were no recommendations to Cabinet made at the Overview & Scrutiny Committee meeting held on 13^th September.

The following recommendations were made at the meeting of Planning Policy & Built Heritage Working Party meeting held on 11^th September:

To recommend to Cabinet that:

1.    The responses received to the first round of public consultation on the Glaven Valley Conservation Area Appraisal are noted, and the subsequent revisions made to the text and boundary are endorsed;

2.    Another round of public consultation is undertaken on the revised appraisal document as laid out in the report, the results of which will be brought back to Working Party in due course.

Decision

RESOLVED that

Cllr A Brown, Chairman of the Planning Policy & Built Heritage Working Party, introduced this item. He explained that a further consultation was being rolled out for a 3 week period and it was anticipated that the matter would come back to the Working Party and then Cabinet in November.

It was proposed by Cllr A Brown, seconded by Cllr T Adams and

RESOLVED that

The Chairman introduced this item. He explained that it had been considered by Overview & Scrutiny Committee on 11^th September and he had no further comments to add to the written report.

It was proposed by Cllr T Adams, seconded by Cllr W Fredericks and

RESOLVED to

Note the report, address any recommendations from the Overview & Scrutiny Committee and endorse the actions being taken by Corporate Leadership Team as detailed in the appendix.

Reasons for the decision:

To ensure that the objectives of the Council are achieved.

Decision

RESOLVED that

1.    NNDC accept the Round 2 LAHF grant

2.    Officers seek to work with Flagship to acquire three of the four homes, and officers seek to identify one LAHF home to acquire for use as TA to be match funded from our existing TA budget

3.    In the likely event that Flagship are unable to find three homes to purchase, that officers seek to identify up to four homes to acquire to be match funded using the existing TA budget and HPG funding

4.    Cabinet give delegated authority to the Section 151 Officer / other member of Corporate Leadership Team, in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Housing and Peoples Services, to agree the specific purchase of up to four properties (within the identified budget limits).

Reason for the decision:

To seek approval for the Council to accept the LAHF grant and agree the delivery option recommended

Cllr W Fredericks, Portfolio Holder for Housing, introduced this item. She explained that this was the second round of funding through the Local Authority Housing Fund (LAHF) and would be used to acquire 4 homes to meet housing need in the District. Three homes would be used to meet the needs of resettled Afghan households and wone would provide temporary accommodation for homeless households. The grant could cover up to 40% of the capital cost with a further £20k per home for associated costs.

The Chairman invited Members to speak:

Cllr C Cushing sought clarification regarding Option A and Option B and asked whether for both options whether it would be the same properties that would be purchased. Cllr Fredericks confirmed that it would and explained that Option B was referenced to be ‘challenging’ because Flagship Homes would only agree to take on new build properties and this was not affordable with the level of funding on offer. For that reason, Option A was the preferred option.  

The Housing Strategy & Delivery Manager (ND) confirmed that this was the case and said that the Council was willing to purchase older properties as long as there were no major maintenance issues.

It was proposed by Cllr W Fredericks, seconded by Cllr T Adams and

RESOLVED that

1.     NNDC accept the Round 2 LAHF grant

2.     Officers seek to work with Flagship to acquire three of the four homes, and officers seek to identify one LAHF home to acquire for use as TA to be match funded from our existing TA budget

3.     In the likely event that Flagship are unable to find three homes to purchase, that officers seek to identify up to four homes to acquire to be match funded using the existing TA budget and HPG funding

4.     Cabinet give delegated authority to the Section 151 Officer / other member of Corporate Leadership Team, in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Housing and Peoples Services, to agree the specific purchase of up to four properties (within the identified budget limits).

Reason for the decision:

To seek approval for the Council to accept the LAHF grant and agree the delivery option recommended

Decision

RESOLVED

That Cabinet support the granting of £1,186,000 of existing s106 housing monies in 2023/24 to support Registered Providers deliver new affordable housing schemes as detailed in the report.

Reason for the decision:

To provide support for £1,186,000 grant funding to help deliver affordable homes

Cllr W Fredericks, Portfolio Holder for Housing, introduced this item. She explained that, following a previous Cabinet decision to establish an annual budget in the Capital Programme, using Section 106 receipts held by the Council, this report now detailed the programme of grants for 2023/24 and sought support to provide s106 grants totalling £1,186,000 which would provide 71 affordable homes.

It was proposed by Cllr W Fredericks, seconded by Cllr T Adams and

RESOLVED

That Cabinet support the granting of £1,186,000 of existing s106 housing monies in 2023/24 to support Registered Providers deliver new affordable housing schemes as detailed in the report.

Reason for the decision:

To provide support for £1,186,000 grant funding to help deliver affordable homes

Decision

RESOLVED

Cabinet to receive the report and to formally confirm

• Political commitment and support for the development of Age Friendly Communities in North Norfolk.
• Alignment with UK network of Age Friendly Communities (Centre for better ageing).
• Alignment with the WHO Global for Age Friendly Cities and Communities, which should be evidenced by written confirmation of the political support from the leader of the Council.

Reason for the decision

Political support and endorsement is required to enable alignment with and access to networks which will provide guidance, resources and peer support to progress the achievement of Age Friendly Communities in North Norfolk.

With the current older demographic of the district and predicted increase of older residents in North Norfolk aligning with Age Friendly Communities will assist in developing a culture of supporting older residents and visitors to live and enjoy healthy and active later lives.

In turn, this will support other services and systems within the district, including those provided by NNDC and health services, by reducing admissions to hospital and use of resources which are better provided elsewhere, increasing community and individual resilience, helping maintain independence and improving wellbeing.

In the absence of Cllr Withington, Portfolio Holder for Community Outreach, Cllr W Fredericks introduced this item. She outlined the definition of an age friendly community and explained that it focussed on four key aspects to help residents age well and live a good later life. Somewhere that people could stay in their homes, participate in the activities they valued and contribute to their communities for as long as possible. She added that the District had the oldest demographic in the UK, with one in three residents being over the age of 65. She concluded by saying that the Council was the first District Council to adopt this approach. As Chair of the North Norfolk Health & Wellbeing Partnership, she said that this strategy was very important and one of the sub-groups focussed on living and ageing well.

The Chairman invited Members to speak:

Cllr A Brown asked if there was any prospect of Norfolk County Council following suit in adopting this approach and if so, would this result in a review of the proposed closures of Blakeney surgery and Benjamin Court in Cromer.

Cllr Fredericks replied that representatives from the Integrated Care Board and Adult Social Services attended the Health & Wellbeing Older Persons Working Group meetings. So, findings would be fed back to them. She agreed that the County Council should adopt this approach as may people chose to retire in North Norfolk and it impacted on the provision and quality health services in Norfolk generally.

Cllr L Shires said that she welcomed this report which was very powerful. She said that it was vital that older people had access to services but also to support from each other. She said that she understood the reference to the County Council and one of the biggest issues that elderly people faced was traversing uneven pavements. She asked if there was a consultation prepared to assist with understanding the older residents in the district and what they would want to see from this strategy.  The Service Development Officer (Early Help) said that an initial piece of work was underway by the Older Persons Working Group and it was intended that the Community Connector Team would be involved in various events to undertake some initial scoping work and a survey. There were also ongoing discussions with GP surgeries to assist with the scoping of any consultation. A big part of the process was speaking to ageing communities and listening to their voices.

It was proposed by Cllr W Fredericks, seconded by Cllr T Adams and

RESOLVED

To receive the report and to formally confirm

• Political commitment and support for the development of Age Friendly Communities in North Norfolk.
• Alignment with UK network of Age Friendly Communities (Centre for better ageing).
• Alignment with the WHO Global for Age Friendly Cities and Communities, which should be evidenced by written confirmation of the political support from the leader of the Council.

Reason for the decision

Political support and endorsement is required to enable alignment with and  ...  view the full minutes text for item 58.

To pass the following resolution:

“That under Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972 the press and public be excluded from the meeting for the following item of business on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraphs _ of Part I ofSchedule 12A (as amended) to the Act.”