Agenda, decisions and minutes

To approve, as a correct record, the minutes of the meeting of the Cabinet held on 08 July 2024.

The minutes of the Cabinet meeting held on 8^th July were approved as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

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)

Cllr L Shires declared a non-pecuniary interest in Agenda Item 8 – Recommendations from Planning Policy & Built Heritage Working Party - North Walsham West Development Brief. She said she was a resident of North Walsham and a member of North Walsham Town Council.

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 during the meeting as matters arose.

The following recommendations were made by the Overview & Scrutiny Committee at the meeting held on 17 July 2024:

1.     East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust

Recommended that the Council –

(A) Request the East of England Ambulance Trust to provide

(1) the mapping of CFRs in North Norfolk to establish where any gaps in the numbers of volunteers are

(2) communication materials for members of the council to use when talking to their respective Parish and Town Councils about the co-responding and the role of CFRs

(B) the Council

(1) works with the Norfolk Ambulance Trust to help promote its Campaign on Community First Responders and co responding by signposting members of the public towards the Ambulance Trust’s Community First Responders https://www.eastamb.nhs.uk/join-the-team/volunteering-and-volunteers/community-first-responders

(2) encourages the members of the council to talk to their respective Parish and Town Councils on the importance of the work being done by Community First Responders with the aim of increasing the understanding of these roles and seeking to achieve more volunteers to apply for these roles

2.     North Walsham High Street Heritage Action Zone

‘To update the Overview & Scrutiny Committee in 12 months time on the impact of the North Walsham High Street Heritage Action Zone initiative and learning from this, to establish a set of evaluation criteria, including baselines, that can then be used for similar projects in other towns in North Norfolk.’

Decision

RESOLVED to support the following recommendations:

1. East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust

Recommended that the Council –

(A) Request the East of England Ambulance Trust to provide

(1) the mapping of CFRs in North Norfolk to establish where any gaps in the numbers of volunteers are

(2) communication materials for members of the council to use when talking to their respective Parish and Town Councils about the co-responding and the role of CFRs

(B) the Council

(1) works with the Norfolk Ambulance Trust to help promote its Campaign on Community First Responders and co responding by signposting members of the public towards the Ambulance Trust’s Community First Responders https://www.eastamb.nhs.uk/join-the-team/volunteering-and-volunteers/community-first-responders

(2) encourages the members of the council to talk to their respective Parish and Town Councils on the importance of the work being done by Community First Responders with the aim of increasing the understanding of these roles and seeking to achieve more volunteers to apply for these roles

2. North Walsham High Street Heritage Action Zone

‘To update the Overview & Scrutiny Committee in 12 months time on the impact of the North Walsham High Street Heritage Action Zone initiative and learning from this, to establish a set of evaluation criteria, including baselines, that can then be used for similar projects in other towns in North Norfolk.’

The Chairman invited Cllr N Dixon, Chairman of the Overview & Scrutiny Committee to speak. He outlined the recommendations in detail.

It was proposed by Cllr T Adams, seconded by Cllr J Toye and

RESOLVED to support the following recommendations:

1. East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust

Recommended that the Council –

(A) Request the East of England Ambulance Trust to provide

(1) the mapping of CFRs in North Norfolk to establish where any gaps in the numbers of volunteers are

(2) communication materials for members of the council to use when talking to their respective Parish and Town Councils about the co-responding and the role of CFRs

(B) the Council

(1) works with the Norfolk Ambulance Trust to help promote its Campaign on Community First Responders and co responding by signposting members of the public towards the Ambulance Trust’s Community First Responders https://www.eastamb.nhs.uk/join-the-team/volunteering-and-volunteers/community-first-responders

(2) encourages the members of the council to talk to their respective Parish and Town Councils on the importance of the work being done by Community First Responders with the aim of increasing the understanding of these roles and seeking to achieve more volunteers to apply for these roles

2. North Walsham High Street Heritage Action Zone

‘To update the Overview & Scrutiny Committee in 12 months time on the impact of the North Walsham High Street Heritage Action Zone initiative and learning from this, to establish a set of evaluation criteria, including baselines, that can then be used for similar projects in other towns in North Norfolk.’

The following recommendations were made by the Planning Policy & Built Heritage Working Party at the meeting held on 18 July 2024:

1.     Wells Neighbourhood Plan:

In order to comply with the statutory timeframe, the

Planning Policy & Built Heritage Working Party

recommends to the Leader to make a delegated

decision on behalf of Cabinet, that having been

subject to successful local referendum;

a. The Wells-Next-The-Sea Neighbourhood Plan be

made (brought into force) as part of the statutory

Development Plan for North Norfolk in accordance

with section 38A(4) of the Planning and

Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 (as amended) as

soon as practical and within the 8 week statutory

time frame and no later than 30th August 2024;

b. The issuing of the Decision Statement

2.     NW West Development Brief  (updated report attached)

Members are asked to recommend to Cabinet that:

a.     The Development Brief is endorsed as a material

consideration in order to assist in the development

and determination of applications in relation to the

emerging site allocation, Land West of North

Walsham (NW62/A)

and

b.     Prior to Cabinet, authority to make further minor

changes to the Development Brief is delegated to

the acting Planning Policy Manager.

Decision

RESOLVED to approve

1. Wells Neighbourhood Plan:

In order to comply with the statutory timeframe, the Planning Policy & Built Heritage Working Party recommends to the Leader to make a delegated

decision on behalf of Cabinet, that having been subject to successful local referendum;

a. The Wells-Next-The-Sea Neighbourhood Plan be made (brought into force) as part of the statutory Development Plan for North Norfolk in accordance with section 38A(4) of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 (as amended) as soon as practical and within the 8 week statutory time frame and no later than 30th August 2024;

b. The issuing of the Decision Statement

2. NW West Development Brief  (updated report attached)

Members are asked to recommend to Cabinet that:

a.     The Development Brief is endorsed as a material consideration in order to assist in the development and determination of applications in relation to the emerging site allocation, Land West of North Walsham (NW62/A)

and

b.     Prior to Cabinet, authority to make further minor changes to the Development Brief is delegated to the acting Planning Policy Manager.

Cllr A Brown, Portfolio Holder for Planning and Enforcement introduced this item. He said that he welcomed the completion of the Wells Neighbourhood Plan.

Regarding the North Walsham Development brief had been modified to reflect the Inspector’s comments.

The Chairman requested that a link to the Development brief could be published alongside the minutes.

It was proposed by Cllr A Brown, seconded by J Toye and

RESOLVED to approve

1. Wells Neighbourhood Plan:

In order to comply with the statutory timeframe, the Planning Policy & Built Heritage Working Party recommends to the Leader to make a delegated

decision on behalf of Cabinet, that having been subject to successful local referendum;

a. The Wells-Next-The-Sea Neighbourhood Plan be made (brought into force) as part of the statutory Development Plan for North Norfolk in accordance with section 38A(4) of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 (as amended) as soon as practical and within the 8 week statutory time frame and no later than 30th August 2024;

b. The issuing of the Decision Statement

2. NW West Development Brief  (updated report attached)

Members are asked to recommend to Cabinet that:

a.     The Development Brief is endorsed as a material consideration in order to assist in the development and determination of applications in relation to the emerging site allocation, Land West of North Walsham (NW62/A)

and

b.     Prior to Cabinet, authority to make further minor changes to the Development Brief is delegated to the acting Planning Policy Manager.

The Chairman introduced this item. He explained that it was a statutory report.

It was proposed by Cllr T Adams, seconded by Cllr J Toye and

RESOLVED

To receive and note the report and the register of decisions taken under delegated powers.

The Chairman said that there was an error for point 38 (page 50). It should state ‘the Customer Services Manager is reviewing current provisions and continues to look at opportunities to deliver more efficient customer interactions for both the customer and the Council. A fuller review process will be delivered across the summer months as part of the ongoing service reviews.’

He then explained that the retention of the second homes council tax premium remained ‘red’ due to the delay in the legislation being passed.

Other areas where actions were out of the Council’s control included the waste strategy and bank hubs.

Moving through to 2024/2025, he highlighted key actions which were currently ‘amber’ such as the Local Plan, increasing biodiversity in open spaces, the preparation of an Active Environment and Play Park Strategy and the provision of 3G pitches in several towns.

It was proposed by Cllr T Adams, seconded by Cllr L Shires and

RESOLVED

To note the report

Reason for the decision:

Ten actions in the 2023-24 Action Plan have been completed.

The remaining eighteen actions have been carried forward, updated or amended to reflect changed circumstances and been included in 2024-25 Annual Action Plan 2024-25 which was agreed in November 2023 and the implementation of which has started.

Resolved to recommend the following to Full Council:

1)    Seek approval of full Council to include a budget of £300k for borrowing costs in 2024/25 and that this be funded by using the Treasury Management Reserve (as explained in paragraph 4.8).

2)    Seek approval of full Council to include an addition to the capital programme in 2024/25 to the extension and enhancement of the car parking offer in the District, at a location to be identified and that this is funded from revenue (car park income) (as explained in paragraph 5.6).

Cllr L Shires, Portfolio Holder for Finance, introduced this item. She said that the forecast deficit was set out on page 55, together with the reasons for it. She then referred to Cllr W Fredericks, Portfolio Holder for Housing & Benefits as a lot of the additional financial burden related to the increased cost of providing temporary accommodation to homeless families across North Norfolk. She went onto say that savings were being monitored closely – particularly the £250k that were yet to be identified.

She thanked officers for their hard work in achieving savings and grappling with the additional pressures.

Finally, the drop in interest rates would impact on income generation and this was set out in the report.

Cllr Fredericks then spoke about the impact of homelessness and the rise in costs for providing temporary accommodation. She said that the greatest financial challenge was the temporary accommodation bill. Homing households was a statutory duty and there was not set budget for this. Several factors had increased the number of homeless households, including a reduction in the supply of private rental properties available, domestic abuse and overcrowding. A lot of work had been undertaken trying to assist people before they became homeless but the reality was that it was an increasing problem. She added that she was speaking about North Norfolk residents. Work continued with housing associations and developers to provide homes in the long-term.

In conclusion, Cllr Fredericks said that the district council had to fund the bulk of this support and savings were being made across non-statutory services to try and meet the rising costs.

The Chairman thanked everyone for their hard work in supporting struggling households. He added that councils across the country were facing similar pressures.

He then said that he wanted to propose the following amendment to recommendation 4 (in italics) rather than identifying a specific location:

4. Seek approval of full Council to include an addition to the capital programme in 2024/25 to the extension and enhancement of the car parking offer in the District, at a location to be identified and that this is funded from revenue (car park income) (as explained in paragraph 5.6).

Cllr C Cushing said that it was good news that the savings that were yet to be identified were on track to be achieved. He referred to the forecast £1m deficit and he asked what work was underway to identify further savings and when members may be updated on this. Cllr Shires said that officers were working on savings and income generation and there were service reviews underway. She said that her aim was to report this in the next Budget Monitoring report.

The Director for Resources was invited to speak. She said that service reviews were being carried out. Some were already underway, including a review of the car park management contract. The budget position was being closely monitored and every step was being taken to reduce the level of deficit and vacant posts were being reviewed to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 30.

Decision

RESOLVED that

Option 1 - Full and winter closures is progressed by officers, for the least well used and most aged sites in terms of management or maintenance, to include discussions with town and parish councils and other interested parties, regarding possible transfer of sites, where there is a particular context for doing so.

The Chairman introduced this item. He said that the Budget Monitoring report had set out the context regarding financial pressures and there were now a number of considerations regarding the Council’s estate and the public conveniences were part of this wider review. He said for some of the sites, the decision was straightforward regarding future ownership. In some cases, the Council did not own the building but operated the facilities on behalf of the community or local businesses. In others, the usage was a factor, especially where it had dropped to a very low level, particularly during the winter months. There were also examples of the facilities no longer suiting the needs of the location.

The Chairman then spoke about Weybourne, where there was no sewage connection to the public conveniences and it was very hard to maintain to a suitable standard and the cost of upgrading it was very high. Regarding Stalham, he said that the intention was to replace this in the future. The location no longer worked for the town and it was hoped to relocate it to the car park at some point. He went onto say that some sites were in locations where there was no income stream for the Council and it made sense to look into the option of transferring them to a partner to operate if possible. He then said that it was not the case that they were not needed but that the best approach would be for another party to operate them. He assured members that there was no intention to immediately start closing toilets but said that the Council was keen to start discussing options with interested stakeholders and representatives from the affected communities, with the aim of keeping them open.  He then spoke about the winter closures, mainly in coastal locations but also the Broads. For some, such as Wells, Cromer and Sheringham there was nearby provision that would meet the wintertime demand. Overall, it was hoped to realise about £100k of savings, although there were some contract considerations regarding the Serco cleansing contract.

In conclusion, the Chairman said he hoped he had explained the situation fully. He invited the Portfolio Holder for Finance to comment. Cllr Shires said that the Council was looking to work with partners to ensure that the facilities remained open. The financial pressures which were impacting on housing provision for homeless families in the district meant that all options needed to be considered. She added that the review was in the very early stages and it would be coming back for further consideration later in the year. She acknowledged that it could adversely affect some areas in the district but all options would be considered to ensure that the impact was minimal and where possible, a smooth transition to a partner was  put in place.

The Chairman invited members to speak:

Cllr M Taylor, Local member for Stalham, said that he and Cllr Bayes both understood the budgetary pressures that the council was  ...  view the full minutes text for item 31.

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.”