Agenda, decisions and minutes

To approve, as a correct record, the minutes of the meeting of the Cabinet held on 4^th October 2021.

The minutes of the meeting held on 4^th October were agreed and signed as a correct record 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 11 as the County Council member for North Walsham East.

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 that Members could ask questions as matters arose throughout the meeting.

Decision

RESOLVED

Local Plan Strategic Policies:

1.    That the Local Plan strategic policies section be agreed as the basis for undertaking the consultation and submission in line with Regulation 19 – 22.

2.    That minor amendments in the finalisation of the proposed submission version be delegated to the Planning Policy Manager and Team Leader.

Five Year Land Supply Statement 2021 and Housing Delivery Test Result

That the Council publishes the 2021 Five Year Land Supply Statement.

Local Plan Site Allocations – Cromer

That land off Roughton Road (site references C19 and C19/1) is not included as a proposed allocation in the Regulation 19 version of the Local Plan.

Cllr J Toye, Portfolio Holder for Planning, introduced this item. He outlined the first recommendation and explained that these were strategic policies that aligned with the Local Plan and that would be used as the basis for undertaking consultation in line with Regulation 19. He added that he believed the environmental aspects of the policies to be ahead of many other local authorities. He then spoke about the Five Year Land Supply Statement and the Housing Test Delivery result and said that the Council had delivered 104% of the previous targets set during the last 4 years. Regarding the last recommendation relating to site allocations in Cromer, Cllr Toye said that this had not been supported by the Working Party and would therefore not be included in the Reg 19 version of the Local Plan.

It was proposed by Cllr J Toye, seconded by Cllr V Gay and

RESOLVED

Local Plan Strategic Policies:

1.     That the Local Plan strategic policies section be agreed as the basis for undertaking the consultation and submission in line with Regulation 19 – 22.

2.     That minor amendments in the finalisation of the proposed submission version be delegated to the Planning Policy Manager and Team Leader.

Five Year Land Supply Statement 2021 and Housing Delivery Test Result

That the Council publishes the 2021 Five Year Land Supply Statement.

Local Plan Site Allocations – Cromer

That land off Roughton Road (site references C19 and C19/1) is not included as a proposed allocation in the Regulation 19 version of the Local Plan.

The following recommendation was made to Cabinet by the Overview & Scrutiny Committee at the meeting held on 13^th October 2021:

Decision

RESOLVED

The Chairman of the Overview & Scrutiny Committee, Cllr N Dixon, introduced this item. He said that he wished to raise some key points relating to the recommendation on the use of housing delivery reserves. He began by saying that it had been a missed opportunity for pre-scrutiny and it was only because he had insisted that the report came forward that it was considered. He said that Cabinet and the Overview and Scrutiny Committee must work together more effectively in future and that there was an agreed protocol in place to support this. Consequently, the committee was not able to allocate as much time to the topic as they would have liked. Cllr Dixon then spoke about the recommendation which proposed that the Council worked more closely with the private sector to retain privately rented accommodation in the District. He said that the committee felt that a broader, multi-source approach was needed to address the housing issues in the District and the recommendation reflected this. He concluded by saying that it was felt that there was a contradiction in the proposals to move homes in shared-ownership over to affordable rentals and the Committee requested that Cabinet fully explore this approach and assess the implications.

Cllr W Fredericks, Portfolio Holder for Housing, thanked Cllr Dixon for his comments and acknowledged the issues he had raised regarding process. She said that she had suggested to officers that more homes should be moved from shared ownership to affordable rentals and that it was hoped to convert more as the opportunity arose.

Cllr Dixon replied that she had misunderstood the issues raised by the committee. It was felt that the issue had not been fully explored and that it could be a retrograde step. He said that there could be value in exploring all forms of housing provision. Shared ownership homes had the potential to thrive as well as returning capital receipts. It was for this reason that the committee felt there was more work to be undertaken on this matter. He said that either Cabinet should make the case clearly for converting to affordable rentals or reconsider whether it was the right approach. Cllr Fredericks thanked him for clarifying the issue. She said that the proposals had come about because there were so few larger houses available for private / social rent. A lot of shared ownership homes that were coming onto the market were not suitable for families on low wages and zero hours’ contracts.

Cllr C Cushing referred to the Housing 21 facility in Fakenham which provided a mix of both shared ownership and rental homes and said that both options were proving popular.

Cllr J Rest said that he had raised the issue at the Overview & Scrutiny Committee meeting as he felt that it was not the right approach. He said that it was better to own 10% of something than 0% of nothing. He added that banks were becoming more flexible with mortgage options and requested that Cabinet review  ...  view the full minutes text for item 160.

LIST OF BACKGROUND PAPERS AS REQUIRED BY LAW

(Papers relied on the write the report and which do not contain exempt information)

Decision

RESOLVED

1)    That £40,000 is released from the Invest to Save reserve to fund the purchase and implementation of Planning s106 software.

2)    That £150,000 is released from the Capital Receipts Reserve to fund the new Financial Management System purchase and implementation.

Reason for the decision:

To update Members on the current budget monitoring position for the Council.

Cllr E Seward, Portfolio Holder for Finance, introduced this item. He said that although there was currently a small underspend, it was anticipated that expenditure would match income at the end of the financial year. The waste contractor, Serco, had not invoiced the Council as yet, which meant that this money was currently set aside. He added that parking income and planning application and building control income were both above that forecast. Final works on the Reef were going ahead without additional borrowing being required.

Cllr C Cushing asked for clarification regarding the reserve figures. The Director of Resources replied that the forecast balance for 01 April 2023 was £17,988,379 with the balance as at 01 April 2021 being £28,871,047. He added that this looked artificially high due to an accounting entry for the business rates reserve.

Cllr Holliday asked whether enquiries had been made as to why Serco had not invoiced the Council yet and whether there should be cause for concern. Cllr Lloyd, Portfolio Holder for Environment, confirmed that it had been chased up. Serco’s accounting was undertaken overseas. The money would continue to accrue and be set aside until an invoice was issued. The Director of Communities confirmed that this was an issue across the consortium. There had been discussions regarding the financial modelling on which the invoices would be based as all of the local authorities had had concerns. These issues had now been resolved and it was anticipated that billing was imminent. He added that due to the size of Serco, the company could carry a relatively high level of cost on their balance sheet.

It was proposed by Cllr E Seward, seconded by Cllr J Toye and

RESOLVED

1)    That £40,000 is released from the Invest to Save reserve to fund the purchase and implementation of Planning s106 software.

2)    That £150,000 is released from the Capital Receipts Reserve to fund the new Financial Management System purchase and implementation.

Reason for the decision:

To update Members on the current budget monitoring position for the Council.

Decision

RESOLVED

To confirm the revised Delivery Plan priorities as detailed in Section 3.0 of the report.

Reasons for the decision:

To reflect the changed circumstances in which the Council has operated over the period since March 2020 in seeking to balance its Corporate Plan priorities against the ongoing COVID situation.

In the absence of the Leader, Cllr E Seward introduced this item. He outlined the background to the report, explaining that due to the pandemic, there had been less capacity to progress some aspects of the Council’s Corporate Plan Delivery Plan as originally proposed in February 2020. Cabinet had therefore reviewed the Delivery Plan objectives and actions in October 2020 at which time it agreed eighteen priority objectives for delivery over the 12 months from October 2020 – October 2021. the report outlined the progress made in delivering against the revised priorities given the prolonged COVID situation and against some other Corporate Plan objectives where capacity has existed and proposes new priority objectives for the next year.

Cllr J Toye said that he wished to highlight a couple of issues, following the recommendation from the Overview & Scrutiny Committee earlier in the agenda. Referring to page 73, section 2.2, he drew members’ attention to the possible acquisition of older housing trust properties which would be upgraded and made available for market rent. He then referred to page 87 (6.4) which proposed the reduction of staff travel and explore alternative options. Finally, he spoke about electric vehicle charging points (EVCPs) and said that the Council was ahead of other local authorities in installing these. Overall, he said that he was supportive of the proposals and said that good progress had been made.

Cllr V Holliday referred to the Corporate Plan and said that this had measuring impacts and performance metrics which were not reflected in the Delivery Plan and this made it difficult to judge the grading used. She referred to the numbers on the housing list which had a green RAG rating but said that it was hard to tell if this was a true reflection of the figures. Cllr Holliday then referred to the sports strategy and a health and wellbeing strategy which now seemed to have dropped off. She said that these were still important issues and requested an update. Cllr V Gay, Portfolio Holder for Culture, Leisure & Wellbeing, said that the intention was to bring forward a Quality of Life Strategy which would cover health and wellbeing. In addition, the County Council was also now preparing a countywide Health and Wellbeing strategy which would come back to the District Council for input and comment.

In responding to the first point regarding performance metrics, the Director of Communities, replied that the Chief Executive would be better placed to respond. The Delivery Plan set things out in a more linear form. A lot had been delivered but not in the order intended. He accepted the query regarding the grading criteria but said that it had been subject to robust discussion but overall it was a fair reflection of the Council’s progress.

Cllr Cushing commented on the lack of progress regarding income generation and cost saving ideas. Looking at page 91, objective 2, which was amber and he queried as nothing had been done on this, why it was not red.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 162.

Contact Officer, telephone number and email:

R Young, 01263 516162 robert.young@north-norfolk.gov.uk

Decision

RESOLVED

To delegate the determination of the final place making designs to the Assistant Director for Sustainable Growth in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Sustainable Growth

To delegate to the Assistant Director for Sustainable Growth in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Sustainable Growth, having regard to the consultation feedback, the decision on the proposed Traffic Regulation Order – on which NCC will follow the statutory consultation process

Agree to the potential use of a section of the New Rd Car Park as a bus interchange and to meet the revenue costs of its future maintenance

Agree in principle to the permanent designation of eight spaces at the Bank Loke Car Park and eight spaces at Vicarage Street car park as free short stay (1-hour) spaces, to compensate for the sixteen (30-minute) short stay free parking spaces that would be lost on Market place (whilst retaining disabled parking spaces in the Market place) should the place making scheme go ahead.

Reasons for the recommendations:

To enable the North Walsham ‘place making’ proposals to progress in a timely fashion and to ensure the land and resources are made available for the bus interchange proposals to be further developed.

The Portfolio Holder for Sustainable Growth, Cllr R Kershaw, introduced this item. He said that he wished to propose the following amendments to the recommendations (in italics):

1.     Agree to the potential use of a section of the New Rd Car Park as a bus interchange and to meet the revenue costs of its future maintenance

2.     Agree in principle to the permanent designation of eight spaces at the Bank Loke Car Park and eight spaces at Vicarage Street car park as free short stay (1-hour) spaces, to compensate for the sixteen (30-minute) short stay free parking spaces that would be lost on Market place (whilst retaining disabled parking spaces in the Market place) should the place making scheme go ahead

Cllr Kershaw said that this had been a very consultative process and the Council had engaged and consulted across the board during the previous 18 months. He said that there had been objections but they had diminished over the consultation period and the majority of businesses were now persuaded about the proposals. He said that the main aim was to make the town a better place. The key issue at the moment was the Traffic Regulation Order (TRO). The idea was to stop goods vehicles and heavy traffic going through the market place, unrestricted, at all times. He went onto say that it had become clear that new toilets were needed in the town and the intention was to replace them with a changing places public convenience. However, this was separate to the Heritage Action Zone project.

Cllr Gay thanked Cllr Kershaw for clarifying the proposals regarding the removal of traffic through the town centre, which section 5.1 of the report implied. She said that there had been great concern about not allowing deliveries at the start and end of the day and the impact on the evening economy of people not being able to collect food takeaways.

The Assistant Director for Sustainable Growth said that the consultation process had only just concluded and there had been a very good level of response from a wide range of parties. The next stage would be the formal consultation on the Traffic Regulation Order.

Cllr Seward reiterated Cllr Gay’s comments that the TRO should reflect people’s concerns regarding deliveries and evening trade. He said that new toilets would be welcomed.

It was proposed by Cllr R Kershaw, seconded by Cllr V Gay and

Resolved to approve (as amended)

To delegate the determination of the final place making designs to the Assistant Director for Sustainable Growth in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Sustainable Growth

To delegate to the Assistant Director for Sustainable Growth in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Sustainable Growth, having regard to the consultation feedback, the decision on the proposed Traffic Regulation Order – on which NCC will follow the statutory consultation process

Agree to the potential use of a section of the New Rd Car Park as a bus interchange and to meet the revenue  ...  view the full minutes text for item 163.

Decision

RESOLVED

That the changes to the revised Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 Policy and Procedures, set out at Appendix A, be approved.

Reason for the decision:

The Policy has been revised following an audit of the Council’s activities by the Investigatory Powers Commissioners Office (IPCO) conducted in 2021. Members are required to be aware of the RIPA activity undertaken by the Council.

Cllr N Lloyd, Portfolio Holder for Environment, introduced the report. He began by saying that section 3.1 should state ‘in the last two years’ not ‘two months’. He then explained that the policy had been revised following an audit of the Council’s activities by the Investigatory Powers Commissioners Office (IPCO) conducted in 2021 and was presented to Members for approval.

It was proposed by Cllr N Lloyd, seconded by Cllr J Toye and

RESOLVED

That the changes to the revised Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 Policy and Procedures, set out at Appendix A, be approved.

Reason for the decision:

The Policy has been revised following an audit of the Council’s activities by the Investigatory Powers Commissioners Office (IPCO) conducted in 2021. Members are required to be aware of the RIPA activity undertaken by the Council.

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 3 of Part I ofSchedule 12A (as amended) to the Act.”

It was proposed by Cllr V Gay, seconded by Cllr A Fitch-Tillett and

RESOLVED 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(s) of business on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A (as amended) to the Act.

Decision

RESOLVED

To amend and extend the current joint venture company contract with NEWS for three years from 2024 to 2027, accepting a shift to a variable gate fee based on actual costs from October 2021.

Reason for the recommendation:

The proposal to extend the contract with NEWS offers the Council the best value over the full term of the remaining contract and proposed extension period. 

It was proposed by Cllr N Lloyd, seconded by Cllr J Toye and

RESOLVED

To amend and extend the current joint venture company contract with NEWS for three years from 2024 to 2027, accepting a shift to a variable gate fee based on actual costs from October 2021.

Reason for the recommendation:

The proposal to extend the contract with NEWS offers the Council the best value over the full term of the remaining contract and proposed extension period.