Agenda, decisions and minutes

To approve, as a correct record, the minutes of the meeting of the Cabinet held on 01 November 2021

The minutes of the meeting held on 01 November were agreed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

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

None received.

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 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 received.

To receive oral questions from Members, if any

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

To receive the draft minutes of the Cabinet Working Party for Projects held on 20^th October 2021.

There are no recommendations from Cabinet Working Parties to Cabinet this month.

RESOLVED

To receive the draft minutes of the meeting of the Cabinet Working Party for Projects, held on 20^th October 2021.

The following recommendations were made to Cabinet by the Overview & Scrutiny Committee at the meeting held on 10^th November 2021:

The Chairman invited Cllr N Dixon, Chairman of the Overview & Scrutiny Committee, to introduce this item. He began by saying the Tree Planting Strategy had been considered by the Overview & Scrutiny Committee on 10^th November. He said that the committee saw the strategy as the first step in a lengthy process, which included the ongoing maintenance of trees that were planted. The Committee had agreed that planting hedgerows was integral to the strategy and should therefore be reflected in the title.

Cllr Dixon said that the second recommendation reflected a wider discussion by the committee on building on and then broadening the ambitions of the tree planting strategy. It was felt that a biodiversity strategy could be developed in the future to reflect the importance and value of the ecosystems in the District which were dependent on peat, saltmarsh and seaweed.

The Portfolio Holder for Environment, Cllr N Lloyd, thanked Cllr Dixon for his comments. He said that the strategy was an overarching document under which a range of different methods and activities sat – including community orchards, mini forests and natural regeneration. He went onto say that it was unfortunate that the Climate & Environmental Policy Manager had not had the opportunity to present the strategy to the committee as she could have picked up on some of the points raised. He said that biodiversity was a key issue and that Cabinet supported its promotion but that wanted to focus on delivering the Corporate Plan objectives initially. He concluded by saying that the strategy covered all of the aspects raised by the committee, including hedgerows in some detail and he therefore did not feel that the title needed to specify this.

It was proposed by Cllr N Lloyd, seconded by Cllr R Kershaw and

RESOLVED

1.    That the Strategy already reflected the key concerns raised by the Overview & Scrutiny Committee and that there was no need to change the title to include hedgerows.

2.    That consideration be given to developing a separate biodiversity strategy, with special reference to ecosystems dependent on peat, salt marsh and seaweed, at a future date.

LIST OF BACKGROUND PAPERS AS REQUIRED BY LAW

(Papers relied on to write the report, which do not contain exempt information and which are not published elsewhere)

Decision

RESOLVED

That subject to Working Party endorsement of Plan content in December, Cabinet resolves to agree the Communications & Engagement Plan as the basis for conducting Regulation 19 public consultation on the Draft Local Plan and supporting documents.

Reason for the decision:

To expedite the preparation and adoption of a new Local Plan for the District.

Cllr J Toye, Portfolio Holder for Planning, introduced this item. He said that this was the third and final consultation on the Council’s Local Plan. He explained that the process for consultation for this stage of the Plan was regulated and must also comply with an adopted Statement of Community Involvement (SCI). He said that the report was coming straight to Cabinet for approval as officers wanted to ensure that the tight timescale was maintained. The Planning Policy & Built Heritage Working Party would consider the proposals at their meeting on 6^th December.

The Chairman of the Planning Policy & Built Heritage Working Party, Cllr A Brown, said that this was a public consultation and it was a limited legal process which allowed comment on soundness and compliance only. It was not another opportunity for the public to comment on wider issues such as the site allocations.

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

RESOLVED

That subject to Working Party endorsement of Plan content in December, Cabinet resolves to agree the Communications & Engagement Plan as the basis for conducting Regulation 19 public consultation on the Draft Local Plan and supporting documents.

Reason for the decision:

To expedite the preparation and adoption of a new Local Plan for the District.

LIST OF BACKGROUND PAPERS AS REQUIRED BY LAW

(Papers relied on to write the report, which do not contain exempt information and which are not published elsewhere)

Decision

RESOLVED to

1.    Adopt the principles contained within the draft Strategy document contained within Appendix A;

2.    Approve a provisional budget of £30k to support with the evidence gathering recommended within the Strategy, to be funded from the Invest to Save reserve;

3.    Request that the Overview & Scrutiny Committee undertake further work to develop and embed the draft strategy which will include evidence collection and engagement as outlined in the draft strategy. Further, that Cabinet be advised of the scope of the Committee’s work, progress and recommendations and

4.    Recommend to Full Council that further capital provision of £500,000 is allocated from capital receipts (to include any potential grant funding) to undertake improvements to facilities in Sheringham and North Walsham, to include provision of Changing Places facilities. These facilities will be delivered by the end of the 2022 calendar year.

Reasons for the decision:

To provide a more strategic approach to the management and investment off these important assets whilst continuing the capital investment improvement plan.

Cllr E Seward, Portfolio Holder for Assets, introduced this item. He said that he wished to propose the following amendment to the third recommendation:

‘Request that the Overview & Scrutiny Committee undertake further work to develop and embed the draft strategy which will include evidence collection and engagement as outlined in the draft strategy. Further, that Cabinet be advised of the scope of the Committee’s work, progress and recommendations’

Cllr Seward explained that replacing ‘task’ with ‘request’ reflected that the role of the Overview & Scrutiny Committee was separate to the executive functions of the Council.

Cllr Seward said that the Council was committed to providing public toilets across the District. They played an important role in supporting tourism, local businesses and residents. He said that it had been reported that up to 14m people in the UK suffered from urinary problems and access to public toilets was crucial.

Cllr Seward explained that refurbishment and remodelling work had already been completed on toilets in Sheringham, Bacton and Walcott and a changing places facility had been installed at the North Norfolk Information Centre in Cromer with further facilities scheduled for Stearman’s Yard, Wells and Queen’s Road, Fakenham. He said that the cost to the Council of providing such a key provision was substantial, with the net overall budget for 2021/22 being £730k. To ensure that the Council’s ambitious programme could be achieved, a further £500k was required to refurbish the toilets at Sheringham Leas and to replace the toilets in Victoria Street car park in North Walsham. He added that the public consultation for the North Walsham Heritage Action Zone had shown that there was demand for better toilet provision in the town.

Cllr Seward said that the Corporate Plan set out the ambition of a ‘changing places’ facility in every town in the District. This was on track to be achieved – either by NNDC or in conjunction with a partner. He added that since 2018, £1.2m had been spent on the provision of new toilets in North Norfolk. He then referred members to sections 4.5 and 4.6 of the report which highlighted that the Council had expressed an interest in the government programme for ‘changing places’. At least £40k should be forthcoming from this application process.

Cllr Seward then explained that the government had become concerned that Council’s were having to pay business rates on public conveniences. Something which discouraged many local authorities from retaining their toilets. For the current financial year, the cost of business rates for NNDC’s public toilets was £139k. Even when business rates relief was applied, £89K (64% of the total)  was still payable as relief was only received where they were the main / only building on site and most of the toilets were located on car parks. In conclusion, Cllr Seward said that the Council was bucking the national trend. Since 2010, one in seven public toilets had been closed and there were 37 local authority areas where there was no public toilet provision.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 176.

LIST OF BACKGROUND PAPERS AS REQUIRED BY LAW

(Papers relied on to write the report, which do not contain exempt information and which are not published elsewhere)

Decision

RESOLVED

To approve the amendments to reporting as outlined in paragraph 3.3 of the report

The Leader, Cllr S Butikofer, introduced this item. She said that strong progress had been made and that things were now moving forwards at pace. She added that additional reporting information was now available to sit alongside the performance report and made it easier for Members to see exactly where progress was being made.

It was proposed by Cllr S Butikofer, seconded by Cllr R Kershaw and

RESOLVED

To approve the amendments to reporting as outlined in paragraph 3.3 of the report

Decision

RESOLVED

That the Council be asked to RESOLVE that The Treasury Management Half Yearly Report 2021/22 is approved

Reason for the decision

Approval by Council demonstrates compliance with the Codes.

Cllr E Seward, Portfolio Holder for Finance and Assets, introduced this item. He said that this was a standard, cyclical report that would be considered by the Overview & Scrutiny Committee before approval by Full Council. Cllr Seward said that the cost of the Reef Leisure Centre and the waste vehicles had been paid for without long term borrowing being required. Short-term borrowing was also down too.

It was proposed by Cllr E Seward, seconded by Cllr W Fredericks and

RESOLVED

That the Council be asked to RESOLVE that The Treasury Management Half Yearly Report 2021/22 is approved

Reason for the decision

Approval by Council demonstrates compliance with the Codes.

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.”