Agenda and minutes

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Contact: Emma Denny  Email: Emma.Denny@north-norfolk.gov.uk

Items
No. Item

158.

Apologies for Absence

To receive apologies for absence, if any.

Minutes:

Apologies were received from Cllrs W Fredericks, P Heinrich, N Housden, G Perry-Warnes, C Stockton, J Toye and A Yiasimi.

159.

Minutes pdf icon PDF 441 KB

To confirm the minutes of the meetings of the Council held on 9th February and 23rd February 2022.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The minutes of the meeting held on 9th February were approved as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

 

The minutes for the meeting held on 23rd February 2022 were approved and signed by the Chairman, subject to the following amendment:

 

The recorded vote for Agenda Item 10, Recommendation 10 - Council Tax should state that Cllr T FitzPatrick voted against the recommendation and that Cllr W Fredericks voted for the recommendation.

160.

Items of Urgent Business

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.

Minutes:

None.

161.

TO RECEIVE DECLARATIONS OF INTERESTS FROM MEMBERS pdf icon PDF 721 KB

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 requires that declarations include the nature of the interest and whether it is a disclosable pecuniary interest (see attached guidance and flowchart)

Minutes:

The following members declared a non-pecuniary interest in Agenda item 10: Opposition Business, as elected members of Norfolk County Council:

 

Cllr T Adams, Cllr N Dixon, Cllr T FitzPatrick, Cllr S Penfold, , Cllr L Shires, Cllr E Vardy.

162.

Chairman's Communications

To receive the Chairman’s communications, if any.

Minutes:

The Chairman updated members on recent civic events. The Vice-Chairman, Cllr P Grove-Jones spoke about her visit to the Cromer Christian Fellowship commissioning service for the new Church Leader on 19th March. She said it had been very enjoyable and she was made to feel very welcome.

 

The Chairman then spoke about his support for ‘It’s on the Ball’ cancer charity. He said that he had joined David Holliday from Moongazer Ale for part of his 147 mile journey pushing a beer barrel from Hindringham to St Bart’s Hospital in London. To date, £17,600 had been raised for the charity. 

 

He concluded by thanking members for attending the Chairman’s Afternoon Tea at the How Hill Trust, Ludham. It had been a wonderful afternoon and raised just over £300 for the Chairman’s charities.

 

 

163.

Leader's Announcements

To receive any announcements from the Leader.

Minutes:

The Leader, Cllr Adams began by updating Members on the Tree Planting project. He said that by the end of the latest tree planting season, a total of 71,000 trees had been planted and he was hopeful that the overall target of 110,000 would be achieved on time. He thanked everyone involved.

 

He then spoke about £300k of additional funding that had recently been received for the Changing Places project. He thanked the Director for Resources for his work in pursuing this funding and Cllr E Spagnola for her initial challenge to the Council  to install new facilities across the District. This had led to a real difference for both residents and visitors, with new facilities in Fakenham and Wells already underway and more planned for Holt and Stalham.

 

Cllr Adams then highlighted the recent announcement that North Norfolk would be one of two areas in the country where funding from the Coastal Transition Accelerator Programme had been allocated. It would focus on helping communities and businesses on areas of the coast that could not sustainably be defended from coastal erosion.

 

Regarding the recent invasion of Ukraine, Cllr Adams said that the Council had appointed a Ukrainian Community Support Officer and 39 properties had been checked for their suitability to host Ukrainian families. Currently over 70 people were expected to come to North Norfolk. He thanked the community groups and hubs for their support in welcoming refugees.

 

The Leader then updated members on ongoing discussions around a County deal. He said that there had not been significant progress yet. He had attended the District Council Network (DCN) mini conference in March and the message was that if such county deals were not managed carefully, there was a risk of regionalisation rather than localisation of local government.

 

The Council had started to look at the opportunities presented by the Levelling Up fund and the Shared Prosperity Fund. The latter was disappointing for the District, with only a relatively small amount of funding available. 

 

Cllr Adams concluded by talking about upcoming projects. He said that the Quality of Life Strategy was due to go to Cabinet shortly and he thanked the Assistant Director for People Services for her work on this. He then spoke about recent meetings he had had with representatives from Holt and Stalham Town Councils, ahead of further meetings with Fakenham and Cromer Town Council. He finished by reminding members about the Mammoth Marathon which was taking place in May. It was the first road marathon in North Norfolk since 1990 and officers had worked very hard alongside the North Norfolk Beach Runners to put it in place.

  

 

164.

Public Questions and Statements

To consider any questions or statements received from members of the public.

Minutes:

None received.

165.

Portfolio Reports pdf icon PDF 225 KB

To receive reports from Cabinet Members on their portfolios.

 

Members are reminded that they may ask questions of the Cabinet Member on their reports and portfolio areas but should note that it is not a debate.

 

No member may ask more than one question plus a supplementary question, unless the time taken by members’ questions does not exceed 30 minutes in total, in which case, second questions will be taken in the order that they are received (Constitution, Chapter 2, part 2, section 12.2)

 

The following question for the Portfolio Holder for Leisure, Cllr Gay, has been submitted in advance by Cllr J Rest:

 

Can we be advised on the predicted running costs that will be incurred at the REEF Leisure centre, due to excessive rising fuel costs - as reported on Sky news 10/04/22 by Jane Nickerson of Swim England’s governing body, Jane Nickerson.

 

In addition, please can the following information be provided:

·         Details of any terms stated in the contract to cover this.

·         Details of any subsidy that NNDC will be required pay to cover this increase in costs.

·         Details of any provisions that ‘Everyone Active’ has in place for such an eventuality.

 

Cabinet members (listed alphabetically)

 

Cllr T Adams (Leader / Executive Support)

Cllr A Fitch-Tillett – Coast

Cllr W Fredericks – Housing & Benefits

Cllr V Gay – Leisure, Culture & Wellbeing

Cllr R Kershaw – Sustainable Growth

Cllr N Lloyd – Environment

Cllr E Seward – Finance, Assets & Legal

Cllr L Shires – Organisational Resources

Cllr J Toye – Planning & Enforcement

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Chairman invited members to put questions to Portfolio Holders.

 

Cllr C Cushing asked the Leader, Cllr T Adams, about the impact of the recent nutrient neutrality ruling from Natural England. He said that it was having an immediate effect on his ward of Fakenham, with a large housing development there now on hold. He asked the Leader if there was any information on the next steps to address such issues. Cllr Adams replied that it was an example of where a national issue was affecting normal people as well as having a wider impact on builders and suppliers. He said that the Council was trying to progress applications as far as it could until the issue was resolved. He said that he would he would follow up on Cllr Cushing’s query regarding the Fakenham development and come back to him.

 

Cllr A Brown asked the Leader if there were any targets regarding the homing of Ukrainian refugees in the County and the District specifically. The Leader replied that currently only small numbers were coming through. He said that dialogue with neighbouring councils had been good and over 70 people were due to come to North Norfolk soon.

 

Cllr G Hayman asked the Leader what he was doing personally to support Ukrainian refugees and whether he wished to thank the local MP for taking in a refugee. The Leader replied that he would like to thank everyone who was involved in supporting Ukrainian refugees. He added that it was not possible for everyone to take a refugee into their home but he also worked with charities outside of his role as a councillor which were providing support.

 

Cllr R Kershaw said that he had offered two double rooms for refugees at the start of the crisis but had not received a response from the Government so far, despite chasing it several times.

 

Before taking questions on her portfolio, Cllr A Fitch-Tillett drew members’ attention to a couple of key points. She said that one set of beach access steps at Overstrand had been shut. At Happisburgh there was an issue with sand martins nesting so the cutting of the access ramp was being delayed until the nesting season was over. She finished by welcoming the additional coastal funding that the Leader had announced earlier. Cllr J Stenton asked for further detail on how the funding would be released. Cllr Fitch-Tillett replied that it was hoped that this initial tranche could be used to leverage in further funding in the future. She added they had only been notified of the funding a month ago so it was still early in the process.

 

The Chairman then advised members that the following written question had been submitted in advance by Cllr J Rest for Cllr V Gay, Portfolio Holder for Leisure, Culture & Wellbeing:

 

Can we be advised on the predicted running costs that will be incurred

at the REEF Leisure centre, due to excessive rising fuel costs - as

reported on Sky  ...  view the full minutes text for item 165.

166.

Questions Received from Members

A question has been submitted by Cllr J Rest. As this relates to a Cabinet / Executive function, it will be dealt with under ‘Portfolio Reports’

 

Minutes:

A question had been submitted by Cllr Rest. It had been dealt with under Portfolio Holder reports.

167.

Opposition Business

Please note that the total time allotted for this item is 30 minutes – as set out in the Constitution, Chapter 2, paragraph 3.7(d)

 

The following item of Opposition Business has been received, proposed by Cllr G Mancini Boyle, seconded by Cllr T FitzPatrick:

 

Opposition Business Motion – Norwich Western Link


‘North Norfolk District Council pledges its full support for the construction of the Norwich Western Link dual carriageway which will deliver the following benefits for North Norfolk:

 

• Reduce ambulance response times for the whole of North Norfolk.

 Boost North Norfolk's economy and support its businesses.

• Enable speedier access from North Norfolk to the A11 by reducing through traffic around Norwich. 

• Lead to a reduction in CO2 and other greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles.

• Improve road safety and take traffic off unsuitable roads. 


This Council therefore resolves to request the Leader of North Norfolk District Council to write to the Leader of Norfolk County Council reaffirming its fullest support for the Norwich Western Link.’

 

 

Minutes:

The following item of Opposition Business had been proposed by Cllr G Mancini-Boyle, seconded by Cllr T FitzPatrick:

 

The Chairman, Cllr J Punchard, proposed that a recorded vote was taken. Cllr T FitzPatrick seconded this

 

Norwich Western Link

 

‘North Norfolk District Council pledges its full support for the construction of the Norwich Western Link dual carriageway which will deliver the following benefits for North Norfolk:

 

• Reduce ambulance response times for the whole of North Norfolk.

• Boost North Norfolk's economy and support its businesses.

• Enable speedier access from North Norfolk to the A11 by reducing through traffic around Norwich.

• Lead to a reduction in CO2 and other greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles.

• Improve road safety and take traffic off unsuitable roads.

 

This Council therefore resolves to request the Leader of North Norfolk District Council to write to the Leader of Norfolk County Council reaffirming its fullest support for the Norwich Western Link.’

 

Cllr Mancini-Boyle introduced the motion by saying that although the Western Link was not in North Norfolk, residents, businesses and tourists across the District would benefit from its completion. He referenced access to the Norfolk & Norwich Hospital (NNUH). Many residents had to drive through small rural villages to get there and this meant that ambulances and lorries also had to drive these routes which were often unsafe and lengthy. Access to the A11 was also challenging. Heavy traffic in small villages meant that vehicle emissions were high and potentially harmful to residents, including children and the elderly.

 

Cllr Mancini-Boyle said that more consultation would come forward regarding the final route once the Secretary of State had made the decision on the funding. He added that members of South Norfolk and Broadland District Councils had already voted in support of the Western Link and he urged members to put politics aside and support the motion – for the whole of Norfolk.

 

Cllr T FitzPatrick seconded the motion and reserved his right to speak.

 

The Chairman opened the debate:

 

Cllr S Penfold said that his main concern was that the motion sought commitment from members to support the construction of the Western Link dual carriageway. He said that it was not an ‘in principle’ pledge but a full commitment and it was too early for this. At the current time, Norfolk County Council (NCC) did not know the construction costs for the project and had not set out a timetable for the works. In February 2022, NCC had issued a news release focussing on the design of the western link but not the costs. It had stated that more information on the route, costs and timetable would be provided in June 2022. Cllr Penfold said that it was clear that the County Council did not yet know how much the project would cost and how long it would take to construct. Questions should therefore be raised about its viability. It wasn’t clear whether the County Council could afford the 15% of costs that it had  ...  view the full minutes text for item 167.

168.

Notice(s) of Motion

None Received.

Minutes:

None received.

169.

Exclusion of Press and Public

To pass the following resolution – if necessary:

 

“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(s) _ of Part 1 of Schedule 12A (as amended) to the Act.”

170.

Private Business