Agenda and minutes

To receive an update from the Youth Council.

The Democratic Services Manager introduced the Chairman and Vice-Chairman of the North Norfolk Youth Council and explained that they were going to give a short presentation to Members, outlining their vision and the issues that they would be focussing on over the next few months.

The presentation outlined the formation of the Youth Council and its current membership and set out the three key priorities of mental health awareness, education and the environment. Their first project would focus on mental health and they had recently visited the new rest hub in Aylsham to find out more ahead of a new hub opening in North Walsham. The presentation concluded with the youth councillors asking members to support them and engage with them so that the best outcomes could be achieved for all residents of North Norfolk.

Cllr L Shires, said that as mental health champion for the Council she was keen to work with them on raising awareness.

Cllr T FitzPatrick said that he welcomed the choice of mental health as an initial priority. Many young people in the district lived in rural and isolated areas and it was important that they knew they should seek help as soon as possible. He agreed that parents and other young people needed educating on spotting the signs of mental health issues.

To receive apologies for absence, if any.

Apologies were received from the following members: Cllr D Birch, Cllr G Bull, Cllr S Butikofer, Cllr E Coleman, Cllr M Hankins, Cllr N Housden, Cllr G Mancini-Boyle, Cllr R Sims, Cllr M Taylor, Cllr E Vardy and Cllr L Vickers

To confirm the minutes of the meeting of the Council held on 21^st June 2023.

The minutes of the meeting held on 21 June were approved and signed by the Chairman.

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)

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.

To receive the Chairman’s communications, if any.

The Chairman outlined recent civic events that had been attended:

24 June 2023 – Royal British Legion Armed Forces Day – Northrepps Village Hall

24 June 2023 – Paella & Fizz with Bishop Graham, Bishop’s House Garden, Norwich

8 July 2023 – Lord Mayor’s Street Procession and Reception

14 July 2023 – Norfolk County Council’s Summer Reception, County Hall, Norwich

16 July 2023 – Mayoral Civic Service, Kings Lynn Minster

To receive communications from the Leader of the Council.

The Leader began by saying that he had recently attended the Local Government Association Annual Conference in Bournemouth. It had been very interesting and there were 1600 councillors and officers in attendance from across the country.

The conference had provided an opportunity to discuss the levelling up agenda with other councils and talk to them about their experiences with their submissions. There had also been a discussion around devolution. Many authorities spoke about their infrastructure projects and it highlighted NNDC’s achievements in this area which included the extensive public toilet refurbishment programme, the completion of the Reef Leisure centre, the North Walsham Heritage Action Zone project and award-winning works to Cromer Pier.

He then spoke about Cabinet’s recent visit to Fakenham which had been very informative. It was recognised that there was more work to do in Fakenham and it was hoped that there would be opportunities in the future to work with partners on bringing projects to fruition.

The Deputy Leader, Cllr Fredericks and the Chief Executive, had recently attended a meeting convened by Duncan Baker MP to discuss the role of Bacton in providing hydrogen production and carbon capture and storage. He said that the Council was keen to develop opportunities for North Norfolk arising from this rapidly growing sector.

The Leader said that he had recently visited Fulmodeston to meet with residents and the Parish Council to hear about issues and concerns relating to Banham Poultry farm. An abatement notice had been issued and Banham Poultry was continuing to work hard to address the number of flies.

The Leader welcomed the Council’s recent achievement of the Defence Employer Recognition Scheme Silver award and he thanked officers and the Armed Forces Champion for their hard work.

He said he was pleased to inform members that the Council had retained its green flags at Holt Country Park, Pretty Corner and Sadler’s Wood. This was a great achievement and he thanked the Countryside team for their hard work.

Finally, the Leader said that there would be an LGA Peer Review commencing on 11^th September. He wished everyone a relaxing and enjoyable summer break.

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

To receive updates from the Group Leaders on any appointments.

The Leader informed members that Cllr M Hankins would be appointed to the vacant seat on the Overview & Scrutiny Committee.

To receive reports from Cabinet Members on their portfolios:

Cllr T Adams - Executive Support & Legal Services

Cllr H Blathwayt – Coast

Cllr A Brown – Planning & Enforcement

Cllr W Fredericks – Housing and People Services

Cllr P Heinrich – Sustainable Growth

Cllr C Ringer – IT, Environmental & Waste Services

Cllr L Shires – Finance, Estates & Assets

Cllr A Varley – Climate Change & Net Zero

Cllr L Withington – Community, Leisure & Outreach

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 Chairman asked Portfolio Holders if they wanted to provide any updates on their written reports before she opened the session up to questions.

Cllr H Blathwayt, Portfolio Holder for Coast, referred to page 26 of the agenda and informed members that Cllr Peter Fisher had been unable to attend the LGA Coastal Special Interest Group (SIG) meeting due to unforeseen circumstances.

Cllr A Varley, Portfolio Holder for Climate Change & Net Zero, said that he wanted to express his thanks to the Climate Change Project Officer who was leaving the Council for another role. He said his dedication and commitment meant that the Council had exceeded its ambitions target of planting £110k trees, with £115k planted to date.  He wished him well in his new post.

Cllr A Brown, Portfolio Holder for Planning & Enforcement, said that he wanted to express his thanks to the Assistant Director for Planning who had recently retired. He commended his commitment and professionalism and wished him well for the future.

The Chairman invited members to ask questions:

Cllr J Toye asked Cllr L Withington, Portfolio Holder for Leisure, Culture & Wellbeing, if more could be done to promote historic and leisure activities for rural, inland parts of the District rather than just focussing on coastal areas. Cllr Withington replied that the new corporate plan included the promotion of cultural activities and also the development of a broader partnership across the whole District. She added that this linked to potential economic growth too as it would include small and medium size arts-based businesses. She referred to Visit North Norfolk (VNN), which was funded by the Council and it was intended that the promotion of inland areas would be covered by VNN too.

Cllr T FitzPatrick asked Cllr P Heinrich, Portfolio Holder for Sustainable Growth, about the Cabinet’s recent visit to Fakenham. He highlighted that Fakenham was the poor relation when it came to council spending, with North Walsham receiving £2.4m, Cromer £5m and Sheringham received £17m. Fakenham in contrast received barely £0.5m. He asked Cllr Heinrich whether he would undertake to bring forward proposals that would ensure that Fakenham received its fair share in the future, particularly given the recent closure of three banks in the town. Cllr Heinrich replied that he would. He said that he was aware of the issues faced by the town and the visit had extended his understanding of the problems in Fakenham. He said that it was hoped that a further levelling up bid could be submitted, adding that he could not promise anything immediately as a lot rested on funding from central government.

Cllr N Dixon asked Cllr Heinrich if he could tell members what kind of tangible outcome measures would be used to demonstrate the economic benefits of the investment in the North Walsham Action Zone project. Cllr Heinrich said that he would ask officers to provide a detailed response. He said that he was aware of an increase in footfall in the town, additional use of the new  ...  view the full minutes text for item 45.

At the meeting on 29^th June, Cabinet made the following recommendations to Full Council:

Agenda Item 8: Corporate Plan 2023 – 2027

Recommendation:

That Full Council adopts the Corporate Plan 2023 - 2027

Agenda Item 9: 2022/2023 Outturn Report

Recommendation:

That Full Council approves:

a)   The provisional outturn position for the General Fund revenue account for 2022/23;

b)    The transfers to and from reserves as detailed within the report (and appendix C) along with the corresponding updates to the 2023/24budget;

c)   The deficit of £0.261m relating to service overspends be funded from the GeneralReserve;

d)      The deficit of £0.561m relating to retained business rates be funded from the Business RatesReserve;

e)    The financing of the 2022/23 capital programme as detailed within the report   and at Appendix D.

f)      The balance on the General Reserve of£2.649m;

g)    The updated capital programme for 2023/24 to 2025/26 and scheme financing as outlined withinthe report and detailed at Appendix E

h)    The roll-forward requests as outlined in Appendix F

i)      The transfer of £0.5m from the Delivery Plan Reserve to a new reserve – ‘Net Zero Initiatives’ set up specifically to fund projects, initiatives and works to achieve Net Zero.

j)      The provision of a Temporary Accommodation capital budget for 2024/25 and 2025/26 of £0.25m per year be moved into 2023/24 giving a total budget of £0.75m in 2023/24 and that this be funded by temporary borrowing until it can be replaced by preserved right to buy capital receipts.

Agenda Item 10 - Treasury Management Annual Report 2022 - 2023

Recommendation:

That the Treasury Management Annual Report for 2022 – 2023 be approved.

Overview & Scrutiny Committee considered the above recommendations at the meeting scheduled for 12^th July. As this meeting was held after the Full Council agenda was published, the Chairman of the Committee will provide a verbal update to Full Council.

Cabinet Agenda Item 8: Corporate Plan 2023 - 2027

The Leader, Cllr Adams, introduced this item. He said that the most significant change was around how the plan would be translated into delivery. There would be an Annual Action Plan (AAP) rather than the four year version produced last time. This would provide more opportunity for the Council to shape actions and respond with agility when required. He said that work was being undertaken to consider appropriate contextual measures, which would be considered and assessed by the Overview & Scrutiny Committee.

He explained that there was continuity in the main themes as many projects were embedded and progressing well as part of the previous corporate plan.

He then spoke about the themes which included the Council’s ongoing commitment to the environment and sustainability goals, housing and communities, youth and sport, businesses – ranging from Bacton Gas Terminal to bank hubs, robust governance and responsible use of resources.  

Regarding the theme ‘Our Greener Future’ he said that the intention was to realise one ambitious carbon-busting project a year and introduce food waste collection, however, this depended on the outcome of the Government consultation on waste collection. There would also be more focus on supporting villages and towns which were struggling to cope with the impact of visitors. He added that the District had the fastest changing coastline in Western Europe and the proposed coastal schemes would help meet these challenges.

The theme ‘Developing our Communities’ would build on the significant level of engagement that had been developed during the previous administration. To this end, the publication of the Council’s magazine, Outlook, would continue as well as engagement across all platforms. Support for the Youth Council would continue and further work would be undertaken on improving public conveniences across the district. In addition, there would be a focus on active environments, with a childrens’ play areas and facilities being improved, alongside the Council’s parks. He added that there was a challenge regarding the provision of sports and leisure amenities, particularly in towns such as Fakenham where there was growing demand due to an increasing population. Cultural activities remained important and investment had been secured for Cromer Pier and Sheringham Little Theatre as well as North Walsham Heritage Action Zone. However, more could be done to support other festivals and events across the District.

The Leader then spoke about the theme ‘Meeting our Local Housing Need’. He said that the Council’s portfolio of temporary accommodation would continue to grow. The pressure would continue without a government led strategy on delivering affordable housing. He referred to the impact of second homes and holiday lets and spoke about the anticipated outcome of the Levelling Up Bill. Unless changes were made, however, it was likely that there would need to be a discussion around the retention of council tax income so that it could be targeted at the provision of affordable housing.

The theme of ‘Investing in our Local Economy’ would bring increased focus to rural businesses  ...  view the full minutes text for item 46.

To consider any further recommendations from the Overview & Scrutiny Committee meeting held on 12^th July.

The Chairman of the Overview & Scrutiny Committee confirmed that there were no further recommendations.

To consider any questions submitted by Members.

None received.

None Received.

None received.

None Received.

None received.

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.”