Agenda and minutes

Cllr John Toye to receive the Armed Forces Covenant Employer Recognition Scheme silver award on behalf of the Council.

The Chairman invited Cllr J Toye, Armed Forces Member Champion, to receive the Armed Forces Covenant Employer Recognition Scheme silver award on behalf of the Council. Cllr Toye said that this was a great achievement and he thanked the officers for all their hard work and continued support.

To receive apologies for absence, if any.

Apologies were received from Cllrs A Fitch-Tillett, N Housden, G Mancini-Boyle, J Punchard, R Sims and E Spagnola,

To confirm the minutes of the meeting of the Council held on 20 September 2023.

The minutes of the meeting held on 20^th September were approved as a correct record 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)

Cllr Dr V Holliday declared a pecuniary interest in Agenda item 12 (3) Council Tax Discounts & Premiums Determination 2024/2025

Cllr S Butikofer declared a non-pecuniary interest in Agenda item 15 – Opposition 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.

None received.

To receive the Chairman’s communications, if any.

The Chairman and Vice-Chairman spoke about recent civic events that they had attended:

15 October - The High Sheriff of Norfolk Justice Service, Norwich Cathedral

17 October – Reception at Sandringham House in aid of the Purfleet Trust

28 October – opening of Wighton Village Hall

10 November – Commemoration of Remembrance Day, NNDC Council Offices.

To receive announcement from the Leader.

Cllr Adams began by congratulating communities across the district for their very moving and poignant services to commemorate Remembrance Day.

He then thanked everyone who had assisted their communities during the recent flooding events. This had affected residents of Hickling and Potter Heigham but also Letheringsett Bodham and Sheringham.

He then informed members of some very good news that had just been announced regarding levelling up funding for Fakenham. He said that he was delighted to say that NNDC had secured £9.9m for the provision of sports, leisure and swimming facilities at Trap Lane. He believed that this would be a real boost for the town and NNDC would work closely with the Town Council and other stakeholders to ensure the facility was in place by March 2026.

In other good news, Cllr Adams said that two of the Council’s new public conveniences had been awarded a diamond award for ‘Loo of the Year’. The facilities were at Queen’s Road in Fakenham and Stearman’s Yard in Wells.

Cllr Adams then thanked members for their involvement and engagement with the Corporate Plan workshops.

In conclusion, Cllr Adams said that the LGA Peer Review report had now been published on the Council’s website. He said that the Council was very pleased with the report findings and work was underway on producing an action plan to respond the recommendations.

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

Mr Musson has requested to speak.

There were two members of the public in attendance; Mr B Musson and Cllr F Whymark. Both wished to ask a question relating the impact of the North Walsham West development on traffic flow in Coltishall. The Chairman thanked them for attending and invited Cllr Whymark to speak first.

Cllr Whymark began by saying that as shown on the photographs of the B1150 there is already a safety issue with the current volumes of traffic in Coltishall.  The incidence of HGVs and other traffic mounting the kerb and endangering local people was brought to his attention almost every week.  Children and their parents trying to cross the B1150 at Ling Way on their way to school often find the road was almost impossible to cross safely.  This would only get worse if the Local Plan was approved and North Walsham gained an additional 1800 homes. He asked whether the Leader and Members for North Walsham would commit to work with him and the B1150 Special Interest Group, to improve safety on the B1150, particularly through Coltishall and Horstead. Cllr A Brown, Portfolio Holder for Planning thanked him for his question and said that similar questions had been received before. He said that there was a statutory process to follow and a programme of engagement with Broadland District Council had already been agreed and a stakeholder meeting on 27^th November in conjunction with Broadland DC. He then explained that a traffic impact assessment (TIA) had been undertaken and the results sent to Broadland DC in advance of the meeting on 27^th. There would then be a public consultation event on the TIA on 8^th December. Details would be published in the parish magazine. He confirmed that the Council would of course engage with the BB1150 Special Interest Group but not exclusively as there was a requirement to consult and engage widely. Cllr Brown then said he would usually expect these kinds of objections to be received when the planning application came forward to Development Committee for consideration. Before then the Government Inspector must be satisfied that the Council’s Local Plan was sound, legal and deliverable. That process was due to start on 22 January 2024. He concluded by saying that the impact of the proposed development on traffic levels must be determined and the impact must be severe for it to reach the required threshold.

The Chairman asked Cllr Whymark if he had a supplementary question. Cllr Whymark said that he understood the Local Plan process, however, the North Walsham extension was a significant part of the plan and local residents and their representatives were just trying to anticipate some of the issues that may arise from this as it was likely to go ahead. He said that he had seen the TIA and it indicated a 25% increase in traffic which, in his view, was significant. He concluded by saying that when planning proposals were presented to members, that they considered all mechanisms possible  ...  view the full minutes text for item 81.

To receive any updates from the Group Leaders regarding changes to appointments.

The Leader, Cllr Adams informed members of the following changes to appointments:

Cllr A Brown was stepping down as Chairman of the Planning Policy & Built Heritage Working Party and Cllr G Bull would replace him. Cllr A Varley would become Vice-Chairman.

Cllr J Toye was appointed as a substitute on the Norfolk Joint Museums Committee. Cllr Withington would remain as the main representative.

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 reminded members that this item had a time limit of 30 minutes. She invited members to ask questions:

Cllr C Cushing said that he welcomed the news that Fakenham was to receive ‘Levelling Up’ funding of £9.875m to build new facilities at Fakenham Sports Centre, including a 25 metre public swimming pool and improved outdoor sports facilities. He asked the Leader whether he would extend thanks to the two local MPs, Duncan Baker and Jerome Mayhew as they had both worked very hard to get the funding in place. The Leader, Cllr T Adams, replied that he was looking forward to working with local members as the project progressed and he would, of course, thank Jerome Mayhew MP, for all of his hard work and support for the bid. He added that it was likely that the recent successful completion of the Reef Leisure centre in Sheringham had been a factor in the funding being awarded. He thanked local members and town councillors for their ongoing support.

Cllr P Fisher asked Cllr C Ringer, Portfolio Holder for Environment & Waste, about the mandatory collection of food waste and when that would come into effect. Cllr Ringer replied that the Government had mandated that local authorities had to introduce a food waste collection service by the end of March 2026, however, it was possible that NNDC may have it up and running earlier than that. At present, more information on government funding was awaited. He added that he had recently visited an anaerobic digester in Attleborough, a facility where the district’s food waste could well go to be processed. It was important to remember that it would also include trade food waste collection too.

Cllr E Vardy asked Cllr P Heinrich, Portfolio Holder for Sustainable Growth whether it would it be possible to know which businesses and community groups are benefiting from the Rural England Prosperity Fund. Cllr Heinrich replied that he did not have this information to hand but would provide a written response.

Cllr S Penfold asked Cllr H Blathwayt, Portfolio Holder for Coast, about recent heavy rainfall which had caused flooding in the east of the district. He requested an update on the current situation. Cllr Blathwayt replied that the water was slowly receding in most parts but was still holding where the flood plain was closest to homes, despite and thanks to the Broads IDB, who had been pumping strenuously where water was closest to habitats. He warned about a coming high tide and the water table was extremely high and with the fields currently so saturated, it would not take a major rain event for those fields to flood across to the flood plains. It was a very precarious position. He acknowledged that there had been support from many agencies in managing the problems but would not include Anglian Water in this. He concluded by saying that the flood wardens had been working extremely hard to protect homes, particularly in Potter Heigham but in  ...  view the full minutes text for item 83.

The following recommendations were made by Cabinet to Full Council at the meeting on 6^th November 2023:

1.    Cabinet Agenda item 10 – Budget Monitoring P6 2023 – 2024

Cabinet resolved to recommend to Full Council that it:

1)    Approves an additional capital budget of £58k so that the work for the refurbishment of the Red Lion roof (Cromer), the Art Deco Block roof and handrails (Cromer) and the Chalet Block at Sheringham can be awarded as one contract. And that approval be given to fund the additional expenditure from the Asset Management Reserve.

2)    Approves an increase to the DFG capital budget of £118k and approves that it is funded by the additional grant received for this purpose from the Government.

3)    Approves the provision of a new play area at the Lees in Sheringham and approves a capital project budget for this of £65k and that funding for this should come from the Delivery Plan Reserve.

4)    Approves the capital spending of £11k on the Morris Street Car Park Boundary Wall and that it be funded from the Asset Management Reserve.

5)    Approves that the £85k of the Car Park refurbishment capital budget is reallocated to the Public Conveniences so that the outstanding works can be carried out and complete the scheme.

Please note that the Overview & Scrutiny Committee considered the recommendations at the meeting on 15^th November after the Full Council agenda was published. The Chairman of the Committee will provide a verbal update to Full Council on the outcomes of their discussion.

2.    Cabinet Agenda item 11: Treasury Management Mid Year Report 2023/2024

Cabinet resolved to recommend that Full Council approves the Treasury Management Mid Year Report 2023/2024

Please note that the Overview & Scrutiny Committee considered the recommendations at the meeting on 15^th November after the Full Council agenda was published. The Chairman of the Committee will provide a verbal update to Full Council on the outcomes of their discussion.

3. Cabinet Agenda Item 12: Council Tax Discounts & Premiums Determination 2024/2025

Cabinet resolved to recommend to Full Council:

That under Section 11A of the Local Government Finance Act 1992 and in accordance with the provisions of the Local Government Finance Act 2012 and other enabling powers that:

1)    The discounts for the year 2024-25 and beyond are set at the levels indicated in the table at paragraph 3.1.

2)    To continue to award a local discount of 100% in 2024-25 for eligible cases of hardship under Section 13A of the Local Government Finance Act 1992 (as amended). See the associated policy in Appendix B.

3)    That an exception to the levy charges may continue to be made by the Revenues Manager in the circumstances laid out in section 3.2 of this report.

4)    The premiums for the year 2024-25 and beyond are set at the levels indicated in the table at paragraph 4.2.

5)    To continue to award a local discount of 100% in 2024-25 for eligible cases of care leavers under Section  ...  view the full agenda text for item 84.

1.    Cabinet Agenda Item 10: Budget Monitoring P6

The Chairman invited the Portfolio Holder for Finance, Cllr L Shires, to introduce this item.

Cllr Shires began by referring members to page 65, section 2.3 of the report which included additional wording (not included in previous reports) regarding the recent staff pay award.

Cllr Shires thanked officers for all their hard work in managing their budgets so carefully. She then outlined the recommendations in turn, before asking Cllr Fredericks to speak about the impact of the cost of homelessness and temporary accommodation provision on the Council’s budget.

Cllr Fredericks informed members that the Council’s temporary accommodation bill had risen sharply. The budget for the provision of temporary accommodation was usually spent on nightly accommodation for homeless households and this was generally between £350-450K a year. This year it was approaching £1.3m and whilst the Council did not begrudge spending money on families in need, it was struggling to afford such a steep rise in costs. She said that significant financial help was needed to help with these costs. North Norfolk did not have hotels and bed and breakfasts available to accommodate homeless families in. In conclusion, Cllr Fredericks said it was important to remember that although the Council was facing rising costs, there were homeless families behind these figures that were struggling and increasingly desperate. She concluded by thanking all of the housing officers involved in dealing with such a challenging situation.

The Chairman invited members to speak:

Cllr L Withington said that she welcomed the recommendation to provide a new play area at the Lees in Sheringham. It had suffered in the past due to its location but it was an important asset for the town and would be welcomed by residents and visitors alike. 

Cllr N Dixon then spoke on behalf of the Overview & Scrutiny Committee and said that they had supported the recommendations at their meeting on 15 November.

It was proposed by Cllr L Shires, seconded by Cllr W Fredericks and

RESOLVED to

1)    Approve an additional capital budget of £58k so that the work for the refurbishment of the Red Lion roof (Cromer), the Art Deco Block roof and handrails (Cromer) and the Chalet Block at Sheringham can be awarded as one contract. And that approval be given to fund the additional expenditure from the Asset Management Reserve.

2)    Approve an increase to the DFG capital budget of £118k and approves that it is funded by the additional grant received for this purpose from the Government.

3)    Approve the provision of a new play area at the Lees in Sheringham and approves a capital project budget for this of £65k and that funding for this should come from the Delivery Plan Reserve.

4)    Approve the capital spending of £11k on the Morris Street Car Park Boundary Wall and that it be funded from the Asset Management Reserve.

5)    Approve that the £85k of the Car Park refurbishment capital budget is reallocated to the Public Conveniences so  ...  view the full minutes text for item 84.

To consider any further recommendations from the Overview & Scrutiny Committee meeting held on 15 November 2023.

Please note the agenda for Full Council was issued prior to the Overview & Scrutiny Committee meeting. The Chairman will provide a verbal update at the meeting.

The Chairman of the Overview & Scrutiny Committee, Cllr Dixon, informed Full Council that there were no further recommendations to report.

To respond to any questions from Members.

Please note the following section of the Constitution:

12.        Questions by members

12.1      Members of the Council may ask questions of the Leader and Cabinet during Portfolio Holder reports on the agenda of ordinary meetings of the Council on any matter of Council business or on issues which affect the Council's area.

12.2      Members of the Council may ask questions of the Chairman of a Committee at Ordinary Meetings of the Council on any matter of Council Business or on issues which affect the Council’s area.

12.2      At a meeting no Member may ask more than one question (and 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.

None received.

The following item of Opposition Business has been submitted:

North Norfolk District Council position on a 4-day working week

Proposed by Cllr C Cushing, seconded by Cllr N Dixon

The Department for Levelling Up, Housing, and Communities (DLUHC) has issued guidance for local authorities in England who are considering adopting a 4-day working week – where staff have their working hours reduced by 20% but retain 100% of their pay (or equivalent/similar). This states that:

·         The government does not support a 4-day working week in local authorities, as it does not believe that it delivers local taxpayers’ value for money.

·         The government does not expect councils to adopt this arrangement.

·         Should councils disregard this advice and there is evidence of service decline or failure, DLUHC or another government department may raise concerns directly with the authority, monitor performance more closely and consider options to correct declining performance.

The government supports an individual’s right to request flexible working, which allows employees to apply for changes to the hours, timing, or location of work. This is clearly different as it relates to the right of an individual employee to request a different working pattern or place of work. This guidance does not seek to relate to the latter.

Local authorities must be mindful of the Duty of Best Value when it considers provision. This is a statutory requirement for councils ‘to secure continuous improvement in the way in which its functions are exercised, having regard to a combination of economy, efficiency and effectiveness.’ In practice this extends to securing value for money in all spending decisions. It is the government’s view that the implementation of the 4-day week is unlikely to demonstrate adherence to the Best Value Duty. Neither, for clarity, does the government support trials, experimentation, or pilots (or equivalent) of the 4-day working week concept within the local government sector.

The 4-day working week is an organisation-wide approach to pay and working hours. NNDC staff have a well-deserved reputation for striving hard to deliver the services that the council provides to the public. We are regularly told that these services are stretched. The adoption would exacerbate staff stress levels by having to cram into 4 days the work that it would normally take them 5 days to do.

Given that the narrative around council services is that they are already hard-pressed, it is unlikely that reducing the working hours by 20% will be popular with North Norfolk Council Tax taxpayers, especially at a time when Council Tax is raised by the maximum each year.

Full Council resolves to:

·         Recognise and respect the Government’s Guidance of a 4-day working week.

·         Prior to any consideration of any form of trial or pilot exercise of a 4-day working week it collects and assesses the evidence of such trials conducted by other Councils, elsewhere, to inform an outline business case to justify it. 

·         Commits not to introduce a 4-day working week at North Norfolk District Council without an overwhelming detailed business case showing substantial  ...  view the full agenda text for item 87.

The Chairman invited Cllr C Cushing to introduce this item. He set out the motion, as follows:

‘The Department for Levelling Up, Housing, and Communities (DLUHC) has issued guidance for local authorities in England who are considering adopting a 4-day working week – where staff have their working hours reduced by 20% but retain 100% of their pay (or equivalent/similar). This states that:

·         The government does not support a 4-day working week in local authorities, as it does not believe that it delivers local taxpayers’ value for money.

·         The government does not expect councils to adopt this arrangement.

·         Should councils disregard this advice and there is evidence of service decline or failure, DLUHC or another government department may raise concerns directly with the authority, monitor performance more closely and consider options to correct declining performance.

The government supports an individual’s right to request flexible working, which allows employees to apply for changes to the hours, timing, or location of work. This is clearly different as it relates to the right of an individual employee to request a different working pattern or place of work. This guidance does not seek to relate to the latter.

Local authorities must be mindful of the Duty of Best Value when it considers provision. This is a statutory requirement for councils ‘to secure continuous improvement in the way in which its functions are exercised, having regard to a combination of economy, efficiency and effectiveness.’ In practice this extends to securing value for money in all spending decisions. It is the government’s view that the implementation of the 4-day week is unlikely to demonstrate adherence to the Best Value Duty. Neither, for clarity, does the government support trials, experimentation, or pilots (or equivalent) of the 4-day working week concept within the local government sector.

The 4-day working week is an organisation-wide approach to pay and working hours. NNDC staff have a well-deserved reputation for striving hard to deliver the services that the council provides to the public. We are regularly told that these services are stretched. The adoption would exacerbate staff stress levels by having to cram into 4 days the work that it would normally take them 5 days to do.

Given that the narrative around council services is that they are already hard-pressed, it is unlikely that reducing the working hours by 20% will be popular with North Norfolk Council Tax taxpayers, especially at a time when Council Tax is raised by the maximum each year.

Full Council was therefore requested to resolve to:

·         Recognise and respect the Government’s Guidance of a 4-day working week.

·         Prior to any consideration of any form of trial or pilot exercise of a 4-day working week it collects and assesses the evidence of such trials conducted by other Councils, elsewhere, to inform an outline business case to justify it. 

·         Commits not to introduce a 4-day working week at North Norfolk District Council without an overwhelming detailed business case showing substantial benefits to North Norfolk residents and businesses and  ...  view the full minutes text for item 87.

Please note that as set out in Chapter 2, section 14.11 of the Constitution

The following motion has been submitted by Cllr W Fredericks:

Homelessness Crisis Motion

North Norfolk like other parts of the Country is in the grip of a devastating housing emergency which is damaging the lives and opportunities for hundreds of households.

Intro (total motion must not be more than 200 words but can include supporting statement)

This Council calls for:

1. The Leader of the Council, and the leaders of opposition groups, to write to the relevant Secretary of State to begin the process of readdressing the challenges to the Housing Crisis.

2. Local Housing Allowance to be urgently increased to realistic levels for North Norfolk. In line with private rental amounts

3. Central Govt. policy to support Councils to buy land for affordable housing developments based on current use, as per established Local Plans, rather than on “hope value”, by reforming the Land Compensation Act 1961.

4. National Planning policy amendments, so that house-builders are pro-actively encouraged to incorporate the provision of ‘truly affordable’ homes in their development projects, supporting Local Authorities to challenge the reneging of these duties on ‘viability assessment’ grounds.

The Chairman invited the proposer, Cllr W Fredericks, to introduce the motion.

Cllr Fredericks set out the motion as follows:

‘Homelessness has increased by 40% in North Norfolk over the course of the last 3 years, reflecting similar pressures in District and Borough Councils throughout England

This number continued to increase and between 01 April and 31 October 2023, 228 households had been assessed as threatened with or were already homeless.

The primary reasons for Homelessness were:

·         Private landlord Eviction:  78

·         Friends and Family no longer able to accommodate: 54

·         Domestic Abuse:38

As at the 31 October 2023 there were 75 households in temporary accommodation.  This was an overall increase of 33% from the same date in 2022. The number of children living in temporary accommodation had also increased by 44% compared to October 2022. This meant that 85 children were living in unstable accommodation and the majority of cases were living without space to play, away from schools, work and support network and sometimes out of District entirely.  It was overwhelmingly disruptive, challenging and mentally harmful.

There was not just a human cost to using Temporary Accommodation, there was also a major financial cost. The Council was only able to reclaim a small proportion of the amount it spent on nightly, bed & breakfast type accommodation. If the Council placed a household in bed & breakfast type accommodation costing £700 per week it was only able to claim £98 of that cost back. The Council’s net costs for purchased TA have risen from £371k in 2021/22 to a forecast figure of £910k for this year.

The Council was constantly exploring options to increase its provision of decent Temporary Accommodation, it was also important that it focussed on longer-term solutions to ensure that a household’s stay in temporary accommodation was as brief as possible and they could secure a more permanent housing solution. In addition to homeless demand pressures, the Council had also seen a significant reduction in the supply of permanent accommodation with a 38% reduction in available properties across Housing Register partners.  The reasons for this reduction were complex but were primarily associated with reduced levels of new-build completions and tenants not wanting to move due to cost-of-living pressures and generally unfavourable economic conditions.

There were currently over 2,500 households on the Housing List and the severe shortage of social rented homes, meant, on average, there were 150 bids for each property advertised through Your Choice Your Home, with additional pressures for family homes with some properties receiving over 300 bids.The private rental sector was out of reach for most applicants as Local Housing Allowance levels for all of North Norfolk residents, had been frozen by Central Government since 2020, based on rent levels in the 2018-19 financial year. Monitoring of private rented homes to let had found only seven homes available with rents within Local Housing Allowance levels so far this year. Real-term spending power for Councils remained substantially below 2010 levels.

The Council was committed to tackling  ...  view the full minutes text for item 88.

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.”