Agenda and draft minutes

To receive apologies for absence, if any.

Apologies were received from Cllrs N Dixon, A Fitch-Tillett, P Heinrich, R Macdonald, J Punchard, L Vickers and L Withington.

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 L Shires referred to Agenda item 6: Permanent Pavement Licensing Policy & Setting of Fees and said she had a non-pecuniary interest to declare as she was a trustee of a charity that had a pavement licence.

Cllrs S Penfold and J Toye also declared that they were also a trustees of a charity with a pavement licence.

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.

The Chairman invited Cllr C Ringer, Portfolio Holder for Environmental Services and Waste, to introduce this item.

Cllr Ringe began by explaining that the report set out the basis for capital expenditure to be added to the Capital Programme for 2025/26 for the purchase of vehicles and caddies required for the introduction of food waste collection services within the area of North Norfolk District Council. This service was to be delivered by Serco on behalf of the Council. He added that the previous and current government had under-estimated the full cost of delivering these reforms and despite lobbying the amount of funding had not been increased. The majority of the expenditure related to the purchase of suitable vehicles and internal kitchen and kerbside caddies. A shortfall of up to £500k was anticipated between the funding allocated and the actual cost of procurement. The report, therefore, proposed that this shortfall was covered by the used of Environmental Health reserves. He reassured members that the reserve would be replenished via other sources of funding. He concluded that compliance with the new legislation was not optional and early procurement of vehicles was essential as other local authorities would also be placing orders. He confirmed that there was a project manager in post to oversee delivery and that there would be a briefing for all members as the project progressed and operational questions would probably be best addressed at a later date. He said that he would ask officers to circulate an LGA briefing on this topic to all members.

The Chairman invited members to speak:

Cllr C Cushing said he was concerned that it was not clear about the number of vehicles that were being purchased. He asked if the amount of waste generated per household had been calculated and if neighbouring councils who were already collecting food waste had been contacted for their insights. Cllr Ringer replied that there was no choice but to rollout the service and that some work had been undertaken in 2024 which suggested a projected figure for food waste and this was done in conjunction with Breckland District Council. He said that he would circulate this information if that was of benefit.  

Cllr L Paterson asked if it was possible to opt out of the scheme as he did not want to be issued with caddies that he would not use. He then sought clarification about payment for the vehicles that were being procured and whether they could be paid for on delivery. Cllr Paterson asked where the waste would go and whether it would be deposited locally initially and then moved to a location further away. In conclusion, he queried running costs and whether consideration had been given to payment of a gate fee for food waste. Cllr Ringer replied that the market would dictate whether there was a gate for and if the Council would receive an income from it and this would fluctuate according to demand. It was anticipated that there would be  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

The Chairman invited Cllr J Toye, Portfolio Holder for Sustainable Growth, to introduce this item. He explained that this grant funding had come through too late to be included in the capital budget for the year, as the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) had only confirmed the final amount of allocated funding on 27 March 2025. Cllr Toye said that the award to NNDC was for £437,259 of capital funding for the period 2025-26 and stemmed from a one year  of the Rural England Prosperity Fund (REPF). He went onto say that it would be defrayed in accordance with the Government’s programme rules and was considered a rural top-up to the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) for which a programme was agreed by Cabinet in February 2025.

Cllr T Adams seconded the proposal and said that the Council had a good record of delivery for these programmes.

Cllr T FitzPatrick supported the proposals and asked if there was any more funding that might be coming forwards. He urged Cabinet to continue to lobby the Government whenever possible as rural areas were increasingly being ‘starved’ of funding.

Cllr Toye said that the Council would continue to access funding opportunities wherever possible and this included linking up with key partners.

Cllr C Cushing asked if there was any information on the projects that this funding would be spent on. Cllr Toye replied that the details hadn’t been finalised but it was hoped that there could be a focus on the towns in the district because they supported the hinterland and this was an opportunity to work with the County Council as it was also seeking to support towns too. He said that he would keep members updated on progress.

It was proposed by Cllr J Toye, seconded by Cllr T Adams and

Unanimously RESOLVED

To approve that £437,259 be added to the capital programme for the Rural England Prosperity Fund and that will be funded by a specific grant allocation from Central Government that has to be fully spent during the financial year 2025-26.

Following approval by the Licensing Committee (Premises and Gambling) on 26^th March it is recommended that Full Council:

1.     Supports the adoption of the Permanent Pavement Licensing Policy

2.     Approves the fees as set out in Appendix A

The Chairman invited Cllr P Fisher, Chairman of the Licensing Committee, to introduce this item. He said that the Licensing Committee had met on 26^th March to discuss the revised policy and resolved unanimously to recommend it to Council for approval.

It was proposed by Cllr P Fisher, seconded by Cllr V Holliday and

RESOLVED

To approve and adopt the Permanent Pavement Licensing Policy

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.”