Agenda item

The Chairman introduced this item, saying that there had been appreciable progress since the last update. He referred members to the Action Plan and said that item 2 on the table, Waste Resources Strategy, was now amber and this was due to the national situation and current uncertainty around how this would progress.   He then spoke about the Local Plan examination which had now moved from amber to green, now that the examination was complete. Referring to item 4, he drew members’ attention to the Coastwise events that were taking place in the coming weeks. The Chairman then spoke briefly about some of the other key actions such as the Wells Neighbourhood Plan, the Cromer / Mundesley coast protection scheme, the Rural Strategy, which had been delayed due to the diversion of resources to the Fakenham Leisure project but which was now being progressed. He spoke about the construction of newly refurbished public toilet facilities and the challenges posed by delays caused by UK Power Network but said that the project would be delivered.

Item 12 referred to the successful, proactive work in encouraging residents to claim the benefits and financial support that they were entitled to. The Chairman praised officers for their work in ensuring success in this area. He went onto speak about the completion of 38 affordable homes in the district, despite the challenges posed by nutrient neutrality and said that discussions were ongoing with the County Council regarding the district’s share of the increased second homes council tax levy.

In conclusion, he highlighted the items which had moved from amber to green and thanked the officers for their hard work in achieving this.

The Chairman invited members to speak:

Cllr J Toye referred to Item 17 – ‘the Stalham High Street Task Force Action Plan’ and said that he was pleased to see it was progressing well. He was concerned that the Place-making workshops had been cancelled twice due to lack of interest but he was working with Local Members to improve engagement and hoped to see these up and running soon.

Cllr C Cushing referred to Item 11 – ‘Submit quality bids to available Government funding opportunities’ and the Fakenham Leisure project. He said that due to the General Election, the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities (DLUHC) had not yet signed the Memorandum of Understanding to release the grant money and he queried whether this should be reflected in the Action Plan. The Chairman replied that the Action Plan was a snapshot in time and if it needed updating at the time of the next report to Cabinet, then the RAG rating would be amended accordingly. He acknowledged that the funding was out of the Council’s hands but added that the additional funding towards the swimming pool should be welcomed.

The Chief Executive added that the report was for the period to 31^st March 2024 and although the Action Plan for the first quarter of 2024/25 was largely complete, it would not be ready to be presented to the Overview & Scrutiny Committee until September. He added that following the election last week, he intended to contact the returning MP for the Broadland constituency to discuss how the Council could work with him to progress the project and push for the Memorandum of Understanding to be signed, to avoid a potential position of financial risk.

The Director for Communities said that the Council had continued with the procurement process for the Fakenham project up to the Planning Permission grant phase. He said that there were a number of organisations that would be at financial risk if the project proceeded to the construction phase and this could not happen until funding was confirmed. He added that, with the ongoing delays, the completion date of March 2026 was now looking less likely and there would be discussions with the new Government to revisit this date. Until then, work would continue with as minimal risk as possible.  The Chairman said that he was intending to attend the Local Government Finance Summit the following week and would press on the points raised above.

RESOLVED

To note the report.