Agenda item

 

The following recommendations have been made by Cabinet to Full Council:

 

Cabinet 01 December:

 

1.    Agenda item 9: Car Park Fees & Charges

 

Recommendation to Council:

 

To consider the various options discussed within the report and approve the 

Officer recommendations below:

 

·         Option 1 & Option 6: increase car parking fees and season ticket fees in line with CPI inflation of 3.8%.

 

·         For the Asset Management Officer in consultation with the s151 Officer to proceed with the Consultation in relation to the Off Street Parking Places Order.

 

2.    Agenda Item 10: Fees & Charges 2026-2027

 

 

The Overview & Scrutiny Committee supported the recommendations at the meeting held on 12^th November – but requested that in future, ‘Cabinet should be mindful of the inconvenience for cash users caused by using small change such as 5 pence coins’

.

Recommendation to Council:

 

To approve:

• The fees and charges from 1^st April 2026 as included in Appendix A.
• That delegated authority be given to the Section 151 Officer, in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Finance and relevant Directors/Assistant Director to agree the fees and charges not included within Appendix A as required (outlined within the report).

 

The Overview & Scrutiny Committee supported the recommendations at the meeting held on 12^th November

 

3.    Agenda Item 11: Council Tax Discounts & Premiums Determinations 2026 -2-27

 

Recommendations to 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 2026-27 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 2026-27 for eligible cases of hardship under Section 13A of the Local Government Finance Act 1992 (as amended) and that the Revenues Manager has delegated authority to make Discretionary Reductions under the Hardship Policy up to the value of £4k as indicated in the associated policy in Appendix B.

3)    That an exception to the empty property levy charges may continue to be made by the Revenues Manager in the circumstances laid out in section 4.2 of this report.

4)    The long-term empty-property premiums for the year 2026-27 (subject to the empty premium exceptions shown in Appendix C) are set at the levels indicated in the table at paragraph 4.2

5)    To continue to award a local discount of 100% in 2026-27 for eligible cases of care leavers under Section 13A of the Local Government Finance Act 1992 (as amended).

6)    Those dwellings that are specifically identified under regulation 6 of the Council Tax (Prescribed Classes of Dwellings) (England) Regulations 2003 will retain the 50% discount as set out in paragraph 2.1 of this report.

7)    Those dwellings described or geographically defined at Appendix A which in the reasonable opinion of the Revenues Manager are judged not to be structurally capable of occupation all year round and were built before the restrictions of seasonal usage were introduced by the Town and Country Planning Act 1947, will be entitled to a 35% discount.

8)    A new second homes premium of 100% as detailed in paragraph 4.3 (subject to the second home premium exceptions shown in Appendix C) continues to be applied in 2026-27.

 

This report will be considered by the Overview & Scrutiny Committee at the meeting on 10^th December – The Chair will provide a verbal update at the Full Council meeting.

 

4.    Agenda Item 12: Adoption of the North Norfolk Local Plan

 

Recommendation to Council:

 

1)    To note the outcome of the Inspector’s Report into the examination of the North Norfolk Local Plan, dated 31 October 2025 (Appendix 1 & 2);

2)    To adopt the modified Local Plan which incorporates the Main Modifications as the appropriate basis for the future planning of the whole District (Appendix 3);

3)    To notes that all policies of the North Norfolk Core Strategy 2008 and the Site Allocations; Development Plan Document 2011 (the current Local Plan) will be superseded by the new Local Plan upon adoption. This is subject to the provisions of paragraph 9.3 of this report that: ‘Upon adoption there is a six-week window under section 113 of the Planning  and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 during which an aggrieved party can challenge the decision to adopt a Local Plan on legal and procedural grounds’

4)    To note that Cabinet has delegated authority to the Assistant Director for Planning to publish the Adoption Statement and accompanying documents, making the North Norfolk Local Plan part of the Adopted Development Plan for North Norfolk;

5)    To note that Cabinet has delegated authority to the Planning Policy Manager to make any further necessary non-material modifications and any further updates to the Policies Map as required.

1. Agenda item 9: Car Park Fees & Charges

 

The Chair invited Cllr Shires, Portfolio Holder for Finances, Estates & Assets, to introduce this item.

 

Cllr Shires began by thanking the Overview & Scrutiny Committee for their dedication in supporting the discussions.

 

Cllr Shires identified that Options 1 and 6 remained as the substantive proposal, however she wished to put forward a 3^rd recommendation and apologised for the late inclusion.  She reminded members that last year car parking charges had been introduced at the Hornbeam Rd car park in North Walsham and she suggested a new £3 per day flat rate fee, reviewing it at 6 and 12 months. She noted this was comparable to local NCP charges and may identify demand from local bus travellers.

 

It was proposed by Cllr Shires, seconded by Cllr P Heinrich and 

 

Resolved unanimously

 

To reduce the Hornbeam Rd car parking charges to £3 a day on a trial basis to be reviewed after 6 and 12 months.

 

Members then voted on the substantive proposal, as amended and

 

Resolved unanimously

 

To approve:

a)    No increase to standard car parking up to and including 24 hour tariffs but increase car parking fees for resort and coastal car in line with CPI inflation of 3.8%.

b)    Increase season ticket fees by 3.8%

c)     To reduce the Hornbeam Rd car parking charges to £3 a day on a trial to be reviewed at 6 and 12 months

d)    For the Asset Management Officer, in consultation with the s151 Officer to proceed with the consultation in relation to the Off Street Parking Places Order.

 

The Chair proposed that the next two recommendations from Cabinet were taken en bloc:

 

It was therefore RESOLVED

 

Agenda Item 10: Fees & Charges 2026-2027

 

To approve:

a)    The fees and charges from 1st April 2026 as included in Appendix A.

b)    That delegated authority be given to the Section 151 Officer, in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Finance and relevant Directors/Assistant Director to agree the fees and charges not included within Appendix A as required (outlined within the report).

 

Agenda Item 11: Council Tax Discounts & Premiums Determinations 2026 -2-27

 

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 2026-27 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 2026-27 for eligible cases of hardship under Section 13A of the Local Government Finance Act 1992 (as amended) and that the Revenues Manager has delegated authority to make Discretionary Reductions under the Hardship Policy up to the value of £4k as indicated in the associated policy in Appendix B.

3) That an exception to the empty property levy charges may continue to be made by the Revenues Manager in the circumstances laid out in section 4.2 of this report.

4) The long-term empty-property premiums for the year 2026-27 (subject to the empty premium exceptions shown in Appendix C) are set at the levels indicated in the table at paragraph 4.2

5) To continue to award a local discount of 100% in 2026-27 for eligible cases of care leavers under Section 13A of the Local Government Finance Act 1992 (as amended).

6) Those dwellings that are specifically identified under regulation 6 of the Council Tax (Prescribed Classes of Dwellings) (England) Regulations 2003 will retain the 50% discount as set out in paragraph 2.1 of this report.

7) Those dwellings described or geographically defined at Appendix A which in the reasonable opinion of the Revenues Manager are judged not to be structurally capable of occupation all year round and were built before the restrictions of seasonal usage were introduced by the Town and Country Planning Act 1947, will be entitled to a 35% discount.

8) A new second homes premium of 100% as detailed in paragraph 4.3 (subject to the second home premium exceptions shown in Appendix C) continues to be applied in 2026-27

 

The Chair invited Cllr Brown, Portfolio Holder for Planning & Enforcement, to introduce the following Cabinet recommendation:

 

Cabinet 01 December - Agenda Item 12: Adoption of the North Norfolk Local Plan

 

Cllr Brown thanked Officers, the Planning Inspector, members of the Planning Policy & Built Heritage Working Party and Members generally for their efforts over the past years to get the Local Plan to this point.

 

He suggested that this report provided an opportunity to control and influence development in the district to 2040.  He identified that it had been a consistent part of the Corporate Plan to have a policy led (as opposed to a developer driven) planning system and cited the nationally recognised record of NNDC defending planning appeals to support that approach.

 

Given the many changes imposed on NNDC, he suggested it was now an appropriate time to adopt the new Plan which was the result of 10 years of work by officers and members, noting that the Plan had been through 5 rounds of consultations, 2 examination sessions, numerous Working Party discussions as well as Cabinet and Full Council reviews.

 

He commented on the general cross-party support during this process and the Council approval of the draft plan submission in April 2023 which gained 39 votes for approval with one 1 abstention. This Plan now included the 68 modifications the Inspector required to ensure the Plan was sound and legal.

 

Cllr Brown noted that the Plan would be particularly challenging for some Members, most notably in wards where village expansion was to be permitted.  He believed that NNDC had both a legal and moral responsibility to the district as a whole to manage development within the constraints and requirements placed on NNDC by central Government.

 

He reminded Members that if the Plan was adopted prior to March 2026, the district would be bound to deliver lower levels of new housing numbers (15 year average of 557 new homes per year) as opposed to a higher average (932 new homes on average over a 15 year period) if it did not adopt the Plan.  In addition, Cllr Brown identified other risks if the Plan was not adopted, namely additional financial costs, Local Government Reform uncertainties, planning measures in the proposed Planning and Infrastructure Act and changes to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF).

 

He suggested that a Local Plan would never satisfy everyone and would always be a compromise however he believed that approval would leave a legacy and proposed the recommendation to adopt the Plan and requested a recorded vote.

 

Cllr Adams recognised the significant achievement in delivering the Plan and thanked all those involved in its development.  He expressed disappointment in some of the determinations of the Inspector, including at the land to the west of Clifton Park, resulting in the loss of established bio-diversity, coastal erosion and potential odour issues. He feared that due to Government pursuit of housing numbers the price could be paid for years to come. Cllr Adams recognised the need for strategic consideration given the risk of a higher housing allocation.  Cllr Adams also spoke on behalf of Cllr R Macdonald, and expressed his concerned at the impact to Roughton, in terms of development on farmland and the potential for major development on the parish boundary edge and itself being a small growth village.  Cllr Adams recognised that despite his concern over local sites within the Plan, should the Plan not be adopted, the impact would be significant, he therefore supported and seconded the recommendation.

 

Cllr N Dixon applauded the tremendous efforts of everyone involved in the development of the Plan.  He wished to note a factual error in the small growth village section of the report.  He stated that Tunstead did not meet the listed criteria of small growth villages.  He added that this issue had been raised but not resolved.  He noted that Tunstead was in the advanced stage of development of a Neighbourhood plan at which point the Parish Council was open to discussing a signification allocation in the Parish, but that until that was in place it was appropriate to freeze the 42 unit housing allocation until the error was addressed.  On that basis he would then be fully supportive of adopting the Local Plan.

 

The Chair invited Officer Withington to assist on this matter, he explained that the options were to adopt the Local Plan as modified by the Inspector or not to adopt it. The main modification made by the Inspector related to the addition of a further 11 small growth villages including Tunstead and the Inspector had concluded that Tunstead did meet the criteria. Therefore, its inclusion was not an error.  The Officer noted the development of the Neighbourhood Plan and was expecting the first version early in the New Year.

 

Cllr P Heinrich thanked all those involved in developing the Plan over many years, recognising that whilst not perfect it protected the unique environment of the area against what he felt was the unnecessary additional housing requirement.  He expressed that he did not believe the 2 large developments at NW16 (North Walsham) and Cromer/Roughton made sense and didn’t offer the much needed affordable or social housing.  However, he felt a flawed Local Plan was better than a developers’ free for all which he believed to be the alternative and therefore on that basis he supported the adoption of the Plan

 

Cllr Holliday thanked the Planning Policy team for their work and understood the imperative for adopting the Plan.  On behalf of her residents she wished to express concern and reservations at an allocation included in Blakeney and its status as a growth village.

 

Cllr J Toye expressed the importance of adopting the Plan and recognised that despite there being allocations he didn’t support, it was better to have the Plan than not  and thanked Cllr Brown for his efforts and supported the adoption.

 

Cllr Bayes referred to the village of Catfield and asked for clarification as to whether the development at Milestone contributed to the allocation in the new Plan. Officer Withington confirmed that if planning permission had already been granted then that development would not contribute towards the indicative allocation as that would come into place on adoption.

 

Cllr Shires thanked Members as well as Officers.  She expressed concern at the proposed NW16 development given the pressures already on the town of North Walsham. She noted that the issues of concern could be considered and addressed during the planning application process. She did, however, understand the significance of the Local Plan and therefore would be supporting its adoption.

 

Cllr C Rouse expressed his reservation particularly with regard to the land north of Valley Lane in Holt and the biodiversity impact but recognised the need for the Plan and said he would be supporting its adoption.

 

The Chair thanked Officers present and past and said he believed that the Plan reflected the best option possible.

 

RESOLVED unanimously

 

 

1) To note the outcome of the Inspector’s Report into the examination of the North Norfolk Local Plan, dated 31 October 2025 (Appendix 1 & 2);

2) To adopt the modified Local Plan which incorporates the Main Modifications as the appropriate basis for the future planning of the whole District (Appendix 3);

3) To notes that all policies of the North Norfolk Core Strategy 2008 and the Site Allocations; Development Plan Document 2011 (the current Local Plan) will be superseded by the new Local Plan upon adoption. This is subject to the provisions of paragraph 9.3 of this report that: ‘Upon adoption there is a six-week window under section 113 of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 during which an aggrieved party can challenge the decision to adopt a Local Plan on legal and procedural grounds’

4) To note that Cabinet has delegated authority to the Assistant Director for Planning to publish the Adoption Statement and accompanying documents, making the North Norfolk Local Plan part of the Adopted Development Plan for North Norfolk;

5) To note that Cabinet has delegated authority to the Planning Policy Manager to make any further necessary non-material modifications and any further updates to the Policies Map as required.