Agenda item

The Chair explained to members that 30 minutes was allocated for this item.

Cllr G Mancini-Boyle asked Cllr A Varley, Portfolio Holder for Climate Change & Net Zero, for a breakdown of numbers for people applying for grant funding across the five categories of the Norfolk Warm Homes programme and a list of completed projects in North Norfolk. Cllr Varley said that he did not have the figures to hand and would provide a written response as soon as possible.

Cllr S Penfold asked Cllr A Brown, Portfolio Holder for Planning, about the Corporate Plan which stated ‘ that people should feel well informed about local issues and have opportunities to get involved, influence local decision-making and shape their area’. He said these were excellent aspirations but wondered how these tallied with the recent decision of the Development Committee meeting where the Chair used his casting vote to approve the application for a cold storage unit at the Albert Bartlett site in Worstead. Cllr Penfold said that the local community in Worstead felt completely overlooked and ignored by the Council when they expressed their opposition to such a major application and which continued to cause so much distress and anxiety in Worstead.  Cllr Brown thanked him for the question. He said that the Council endeavoured to consult communities on every planning application. Parish council clerks were informed and they were well advertised in the local area. He said that that Corporate Plan was satisfied by any planning consideration because consultation happened as a matter of course. He fully understood the anguish in Worstead. The application was not dealt with by officer delegation but called into the Development Committee for consideration by the Assistant Director for Planning. Objectors and supporters were able to speak at the meeting and a decision was taken in line with agreed meeting procedures. However, he explained the reasons for objecting to a planning application were quite limited. If there had been an error in the process then this could be challenged by Judicial Review. If there was an error of fact then it could be challenged in the courts. He said that the decision was properly arrived at and the only recourse now was for the community to lobby the applicant and see if they were prepared to submit a revised application which could address the concerns raised during the meeting by the objectors. He added that he would also check the early stages of the application process to see if the applicant had approached the Parish Council, he would also see if a pre-application form was submitted to NNDC.

Cllr Penfold thanked Cllr Brown. He said that he believed there were significant flaws in the process from start to finish and Cllr Dixon shared those concerns. Representations were being made to Albert Bartlett and the MP to highlight resident’s concerns. He said that he would welcome engagement with himself and Cllr Dixon to review the whole process from start to finish.

Cllr V Holliday asked Cllr L Withington, Portfolio Holder for Leisure, about the over-subscription for classes at the Reef in Sheringham. She said that most of the classes were over-subscribed and this then had a knock-on effect. She asked Cllr Withington if she had any suggestions on how to improve the situation. Cllr Withington said that it reflected the success of the facility and that membership numbers had also exceeded expectations. Some matters had already been addressed, such as cleansing issues. Regarding over-subscription of classes, this was harder to deal with as there were only so many opportunities during the day to run classes and numbers for each session were limited. The issue would be monitored.

Cllr Holliday asked if there were any plans to offer more classes. Cllr Withington replied that timings were an issue but the provider, Everyone Active, was aware of the issue and they were keen to address it, if possible.

Cllr N Dixon, asked Cllr A Varley, Portfolio Holder for Climate Change & Net Zero, about the Council’s flagship corporate objective of the Administration was to create a strong response to the challenges of climate change and the net zero agenda. He said that for the Council to become an exemplar in this sector, the larger businesses in the District needed to collectively make a large scale impact on the Net Zero target. He asked for a range of examples across the business sector where the Council had inspired large scale carbon footprint reductions and where possible, quoting the metrics of the scale. Cllr Varley said that he could provide a list of such initiatives in writing. He then referred to a current initiative called ‘Make my House Green’ which was aimed at ensuring that households and Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs) had the available opportunities for solar energy but also relied on local contractors for installation. Cllr Dixon said that he would like the written response to focus on businesses which had followed NNDC’s example at scale, particularly those with a large carbon footprint. Cllr Varley referred to the solar panels that had been installed on the Council’s leisure centres.

Cllr C Cushing asked Cllr L Shires, Portfolio Holder for Finance, Estates & Property Services, about the reference in her report to the disposal of the Highfield car park in Fakenham. He asked if there was any indication when the disposal might go ahead.

Cllr Fredericks, Portfolio Holder for Housing, said that it sat within her portfolio. She acknowledged that it was taking a long time to resolve issues regarding resident’s rights of way across the car park. The Housing Association that was developing the site had taken legal advice around indemnity insurance to minimise any future claims and it was this ongoing work that had delayed the project. Cllr Fredericks said that she was frustrated by the lack of progress but was hopeful that work would be able to commence soon.

Cllr J Toye, Portfolio Holder Sustainable Growth said that the Economic Growth Team would provide some information to support the response to Cllr Dixon’s question to Cllr Varley.