The following Notices of Motion have been received:
1. RIGHT TO PLAY PLEDGE
Proposed by: Cllr Liz Withington
Seconded by: Cllr Shires
This Council recognises that access to safe, inclusive and welcoming spaces for play is fundamental to the health, wellbeing and development of children and young people. Opportunities for free play support physical activity, social connection, creativity and mental wellbeing, and are an important part of creating thriving and inclusive communities.
North Norfolk District Council has a strong track record of supporting high-quality public spaces, parks and play areas which benefit residents, families and visitors across the district. As the Council approaches Local Government Reorganisation (LGR), it is important that the value of accessible and inclusive play continues to be recognised within future local authority policy and place-making.
Council further notes the Right to Play Pledge being promoted by the Norfolk Youth Advisory Board through the Mancroft Advice Project, which seeks to encourage organisations and public bodies to recognise and support children and young people’s right to play.
Further information about the Right to Play Campaign and pledge can be found by visiting www.map.uk.net/righttoplay
Council therefore resolves to:
That the Council adopts a policy approach whereby S106 play contributions may, where appropriate and legally permissible, be directed towards strategic play and activity spaces rather than solely within the boundary of the originating development.
This approach would allow funding to be pooled or directed to locations that:
Developers and planning officers would work together to ensure that residents of the contributing development continue to benefit from the facilities delivered.
2. MOTION TO COUNCIL ON FLY-TIPPING
Proposer : Cllr Andrew Brown
Seconder: Cllr Callum Ringer
THIS COUNCIL NOTES:
THIS COUNCIL BELIEVES:
a) Residents deserve safe and clean streets and local environments
b) The Council should take a zero-tolerance approach to environmental criminals
c) Those who dispose of waste illegally should be dealt with through appropriate enforcement action.
d) All businesses and individuals should dispose of their waste in a compliant manner.
THIS COUNCIL RESOLVES TO ASK CABINET TO:
i) Investigate fly-tipping instances and where suitable evidence exists, take appropriate enforcement action possible against those responsible.
ii) Ensure all fixed penalty notices for littering and fly-tipping to the legal maximum as appropriate
iii) Promote regularly the “Lets S.C.R.A.P. fly-tipping” campaign to increase awareness of the householder Duty of Care requirements so that they only use registered waste carriers to dispose of their waste.
iv) Ensure that all businesses in the district have appropriate Duty of Care arrangements in place and take appropriate action where this is found not to be the case.
Minutes:
Two Notices of Motion had been received. The Chair invited Cllr L Withington, proposer of the motion to introduce the first one.:
1. The Right to Play Pledge
Cllr Withington explained that Right to Play Pledge was being promoted by the Norfolk Youth Advisory Board through the Mancroft Advice Project (MAP), which sought to encourage organisations and public bodies to recognise and support children and young people’s right to play. She said that the District Council had a strong track record of supporting high-quality public spaces, parks and play areas which benefitted residents, families and visitors across the district. As the Council approached Local Government Reorganisation (LGR), it was important that the value of accessible and inclusive play continued to be recognised within future local authority policy and place-making
She went onto say that play was fundamental to life but often undervalued. Accessibility and inclusivity were ‘buzz words’ but could be overlooked and consideration was not always given as to what they really meant. It was important to think about everybody having access to play parks. She spoke about all the children, young adults, parents and grandparents who would be accessing play areas and then spoke about the additional challenges faced by children with disabilities and additional needs, who struggled to access traditional play equipment. Sensory needs were also vital and there should be quieter spaces available too. Children should be able to play together, regardless of additional needs.
Cllr Withington said that the Council was already committed to fully accessible and inclusive play areas and the Leas in Sheringham was an example of this.
She commended the motion and said that it was a strong position statement as the Council moved towards a unitary model. Using the S106 money more effectively meant that the best value and benefits would be achieved for play spaces across the district.
Cllr L Shires seconded the motion and reserved her right to speak.
The Chair invited members to speak:
Cllr P Porter said that she wished to propose the following amendment:
Proposed amendments –
· Add wording in italics below
· Remove wording crossed out below
Council therefore resolves to:
That the Council adopts a policy approach whereby S106 play contributions may, where appropriate and legally permissible, be directed towards strategic play andactivity spaces within the same parish as the development rather than solely within the boundary of the originating development.
This approach would allow funding to be pooled or directed to locations that:
Cllr Porter said that she wanted to propose the amendment to ensure that smaller parishes were protected and to reduce the risk of funding generated by development in one part of the district being used to benefit communities in entirely different areas. It was a small but important change that would ensure that all parts of North Norfolk would retain access to play provision. By keeping S106 contributions linked to the parish where development takes place, it could be ensured that the benefits of development were felt directly in the local community and supported a fairer and more transparent distribution of funding.
Cllr V Holliday seconded the amendment. Cllr Adams clarified that if the proposer and seconder agreed with the amendment it would form part of the substantive motion and no debate was required.
Cllr L Shires said that the suggested additional wording made sense for parishes but the deleted words could cause some issues in a larger place such as North Walsham where money could be pooled to create a better, more inclusive play area. She said that she would be happy accept the highlighted additional wording, if the crossed-out/deleted wording was retained for larger areas. Cllr Withington said she had some concerns as one of the main challenges in creating inclusive play spaces was that the cost of floor space/area to make it fully accessible was very expensive and could even cost more than the play equipment. Small play areas were often not suitable for being made accessible and parishes may not be able to generate the funding to make genuinely accessible play areas.
Cllr Porter said that as it currently stood, the motion included town councils as well as parishes and she was concerned that S106 money from a development in a smaller parish could be used to fund a play area in a nearby town which may not be easy to access by village residents. Cllr Shires acknowledged this concern and suggested that the additional wording was included in the motion but said that serving multiple developments in neighbourhoods was key in towns. She proposed a compromise that villages were protected but that the wording for serving multiple developments and neighbourhoods in towns was retained.
Cllr C Cushing said that he was content to keep in the additional wording and not remove the wording relating to multiple developments.
The Monitoring Officer clarified that the additional wording would be included but that the proposed deletion would not proceed.
Cllr Porter proposed that the wording ‘within the same parish as the development’ but that ‘serve multiple developments and neighbourhoods’ was not deleted. This was seconded by Cllr V Holliday. When put to the vote, the amendment was supported unanimously and formed part of the substantive motion.
The Chair opened the debate on the substantive motion.
Cllr J Punchard said that having been involved in town council playgrounds over many years and the huge amount of money that had been spent to make them inclusive, it was often the case that play equipment was built on tarmac ‘islands’ which could not be reached by wheelchair users. This included carers and parents who supported their children’s access to the equipment. He said that he supported the motion.
Cllr W Fredericks queried whether it was possible to change policy in the way that was proposed and queried whether the correct process was being followed. The Monitoring Officer advised that members voted in principle and that the detail would be assessed.
Cllr J Toye said that connectivity using walking and cycling routes was key for the towns but was also important between villages too.
Cllr S Penfold said that he was supportive of the motion and said that the Council had a strong record in this area through the Sustainable Communities Fund which had ensured that accessibility and inclusivity were a key part of the application process.
Cllr Shires then spoke as seconder of the motion. She thanked representatives of the Youth Advisory Board (YAB) and commended their commitment and focus, particularly on the right to play. She tanked them for their passion and engagement.
The Chair then moved to the vote and it was RESOLVED unanimously
Council therefore resolves to:
That the Council adopts a policy approach whereby S106 play contributions may, where appropriate and legally permissible, be directed towards strategic play and activity spaces within the same parish as the development rather than solely within the boundary of the originating development.
This approach would allow funding to be pooled or directed to locations that:
Developers and planning officers would work together to ensure that residents of the contributing development continue to benefit from the facilities delivered.
The Chair then moved on to the second notice of motion and asked Cllr Brown, the proposer to introduce it.
2. Motion to Council on Fly-tipping
Cllr Brown began saying that there was a developing problem in the district regarding fly-tipping and roadside littering due to years of Government complacency. Numbers were increasing year on year. There were 462 recorded fly tips on public land and 81 on private land between 2023 and 2026. So, the bulk of the liability to clear up fell to NNDC as it was responsible for removal from public land. Fly tipping caused a blight on communities and its removal cost huge amounts of money which could be spent on education, health and other critical services. Ultimately, littering could lead to an increase in council tax due to the rising costs of cleaning up.
Cllr Brown said that North Norfolk was the third best bio-diverse region in Britain and one of the biggest problems faced by wildlife was pollution in the form of waste and rubbish, causing death and serious injury. Roadside litter alone was estimated to kill 3m small animals in the UK every year. Schools should be encouraged to include personal responsibility for litter in their curriculums. Regarding fly-tipping, he said it had been exacerbated by Norfolk County Council’s introduction of charging at recycling centres. This had since been replaced by a booking system and reduced opening hours which had contributed to a rise in both reported and unreported fly-tipping. So, the national fines imposed for fly-tipping should be reviewed to ensure that they were matching fixed penalty notices issued by the Council for the same offence. They were currently out of kilter with one another. Lower fines issues by the courts undermined deterrents, weakened enforcement powers and also left councils out of pocket. National sentencing guidelines therefore needed reviewing as a matter of urgency. He said that new legislation was coming through to strengthen powers and the Council needed to be prepared to align with the new measures.
Cllr Brown thanked the local Womble pickers and everyone who gave up their time to keep local communities free from litter. He commended the motion to members.
Cllr C Ringer seconded the motion and reserved his right to speak.
The Chair opened up the debate to members.
Cllr C Cushing said that he wished to propose the following small amendment:
To add the following as a fifth resolution to Cabinet:
v) Lobby the Government to amend the Environmental Protection Act 1990 so that the Government take financial responsibility for the removal of fly-tipping waste from private land.
Cllr Cushing said that he supported everything that Cllr Brown had said and this was a positive addition to the motion. He said that the figures for fly-tipping were shocking with over 1 million cases of fly-tipping reported on public highways alone in the last year and only 1500 of these were taken to court. He went onto say that Magistrate’s courts could impose fines of up to £50k or 12 months imprisonment and the Crown court could impose unlimited fines or 5 years in prison. However, the average fine was £593. He said that the amendment focused on the people who paid the financial brunt of clearing up in many cases and that was private landowners as they were legally responsible for clearing rubbish on their land. He agreed with Cllr Brown that more Government intervention was needed and this may happen if they took financial responsibility for clearing rubbish from private land.
The Chair asked Cllr Brown, as proposer of the motion, if he accepted the amendment. Cllr Brown said that he accepted the intention of the motion but cautioned that private landowners often took out insurance for fly-tipping removal costs and he was concerned that the amendment may imply that private insurance should be removed. He said that he was concerned that it could lead to increases in central taxation because the money would need to come from somewhere.
Cllr V Holliday seconded the amendment. She said that the egregious fly-tipping that was being seen now was on private land and not all private land was owned by wealthy landowners. There were charities, community groups and public bodies that owned private land.
Cllr Brown agreed to accept the amendment and it formed part of the substantive motion.
The Chair then opened the debate on the substantive motion.
Cllr S Butikofer said that it was a huge issue of concern to local residents. She reminded people not to try and tackle fly-tippers themselves but to take photographs where possible and report it to the District Council.
Cllr C Rouse said that he was supportive of the motion and he supported increasing the fines on fly-tipping. He also commended the Wombles for their hard work collecting litter.
Cllr J Toye said that he felt that fly-tipping was particularly prevalent in rural communities and it was important to acknowledge the damage caused to wildlife.
Cllr T FitzPatrick said that since he had been a member of the Council, he had always held it up as an exemplar in dealing with fly-tipping quickly and taking cases to court whenever possible. He reminded members that private land included people’s gardens and parking spaces in front of houses and small shop. He was supportive of pushing for the highest possible penalties for fly-tipping.
Cllr Ringer then spoke as seconder of the motion. He said that the rising numbers regarding fly-tipping were quite stark. He had sympathy for private landowners, particularly small community groups. The large majority, however, was dumped on public land and it was the Council’s responsibility to clear it up. The tools to effectively prosecute were needed. He highlighted a recent case in his ward where a numberplate had been left in a pile of rubbish but DVLA rules prevented the data linked to it being used without a witness present at the time it was dumped.
Something needed to change centrally to indicate that the government was serious about tackling environmental crime. He also thanked the Wombles and commended their hard work, along with other community groups who gave up their time. He reiterated the advice to leave fly-tipping where it was and report it as soon as possible.
Cllr Brown said that he had nothing further to add.
The Chair asked members to go to the vote and it was RESOLVED unanimously to:
THIS COUNCIL RESOLVES TO ASK CABINET TO:
i) Investigate fly-tipping instances and where suitable evidence exists, take appropriate enforcement action possible against those responsible.
ii) Ensure all fixed penalty notices for littering and fly-tipping to the legal maximum as appropriate
iii) Promote regularly the “Lets S.C.R.A.P. fly-tipping” campaign to increase awareness of the householder Duty of Care requirements so that they only use registered waste carriers to dispose of their waste.
iv) Ensure that all businesses in the district have appropriate Duty of Care arrangements in place and take appropriate action where this is found not to be the case.