To receive apologies for absence. 

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Askew, A Blackbourn, D Blackbourn, Crane, Eagle, Gilbert, Oliver, Suggitt and Sarah Taylor.  Apologies for absence were also received from the Chief Executive and the Deputy Chief Executive.

To confirm the minutes of the meeting held on 18 May 2023.

The Minutes of the meeting held on 18 May 2023 were agreed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

The duties to register, disclose and not to participate for the entire consideration of the matter, in respect of any matter in which a Member has a disclosable pecuniary interest are set out in Chapter 7 of the Localism Act 2011.  Members are also required to withdraw from the meeting room as stated in the Standing Orders of this Council.

Councillor Phil Cowen, the Executive Member for Finance, Revenue & Benefits declared an interest in Agenda item 13 due to him being a Member Director  for Breckland Bridge and would leave the room whilst this item was being discussed.

A number of photographs were shown from the Sports Experience Day that the Chairman attended.  This event took place in Thetford where up to 2,000 disabled children from schools across East Anglia were given the opportunity to take part in over thirty different sporting activities. Frank Bruno, the President of these Experience Days, together with former international footballers, Sir Trevor Brooking and Peter Shilton attended this event.

The Chairman thanked Ben Cooper-Welch, the Centre’s Manager and students from the Thetford Academy who supported him throughout the day.

The Chairman then informed Members that during his year in office he had chosen to support the following charities, the Swaffham & Litcham Hospice and SANDs, a baby bereavement charity who worked to improve bereavement care across the UK.  He welcomed Georgina Roberts, a representative from the Hospice, who provided Members with information on what the charity provided. A representative from SANDs would be invited to a future meeting. From a personal perspective, Councillor Atterwill said that SANDs had been very supportive to his family after the sad loss of his granddaughter, and he hoped that Members would support these charities going forward.

He would also be continuing with the former Chairman’s community champions certificate of special recognition for invisible heroes, and he asked Members that if they knew of anyone in their community that deserved such recognition to put their names forward.

The Chairman then announced the sad passing of former district councillor and Mayor of Thetford, Derek Mortimer.  His funeral for those that knew him would be held on Friday, 14 July at 11am at St Cuthbert’s Church in Thetford followed by a private burial.  If Members wished to make a personal donation, in support of St Nicholas Hospice, donations could be made at https://derekmortimer.muchloved.com

A Minute’s silence was held.

To receive a verbal update from Councillor Sam Chapman-Allen, Leader of the Council.

The Leader made the following announcements:

LGC Award

He was delighted to announce that Breckland Council had won a national award for the excellent support it provided to the people of Breckland. The award was in the Health and Social Care category of the Local Government Chronicle Awards 2023, held in London in June 2023.

The prize had been awarded in recognition of the integrated work delivered by this council, and through its strong partnerships with the NHS, local charities and other partners, to tackle health inequalities in Breckland. In particular, through this Council’s Inspiring Communities programme, where hundreds of people who were experiencing domestic abuse, isolation or loneliness, or those in need of mental health support had been helped.

The Leader then thanked all Members for supporting this work and investment in such an important area. He also thanked the Council’s partners for their sterling efforts over the last few years and for the officers involved for delivering what was now an award-winning programme of activity.

Breckland Build Together Families Programme

The innovative mental health support programme for young people and their families in Breckland had been re-commissioned. Following a successful pilot project, this Council was working with not-for-profit wellness and therapy service Cup-O-T and the Breckland Youth Advisory Board to deliver the Breckland Build Together Families programme. This would deliver interactive workshops and support for up to 100 young people and their families who were on local mental health waiting lists.

Temporary Accommodation

10 temporary accommodation flats had been refurbished and brought into use for people in need of a short-term home. For those people who were going through the upheaval of living in temporary accommodation, it was important that they were in a property that was safe and well managed.  The investment by this Council increased the number of homes that it owned and there was more to come, with shared homes for a further 7 people coming into use at the end of the month.

This built on the previous successes in this area, including opening the Elm House site in Thetford and the newly built temporary homes on the same site.

Housing enforcement

In terms of housing provision, the Leader was pleased that this Council had been on the front-foot in tackling rogue landlords who put their tenants at risk. The quality of housing in Breckland was generally high and it worked positively with the vast majority of local landlords who did an excellent job in supporting local tenants.

However, recently this Council dealt with a case in which officers found a rented property with a blocked fire escape, damaged fire doors, dangerous electrics and broken and rotten windows. This led to this council issuing a £40,000 fine to the landlord responsible, sending a clear message that it would not stand by while Breckland residents were put at risk. He was pleased to inform Members that the repairs had since been made to the property, and the money from the fine would be used to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 55/23

None received.

Councillor Jermy, the Leader of the Labour Group directed his question to the Leader of the Council.  He mentioned the plans that were afoot to close ticket offices at train stations in a number of quieter locations and asked if Breckland Council would be responding to the consultation and through social media channels.

Members were informed that these closures affected 4 stations across the district; therefore, Breckland Council would be responding to the consultation.  He was frustrated as these ticket offices played an important role for those people who needed help and that face-to-face contact.

Councillor Atterwill, the Leader of the Independent/Green Group stated that it had been several months since Members received any information on Barnham Broom and asked Councillor Hewett, the Executive Member for Property, Projects & Procurement for an update.  Councillor Hewett advised that Barnham Broom was still going through the disposal program process, and he would update Members as soon as he heard anything more.

In Councillor Crane’s absence, the Executive Member for Waste, Environmental Health, Licensing & Sustainability, Councillor Land directed his question to the Leader.  He said that he had received repeated complaints from residents about Serco in terms of not picking up litter prior to cutting the hedges and grass and asked the Leader to confirm if anything was being done to remedy this.  The Leader explained that this authority was working with Serco as to what checks and balances were in place and would keep Members informed.

Councillor Clarke asked Councillor Hewett a question about the car park review and how to best support the market towns and whether the Executive Member could rule out the sale of one of the main car parks in Dereham for housing.  Councillor Hewett advised that discussions were taking place about the challenges that the market towns faced in terms of short or long stay parking solutions and this new survey would enable up to date information to be gathered to ensure that this districts public car parking provision continued to meet the needs of residents, businesses, taxpayers and visitors alike.  The last survey was undertaken in 2016 and there was no decision to move away from the current model in place in all of the market towns, but the data received would be critical moving forward.

Councillor Cogman was aware that Breckland Council was represented on the Norfolk Strategic Flood Alliance and asked if the Leader had received any further information on the issue of flooding under the Moorgate underpass that affected many residents in her Ward.  She was aware that this was a Highways England matter and Norfolk County Council were helping without prejudice but when this area flooded school children were having to take a different route adding a mile on their journey and were taking risks.  As a local Councillor she had been unable to get a proper written response from the County Councillor for Dereham South and asked how this matter could be escalated, and she along with other neighbouring Ward Councillors would  ...  view the full minutes text for item 57/23

To note the following Minutes:

The recommendation under Minute No. 54/23, would be considered under Agenda item 10.

The Minutes of the Cabinet meeting held on 30 May 2023 were noted.

The recommendation under Minute No. 34/23, would be considered under Agenda item 10.

The Minutes of the Overview & Scrutiny Commission meeting held on 8 June 2023 were noted.

The Minutes of the Licensing Committee meeting held on 14 June 2023 were noted.

Report of Councillor Phil Cowen Executive Member Finance, Revenues & Benefits.

Members are asked to note that this report was considered at the Governance & Audit Committee meeting on Thursday, 22 June 2023 and recommended to Full Council for approval.

Councillor Phil Cowen, the Executive Member for Finance, Revenue & Benefits presented the report.

The report had been considered and discussed at great length by the Governance & Audit Committee and was for Full Council to approve the recommendations as listed in the report.

No questions were raised, following a unanimous vote in support of the recommendations, it was:

RESOLVED that:

1.    the actual 2022/23 prudential indicators within this report be approved, and

2.   the Treasury Management Annual Report for 2022/23 at Appendix B and Appendix C of the report be noted.

Report of Councillor Phil Cowen, Executive Member for Finance, Revenue & Benefits and Councillor Alison Webb, Executive Member for Customer & Corporate Services.

Members are asked to note that this report was considered at the Cabinet meeting held on 30 May 2023 and by the Overview & Scrutiny Commission on 8 June 2023 (see Minutes attached at Agenda items 8(a) & 8(b)) and was recommended to Full Council for approval.

Councillor Phil Cowen, the Executive Member for Finance, Revenue & benefits presented the report.

This report had been considered at Cabinet and the Overview & Scrutiny Commission and had been recommended to the Full Council for approval.

The report reflected the financial position that this Council found itself in at the end of the fiscal year 2022/23.  It also reported on the performance data for the same period but in this particular forum it was only the finance report that should be considered.

The recommendations were read aloud.

It had been anticipated that the Council would have to draw down a significant contribution of just over £500k from the General fund to balance the accounts. This figure had been set against some escalating housing costs and significant inflationary pressures.  It also showed the importance of reporting on a regular basis to understand and appreciate the changing patterns of finance during the financial year, and to develop policies that were agile and meaningful to address the changing face of costs and effectiveness on local government finance.

Fast forward from March 2023 to this present day, it could be seen at Appendix C that the budget deficit had fallen to £196k a reduction of £346k on the position that this Council was perhaps anticipating in the last quarter, despite the health & housing costs having risen within the same period.   This Council had invested in some emergency housing provision in Thetford and in Dereham and that had resulted in reducing costs of between £300K and £375k on an annual basis.

The details behind the figures were highlighted in the report and the work of the Finance Team was commended.

Councillor Atterwill drew attention to Appendix B on page 82 of the agenda pack in terms of health & housing.  He had noticed that there was a £700k underspend on disabled facility grants (DFGs) and asked for this to be explained as he was aware that this Council had a significant waiting list and anyone who was deemed in need of such a grant had to wait for over a year for any works to be completed.

Also, on the same appendix, under Capital Loans, he had noticed the loans for Local Asset Backed Vehicle (LABV) and asked what rate of interest this Council was charging.

Councillor Cowen said that Alison Chubbock, the Assistant Director of Finance & S151 Officer would be able to provide the exact figures in terms of the latter question after the meeting.

As far as the DFGs were concerned, Councillor Bowes, the Executive Member for Housing & Homelessness advised that the figure of £700k was not an underspend but a carried forward figure.  The funds had already been allocated to work and would be allocated and distributed to the Council’s contractors. Some of the funding had been held back to enable a timely response to any priority work cases.  She confirmed that the budget from last year and for this year would be spent and that officers were managing the work appropriately and fairly.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 60/23

Report of Councillor Tristan Ashby, Executive Member for Health & Communities, Councillor Paul Hewett Executive Member for Property, Projects, & Procurement and Councillor Helen Crane Executive Member for Waste, Environmental Health, Licensing & Sustainability. 

Members are asked to note that this report was considered at the Cabinet meeting held on Monday, 3 July 2023 and recommended to Full Council for approval.

Councillor Hewett, the Executive Member for Property, Projects & Procurement presented the report.

This report sought to release the sum of £530k towards the installation of de-carbonisation technology at the Leisure Centres in Thetford and Dereham. Not only would this project reduce ‘Scope 3’ emissions, but it would also provide this Council with a real long-term investment and was the best immediate revenue benefit.  It would also assist with the reduction of the current benchmark figure that was taking place within the Council’s current benchmark exercise with Parkwood. Energy costs were one of the largest expenses in running these Leisure Centres and whilst Parkwood had made significant improvements and had demonstrated an on-going energy usage the reality was that the cost of energy continued to outstrip the reduced usage and would continue to adversely affect the operation of leisure offering should this Council do nothing.

Councillor Jermy asked if the Executive Member could expand on the second recommendation as he felt that this was a significant amount of money and also asked what measuring mechanism would be put in place to establish that this Council was getting what it set out to get.

Members were informed that Officers would look at any grant funding available and information would be reported back on a monthly basis in terms of the savings that were being achieved.  A benchmarking exercise would also form part of the reporting process.

Following a unanimous vote, it was:

RESOLVED that:

1. the release of funds up to £530,000 from Growth Reserves to enable the delivery of the preferred technology mix (Option 2 of this report) to ensure improvements at both PFI sites for carbon reduction and/or energy cost-saving be agreed;

2. delegated authority to accept the terms and conditions of any future grant funding secured be given to the Executive Member for Health & Communities in consultation with the Assistant Director of Contracts and Operations as officers continue to explore all external funding opportunities; and

3. delegated authority be given to the Assistant Director of Contracts and Operations and the Council’s Solicitor in consultation with the Executive Member for Property, Projects and Procurement, to carry out negotiations with Parkwood Leisure and associated companies to obtain the best benchmarking outcome for the Council.

Report of Councillor Tristan Ashby, Executive Member for Health & Communities and Councillor Paul Hewett Executive Member for Property, Projects, and Procurement.

Members are asked to note that this report was considered at the Cabinet meeting held on Monday, 3 July 2023 and recommended to Council for approval.

Councillor Tristan Ashby, the Executive Member for Health & Communities presented the report.

The recommendation sought to release Capital funding of £109k towards the conversion of the existing multi-use games pitch at the Leisure Centre in Thetford to a 3G football pitch.

This capital investment would allow the Council to match against funds released from the Leisure Operator, Parkwood, and enable this Council to submit the funding application to the Football Foundation later on in the year.

This was the second time that this project had come forward, following an approach from the Football Foundation who had identified the site as a key strategic location for the provision of such a pitch.

Officers had engaged with England Hockey and the local hockey clubs to provide advice and support about the potential move from their existing location, and a facility report had been commissioned that identified an opportunity for the provision of an all- weather hockey pitch in an alternative location.  

Councillor Land was pleased that this Council would be providing this facility.

Councillor Harvey was also pleased to see this investment in Thetford but stressed that the Hockey Club must not be lost.

Councillor Terry fully supported the recommendations as many matches had to be cancelled due to the weather conditions so this new pitch would allow play to continue all year round.

Following a unanimous vote, it was:

RESOLVED that:

1. the release of funds up to £109,000 from the Inclusive Growth reserve and the Growth and Investment Reserve for the redevelopment of the Multi Use Games Area (MUGA) site at Breckland Leisure Centre & Waterworld, Thetford with a third generation (3G) Artificial Grass Pitch (AGP) being installed as its replacement be agreed;

2. all grant funding following the football foundation application (c.£487,000) and contribution from the leisure operator (c.£100,000) and set up necessary budgets to spend be accepted;

3. delegated authority to accept the terms and conditions of the football funding be granted to the Executive Member for Leisure in consultation with the Assistant Director of Contract and Operations; and.

4. delegation be given to the Assistant Director of Contracts and Operations and the Council’s Solicitor in consultation with the Executive Member for Property, Projects and Procurement to carry out negotiations with Parkwood Leisure and associated companies to obtain the best benchmarking outcome for the Council.

Report of Councillor Paul Hewett, Executive Member for Property, Projects & Procurement.

Members are asked to note that this report was considered at the Cabinet meeting held on Monday, 3 July 2023 and recommended to Council for approval.

Councillor Phil Cowen, the Executive Member for Finance, Revenue & Benefits declared an interest in this item due to him being a Member Director for Breckland Bridge and left the room whilst this item was being discussed.

Councillor Hewett, the Executive Member for Property, Projects & Procurement was delighted to present the report and the recommendation to approve the updated Breckland Bridge Ltd Business Plan 2023 - 2028.

The approval process was an annual requirement for the joint venture partnership.  This Business Plan had been reviewed at the recent Cabinet meeting which explored the commercial focus of Breckland Bridge, the main outputs of the partnership, the challenges of the partnership and the ambition for an exemplary environmental policy.

As a Council and for the benefit of residents it was decided to enter the property market using an innovative joint venture with its partner, the Land Group.  In presenting this report, two important aspects of this partnership were highlighted.

The first was how the Council obtained the best return from its property and land assets. The focus of the Business Plan was to ensure that the land worked for the Council, and to be able to deliver this focus, a clear commercial remit was required. Through Breckland Bridge commercial returns could be generated for this Council, its residents and taxpayers which might not ordinarily be achievable. However, within this overarching ambition, as a Council, it also recognised that the property and land that it owned also helped to support its local communities.  This was reflected in the Council’s small sites disposal programme.  There were other returns that could be gained from the land other than pure financial ones, in particular the small sites disposal programme was a process that this Council controlled not Breckland Bridge. 

Details of these small sites had been shared with Members and had been included on the Council’s website.  Every land asset was unique, but its route was to provide value for money for all Breckland residents. There would need to be dialogue, compromise and some give and take, so that everyone’s interest could be met but not everyone would get what they wanted. But working together, an ambition could be achieved to share resources in the district; for example, if a bigger more suitable site was available nearby for a community use it would be reasonable for one site to be developed and the other site to be left.   

He urged all Members to engage in this small site’s consultation process as each site came forward not only in the communities that Members represented but also with the knowledge that this Council had to obtain best value for all Breckland residents, and not just for those who would be immediately affected.

Notwithstanding all of the above, the Breckland Bridge Business Plan needed to be open and transparent and needed to include every single piece of conceivable land within reason in the small sites list even if there was a limited likelihood of the land being delivered or not.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 63/23

To receive nominations for any changes to Committee and other seats from political groups.

The Leader announced the following changes to the Outside Body appointments:

·         A47 Alliance – Councillor Gordon Bambridge to be removed as the substitute and replaced by Councillor Sarah Suggitt

·         Norfolk Strategic Flood Alliance – Councillor Bambridge to be removed and replaced by Councillor Sarah Suggitt

·         Restorative Approaches Strategic Board – Councillor Bambridge to be removed and replaced by Councillor Tristan Ashby

·         Water Resources East – Councillor Bambridge to be removed and replaced by Councillor Helen Crane.

No further changes were announced.

None.

NOTE: No other business is permitted unless by reason of special circumstances, which shall be specified in the minutes, the Chairman is of the opinion that the items(s) should be considered as a matter of urgency.

None.