Agenda, decisions and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Andy Drummond.

To approve as a correct record the minutes of the Cabinet meeting held on 14 February 2017 (attached).

The minutes of the meeting held on 14 February 2017 were unanimously confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

At each Cabinet meeting, up to 15 minutes shall be allocated for questions from and discussion with, non-Cabinet members.  Members wishing to speak during this session should if possible, give notice in advance.  Who speaks and for how long will be at the complete discretion of the person presiding.

No Non-Cabinet Members in attendance wished to speak under this item.

Members of the public who live or work in the District are invited to put one question/statement of not more than three minutes duration relating to items to be discussed in Part 1 of the agenda only.  If a question is asked and answered within three minutes, the person who asked the question may ask a supplementary question that arises from the reply.

A person who wishes to speak must register at least 15 minutes before the time the meeting is scheduled to start.

There is an overall time limit of 15 minutes for public speaking, which may be extended at the Chairman’s discretion.

There were no questions/statements from members of the public.

Report No: CAB/FH/17/015

Chairman of the Committee: Simon Cole    Lead Officer: Christine Brain

RESOLVED:

That the content of Report No: CAB/FH/17/015, being the report of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee, be noted.

(Report No: CAB/FH/17/015)

Councillor Ruth Bowman, Vice Chairman of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee, presented this report which informed the Cabinet of the following items which had been discussed by the Committee on 16 March 2017:

(1)     Annual Presentation by the Portfolio Holder for Resources and Performance.

(2)     Decisions Plan: April 2017 to May 2017.

(3)     Work Programme Update.

Councillor Bowman also drew relevant issues to the attention of the Cabinet.

With the vote being unanimous, it was

RESOLVED:

That the content of Report No: CAB/FH/17/015, being the report of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee, be noted.

Report No: CAB/FH/17/016

Portfolio Holder: Lance Stanbury     Lead Officer: Marie Smith

RECOMMENDED TO COUNCIL: (26 April 2017)

That the Planning Inspector be requested to make any necessary main modifications under Section 20 (7c) of the 2004 Planning and Compulsory Purchases Act that he/she judges necessary, to make all submitted Local Plan documents ‘sound’.

(Report No: CAB/FH/17/016)

Councillor Lance Stanbury, Portfolio Holder for Planning and Growth, presented this report which was formally requesting the Planning Inspector appointed to Examine in Public the Core Strategy Single Issue Review (SIR) and the Site Allocations Local Plan (SALP), to make any necessary modifications to make the Plans ‘sound’ under Section 20 (7c) of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004.

The Portfolio Holder explained that Planning Inspectors no longer make modifications unless specifically asked to do so by the Local Planning Authority.  It was important that the Inspector be formally requested to do so, otherwise, if he found the Plan not to be sound, he would have no choice but to recommend that the Plan not be adopted and the Local Authority would have to start the Plan making process again.  Therefore, to meet all the legal requirements and in accordance with paragraph 6.5 of the procedural practice in the Examination of Local Plans, a further resolution was requested under Section 20 of the 2004 Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act.

With the vote being unanimous, it was

RECOMMENDED TO COUNCIL: (26 April 2017)

That the Planning Inspector be requested to make any necessary main modifications under Section 20 (7c) of the 2004 Planning and Compulsory Purchases Act that he/she judges necessary, to make all submitted Local Plan documents ‘sound’.

Report No: CAB/FH/17/017

Portfolio Holder: Andy Drummond             Lead Officer: Jill Korwin

RECOMMENDED TO COUNCIL: (26 April 2017)

That:-

1.           A new Partnership Agreement be entered into with Abbeycroft Leisure for a period of 15 years, with options to extend for 5 + 5 years, subject to the protections included in the Partnership Agreement.

2.           The Partnership Agreement be finalised in line with Report No: CAB/FH/17/017 and the Heads of Terms attached at Appendix 1, subject to the inclusion of an additional indicator within the Performance Management Framework to measure the increase in participation at community events, run by other partners, but supported by Abbeycroft Leisure Ltd.

(Report No: CAB/FH/17/017)

Councillor Robin Millar, Portfolio Holder for Families and Communities, presented this report, on behalf of the Portfolio Holder for Leisure and Culture (Councillor Andy Drummond), which sought approval for entering into a new Partnership Agreement with Abbeycroft Leisure Ltd.

This new Agreement had been developed in line with the previously approved principles and commitments of Cabinet and Council, as set out in Section 2 of Report No: CAB/FH/17/017 and, therefore, satisfactorily supported the objectives and priorities of the Council and Abbeycroft regarding the promotion of health and wellbeing by supporting people to engage in physical activity.  As part of the new Agreement, Abbeycroft had also committed to deliver a zero management fee to the Council by 2025.

Whilst discussing this report, Councillor Millar also proposed that there should be an addition to Recommendation (2) of the report and that within the Performance Management Framework there should be an appropriate indicator to measure the impact of Abbeycroft Leisure in the promotion of the role of community groups/the use of community sites in the provision of health and wellbeing.

With the vote being unanimous, it was

RECOMMENDED TO COUNCIL: (26 April 2017)

That:-

1.           A new Partnership Agreement be entered into with Abbeycroft Leisure for a period of 15 years, with options to extend for 5 + 5 years, subject to the protections included in the Partnership Agreement.

2.           The Partnership Agreement be finalised in line with Report No: CAB/FH/17/017 and the Heads of Terms attached at Appendix 1, subject to the inclusion of an additional indicator within the Performance Management Framework to measure the increase in participation at community events, run by other partners, but supported by Abbeycroft Leisure Ltd.

Report No: CAB/FH/17/018

Portfolio Holders: Lance Stanbury and Stephen Edwards

Lead Officer: Rachael Mann

RESOLVED:

That:-

1.           The strategic approach to investment planning (as outlined in Report No: CAB/FH/17/018 and at Section 3) and the development of an overarching investment strategy for Council approval in due course be supported and approved.

2.           The principle of the Cabinet’s role in the leadership and decision-making in relation to the investment fund (outlined in Report No: CAB/FH/17/018 and at Sections 4 and 5) be supported and approved.

3.           The transfer from reserves as detailed in paragraph 5.2 and 5.3 of Report No: CAB/FH/17/018 for the creation of a £1m revenue budget to support the capital investment fund, be noted.

4.           It be noted that prior to the adoption of the overarching investment strategy, referred at 1. above, the current constitutional decision mechanisms will continue to operate.

(Report No: CAB/FH/17/018)

Councillors Lance Stanbury (Portfolio Holder for Planning and Growth) and Stephen Edwards (Portfolio Holder for Resources and Performance) both presented this report which set out a proposed approach for establishing a mechanism for investing in the Council’s growth agenda.

The Council had previously committed (with St Edmundsbury Borough Council) in its Medium Term Financial Strategy 2017-2020, its intention to facilitate sustainable growth that benefitted its communities, including through investment, over the period of the strategy.  This was in order to deliver the Council’s growth objectives, as well as moving towards its goal of self-sufficiency.

As part of the February 2017 Budget and Council Tax Setting report, a £20m revolving capital investment fund was created as a pending item within the Council’s capital programme, funded from external borrowing. Report No: CAB/FH/17/018 proposed an approach to govern that fund and the creation of a £1 million (plus £1m from SEBC) revenue reserve budget to facilitate the fund’s next steps in delivering growth and investment opportunities in West Suffolk.

The Portfolio Holders explained that the creation of the revenue reserve budget, which was proposed to be funded through a reserve transfer from the Strategic Priorities and Medium Term Financial Strategy Reserve utilising existing delegations of the Assistant Director (Resources and Performance), would be used to support delivery of the capital fund on such items set out in Section 5 of the report

The Cabinet recognised the vision and forward thinking of the proposals, which fully supported the Council’s strategic priorities and themes of the Medium Term Financial Strategy 2017-2021.  Subject to the relevant checks and balances as addressed in the report, the Cabinet agreed that the proposed governance would enable the Council to act more nimbly, swiftly and commercially to progress its growth agenda through the towns and rural areas of the District and West Suffolk.

Members also noted that further approval would be required on certain elements of the overall approach following the development of an overarching investment strategy, which would be presented to Cabinet and Council in due course.

With the vote being unanimous, it was

RESOLVED:

That:-

1.           The strategic approach to investment planning (as outlined in Report No: CAB/FH/17/018 and at Section 3) and the development of an overarching investment strategy for Council approval in due course be supported and approved.

2.           The principle of the Cabinet’s role in the leadership and decision-making in relation to the investment fund (outlined in Report No: CAB/FH/17/018 and at Sections 4 and 5) be supported and approved.

3.           The transfer from reserves as detailed in paragraph 5.2 and 5.3 of Report No: CAB/FH/17/018 for the creation of a £1m revenue budget to support the capital investment fund, be noted.

4.           It be noted that prior to the adoption of the overarching investment strategy, referred at 1. above, the current constitutional decision mechanisms will continue to operate.

To consider the most recently published version of the Cabinet’s Decisions Plan

Report No: CAB/FH/17/019

Portfolio Holder: James Waters                Lead Officer: Ian Gallin

(Report No: CAB/FH/17/019)

The Cabinet considered Report No: CAB/FH/17/019, which was the Cabinet Decisions Plan covering the period April 2017 to May 2017.

Members took the opportunity to review the intended forthcoming decisions of the Cabinet, however, no further information or amendments were requested on this occasion.