Agenda, decisions and minutes

Apologies for absence had been received from Councillors David Bowman, Jo Rayner, Lance Stanbury and Peter Stevens.

To confirm the minutes of the meeting held on 4 September 2018 (copy attached).

The minutes of the meeting held on 4 September 2018 were confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

At each Joint Executive (Cabinet) Committee 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 Borough/District are invited to put one question or 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.

The reports of the FHDC and SEBC Overview and Scrutiny Committees were received and noted as contained in Minutes Nos: 56(a) and 56(b) below.

Report No:   CAB/JT/18/033

Chairman of the Committee: SEBC Cllr Diane Hind                  

Lead Officer: Christine Brain

(Report No: CAB/JT/18/033)

The Joint Committee received and noted this report, which informed Members of the following substantive items discussed by the SEBC Overview and Scrutiny Committee at their meeting on 12 September 2018:

(1)         Annual Presentation by the Cabinet Member for Operations

(2)         Joint Executive (Cabinet) Decisions Plan: 1 October 2018 to 31 March 2019

(3)         Shadow Executive (Cabinet) Decisions Plan: 1 September 2018 to 6 May 2019

(4)         Work Programme

Councillor Diane Hind, Chairman of SEBC’s Overview and Scrutiny Committee drew relevant issues to the attention of the Joint Committee.

Report No:   CAB/JT/18/034

Chairman of the Committee: FHDC Cllr Simon Cole        

Lead Officer: Christine Brain

(Report No: CAB/JT/18/034)

The Joint Committee received and noted this report, which informed Members of the following substantive items discussed by the FHDC Overview and Scrutiny Committee on 13 September 2018:

(1)         Annual Presentation by the Cabinet Member for Planning and Growth

(2)         Joint Executive (Cabinet) Committee Decisions Plan: 1 October 2018 to 31 March 2019

(3)         Shadow Executive (Cabinet) Decisions Plan: 1 September 2018 to 6 May 2019

(4)         Work Programme

Councillor Simon Cole, Chairman of FHDC’s Overview and Scrutiny Committee, drew relevant issues to the attention of the Joint Committee.

Report No: CAB/JT/18/035

Portfolio Holders: FHDC Cllr Lance Stanbury and SEBC Cllr Susan Glossop

Lead Officers: David Collinson and Peter Gudde

RECOMMENDED TO SEBC COUNCIL (30 October 2018) and FHDC COUNCIL (31 October 2018):

That subject to the approval of Forest Heath District and St Edmundsbury Borough Councils, the revised West Suffolk Gambling Act 2005: Statement of Policy for the period 2019 to 2022, as contained in Appendix 2 to Report No: CAB/JT/18/035, be adopted, subject to:

1)     Ensuring that the Local Area Profile, as set out in Appendix 3 to Report No: CAB/JT/18/035, adequately reflects the particular local circumstances in Newmarket, and to ensure the most up-to-date and relevant data is used when applying the licensing principles.

2)     Further clarification being provided on the regulatory and enforcement powers of the local authority regarding fixed odds betting terminals.

(Report No: CAB/JT/18/035)

The Joint Committee received this report which explained that the West Suffolk Statement of Gambling Policy sets out how the Forest Heath District Council and St Edmundsbury Borough Council, in their role as licensing authorities, would carry out their functions of the Gambling Act 2005.  It recognised the importance of responsible gambling within the entertainment industry whilst seeking to balance this with the key objectives of the Act.

The Joint Committee considered the results of the public consultation exercise which had been undertaken with key stakeholders.  Only one response was received, which could have been due to the limited nature of the changes proposed (as set out in Appendix 1 to the report).

A Statement of Policy typically ran for a period of three years, although there was nothing to prevent an authority from updating this more frequently if it wished to.  The current policy would expire on 30 January 2019 and a revised version had been consulted on with statutory consultees.  This would then require review in 2021 for re-adoption by January 2022.  The proposed revised Statement of Policy was set out in Appendix 2 to the report.

Subject to adoption by January 2019, by both Forest Heath District Council and St Edmundsbury Borough Council, the Statement of Policy would then be one of a number of policies needing to be ‘rolled forward’ to the new single Council.  This would require non-substantive changes limited to rebranding and technical wording changes.

The Joint Committee particularly discussed the regulatory and enforcement powers of the local authority in relation to fixed odds betting terminals in betting shops and the harm that gambling could cause to some individuals.  In particular reference was made to the Local Area Profile for Newmarket (as set out within Appendix 3 to the report) and it and it was requested to ensure that this adequately reflected the Town’s particular local circumstances and that the most up-to-date and relevant data was used when applying the licensing principles.

In relation to the draft Local Area Profile, the Joint Committee also made reference to page 4 and queried anomalies within some of the statistical information.  Officers agreed to review this information accordingly.

Therefore, the Cabinet agreed to amend the original recommendation to reflect these issues raised.

          RECOMMENDED TO SEBC COUNCIL: (30 October 2018)

          and

          RECOMMENDED TO FHDC COUNCIL: (31 October 2018)

That, subject to the approval of Forest Heath District and St Edmundsbury Borough Councils, the revised West Suffolk Gambling Act 2005: Statement of Policy for the period 2019 to 2022, as contained in Appendix 2 to Report No: CAB/JT/18/035, be adopted, subject to:

1)           Ensuring that the future Local Area Profile, as set out in Appendix 3 to Report No: CAB/JT/18/035, adequately reflects the particular local circumstances in Newmarket, and to ensure the most up-to-date and relevant data is used when applying the licensing principles.

2)           Further clarification being provided on the regulatory and enforcement powers of the local authority regarding fixed odds betting terminals.

Report No: CAB/JT/18/036

Portfolio Holder: FHDC Cllr Stephen Edwards

Lead Officer: Greg Stevenson

(Report No: CAB/JT/18/036)

The Joint Committee received and noted this report which reported on the performance on the second year anniversary of the purchase of the Toggam Solar Farm in July 2016.

The first two years of operation had shown that Toggam Solar was performing above the level predicted in the original business case.  Officers would continue to manage the site with the purpose of ensuring that the solar farm continued to meet expected performance.  Furthermore, Officers had also been exploring opportunities to further invest and uplift the value of the asset.  Any proposals would be the subject of reports.  If considered both feasible and viable, business cases would be brought forward for consideration by Members as appropriate.

Portfolio Holder: SEBC Cllr Susan Glossop          

Lead Officer: Alex Wilson

On 19 April, 2016, St Edmundsbury Borough Council adopted a revised masterplan for the Western Way Development in Bury St Edmunds.  At the same meeting, the Council agreed (Report No: COU/SE/16/006 refers) to pursue a comprehensive development of the site identified by the new Masterplan which included the DHL/NHS distribution centre and the Council-owned land.   A budget was also approved to progress the proposal that best achieves the Council’s objectives for the site to deliverability and design stage to enable a preferred option to be formulated and presented to Cabinet.  Subsequently, in October 2017, St Edmundsbury Borough Council agreed to acquire the DHL/NHS distribution centre (Report No: COU/SE/17/015 refers).

Work has been progressing since that time and it is planned to present an outline business case for the scheme to St Edmundsbury Borough Council meeting on 30 October 2018.  To allow the latest position with partners’ requirements and neighbouring sites to be taken into account in this report, which has significant strategic and financial implications, and following consultation with portfolio holders, it is proposed that the Joint Executive (Cabinet) Committee will waive its own opportunity to consider the matter first, and not make a recommendation to Council.  This will mean that the report is presented directly to Council, with all Councillors receiving it at the same time.   

Therefore, the Joint Executive (Cabinet) Committee is RECOMMENDED to NOTE AND ENDORSE the above proposal.

The Joint Committee were informed that on 19 April 2016, St Edmundsbury Borough Council had adopted a revised masterplan for the Western Way Development in Bury St Edmunds.  At the same meeting, the Council agreed (Report No: COU/SE/16/006 refers) to pursue a comprehensive development of the site identified by the new Masterplan which included the DHL/NHS distribution centre and the Council-owned land.   A budget was also approved to progress the proposal that best achieved the Council’s objectives for the site to deliverability and design stage to enable a preferred option to be formulated and presented to Cabinet.  Subsequently, in October 2017, St Edmundsbury Borough Council agreed to acquire the DHL/NHS distribution centre (Report No: COU/SE/17/015 refers).

Work had been progressing since that time and it was planned to present an outline business case for the scheme to St Edmundsbury Borough Council meeting on 30 October 2018.  To allow the latest position with partners’ requirements and neighbouring sites to be taken into account in this report, which had significant strategic and financial implications, and following consultation with Portfolio Holders, it was proposed for the Joint Executive (Cabinet) Committee to waive its own opportunity to consider the matter first, and not make a recommendation to Council.  This would mean that the report was presented directly to Council, with all Councillors receiving it at the same time.   

The Joint Executive (Cabinet) Committee NOTED AND ENDORSED the above proposal.

The Forest Heath and St Edmundsbury Decisions Plans were received and noted as contained in Minute Nos: 60(a) and 60(b) below.

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

Report No:   CAB/JT/18/037

Portfolio Holder: FHDC Cllr James Waters 

Lead Officer: Ian Gallin

(Report No: CAB/JT/18/037)

The Joint Committee received this report, which was Forest Heath District Council’s (FHDC) Executive Decisions Plan covering the period 1 October 2018 to 31 March 2019.

Members took the opportunity to review the intended forthcoming decisions of FHDC’s Cabinet, its Joint Committees, Portfolio Holders and Officers under delegated authority.  However, no further information or amendments were required on this occasion.

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

Report No:   CAB/JT/18/038

Portfolio Holder: SEBC Cllr John Griffiths  

Lead Officer: Ian Gallin

(Report No: CAB/JT/18/038)

The Joint Committee received this report, which was St Edmundsbury Borough Council’s (SEBC) Executive Decisions Plan covering the period 1 October 2018 to 31 March 2019.

Members took the opportunity to review the intended forthcoming decisions of SEBC’s Cabinet, its Joint Committees, Portfolio Holders and Officers under delegated authority.  However, no further information or amendments were required on this occasion.