Agenda, decisions and minutes
Venue: Council Chamber, District Offices, College Heath Road, Mildenhall, Suffolk, IP28 7EY
Contact: Sharon Turner: Democratic Services Officer
Email: sharon.turner@westsuffolk.gov.uk
Items
No. |
Item |
33. |
Apologies for Absence
Minutes:
Apologies for absence were received from
Councillor Carol Bull.
|
34. |
Minutes PDF 131 KB
To confirm the minutes of the meeting held on
23 July 2019 (copy attached).
Minutes:
The minutes of the meeting held on 23 July
2019 were confirmed as a correct record and signed by the
Chair.
|
35. |
Open Forum
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.
Minutes:
No non-Cabinet Members in attendance wished to
speak under this item.
|
36. |
Public Participation
Members of the public who live or work in the
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.
Minutes:
No members of the public in attendance had
registered to speak.
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37. |
Report of the Performance and Audit Scrutiny Committee: 25 July 2019 PDF 143 KB
Report No:
CAB/WS/19/020
Chairman of the Committee: Cllr
Ian Houlder
Portfolio Holder: Cllr Sarah
Broughton
Lead Officer: Christine Brain
Minutes:
(Report No:
CAB/WS/19/020)
The Cabinet received and noted this report,
which informed Members of the following substantive items discussed
by the Performance and Audit Scrutiny Committee at their meeting
held on 25 July 2019:
(1)
Ernst and Young – 2018/2019 Annual Results Report to those
charged with Governance (FHDC and SEBC).
(2)
2018-2019 Statement of Accounts (FHDC and SEBC).
(3)
Annual Treasury management Report 2018-2019 (FHDC).
(4)
Annual Treasury Management Report 2018-2019 (SEBC).
(5)
Treasury Management Report (June 2019).
(6)
2019-2020 Performance Report (Quarter 1).
(7)
Work Programme Update 2019-2020.
Separate reports in relation to Items (3), (4)
and (5) above were also included within the Cabinet agenda
papers.
Councillor Ian Houlder, Chair of the
Performance and Audit Scrutiny Committee, drew relevant issues to
the attention of the Cabinet.
The Assistant Director (Resources and
Performance) referred to paragraph 1.2.3 of the report (2018-2019
Statement of Accounts) and confirmed that the External Auditors had
since completed their audit of the Statement of Accounts for
2018-2019, therefore, allowing the Accounts to be finally
signed-off in August 2019.
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38. |
Recommendations of the Performance and Audit Scrutiny Committee - 25 July 2019: Annual Treasury Management Report 2018-2019 (FHDC) PDF 129 KB
Report No: CAB/WS/19/021
Portfolio Holder: Cllr Sarah
Broughton
Chair of the Committee: Cllr
Ian Houlder Lead Officer: Rachael
Mann
Decision:
RECOMMENDED TO COUNCIL: (19 September
2019)
That the Annual Treasury Management Report for
2018-2019 for the former Forest Heath District Council, being
Report No: FRS/WS/19/001, be approved.
Minutes:
(Report No:
CAB/WS/19/021)
The Cabinet received this report which
explained that the former Forest Heath District Council’s
Annual Treasury Management Report for 2018-2019 included tables
summarising interest earned and the average rate of return achieved
during 2018-2019; investment activity during the year; investments
held as at 31 March 2019; capital borrowing budget 2018-2019 and
borrowing and temporary loans.
The budget for investment income in 2018-2019
was £224,000 (target average rate of return
0.75%). Interest actually earned during
the financial year totalled £145,597 (average rate of return
of 0.724%), against a budget for the year of £224,000; a
budgetary deficit of £78,404.
The Cabinet was required to consider the
Annual Treasury Management
Report for 2018/2019,
prior to seeking its approval by Council.
Councillor Sarah Broughton, Portfolio Holder
for Resources and Performance, also drew relevant issues to the
attention of Cabinet.
RECOMMENDED TO COUNCIL: (19 September 2019)
That the Annual
Treasury Management Report for 2018-2019 for the former Forest
Heath District Council, being Report No: FRS/WS/19/001, be
approved.
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39. |
Recommendations of the Performance and Audit Scrutiny Committee - 25 July 2019: Annual Treasury Management Report 2018-2019 (SEBC) PDF 221 KB
Report No: CAB/WS/19/022
Portfolio Holder: Cllr Sarah
Broughton
Chair of the Committee: Cllr
Ian Houlder Lead Officer: Rachael
Mann
Decision:
RECOMMENDED TO COUNCIL: (19 September
2019)
That the Annual Treasury Management Report for
2018-2019 for the former St Edmundsbury Borough Council, being
Report No: FRS/WS/19/002, be approved.
Minutes:
(Report No:
CAB/WS/19/022)
The Cabinet received this
report which explained that the former St Edmundsbury Borough
Council’s Annual Treasury Management Report for 2018-2019
included tables summarising the interest earned and the
average rate of return achieved during 2018-2019; investment
activity during the year; investments held as at 31 March 2019 and
capital borrowing budget 2018-2019.
The budget for investment income in 2018-2019
was £308,000 (target average rate of return
0.70%). Interest actually earned during
the financial year totalled £344,766 (average rate of return
of 0.751%), against a budget for the year of £308,000; a
budgetary surplus of £36,766.
The Cabinet was required to consider the
Annual Treasury Management
Report for
2018/2019, prior to seeking its approval by Council.
Councillor Sarah Broughton, Portfolio Holder
for Resources and Performance, also drew relevant issues to the
attention of Cabinet.
RECOMMENDED TO COUNCIL: (19 September 2019)
That the Annual
Treasury Management Report for 2018-2019 for the former St
Edmundsbury Borough Council, being Report No: FRS/WS/19/002, be
approved.
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40. |
Recommendations of the Performance and Audit Scrutiny Committee - 25 July 2019: Treasury Management Report (June 2019) PDF 128 KB
Report No: CAB/WS/19/023
Portfolio Holder: Cllr Sarah
Broughton
Chair of the Committee: Cllr
Ian Houlder Lead Officer: Rachael
Mann
Decision:
RECOMMENDED TO COUNCIL: (19 September
2019)
That the Treasury Management Report for
2018-2019, being Report No: FRS/WS/19/003, be approved.
Minutes:
(Report No:
CAB/WS/19/023)
The Cabinet received this report which
provided information on the investment activities for the West
Suffolk Council for the period 1 April 2019 to 30 June 2019.
Following the creation of West Suffolk
Council, the total amount invested at 1 April 2019 was
£47,750,000 and at 30 June 2019
£46,250,000. Various deposit
accounts were closed in the lead up to the year end in order to
wind up both Forest Heath District Council and St Edmundsbury
Borough Council. These balances were
held in the current account until the first trading day of West
Suffolk Council when new deposit accounts could be opened.
The 2019-2020 Annual Treasury Management and
Investment Strategy sets out the Council’s projections for
the current financial year. The budget
for investment income in 2019-2020 was £142,141 which was
based on a 0.90% target interest rate of return on investments.
The Cabinet was required to consider the
Treasury Management
Report, prior
to seeking its approval by Council.
Councillor Sarah Broughton, Portfolio Holder
for Resources and Performance, also drew relevant issues to the
attention of Cabinet.
RECOMMENDED TO COUNCIL: (19 September 2019)
That the Treasury
Management Report for 2018-2019, being Report No: FRS/WS/19/003, be
approved.
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41. |
Single Issue Review (SIR) of Core Strategy Policy CS7: Planning Inspector's Report and Adoption PDF 202 KB
Report No: CAB/WS/19/024
Portfolio Holders: Cllrs John
Griffiths and Susan Glossop
Lead Officer: Marie
Smith
(**Note: Due to their size, these documents will be circulated
as a separate supplement to the agenda papers**)
Additional documents:
Decision:
RECOMMENDED TO COUNCIL: (19 September
2019)
That:-
(1)
The content of the Inspector’s report to the Single Issue
Review of Core Strategy Policy CS7 containing Main Modifications
(Appendix A to Report No: CAB/WS/19/024) be noted;
(2)
The schedule of Additional Modifications (Appendix B to Report No:
CAB/WS/19/024) to the Single Issue Review of Core Strategy Policy
CS7 to make minor updates and corrections, be noted;
(3) The Single Issue Review (SIR) of Policy
CS7 including both main and additional modifications (Appendix C to
Report No: CAB/WS/19/024) be adopted;
(4) The Service Manager for Strategic Planning, in
consultation with the Leader of the Council, be authorised to make
minor typographical amendments or updates in preparing the final
version of the Plan.
Minutes:
(Report No:
CAB/WS/19/024)
(Councillor Sarah
Broughton declared a non pecuniary interest in this item, as she
was a personal acquaintance of the owner of the land at Hatchfield
Farm, Newmarket. Councillor Broughton
remained in the meeting and participated in the discussion and
voting thereon)
The Cabinet considered this report which
recommended to Council, the adoption of the Single Issue Review
(SIR) of Policy CS7, including both the main and additional
modifications.
The preparation of the Forest Heath Core
Strategy Single Issue Review (SIR) of Policy CS7 had now reached
the end of the plan making process. The
Inspector’s Report had been received and, subject to
incorporating the associated Main Modifications identified by the
Inspector, they had concluded that the Local Plan was sound.
The following documents were also attached to
this report:
·
Appendix A set out the Inspector’s Report
which found the Local Plan sound and considered it an appropriate
basis for the planning for the area of West Suffolk District
Council, formally known as Forest Heath. The main modifications were attached to the
Inspector’s Report.
·
Appendix B set out the suggested additional
modifications by Officers made to the SIR document
to-date.
·
Appendix C set out the final version of the SIR of
Core Policy Strategy CS7, which included all of the main
modifications required by the Planning Inspector and the additional
modifications suggested by Officers.
·
As a result of the modifications, the Habitats
Regulations Assessment (HRA) (Appendix D) and the Sustainability
Appraisal (SA) (Appendix E) documents had also been
updated.
This Local Plan Single Issue
Review set out the overall housing requirement for the area
(formally Forest Heath) which was 6,800 homes (340 dwellings per
annum) and its broad distribution across the
settlements. The Inspector had dealt
with concerns arising from the horseracing industry, noise and
environmental constraints and had found the document sound and an
appropriate basis for planning in the area formally known as Forest
Heath. The Inspector’s report was
very supportive of the work the Council had done and praised the
Authority, including on the extensive consultation that was carried
out. This was a huge achievement for
the Council.
Officers also clarified that in
relation to Recommendation (3) of Report No: CAB/WS/19/024, the
Habitats Regulations Assessment (Appendix D) and the Sustainability
Appraisal (Appendix E), it had since been confirmed that these
documents did not require formal adoption by the
Council.
The Cabinet wished to express
their thanks to the Service Manager (Strategic Planning) and the
Strategic Planning Team for all of the work which had been
undertaken to be able to get to this position. The Cabinet were particularly mindful of the
repercussions of not adopting this Plan and the negative impact
that this could have on the District as a whole. However, the Cabinet also wished to acknowledge
the particular concerns raised by the horseracing industry within
Newmarket regarding the adoption of this Local Plan, but wished to
reassure them that within the development of the new West Suffolk
Local Plan, there would continue to ...
view the full minutes text for item 41.
|
42. |
Site Allocations Local Plan (SALP): Planning Inspector's Report and Adoption PDF 201 KB
Report No: CAB/WS/19/025
Portfolio Holders: Cllr John
Griffiths and Susan Glossop
Lead Officer: Marie
Smith
(**Note: Due to their size, these documents will be circulated
as a separate supplement to the agenda papers**)
Additional documents:
Decision:
RECOMMENDED TO COUNCIL: (19 September
2019)
That:-
(1)
The content of the Inspector’s report to the Site Allocations
Local Plan containing Main Modifications (Appendix A to Report No:
CAB/WS/19/025) be noted; and
(2)
The schedule of Additional Modifications (Appendix B to Report No:
CAB/WS/19/025) to the Site Allocations Local Plan to make minor
updates and corrections be noted; and
(3) The following documents be
adopted:
·
The Site Allocations Local Plan including both main
and additional modifications (Appendix C to Report No:
CAB/WS/19/025).
·
The Policies Map (Appendix D to Report No:
CAB/WS/19/025).
(4) The Service Manager for Strategic Planning, in
consultation with the Leader of the Council, be authorised to make
minor typographical amendments or updates in preparing the final
version of the Plan.
Minutes:
(Report No:
CAB/WS/19/025)
(Councillor Sarah
Broughton declared a non pecuniary interest in this item, as she
was a personal acquaintance of the owner of the land at Hatchfield
Farm, Newmarket. Councillor Broughton
remained in the meeting and participated in the discussion and
voting thereon)
The Cabinet considered this report which
recommended to Council, the adoption of the Site Allocations Local
Plan, including both the main and additional modifications.
The preparation of the Forest Heath Site
Allocations Local Plan (SALP) had now reached the end of the plan
making process. The Inspector’s
Report had now been received and, subject to incorporating the
associated Main Modifications identified by the Inspector, they had
concluded that the Local Plan was sound.
The following documents were also attached to
this report:
·
Appendix A set out the Inspector’s Report
which found the Local Plan sound and considered it an appropriate
basis for the planning for the area formally known as Forest
Heath.
·
Appendix B set out the additional modifications
suggested by Officers to the SALP document.
·
Appendix C set out the final version of the SALP,
along with a Policies Map Book showing the allocations (Appendix
D). These documents included all of the
main modifications required by the Planning Inspector and the
additional modifications suggested by Officers.
·
As a result of the modifications, the Habitat
Regulations Assessment (HRA) and the Sustainability Appraisal (SA)
documents had also been updated.
The Forest Heath Site
Allocations Local Plan contained the site specific housing,
employment and other allocations to meet the requirements of the
Core Strategy. This Plan would complete
the suite of Local Plan documents for the former Forest Heath area
and for West Suffolk. The Inspector had
dealt with concerns arising from the horseracing industry, noise
and environmental constraints and had concluded finding the
document sound and an appropriate basis for planning in the area
formally known as Forest Heath. The
Inspector’s report was very supportive of the work that the
Council had done and praised the Authority, including on the
extensive consultation that was carried out. This was a huge achievement for the Council in
order for development to be delivered in a planned way.
Officers also clarified that in
relation to Recommendation (3) of Report No: CAB/WS/19/025, the
Habitats Regulations Assessment (Appendix E) and the Sustainability
Appraisal (Appendix F), it had since been confirmed that these
documents did not require formal adoption by the
Council.
The Cabinet wished to express
their thanks to the Service Manager (Strategic Planning) and the
Strategic Planning Team for all of the work which had been
undertaken to be able to get to this position. The Cabinet were particularly mindful of the
repercussions of not adopting this Plan and the negative impact
that this could have on the District as a whole. However, the Cabinet again wished to acknowledge
the particular concerns raised by the horseracing industry within
Newmarket regarding the adoption of this Local Plan, but wished to
reassure them that within the development of the new West Suffolk
Local ...
view the full minutes text for item 42.
|
43. |
Western Way Development: Final Business Case PDF 207 KB
Report No: CAB/WS/19/026
Portfolio Holder: Cllr Jo
Rayner
Lead Officer: Alex Wilson
Additional documents:
Decision:
RECOMMENDED TO COUNCIL: (19 September
2019)
That, subject to no
further significant concerns or matters arising from the outcome of
the public consultation:
(1)
The Final Business Cases for the Western Way
Development (WWD), Bury St Edmunds and, as part of that wider
scheme, the replacement of the Bury St Edmunds Leisure Centre be
approved, allowing the project to be delivered on the basis set out
in those Business Cases and the Council’s
Constitution;
(2)
Subject to the updates in this Final Business Case,
the Strategic Case for the WWD contained in the 2018 Outline
Business Case be reconfirmed;
(3)
Taking into account the outcome of the
pre-application consultation, planning consent be sought by the
Council and its partners for the WWD as described in the Final
Business Case;
(4)
Provision of £300,000 be made from the
Strategic Priorities and MTFS Reserve to fund the planning consent
stage (i.e. (3) above);
(5)
Before any work commences on the tender pack(s) for
any individual component of the scheme:
(a)
As set out in Paragraph 5.9.6 (a) of Part E of this
Final Business case, the project must undergo a gateway review with
an independent external expert to the satisfaction of the
Council’s Monitoring and Section 151 Officers and the
Cabinet;
(b)
Any public sector partners wishing to take part in
phase 1 of the project will be required to enter into formal
agreements to confirm the basis on which they will occupy the WWD
and, in relation to their part(s) of the tender pack(s), to
indemnify the Council for their share of its abortive costs if they
subsequently withdraw or substantially reduce their
requirements. With
the Council, therefore, only holding the
investment risk of its own elements of the project (e.g. the
commercial offices) which will be underwritten by revenue balances
or reserves; and
(c)
Taking into account (a) and (b) above, the Cabinet
will have adjusted the final phase 1 scheme so that it continues to
meet the objectives set out in this Final Business Case, including
the budgetary limits set out in (7) and (8) below;
(6)
If the Council is to be involved directly in their
delivery, a separate final business case will be required for the
projects to provide student accommodation for West Suffolk College
and/or a pre-school as part of the WWD;
(7)
Excluding the costs and income relating to the
leisure centre, pre-school building and student accommodation, the
Council’s capital expenditure, through its capital programme,
on the WWD be capped at a maximum of £112 million, funded at
this stage by borrowing, subject to the Council’s Section 151
Officer being satisfied at all times that, under the adopted
principles set out in the Outline and Final Business Cases, the WWD
is capable of achieving at least a break-even position on this
expenditure over the whole life of the project allowing for the
management of cash flow risk;
(8)
The Council’s capital expenditure, through its
capital programme, for the replacement of the Bury St Edmunds
...
view the full decision text for item 43.
Minutes:
(Report No:
CAB/WS/19/026)
The Cabinet considered this report which
recommended to Council, approval of the Final Business Cases for
the Western Way Development (WWD), Bury St Edmunds and, as part of
the wider scheme, the replacement of the Bury St Edmunds Leisure
Centre, allowing the project to be delivered on the basis set out
in those Business Cases and the Council’s Constitution.
Councillor Jo Rayner, Portfolio Holder for
Leisure, Culture and Community Hubs, drew relevant issues to the
attention of the Cabinet and particularly wished to thank Officers
for all of the work which had been undertaken on the delivery of
this project to-date. Councillor Rayner
also re-iterated that the Final Business Cases had been written on
the basis that, having considered alternative options, Councillors
and Partners had already agreed, in principle, to redevelop the
Western Way site in the manner proposed.
The Director explained that although public
consultation had already taken place on both the 2016 Masterplan
and the future of the leisure centre, a further community
consultation on the WWD had been carried out over the Summer and
would close at midnight on 10 September 2019. The main purpose of this process was an informal
pre-application consultation for any future planning applications,
given people the chance to influence the design and transportation
aspects of the scheme.
The Director provided a verbal update on this
consultation. In addition to over 30
forms completed at a drop-in exhibition on 6 September 2019,
to-date over 250 people had completed the detailed online
questionnaire. The most prevalent
topics were traffic, transport, parking and health and leisure
facilities. This feedback would assist
in refining the proposals in the next stage of the project, if the
Business Case was approved. There were,
however, no issues arising in the consultation that would prevent
consideration of the Final Business Case, not least as many of the
issues raised in the consultation would be thoroughly tested
through the formal planning process.
After the consultation had formally closed, a short summary of the
results would be provided as a report (to follow) for Council on 19
September 2019. A full report on the
consultation, with responses to all comments made, would then be
included in any later planning application.
The Final Business Case was being recommended
to Council on the basis of an external gateway review before making
final decisions on the project. This
review was primarily to be focused on the financial and delivery
vehicle aspects of the project, as these were the new dimensions
compared to other hub projects.
As the Final Business Case demonstrated,
having absolute certainty on the partner requirement would shape
how the first phase of the project was tendered and then actually
delivered. The proposed design was
flexible enough to adapt to however this requirement ended
up. Therefore, there was no reason to
hold up a planning application.
However, the core focus of the gateway review was only ready at
this point to be approved in principle and then clarified before
the ...
view the full minutes text for item 43.
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44. |
Recommendation of the Grants to External Organisations Review Group PDF 174 KB
Report No: CAB/WS/19/027
Portfolio Holder: Cllr Robert
Everitt
Lead Officer: Davina Howes
Decision:
RESOLVED:
That:-
(1)
A West Suffolk Grant Working Party be
established to consider Community Chest grant
applications for 2020/21 and make recommendations to Cabinet on the
allocation of funding.
(2) The
Grants to External Organisations Review Group, including all
current Members, be constituted to form the West Suffolk Grant
Working Party, with each Group Leader invited to nominate one
substitute Member from amongst their Members to the West Suffolk
Grant Working Party; and
(3)
Progress of the Grants to External Organisations Review Group be
noted.
Minutes:
(Report No:
CAB/WS/19/027)
The Cabinet considered this report which
related to the review of West Suffolk Council’s Grants to
External Organisations.
Councillor Robert Everitt, Portfolio Holder
for Families and Communities explained that in June 2019, the
Cabinet had agreed to establish a group to carry out a review of
West Suffolk Council’s Grants to External
Organisations. The aim of the review
was to ensure that locality budgets, grants and reliefs made from 1
April 219 were aligned to the Council’s strategic objectives
and offered value for money.
In November 2018, the Shadow Executive
(Cabinet) agreed for a full review of the Community Chest Grant
Scheme be undertaken in Summer 2019, which was now being included
as part of the Review of Grants to External
Organisations. It was also proposed
that the 2020/2021 grants continue on the basis of the current
schemes and that consideration be given as to whether decisions be
made by the Portfolio Holder or a West Suffolk Grants Working Party
and the Cabinet.
In line with this proposal, the Review Group
was recommending that this year, a West Suffolk Grant Working party
be established to advise Cabinet on the 2020/2021 round of
Community Chest funding. Furthermore,
it was also being recommended that the West Suffolk Grant Working
Party be constituted as the Members of the Grants to External
Organisations Review Group. The Group
would need to meet in September and November 2019 with a view to
making their recommendations to Cabinet in November 2019.
In future meetings, the Grants to External
Organisations Review Group would then assess the arrangements for
supporting community organisations for 2021/2022 onwards and for
the other existing grant decisions which sat outside of the
Community Chest for 2020/2021.
RESOLVED:
That:-
(1)
A West Suffolk Grant Working Party be
established to consider Community Chest grant
applications for 2020/21 and make recommendations to Cabinet on the
allocation of funding.
(2) The
Grants to External Organisations Review Group, including all
current Members, be constituted to form the West Suffolk Grant
Working Party, with each Group Leader invited to nominate one
substitute Member from amongst their Members to the West Suffolk
Grant Working Party; and
(3)
Progress of the Grants to External Organisations Review Group be
noted.
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45. |
Update on the Work of the West Suffolk Rural Taskforce PDF 163 KB
Report No: CAB/WS/19/028
Portfolio Holder: Cllr John
Griffiths
Chair of the Taskforce: Cllr
Mike Chester Lead Officer: David
Collinson
Minutes:
(Report No:
CAB/WS/19/028)
The Cabinet received and noted this report
which provided an update on the work to-date which had been
undertaken by the West Suffolk Rural Taskforce.
In June 2019, the Cabinet had announced the
establishment of a rural taskforce with a view to making
recommendations back to Cabinet on how best to ensure the different
issues facing residents, communities and businesses in more rural
areas, as opposed to more urban areas, were taken into account by
West Suffolk Council in all of its relevant future activities and
decision making.
Councillor Mike Chester, Chair of the West
Suffolk Rural Taskforce, also drew relevant issues to the attention
of the Cabinet and explained that the Taskforce had now confirmed
their definition of rural as being:
“Generally settlements of 3,000 population or less, but
recognised that there were exceptions within this, such as the
settlements of Red Lodge, Lakenheath, Beck Row, Holywell Row and
Kenny Hill, all of which are greater than 3,000 population, but in
their own ways, share many of the characteristics and challenges of
rural communities.”
Councillor Chester also wished to draw the
Cabinet’s attention to the engagement approach which had been
agreed by the Taskforce, this being:
·
Local Members meeting with groups in their communities to discuss
their thoughts on the strengths and challenges of their area and to
provide this feedback to the Taskforce.
·
Four community events, to be hosted by the Taskforce in mid
September 2019, where Members and community groups were invited to
come and discuss their thoughts.
·
A community survey, which had been widely published through media
and social media and which had been sent to a wide range of groups
within communities (the closing date for responses was 30 September
2019).
·
Members of the Taskforce attending meetings of groups that served
communities across the West Suffolk area to raise awareness of the
Taskforce’s work and to also ask for their feedback into the
process.
·
Inviting specific bodies to come before future meetings of the
Taskforce to discuss their thoughts in more detail (to take place
in October/November 2019).
Section 4 of the report set out the various
topics/priorities for rural communities for consideration by the
Taskforce. Over their next meetings,
the Taskforce would be discussing these key topics/priorities,
incorporating the feedback from the community engagement and
looking to make recommendations back to Cabinet on 14 January 2020
as to what action they believed the Council could take in its
future decision making to support rural communities.
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46. |
Decisions Plan: 1 September 2019 to 31 May 2020 PDF 138 KB
To consider the most recently published
version of the Cabinet’s Decisions Plan
Report No:
CAB/WS/19/029
Portfolio Holder: Cllr John
Griffiths
Lead Officer: Ian Gallin
Minutes:
(Report No:
CAB/WS/19/029)
The Cabinet considered this report which was
the Cabinet Decisions Plan covering the period 1 September 2019 to
31 May 2020.
Members took the opportunity to review the
intended forthcoming decisions of the Cabinet. However, no further information or amendments were
requested on this occasion.
|
47. |
Exclusion of Press and Public
To consider whether the press and public
should be excluded during the consideration of the following items
because it is likely, in view of the nature of the business to be
transacted or the nature of the proceedings, that if members of the
public were present during the items, there would be disclosure to
them of exempt categories of information as prescribed in Part 1 of
Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972, and indicated
against each item and, in all circumstances of the case, the public
interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest
in disclosing the information.
Minutes:
As Report No: CAB/WS/19/030 needed to be
considered by the Cabinet in private session, it was proposed,
seconded and
RESOLVED:
That the press and
public be excluded during the consideration of the following item
because it is likely, in view of the nature of the business to be
transacted or the nature of the proceedings, that if members of the
public were present during the items, there would be disclosure to
them of exempt categories of information as prescribed in Part 1 of
Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972, and indicated
against each item and, in all circumstances of the case, the public
interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest
in disclosing the information.
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48. |
Investing in our Commercial Asset Portfolio (para 3) PDF 416 KB
Exempt Report No: CAB/WS/19/030
Portfolio Holder: Cllr Susan
Glossop
Lead Officer: Julie Baird
Additional documents:
Decision:
RECOMMENDED TO
COUNCIL: (19 September 2019)
The recommendations were approved as set out
in Exempt Report No: CAB/WS/19/030.
Minutes:
(Report No: CAB/WS/19/030)
(para 3)
The Cabinet received this report which advised
of the opportunity to acquire a commercial property
investment. It was considered that this
purchase offered the opportunity to project jobs with a major
employer, provide an addition to the Council’s commercial
asset portfolio to generate revenue income and to provide strategic
opportunities. The overall investment
would also be in line with the Council’s principles of its
Investing in Growth Strategy.
RECOMMENDED TO
COUNCIL: (19 September 2019)
The recommendations
were approved as set out in Exempt Report No: CAB/WS/19/030.
(This decision and
associated papers will be available in the public domain in due
course)
The exemption
relating to this item was removed on 11 March 2020, and therefore
the following resolution is now published. This is not however,
contained in the signed minutes for this meeting:
RECOMMENDED TO
COUNCIL: (19 September 2019)
(1) the purchase
of the freehold interest of Provincial House, 30-38 High Street,
Haverhill for £3,500,000 (three million and five hundred
thousand pounds), excluding VAT, fees and Stamp Duty Land Tax, to
be funded from the Investing in Growth fund, be
approved;
(2) a capital
budget of £3,699,500 (three million, six hundred and
ninety-nine thousand, five hundred pounds) be established and made
available to facilitate the purchase,
including fees and Stamp Duty Land Tax, to be funded from the
Investing in Growth fund;
(3) a capital
budget of £145,000 be established to fund the cost of
landlord works, as detailed in 5.4 of Report No: CAB/WS/19/030,
funded from the lease surrender premium;
(4) a revenue
budget of £230,000 be established, for the period of 3 years,
to cover the holding costs of the vacant elements of the building,
as detailed in 5.9 of Report No: CAB/WS/19/030, to be funded from
the lease surrender premium;
(5) the RIBA stage
one feasibility costs of £20,000 be funded, as detailed in
6.3 of Report No: CAB/WS/19/030, from the Strategic Priorities and
Medium Term Financial Strategy Reserve;
and
(6) should the
purchase be made, the Council’s Section 151 Officer will make
the necessary changes to the Council’s prudential indicators
as a result of Recommendations (2) and (3) above.
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