Agenda, decisions and minutes
Venue: Conference Chamber, West Suffolk House, Western Way, Bury St Edmunds IP33 3YU
Contact: Sharon Turner: Democratic Services Officer
Email: sharon.turner@westsuffolk.gov.uk
Items
No. |
Item |
283. |
Welcome and meeting facilitation
Minutes:
The Chair formally opened the meeting and
welcomed all persons present within the Conference Chamber and
explained that when meeting in person, the Council continued to
consider the most recent Government guidance in relation to the
safe use of Council buildings to host meetings.
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284. |
Apologies for absence
Minutes:
Apologies for absence were received from
Councillor Sarah Broughton.
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285. |
Minutes PDF 362 KB
To confirm the minutes of the meeting held on
21 September 2021 (copy attached).
Minutes:
The minutes of the meeting held on 21
September 2021 were confirmed as a correct record and signed by the
Chair.
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286. |
Declarations of interest
Members are reminded of their responsibility
to declare any pecuniary or local non pecuniary interest which they
have in any item of business on the agenda, no later than when
that item is reached and, when appropriate, to leave the
meeting prior to discussion and voting on the item.
Minutes:
Members’ declarations of interest are
recorded under the item to which the declaration relates.
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287. |
Open forum
At each Cabinet meeting, up to 15 minutes
shall be allocated for questions or statements from and discussion
with, non-Cabinet members. Members wishing to speak during this
session are encouraged to give notice in advance. Who speaks and
for how long will be at the complete discretion of the person
presiding.
Minutes:
The following non-Cabinet member spoke under
this item:
1.
Councillor Ian Shipp (Agenda Item 8: Report number
CAB/WS/21/047) Land to the West of Mildenhall: Draft
Masterplan
Councillor Ian Shipp addressed the
Cabinet in relation to the above report. Councillor Shipp, who represented the Mildenhall
Kingsway and Market Ward, explained the concerns regarding the West
Mildenhall Masterplan, of both Mildenhall Town Council and the
local residents, regarding the
highway related impacts of the development, along with the
lack of feasible
transport and access to the site.
Suffolk County Council and their consultants had presented
a number of options to mitigate the
transport issues, however, he was not convinced of the viability of
these options and whether a suitable solution could be
achieved. Reference was also made to
the proposed relief road, which was merely an extension to the
existing busy road.
Councillor Shipp also stated that
it was important that the consultation also took account of the
views of those who lived within the local villages around
Mildenhall, who would also be affected by this
development. He also wanted to ensure
that the consultation was undertaken within the local community, to
ensure that every opportunity was provided for local people to be
able to engage with the consultation.
Therefore, Councillor Shipp
requested that the Cabinet acknowledged the concerns raised and
ensured that the Masterplan was
‘fit-for-purpose’.
Councillor David Roach, Portfolio
Holder for Planning, responded to the comments made and
acknowledged the concerns raised. He
stated that it was important that the consultation obtained as many
views from local residents as possible,
so that the best outcome could be achieved. The local Mildenhall Ward Members would also
continue to be engaged in the process.
The Chair also thanked Councillor
Shipp for his comments and concerns and the Cabinet would be
discussing the detail of this report, later
on the
agenda.
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288. |
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.
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.
This can be done online by sending the request to democratic.services@westsuffolk.gov.uk
or telephoning 01638 719237 or in person by
telling the Committee Administrator present at the meeting.
However, due to the need to comply with coronavirus regulations and
guidance, necessary health and safety precautions taken will apply
to members of public registered to speak and, therefore, would
urge anyone who wishes to register to speak to notify Democratic
Services by 9am on the day of the meeting so that advice can be
given on the arrangements in place.
There is an overall time limit of 15 minutes
for public speaking, which may be extended at the Chair’s
discretion.
Minutes:
There were no members of the public in
attendance on this occasion.
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289. |
Report of the Anglia Revenues and Benefits Partnership Joint Committee: 21 September 2021 PDF 151 KB
Report number: CAB/WS/21/045
Portfolio holder: Councillor
Sarah Broughton
Lead officer: Rachael
Mann
Minutes:
(Report number
CAB/WS/21/045)
The Cabinet received and noted this report,
which informed Members of the following substantive items discussed
by the Anglia Revenues and Benefits Partnership Joint Committee at
their meeting held on 21 September 2021:
1.
Performance Reports.
2.
Welfare Reform Update.
3.
ARP Financial Performance 2021 to 2022.
4.
Forthcoming Issues.
On
behalf of Councillor Sarah Broughton, Councillor Sara
Mildmay-White, Portfolio Holder for Housing and Substitute Member
on the ARP Joint Committee, also drew relevant issues to the
attention of the Cabinet.
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290. |
Report of the Performance and Audit Scrutiny Committee: 30 September 2021 PDF 153 KB
Report number: CAB/WS/21/046
Portfolio holder: Councillor
Sarah Broughton
Chair of the Committee:
Councillor Ian Houlder
Lead officer: Christine
Brain
Minutes:
(Report number
CAB/WS/21/046)
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 30 September 2021:
1.
Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman: Annual Report 2020
– 2021.
2.
Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 – Annual Report
and Review of RIPA Guidance.
3.
Delivering a Sustainable Medium-Term Budget.
4.
Work Programme Update.
Councillor Ian Houlder, Chair of the
Performance and Audit Scrutiny Committee, drew relevant issues to
the attention of Cabinet.
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291. |
Land to the West of Mildenhall: Draft Masterplan PDF 141 KB
Report number: CAB/WS/21/047
Portfolio holder: Councillor David Roach
Lead officer: Julie Baird
Additional documents:
Decision:
Resolved:
That the West Mildenhall Draft Masterplan be
approved for public consultation by the developer team, as set out
in Appendix A to Report number CAB/WS/21/047.
Minutes:
(Report number
CAB/WS/21/047)
Councillor David Roach, Portfolio Holder for
Planning presented this report which explained that the site was
allocated in the Site Allocations Local Plan (SALP) 2019
Development Plan document, which had allocated 97 hectares of land
for a mixed use development to include
1300 dwellings with a local centre, a minimum of five hectares of
employment law, a 10 hectare Suitable Alternative Natural Green
Space (SANG), school, leisure facilities and public
services. The public services and
leisure facilities element of the scheme had been delivered by the
Mildenhall Hub. This Hub included
provision for secondary education.
Suffolk County Council (SCC) were the majority
landowner for the remainder of the allocated site and, whilst
formal agreement had not been reached with the third party owners, they were aware that SCC had
begun the process of preparing a Masterplan to inform the future
development. In 2019/2020, Suffolk
County Council commissioned a series of assessments and reports to
inform the early stages of the Masterplan process and held a public
consultation on this preliminary information from 4 January 2021 to
15 February 2021.
Suffolk County Council collated the feedback
from the consultation and categorised it into several key areas,
including sire and land use, density, character and design of
residential areas, transport movement and connectivity, green
infrastructure and climate
change. Suffolk County Council also
engaged with West Suffolk Council Officers, along with statutory
bodies in order to develop a series of
Masterplan framework plans addressing land use, landscape, ecology,
drainage and connectivity and movement.
It has been established at the Local Plan
stage that there was no requirement for a bypass to the west of
Mildenhall to cater for the growth allocated within the
Plan. However, Suffolk County Council
had acknowledged the need for detailed Highway information at this
Masterplan stage in order to set out
deliverable highway mitigation measures. Suffolk County Council had agreed the scope of the
Transport Assessment with the Local Highway Authority and were
undertaking the necessary work to inform this. Such work would not normally be carried out at the
Masterplan stage as it was required to inform the outline planning
application stage, which followed the adoption of a Masterplan.
Suffolk County Council had submitted this
draft Masterplan to West Suffolk Council with the intention to
commence a public consultation in mid-November 2021. Officers had reviewed the document in detail and
were satisfied that it was in an appropriate form for public
consultation and that this was the appropriate time to invite the
local community and statutory bodies and organisations to comment
on the proposals within the document.
The relevant Ward Members had been regularly
briefed on the progress of the draft Masterplan and on the outcome
of discussions between Officers at Suffolk County Council and West
Suffolk Council. Following on from the
statement which had been made by Councillor Ian Shipp, earlier in
the meeting, the Cabinet acknowledged that the local Members
remained concerned about any potential highway related impacts of
the proposed development. Therefore,
...
view the full minutes text for item 291.
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292. |
West Suffolk Gambling Act 2005: Statement of Policy 2022 to 2025 PDF 153 KB
Report number: CAB/WS/21/048
Portfolio holder: Councillor Andy Drummond
Lead officer: Jen Eves
Additional documents:
Decision:
Recommended to Council:
(14 December 2021)
That:
1.
The revised Gambling Act 2005: West Suffolk
Statement of Policy for the period 2022 to 2025, as contained in
Appendix B to Report number CAB/WS/21/048, be agreed.
2.
The revised West Suffolk Local Area Profile (LAP),
as contained in Appendix C to Report number CAB/WS/21/048, be
agreed.
Minutes:
(Report number
CAB/WS/21/048)
Councillor Andy Drummond, Portfolio Holder for
Regulatory and Environment presented this report which explained
that the West Suffolk Statement of Gambling Policy set out how the
Council, in its role as Licensing Authority, would carry out its
functions under the Gambling Act 2005. It recognised the
importance of responsible gambling within the entertainment
industry, while seeking to balance this with the key objectives of
the Act. The objectives were:
·
Preventing gambling from being a source of crime and disorder,
being associated with crime or disorder or being used to support
crime.
·
Ensuring that gambling was conducted in a fair and open way.
·
Protecting children and other vulnerable persons from being harmed
or exploited by gambling.
The objective of the Statement of Policy was to
provide a vision for the local area and a statement of intent that
guided practice. Licensing authorities must have regard to their
Statement when carrying out their licensing functions. The
Statement cannot create new requirements for applicants outside of
the Act and cannot override the right of any person to make an
application, make representations or seek a review of a licence
under the Act. However, it could invite people and operators to
consider local issues and set out how they could contribute towards
positively addressing them.
The revised Policy had been subject to
consultation (which had been undertaken between 16 August 2021 and
20 September 2021), contained minor changes and the consultation
had broadly supported these changes.
Pre-consultation, the only change to the Policy was centred around
the statutory reduction of maximum stakes for Fixed Odds Betting
Terminals (FOBTs) which was reduced from £100 to £2 and
had been enacted into law in April 2019. Following consultation with stakeholders, one
additional alteration was made to update the HN Revenues and
Customs contact details.
Following the consultation, the Council had
updated its Local Area Profile (LAP) (as set out in Appendix C). A
LAP was an assessment of the key characteristics of West Suffolk in
the context of gambling-related harm. The information obtained for
the assessment helped to provide a better understanding of the
types of people that were at risk of being vulnerable to
gambling-related harm; where they were located and any current or
emerging problems that might increase that risk. The local area
profile would help set out the Council’s expectations of
operators of gambling premises.
Some or many of these matters would have been considered and
addressed by existing premises.
A
Statement of Policy typically ran for a period of three years,
although there was nothing to prevent the authority from updating
more frequently if it wished to. The current Policy expired on 31
January 2022 and a revised version had been consulted on with
statutory consultees. This would then require review in 2024,
for re-adoption by January 2025.
Recommended to Council:
(14 December 2021)
That:
1.
The revised Gambling Act 2005: West Suffolk
Statement of Policy for the period 2022 to 2025, as contained in
Appendix B ...
view the full minutes text for item 292.
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293. |
Animal Welfare Licensing Policy Statement PDF 146 KB
Report number: CAB/WS/21/049
Portfolio holder: Councillor Andy Drummond
Lead officer: Jen Eves
Additional documents:
Decision:
Resolved:
That the adoption and implementation of the
Animal Welfare Licensing Policy Statement, as set out in Appendix B
to Report number CAB/WS/21/049, be agreed.
Minutes:
(Report number
CAB/WS/21/049)
Councillor Andy Drummond,
Portfolio Holder for Regulatory and Environment explained that the
new Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities involving Animals)
(England) Regulations 2018 came into force in October 2018 to
update old and out-of-date legislation. Licensable activities
covered by the new Regulations included:
·
Keeping and training of animals for exhibition
– previously a County Council function and included bird of
prey displays, animals that have any handling by the public, and
non-riding pony parties
·
Hiring of horses – riding schools and donkey
rides
·
Selling of pet animals –pet shops and
increasingly includes online sales
·
Breeding of dogs – the total number of litters
in a year was reduced and sales of high value litters
included
·
Boarding kennels for dogs
·
Home boarding for dogs
·
Day care for dogs
·
Boarding for cats
The Department for the
Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) had issued national
guidance for the above activities, as well as procedural guidance
for Local Authorities responsible for enforcing the above
Regulations. The new Animal Welfare Policy Statement (as set out in
Appendix B) had been drafted to recognise and bring together the
new 2018 Regulations, the Council’s continued duty under the
Dangerous Wild Animals Act and the Zoo Licensing Act, as well as
the animal licensing process. Currently
there was no national scheme of licensing caring for pets in the
owner’s property or dog walking and these, therefore,
fell
outside of the scope of this
Policy.
There was a statutory duty to
undertake a consultation to gauge impact and opinion amongst
stakeholders and this had been held between 19 July 2021 and 31
August 2021. The responses received to
the consultation were set out in Appendix A to the
report.
The Policy Statement summarised
West Suffolk Council’s approach to licensing animal
businesses and activities through animal welfare licences,
dangerous wild animal licences and zoo licences. It set out how the
Council exercised its functions in relation to animal-related
licensing matters under the Dangerous Wild Animals Act 1976,
the Zoo Licensing Act 1981, the Animal Welfare Act 2006
and the Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving
Animals) (England) Regulations 2018.
This included dealing with
applications for new licences and issues relating to licensed
premises., including, but not limited to:
·
animal boarding establishments for dogs and
cats
·
dog breeding
·
pet Shops
·
riding establishments
·
keeping or training animals for
exhibition
·
dangerous wild animals
·
zoos
Resolved:
That the adoption
and implementation of the Animal Welfare Licensing Policy
Statement, as set out in Appendix B to Report number CAB/WS/21/049,
be agreed.
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294. |
Council Tax Base for Tax Setting Purposes 2022 to 2023 PDF 159 KB
Report number: CAB/WS/21/050
Portfolio holder: Councillor Sarah
Broughton
Lead officer: Rachael Mann
Additional documents:
Decision:
Recommended to Council:
(14 December 2021)
That:
1.
The tax base for 2022 to 2023, for the whole of West
Suffolk is 57,406.34 equivalent band D dwellings, and for each of
the predecessor areas be: Forest Heath 19,455.81 and St Edmundsbury
37,950.53, as detailed in paragraph 2.6 of Report number
CAB/WS/21/050.
2.
The tax base for 2022 to 2023 for the different
parts of its area, as defined by parish or special expense area
boundaries, be as shown in Appendix 3 of Report number
CAB/WS/21/050.
3.
The Director (Resources and Property) be given
delegated responsibility to make changes to the tax base figures
as a result of any government
announcements pertaining to local council tax support or any data
updates relating to significant claimant increases, as detailed in
paragraph 2.5 of Report number CAB/WS/21/050.
Minutes:
(Report number
CAB/WS/21/050)
The Cabinet received this report which
explained that the Council Tax base was the total taxable value at
a point in time of all the domestic properties in the
Council’s area. It was a yearly calculation and represented
the estimated number of chargeable dwellings after allowing for
exemptions and discounts, projected changes in the property base
and after applying an estimated collection rate.
The Council Tax base was used in the
calculation of Council Tax. Each authority divided the total
Council Tax income it needed to meet its budget requirement by the
tax base of its area to arrive at its band D Council Tax. This was
then used to work out the Council Tax for properties in each of the
other bands.
Orders had been laid allowing West Suffolk to
harmonise the Council Tax of Forest Heath and St Edmundsbury over a
period not exceeding seven years. Because of this, it was also
necessary to calculate tax base figures for the areas formerly
covered by Forest Heath District Council and St Edmundsbury Borough
Council (the ‘predecessor areas’).
The key assumptions, as outlined within the
report, had been set at a time when the impact of COVID-19 recovery
and the end of the furlough scheme, were difficult to
predict. At this stage, very early data
(taken from the first two weeks of October) was not indicating any
spike in the Local Council Tax Reduction Scheme numbers and
therefore, minimal allowance had been made for any increase in
claimant numbers.
Paragraph 2.6 of Report Number CAB/WS/21/050
set out the resulting tax base figure for council tax collection
purposes for the whole of West Suffolk, expressed in terms of the
number of Band D equivalent properties, which was 57,406.34. The
tax base figure was analysed further across individual town and
parish councils to form their tax base figures for the purpose of
budget setting and determining the parish band D tax levels in each
of those areas. The town/parish figures were set out in Appendix 3
to the report.
Recommended to Council:
(14 December 2021)
That:
1.
The tax base for 2022 to 2023, for the whole of West
Suffolk is 57,406.34 equivalent band D dwellings, and for each of
the predecessor areas be: Forest Heath 19,455.81 and St Edmundsbury
37,950.53, as detailed in paragraph 2.6 of Report number
CAB/WS/21/050.
2.
The tax base for 2022 to 2023 for the different
parts of its area, as defined by parish or special expense area
boundaries, be as shown in Appendix 3 of Report number
CAB/WS/21/050.
3.
The Director (Resources and Property) be given
delegated responsibility to make changes to the tax base figures
as a result of any government
announcements pertaining to local council tax support or any data
updates relating to significant claimant increases, as detailed in
paragraph 2.5 of Report number CAB/WS/21/050.
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295. |
Decisions Plan: 1 November 2021 to 31 May 2022 PDF 414 KB
To consider the most recently published
version of the Cabinet’s Decisions Plan
Report number: CAB/WS/21/051
Portfolio holder: Councillor
John Griffiths
Lead officer: Ian
Gallin
Minutes:
(Report number
CAB/WS/21/051)
The Cabinet considered this report which was
the Cabinet Decisions Plan covering the period 1 November 2021 to
31 May 2022.
Members took the opportunity to review the
intended forthcoming decisions of the Cabinet; however, no further
information or amendments were requested on this occasion.
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296. |
Proposed Incubation Units: Suffolk Business Park, Bury St Edmunds PDF 201 KB
Report number: CAB/WS/21/052
Portfolio holder: Councillor Susan Glossop
Lead officer: Andrea Mayley
Additional documents:
Decision:
Recommended to Council:
(14 December 2021)
That:
1.
The Business Case attached as Appendix A to Report number
CAB/WS/21/052, be approved and the project objectives be
endorsed.
2.
The purchase of 6.8 acres of net developable land to enable the
project to be delivered, be approved.
3.
The development of 40,000 sq. ft employment space (phase one) on
Zone 3 of Suffolk Business Park in accordance with the details
contained in the Business Case, be approved.
4.
A £12.1m capital budget for phase 1 only, funded through the
Investing in our Growth Fund through Prudential borrowing with the
revenue impact in line with the Financial Case section of Appendix
A to Report number CAB/WS/21/052, be approved.
5.
Officers to proceed in line with the Council’s agreed Scheme
of Delegation. However, where
necessary, agreement be sought for delegation to the Director
(Resources and Property) and the Director (Planning and Growth), in
consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Resources and Property
and with the Portfolio Holder for Growth, to make changes to the
proposal to reflect the need for the project to evolve as time
moves forward and to enable the project to be delivered in
accordance with the Finance Case and the Programme.
6.
The Council’s Section 151 Officer to make the necessary
changes to the Council’s prudential indicators, as a result
of recommendation 4. above.
Minutes:
(Report number
CAB/WS/21/052)
Councillor Susan Glossop, Portfolio Holder for
Growth presented this report which explained that the West Suffolk
Strategic Framework 2020 to 2024 set out three strategic
priorities, including the Council’s commitment to focus its
energies and resources on the “Growth in West
Suffolk’s economy for the benefit of all our residents and UK
plc”. This proposed project
was a key example of how the Council could support and invest in
its communities and businesses as it provided incubation space for
new and developing companies that would not otherwise be
provided.
The purpose of this report was to seek
authority for the development of 40,000 sq. ft of
start-up/incubation space, as phase one, for companies mainly in
the advanced manufacturing and engineering (AME) sector and its
supply chain. The costs of borrowing to
fund this development through prudential borrowing, would be
covered by the business rates that were forecasted to be retained
locally, as a result of the Enterprise Zone at Suffolk Park, Bury
St Edmunds.
A full Business Case for Phase One was
attached as Appendix A (this included Exempt Appendix 2) and this
in turn was supported by a Risk Register (Appendix 1) and a
high-level Project Plan (Appendix 3).
Additional Business Case(s) would be required to bring forward
Phase Two.
The Phase One Business Case set out the
strategic, economic, commercial, financial and management cases for
this development. It set out the
project objectives and concluded that the case was made for the
proposal to be supported and delivered in line with the high-level
programme. The project required the
allocation of approximately £12.1m of capital funding which
was assumed to be funded through prudential borrowing from the
Public Works Loan Board (PWLB). The
Financial Case explained the assumptions that had been made to
determine the capital cost, revenue implications, cash flow
projections and the unique arrangement for financing the debt over
17 years, along with some retention of the Business Rates received
from the Enterprise Zone on Suffolk Business Park which would be
used to pay for the costs of borrowing, with support from the LEP
and Suffolk County Council.
This project provided the opportunity to
deliver on the Council’s original vision for the employment
allocation at Suffolk Business Park. It
built on the commitment shown by the Council, New Anglia LEP and
Suffolk County Council to funding/developing the Eastern Relief
Road (now Rougham Tower Avenue) and also reflected the intent
behind establishing the Enterprise Zone on Suffolk Park. The intention was that,
once built, the Centre would be run by a leading provider of
business support to the Advanced Manufacturing and Engineering
sector (AME). This would be a first for
West Suffolk and a significant achievement. The aim was to provide space for start-up or
growing businesses in a supported/flexible environment, with access
to high quality business advice and networking
opportunities.
Recommended to Council:
(14 December 2021)
That:
1.
The Business Case attached as Appendix A to Report number
CAB/WS/21/052, be approved and ...
view the full minutes text for item 296.
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297. |
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:
See Minute number 298. below.
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298. |
Exempt Appendix 2: Proposed Incubation Units: Suffolk Business Park, Bury St Edmunds (paragraph 3)
Exempt Appendix 2 to Report number:
CAB/WS/21/052
Portfolio holder: Councillor Susan Glossop
Lead officer: Andrea Mayley
(This exempt Appendix is to be
considered in private under paragraph 3 of Schedule 12A of the
Local Government Act 1972, as it contains information relating to
the financial or business affairs of any particular person
(including the authority holding that information))
(No representations have been
received from members of the public regarding this item being held
in private.)
Minutes:
(Report number
CAB/WS/21/052)
The Cabinet considered the exempt Appendix 2
to this report. However, no reference
was made to specific detail and, therefore, this item was not held
in private session.
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In this section
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