Agenda item

Paper number: COU/WS/23/001 attached.On this occasion, an additional document ‘West Suffolk – The Story So Far’ will be circulated to members separately by email and will be published alongside the Leader’s Statement here prior to the meeting. 

Council Procedure Rules 8.1 to 8.3. The Leader will submit a report (the Leader’s Statement) summarising important developments and activities since the preceding meeting of the council.

Members may ask the Leader questions on the content of both his introductory remarks and the written statement itself.

A total of 30 minutes will be allowed for questions and responses. There will be a limit of five minutes for each question to be asked and answered. A supplementary question arising from the reply may be asked so long as the five minute limit is not exceeded.

Councillor John Griffiths, Leader of the Council, presented his Leader’s Statement as outlined in paper number: COU/WS/23/001. On this occasion, an additional document ‘West Suffolk – The story so far’ was circulated to members separately by email and published alongside the Leader’s Statement prior to the meeting. 

In his introductory remarks, Councillor Griffiths:

a.       Tributes: acknowledged the tragedies caused to the people of Turkey and Syria following the impact of the devastating earthquakes in these countries. Recognition was also given to the fact that on 24 February 2023, this would mark the first anniversary of the Russian Invasion of Ukraine. West Suffolk would continue to play its part in helping people that were fleeing from this war torn country.

b.       West Suffolk – ‘The story so far’: made reference to the additional document that accompanied the written Leader’s Statement and outlined a number of the achievements made over the last four years since West Suffolk Council came into existence.

c.       Suffolk Public Sector Leaders: reported that a £1.5 million Supported Food Network initiative had been agreed to support people across the county with the cost-of-living challenges. Working with new and existing food outlets, including food banks, more stock would be provided to ensure a range of enhanced support was available to meet local needs.  In addition, £175,000 funding had been agreed to support vital initiatives to tackle and prevent rough sleeping across Suffolk.

d.       Improving housing and supply: reported on two new initiatives to improve private housing conditions as well as increasing the number of affordable homes across Suffolk. Suffolk’s district and borough councils had secured £2.2 million of Government Private Rented Sector Pathfinder Programme funding over two years, which would be used to improve the standard of private rented homes in the county. To complement this work, the Suffolk Housing Board had been awarded £20,000 from the Local Government Association Housing Advisor Programme. 

e.       Screen Suffolk: reported that all local councils had signed a new five year contract with Screen Suffolk. It was estimated that the positive economic impact for Suffolk was £14.5 million since the company began its service in the county in 2016.

f.       Market Thoroughfare: was pleased to announce that the vastly improved, Market Thoroughfare in Bury St Edmunds was due to open on 22 February 2023. This scheme was part of the town centre masterplan to deliver a wider pedestrian link while keeping the frontage of The Old Post Office.

The Leader responded to a range of questions relating to:

a.       Emergency planning: that he was not aware of apparent proposals by the US Government to return NATO nuclear weapons to RAF Lakenheath, and as such he had not received any recent guidance from Government ministers or the Ministry of Defence as to the actions this Council should take in the event of incidences involving NATO weapons. The US Government was not obliged to consult with the Council regarding its potential plans; however, should any information relating to this matter be forthcoming, it would be analysed and shared on a cross-party basis, as appropriate. 

b.       North West Haverhill Relief Road: the Council shared Councillor Joe Mason’s and other Haverhill ward members concerns and frustrations regarding the lack of progress made so far in the delivery of this road to the previously agreed timescale. Councillor Griffiths deferred the matter to Councillor Roach, Portfolio Holder for Planning, for a more detailed response. The planning condition required for the relief road was to be delivered by the end of March 2023 at the latest. Due to the complexities regarding the position of gas and water mains, the developer, Persimmon explained that there would be a significant delay to the delivery of the road and a revised completion date of April 2024 had been given. Discussions were being held with Persimmon and Suffolk County Council (SCC) as to whether the road could be completed before this suggested revised timeframe. The Council would continue to monitor whether enforcement action should be taken. SCC had stated that in principle, this could be considered; however, it was unlikely that this would lead to the road being completed any sooner.  Councillor John Burns raised a similar question, having first highlighted the bond with SCC regarding the delivery of the road, and some of the impacts being experienced in the town without the relief road being in place. Councillor Griffiths acknowledged the bond with SCC and again, shared the frustrations of the road not being delivered in accordance with Persimmon’s planning consent. Recognition was given to the ongoing discussions being held to pursue this matter and holding the developer to account.

c.       Outline planning application for 1,300 on Land to the west of Mildenhall: Should permission be granted for this application and recognising the implications for Mildenhall town centre should the necessary road infrastructure not be delivered within the required timescale, lessons would be learned from the issues currently being experienced in Haverhill, as referred to in b. above. The necessary safeguards would be put in place, as appropriate.

d.       Empty homes: Councillor Brian Harvey firstly applauded the Families and Communities team for their work with those in need in the rural communities, to which Councillor Griffiths highlighted the additional funding from the Suffolk Public Sector Leaders group which would help provide additional support (see c. above). Councillor Brian Harvey then made reference to the penultimate paragraph on page 15 of the attachment to the Leader’s Statement, ‘West Suffolk – the story so far’. This referred to 370 empty homes being brought back into use since 2019 with 181 of those being achieved last year. Councillor Harvey asked the Leader whether there was an ongoing programme in place for addressing this issue and how many empty homes were expected to be brought back into use within the coming months/years. A written response would be provided following the meeting by Councillor Griffiths and the relevant portfolio holder. In accordance with the Constitution, this response would be circulated to all members and published on the Council’s website.