Agenda item

Report No: COU/SE/15/034

Council considered the Referrals report of Recommendations from Cabinet, as contained within Report No: COU/SE/15/034.

(A)    Referrals from Cabinet: 20 October 2015

1.       Enterprise Zones

Approval was sought for providing delegated authority to officers to pursue Enterprise Zone (EZ) discussions further in the event that either or both bids submitted by the Greater Cambridge Greater Peterborough Local Enterprise Partnership and New Anglia Local Enterprise Partnership were successful.

Councillor Alaric Pugh, Portfolio Holder for Planning and Growth, drew relevant issues to the attention of Council, including that the above respective Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) had made bids for Haverhill Research Park and 14 hectares of land at Suffolk Business Park, Bury St Edmunds in the latest EZ bidding round.

Council noted the potential benefits and implications of a successful EZ status bid, particularly in relation to business rate growth.

On the motion of Councillor Alaric Pugh, seconded by Councillor Tim Marks, and duly carried, it was

RESOLVED:

That due to the potential financial implications of a successful Enterprise Zone bid, as detailed in Section 2 of Report No: CAB/SE/15/064, the S151 and Monitoring Officers be given delegated authority to pursue the Enterprise Zone discussions further in the event that either or both bids submitted by the Local Enterprise Partnerships are successful.

2.       Transfer of Street Lighting Columns to Suffolk County Council

Approval was sought for a capital allocation for the upgrading and transfer of street lighting assets to Suffolk County Council (SCC), which in turn would reduce annual revenue costs for the Borough Council.

Councillor Peter Stevens, Portfolio Holder for Operations, drew relevant issues to the attention of Council, including that a capital allocation of £1.81 million was sought to enable 3,027 St Edmundsbury Borough Council (SEBC) owned street lighting columns to be upgraded. 1,547 of them would be transferred to SCC Highway Authority and the remaining 1,481 would be retained by SEBC.  For the reasons provided in the report, an annual saving of approximately £156,500 per annum on current maintenance and energy costs was expected to be achieved as a result of the investment.

Discussion was held on the condition and design of some existing SCC-owned lighting columns; column maintenance and adoption issues; the controlling of timings for individual lights to facilitate part night lighting and the implications of part night lighting; and the issue of simplifying the process for enabling residents to report faulty lights to the relevant authority.

The majority of Members supported the proposal and considered the revenue savings that were anticipated to be made justified the £1.81 million capital allocation.

On the motion of Councillor Peter Stevens, seconded by Councillor Terry Buckle, and duly carried, it was

RESOLVED:

That £1,810,000 of non-allocated capital be allocated to upgrade 3,027 St Edmundsbury Borough Council (SEBC) owned street lighting assets to enable 1,547 of them to be transferred and adopted by the Suffolk County Council Highway Authority and to reduce the cost to power and maintain the 1,481 lighting assets retained by SEBC (reducing annual SEBC revenue expenditure by £156,500 per annum).

(Councillor Bob Cockle left the meeting at the conclusion of this item.)

3.       Hopton Village Hall Site and Sarson’s Field: Development Brief

Approval was sought for the adoption of the Development Brief for the site at Hopton Village Hall and Sarson’s Field.

Councillor Alaric Pugh, Portfolio Holder for Planning and Growth, drew relevant issues to the attention of Council, including that thorough consideration had been given to the item outlined above by the Sustainable Development Working Party and its recommendations were subsequently endorsed by Cabinet.

Hopton was located in the Barningham Ward.  Councillor Carol Bull, Ward Member for Barningham spoke in support of the Development Brief, which she considered satisfactorily embraced the aspirations of the village.  She commended the consultants acting on behalf of the landowner, on the level of community engagement and how the Development Brief had been suitably amended following the feedback from the consultation.

Council was satisfied that the Development Brief had been subject to a robust consultation process with exceptional community engagement and had broadly been prepared in accordance with the Vision 2031 Development Plan document, Core Strategy Development Plan Document and the Council’s Protocol for Preparing Development Briefs.

On the motion of Councillor Alaric Pugh, seconded by Councillor Peter Stevens, and duly carried, it was

RESOLVED:

That the draft Development Brief for the  Hopton Village Hall Site and Sarson’s Field, as contained in Appendix A to Report No: SDW/SE/15/012, be adopted as non-statutory planning guidance.