The Cabinet is asked to note any apologies for absence received from Members.

Apologies for absence were submitted on behalf of Councillors J D Bray (Leader of the Reform UK Group) and G R Placey (the Portfolio Holder for Partnerships).

To confirm and sign the minutes of the last meeting of the Cabinet held on Monday 17 March 2025.

It was moved by Councillor M E Stephenson, seconded by Councillor I J Henderson and:-

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting of the Cabinet, held on Monday 17 March 2025, be approved as a correct record and be signed by the Chairman.

Councillors are invited to declare any Disclosable Pecuniary Interests, Other Registerable Interests of Non-Registerable Interests, and the nature of it, in relation to any item on the agenda.

There were no declarations of interest made by Members at this time. Later in the meeting, as reported under Minute 160 below, Councillor Harris declared an Interest in report A.2 - Freehold Disposal of Redundant Office Site at Weeley.

The Cabinet is asked to note any announcements made by the Leader of the Council.

The Leader of the Council announced that he had, the previous day, attended a meeting of Essex Leaders to discuss LGR, which had been held at Southend Council.

The Cabinet is asked to note any announcements made by Members of the Cabinet.

There were no announcements made by members of the Cabinet on this occasion.

There are no matters referred to the Cabinet by the Council on this occasion.

There were no matters referred to the Cabinet by the Council on this occasion.

There are no matters referred to the Cabinet by a Committee on this occasion.

There were no matters referred to the Cabinet by a Committee on this occasion.

There are no Leader of the Council’s items on this occasion.

There were no Leader of the Council’s items on this occasion.

To present to Cabinet the Crime and Disorder Reduction Strategy 2025 - 2028 for approval and recommendation to Full Council for its formal adoption.

RESOLVED that Cabinet –

(a)     notes the success of the Community Safety Partnership to date and the outcome of consultation and engagement with the Partnership and its constituent members in respect of the proposed Crime and Disorder Reduction Strategy 2025-28;

(b)   notes the individual recommendations from the Community Leaderships Overview and Scrutiny Committee meeting held on 28^th January 2025, and considers whether to endorse the Portfolio Holder’s proposed responses to those five recommendations;

(c)     notes the findings of the assessment to inform the Crime and Safety Partnership’s four priorities for the District of Tendring and agrees that these priorities, as set out below, should form the Council’s strategic priorities;

1.   Tackling ASB and the root causes of ASB

2.   High Harm Violence (with a focus on Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) and Domestic Abuse)

3.   Drug and knife enabled Serious Violence (Gangs and County Lines)

4.   Emerging threats and Trends (i.e. Shoplifting, Vehicle Crime, Arson & Criminal Damage)

(d)  approves the Crime and Disorder Reduction Strategy 2025 – 2028, as set out in Appendix A, in accordance with Section 6 of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998, for recommendation onto Full Council for adoption as part of the Council’s Policy Framework.

Cabinet considered a report of the Assets and Community Safety Portfolio Holder (A.1) which presented to Cabinet the Crime and Disorder Reduction Strategy 2025 - 2028 for approval for recommendation onto Full Council for adoption, as part of the Council’s Policy Framework.

Cabinet recalled that, at its meeting held on 21st October 2024 Cabinet had received a report by the Monitoring Officer issued under Section 5A of the Local Government and Housing Act 1989 in respect of the position in relation to this Council’s historical omission regarding the formulation and implementation of a Crime and Disorder Strategy for the Council, as required under Sections 5 and 6 of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998.

Following on from that report a strategy was now presented to Cabinet for recommendation onto Full Council for adoption as part of the process to resolve that historical omission to have in place a Crime and Disorder Reduction Strategy for recommendation onto Full Council for adoption.

This Portfolio Holder report therefore presented the Crime and Disorder Reduction Strategy 2025 – 2028 for approval. The strategy set out the over aching framework for the Council and its partners in the Community Safety Partnership (CSP) to reduce crime and disorder by formalising the work that would be undertaken with the CSP and the Council’s Community Safety Team over the next three years.

It set out priorities for reducing crime and disorder and Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB), whilst protecting vulnerable people across the District of Tendring over the next three years.

It was reported that through working together, the CSP had achieved many successes in reducing crime and disorder and ASB, protecting those who were vulnerable and making the District safe and secure for residents, businesses and visitors. 

As a community leader this Council was proud of those achievements that had been possible only through partnership working. To build upon previous work and to understand the challenges that continued to arise this Council would continue its work with partners to ensure a safer District for its residents.

Members were informed that the strategy was based upon a wide range of data and information, from public consultation to crime and disorder information that was brought together in an annual Strategic Assessment.  Through that assessment four key themes within the strategy, as set out below, had been identified that fed into the CSP priorities. It recognised the challenges facing children, young adults and families that had evolved and continued to do so.  For example, criminal gangs were targeting children to move drugs in and out of towns and other areas, including in this District.  This was a national issue, but all needed to be aware of criminal gangs, and to be able to spot the signs that children might be being targeted.

1.   Tackling violence against women and girls was at the forefront of the CSP’s agenda and reflected the Government’s priority in tackling this issue, following the tragic deaths of Sarah Everard, Balvinder Gahir, Bibaa Henry, Nicole Smallman and Julia  ...  view the full minutes text for item 159.

To evaluate whether, given the extended negotiations, the Council should continue with negotiating an Option Agreement for the disposal of the redundant Council Office at Weeley. This is in line with Cabinet’s decision on 17 December 2021 to dispose of the Weeley Office site, based on the Heads of Terms finalised by the then Leader, the then Portfolio Holder for Housing, the Corporate Director (Operations and Delivery), the Section 151 Officer, and the Monitoring Officer on 25 April 2023.

RESOLVED that Cabinet -

(a)     in the light of the ongoing delays and costs, as well as the significant risk of failing to conclude the disposal Option Agreement for the former Weeley Council Offices site, agrees to no longer pursue further negotiations with the current bidder, based on the existing Heads of Terms agreed in April 2023; and

(b)     requests Officers explore alternative disposal options and report these back to Cabinet for consideration and further decisions.

Councillor Harris declared an Interest in this matter insofar as he was the Ward Member for Weeley & Tendring.

Cabinet considered a report of the Assets and Community Safety Portfolio Holder (A.2) which would enable Cabinet to evaluate whether, given the extended negotiations, the Council should continue with negotiating an Option Agreement for the disposal of the redundant Council Office at Weeley. This was in line with Cabinet’s decision on 17 December 2021 to dispose of the Weeley Office site, based on the Heads of Terms finalised by the then Leader following consultation, with the then Portfolio Holder for Housing along with the Corporate Director (Operations and Delivery), the Section 151 Officer, and the Monitoring Officer on 25 April 2023.

It was reported that Cabinet had agreed transformation proposals on 16 December 2016 which had included disposing of several Council facilities, the Offices at Weeley being one of them.  On 17 December 2021 following an invitation of bids from two special purchasers, Cabinet had agreed to enter into an option agreement with the successful bidder, delegating authority to agree Heads of Terms on the principles set out in the report.  Heads of Terms had been subsequently agreed on 25 April 2023. 

Members were informed that since the Heads of Terms had been agreed, negotiations in respect of the full text of the Options Agreement, the legally binding document that needed to be completed for planning consent to be submitted, had been ongoing.  This had still not been finalised. 

It was felt that negotiations between the successful bidder and the Council in respect of the Options Agreement had reached a stalemate with each party’s legal advice being on opposing sides of the opinion on a key issue, the extent and effect of highway rights adjoining the site.

This Portfolio Holder report therefore examined whether, based on the ongoing costs and liabilities of a currently vacant site, the Council should continue with negotiations to try and finalise the Option Agreement, or choose to withdraw from further negotiations to consider alternative routes to dispose of the site. 

Cabinet was made aware that ongoing costs for the Weeley site were in the region of £65,000.00 p/a.  Given the issues highlighted above, the risks of not being able to satisfactorily move beyond the current stalemate / stalled position were now significant. Planning Consent, which would take a minimum of 12 weeks, possibly longer because of the size and complexity of the development, had not yet been submitted and would not be until the Options Agreement had been resolved.

In making his recommendations to the Cabinet, the Portfolio Holder had taken into account the fact that due to the complex and multilayered considerations of the transaction, it had taken 16 months to agree heads of terms for the Options Agreement and had taken a further two years in negotiations over the legally binding agreement.  Those negotiations had not currently been concluded and despite significant time and effort by the legal and property teams on both sides, were  ...  view the full minutes text for item 160.

To agree the Annual Capital and Treasury Strategy for 2025/26 (including Prudential and Treasury Indicators) for submission to Council on 20 May 2025.

RESOLVED that the Annual Capital and Treasury Strategy for 2025/26 (including Prudential and Treasury Indicators) be recommended to Full Council for its approval, acknowledging that consultation with the Resources and Services Overview and Scrutiny Committee will be undertaken during 2025/26, subject to inclusion within that Committee’s Work Programme.

Cabinet considered a report of the Corporate Finance and Governance Portfolio Holder (A.3) which sought Cabinet’s agreement of the Annual Capital and Treasury Strategy for 2025/26 (including Prudential and Treasury Indicators) for submission to Council on 20 May 2025.

Cabinet was reminded that the Local Government Act 2003 and supporting regulations required the Council to set out its treasury strategy for borrowing, and to prepare an Annual Investment Strategy (as required by Investment Guidance subsequent to the Act) that set out the Council’s policies for managing its investments and for giving priority to the security and liquidity of those investments, “having regard” to the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy’s (CIPFA) Prudential Code and the CIPFA Treasury Management Code of Practice. Revised editions of both documents had come into force in 2023/24.

It was reported that the Capital Strategy continued to be combined with the Treasury Strategy into one document, which was required to be updated / approved annually. The proposed Annual Capital and Treasury Strategy for 2025/26 was set out in Appendix Ato the Portfolio Holder’s report (A.3) and it continued to reflect the various changes set out in the latest Codes mentioned above.

Members were informed that the Capital Strategy element of the combined document covered the various elements surrounding capital investment decisions and the key criteria that investment decisions should be considered against.

The Treasury Strategy element of the combined document covered the various elements that satisfied the requirements of the various codes that governed the borrowing and investment activities of the Council and had been prepared in the light of advice received from the Council’s Treasury advisors and reflected the latest codes and guidance.

Cabinet was made aware that Prudential and Treasury indicators were included as an Annexe to the combined strategy and were therefore included within Appendix A.

Members were advised that, under the Prudential Code, the Council had freedom over capital expenditure if it was prudent, affordable and sustainable. The Prudential Indicators either measured the expected activity or introduced limits upon the activity and reflected the underlying capital appraisal systems and enabled the Council to demonstrate that it was complying with the requirements of the Prudential Code.

Cabinet was reassured that the Council’s investments would be undertaken in accordance with its Treasury Management Practices (TMPs). Those included the use of non-specified investment in property to yield both rental income and capital gains. The Codes referred to above required clear separation of commercial investments from treasury investments. As the Council only had one such investment, which was clearly identified within the Strategy and the TMPs, in continuing the approach adopted last year, it was not proposed to produce a separate suite of Investment Management Practices for that purpose.

As is always the case, other ‘quality’ investment opportunities would always be explored during the year in consultation with the Council’s external advisors to maximise returns on investments within a continuing and overall risk-averse approach.

Cabinet was reminded that in terms of the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 161.

To present the post project review of Sunspot, Jaywick Sands Workspace, community gardens, meeting rooms and event space on the former Sunspot Arcade site which opened in September 2023, including a requirement to allocate up to £100,000 to meet additional costs emerging from the final account processes / negotiations with the associated contractor.

RESOLVED that Cabinet –

a)       endorses this post project and operational review of the Sunspot, Jaywick Sands, which highlights the success of the workspace since opening in September 2023, the challenges in construction, and the lessons learnt for future regeneration projects; and

b)       in respect of the additional costs of potentially up to £100,000 that have emerged from the project’s final account processes, agrees that this be funded by a transfer within the existing HRA Capital Programme / wider HRA revenue budgets as part of finalising the overall HRA outturn position for 2024/25.

Cabinet considered a detailed report of the Economic Growth, Regeneration & Tourism Portfolio Holder (A.4) which presented the post project review of the Sunspot, Jaywick Sands Workspace, community gardens, meeting rooms and event space on the former Sunspot Arcade site which had opened in September 2023, including a requirement to allocate up to £100,000 to meet additional costs emerging from the final account processes / negotiations with the associated contractor.

The report covered the following matters:-

(1)     The Sunspot – site description and Design Award success;

(2)     The development process;

(3)     Sunspot – Operational;

(4)     Sunspot – Construction (including budgets and final accounts); and

(5)     Learning.

It was reported that the recommendations within the Portfolio Holder’s report were made to update Cabinet with regards to the success of a major award-winning capital project which had supported economic development, enhanced community services, raised the profile and ultimately contributing to the long-term regeneration of Jaywick Sands. The funding was required to pay the final account, and offered a value for money approach, given the small proportion of the additional finance required in relation to large overall project sum, and the significant risks of taking the contractor through an arbitration process.

It was therefore moved by Councillor I J Henderson, seconded by Councillor M E Stephensonand:-

RESOLVED that Cabinet –

a)       endorses this post project and operational review of the Sunspot, Jaywick Sands, which highlights the success of the workspace since opening in September 2023, the challenges in construction, and the lessons learnt for future regeneration projects; and

b)       in respect of the additional costs of potentially up to £100,000 that have emerged from the project’s final account processes, agrees that this be funded by a transfer within the existing HRA Capital Programme / wider HRA revenue budgets as part of finalising the overall HRA outturn position for 2024/25.

Further to a request from Cabinet, this report sets out the current levels of and causes of homelessness. In particular, the number of households presenting as homeless, numbers placed in temporary accommodation and data on rough sleeping and how these pressures have continued to grow. It also sets out the various actions that are being put in place to address these pressures.

RESOLVED that Cabinet –

(a)     notes the current pressures on the homelessness function provided by the Council and the level of spending on the service including provision of temporary accommodation to comply with its statutory duties;

(b)     endorses the setting up of a Homelessness and Temporary Accommodation Working Group, to be chaired by the Portfolio Holder for Housing & Planning, to explore and identify measures aimed at relieving the pressure and spending on homelessness; and

(c)     requests that a report is presented to Cabinet within six months setting out the initial outcomes from the activities undertaken by the working group to inform future decisions.

Cabinet considered a detailed report of the Housing and Planning Portfolio Holder (A.5) which set out the current levels of, and causes of, homelessness. In particular, the number of households presenting as homeless, numbers placed in temporary accommodation and data on rough sleeping and how those pressures had continued to grow. It also set out the various actions that were being put in place to address those pressures.

Cabinet was aware that the Council’s Housing Solutions Service was experiencing increasing numbers of homelessness cases. This was impacting on the service’s ability to discharge the Council’s statutory duties effectively and cost efficiently. The Council was committed to ensuring accessible high-quality customer services, but the levels of demand meant that, in some instances, the Council was finding it increasingly challenging to meet the minimum levels of statutory housing duties.

Members were reminded that the Homelessness Act 2002 set out the definition of homelessness and the duties that local housing authorities owed to those who were accepted as being homeless or threatened with homelessness. Part 7 of the Housing Act 1996 provided the primary homelessness legislation setting out the statutory duties on local housing authorities to prevent homelessness and provide?assistance to those who were at risk of being homeless or actually homeless.

It was reported that the Homelessness Reduction Act 2017 had placed new duties on local housing authorities to intervene earlier to prevent homelessness and to take reasonable steps to relieve homelessness for all eligible applicants, not just those that had priority need under the Act. This legislation had sought to provide increased protection to people facing homelessness. It had extended the length of time an individual or household could be seen as at risk of homelessness, from 28 to 56 days, which in turn had increased the length of a local housing authority’s prevention duty.

More recently, the enactment of the Domestic Abuse Act 2021 had placed a duty on local authorities in England to provide support to survivors of domestic abuse and their children. All eligible homeless survivors of domestic abuse automatically received ‘priority need’ status for homelessness assistance.

Cabinet was advised that the Council had seen an 87% increase in homelessness approaches between 2018/2019 and 2023/24 and a 26% increase in homelessness applications during the same period.

Members were informed that the top five causes of homelessness had remained static during this time and included the loss of an Assured Shorthold Tenancy in the private rented sector, relationship breakdown, eviction by family, domestic abuse and eviction by friends.

There had been a 77% increase in the number of households being placed in temporary accommodation between 2018/19 and 2023/24.

Expenditure by the Council on temporary accommodation in the first nine months of 2024/25 had been £2.1 million.

Expenditure on rent deposits in the same period had been £164,713.36 and a further £153,617.52 had been spent on rent in advance payments all of which had been paid to assist those faced with homelessness into settled accommodation.

Cabinet was made  ...  view the full minutes text for item 163.

To present to Cabinet the following Housing Policies for approval and adoption:

·      Housing Under Occupation Transfer Incentive Policy; and

·      Housing Compensation Policy.

RESOLVED that Cabinet –

(a)     approves and formally adopts the revised Under Occupation Transfer Incentive Policy and the new Housing Compensation Policy;

(b)     approves that the Under Occupation Incentive Policy be funded by refocusing the existing cash incentive scheme budget of £0.060m held within the Housing Revenue Account Capital Programme along with the corresponding change in the revenue contribution to the capital programme in 2025/26; and

(c)     authorises the Corporate Director (Operations and Delivery), in consultation with the Portfolio Holder responsible for Housing, to make future updates or amendments to these policies and that this will include an annual review of the Housing Under Occupation Transfer Incentive to assess its effectiveness.

Cabinet considered a report of the Housing and Planning Portfolio Holder (A.6) whichpresented to Cabinet the following Housing Policies for approval and adoption:

·      Housing Under Occupation Transfer Incentive Policy; and

·      Housing Compensation Policy.

It was reported that this Portfolio Holder report presented two housing policies for approval. Those policies amended and formalised the work that was already undertaken in the Housing and Environmental Health service.

The Council recognised that there was an existing demand for family size properties, as demonstrated by the number of applicants on its housing register. It was essential that the Council did all that it could to support tenants seeking to downsize from family size accommodation and to maximise the use of its housing stock.

Cabinet was informed that the Housing Under Occupation Transfer Incentive Policy set out how the Council would encourage and assist tenant’s under-occupying family and adapted accommodation to downsize into other accommodation thereby releasing family or adapted accommodation for others in housing need.

Members were advised that the Housing Compensation Policy set out the approach that the Council would take in response to requests for compensation to ensure it acted in a fair, consistent and transparent matter. Whilst committed to providing excellent housing services for its customers, the Council accepted that there would be occasions when Council services might not meet those high standards and customers were inconvenienced or left out of pocket as a result.

Where a complaint was justified, an acknowledgement and apology might be sufficient. However, where a complainant had suffered some disadvantage, inconvenience or loss because of the service failure experienced, other remedial action might need to be considered including financial compensation.

Cabinet was made aware that these policies complied with the Regulator of Social Housing’s revised Consumer Standards that had come into effect from 1 April 2024 as well as the Housing Ombudsman’s guidance in relation to compensation.

To ensure that the policies were appropriately adopted, in accordance with the Council’s Constitution and to evidence compliance with regulatory standards:-

It was moved by Councillor Baker, seconded by Councillor Scottand:-

RESOLVED that Cabinet –

(a)     approves and formally adopts the revised Under Occupation Transfer Incentive Policy and the new Housing Compensation Policy;

(b)     approves that the Under Occupation Incentive Policy be funded by refocusing the existing cash incentive scheme budget of £0.060m held within the Housing Revenue Account Capital Programme along with the corresponding change in the revenue contribution to the capital programme in 2025/26; and

(c)     authorises the Corporate Director (Operations and Delivery), in consultation with the Portfolio Holder responsible for Housing, to make future updates or amendments to these policies and that this will include an annual review of the Housing Under Occupation Transfer Incentive to assess its effectiveness.

There are no Management Team items on this occasion.

There were no such Management Team items on this occasion.