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

Apologies for absence were submitted on behalf of Councillor A P H Baker (Portfolio Holder for Housing & Planning) and Councillor J D Bray (Leader of the Reform UK Group).

To confirm and sign the minutes of the last meeting of the Cabinet held on Friday 24 May 2024.

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 Friday 24 May 2024, 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.

Councillor Barry declared an interest in agenda items 15 (report A.7) and 17 (report A.9) insofar as both reports mentioned the Brightlingsea Lido of which he was a Trustee.

Councillor Chapman BEM declared an interest in agenda item 9 (report A.1) insofar as it referred to plots of land in Brightlingsea and she was a Ward Member for Brightlingsea.

Councillors Chapman BEM and P B Honeywood both declared an interest in agenda item 16 (report A.8) insofar as they both had relatives who were users of the Careline service.

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

The Leader of the Council recorded his congratulations to Nigel Farage MP and Sir Bernard Jenkin MP on their election to the House of Commons in the Parliamentary General Election held on 4 July 2024.

The Leader of the Council also congratulated the Council’s IT Services team who had, during the recent ‘Crowdstrike’ issue experienced by a large number of organisations globally and which had disrupted access to computers and communications, ensured that almost all Council services had continued unaffected.. The only Crowdstrike TDC service issue had been that the third-party hosted/ managed leisure management system had been unable to process electronic payments during Friday 19^th July 2024.

In addition, the Leader of the Council informed the meeting that agenda item 12 (report A.4) had been withdrawn. This was due to the fact that an Official from the MHCLG had written to the Chief Executive on Friday 19 July at 5.00 p.m. to notify this Council of the decision by Alex Norris MP, Minister for Local Growth, to suspend the 1 August 2024 deadline for the submission of local authorities’ individual Long Terms Plan for Towns. That notification also stated that further details on next steps and timelines would be shared in due course.

The Leader of the Council had agreed that, with the deadline to submit the plan suspended, which had determined the report coming to Cabinet today, it was considered to be in the Council’s and Clacton residents’ best interests that the item be withdrawn from this Cabinet and brought back when the Government had clearly indicated the timetable and plan format moving forward.

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 matters submitted to the Cabinet by the Leader of the Council on this occasion.

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

To consider whether to remove 25 areas of land from the Property Dealing Procedure in accordance with the list attached at Appendix A and to further consider the remaining 44 listed at Appendix B, following an initial review of the previous 69 areas of land over which the Property Dealing Procedure was initiated in July 2022.

RESOLVED that Cabinet –

(a)   approves the list of 25 sites put forward at Appendix A to the Portfolio Holder’s report (A.1) and hereby removes them from the Property Dealing Procedure based on their current status as safeguarded open space in the Local Plan;

(b)   in respect of the remaining 44 sites, as set out in Appendix B to that report, agrees to also remove them from the Property Dealing Procedure to enable resources to be allocated to other corporate projects requiring asset support; and

(c)   requests over time, when resources are available, that an assessment of the sites in Appendix B be undertaken by Officers with the Portfolio Holder for Assets to determine which ones, on a case by case basis, should be proposed for disposal to obtain a capital receipt or retained for council housing, with individual decisions.

Earlier on in the meeting as detailed under Minute 24 above, Councillor Chapman BEM had declared an interest in agenda item 9 (report A.1) insofar as it referred to plots of land in Brightlingsea and that she was a Ward Member for Brightlingsea.

Cabinet considered a detailed report of the Assets Portfolio Holder (A.1), to decide whether to remove 25 areas of land from the Property Dealing Procedure in accordance with the list attached at Appendix A to the Portfolio Holder’s report and to further consider the remaining 44 listed at Appendix B to that report, following an initial review of the previous 69 areas of land over which the Property Dealing Procedure had been initiated in July 2022.

Cabinet was reminded that, as part of the rationalisation of the Council’s assets and in order to help address both the housing need in Tendring, as well as supporting the Council’s financial position, 69 separate areas had been identified and the Property Dealing Procedure initiated over them by Cabinet in July 2022 in order for them to be considered further. 

The Portfolio Holder for Assets had reviewed each of the pieces of land previously identified and certain areas had now been put forward to be removed from the Property Dealing Procedure.  Whilst the decision both to initiate the Property Dealing Procedure and to end that procedure would usually be a Portfolio Holder decision, due to the large number of areas identified and their potential scale and impact, the previous decision in July 2022 had been referred to Cabinet.  It was only right therefore that this decision to remove land from under the Property Dealing Procedure was also put before Cabinet.

Members were aware that the Council’s current Corporate Plan recognised the Cabinet’s priority to champion the local environment both creating and maintaining good quality and useable space for communities.  With this in mind, the initial evaluation of the 69 areas had looked at which ones were designated as safeguarded open space in the current Local Plan and the Portfolio Holder’s recommendation was to remove these 25 from the Property Dealing Procedure and retain them as green space for the present time.

Cabinet was informed that this would leave 44 areas of land that were still subject to the Property Dealing Procedure to be evaluated.  Cabinet’s priorities for this assessment were necessary to determine specifically the desired outcome.  The three main options were:-

1.   Capital receipt – identify the ones that could be sold with outline planning permission for development and bring one off funding into the Council to support other priorities;

2.   Council houses – identify the ones that could be developed or retained for potential development in the future;

3.   Do nothing – place resources into other projects and areas and also remove these 44 sites from the Property Dealing Procedure. This wouldn’t negate the previous work carried out and the Property Dealing Procedure could be initiated over individual sites in the future.

In order to:-

(i)     reduce the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 30.

To report on the Council’s treasury management activities and Prudential Indicators for 2023/24.

RESOLVED that Cabinet -

a)  notes the Treasury Management performance position for 2023/24; and

b)  approves the Prudential and Treasury Indicators for 2023/24.

Cabinet considered a detailed report of the Corporate Finance & Governance Portfolio Holder (A.2), which reported on the Council’s treasury management activities and Prudential Indicators for 2023/24.

It was confirmed that borrowing and investments had been undertaken in accordance with the 2023/24 Annual Capital and Treasury Strategy that had been approved by full Council on 2nd March 2023.

Summary of the Council’s Borrowing Position:

No external borrowing had been undertaken in 2023/24 for either the General Fund (GF) or Housing Revenue Account (HRA).

Summary of the Council’s Investment Position:

It was reported that the amount of interest earned from investments increased greatly during the year due to the continuation of decisions by the Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) to increase rates from 4.25% at the beginning of 2023/24 to 5.25% at the end of it. As most investments were fixed for 6 months at a time, the increases did not feed immediately through to the investments held but did allow for a ‘laddering’ of deposits to lock in the increase. Estimated income was increased through the quarterly financial performance and budget reports during the year - from £0.824 million at the start of the year to £3.818 million at the end of the year, with the outturn figure being £4.220 million as set out in the table above.

Members were reminded that the Council continued to hold one property within its Commercial Investment Portfolio, which had a balance sheet value at 1 April 2023 of £0.224 million. This ‘book value’ had been increased by the Council’s appointed valuers to £2.284 million at the end of 2023/24. However, this was an ‘accounting’ valuation and not a direct value that would be achieved on the market if it was sold. In-line with the budget, rental income of £0.228 million had been earned on the property in 2023/24, in line with estimates.

Treasury performance figures for the year were set out in Appendix A to the Portfolio Holder’s report with Prudential Indicators attached as Appendix B to that report.

Cabinet was made aware that Inflation had met the MPC’s target of 2% in early 2024/25, but that underlying inflationary pressures remained, which meant that interest rate reductions were likely to be gradual in nature. The forecast from this Council’s treasury advisors was for interest rates to decline from the current peak of 5.25% to 4.00% in March 2025. As the impact of interest earned from previous higher rates would continue to filter into budgets for the first half of the year, with any reductions being reflected in the latter half, investment income budgets would continue to be reviewed as part of quarterly monitoring reports and as part of  ...  view the full minutes text for item 31.

To recommend that Cabinet set aside £1m to pay for a Project Delivery Unit for two years to increase the capacity of the Council to progress the significant number of project workstreams it has underway.

To update Cabinet on progress with one of the Council’s most significant new work-streams, the Levelling Up Partnership, and recommend that Cabinet approves the principle of the Council entering into the Partnership with Government. The current partnership approach is to deliver projects through the Council being the Accountable Body, working with partners to achieve place-based regeneration in Clacton and Jaywick.

RESOLVED that Cabinet –

(a)    notes the increased capacity requirements on the Council’s resources to deliver a number of projects and schemes highlighted in the report, in addition to responding to the Council’s existing functions and responsibilities.

(b)    subject to (a) above, and the allocation of £1.000m of funding set out within item A.9 elsewhere on the agenda,  a Project Delivery Unit is agreed to be established for an initial period of 24 months from the date of the first officer starting in role;

(c)    accepts:

(i)      £90,000, made available by the Government as capacity funding to support the Levelling Up Partnership Project

(ii)     a sum of £86,000 made available by the Government as capacity funding to support the Levelling Up Capital Project in Clacton;

(d)    subject to (a) to (c) above, transfers both the £90,000 and £86,000 above to the funding of the Project Delivery Unit, bringing the total initial funding to £1.176m;

(e)    notes the Chief Executive will undertake the activities required to recruit the necessary capacity within the Project Delivery Unit, as Head of Paid Service (being non-executive functions);

(f)     recognising the impact on the Council, supports the Council acting as the Accountable Body for the Partnership to the benefit of Clacton and Jaywick, delegates entering into any agreements with Partners to the Corporate Director (Place and Economy), in consultation with the Section 151 Officer, and where necessary by entering into funding agreements with partners to do so;

(g)    recommends to Full Council to approve that Tendring District Council act as the Accountable Body for the Partnership (or alternative relationship determined by Government in revised policy), which forms part of the Council’s Corporate Plan 24-28, ‘Our Vision’ and therefore, within the Policy Framework;

(h)    subject to (g) being approved by Full Council, the delegation by Cabinet in December 2023, can be exercised by the Corporate Director (Place and Economy) in consultation with the Section 151 Officer and the Monitoring Officer to enter into any agreements with MHCLG for this Partnership;

(i)     subject to (g) being approved by Full Council and Cabinet, and Government approving business cases for funding, the Portfolio Holder for Economic Growth, Regeneration and Tourism be required to report to Cabinet the scope and details of the individual Partnership Projects together with the relevant Portfolio Holders taking the lead on delivery prior to implementation;

(j)     notes that the Chief Executive has nominated the Corporate Director (Place and Economy) as the lead officer for the Partnership; and

(k)    notes the Levelling Fund and Capital Regeneration Projects Portfolio Working Party terms of reference will be extended to include this Partnership and Town Board matters.

Cabinet considered a report of the Economic Growth, Regeneration & Tourism Portfolio Holder (A.3), which:-

(a)    recommended that Cabinet set aside £1m to pay for a Project Delivery Unit for two years to increase the capacity of the Council to progress the significant number of project work-streams it had underway; and

(b)    updated Cabinet on progress with one of the Council’s most significant new work-streams, the Levelling Up Partnership, and recommended that Cabinet approved the principle of the Council entering into the Partnership with Government. The current partnership approach was to deliver projects through the Council being the Accountable Body, working with partners to achieve place-based regeneration in Clacton and Jaywick. 

Cabinet was aware that the Council was responsible for the delivery of tens of millions of pounds of capital projects funded by Government, partner and its own resources. Projects included:

·      £30.743M Levelling Up Fund: The Clacton Hub, Dovercourt Library and the Kingsway Improvements.

·      £9.036M Capital Regeneration Projects. The Council was the Accountable Body for three projects delivered by Essex County Council: In addition, the Council was directly delivering Carnarvon Terrace in Clacton and Milton Road and Victoria Street in Dovercourt.

This was in addition to two major Housing Revenue Account Schemes:

·      £2.40m Spendells House redevelopment. A former sheltered housing scheme being brought back into use as temporary accommodation.

·      £3.250m Honeycroft scheme. Redeveloping the site of a former sheltered housing scheme with 13 one and two-bedroom bungalows to provide accommodation for those in the area seeking to downsize from a larger property.

And there were further projects in the pipeline:

·      £20M Long Term Plan for Towns, with £5m to be delivered by March 2027.

·      £20M Levelling Up Partnership.

·      £500,000 Green Spaces fund for High Street Accelerator.

Members were also aware that the Council was committed to identifying £3m of on-going revenue savings, which would also require additional invest-to-save projects to be brought forward, like the installation of pool covers recently completed within the leisure centres. The level of resources required to not only develop the long term forecast but to deliver the required savings, was not to be underestimated, especially when set against other existing commitments such as those mentioned above and the Freeport East project. There therefore needed to be a clear focus on the timely development of associated plans whilst managing competing resources over the coming months.

In addition to the above, the Council currently delivered projects including major capital schemes within Services, which were primarily responsible for day-to-day service delivery. The Council recognised that increasing project management capacity would enable it to deliver projects more effectively, and as a result, had thepotential to reduce overspends and bring major capital schemes in on budget and on time.  

In order to increase its project delivery capacity, the Council proposed to set aside £1 million to support a new Project Delivery Unit for two years.  The proposed team, subject to approval of the funding and restructures being undertaken, would sit within the Economic Growth, Sport and Culture Directorate  ...  view the full minutes text for item 32.

The Council is committed to town centre regeneration and has been allocated funding by Government to support a long-term plan for Clacton-on-Sea.

This report seeks Cabinet’s input of the draft Long Term Plan proposals, which are due to be submitted to Government by 1st August 2024. Additional input will also be obtained from the Clacton Councillors consultation planned for 9th July and the Clacton Town Board next week.

The plan is underpinned by evidence gathering and strategic analysis of past community and business consultations, as we were unable to undertake the planned engagement on the plan due to the restrictions of the pre-election period. It is also supported by workshops with officers, key stakeholders, and the Clacton Town Board. It highlights some of the unique characteristics and strengths of Clacton, which we will build on to transform the economic and social prosperity of the town.

Please note that Annex 1 to the report (the Long Term Plan) is to follow as it will first be considered at the meeting of the Clacton Town Board on 19 July 2024.

This item had been withdrawn by the Leader of the Council for the reasons identified in Minute 25 above.

To note progress of the Officer investigations into the opportunity to bring forward the Milton Road element of the Dovercourt scheme from the Capital Regeneration Project funding, and to agree the demolition of Milton Road car park, and to agree drawdown of Capital Regeneration grant funding to progress this work.

RESOLVED that Cabinet –

a)     agrees, subject to the full level of required funding being allocated, to the demolition of the Milton Road, Dovercourt car park;

b)     agrees, subject to the full level of required funding being allocated, to the demolition of the dangerous structure at 20 Victoria Street, Dovercourt;

c)      although subject to the decision set out within report item A.9 elsewhere on the agenda, agrees to allocate the additional identified sum of £250,000 to increase the overall budget to £3,798,751;

d)     subject to a) to c) above, agrees to draw down a budget of £0.450m from within the overall sum of £3,798,751 to progress demolition and associated works; and

e)    subject to (a) to (d) above, agrees that an external contractor will be commissioned to undertake the demolition works in accordance with the Council’s Procurement Procedure Rules.

Cabinet considered a report of the Economic Growth, Regeneration & Tourism Portfolio Holder (A.5), which noted the progress of the Officer investigations into the opportunity to bring forward the Milton Road element of the Dovercourt scheme from the Capital Regeneration Project funding, and which sought Cabinet’s agreement to the demolition of Milton Road car park and 20 Victoria Street, Dovercourt and also its agreement to the drawdown of Capital Regeneration grant funding complemented by £250,000 to progress this work.

Capital Regeneration Project Funding

It was reported that, on 23 June 2023, Cabinet had considered a report titled ‘Clacton Civic Quarter Levelling Up Fund (LUF) Bid, Dovercourt Town Centre Improvement Corridor Capital Regeneration Project (CRP) Bid’. This report had recommended approval of the Heads of Terms for two funding agreements to be developed between Tendring District Council (TDC) and Essex County Council (ECC).

It was further reported that, on 6 October 2023, Cabinet had considered a report titled ‘Levelling Up Fund and Capital Regeneration Projects - Progressing the Projects to Planning Permission’. This report had recommended drawing down a further £1,898,421 from the remaining match funding of £2,041,460, to cover professional fees for all stages of the project.

It was also reported that, on 19 April 2024, Cabinet had considered a report titled ‘Financial Performance Report 2023/24 - General Update at the end of December 2023’ and had agreed to determine the mix of funding from the Council’s own approved contribution and the money made available by the Government to support both the LUF Scheme in Clacton and the CRP Scheme in Dovercourt, within financial parameters previously agreed and until the next significant project milestones were reported to Cabinet.

Dovercourt Town Centre Improvement Corridor Change Request and Homes in Dovercourt scheme

Cabinet recalled that, on 7 February 2024, the Council had submitted a change request to Government in relation to the delivery of the Dovercourt Town Centre Improvement Corridor CRP scheme. This change request sought to allow the Council to relocate the housing element of the scheme. At time of the bid submission, the housing element had been planned to be sited at the location of Milton Road car park, however the change request had suggested the relocation of the housing element to the two derelict sites at Victoria Street, Dovercourt, and the demolition of the existing structure at Milton Road car park, with the subsequent reinstatement of ground level car parking. Cabinet had agreed the acquisition of those sites on 17 June 2022, and the Council had completed the acquisition on 8 February 2024. On 7 May 2024, Government had advised the Council that the change request had been approved.

Following the approval of the change request, on 24 May 2024, Cabinet had requested that Officers investigated the opportunity to bring forward the Milton Road element of the Dovercourt scheme.

Cabinet was made aware that the change request brought with it additional pressure on the project budget as the scheme now included the regeneration / development of two sites  ...  view the full minutes text for item 34.

To:

·      Provide Cabinet with an update on progress with future options for kerbside waste and recycling collection and street sweeping beyond the expiry in 2026 of the current contractual arrangements;

·      Seek approval to go out to tender in order to find a suitable service provider;

·      Seek adoption of the Core Specification Principles; and,

·      Delegate a number of decisions to portfolio holders and officers to ensure a smooth progression of this work.

RESOLVED that Cabinet –

1.    notes the work undertaken by the Waste Contract Project Board to date and the contributions from the Member Working Group;

2.    notes the content and recommendations made in the Options Appraisal and Outline Business Case produced in partnership with EELGA;

3.    endorses the proposal set out within the Options Appraisal and Outline Business Case to re-tender both the waste and recycling collection and street sweeping services as a single contract in order that a contractor is in place to deliver services at the time of the expiry of the current contracts on 31st December 2025 and 31st January 2026;

4.    notes the outcome of the market engagement exercise;

5.    agrees to the route to procurement being Competitive Dialogue;

6.    agrees to formally adopt the Contract Principles, endorsed by the Waste Contract Project Board and against which the new service will be set, along with the Core Specification Principles set out in Table 4 within the Portfolio Holder’s report (A.6);

7.    agrees to offer a lease of the Fowler Road depot in Clacton on the existing terms as part of any future contractual arrangement, accepting that the depot is likely to require reconfiguring / modernisation during the contract period. Therefore, Cabinet also agrees to initiate the Property Dealing Procedure allowing Officers to explore options and alternative / additional land purchase or lease opportunities;

8.    agrees a delegation to the Portfolio Holder for Assets to determine the Social Value Themes, Outcomes and Measures (TOMs) against which the social value aspects of the tender submissions will be considered;

9.    agrees a joint delegation to the Leader of the Council, the Portfolio Holder for Environment and the Portfolio Holder for Assets to approve:-

a.  the high level service specification provided that they consult with the Waste Contract Project Board and the Member Working Group beforehand;

b.  the aspects of the tender about which there will be dialogue held with bidders; and

c.  the tender evaluation criteria to be used;

10.  agrees a delegation to the Corporate Director (Operations & Delivery) to approve:

a.  the detail of the service specification providing that they have consulted with the Portfolio Holder for the Environment; and also

b.  the membership of the tender evaluation panel; and

11.  authorises a joint delegation to the Leader of the Council, the Portfolio Holder for Environment and the Portfolio Holder for Assets, in consultation with the Corporate Director (Operations & Delivery), the Section 151 Officer and the Monitoring Officer to agree any short term extension to the current contractual arrangements, where permissible to do so and solely for the purpose of assisting with the mobilisation of the new contracts.

Cabinet considered a report of the Environment Portfolio Holder (A.6), which:-

·      provide it with an update on progress with future options for kerbside waste and recycling collection and street sweeping beyond the expiry in 2026 of the current contractual arrangements;

·      sought Cabinet’s approval to go out to tender in order to find a suitable service provider;

·      sought the adoption of the Core Specification Principles; and

·      sought to delegate a number of decisions to Portfolio Holders and Officers to ensure a smooth progression of this work.

Cabinet was aware that this Council’s contracts with Veolia Environmental Services for household waste and recycling collection, and street sweeping would both expire early in 2026 and that therefore a Waste Contract Project Board had been set up to provide governance and oversight to the process of determining how those services would be provided in future.

In addition, Member Working Group had been set up, led by the Portfolio Holder for Environment and with representation from the majority of political groups on the Council. This group had now met on three occasions and it was supportive of the proposals.

It was reported that, following approval by the Waste Contract Project Board, the East of England Local Government Association (EELGA) had been commissioned to provide support to the Council and EELGA had produced an Options Appraisal and an Outline Business Case, assessing five potential delivery models. The highest scoring and therefore recommended option was to re-tender both the waste and recycling collection and the street sweeping services, as a single contract. This was the most advantageous option for the Council.

In addition, the Waste Contract Board had agreed a set of Contract Principles upon which the future service specification would be based. A market engagement exercise had been undertaken via the issue of a Prior Information Notice (PIN). Six responses to the PIN had been received and four of the contractors had taken up the option of a one to one meeting with Officers.

It was felt that the market engagement exercise had provided a clear steer on a number of key areas including where a decision was required before a tender exercise commenced. All of the work undertaken so far had led to the development of a set of Core Specification Principles that Cabinet were asked to adopt.

Cabinet, having taken into account the fact that:-

(1)    the Council’s contracts with Veolia Environmental Services for household waste and recycling collection and street sweeping would both expire in 2026 and that, as such, a contractor needed to be found to deliver those services upon expiry of the current arrangements;

(2)    the Portfolio Holder’s recommendations would ensure that the Council continued to progress the future of this important statutory service and would also ensure value for money, whilst complying with the Environment Act 2021 requirements due to be introduced during 2026; and

(3)    under the Environmental Protection Act 1990 the Council was designated as a Waste Collection Authority (WCA and as such had a statutory duty to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 35.

To update Cabinet on the progress of updating the District’s Conservation Area Appraisal and Management Plans and preparing a Local List of non-designated heritage assets.

To seek agreement from Cabinet that the final versions of seven Conservation Area Appraisals and Management Plans be adopted by the Council.

To seek agreement from the Cabinet that the final version of the Local List Criteria also be adopted by the Council.

RESOLVED that Cabinet –

(a)   agrees to the formal adoption, by the Council, of the final Conservation Area Character Appraisal and Management Plan for the following areas (found at Appendices A to G):

•    Brightlingsea,

•    Lower Dovercourt,

•    Frinton and Walton,

•    Great Bentley,

•    Harwich,

•    Thorpe-Le-Soken, and

•    Thorpe-Le-Soken Station and Maltings.

(b)   agrees to the formal adoption, by the Council, of the Local List Criteria (found at Appendix H to the Portfolio Holder’s report (A.7); and

(c)   authorises the Director (Planning), in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Housing and Planning, to commence public consultation for the ‘Call for Heritage Sites’ for a period of no less than six months.

Earlier on in the meeting as detailed under Minute 24 above, Councillor Barry had declared an interest in agenda item 15 (report A.7) insofar as the report mentioned the Brightlingsea Lido of which he was a Trustee.

Cabinet considered a report of the Housing and Planning Portfolio Holder (A.7), which:-

 •   update it on the progress of updating the District’s Conservation Area Appraisal and Management Plans and preparing a Local List of non-designated heritage assets;

•    sought agreement from Cabinet that the final versions of seven Conservation Area Appraisals and Management Plans be adopted by the Council; and

•    sought agreement from the Cabinet that the final version of the Local List Criteria also be adopted by the Council.

Cabinet recalled that one of the aims of the Council’s adopted Heritage Strategy was for the Council to reassess each of the District’s twenty Conservation Area Appraisals (CAPs). Fifteen of those CAPs had now been the subject of public consultations. Seven of those Appraisals had now been amended after comments were received, and were now ready for adoption by the Council, which would enable them to be referred to as a material consideration in planning matters.

Members were reminded that a further aim of the Heritage Strategy was for the Council to prepare a list of non-designated heritage assets (also called a ‘Local List’).

Therefore, the criteria against which buildings and structures would be assessed for inclusion on the Local List had also the subject of a public consultation. The Local List criteria had been amended following consultation responses and it was now ready to be adopted by the Council. It could then be used for of a six month ‘Call for Heritage Sites’ consultation later in the year, during which time, the public would be invited to make suggestions for what should be included on the Local List.

In order to progress projects specifically identified in the Council’s Heritage Strategy:-

It was moved by Councillor Bush, seconded by Councillor M E Stephensonand:-

RESOLVED that Cabinet –

(a)   agrees to the formal adoption, by the Council, of the final Conservation Area Character Appraisal and Management Plan for the following areas (found at Appendices A to G):

•    Brightlingsea,

•    Lower Dovercourt,

•    Frinton and Walton,

•    Great Bentley,

•    Harwich,

•    Thorpe-Le-Soken, and

•    Thorpe-Le-Soken Station and Maltings.

(b)   agrees to the formal adoption, by the Council, of the Local List Criteria (found at Appendix H to the Portfolio Holder’s report (A.7); and

(c)   authorises the Director (Planning), in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Housing and Planning, to commence public consultation for the ‘Call for Heritage Sites’ for a period of no less than six months.

To set out the outcome of a review of the Tendring’s Careline Service in the context of the change in the market landscape, a number of on-going challenges, including its future financial sustainability, and to present a preferred option for the future provision for public consultation.

RESOLVED that Cabinet –

(a)   notes the outcome of the review of the service as set out in the Portfolio Holder’s report (A.8) and its appendices and agrees the decision, in principle, to adopt Option 2, that is to cease the telecare and lifting/response provision of the Careline Service, in its entirety, including service delivery under third-party contracts and that the remaining service provision will solely relate to the Council’s Out-of-Hours and CCTV service;

(b)   approves the necessary consultation to be undertaken with customers, residents and key stakeholders. This consultation to be based upon balancing best value principles with the needs of the Council’s existing customers, who now have a wider range of options available on the open market, at more comparable rates than the Council can continue to supply the service for;

(c)   delegates the format and design of the consultation to the Leader of the Council and the Portfolio Holder for Partnerships, in consultation with the Assistant Director (Partnerships) and the Assistant Director (Governance);

(d)   agrees the Communication and Engagement Plan with an overriding objective to encourage and support active engagement with services users to understand the principles of Option 2 and the alternative providers available, as well as understanding why Option 2 is the preferred option;

(e)   requests that the outcome of the consultation be reported back to the Cabinet in either October or November 2024, for a decision as to the future provision of Careline Services (telecare/lifting/response service), which will include a detailed transition plan as necessary; and

(f)   subject to the associated funding being agreed as part of report item A.9 elsewhere on the agenda, sets aside a total budget of £0.746m to meet the potential implementation costs.

Earlier on in the meeting as detailed under Minute 24 above, Councillors Chapman BEM and P B Honeywood had both declared an interest in agenda item 16 (report A.8) insofar as they both had relatives who were users of the Careline service.

Cabinet considered a report of the Partnerships Portfolio Holder (A.8), whichset out the outcome of a review of the Tendring’s Careline Service in the context of the change in the market landscape, a number of on-going challenges, including its future financial sustainability, and to present a preferred option for the future provision for public consultation.

Cabinet was informed that Tendring’s Careline Service (Careline) had been operational since 1987. When it was established, it had provided a unique service to Tendring residents, allowing service users to maintain independent living through 24/7 monitoring and response. The service had been highly regarded by both customers and their family members. However, the telecare landscape had since changed, with several alternative providers now in the market offering similar services (including telecare and lifting/response) at comparable fees.

Careline was an in-house service (not a state entity, or Local Delivery Vehicle) which allowed service users to remain living independently in their homes. An additional lifting service had been established in 2016, which allowed responders to lift service users, if appropriate, thereby providing complementary support to Emergency Services.

In addition to its regular operations (as outlined above), the Careline team supported the Authority’s Out-of-Hours service. This service provided a Council response to resident queriesincluding Housing, Environmental Health, Emergency Planning, and CCTV during evenings, weekends, and bank holidays. It was noted that the Out-of-Hours service was a completely separate working function to the Careline service. Outside of Out-of-Hours arrangements, CCTV was currently monitored by the Careline team and footage was downloaded as requested by Essex Police.

Cabinet was informed that the last review of the service had been reported to Cabinet in June 2022, where the future sustainability of the service had been considered. Cabinet was informed at that time, the preferred course of action would be Option 4: an orderly and sustainable growth of the number of service users to increase income. Initially, the service would concentrate on the recruitment and training of enough staff to ensure a safe service was delivered to customers and that the TSA Accreditation was maintained at the next review in July 2022. Simultaneously, a marketing strategy would be drawn up to include online advertising, promotion of a new website with online retail capabilities, and demonstration appearances at relevant groups across Tendring. This strategy would be put into action once the service was fully staffed. Finally, fees and charges would be re-appraised towards the end of 2023 in time for implementation in April 2024. As Option 4 allowed time for the service to stabilise, an advertising campaign to take effect, and start generating new customers, whilst delaying fee increases for service users until April 2024, it was considered the lowest risk  ...  view the full minutes text for item 37.

To seek approval of the allocation of the overall 2023/24 General Fund revenue variance along with a number of proposed budget adjustments in 2024/25.

RESOLVED that Cabinet -

(a)    notes the high level Financial Outturn Position, as set out in the Portfolio Holder’s report (A.9) and the initial favourable General Fund Revenue variance of £1.829m for the year, which is currently held within the Revenue Commitments Reserve;

(b)    agrees the use of the General Fund Outturn for the Year of £1.829m, as set out in Appendix A (Section 1a);

(c)    endorses the use of existing budget of £0.144m to provide financial support to Citizens Advice Tendring (CAT) in 2024/25, as set out within Appendix A (Section 1b);

(d)    in respect of the additional £0.259m set aside for reinvestment in the Parking Service, agrees a delegation to the Portfolio Holder for Leisure and Public Realm to utilise this funding during the year;

(e)    in respect of the additional £0.100m made available to support the Waste, Recycling and Street Cleansing Contract, agrees a delegation to the Corporate Director (Operations and Delivery), in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for the Environment, to utilise the additional proposed budget to support the work associated with the options appraisal / tender activities for the Waste and Street Cleansing Contract;

(f)     in respect of the additional £0.100m made available to support the Seasonal Grounds Maintenance and Cleansing Costs, agrees a delegation to the Corporate Director (Operations and Delivery), in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for the Environment and the Portfolio Holder for Leisure and Public Realm to utilise the additional proposed budget to support any associated work; 

(g)    in respect of the £0.150m made available to support the Walton-on-the-Naze Lifestyles Facility projects associated with the Swimming Pool Grant Funded Capital Projects, agrees a delegation to the Portfolio Holder for Leisure and Public Realm to determine the business case and associated allocation of this funding;

(h)    in respect of the contribution of £0.144m to CAT, agrees a delegation to the Leader of the Council, in consultation with the Assistant Director (Partnerships) and the Monitoring Officer, to extend the current Subsidy Scheme for 2024/25 (along the same principles of the decisions of Cabinet in July 2023) before any payment is made along with other associated governance arrangements ahead of 2025/26 as required;    

(i)     agrees the budget adjustments for 2024/25, as set out in Appendix A (Section 2);

(j)     agrees the establishment of a Corporate Investment Fund (CIF) along with the associated budget adjustments for 2024/25, as set out in Appendix A (Section 3), which includes the three initial allocations from this fund; 

(k)    after the further review of Carry Forwards from 2023/24 that for any items subsequently not approved the associated amount shall be transferred to the CIF;

(l)     notes the updates previously requested by Cabinet that relate to the two carry forwards from 2022/23, as set out within this report;

(m)  agrees a delegation to the Council’s Section 151 Officer, in consultation with the Corporate Finance and Governance Portfolio Holder, to adjust the outturn position for 2023/24 along with any corresponding adjustment to earmarked reserves as a direct result of any  ...  view the full decision text for item 38.

Earlier on in the meeting as detailed under Minute 24 above, Councillor Barry had declared an interest in agenda item 17 (report A.9) insofar as the report mentioned the Brightlingsea Lido of which he was a Trustee.

Cabinet considered a report of the Corporate Finance and Governance Portfolio Holder (A.9), which sought its approval of the allocation of the overall 2023/24 General Fund revenue variance along with a number of proposed budget adjustments in 2024/25.

Cabinet was informed that the Portfolio Holder for Finance and Governance had agreed the overall outturn position for 2023/24 on 17 July 2024, with a high level summary of the General Fund revenue position set out below:-

Some key highlights in the Portfolio Holder’s decision were as follows:

1)  the favourable variance for the year of £1.829m was currently being held in the Revenue Commitments Reserve;

2)  carry forwards totalling £9.879m that had been requested by Services had been agreed, with a number of carry forwards totalling £2.732m remaining subject to further review, with the outcome of this review being reported separately in the year. In respect of any carry forwards subsequently not approved, they would be added to the overall outturn variance for the year that could then be considered alongside the development of the forecast / financial performance reports during the year; and 

3)  a number of recommendations to Cabinet relating to the potential allocation of the variance of £1.829mhighlighted in the table above were proposed with the full resolution as follows:

(f) notes the overall General Fund outturn variance of £1.829m for 2023/24 that is  being carried forward via the Revenue Commitments Reserve, and:

i)    recommends to Cabinet that £0.259m of this overall General Fund variance that relates to the net outturn surplus on Off-Street Parking ‘Account’ is set aside for investment in that Service;

ii)   agrees that the remaining balance of £1.570m is set aside to support the items included in Table 3 within the report and that final proposals be recommended to Cabinet when they consider the Portfolio Holder for Finance and Governance’s Outturn report at their meeting on 26 July 2024.

In respect of the items highlighted in 3) above, the final proposed adjustments are included within Appendix A (Section 1) to this Portfolio Holder report(A.9).

The Portfolio Holder’s report also provided a timely opportunity to briefly reflect on the in-year position for 2024/25, with some further proposed adjustments set out within Appendix A (Section 2).

In respect of 2024/25, it was also proposed to bring together a number of existing budgets to create a ‘Corporate Investment Fund’ to support the long term forecast and to enable key investments in ‘spend to save initiatives’, delivering priorities and supporting existing services. The proposed adjustments were set out within Appendix A (Section 3). Although further use of this fund would be subject to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 38.

To formally report the receipt of a petition submitted requesting the provision of public conveniences in the Jaywick Sands beach area.

RESOLVED that Cabinet endorses the comments of the Portfolio Holder for Assets as this Council’s formal response to the Petition.

Cabinet considered a report of the Head of Democratic Services & Elections (A.10), which formally reported the receipt of a petition submitted requesting the provision of public conveniences in the Jaywick Sands beach area.

It was reported that, a paper petition submitted by Danny Sloggett as lead petitioner, on behalf of the Jaywick Sands Happy Club, had been received during April 2024. The petition contained 86 names and addresses that were legible and those persons were on the electoral register.

Cabinet was informed that the petition requested that public conveniences be provided in the Jaywick Sands beach area. The explanatory text for the petition stated:-

“We have been approached by holiday makers and locals concerning the lack of toilets by the beach to the point of locals finding people defecating in their gardens.

It’s only going to get worse now the summer is here and the holiday makers are flooding in. We have a beautiful beach to enjoy but nowhere for people to go to the toilet.”

Members were reminded that Public Conveniences were an executive function (Assets Portfolio) and therefore the Cabinet was the appropriate body to consider this matter.

The report contained the advice of the Assistant Director (Building & Public Realm), which was as follows:-

“Tendring District Council owns two existing public convenience locations in the Jaywick area: new facilities centrally located and recently opened on the Sunspot site and nearby older facilities at Tamarisk way which have been closed following severe vandalism. The new facilities are within around 700m of all parts of Jaywick Beach. Holiday makers at the nearby holiday parks have the benefit of facilities provided on those sites for their use.

By comparison the beach area of Clacton and Holland is served by six public conveniences (some seasonal) along its approximately 6 Km frontage. There is some signposting to nearest facilities.

Tendring District Council’s public convenience strategy for Tendring adopted in June 2017 was to provide accessible, safe, high quality public conveniences for residents and visitors. The Council has committed to a full review of this strategy in the current financial year.

The strategy proposed to achieve this aim by rationalising existing facilities that were considered to be operating from buildings that could no longer be maintained cost effectively, were located in areas which resulted in under use, or unacceptable levels of misuse and investing savings from closing such facilities into the refurbishment and improvement of remaining public toilets, bringing them up to appropriate standards.

The assessment also noted that provision of public toilets is a discretionary and not a statutory service provided by the local authority and as such is reflected in budgets.

The construction of a significant new public convenience on a shoreline site is likely to be substantially costly and may be hard to prioritise against other investment needs in the prevailing financial landscape.

The Council’s public convenience strategy has ensured that all areas of the district that previously had public toilets would continue to be served by them. Jaywick Sands previously  ...  view the full minutes text for item 39.