Agenda and minutes

The Committee is asked to note any apologies for absence and substitutions received from Members.

An apology for absence was submitted by Councillor Doyle (with no substitution).

To confirm and sign as correct records, the minutes of the meetings of the Committee, held on 19 September 2023 and 10 January 2024.

It was RESOLVED that the Minutes of the meetings of the Committee, held on 19 September 2023 and 10 January 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.

In relation to the matter set out at Minute 44 below, Councillors Honeywood and Land declared for the public record that they were also Members of the Essex County Council (as the authority responsible for on-street traffic regulation and enforcement).  They remained throughout the item and participated and voted. 

Subject to providing two working days' notice, a Member of the Committee may ask the Chairman of the Committee a question on any matter in relation to which the Council has powers or duties which affect the Tendring District and which falls within the terms of reference of the Committee.

On this occasion no Councillor submitted notice of a question.

The Resources and Services OSC recorded at its meeting on 21 June 2023 (minute 21 refers) that there was, in its view, value in inviting to each of its next several meetings, a different Portfolio Holder to address it on the focus for their Portfolio. For this meeting, Councillor Baker (Portfolio Holder for Housing & Planning) has been invited to address the Committee in respect of his Portfolio. Previously, the Committee has been addressed by the Leader & Corporate Finance and Governance Portfolio Holder (Cllr M Stephenson) and the Deputy Leader & Economic Growth, Regeneration and Tourism Portfolio Holder (Cllr I Henderson). The purpose of the invitation is to enable the Portfolio Holder to provide a broad introduction to their Portfolio, including their current issues and challenges (as well as priorities for 2024/25).

This Committee had recorded, at its meeting on 21 June 2023 (Minute 21 refers), that there was, in its view, value in inviting to each of its next several meetings, a different Portfolio Holder to address it on the focus for their Portfolio. For this meeting, Councillor Baker (Portfolio Holder for Housing & Planning) addressed the Committee in respect of his Portfolio.  His introduction is recorded immediately below.

“Licensing, A revised and updated Taxi Private Hire Policy was introduced in late 2023, and adopted by Cabinet on 10th November 2023. I will be meeting with officers shortly to speak in regard to the ongoing budget and to identify if any savings can be made within it going forward, to contribute towards the savings that are required over the next three years.  No current issues as most of Licensing is either demand led (taxi, licensed premises etc) or response led (i.e. enforcement issues reported).Planning and Conservation Appraisals, A number of Conservation Appraisals have been out for consultation and have been prepared to submit to Cabinet for adoption. A number are either still out for consultation or have recently finished, and again will be submitted to Cabinet, over several meetings, for adoption within this calendar year. That will then conclude the 20 Conservation appraisals that have been completed in a relatively short period of time. The Local Plan Review is ongoing, with a lot of work to be done by a small team, which will see some policies removed, some revised, and some unchanged. The importance of this review means that it must keep to the very strict timetable in order that an updated Local Plan can be submitted to the Planning Inspectorate in the Summer (June) of 2025, and once it has been found sound, to be then adopted by TDC Autumn 2026. The Local Plan will then run until 2041.

Tendring Colchester Border Garden Community. The Development Plan Document (DPD) was submitted to the Planning Inspectorate on 22nd September 2023 and an Inspector has been appointed. No definite date has yet been set for a hearing, although four days have been suggested as to the length of time required. Again after it has been found sound, after any modifications required to policies etc, it will be adopted, hopefully later this year. A hybrid planning application (outline with part Detailed) from Latimer, the developer appointed, is now expected to be in summer of 2025.

Other Planning Matters, Jaywick Sands Place Plan – the final consultation on this document has been completed, and once comments have been taken into consideration, the final report is likely to be presented at Cabinet, either in April or May for adoption.

Two Neighbourhood plans are currently being examined by the Planning Inspectors, these being Ardleigh and Elmstead Market, with both at varying stages.

A number of large applications are coming forward, in Little Oakley, the mitigation site for Bathside Bay (to be heard on Monday 18th March) as well as an application at Bathside Bay itself, with  ...  view the full minutes text for item 41.

The report provides the Committee with an update on its approved Work Programme for 2023/24 (including progress with enquiries set out in its Work Programme), feedback to the Committee on the decisions in respect of previous recommendations from the Committee in respect of enquiries undertaken and a list of forthcoming decisions for which notice has been given since publication of the agenda for the Committee’s last meeting.

The Committee had before it the report in the name of the Head of Democratic Services & Elections in respect of the work programme of the Committee (setting out its progress with enquiries scheduled for this year), the responses from the Cabinet to recommendations from this Committee on enquiries undertaken by it and on matters included in the Council’s list of forthcoming decisions since the publication of the agenda for the Committee’s last meeting.  The Cabinet’s response to the recommendations from the Committee (arising from an interim report of the Council Enforcement Arrangements Task and Finish Group concerning Planning Enforcement) from its meeting on 10 January 2024 (Minute 35 refers) would need to be submitted to the next meeting of this Committee.

The Chairman, in his role of Chairman of the Council Enforcement Arrangements Task and Finish Group, updated the Committee on the further progress of the enquiry being undertaken by that Task and Finish Group. He explained how the Task and Finish Group had met earlier that day and was now progressing with the element of the enquiry concerning fly tipping and mobile CCTV. He was pleased with the progress so far.

The Head of Democratic Services and Elections drew the Committee’s attention to an item in the Committee’s work programme “To consider particular services/functions of the Council that should or could be Self-Funding” and how this work had not yet taken place and it was unlikely to be carried out in the year to July 2024.  Ensuring that the financial position of the Council was fully subject to scrutiny was an important element of the role of this Committee.  As such, it was appropriate to commence thinking about the work programme for the Committee for 2025/26 and how that financial scrutiny could be appropriately delivered.  

The Committee was also informed that there was now a mandatory requirement for Members of this Council’s Overview and Scrutiny Committees to undertake training in relation to “work programming and questioning skills”.  In this regard the Council was reminded of the Councillor Development session on 13 March 2024 on the matter of “work programming and questioning skills” for overview and scrutiny.

The Members attention was drawn to the responses from Cabinet to the Committee’s recommendations in relation to Budget Scrutiny and Jaywick Sands Sunspot.

The Head of Democratic Services and Elections spoke of the forthcoming decisions recorded in the report to the Committee and how a further proposed decision had been published since the publication of the agenda for this meeting about the creation of a Town Board for Clacton on Sea (as part of the arrangements to access the Future of Towns government funding) and how this would be reported to be next meeting of the Committee.  He envisaged that prior to that meeting there would be further information on the Town Board and the plans for investing the funding to be provided under the Future of Towns government scheme that would be provided to Councillors. 

The Committee RESOLVED to receive and note  ...  view the full minutes text for item 42.

The Chief Financial Officer will report during the course of the financial year on the Council’s Treasury Management performance and activities. Such reports to be considered by Cabinet and the Resources and Services Overview and Scrutiny Committee.

The purpose of this report is to enable the Committee to review the Annual Capital and Treasury Strategy for 2024/25 (including the Prudential and Treasury indicators).

The Assistant Director of Finance and IT introduced the report and explained to the Committee the importance of Treasury Management to Local Authorities especially considering what has happened to Local Authorities throughout the Country of the last 12 to 18 months.

The Members were informed that the documents before them (The Capital and Investment Strategies) explained the governance arrangements around capital investment as well as governance arrangements for borrowing and investment, for the Council. The documents were approved by The Leader of the Council, in his role as Portfolio Holder for Governance and Finance, for consultation tonight, after which this Committee’s input would go on to Cabinet with a view to a recommendation then being submitted to Council.

The Committee’s attention was drawn to Appendix A of the agenda, where the changes to the strategy were highlighted.

The Members were reminded that the Council had lent Birmingham City Council £6 million, and that the first repayment of £4 million was repaid on time, which was February 2024. He once again reenforced his position that lending to other local authorities was a safe investment with minimal risk.

The Committee was told that as the Council has a very risk adverse investment plan he did not envisage any issues with recent changes to the Governments Levelling Up and Regeneration Act. The Councils position was to accept a lower return on investments if it meant more security within the investment.

The report informed the Committee of other Councils delegation powers given to their section 151 Officers and how they had been considered “extraordinary” (the connotation being negative), the Head of Finance and IT assured the Committee that no such delegations existed at The Council.

The Committee RESOLVED to thank the Assistant Director of Finance and IT for his attendance and to note the detail around Treasury Management as submitted in the report provided and as articulated by the Assistant Director.

The Committee also RECOMMENDED TO CABINET that further clarity is required around the relative roles of consultation on the Council’s key investment proposals and the significant financial constraints on the Council over the coming years to ensure that the reader of the Treasury Strategy would be clear on the relative roles. 

The enquiry scope is as follows:

“On street parking arrangements in the District – and parking PCNs, Permits, Traffic

Regulation and enforcement. The Council’s participation in the North Essex Parking

Partnership (NEPP), the work and business model of the Partnership.”

In respect of the NEPP, the enquiry will consider the role of the Council within the Partnership, the overall financial risks to the Council and the work of the Partnership to support road safety e.g. outside of schools and shortterm parking in shopping areas and its contribution to the economic success of those shopping areas. 

Invitations have been sent to representatives of Essex County Council and the NEPP for them to assist the enquiry.  Likewise, an invitation has been sent to the Portfolio Holder for Leisure and Public Realm (as the Council’s representative on the NEPP). Relevant officers of this Council have also been invited to support the enquiry.

[Note: This enquiry was originally allocated to the Community Leadership Overview and Scrutiny Committee. However, with the agreement of the Chairmen of the two Committees the enquiry is to be undertaken by this Committee.]

Further to Minute 39 above, and for the sake of public transparency, both Councillors P Honeywood and Land declared for the public record that they were both Essex County Councillors.

The Head of Democratic Services and Elections informed the Committee that the enquiry into On Street Parking Arrangements, was approved by Full Council in July 2023 and added to the work programme for the Community Leadership Overview and Scrutiny Committee. The Chairmen of both Committees agreed that due to the time constraints of having this item heard, it was best served to the be discussed at this meeting by the Resources and Services Overview and Scrutiny Committee.

The Committee was provided with a report from the Corporate Director for Operations and Delivery on the North Essex Parking Partnership (NEPP) in relation to the establishment and operation of the Partnership.  A ‘rescue plan’ produced by the NEPP in view of severe financial issues affecting it was submitted s part of the report.  The Committee Members had also been provided with a separate report to be considered by the Council’s Cabinet on 12 March 2024 (Agenda Item 13 – Report of the Leisure & Public Realm Portfolio Holder – A6 Joint Committee Agreement of the North Essex Parking Partnership). 

The Committee heard from Councillor Barry, as this Council’s representative on the North Essex Parking Partnership (NEPP) (a joint Committee with the five other District Councils in North Essex and Essex County Council).He explained how his first meeting was in June 2023 and that at that time there were already historical concerns in relation the NEPP’s budget figures, he felt they didn’t add up and how he raised this as an issue at that meeting.

Councillor Barry then explained to the Committee that with in the NEPP agreement there was the need for the organisation to have a designated Treasurer and when he enquired into this, at the second meeting in November 2023, he was met with the answer of “I don’t know, maybe it is Colchester City Council’s 106 Officer”?

Due to this answer Councillor Barry stated that he was no longer able to agree on any matters in relation to NEPP finance until the financial records were signed off by the Colchester City Council 106 Officer and after a full set of accounts were sent to each of the Partner Authorities 106 Officers for review.

Councillor Barry outlined how after reading the agenda for the third meeting of the NEPP, set to take place in December 2023, he was unhappy that the figures were still not supplied and asked for the meeting to be postponed until 1 February 2024 so the figures could be supplied. At the meeting in February 2024, he asked for there to be monthly updates as it was coming to the end of the financial year. The level of deficit was so out of control he actively discussed the possibility of leaving the NEPP.

The Committee heard that to leave the NEPP any Partner Authority must give 12  ...  view the full minutes text for item 44.