Agenda, decisions and draft minutes

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

Apologies for absence were submitted on behalf of the Portfolio Holder for Partnerships (Councillor Placey), the Leader of the Conservative Group (Councillor P B Honeywood), the Leader of the Independent Group (Councillor Chapman BEM) and the Deputy Leader of the Independent Group (Councillor Steady).

To confirm and sign the minutes of the last meeting of the Cabinet held on Friday 20 September 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 20 September 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 or Non-Registerable Interests, and the nature of it, in relation to any item on the agenda.

Councillor Barry declared that he had a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest in relation to Agenda Items 8 and 9 insofar as he was a Trustee of the Brightlingsea Lido Trust and the Lido was referred to on three occasions within the Agenda on pages 46 & 96 as follows:-

Page 46 – Report A1 Highlight Priority Actions 24/25 towards the Corporate Plan themes:

Action Measures from the new Climate Change Action Plan: Explore funding opportunities for energy reduction plant at the Council’s Sports Facilities.

Quarter 1 text - Funding opportunities for energy reduction plant were explored and £150,000 was received from Government as part of the Swimming Pool Support Fund for an Air Handling Unit and Building Management System this was matched by £150,000 from Council funding. Officers have been working with Legal Team colleagues to finalise the grant agreements, both with Sport England as well as Brightlingsea Town Council and Brightlingsea Lido Trust. This is almost complete, and agreement will be shared with partners during the week commencing 5th August.  Once signed, a procurement process will follow to expend the grant and Council budget. It should be noted that a separate report and executive decision are required for the latter.

Page 96 - Report A2 Financial Performance Report 24/25 - Appendix 1D – Corporate Budget Monitoring – General Fund Capital Programme Position at the end of July 2024: 

Brightlingsea LIDO (Capital Grant) - All parties have signed the Grant Adherence Agreement, and Brightlingsea Lido is now carrying out the procurement process in accordance with the grant conditions.

Councillor Barry further informed the meeting that he had been granted a Dispensation by the Monitoring Officer pursuant to Section 33(2)(e) of the Localism Act 2011, that enabled him to stay in the room and vote on those items as the reference to the Brightlingsea Lido, of which he was a Trustee regarded noting a factual position, rather than making any new decisions about the Lido.

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

The Leader of the Council informed Cabinet that Commissioners from Historic England (HE) had visited the District on Friday 18 October 2024. He invited the Chief Executive to give more details of that visit.

The Chief Executive reported that the focus of his presentation to the HE Commissioners, chaired by Lord Mendoza, had been: ‘The Future of Heritage in Tendring, The Future of Tendring in Heritage’, i.e. what role could HE play in the District’s wider challenges and opportunities around skills, employment, school engagement and health and well-being (including suicide prevention). The visit had been supported by the Harwich Society. However, the places talked about were the myriad of places across Tendring from the Clacton Pier to the variety of buildings and traditions. It had been a great chance to encourage an eminent national body to be focused on Tendring and HE had been complimentary in its feedback stating that it had been an excellent visit.

The Chief Executive and the Portfolio Holder for Economic Growth, Regeneration and Tourism then responded to questions from the Deputy Leader of the Conservative Group and the Leader of the Reform UK Group in relation to the Martello Towers and the potential around historic maritime and other heritage trails.

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

The Portfolio Holder for Leisure and Public Realm informed Cabinet that he had attended the Clacton Seafront 10K Run held on 20 October 2024. It had been an excellent event involving 420 runners. He commended Councillor Sarah Newton and her fellow organisers for their work in pulling together this event.

Councillors M E Stephenson, Baker and Bray echoed those sentiments.

At the invitation of the Leader of the Council, the Chief Executive made the following announcement:-

“Following the announcement of Anastasia Simpson's upcoming departure from the organisation - and may I once again thank her for her service to Tendring District Council - I have taken the opportunity to reshape the senior management structure.

Rather than replace Anastasia directly I am making permanent the temporary reallocation of services that had previously reported into her, assigning them to other senior leaders.

As previously advised, Community Safety will now report into Damian Williams; Health and Partnerships into Lee Heley; Careline into Gary Guiver (who will now become Director of Planning and Community (previously just Planning); while the People function (led by Katie Wilkins) will report directly into myself as Head of Paid Service.

To reflect the difference between those who sit on Management Team and those who do not, I am also changing some job titles. Therefore Richard Barrett and Lisa Hastings, who are existing members of Management Team, will now be called Directors (not Assistant Directors).

In addition, I am really pleased to announce that Lee Heley will take on the Deputy Chief Executive role, supporting myself and taking the lead in my absence.

I am delighted to have such an experienced and highly qualified team of senior managers to support myself and the organisation through all of our endeavours, and I know that as always you will give them your support for our huge and challenging work for communities.”

In addition to the Chief Executive, the Leader of the Council, the Deputy Leader of the Council, the Deputy Leader of the Conservative Group and the Leader of the Reform UK Group each took the opportunity to pay tribute to Anastasia’s work and achievements at the Council.

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.

To provide the Cabinet with an update on the positive progress with Highlight Priority Actions adopted for 2024/25 towards the Council’s Corporate Plan Themes for 2024/28.

To inform Members of a breach of the Council’s Policy Framework and legal decision making requirements with regards to the Crime and Disorder Reduction Strategy (sections 5 and 6 of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998).

That Cabinet:

(a)    notes the contents of the report together with the highlighted realignment of particular milestones for particular highlight priority actions, as set out in the Appendix to the Portfolio Holder’s report (A.1);

(b)    formally receives and notes the Monitoring Officer’s report issued under Section 5A of the Local Government and Housing Act 1989 in respect of the position in relation to Council’s 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; and

(c)    in response, requests an update from the Portfolio Holder for Partnerships on the proposed form of action to resolve the historical omission at the next meeting of Cabinet complete with timescales.

Earlier on in the meeting, as detailed under Minute 57 above, Councillor Barry had declared a Discloseable Pecuniary Interest in the subject matter of this item insofar as he was a Trustee of the Brightlingsea Lido and the Lido Trust was referred to within the Appendix. Councillor Barry had been granted a Dispensation by the Monitoring Officer pursuant to Section 33(2)(e) of the Localism Act 2011, to enable him to stay in the room and vote on this item, as reference to the Brightlingsea Lido, of which he was a Trustee was mentioned but only in noting a factual position, rather than regarding making any new decisions about the Lido.

Cabinet considered a joint report of the Leader of the Council and the Monitoring Officer (A.1) which provided it with an update on the positive progress with Highlight Priority Actions adopted for 2024/25 towards the Council’s Corporate Plan Themes 2024/28. The joint report also informed Members of a breach of the Council’s Policy Framework and legal decision making requirements with regards to the Crime and Disorder Reduction Strategy (sections 5 and 6 of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998).

Members were well aware that the Council had approved a Corporate Plan for 2024/28 and that this had established its strategic direction for those four years. That strategic direction itself sought to reflect the issues that mattered most to the local people, the national requirements from Government and the challenges that faced the District over that time period. The Corporate Plan had been adopted unanimously at the Full Council meeting held on 28 November 2023 (Minute 76 referred).

The themes of the 2024/28 Corporate Plan were:-

•    Championing Our Local Environment

•    Pride in Our Area and Services to Residents

•    Working with Partners to Improve Quality of Life

•    Raising Aspirations and Creating Opportunities

•    Promoting Our Heritage Offer, Attracting Visitors and Encouraging Them to Stay Longer

•    Financial Sustainability and Openness

The Corporate Plan shaped and directed the Council’s work and an extensive range of actions had been, were being and would be undertaken across the 2024-28 life of the Plan to deliver against its themes and priorities.

Members recalled that the Highlight Priority Actions adopted by Cabinet on 12 March 2024 sought to take forward the Corporate Plan. This meeting of Cabinet provided the opportunity to review progress with the Highlight Priority Actions adopted and realign the milestones for certain of those Highlight Priority Actions in view of the circumstances that now required this.  This detail was set out at Appendix A to the joint report.

It was reported that, within Appendix A, the opportunity had been taken to update Cabinet as a whole on the delivery of five highlight priorities for which there were no specific milestone for Quarter 2(Q2).  Those highlight priorities were:-

•A3(b) - Progress the review of the Local Plan to support sustainable development of  quality housing for a range of tenures.

•B4      - Take the opportunities afforded by Freeport  ...  view the full minutes text for item 63.

To provide a general update and overview of the Council’s financial position against the 2024/25 budget as at the end of July 2024 and looking ahead to 2025/26 and beyond.

That Cabinet:-

(a)   notes the Council’s in-year financial position at the end of July 2024;

(b)   approves the proposed adjustments to the 2024/25 budget, as set out in Appendix 1H to the Portfolio Holder’s report (A.2), and requests Officers to review the potential on-going impact in 2025/26 and beyond where necessary as part of developing the forecast and detailed estimates for further consideration by Cabinet later in the year;

(c)   agrees that the Council continues to be a member of the Essex Business Rates Pool in 2025/26 if it remains financially advantageous to do so;

(d)   notes that £0.165m of unspent external funding previously received via the North Essex Health & Wellbeing Alliance, that has subsequently been carried forward into 2024/25, is being returned to them in accordance with the original agreement / MOU agreed by Cabinet on 17 September 2021;

(e)   notes the payment of £0.092m to East Suffolk District Council in-line with the previously agreed Freeport East Local Growth and Investment Strategy;

(f)   notes the updated financial forecast, as set out in this report, and requests Officers, in consultation with Portfolio Holders to further develop the financial forecast proposals alongside the development of the Council’s priorities; and

(g)   invites the views of the Resources and Services Overview and Scrutiny Committee on the information set out in this report along with the Council’s wider financial position as part of its work programme for the year.

Earlier on in the meeting as detailed in Minute 57 above, Councillor Barry had declared a Discloseable Pecuniary Interest in respect of this item insofar as he was a Trustee of the Brightlingsea Lido which was referred to in Appendix 1D. Councillor Barry had been granted a Dispensation by the Monitoring Officer pursuant to Section 33(2)(e) of the Localism Act 2011, that enabled him to stay in the room and vote on this item as the reference to the Brightlingsea Lido, of which he was a Trustee regarded noting a factual position, rather than making any new decisions about the Lido.

Cabinet considered a detailed report of the Corporate Finance and Governance Portfolio Holder (A.4), which provided it with a general update and overview of the Council’s financial position against the 2024/25 budget as at the end of July 2024 and looking ahead to 2025/26 and beyond.

SECTION 1 - In respect of the in-year financial position at the end of July 2024:

It was reported that the position to the end of July 2024, as set out in more detail within the appendices to the Portfolio Holder’s report showed that, overall, the General Fund Revenue Account was overspent against the profiled budget by £0.480m. However, it was important to highlight that this was primarily due to the timing of when the Government reimbursed the Council for the cost of meeting housing benefit claims and the Parliamentary General Election expenses incurred earlier in the year.

No significant new issues had emerged to date in terms of the underlying budget, albeit a number of cost pressures had been identified as set out within Appendix 1H. Those cost pressures were largely unavoidable, and it was both timely and prudent to respond to such issues as early as possible in the year. It was acknowledged that other expenditure or income trends might still emerge / develop over the remainder of the year, which would be included in future financial performance reports as necessary.

In respect of other areas of the budget such as the Housing Revenue Account, capital programme, collection performance and treasury activity, apart from additional details set out within the Portfolio Holder’s report, there were no other major issues that had been identified to date.

As highlighted in Appendix 1H,a total of £0.250m had been transferred to the Forecast Risk Fund. This was in effect the annual required contribution highlighted within the long-term forecast which was a ‘banking for the future’ adjustment and was therefore prudent to make at this time.

In addition to the above, it was also proposed to continue to be a member of the Essex Business Rates Pool if it remained advantageous to do so in 2025/26.

SECTION 2 - In respect of the updated long-term financial forecast:

Members were made aware that the forecast had been reviewed and updated at the end of July 2024 and was set out in Appendix 2A. It continued to reflect the very challenging financial position faced by  ...  view the full minutes text for item 64.

To seek the Cabinet’s agreement to adopt a policy statement on ‘Biodiversity Net Gain’ (BNG) which will serve as the Council’s interim corporate position on the subject, pending detailed consideration as part of the forthcoming Local Plan review. Having an interim policy will enable the Council to respond positively and constructively in its consideration of BNG as part of the planning process; and in the consideration of proposals to set up ‘Habitat Banks’ by Tendring landowners and, potentially, on Council-owned land.

That the Cabinet:-

1)     notes the contents of this report which, amongst other things, explains the Council’s obligations around Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG), the role of Habitat Banks and the potential consideration of Council-owned land for BNG purposes; 

2)     agrees that proposed ‘Policy on Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG)’ (attached as Appendix 1 to the Portfolio Holder’s report (A.1)) is adopted as the Council’s interim corporate position pending the outcome of the Local Plan review, for the purposes of dealing with matters relating to BNG;

3)     refers the aforementioned policy to the Planning Policy and Local Plan Committee for its consideration for inclusion in the Tendring District Local Plan as part of its current review;

4)     invites the Planning Committee, at its earliest convenience, to consider and determine how it will exercise its power in respect of Council decisions on entering into legal agreements with landowners under Section 106 of the Town and Country Planning for the purposes of setting up Habitat Banks, guided by the aforementioned policy and the advice of Officers – including the extent to which the Committee deems it appropriate for such decision-making powers to be delegated to Officers; and any arrangements for public consultation on specific proposals; and

5)     notes that the Portfolio Holder responsible for Housing and Planning in liaison with Officers will, in due course, consider and publish details of the fees to be charged to developers and landowners to cover the Council’s costs in respect of monitoring BNG in line with its statutory obligations.     

Cabinet considered a detailed report of the Housing and Planning Portfolio Holder (A.3), which sought its agreement to adopt a policy statement on ‘Biodiversity Net Gain’ (BNG) which would serve as the Council’s interim corporate position on the subject, pending detailed consideration as part of the forthcoming Local Plan review. Having an interim policy would enable the Council to respond positively and constructively in its consideration of BNG as part of the planning process; and in the consideration of proposals to set up ‘Habitat Banks’ by Tendring landowners and, potentially, on Council-owned land.

It was reported that Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) was a legal requirement of the national planning system which had applied to most proposals for major development since February 2024 and most proposals for smaller developments since April 2024. It required developers to deliver a minimum 10% uplift in biodiversity (wildlife) value over and above what was present on site prior to development. In very simple terms, it was no longer just a requirement for development to minimise or mitigate its impact on wildlife; it must now, by law, bring about an improvement – a minimum 10% net increase in biodiversity habitat which was calculated, measured and monitored using a complex biodiversity metric set out in national guidance. 

Members were informed that, to achieve 10% BNG, development proposals were required to deliver as much of it as possible on the site that was being developed. Where it was not possible to achieve all the necessary BNG on-site, developers could create the necessary habitat off-site either on other land they controlled (which would be tied through a legal agreement on the grant of planning permission) or by purchasing ‘biodiversity units’ from a ‘Habitat Bank’ – i.e. a wildlife habitat set up and maintained by third-party landowners for the purposes of BNG and where units could be sold to developers on the open market. In the rare cases where on-site or off-site BNG provision was not possible, developers must – as a last resort – buy statutory biodiversity credits from the Government.   

Cabinet was made aware that in order to set up a Habitat Bank and lawfully enter the market for selling biodiversity units to developers, a landowner must register their site with Natural England – which first required them to either enter into a legal agreement with the local authority or a ‘conservation covenant’ with another responsible body recognised by Natural England. In doing so, the local authority (or other responsible body) took on a responsibility to monitor and enforce the obligations set out in any legal agreement.

Cabinet was advised that a number of landowners in Tendring had expressed a keen interest in setting up Habitat Banks and some had already carried out much of the preparatory work required for entering into a legal agreement with the Council, registering with Natural England and entering into the market for selling biodiversity units. However, like many local authorities, this Council had not been in a position to progress discussions with  ...  view the full minutes text for item 65.

To agree to ‘make’ (adopt) the Ardleigh Neighbourhood Plan as part of the Council’s statutory development plan and for it to therefore become a material consideration in planning decisions alongside the Tendring District Local Plan. This follows a local referendum in which a clear majority of residents that turned out were in favour of the plan.

That Cabinet -

(a)    notes the result of the referendum held on Thursday 12th September 2024; and

(b)    duly agrees that the Ardleigh Neighbourhood Plan (attached as Appendix 1 to the Portfolio Holder’s report (A.4)) be ‘made’ and that the necessary publicity and notifications are administered in accordance with Section 20 of the Neighbourhood Planning Regulations Town and Country Planning (Local Planning) (England) Regulations 2012.

Cabinet considered a report of the Housing and Planning Portfolio Holder (A.4), which sought its agreement to ‘make’ (adopt) the Ardleigh Neighbourhood Plan as part of the Council’s statutory development plan and for it to therefore become a material consideration in planning decisions alongside the Tendring District Local Plan. This followed a local referendum in which a clear majority of residents that turned out had been in favour of the Plan.

It was reported that Ardleigh Parish Council had prepared a ‘Neighbourhood Plan’ for its area that had passed through all the necessary stages of the plan-making process set out in the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 (“the Act”) and the Neighbourhood Planning (General) Regulations 2012 (as amended) including public consultation, independent examination and a referendum.

In an official referendum held on Thursday 12th September 2024 and administered by Tendring District Council, residents of the Parish of Ardleigh had been asked “Do you want Tendring District Council to use the Neighbourhood Plan for the Parish of Ardleigh to help it decide planning applications in the neighbourhood area?” With an overall turnout of 13%, 257 residents had voted ‘YES’ and 40 residents had voted ‘NO’ – a vote of 86.5% in favour of the plan.

Cabinet was informed that if the majority of those who voted in a referendum were in favour of the Neighbourhood Plan, it must be ‘made’ (adopted) by the Local Planning Authority within 8 weeks of the referendum. An Order must be made by the local authority before it had effect. Decisions in relation to the making of Neighbourhood Plans were an executive function and it therefore fell to the Cabinet to confirm the making or adoption of the Neighbourhood Plan. It would then become part of the ‘Development Plan’ and would be a material consideration, alongside the District Council’s Local Plan, in the determination of planning applications and in making other planning decisions.

In order to comply with the Neighbourhood Planning Regulations Town and Country Planning (Local Planning) (England) Regulations 2012 – ensuring that the Council, as Local Planning Authority, had made (adopted) the Neighbourhood Plan within 8 weeks of the successful referendum held on 12 September 2024:-

It was moved by Councillor Baker, seconded by Councillor Scott and:-

RESOLVED that Cabinet -

(a)    notes the result of the referendum held on Thursday 12th September 2024; and

(b)    duly agrees that the Ardleigh Neighbourhood Plan (attached as Appendix 1 to the Portfolio Holder’s report (A.4)) be ‘made’ and that the necessary publicity and notifications are administered in accordance with Section 20 of the Neighbourhood Planning Regulations Town and Country Planning (Local Planning) (England) Regulations 2012.

To agree to ‘make’ (adopt) the Elmstead Neighbourhood Plan as part of the Council’s statutory development plan and for it to therefore become a material consideration in planning decisions alongside the Tendring District Local Plan. This follows a local referendum in which a clear majority of residents that turned out were in favour of the plan.

That Cabinet -

(a)    notes the result of the referendum held on Thursday 12th September 2024; and

(b)     duly agrees that the Elmstead Neighbourhood Plan (attached as Appendix 1 to the Portfolio Holder’s report (A.5)) be ‘made’ and that the necessary publicity and notifications are administered in accordance with Section 20 of the Neighbourhood Planning Regulations Town and Country Planning (Local Planning) (England) Regulations 2012.

Cabinet considered a report of the Housing and Planning Portfolio Holder (A.5), which sought its agreement to ‘make’ (adopt) the Elmstead Neighbourhood Plan as part of the Council’s statutory development plan and for it to therefore become a material consideration in planning decisions alongside the Tendring District Local Plan. This followed a local referendum in which a clear majority of residents that turned out had been in favour of the Plan.

It was reported that Elmstead Parish Council had prepared a ‘Neighbourhood Plan’ for its area that had passed through all the necessary stages of the plan-making process set out in the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 (“the Act”) and the Neighbourhood Planning (General) Regulations 2012 (as amended) including public consultation, independent examination and a referendum.

In an official referendum held on Thursday 12th September 2024 and administered by Tendring District Council, residents of the Parish of Elmstead had been asked “Do you want Tendring District Council to use the Neighbourhood Plan for the Parish of Elmstead to help it decide planning applications in the neighbourhood area?” With an overall turnout of 21.4%, 389 residents had voted ‘YES’ and 31 residents had voted ‘NO’ – a vote of 92.6% in favour of the plan.

Cabinet was reminded that if the majority of those who voted in a referendum were in favour of the Neighbourhood Plan, it must be ‘made’ (adopted) by the Local Planning Authority within 8 weeks of the referendum. An Order must be made by the local authority before it had effect. Decisions in relation to the making of Neighbourhood Plans were an executive function and it therefore fell to the Cabinet to confirm the making or adoption of the Neighbourhood Plan. It would then become part of the ‘Development Plan’ and would be a material consideration, alongside the District Council’s Local Plan, in the determination of planning applications and in making other planning decisions.

In order to comply with the Neighbourhood Planning Regulations Town and Country Planning (Local Planning) (England) Regulations 2012 – ensuring that the Council, as Local Planning Authority, had made (adopted) the Neighbourhood Plan within 8 weeks of the successful referendum held on 12 September 2024:-

It was moved by Councillor Baker, seconded by Councillor Scott and:-

RESOLVED that Cabinet -

(a)    notes the result of the referendum held on Thursday 12th September 2024; and

(b)     duly agrees that the Elmstead Neighbourhood Plan (attached as Appendix 1 to the Portfolio Holder’s report (A.5)) be ‘made’ and that the necessary publicity and notifications are administered in accordance with Section 20 of the Neighbourhood Planning Regulations Town and Country Planning (Local Planning) (England) Regulations 2012.

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

There were no matters referred to the Cabinet by the Council’s Management Team on this occasion.