The Council will receive the annual State of the Tendring District Statement from the Leader of the Council.
Minutes:
The Council received the Annual State of the Tendring District Statement from the Leader of the Council as follows:-
“Chairman, Councillors and members of the public, I am delighted to present to you this year’s State of Tendring address. This statement is intended to give you an overview of some of the Council’s achievements over the past year, and as we come to the end of our four-year municipal cycle, it is also an opportunity to reflect on the journey we have been on as well as to consider the challenges that lay ahead.
As a Councillor, each of us represents our community and the interests of our residents; being an elected member is both rewarding and a privileged form of public service. It is undeniably a great honour to have the trust of our residents placed into our hands, and we are all in a position to make a difference to the quality of other people’s daily lives and prospects. Being an effective Councillor requires both commitment and hard work and I keep going back to the heart of the Council’s priorities and Community Leadership. We lead the way in Tendring with innovative solutions, relentless positivity and a ‘can-do’ attitude, as we aim to improve the lives of the people who live here. Alongside this, we continue to work with our many partners, nationally, regionally and locally.
We recognise the issues facing our communities at the current time with the cost of living and we support our families and community groups through the Tendring Community Fund and with many other sources of support.
Chairman, it was once said that a week is a long time in politics, so it should come as no surprise that so much has happened over the past four years, during which time, amongst many other events we have had four Prime Ministers, we left the EU, we had the small matter of the Covid-19 outbreak to deal with and just a year ago Russia invaded Ukraine bringing war into Europe and all the consequences thereof.
But despite those huge and unprecedented problems Tendring District Council has shown that we can rise to these challenges, through sound financial management, embracing new ways of working, the ability to adapt and change our plans in often-rapid circumstances and our work with partners. All of this we do to support the residents of Tendring.
So here are but a few examples of the great work we have undertaken:
Levelling up funding for Clacton Town Centre
The Government has recently granted Tendring District Council £20 million to level up Clacton Town Centre. This really is a tremendous success for this Council and for the District. It is an absolute game changer, and we should be feeling very proud right now.
With this considerable sum of money, we can make significant infrastructure changes for the benefit of everyone – whether they live or work in the area, visit, or own a business. It was also pleasing to hear that the Government considered our bid for a Clacton Civic Quarter as a strong application.
Tendring/Colchester Borders
Work on the Tendring Colchester Borders Garden Community project continues to progress through strong partnership with Colchester City Council and Essex County Council. The Councils have been giving careful consideration to the many comments from residents and other interested parties during last year’s public consultation, which will help shape the plans going forward. This year we expect to see the plans progress in more detail for further consultation and examination by a Government Planning Inspector, which will pave the way for the first planning applications. This ‘once in a lifetime’ development will deliver the highest standards of new eco-friendly housing, a range of opportunities for employment and education and an innovative new rapid transit system as well as the A120/A133 link road. In addition, it will deliver a network of green spaces and environmental features, which, in line with the overarching Garden Community Principles, will bring the best aspects of the town and the country together for future generations.
Freeport East
Freeport East momentum continued over the last year, with the limited company which will drive this hub for global trade and regeneration forward, formally being incorporated in December; and I am proud to represent this Council as a founding member of the Board. Further to this, Freeport East was formally designated by the Government in January, taking a huge step forward in the drive to create 13,500 new jobs in the region and create an amazing opportunity for transformational change in our District. This project, Chairman, is quite simply the most exciting initiative in the East of England in the past half century, and I want to thank the members of my Freeport East Working Party, who have provided sound advice and critical challenge throughout the last year.
Starlings Site in Dovercourt
Work in Dovercourt is progressing to create a new car park, events space and public toilets, using the former Starlings garage and Queens Head Hotel, which burnt down a number of years ago, to create a new public space. This is a further example of our commitment to improving public spaces, but it is also an example of our dogged determination to prevail in the face of problems and cost increases and other unforeseen delays; these projects don’t always go as smoothly as we might like but at Tendring we have a great track record of finding solutions to the most intractable problems and delivering in the face of adversity. So, yes, I acknowledge that this project has taken way longer than we hoped it would, but it is still going to be a triumph for this Council and for this District!
Businesses
This Council is extremely proud of our local businesses and appreciates their contribution to the local economy. In October last year, the Council ran themed business networking events under the Tendring4Growth banner, a skills fair, and an awards night to celebrate some of the amazing businesses in the Tendring District. Over 200 nominations were received for the awards, which ranged from Young Entrepreneur to Friends of the Environment. Feedback from those who participated was extremely positive, making the fortnight a huge success, which has led to the Council expanding Tendring4Growth to run a series of smaller events planned throughout 2023.
As the Leader of this Council, it has always been my mantra that I will do whatever I can to support any business that wants to come to any part of Tendring, subject obviously to the applicable regulatory and legislative requirements such as planning. It’s a simple statement of positivity but it goes a long way to send out the right message to prospective employers.
The new multi-million-pound commercial workspace development in Jaywick Sands is also progressing at pace.
Chairman, the Government launched the UK Shared Prosperity Fund at the end of last year and allocated the Council £1,188,232 over three years to support three key themes: community and place, supporting local business, and people and skills. The Council is currently allocating money to six projects, which include; sports grants, improvements to the beachfront and funding for a project to help those most affected by the cost of living. Future projects will include recruiting a Town Centre Manager, providing more business support, grants for events, high street grants and other initiatives to enhance the local area and economy. There will also be an opportunity for partners to bid for grants to fund initiatives that align with those three main themes.
Airshow / Leisure
The 2022 Clacton Airshow saw a return to a more traditional pre-Covid flights and events schedule; an estimated 250,000 visitors watched displays from the Red Arrows and participated in activities planned for the two days. We look forward to working with our key partners to celebrate the Clacton Airshow’s 30th event in 2023. Our latest Economic Impact of Tourism Report highlights a strong return of visitors to the Tendring District with a 56% rise in overnight visitors following COVID-19.
A top cycle event also drew crowds into Clacton with ‘Round Five’ of a professional cycle race from the Sportsbreak.com Tour series.
We have installed new state of the art gym equipment at all three of the Council’s Sports Facilities using top-notch equipment. But we recognise that fitness and the role it plays in health and wellbeing does not necessarily have to be based in a building and so we are doing a lot in the community to give people opportunities to take part in different activities, what I would call ‘accidental activity’.
The Princes Theatre Pantomime “Cinderella” celebrated a return to viewer confidence, celebrating its most successful year to date. Over 14,300 people watched Cinderella find her Prince Charming. The shows included sell out School events that enabled children and young people to visit the Theatre and watch a live performance. We are thrilled that the Theatre received a record number of 5* reviews on Google and Trip Advisor, and sales for Aladdin in December 2023 are already looking very positive!
As our National Lottery Heritage Funded Clacton150 project comes to an end, we continue to celebrate the importance of our coastal heritage. The Council is completing the new woodland at Burrs Road, Clacton. Children from the local primary school worked alongside our Public Realm Open Spaces team to plant the new woodland and a new woodland trail will be installed during the spring. With support from Historic England, we will survey the Dovercourt Leading Lights ahead of a further funding bid to restore these nationally important scheduled monuments.
Jaywick Sands Healthy Homes Initiative
The Jaywick Sands renaissance, includes working with the Community and partners, Jaywick Sands continues to get positive engagement on issues, which have far-reaching national interest. Coastal Flooding and developing sustainable and safe communities does not only affect Jaywick Sands but is a national issue. The leadership and commitment that this Council has demonstrated has resulted in national organisations wanting to explore solutions to the challenges posed in an area like Jaywick Sands as some of these solutions may have wide-ranging impacts across the rest of the country. Where others fear to tread, Tendring District Council continues to lead.
During the year, the Council was awarded funding from the local NHS / North East Essex Health Alliance towards a project to improve housing conditions for those who privately rent their home in Jaywick Sands. Following on from a housing stock condition survey, the funding will pay for a dedicated Environmental Health team who will be based in the village with the first officers starting their new roles in March 2023. Whilst looking at housing issues the funding will also fund additional work to promote responsible waste disposal and recycling in the area and improve areas of open space creating a better neighbourhood for residents.
Landlord Fines upheld on appeal.
As a Council there are also times when to support residents, we have no choice but to take Enforcement action and tackle more difficult matters. Our Private Sector Housing Team attended a second tribunal hearing last year in respect of civil penalties that were issued to a landlord following breaches of housing management regulations. The House in Multiple Occupation was closed down by the team in 2019 and penalties were issued to the landlord. Following appeals, the Council’s decision was upheld and a penalty issued for £23,000. This case demonstrates our continued commitment to enforcement and taking action against landlords who fail to comply with legal standards.
Accreditation / Achievements
Returning to more positive matters, do not just take our word that we are achieving success; there are plenty of examples of national recognition. The Council has achieved four Green Flags for Parks and Gardens, including Clacton Seafront Gardens, Weeley Crematorium, Cliff Park in Dovercourt and Crescent Gardens in Frinton. Tendring has also been awarded two Blue Flags for its beaches.
Six Tendring car parks have received top safety accreditation awards and achieved The Safer Parking Award Scheme, Park Mark.
The Council has also been awarded Gold accreditation in recognition for its work supporting the Armed Forces as part of the Ministry of Defence Employer’s Recognition Scheme. This scheme publicly recognises employer’s efforts to support defence personnel issues, such as employing reservists and veterans. These awards celebrate our initiative, hard work and dedication to improving services.
We also held our first in person Tendring Stars event for staff following the pandemic, recognising the professional and in many circumstances, the exceptional contributions of our staff right across the Council. We also had three very energetic Officers who bounced their way through the event demonstrating a number of new exercise classes available in the Council Leisure facilities. Chairman, I saw them repeat the feat at your Pride of Tendring Awards.
Hard work, enthusiasm and the fantastic contribution to public services made by apprentices across Tendring and North Essex was celebrated at a special event held at the Town Hall during National Apprenticeship Week 2023. Celebrating its 40th birthday, each of the Career Track apprentices attending were awarded with certificates for their dedication towards achieving various qualifications.
Our Community Leadership work continues to expand and fits into three key strands namely Health, Education and Community Safety.
The creation of the Tendring Education Strategic Board has brought together Headteachers, Education professionals from Essex County Council and Tendring Officers to prioritise key issues for young people and schools. A number of focus areas have been identified including school attendance, speech and language, emotional wellbeing and skills. All of this work aims to support our young people to reach their full potential and provide as many opportunities as possible.
We are proud to have worked closely with health colleagues and to have been able to support the opening of the Clacton Hospital Diagnostics Hub. A fantastic service for residents to have access to local health care facilities, which when it is fully operational, will provide around 180,000 diagnostic tests per year. This will also save a number of car journeys to and from Colchester, also reducing our carbon footprint. We cannot take the full credit for this project but we have used our influence and brought a number of partners together to make this great facility for Tendring residents.
Over the past 12 months, Anti-Social Behaviour has reduced by 31.1% in the District. This is due to the joint working with Police colleagues, regular patrols and targeting hot spots for Anti-Social Behaviour and HATE crime. Additional engagement has also been undertaken with local businesses and the public to be a visible deterrent.
We continue to focus on support for the most vulnerable in our society, especially through the ‘cost of living crisis’. As I mentioned before, we know that this year has been particularly difficult for many residents and we continue to provide hardship grants, alongside support through the Tendring Community Fund and we are working closely with our community partners including CVST, CAT and many other community hubs and organisations.
Whilst achieving all of this there have been numerous budget challenges and the Council is having to consider different ways of working and this work will continue. I draw your attention to the budget speech and reports at our meeting on 14th February and we will need to continue to develop a robust financial framework to deliver the savings to support an on-going financially sustainable position into the next administration and over the next few years.
Therefore, Chairman, to conclude:
We continue to face many challenges in Tendring, and notwithstanding the forthcoming elections, I urge Members to carry on contributing positively to address the issues and problems that the Council faces. There will be some really difficult decisions to make; it is likely that we will have to look at different ways of delivering services and that will not be easy.
I am more convinced than ever that success, however you chose to define it, for this Council, for this District and for our residents in particular, can only be achieved by us engaging positively and working constructively with our partners; in the public sector, the private sector and the voluntary sector, and also with each other across the Council chamber. And working collaboratively, with other people and other organisations is never easy. It requires humility, a willingness to compromise and the ability to understand someone else’s point of view, and let’s face it, these are not the attributes always associated with elected politicians!
But we are incredibly lucky here at Tendring to have a truly exceptional Chief Executive who has put together, through a combination of nurturing management and astute recruitment a team of directors and senior officers that is second to none and quite frankly the best team of local government officers on any council in the land. But even our officers are still just human beings at the end of the day, and we as Members need to ensure we play our part in helping to maintain a culture and an environment where the best talent in local government wants to come and work here, and those that are already here are motivated and inspired to go that extra mile and be ever more amazing.
Chairman, we face uncertain times nationally and internationally with the continuing war in Ukraine and the ongoing financial situation: none of us can know what the future holds or how it will affect us. So, we must continue to support our residents through whatever challenges emerge, working together, pro bono omnium.”
Members showed their appreciation for the Leader’s Statement with a round of applause.
Councillors Allen, I J Henderson and M E Stephenson addressed the Council during the debate on the Leader of the Council’s Statement. Councillor Stock OBE responded to the points made by those Members.