Venue: Frink Room (Elisabeth) - Endeavour House. View directions
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DECLARATION OF INTERESTS BY COUNCILLORS Minutes: There were no declarations of interests declared by Councillors.
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MCa/23/7 TO CONFIRM THE MINUTES OF THE MEETING HELD ON 11 JULY 2023 PDF 87 KB Minutes: It was RESOLVED:-
That the minutes of the meeting held on the 11 July 2023 be confirmed and signed as a correct record.
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TO RECEIVE NOTIFICATION OF PETITIONS IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE COUNCIL'S PETITION SCHEME Minutes: None received.
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QUESTIONS BY COUNCILLORS Minutes: None received.
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MATTERS REFERRED BY THE OVERVIEW AND SCRUTINY OR JOINT AUDIT AND STANDARDS COMMITTEES Minutes: There were no matters referred from the Overview and Scrutiny or the Joint Audit and Standards Committees.
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FORTHCOMING DECISIONS LIST Please note the most up to date version can be found via the website:
Minutes: 17.1 Councillor Mellen asked that item CAB437 Call-in of Elmswell Housing Exemplar Project be amended to the Cabinet Member for Housing and Property.
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MCa/23/8 THE APPROVAL TO CONSULT ON A REVISED TABLE OF FARES FOR HACKNEY CARRIAGES PDF 234 KB Cabinet Member for Environment, Culture and Wellbeing
Additional documents:
Decision: It was RESOLVED: -
1.1 That the revised table of fares be approved for consultation as attached at Appendix A to this report, and in accordance with Section 65 of the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976.
1.2 That Appendix A be amended to read:- tariff 1 £7.50 for the first 2 miles.
1.3 That the Director for Operations be authorised in consultation with the Portfolio Holder to make changes to the table of taxi fares as required following the consultation.
1.4 That the consultation period commenced from the 8th August 2023 for a period of 21 days.
1.5 That unless there were any exceptional circumstances, a further review of taxi fares would not take place until a period of 12 months had passed.
REASON FOR DECISION To adopt the revised table of fares for Hackney Carriages within the Mid-Suffolk District. To enable the trade within the District to continue to operate economically whilst still maintaining an efficient, safe and cost-effective service for those residents and visitors to Mid Suffolk who need to use the services of a Hackney Carriage. Alternative Options Considered and Rejected: Make no modification to the tariff table of maximum fares. Any Declarations of Interests Declared: None Any Dispensation Granted: None
Minutes: 18.1 The Chair, Councillor Mellen, invited the Cabinet Member for Environment, Culture and Wellbeing, Councillor Tim Weller to introduce the report.
18.2 Councillor Weller provided a summary of the report and moved the recommendations as detailed in the report. He proposed to modify the top tariff for the first two miles to £7.50 which would align the council with neighbouring authorities.
18.3 Councillor Teresa Davis seconded the recommendations.
18.4 Councillor Winch questioned the proposed rate change of £7.50 and whether the taxi trade would accept this change after they had proposed and agreed to the rate of £8.00.
18.5 The Licensing Team Leader advised that a soft consultation had been undertaken with the taxi trade, resulting in the rate changes in appendix A. Whilst a formal consultation would be conducted after the Cabinet had approved the rates for taxi fares, Officer would also conduct further talks with the taxi trade if the new tariff was approved at this meeting.
18.6 Councillor Rachel Eburne queried the length of the review period following the implementation of the new tariffs and Officers advised that this would be in in twelve months’ time.
18.7 The Chief Executive referred to appendix D and advised that Age UK Suffolk had ceased to trade during the pandemic.
18.8 In response to Councillor Andrew Stinger’s request for whether metric measurements could be included the tables, the Licensing Team Leader responded that metric measurements will be reflected in the tariff table.
18.9 The Corporate Manager for Public Protection advised members that upon advice from the Director of Law and Governance, Members could propose further changes to the recommendations including that taxi fares would not be presented to Cabinet for a period of twelve months. Further that delegation be given to the Director for Operations to change the table of taxi fares in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Environment, Culture and Wellbeing. This would enable changes to be undertaken during the year without reports coming to Cabinet each time, therefore avoiding delays in the implementation of the taxi fares.
18.10 Councillor Andrew Mellen proposed the twelve month’s review time unless there were any exceptional circumstances. In addition, Councillor Mellen proposed that the length of the consultation be confirmed and upon advice from the Corporate Manager for Public Protection, it was agreed to be three weeks (21days) from today’s date.
18.11 During the debate Members considered the issues including the cost-of-living crisis and that the cost of taxi fares had to be reasonable to ensure a thriving taxi trade.
18.12 Councillor Weller, the proposer and Councillor Davis the seconder, agreed the amendments to the recommendations.
By a unanimous vote
It was RESOLVED: -
1.1 That the revised table of fares be approved for consultation as attached at Appendix A to this report, and in accordance with Section 65 of the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976.
1.2 That Appendix A be amended to read:- tariff 1 £7.50 for the first 2 miles.
1.3 That the Director for Operations be authorised ... view the full minutes text for item 18.
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MCa/23/9 ELMSWELL EXEMPLAR HOUSING SCHEME PDF 963 KB Cabinet Member for Housing and Property Decision: It was RESOLVED: -
That Cabinet approved option 3, to deferred any further progress on this site until Part 2 of the Joint Local Plan wad progressed.
REASON FOR DECISION To allow a formal process to assess the suitability of the site for a range of uses Alternative Options Considered and Rejected: 1.1 Option 1 – Confirm and progress the original recommendation from the November 2022 Cabinet report to appoint Mid Suffolk Growth Limited (MSGL) to deliver a market and affordable housingscheme. Initial design and feasibility work has been undertaken by the design team within MSGL to establish whether an exemplar low carbon scheme could be delivered on the site at Church Road in Elmswell. MSGL were provided with a brief from Housing seeking an updated view on a previous masterplan for the site, to bring the design in line with the Council’s aspirations for exemplar low carbon homes and sustainable place making through the Council’s own developments. The initial design work has concluded that an exemplar scheme (Passivhaus or equivalent standard) of circa 50 homes is achievable and would deliver new affordable and market housing that delivers on the Councils new design guide and specification, providing high quality sustainable new homes for residents. Elmswell is a sustainable location with amenities and facilities as well as good rail and road links. This is a large site, so it is appropriate to have a balance of tenures, using affordable rented, affordable home ownership properties and market homes to deliver a sustainable scheme and community. By entering into a Development Agreement with MSGL to deliver the scheme the Council would have access to the technical and professional design team required to progress the scheme through design, planning and ultimately to delivery. The scheme would be funded partly through the General Fund (GF) and partly though the Housing Revenue Account (HRA). There is £7m within the GF MTFS capital programme for the market housing element of the scheme, and £7m within the HRA capital programme for the affordable homes. The market homes would be profit generating which would enable those funds to be reinvested across the district, it is anticipated the market homes would deliver circa 5% profit overall. The affordable homes would be delivered in line with the updated Affordable Housing Strategy. MSGL was set up to enable the Council to deliver more new housing in line with the aspirations of the Council of the type of new homes they wish to deliver, in this case an exemplar low carbon scheme. Other partners may not wish to develop this scheme to this high standard, favouring a higher profit margin, so MSGL is the preferred delivery option for this scheme. The current high-level design would be reviewed in line with the responses received from the initial engagement event to address concerns relating to density, design and the provision of more open space. Further community engagement would be undertaken as the design evolved. Appendix A shows the site location. Appendix ... view the full decision text for item 19. Minutes: 19.1 The Chair, Councillor Mellen, invited the Cabinet Member for Housing and Property Councillor Richard Winch, to introduce the report.
19.2 Councillor Winch introduced the report and provided an overview of the options provided in the papers.
19.3 Councillor Winch proposed Option 3 as recommended and detailed in the report, which was seconded by Councillor Tim Weller.
19.4 Councillor Rachel Eburne queried if there were other sites, which would be suitable for an exemplar housing project, and the Corporate Manager for the Councils’ Companies responded there were a number of sites, which could be considered for similar schemes though they were smaller sites.
19.5 The Chair invited Councillor Sarah Mansel, the Ward Member for Elmswell, to pose her questions and gave her input as Ward Members for Elmswell.
19.6 Councillor Mansel queried whether the current settlement boundaries consultation would have any bearing on the site and the proposed recommendation. 19.7 The Corporate Manager – The Councils’ Companies advised that it was likely that the boundaries would change, however, that would not have any implications for the recommendation sought to be approved in the report.
19.8 Councillor Mansel referred to paragraph 2.3 in the report and queried the timeline for the Scheme in relation to it ‘being held in abeyance until the completion of Part 2 of the Local Plan was progressed’.
19.9 The Corporate Manager – the Councils’ Companies outlined the timeline for the Scheme and confirmed that if the Council agreed to progress with the site once the Joint Local Plan had been agreed there would be an overall consultation plan put in place which would include communications and engagement with the Parish Council, Members and wider stakeholders. Further engagement with both Suffolk County Council and community groups would be undertaken to make a holistic scheme.
19.10 Councillor Mansel stated that the timing was poor for this scheme, and that the issues around school provision in Elmswell village would only encourage people to use their cars to take children to the school in Woolpit. Councillor Mansel supported Option 3.
19.11 Members debated the issues in the report including the timing of the scheme, the issues around affordable housing and the planning process. Members agreed that Option 3, to defer the scheme until part 2 of the Joint Local Plan had been agreed, was the best option for Cabinet to take at this stage.
19.12 Councillor Mellen stated that there had been many developments in Elmswell and that the issues around the level crossing could not be resolved now due to recent developments on the route of the proposed relief road. He was very supportive of the provision for sustainable homes in the district, however he felt that for this particular development in Elmswell, Option 3 was the right decision.
It was RESOLVED: -
That Cabinet approved option 3, to defer any further progress on this site until Part 2 of the Joint Local Plan was progressed.
REASON FOR DECISION To allow a formal process to assess the suitability ... view the full minutes text for item 19.
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