Agenda, decisions and draft minutes

None received.

It was RESOLVED: -

That the minutes of the meeting held on the 10 September 2024 be confirmed and signed as correct record.

None received.

None received.

There were no matters referred by the Overview and Scrutiny Committee or Joint Audit and Standards Committee.

Please note the most up to date version can be found via the website:

Forthcoming Decisions List - Mid Suffolk District Council

The Forthcoming Decisions List was noted.

Cabinet Member for Environment, Culture and Wellbeing

It was RESOLVED: -

1.1      That, Cabinet agreed to the formation of a new REACT service to deliver non-scheduled demand led street cleansing, grounds and environmental enforcement services outside of Stowmarket across Mid Suffolk.

1.2      That, Cabinet agreed to invest in enhancing the scheduled cleansing and grounds maintenance specification for Stowmarket Town Centre in line with 4.5 utilising equipment in Appendix B covering the area illustrated in Appendix A.

1.3      That, Cabinet agreed to fund both revenue and capital expenditure for 2024/25 and 2025/26 as set out in section 6.7 of the report, from the Gateway 14 Dividend earmarked reserve.

1.4      That, delegated authority was given to the Director of Operations and Climate Change, in consultation with the cabinet members for Environment, Culture and Wellbeing,  and Finance and Resources, to implement service changes for these recommendations within the funding set out in section 6, as soon as practically possible

REASON FOR DECISION

The formation of REACT in Mid Suffolk will allow a wide range of responses to street cleansing issues covering litter/detritus hotspots, fly-tipping, graffiti, flyposting, access clearance and the gradual introduction of enforcement to include the use of Fixed Penalty Notices (FPN).  This will allow non-REACT operational street cleansing staff to continue with their routine duties without being distracted by reactive cleansing incidents.

REACT will play a key role in promoting the education/provision of a solution/enforcement ethos of service delivery. The Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2005 provides the tool with which local authorities could enforce against enviro-crime and central government is looking towards authorities to fully utilise these powers.

Providing in-year funding for additional operative(s), hiring of a sweeper and scrubbing machine as well as the purchase of a street hoover, will give a positive perception when members of the public see our operatives using it on hard-to-reach places.  This will also enable Public Realm to contribute positively and noticeably towards the council’s priority of ‘Creating a Thriving Town Centre’ within Stowmarket.

Alternative Options Considered and Rejected:

Not providing a new REACT service within the wider district would result in a continued reliance on the existing scheduled resources (teams and collection rounds) to respond to the varied range (including more complex) of demand led non-scheduled tasks. This often results in scheduled resources having to be reallocated to responsive tasks and this can lead to instances of service failure of the scheduled work.

Not providing a REACT service continues to place an over reliance on other public service providers who do not have sufficient budget, resources or prioritisation to meet the more hyper local requirements within local communities.

Outsourcing the additional services to a private or public contractor would not build ‘in house’ capacity and is unlikely to result in a resilient and flexible solution, due to the limited scale of the service. There would be a cost and time delay associated to specification, procurement, contract and lead in, with associated ongoing contract management costs, and this has been ruled out as an option.

Any Declarations of Interests Declared:  ...  view the full decision text for item 44.

Full Minute to follow.

It was RESOLVED: -

1.1      That, cabinet agrees to the formation of a new REACT service to deliver non-scheduled demand led street cleansing, grounds and environmental enforcement services outside of Stowmarket across Mid Suffolk.

1.2      That, cabinet agrees to invest in enhancing the scheduled cleansing and grounds maintenance specification for Stowmarket Town Centre in line with 4.5 utilising equipment in Appendix B covering the area illustrated in Appendix A.

1.3      That, cabinet agrees to fund both revenue and capital expenditure for 2024/25 and 2025/26 as set out in section 6.7 of the report, from the Gateway 14 Dividend earmarked reserve.

1.4      That, delegated authority is given to the Director of Operations and Climate Change, in consultation with the cabinet members for Environment, Culture and Wellbeing,  and Finance and Resources, to implement service changes for these recommendations within the funding set out in section 6, as soon as practically possible

REASON FOR DECISION

The formation of REACT in Mid Suffolk will allow a wide range of responses to street cleansing issues covering litter/detritus hotspots, fly-tipping, graffiti, flyposting, access clearance and the gradual introduction of enforcement to include the use of Fixed Penalty Notices (FPN).  This will allow non-REACT operational street cleansing staff to continue with their routine duties without being distracted by reactive cleansing incidents.

REACT will play a key role in promoting the education/provision of a solution/enforcement ethos of service delivery. The Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2005 provides the tool with which local authorities could enforce against enviro-crime and central government is looking towards authorities to fully utilise these powers.

Providing in-year funding for additional operative(s), hiring of a sweeper and scrubbing machine as well as the purchase of a street hoover, will give a positive perception when members of the public see our operatives using it on hard-to-reach places.  This will also enable Public Realm to contribute positively and noticeably towards the council’s priority of ‘Creating a Thriving Town Centre’ within Stowmarket.

Alternative Options Considered and Rejected:

Not providing a new REACT service within the wider district would result in a continued reliance on the existing scheduled resources (teams and collection rounds) to respond to the varied range (including more complex) of demand led non-scheduled tasks. This often results in scheduled resources having to be reallocated to responsive tasks and this can lead to instances of service failure of the scheduled work.

Not providing a REACT service continues to place an over reliance on other public service providers who do not have sufficient budget, resources or prioritisation to meet the more hyper local requirements within local communities.

Outsourcing the additional services to a private or public contractor would not build ‘in house’ capacity and is unlikely to result in a resilient and flexible solution, due to the limited scale of the service. There would be a cost and time delay associated to specification, procurement, contract and lead in, with associated ongoing contract management costs, and this has been ruled out as an option.

Any  ...  view the full minutes text for item 44.

Cabinet Member for Finance & Resources

Full Minute to follow.

It was RESOLVED: -

1.1          That £538k is transferred from the Expected Credit Loss reserve to the FinancialResilience Reserve to make the latter reserve total £1.5m

1.2          That, subject to any further budget variations that arise during the rest of the financial year, the projected surplus on the General Fund Revenue Budget of £6.374m and the overspend on the Capital Programme of £448k referred to in Appendix A of the report be noted.

REASON FOR DECISION

To ensure that Members are kept informed of the financial position for both General Fund Revenue and Capital and to approve earmarked reserve transfers.

Alternative Options Considered and Rejected: None

Any Declarations of Interests Declared: None

Any Dispensation Granted: None

Cabinet Member for Finance & Resources

It was RESOLVED: -

1.1          That, subject to any further budget variations that arise during the rest of the financial year, the projected deficit on the Housing Revenue Account of £916k and the overspend on the capital programme of £112k referred to in Appendix A of the report be noted.

REASON FOR DECISION

To ensure that Councillors are kept informed of the financial position for Housing Revenue Account.

Alternative Options Considered and Rejected: None

Any Declarations of Interests Declared: None

Any Dispensation Granted: None

Full Minute to follow.

It was RESOLVED: -

1.1          That, subject to any further budget variations that arise during the rest of the financial year, the projected deficit on the Housing Revenue Account of £916k and the overspend on the capital programme of £112k referred to in Appendix A of the report be noted.

REASON FOR DECISION

To ensure that Councillors are kept informed of the financial position for Housing Revenue Account.

Alternative Options Considered and Rejected: None

Any Declarations of Interests Declared: None

Any Dispensation Granted: None

Leader of the Council

This item is being presented to Cabinet under the General Exception Rules for Key Decisions in accordance with Part 3 Section 17 of the Constitution.

The reason publication in accordance with Regulation 9 was impracticable in this case was due to the necessity to release resources to enable initiatives to support Stowmarket Town Centre to progress quickly.

This item was taken by General Exception, as agreed with the Chair of Overview and Scrutiny. The reasons were:

Due to the necessity to release resources to enable initiatives to support Stowmarket Town Centre to progress quickly.

It was RESOLVED: -

1.1          That Cabinet endorsed the plans for Stowmarket Town Centre set out in this report.

1.2          That Cabinet agreed that up to £566k was taken from the Gateway 14 Reserve to support the following work:

1.2.1     Up to £400k - for the new grant to improve the visible appearance of built properties in the Town Centre (see paragraph 4.9.7)

1.2.2   Up to £16k - for stage one (demand study) and stage two (viability study) to support the development of overnight accommodation in Stowmarket.

1.2.3     Up to £100k – to increase sustainability and interventions delivered by the Wayfinding Project.

1.2.4   Up to £50k – to support smaller projects that will emerge from ongoing development work in Stowmarket Town Centre.

1.3          That Cabinet agreed to delegate authority to the Deputy Chief Executive in consultation with the Director of Finance and Procurement and the Cabinet Member for Finance and Resources to award the £50k for emerging projects as set out at paragraph 3.2.4 above.

REASON FOR DECISION

To draw down the budget to enable the Stowmarket Town Centre initiatives to commence in this financial year.

Alternative Options Considered and Rejected:

Do Nothing – Not recommended. Like many town centres post-pandemic, Stowmarket faces the challenges of changed customer behaviour alongside increased costs for businesses and a cost of living crisis. Without direct intervention the town centre is unlikely to thrive and could well deteriorate.

Only invest in one of the above workstreams – Not recommended. There is no single approach that can revitalise the Town Centre on its own.

Develop a holistic approach to revitalise the Town Centre – Recommended. Best practice indicates that a multi-faceted plan working in partnership with other stakeholders will produce the best outcomes and this approach is supported locally.

Any Declarations of Interests Declared: None

Any Dispensation Granted: None

Full Minute to follow.

This item was taken by General Exception, as agreed with the Chair of Overview and Scrutiny. The reasons are:

Due to the necessity to release resources to enable initiatives to support Stowmarket Town Centre to progress quickly.

It was RESOLVED: -

1.1          Endorse the plans for Stowmarket Town Centre set out in this report.

1.2          Agree that up to £566k is taken from the Gateway 14 Reserve to support the following work:

1.1.1     Up to £400k - for the new grant to improve the visible appearance of built properties in the Town Centre (see paragraph 4.9.7)

1.1.2     Up to £16k - for stage one (demand study) and stage two (viability study) to support the development of overnight accommodation in Stowmarket.

1.1.3     Up to £100k – to increase sustainability and interventions delivered by the Wayfinding Project.

1.1.4     Up to £50k – to support smaller projects that will emerge from ongoing development work in Stowmarket Town Centre.

1.3          Agree to delegate authority to the Deputy Chief Executive in consultation with the Director of Finance and Procurement and the Cabinet Member for Finance and Resources to award the £50k for emerging projects as set out at paragraph 3.2.4 above.

REASON FOR DECISION

To draw down the budget to enable the Stowmarket Town Centre infinitives to commence in this financial year.

Alternative Options Considered and Rejected:

Only invest in one of the above workstreams – Not recommended. There is no single approach that can revitalise the Town Centre on its own.

Develop a holistic approach to revitalise the Town Centre – Recommended. Best practice indicates that a multi-faceted plan working in partnership with other stakeholders will produce the best outcomes and this approach is supported locally.

Any Declarations of Interests Declared: None

Any Dispensation Granted: None