To follow
Minutes:
64.1 The Chair invited the Leader to present her tabled updates.
64.2 Councillor Morley referred to the Tabled Papers and updated Members on the following:
64.3 Success of recent Needham Lake drop in and launch of plans
In October, the Council shared blueprints for the
Needham Lake visitor centre which was being developed to create a
high quality and environmentally sustainable building including a
café and new public convenience
facilities.This
included a drop-in event on Thursday 10 October at Needham Market
Community Centre. A survey was also carried out at the event and had
continued to be promoted on social media. The plans complemented
the rural nature of the site and aims to boost the number of
visitors to the Lake each year, supporting the local economy and
encouraging more people to enjoy a range of outdoor leisure
pursuits. High quality, innovative
tenants were now being encouraged to bid to manage the new visitor
centre and café.
64.4 Thank you and success of National Democracy Week, including our Councillor webinar
The Leader thanked everyone who took part in National Democracy
Week. During the week,
Councillors talked to groups they don’t often see in the
Council Chamber. The week commenced with a panel of Members from
both Councils holding an hour-long live webinar with pupils at
Thurston Community College. Members covered a range of topics, from
planning to litter picking, responding to questions sent in live by
the pupils watching. Later in the week, staff and Councillors set
out to local markets to speak with people about what the Council
does and how it shapes our communities, giving market-goers in
Stowmarket the chance to ask questions, find out more about
services and discover what local government meant for
them.
64.5 Success of National Customer Services Week and the launch of our new Customer Charter
Having identified the
Council’s customers as one of the Council’s five core
values during National Customer Services Week
the Customer Charter
was launched, which set out the clear
standards which the Council expected of staff, and what the
Council’s customers expected from Members. Importantly,
customers were not just residents, but anyone the Councils
interacted with to deliver its services. This included Councillors,
colleagues, businesses, partners, local authorities, suppliers or
others. The week saw staff and Councillors challenged to update
their profile, add a voicemail among other tasks, with stories
shared from staff based in the Council’s call centres, making
it clear to all employees, that customers were central to the work
undertaken every day, and by making sure there were a clear set of
guidelines about what the Council’s customers should expect
from the Council, consistency in approach, monitoring of
performance, get better at listening to customer feedback and
improve services.
64.6 Councillor Open Evening at the Mix in Stowmarket on 12th November
A reminder to all Councillors of the open evening
held at the Mix in Stowmarket on 12th November. All Councillors
were invited to attend and hear about the ways in which staff at
the Mix were working to support young people.
64.7 Recycle Week & Empty Home Week Social Media Campaign
During Recycle Week, the Council ran a series of
social media posts throughout the week to get residents thinking
about how they could reduce waste and recycle better. The posts
included daily challenges where answers could be found on the
Suffolk Recycling website. Please do encourage residents to access
the recycling dos, do nots and tips online via the Suffolk
Recycling website. Groups, whether they were neighbours, community
clubs or other could also sign up for free education
sessions.
64.8 Empty Homes Week
Empty Homes Week saw the Council encouraging
residents to report empty homes in the district as well as seeking
out the Council’s empty homes interest free loans of up to
£20,000 if they themselves owned an empty home.
Extension of Holiday Free Swims
Following successful take up this summer, the free
swim programme for under 17s during this October half term and the
Christmas holidays would be extended.
This would help to promote healthy and active lifestyles in Mid
Suffolk. Free swims were available at Mid Suffolk Leisure Centre in
Stowmarket and Stradbroke Swimming Pool and Fitness
Centre.
64.9 Former MSDC HQ Needham - Building Work Begins
The Planning
for a total of 135 new homes were approved in February, on both the
former HQ offices and former Needham Market Middle School site.
Building work was due to begin later this year and should be
completed by the end of 2020.
64.10 Tree for Life Promotion
A continuation to promote the Tree for Life scheme in
Mid Suffolk, which saw parents and carers of all newborn or newly
adopted children in 2019 able to apply for a free tree. This was
ahead of this year’s deadline in January. The scheme also
included an option to apply for a memorial tree for parents who
have sadly lost a child during the same period. We will be contacting successful applicants early
next year to confirm when they can choose and collect their
tree.
64.11 In response to Councillor Carter’s question, the Chief Executive responded that it was possible to follow the Council’s activities and Councillors on social media.
64.12 In response to Councillor Eburne’s question regarding the Leader’s Announcements, the Leader advised that the announcements would be delivered when they became available.
64.13 Councillor Eburne asked how many social homes and affordable homes have been built on that site (Former Needham Market HQ), to which a response would be delivered outside of the meeting.
64.14 Councillor Stringer enquired about the Government’s Public Loan Board and the recent announcement of an increase in interest rates and whether this would have an impact on the Council’s social housing building programme and the investment programme.
64.15 The Leader responded that the Cabinet Member for Finance and the S151 Officer were currently working through the information provided by Central Government.
Supporting documents: