Agenda and minutes

Minute Silence

The Council observed a minute silence to mark the recent death of former Councillor Jenny Rowe.

Councillor Worth spoke, commenting that he had known Councillor Rowe for many years, that she had been a lovely person, larger than life with strong views.  She had been particularly passionate about the Sutton Bridge ward that she had represented between 1999 – 2007.  She had been well regarded in the local community and would be sadly missed.

To sign as a correct record the minutes of the meeting held on 17 May 2023 (copy enclosed).

Consideration was given to the minutes of the meeting of Full Council held on 17 May 2023.

DECISION:

That the minutes of the meeting of Full Council on 17 May 2023 be signed as a correct record.

(Where a Councillor has a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest the Councillor must declare the interest to the meeting and leave the room without participating in any discussion or making a statement on the item, except where a Councillor is permitted to remain as a result of a grant of dispensation.)

Councillor Carter declared an interest in agenda item 14 and stated that she would leave the meeting during discussion of this item.

The Chairman made the following announcements:

·       Since being elected Chairman, he had been very busy attending events in the community – there was a log of events that he had attended on the Council’s website;

·       The Chairman’s Charities were confirmed as Blood Cancer UK (Eastern Region) and MenCap (all proceeds raised to benefit the South Holland area).

Forthcoming Events:

·       13 August 2023 – As part of the Give It A Go Day at the Sir Halley Stewart Playing Field, a Chairman’s Tug of War would be held – teams were encouraged to join at a cost of £10 per team.

·       18/19 August 2023 – With the support of Spalding Round Table, there would be an outdoor cinema event in Ayscoughfee Gardens.  Ticket prices would be £5 for a family of 4; £2 per adult; £1 for under-16s:

Ø  Friday 18 August 2023 – The Greatest Showman (Sing-a-Long)

Ø  Saturday 19 August 2023 (11am) – Frozen (Sing-a-Long)

Ø  Saturday 19 August 2023 (6pm) – Top Gun

·       24 September 2023 – Civic Service at All Saints Church, Moulton

The Leader made the following announcements:

·       Devolution – An all-member briefing would be provided by the Leader on Thursday 7 September 2023.  It had not been possible to provide the briefing any earlier as negotiations were still taking place between upper-tier authorities, ministers, District Councils, MPs etc and there could still be some change.  The final decision would not be at a District level - it was ultimately one for the upper-tier authorities (Lincolnshire County Council and the two unitary authorities). It would also not affect any services going forward – the only way that services could go to a combined authority would be if the district authority wanted them to, and this was unlikely.

·       Peer review – some details had been shared with members, and more detail would be provided when an action plan had been produced.  The outcome had generally been very positive, and the Leader thanked all those that had been involved in the process.

There were no announcements from members of the Cabinet.

There were none.

Question to:  Councillor Worth

Question from: Councillor Gibson

Subject:  Levelling of BMX mounds at Castle Sports Field

Councillor Gibson commented that a decision had recently been made to level the BMX mounds at the Castle Sports Field in readiness for the new leisure complex at the site.  Young people were not well catered for with regard to recreation – had research been undertaken to ascertain if it had been well-used and if it was, could it be located elsewhere?  Councillor Worth responded as he had made the Portfolio Holder Decision due to Councillor Taylor being the ward member that covered the area in question.  Discussions had been held with Pedals and representatives of BMX users.  There were safety issues with the current BMX track and all felt that levelling it was the safest thing to do.  Ongoing discussions were being held with these groups and in the future young people with regard to identifying appropriate funding and adding facilities –

Question to:  Councillor Worth

Question from: Councillor Gibson

Subject:  Unsightly buildings

Councillor Gibson commented that there were a number of unsightly sites within the area that were privately owned (The Bull and Monkie, the former Johnson Hospital and the White Horse Public House were mentioned) – could anything be done to improve them and bring them back into use?  Councillor Worth responded that getting in touch with owners was always one of the biggest challenges, although he was due to speak an intermediary for one of the properties mentioned and would state that the Authority would work with them to find a use for the building.  Another option in some circumstances was to offer rate relief to businesses on a sliding scale to assist them in getting off the ground.  Wherever possible, it was important to keep dialogue going.

Question to:  Councillor Taylor

Question from: Councillor Whitbourn

Subject:  Proposed closure of ticket offices at railway stations

Councillor Whitbourn advised that she had been contacted by many residents regarding the potential closure of the ticket office at Spalding Railway Station (as part of wider nationwide proposals to close ticket offices).  There was a national petition on Facebook against the closures – it was important to share and publicise this.  Councillor Whitbourn asked if Councillors could undertake any further action with regard to the proposed closures.  Councillor Taylor advised that this issue had also been raised at the recent meeting of the Spalding Town Forum, where concern had been raised over the brevity of the consultation period.  He reported that many similar objections had been raised, resulting in the extension of the consultation period to 1 September.  There were many reasons to object against the closure of ticket offices as they were a valuable resource for older people, vulnerable and disabled residents and it was therefore important for Councillors to encourage as many people as possible to object.

Question to:  Councillor Astill

Question from: Councillor Brewis

Subject:  CyberCrime

Councillor Brewis commented that millions of pounds were lost to CyberCrime – was  ...  view the full minutes text for item 25.

To receive the minutes and exempt minutes of the following Committees and Panels:-

Planning Committee – 7 June 2023

Governance and Audit Committee – 29 June 2023

Performance Monitoring Panel – 4 July 2023

The minutes of the following Committees and Panels were noted:

·       Planning Committee – 7 June 2023

·       Governance and Audit Committee – 29 June 2023

·       Performance Monitoring Panel – 4 July 2023 (including exempt minute)

To receive the current Key Decision Plan (copy enclosed).

Consideration was given to the Key Decision Plan.

DECISION:

That the Key Decision Plan be noted.

To present the Final Report of the Sir Halley Stewart Playing Field Task Group (report of the Sir Halley Stewart Playing Field Task Group enclosed).

The final report of the Sir Halley Stewart Playing Field Task Group was presented by Councillor P Redgate.

DECISION:

That the recommendations of the Sir Halley Stewart Playing Field Task Group be supported.

To receive, from political groups, nominations for any changes to Committees and other seats and to consider any proposed changes to the Constitution.

The following Outside Body appointments were reported to Council:

·       Lincolnshire County Council Flood and Drainage Management Scrutiny Committee – Councillor A Beal was nominated to represent as a member of this outside body;

·       South Holland Internal Drainage Board – Councillor E Sneath and Mr P Foyster were nominated to represent as members of this outside body;

·       Welland and Deepings Internal Drainage Board – Councillor A Harrison was nominated to represent as a member of this outside body.

The following Committee change was reported to Council:

·       Councillor A Casson to replace Councillor J Whitbourn as a member of the Planning Committee.

The following Company appointment was reported to Council:

·       Councillor E Sneath was nominated to be appointed as Company Director for South Holland Homes

DECISION:

That the following appointments be approved:

·       Councillor A Beal to be appointed to represent on the Lincolnshire County Council Flood and Drainage Management Scrutiny Committee;

·       Councillor E Sneath and Mr P Foyster to be appointed to represent on the South Holland Internal Drainage Board;

·       Councillor A Harrison to be appointed to represent on the Welland and Deepings Internal Drainage Board;

·       Councillor A Casson to replace Councillor J Whitbourn as a member of the Planning Committee

·       Councillor E Sneath to be appointed as Company Director for South Holland Homes

There were none.

DECISION:

Under section 100A (4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public were excluded from the meeting for the following item of business on the grounds that it involved the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraph 3 of part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act.

To consider the recommendations of the Cabinet in respect of:

·       Strategic Land Acquisition - To secure Cabinet consent to progress a strategic land acquisition in the South Holland area (Exempt Cabinet minute 11) (Exempt Cabinet agenda item 11)

(Report of the Cabinet enclosed).

Consideration was given to the report of the Cabinet which sought approval for the Cabinet’s recommendations.

Strategic Land Acquisition – To secure Cabinet consent to progress a strategic land acquisition in the South Holland area

The Portfolio Holder for Assets and Strategic Planning presented the report.

DECISION:

That the recommendations, as detailed within the exempt report be agreed.