Minutes:
The Leader made the following announcement:
Devolution
As part of the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement, an announcement had been made in relation to a Level 3 deal for a Mayoral Combined Authority for Greater Lincolnshire. The Leader would provide members with the text to this as soon as he was able.
Much had moved on since the Leader had given his last briefing to members, and the proposal was much improved. All three Leaders at each of the authorities within the Partnership had received a thorough, verbal briefing regarding the deal.
The proposals were:
· Receipt of £24 million per year for 30 years (increase from £18 million);
· £28.4 million for one-off projects of which £20 million was for local place-based economic regeneration, and £8.4 million was for housing on brownfield sites;
· Key areas within the document related to skills, transport and infrastructure;
· South Holland benefitted from being at the heart of the food manufacturing industry and the UK Food Valley (a key part of the vision for Greater Lincolnshire);
· Growth would be boosted and going forward, high skill/high wage jobs would be created;
With regard to governance:
· There would be an elected Mayor;
· Two members from each constituent council (Lincolnshire County Council, North Lincolnshire Council and North East Lincolnshire Council);
· Four non-constituent members (for district/borough councils);
· One of the Police and Crime Commissioners;
· One other (business or skills representative)
Representation of district councils on the board was extremely good. The decision of who would go on the board to represent districts was a matter for District Councils themselves to decide. All Districts would play a part – if not on the board, then on scrutiny or specialist panels.
With regard to timelines:
· Proposals to be presented to upper tiers on or around 1 December 2023;
· Public consultation to take place December 2023/January 2024 (SHDC would be consulted as part of that process);
· Upper tiers to then consider feedback. If no major issues, they would formally agree the proposals in March 2024 after which it would go to the Secretary of State to go through the parliamentary process;
· Shadow Board would be in place by May 2024;
· Elections for a Mayor to be held in May 2025, to run alongside County Council Elections.
The Leader concluded that he was supportive of the proposal, and that Greater Lincolnshire could not afford to turn down this level of funding.
The Portfolio Holder for Strategic Housing, Leisure Centre Deliver and Spalding Town Improvement made the following announcement:
Spalding Railway Station – Ticket Office
The campaign to save the ticket office at Spalding Railway Station had been successful, with closure now not taking place. He thanked all those who had signed the petition and commented that Councillors Whitbourn, Brewis and Sneath, and Sir John Hayes MP had been integral in supporting and promoting the petition. Working together as a community had been successful, and it was important to continue in this way regarding any future issues of concern.
The Portfolio Holder for Communities and Operational Housing made the following announcement:
Foodbank collection points
The Communities Team were currently organising collection points for the donation of groceries, to be distributed to five foodbanks across the district. She advised that there were collection boxes situated throughout the Council building and asked all to contribute.