Agenda item

The Leader made the following announcements:

The Leader firstly congratulated the Chairman on the money raised at his recent Ball – it had been a very enjoyable night for all those that had attended.  He wished him well for the year ahead.

The Leader commented that he was always conscious of the need to make financial savings wherever possible and to this end, he would be reducing the number of Deputy Leaders from two to one.  The new Deputy Leader would be Councillor P Redgate.  The Leader thanked Councillors T Carter and G Taylor for all their support as Deputy Leaders over the past year.

As a result, some changes would be made to portfolio responsibilities which would be circulated in due course – in brief:

·       Councillor T Carter would be responsible for all functions relating to Housing, both Strategic and Operational;

·       Councillor G Taylor, in addition to his other responsibilities would take on responsibility for community development, district events, community assets register and community cohesion and support (including play schemes, open spaces, community and voluntary sector support);

·       Councillor H Bingham would take on responsibility for all functions relating to the South Holland Centre and Ayscoughfee Hall and Museum (both operational and strategic), along with Facility Management;

·       Councillor A Casson would be responsible for all enforcement functions (taking on responsibility for District Safety, Crime and Disorder, Police, CCTV, Anti-Social Behaviour);

·       Councillor P Redgate would take on responsibility for Community Inward Investment and Grants for Growth;

·       Councillor E Sneath would take on responsibility for Tourism;

·       Councillor N Worth would take on responsibility for Markets

The Leader also commented that it had been a year since the local elections and with this in mind, he wished to reflect on some of the achievements made so far, and the work that still lay ahead:

• The distribution of millions of pounds through the UKSPF programme, to all areas of the District as promised, had supported almost 50 projects and organisations working in South Holland and enabled incredible work, such as the return of Matthew Flinders to Donington, the Long Sutton Youth Shed, and support for the Boxes of Hope scheme
• The purchase of a new depot to support the impending weekly food waste collections in 2026.
• A record 76 new homes delivered for local residents by the Council and Welland Homes, the most successful year of housing delivery the Council had recorded, along with a six-figure charitable donation to local causes from Welland Homes’ profit
• Hundreds of residents’ properties had been improved through the Home Upgrade Grants scheme, saving them money on their annual bills and reducing the district’s CO2 production.
• The great progress and expansion of the Authority’s dedicated homelessness, cost of living and domestic abuse teams, who provided compassion and support to those residents who needed it most, and for doing this whilst still coming in under budget.
• The creation of a new housing transformation team to deliver the Authority’s ambitious new housing landlord strategy, with tenants at the forefront of decision-making and service provision
• An increased number of prosecutions and fines for anti-social behaviour, littering and fly-tipping through the Council’s enviro-crime team, following resident calls for this to be an area of focus
• The Council’s ongoing work alongside stall holders to purchase new gazebos and covers for markets, as well as holding the first Teenage Markets in the district to support the traders of tomorrow
• Review and improvement of council assets, which included public toilets, car parking machines and spaces and the installation of 7 new life-saving defibrillators across Spalding
• A project with the LTA to refurbish the tennis courts at Ayscoughfee, transforming the look and condition of the courts and creating a fantastic place to learn and play
• An extensive programme of investment and improvement works to 14 community centres across the District to better support its Sheltered Housing tenants had been agreed.
• The continued work and expansion of shared opportunities as part of the South and East Lincolnshire Councils Partnership, delivering efficient and the best services possible across the sub-region and delivering huge cost savings to residents
• Securing £20million for Spalding for the next ten years through the Long-Term Plan for Towns, and creating a new Town Board of local, experienced and passionate individuals to ensure it had the maximum possible benefit
• Work to establish a new nationwide Special Interest Group around fairer funding of internal drainage boards.
• Important steps forward on the plans to deliver the new, transformational £26 million South Holland Health and Wellbeing Hub.
• Successfully bidding for funding and preparing for the renovation of the Lutyens memorial at Ayscoughfee, helping to safeguard and reinvigorate a unique local landmark
• The agreement of a budget and monitoring of ongoing savings plans to ensure a minimum budget gap in future years, protecting the council’s vital services.

The Leader thanked all those who had helped make achievement to date possible, which included staff fellow councillors and the brilliant partner organisations, local businesses and community groups.  He looked forward to continuing to strive to improve, develop and deliver moving forwards.

In the absence of the Portfolio Holder for Community Development, the Portfolio Holder for Finance provided an update on the Wellbeing Hub.  Members of the public and Councillors were thanked for their engagement and feedback as part of the pre-application consultation that had recently taken place.  Feedback on responses to the consultation would be made available to Councillors next week, along with a Member briefing providing a full update.  The planning application was now being prepared for submission on Friday 17 May – all members were asked to looked at this and provide positive feedback on the application as it was important to get this right.  All comments from residents were also welcomed.

The Portfolio Holder for Health and Wellbeing, Conservation and Heritage and Tourism announced that confirmation had been received of continued funding from the Government which allowed the Authority to extend the Household Support Fund.  This fund had allowed the Authority to support many struggling residents, particularly those that may not have been eligible for other government support.  The total grant for Lincolnshire was £5.5million, with around 34% being made available for the seven District Councils.  SHDC should receive approximately £223,000.  As before, the Authority would work with the Lincolnshire Community Foundation to open up a public application process, and retain about half to support food banks, charities and NHS neighbourhood teams.  It was hoped to start local support in early June, with all money allocated by 30 September 2024.