Agenda and draft minutes

Venue: Assembly Room, Town Hall, Saturday Market Place, King's Lynn PE30 5DQ. View directions

Contact: Sam Winter, Democratic Services Manager 616327 

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Items
No. Item

C:73

MINUTES SILENCE FOR THE LATE HONORARY ALDERMAN SLIM WILKINSON AND FORMER MAYOR'S CONSORT, SIMON BOWER

Minutes:

Council held a Minute’s silence as a mark of respect for the late Honorary Alderman Lawrence (Slim) Wilkinson and former Mayor’s Consort Simon Bower who had both recently passed away.

C:74

PRAYERS

Minutes:

Prayers were led by Rev Canon Ling.

 

Following prayers, Councillor Steve Everett read a tribute to the late Honorary Alderman Slim Wilkinson, his Grandfather.

C:75

MINUTES

To confirm as a correct record the Minutes of the Meeting of the Council held on 28 November 2024  (previously circulated).

 

Minutes:

RESOLVED:   The Minutes of the Meeting held on 30 November 2025 were approved as a correct record and signed by the Mayor.

C:76

DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST pdf icon PDF 131 KB

Please indicate if there are any interests which should be declared.  A declaration of an interest should indicate the nature of the interest (if not already declared on the Register of Interests) and the agenda item to which it relates.  If a disclosable pecuniary interest is declared, the member should withdraw from the room whilst the matter is discussed.

 

 

Minutes:

Councillors Bhondi, Blunt, Devulapalli, Lintern, Moriarty and Storey declared a pecuniary interest in the item on Second Homes Council Tax, and left the meeting during its consideration.

 

C:77

MAYOR'S COMMUNICATIONS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS

To receive Mayor’s communications and announcements.

 

Minutes:

There were none.

C:78

URGENT BUSINESS

To receive any items of business which in the opinion of the Mayor are urgent. 

 

Minutes:

There was no urgent business.

C:79

WAIVER OF THE SIX MONTH RULE pdf icon PDF 115 KB

Minutes:

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Under section 85 of the Local Government Act 1972, a request has been received for Council to consider the waiver of the six month attendance rule by Councillor Margaret Wilkinson due to her ill health.  Coucillor Beales proposed and Councillor Bone seconded the recommendations. 

 

RESOLVED: 1)          That the waiver of the six-month attendance rule provided for within Section 85(1) of the Local Government Act for Councillor Margaret Wilkinson due to illness be approved..

2)         That the extension of the permitted non-attendance time period for a further six-month period, to expire on 29 August 2025.

 

C:80

PETITIONS AND PUBLIC QUESTIONS pdf icon PDF 185 KB

To receive petitions and public questions in accordance with Standing Order 9.

Minutes:

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1          Question from Mrs E Reeve

According to your own figures there are  2,800 empty properties in the Borough of King’s Lynn and West Norfolk, the majority of which are residential.  All major parties seem to have the same view that we need more houses built and the Government will be putting requirements in place.  I understand that many councils in England are contacting the Government to say they aren’t able to deliver on the Govts new requirements, so why cant the existing empty houses be brought back into use for those needs. 

 

Councillor Rust gave the following response: 

Thank you for your question Mrs Reeve.  I know that this issue has long been of concern to you.  I think we all agree that it would be better for us to be able to utilise the empty homes that we have in the borough rather than leaving them empty. 

The figure of 2,800 empty properties doesn’t match our own figures taken from our council tax information. 

Our data shows that there are currently 1984 properties which are empty in West Norfolk. Of these only 686 properties have been empty for more than a year and are now paying the empty homes levy. The levy is 100% for properties empty between 1 and 5 years, 200% for properties empty between 5 and 10 years and 300% for properties empty over 10 years.

 

We are currently assessing the impact of the empty homes levy to determine if this reduces the number of long term empty properties in the borough.  

 

The details of the empty homes and the duration that they have been empty is broken down as follows

Empty between 1 and 5 years            592 properties

Empty between 5 and 10 years          71 properties

Empty over 10 years                           23 properties

 

It’s important for us to bear in mind that there is always churn in the housing market and some properties can take a while to sell, especially where probate is concerned

We have approx. 68 properties are uninhabitable but still on the Council Tax database

Figures from the VOA show that for 2023/2024 there were no dwellings deleted from the council tax list because they were derelict and no longer viable as a domestic property (there is a very high bar for this).  A number have changed from domestic use, and these are normally holiday lets which now qualify to be in business rates instead

 

Click here to view the recording of this item on YouTube

 

2          Question from Ms J Irving

 

Firstly, my thanks to Cllr Moriarty for his full and informative answers to my questions about Hedgerow protection and the enforcement and monitoring of Tree Preservation Orders.

 

It seems that trees with TPOs are not routinely monitored by tree officers except in the context of impending development: the system of monitoring then relies on the public knowing which trees have TPOs, how to report a danger to them and  ...  view the full minutes text for item C:80

C:81

APPOINTMENTS TO OUTSIDE BODIES AND INTERNAL DRAINAGE BOARD pdf icon PDF 202 KB

Minutes:

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Council was invited to appoint to the following vacancies on Outside Bodies:

 

King’s Lynn Internal Drainage Board – Councillor Long nominated Councillor A Bubb to the Board.  This was seconded by Councillor Beales.  On being put to the vote this was agreed.

 

Norfolk County Council - Police and Crime Panel – The Council had been requested to nominate a Labour member to the Body.  No nomination was put forward at this stage.

 

RESOLVED:  1)         That Councillor A Bubb be appointed to the King’s Lynn Internal Drainage Board.

 

C:82

RECOMMENDATIONS FROM COUNCIL BODIES

(Members are reminded this is a debate, not a question and answer session)

To consider the following recommendations to Council:

 

C:82i

Cabinet: 10 December 2024 pdf icon PDF 358 KB

CAB86: Community Governance Review – Burnham Market

CAB89: Audit Committee Terms of Reference

CAB91: Notice of Motion 15/23 – Wash East Coast Management Strategy – Nuit C – Technical Report

CAB92: West Norfolk Economic Strategy

 

Minutes:

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CAB91: Notice of Motion 15/23 – Wash East Coast Management Strategy – Nuit C – Technical Report was proposed by Councillor Squire and seconded by Councillor de Whalley.  The recommendations were approved.

 

Click here to view the recording of this item on YouTube

 

CAB86: Community Governance Review – Burnham Market was proposed by Councillor Beales and seconded by Councillor Ring. The recommendations were approved.

 

Click here to view the recording of this item on YouTube

 

CAB89: Audit Committee Terms of Reference was proposed by Councillor Morley and seconded by Councillor Beales. The recommendations were approved.

 

Click here to view the recording of this item on YouTube

 

CAB92: West Norfolk Economic Strategy was proposed by Councillor Ring and seconded by Councillor Beales.  The recommendations were approved.

 

RESOLVED:  That the recommendations from the meeting on 10 December be agreed.

C:82ii

Cabinet : 14 January 2025 pdf icon PDF 367 KB

CAB103:          Council Tax Discount Resolution

CAB104:          Review of Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Licensing Fee Levels

CAB105:          Revision of Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Licensing Procedures and Conditions.

CAB108:          Members Allowances 2024/25

CAB109:          Procurement Policy and Contract Standing Orders

CAB110:          Social Value Policy

Minutes:

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Councillors Bhondi, Blunt, Devulapalli, Lintern, Moriarty and Storey declared a pecuniary interest in the item on Second Homes Council Tax, and left the meeting during its consideration.

 

CAB103:         Council Tax Discount Resolution was proposed by Councillor Morley and seconded by Councillor Beales.

 

Council debated the recommendations and on being put to the vote the recommendations were agreed.

 

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CAB104:         Review of Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Licensing Fee Levels was proposed by Councillor Moriarty and seconded by Councillor Rust. The recommendations were approved.

 

Click here to view the recording of this item on YouTube

 

CAB105:         Revision of Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Licensing Procedures and Conditions was proposed by Councillor Moriarty and seconded by Councillor Rust. The recommendations were approved.

 

Click here to view the recording of this item on YouTube

 

CAB108:         Members Allowances 2024/25 was proposed by Councillor Beales and seconded by Councillor Ring. The recommendations were approved.

 

Click here to view the recording of this item on YouTube

 

CAB109:         Procurement Policy and Contract Standing Orders was proposed by Councillor Morley and seconded by Councillor Beales. The recommendations were approved.

 

Click here to view the recording of this item on YouTube

 

CAB110:         Social Value Policy was proposed by Councillor Morley and seconded by Councillor Beales. The recommendations were approved.

 

RESOLVED:  That the recommendations from the Cabinet meeting on 14 January be agreed.

 

At 6.10 the Council adjourned, and re-convened at 6.30.

C:83

NOTICE OF MOTION

To consider the following Notice of Motion ( 1/25 ), submitted by Councillor A Beales:

 

“This Council is supportive of Norfolk County Council’s ambition to fast track devolution in Norfolk by joining with Suffolk County Council in making a request to Government to join the Devolution Priority Programme and will engage constructively in any forthcoming programme of devolution and local government reorganisation. However, this Council strongly opposes postponement of County Council elections due in May 2025 as people should not be denied their right to vote, especially as there is unanimous support for devolution from the leaders of all Norfolk and Suffolk local authorities”.

 

 

Minutes:

Click here to view the recording of this item on YouTube

 

The following Notice of Motion ( 1/25 ) had been submitted by Councillor A Beales:

 

“This Council is supportive of Norfolk County Council’s ambition to fast track devolution in Norfolk by joining with Suffolk County Council in making a request to Government to join the Devolution Priority Programme and will engage constructively in any forthcoming programme of devolution and local government reorganisation. However, this Council strongly opposes postponement of County Council elections due in May 2025 as people should not be denied their right to vote, especially as there is unanimous support for devolution from the leaders of all Norfolk and Suffolk local authorities”.

 

Councillor Beales sought Council’s permission to amend his Motion as follows:

 

“This Council strongly opposes postponement of County Council elections due in May 2025 as people should not be denied their right to vote.

 

This Council agrees to hold an Extraordinary Meeting of the Council on 13th February to debate devolution and local government reorganisation.”

 

This was seconded by Councillor Ring.  Council agreed to the amendment.

 

Council debated the Motion as amended with points raised on:

·         the democratic mandate of holding elections and the need for the Council to debate local government review and devolution.

·         cost of the elections which could be spent on services

·         Inevitability of local government review

·         Potential of near double term of office.

·         Not having the detail of the proposals at this stage.

·         Costs not being a reason not to hold the elections.

·         Cancelling or delaying elections should only be done in exceptional circumstances.

·         Delaying elections was in the self interest of the County Council.

·         The Motion brought to ensure members could have their say and the Leader had a mandate going forward in discussions.

 

With the required number of supporters a recorded vote on the Motion was requested.

 

 

For

Against

Abstain

Ayres

Heneghan

Long

Barclay

 

 

Beal

 

 

Beales

 

 

Bearshaw

 

 

Bhondi

 

 

Bland

 

 

Blunt

 

 

Bone

 

 

Bubb

 

 

Bullen

 

 

Coates

 

 

Collingham

 

 

Collop

 

 

Colwell

 

 

Crofts

 

 

Dark

 

 

Devulapalli

 

 

Everett

 

 

Hodson

 

 

Humphrey

 

 

Jones

 

 

Joyce

 

 

Kemp

 

 

Kirk

 

 

Kunes

 

 

Lintern

 

 

Lowe

 

 

Moriarty

 

 

Morley

 

 

Nash

 

 

Parish

 

 

Ratcliffe

 

 

Ring

 

 

Rose

 

 

Rust

 

 

Ryves

 

 

Sandell

 

 

Spikings

 

 

Storey

 

 

Tyler

 

 

Ware

 

 

De Whalley

 

 

43

1

1

 

 

RESOLVED:              That the Notice of Motion as amended above be approved.

C:84

CABINET MEMBERS REPORTS pdf icon PDF 507 KB

In accordance with Council procedure rule 8, to receive reports from Cabinet Members moved en bloc.  Members of the Council may ask up to 4 questions of Cabinet Members on their reports and portfolio areas.

 

The order of putting questions shall commence with a Member from the largest opposition group, proceeding in descending order to the smallest opposition group, then non aligned members, followed by a Member from the ruling group. This order shall repeat until the time for questions has elapsed or there are no more questions to be put. 

 

The period of time for putting questions and receiving responses shall not exceed 60 minutes for all Cabinet Members and the Leader

 

Climate Change and Biodiversity – Councillor M de Whalley

Planning and Licensing – Councillor J Moriarty

Environment and Coastal - Councillor S Squire – To follow

Finance – Councillor C Morley

Events and Open Spaces– Councillor B Anota – To follow

People and Communities – Councillor J Rust

Deputy Leader Business and Culture – Cllr S Ring

Leader - Councillor A Beales

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Click here to view the recording of this item on YouTube

 

Councillor Beales presented the Cabinet members reports.  Updates were given by Cabinet members.

 

Councillor de Whalley gave an update to his report on the West Lynn Ferry.

 

Councillor Moriarty gave an update to his report correcting the date of the CIL Panel as 17 February rather than March, and on the performance on the Council’s Housing Delivery Target the results of which had been challenged as the large number of static holiday homes had been included in the 2011 census figures. Discussions were continuing with ONS and the Ministry.

 

Councillor Ring updated Council on the future of the Carnegie building being leased to the Garage Trust.

 

Cabinet Members answered questions on the following matters:

 

·         The Florence Fields wildlife site

·         Bringing empty homes back into use in the borough.

·         West Lynn ferry future funding.

·         Festival Too

·         Planning Committee training

·         Garage Trust and Marjorie Kemp Trust accommodations.

·         Councillor’s court appeal challenge against Standards ruling. (Councillor Ware left the meeting during discussion on this item)

·         The review of council grants

·         Late cabinet members reports

·         Consideration of packages available for tourists to the area.

·         The number of new homes required to be built in the borough under new government rules.

·         Improvements being planned to borough cemeteries due to the rise in water levels.

·         IDC processes going forward.

 

Councillor Moriarty undertook to respond to Councillor Devulapalli on the encouragement of taxi drivers to transition to green vehicles. 

 

Councillor de Whalley undertook to respond regarding the inspection routines for the Ferry.

 

At this point the meeting had sat for 3 hours so the meeting closed.