Agenda item

In accordance with Council procedure rule 8, to receive reports from Cabinet Members to be moved en bloc.  Members of the Council may ask up to four 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

Culture and Events – Councillor S Lintern

Planning and Licensing – Councillor J Moriarty

Environment and Coastal - Councillor S Squire

Finance – Councillor C Morley

People and Communities – Councillor J Rust

Deputy Leader and Business – Cllr S Ring

Leader - Councillor A Beales

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Councillor Ring moved the Cabinet Members reports en bloc.

Councillor Lintern provided a verbal update to her report, reflecting on the Hanseatic Watersports Festival and the unfortunate incident which had taken place resulting in a participant being air lifted to Hospital.  She stated that her thoughts were with the skier, their family and the other competitors.  She praised the work of the Emergency Services and other organisations involved.  Councillor Lintern also thanked the Members of the public for showing respect during the accident.

Councillor Lintern condemned the press outlet which had posted a video of the accident and had refused to remove this.  She respected the other media outlets who had shown respect by not publishing the video.

The Mayor invited questions to Cabinet Members.

In response to a question from Councillor Long relating to fly-tipping and untidiness around the Southgates, Councillor Ring explained that the team had been instructed to start work on the area and were committed to getting it cleared.

In response to a question from Councillor Heneghan, Councillor Rust praised the work of the RISE project and agreed that there was value in rolling this out wider, however it would need to be tailored to specific areas.  Councillor Rust praised the work of Councillor Jones and commented that he had been nominated for an LGA Councillor of the year award.  Councillor Rust also highlighted the work of the Youth Advisory Board, some of which were present observing the meeting.  Councillor Rust commented that Councillor Jones was a role model and also commended the work of Reverend Jon Price, his wife and all others involved in the Beacon Project.

Councillor Kemp referred to the cost of an Alive Card, which was required in order to benefit from free half term activities and felt that this was a barrier to access services.  Councillor Ring commented that he would look into ways to encourage participation and make young people feel as if they were a part of the Borough.

Councillor Joyce referred to flyposting and rubbish and asked Cabinet if they were aware of the excellent job that the clean up team had done along Wisbech Road.  Councillor Ring commented that removal of the brambles had really smartened up the area and acknowledged that more work was required.

In response to a question from Councillor Parish, Councillor Moriarty explained that he would formulate a response and share with Councillors, his concerns with Anglian Water and potential objections to future planning applications.

In response to a question from Councillor Sandell, Councillor Moriarty provided an update on the announcement that funding to support Parishes going through the Neighbourhood Plan process would be removed by Government.  He explained that Parish Councils were being kept informed as required and discussions were ongoing with officers.

Councillor Everett made reference to the Leader of Norfolk County Council and social media posts.  Councillor Ring commented that this was a matter for fellow County Councillors.

In response to a question from Councillor Parish, Councillor Squire commented that if Anglian Water had commented that they could not cope with any more waste water at Heacham Beach, then it was right that no more connections were put in.

Councillor Kemp referred to the Community Orchard and read out a letter she had received from a nine year old resident.  She commented that she was pleased to see that young people had pride of place.  She asked if additional bins could be installed along Hardings Way.  Councillor de Whalley explained that work was ongoing with Hardings Pits Association.

In response to a question from Councillor Kunes, Councillor de Whalley hoped that the vehicle fleet review report would be available soon.

In response to a question from Councillor Collop, Councillor Ring explained that a revised list of Portfolio Holder responsibilities would be available shortly, following Councillor Bland joining the Cabinet.

In response to a question from Councillor Devulapalli, Councillor Squire explained that water quality in Heacham was improving, however 60% of the pollutants came from birds.  She explained that testing would continue and the Council were in contact with the Environment Agency and Anglian Water.

Councillor Coates asked about costs awarded to and against the Council as part of the Planning Appeals process and asked of these could be made available to Councillors along with lessons learned.  Councillor Moriarty explained that Planning Training sessions were held after cases had been heard to reflect and go through lessons learned.  He also explained that when matters were determined by the Planning Committee, officers did make implications clear.  Councillor Moriarty explained that updates were sent to the Chair and Vice Chair of the Planning Committee, and he would arrange for these to be sent to all Members of the Planning Committee going forward.

Councillor Kemp referred to the paper published by Norfolk County Council which supported a single unitary for Norfolk and asked how the Borough Council was responding.  Councillor Ring explained that the Leader of the Borough Council was working hard to promote the Borough Council’s proposal by representing the Council at events and liaising with other Norfolk Local Authorities and Government.  He stated that this Council had a proven track record of good delivery, had delivered a balanced budget and that local delivery of services were crucial.

In response to a question from Councillor Long, Councillor Lintern agreed to ensure that all those involved previously, were made aware that the Mini Meet event was not taking place this year.

In response to a question from Councillor Devulapalli, Councillor Ring explained that work would be carried out to encourage leisure centre attendances.

In response to a question from Councillor Crofts relating to dog breeders, Councillor Moriarty agreed to provide a written response on the inspection regime.  A copy of the response which was provided after the meeting is included below.

Licensed Breeders are inspected on application, renewal and a mid-term point of the licence. These inspections are arranged with the licence holder in advance and charged for as part of the licence fee. We also carry out unannounced visits to premises when issues arise and allegations or complaints are raised. 

There are operational reasons which mean unannounced visits are not the norm.

Guidance recommends unannounced visits as part of the star rating system for breeders. The main reason unannounced visits are not the standard course of action is due to there being a large number of breeders who conduct their activities at a private residence where we have no rights of access without first giving 24 hours notice, and even commercial premises may not be manned 24hrs a day. We can of course turn up and ask to visit in accordance with regulations but this would be wasteful of resources every time the breeders are not on the premises or if they were to refuse us access when at a private residence. In these circumstances officers would have spent time reviewing licences in advance and travelling to premises only to travel back again having accomplished nothing. This would obviously increase costs as well as wasting officer time and increasing workload. The officer would have to either try again at a later date on the off chance the licence holder may be in attendance and allow for the visit, or arrange an inspection in advance. Initial inspections on application also require a vet to be in attendance, this is payable by the applicant and has to be arranged in advance so is not practical to complete on an unannounced basis.

But, to reiterate, we do carry out unannounced visits to premises when issues arise and allegations or complaints are raised. 

In response to a question from Councillor Kunes, Councillor Ring agreed to provide a written response on the timeline for Gayton Road Cemetery.

In response to a question from Councillor Devulapalli, Councillor Ring explained that a review of Industrial assets was in the process of taking place, and where units were not in line with the Council’s Portfolio, disposal would be looked at to provide Capital Receipts.

Councillor Bubb commented that he had recently been to South Beach, Heacham and there was a sewage smell coming from a building.  Councillor Squire agreed to investigate.