Decision details

Members considered the Draft Business Plan 2020/21 report presented by Councillor Boden. 

Councillor Mrs French asked for a definitive answer as soon as possible regarding the parish street lights. Councillor Boden said this is a complex situation and agreed it had been going on for years. A number of attempts have been made to solve the problem but while he accepts there is significant and justified unrest over this issue he is determined to resolve it correctly and therefore will not promise to resolve it quickly. However, he will endeavour to get something in place before the annual maintenance contract commences from September.  Councillor Mrs French thanked Councillor Boden but added that some of the parish councils are coming up to the time when they set their budgets; they are very unhappy with us and she expects some backlash. Councillor Boden responded that some parish councils have raised their precepts to meet their liabilities but these liabilities were set back in September 2018 and so this is not something new. Councillor Boden reiterated that a definitive and final solution is required and he will not rush to provide a solution which may then be ineffective.

Councillor Tierney stated that this is a well put together document. However he felt it gave the impression that it was business as usual and he would like to highlight that behind the scenes the Council for Future projects are emerging and people will soon see new, fresh ideas that will change and improve the council for everyone. Therefore it is not just a case of business as usual. Councillor Boden thanked Councillor Tierney for his extremely helpful comment. He said that while it was appropriate for the draft business plan to be circulated for consultation in its current form, it is a comment worth noting for next year to have a particular change section within the report to highlight the changes taking place. The Chief Executive agreed that this could be captured in next year’s document, adding that another opportunity to profile these changes is in the Annual Report put together in June.

Cabinet AGREED to approve the Draft Business Plan 2020-21 for public consultation.