Agenda item

To review the Council’s Fees and Charges for 2025/26, in line with the Budget Strategy considered by Cabinet on 16 December 2024.

Members considered the review of Fees and Charges 2025/26 report presented by Councillor Boden.

Members made comments, asked questions, and received responses as follows:

·         Councillor Barber referred to 3.1 in the presentation, The Port of Wisbech Authority, and the 10% increase on statutory fees seems high after the 25% increase last year. She asked is this because the Council has been substantially undercharging in the past as all the other charges are 5% or less and might this have the effect of less usage of the Council’s facilities and, therefore, a lower income over the year? Councillor Boden responded that in 2024/25 there was a proposal for the increase in fees particularly around the pilotage, boarding and landing due fees in relation to Sutton Bridge of 25%, but after discussions with the Port of Sutton Bridge during the course of 2024 and given how price sensitive the fees are in relation to the volume of business that goes through the port, it was agreed that the 25% would be reduced in December 2024 by 12% giving a net increase of 10% on the previous years figures. He stated that it is planned that there will be a further 10% increase which is likely to take place in December 2025 and not in April 2025, with the matter currently being looked into and will be reported at the next Cabinet meeting to determine.

·         Councillor Booth asked when the review for the Wisbech Harbour is to be completed as the issue concerning funding was raised several years ago and there appears to still be no firm decision on the Port which does impact the decisions made on what fees and charges should be made. He recalled having the same conversation last year and it appears that nothing has changed, potentially there is £50 million pounds of capital expenditure needed, and he feels a decision needs to be made so it does not keep being delayed year on year. Councillor Boden agreed with Councillor Booth that this is an urgent matter and confirmed that meetings are taking place on a weekly basis to progress on how to move forward and when any changes are made a report will be shared at Cabinet and Council. Councillor Booth asked when the target date is for getting the decision made and how long will the process take afterwards to implement the decision? Councillor Boden replied the target date is ‘to progress with this as quickly as possible’, when and if the Council are able to move forward then it depends upon the nature of any agreements which may be reached, but the timescale in terms of the final position could take as long as three years, depending upon whether Parliamentary approval is required.

·         Councillor Sennitt Clough stated that as part of the Growth and Infrastructure she felt The Boathouse, South Fens and Fenland Hall were not marketed well enough to get bookings, especially The Boathouse at weekends due to staff not being available and wondered if the use of these buildings could be maximized with engagement from partner organisations such as the Federation of Small Businesses. Councillor Boden responded the reason weekend booking can be difficult is because the Council does not have the staff available to cover this, staff can be made available using overtime, but this is not compulsory for staff. He added that the plan is to maintain and improve the amount of usage there is in the various locations which have been mentioned but it is not easily cost effective for the Council to have a dedicated weekend facility available because there is not the demand for weekend usage.

·         Councillor Booth stated that on 3.2 of the presentation it mentions the increases in fees for South Fens Business Centre of 18%, it has been much discussed in previous meetings that the intention of this centre being an incubator unit to encourage businesses to start up and then hopefully move on when established and asked, by increasing the cost by such a large amount, is that not contrary to the policy and aspiration to help with these start-up businesses. He stated the Council does need to ensure the costs and charges that are made are to a significant extent if not wholly able to cover the cost the Council incurs in various areas. Councillor Booth added that this was a different picture to the one originally given concerning helping new businesses start-up and supporting them to move to new premises where in the long term the Council would benefit from the business rates paid on other properties which would add as a profit for the Council. He reflected that the figures do not add up as suggested because ultimately the national non-domestic rate is showing as a zero gain because if people are moving out, they are moving to other premises which are already rated and to the best of his knowledge no new premises are being built in Chatteris to accommodate any business which are moving out of the business park. Councillor Booth continued if the Council were in a position of having a shortage of supply of units or rooms available for new businesses the Council would need to change its policy, but the Council is not looking to put a time limit on the amount of time a new business stays in the business park.

·         Councillor Roy stated he noted the increase to the bulky household waste collection and is concerned this would have an impact on fly tipping as there are lots of issues around the district. He asked if there is any evidence that this is a fair increase and he would also like to understand why vans are being turned away at recycling centres, is this for personal reasons rather than business reasons? Councillor Boden confirmed that the recycling centres are run by Cambridgeshire County Council and not Fenland District Council and the Council has no control on what happens at these sites. Councillor Murphy stated the household waste collection is running well but to achieve this the prices have to be put up and will likely need to go up again next year due to inflation.

·         Councillor Barber expressed the view that the bulky waste collection was exceptionally good for the price of up to 5 articles and the fact that residents and neighbours can combine their articles for one pick-up price is excellent when compared to what private companies are charging.

·         Councillor Booth agreed the service was good but did not feel Councillor Roy’s question was answered which was will the price increase effect fly tipping in the local area as this is a massive problem in the villages and must cost the Council more money to clear the fly tipping. He also added that he felt the brown bin should be free of charge.

·         Councillor Davis asked if there was anyway the Council could liaise with Cambridgeshire County Council as there have been reports of people being turned away who own big trucks or very large vehicles as their daily vehicle and the recycling centre is assuming they are a business and not allowing them to enter the site which she feels is encouraging fly tipping. Paul Medd stated if there are people who are not operating as a business but turn up to the recycling centre in what looks to be a commercial vehicle, they can apply for an exemption which will allow access to the tip. Councillor Davis stated that this does not seem to be the case. Councillor Murphy added that if they apply for an exemption, they will be issued with paperwork to allow them on site legally. Councillor Booth added he believed the process was to apply online and this can be repeated up to 10 times a year to take a commercial vehicle or trailers to the site, but feels the public are not fully aware of system in place and it comes down to knowledge which is an area which could be streamlined.

·         Councillor Murphy addressed the question regarding free brown bins, stating that at the end of last year 24,500 people paid subscriptions to have their brown bins emptied, this saved the Council increasing Council Tax by £1.25 million pounds. Councillor Booth responded that this was a backdoor Council Tax increase for Council Tax payers because they would be forced to have to pay for it unless there are other means to dispose of their garden waste, which equates to about a 10% Council Tax rise for having to pay for a brown bin. Councillor Murphy responded he felt that people who use the brown bin service like the service and it is down to personal choice.

·         Councillor Hay stated she felt it necessary to let the public know that the staff at the recycling centres are Cambridgeshire County Council and not Fenland District Council staff.

·         Councillor Hay stated the Council have recently issued a revised set of fees and charges for taxis and she has picked up that in the original paperwork Hackney Carriages and Private Hire all had charges around 2% and one at 4%. She asked what the reasoning was for the revised Fees and Charges to all read zero increases now? Councillor Hoy responded that she had asked for the prices to be held, as the thought was to not give the taxi drivers any extra burden given how few there are at present plus the Council are investigating how the process can be streamlined.

·         Councillor Tierney stated that he would like to address some of the issues Councillor Booth raised in regard to collections at the recycling centres, he agreed it was getting harder to drop things off and this is creating an increase in fly tipping, but those decisions are not made by this Council, but the County Council and the pressure should be directed at them. Councillor Booth responded his question was about the increase in price for bulky waste collection from household waste which this Council provides which could lead to people fly tipping because they will not want to pay the increased charge. Councillor Tierney referred to Cambridgeshire County Council and its commercial waste. Councillor Booth referred back to his original question. Councillor Boden stated there needs to be a balance drawn between the cost to the Council and the service which is provided to people and that it is good value for money compared with the alternatives. Councillor Murphy added that some of the issue behind the fly tipping is Facebook, as there are a lot of people now asking for household goods to be removed from their houses or driveway, which is being carried out by people with a van, but as a Council there is no way of telling where these household goods are ending up and there has been evidence of items being fly tipped elsewhere.

·         Councillor Sennitt Clough recognised that the discussion was focused on FDC waste but did not believe the two could be separated because fly tipping is a drain on FDC staff resources. She continued that she would like to address the bureaucracy around these tips as on the one hand there is a lot of bureaucracy and on the other hand the people who work at these sites are selling the good which raises all kinds of issues in terms of if they are selling on white goods as they may not be checked and may have electrical faults etc. Councillor Hicks questioned if anything is purchased at the tip it is always cash and where does that cash go? Councillor Davis stated that reflects what was said earlier that this is a County Council issue and not a Fenland District Council issue and all that can be achieved is for the Council to keep raising these issues with the County Council. Councillor Booth recommended that a letter be sent to Cambridgeshire County Council from the committee raising the concerns around the bureaucratic process for residents to drop off bulky items and could they please look at that process again.

Members agreed to recommend that Cabinet include the proposed fees and charges in the budget for 2025/26.