Officer and Portfolio Holder Decisions

To undertake to work with the Land Registry to submit an application to register a restriction to the Title of the Hudson Leisure Centre in favour of The English Sports Council.

AGREED to note the content of the FBC and to instruct officers to pause the proposed relocation on the terms outlined within it, pending the outcome of the ongoing LGR process.

To provide information on the proposed all-weather permeable surface community pathway making the Manor Field accessible to all.

This is the first project in Whittlesey to be brought forward for delivery as part of the Fenland Inspire! Programme which seeks to enhance the leisure and cultural legacy to be left by Fenland District Council after Local Government Reorganisation.

AGREED to note the contents of the report and approve a budget of up to £300,000 to deliver a robust pathway around the perimeter of the Manor Field suitable for all members of the community and authorise officers to formally procure and then enter a contract with the successful tenderer to deliver the necessary construction work.

To provide information on the proposed enhancements to Wisbech Park Splash Pad.

This is the first project in Wisbech to be brought forward for delivery as part of the £30m+ Fenland Inspire! Programme which seeks to enhance the leisure and cultural legacy to be left by Fenland District Council after Local Government Reorganisation.

AGREED:

·         To note the contents of the report and approve further work to be carried out to deliver enhancements to the Wisbech Park Splash Pad, and to authorise the Section 151 Officer to add £60,000 to the Capital Programme to fund the enhancements and delegate to the Portfolio Holder for Open Spaces and the Corporate Director to enter into all necessary arrangements to deliver the project.

·         This is a staged plan. This year the project will include canopy, picnic benches and landscaping added to existing infrastructure. Next year a larger scheme will be implemented. A further paper on next year’s scheme with rough costs will return to Cabinet in 3 months’ time.

To request Cabinet approval of the revocation of 2 Air Quality Management Areas (AQMA’s) for Wisbech as required by the Environment Act 1995. To set out the reasons for this recommendation and to update Cabinet on recent correspondence from the Department of Food and Rural Affairs in relation to Fenland’s air quality and future air quality monitoring in Wisbech.

AGREED by Order under the Environment Act 1995 Part IV to the revocation of Air Quality Management Areas Wisbech 1 and Wisbech 2 as identified in Schedule 1 to the report, following removal of the original pollution source, and therefore securing compliance with the national statutory particulate and sulphur dioxide air quality objectives.

To approve the cost effective and timely procurement for the containers required for the range of Fenland municipal properties to commence weekly food waste collection in line with legislation.

AGREED to:

·         delegated power for the Corporate Director with responsibility for Environmental Services, in consultation with the Portfolio Holder, to purchase the required containers through the most cost-effective and timely means.

·         the capital expenditure from the monies supplied by Defra for this purpose, and that should the total exceed the monies supplied that this further capital be sought from appropriate reserves by the Section 151 Officer in consultation with the Finance Portfolio Holder.

·         delegate authority to the Portfolio Holder for Refuse and Recycling, Parks and Open Spaces to inform Defra of any change to implementation deadlines should this be required if there are delays to the delivery of these containers, or other essential equipment such as vehicles.

To consider revisions to the existing County-wide Disabled Facilities Grants and Housing Repairs Policy as an outcome of the 2024 review of Disabled Facilities Grants which help support wider health and social care outcomes.

AGREED to approve the County-wide Housing Adaptations and Repairs Policy.

The Ombudsman for Local Government and Social Care (LGSCO) revised the Complaint Handling Code in 2024. This has resulted in the Council’s 3C’s policy being reviewed and updated to reflect guidance within the Code.

AGREED to approve the proposed changes to the policy in line with the complaint handling Code published by the LGSCO.

To provide Cabinet with an update of the work of the Investment Board from April 2024 to February 2025,

AGREED to note the report of the Investment Board and that the ongoing review of the current Commercial and Investment Strategy as determined by the constitution and delegated to the S151 officer is currently deferred.

To sign and seal the two agreements to allow construction work to begin on the BMX pump track.

The Licensing Sub-Committee considered an application for revocation of a personal licence in relation to a licence holder who has been convicted of offences and is currently serving a custodial sentence.

The Sub-Committee is obliged to make their determination with a view to promoting the licensing objectives of:

·         the prevention of crime and disorder

·         public safety

·         the prevention of public nuisance

·         the protection of children from harm.

When making their determination the Sub-Committee must have regard to:

·         the Council’s Statement of Licensing Policy;

·         the Secretary of State’s Guidance Section 182 of the  Licensing Act 2003; and

·         any representations made by the licence holder, any decisions made by the court or appellate court in respect which the Licensing Authority is aware, and any other information which the Licensing Authority considers relevant.

Given that the licence holder has been convicted of relevant offences under the Licensing Act 2003, failed to notify the Licensing Authority and following representations from Cambridgeshire Police, the Sub-Committee took the decision to REVOKE the Personal Licence to uphold the licensing objectives.

The Licensing Sub-Committee considered an application for revocation of a personal licence in relation to a licence holder who has been convicted of offences but submitted that he needed a Personal Licence for his trade.

Representations were heard from Cambridgeshire Police and the Licence Holder.

The Sub-Committee is obliged to make their determination with a view to promoting the licensing objectives of:

·         the prevention of crime and disorder

·         public safety

·         the prevention of public nuisance

·         the protection of children from harm.

When making their determination the Sub-Committee must have regard to:

·         the Council’s Statement of Licensing Policy;

·         the Secretary of State’s Guidance Section 182 of the  Licensing Act 2003; and

·         any representations made by the licence holder, any decisions made by the court or appellate court in respect which the Licensing Authority is aware, and any other information which the Licensing Authority considers relevant.

Given that the licence holder has been convicted of relevant offences under the Licensing Act 2003, failed to notify the Licensing Authority and following representations from Cambridgeshire Police, the Sub-Committee took the decision to REVOKE the Personal Licence to uphold the licensing objectives, in particular the crime and disorder licensing objective.

·         To provide background information regarding the extensive reforms to the local government framework across England set out in the White Paper on English Devolution published on 16 December 2024.

·         To provide an LGR progress update for the Peterborough and Cambridgeshire area.

·         To Consider the feedback from Council in relation to the questions in appendix 1 and for Cabinet to compose the required submission to Government by 21 March 2025.

Cabinet considered the feedback received from members in relation to the questions raised in Appendix 1 of the Local Government Reorganisation - Draft Proposals report that had been presented at Full Council prior to the Cabinet meeting. This was to inform what Fenland District Council’s response should be to the government consultation on local government reorganisation.

Proposed by Councillor Boden, seconded by Councillor Hoy and AGREED to delegate to the Leader of the Council and Portfolio for Finance the final drafting and submission of Fenland District Council’s response to government by the deadline of 21 March 2025, taking into account those comments made by members at Full Council.

To receive £45,000 grant from the Police Crime Commissioner. The funding will help to support the Commissioner’s Police and Crime Plan by enabling partners to listen to and work with the public to act on their concerns and support them to assist themselves.  

This funding will help to build the capacity and capability of Community Safety Partnerships to deal with the local issues of crime and disorder which matter most to people who live and work in the area. This will bolster the resources available to co-ordinate the efforts of all agencies to deliver local problem solving.

This work is embedded through the statutory Community Safety Partnership that the council has duties to deliver.

The decision authorises officers (Service and Finance) to sign the attached grant agreement from the Police Crime Commissioner

Decision

Dan Horn, Assistant Director and Peter Catchpole Corporate Director & Section 151 to sign the attached grant agreement from the Police Crime Commissioner to receive £45,000 to deliver “Crime and Disorder Reduction Funding - Supporting Communities Funding 25/26