Agenda, decisions and minutes

To approve as a correct record the minutes of the District Executive meeting held on 4^th February 2021.

The minutes of the previous meeting held on 4^th February 2021 were approved as a correct record and would be signed by the Chairman.

An apology for absence was received from Councillor Henry Hobhouse.

In accordance with the Council's current Code of Conduct (as amended 26 February 2015), which includes all the provisions relating to Disclosable Pecuniary Interests (DPI), personal and prejudicial interests, Members are asked to declare any DPI and also any personal interests (and whether or not such personal interests are also "prejudicial") in relation to any matter on the Agenda for this meeting.

Members are reminded that they need to declare the fact that they are also a member of a County, Town or Parish Council as a Personal Interest. Where you are also a member of Somerset County Council and/or a Town or Parish Council within South Somerset you must declare a prejudicial interest in any business on the agenda where there is a financial benefit or gain or advantage to Somerset County Council and/or a Town or Parish Council which would be at the cost or to the financial disadvantage of South Somerset District Council. 

There were no declarations of interest made by Members.

There were no members of the public present.

The Chairman thanked both officer and councillors for the work they were doing during the pandemic.  She also thanked those staff who were assisting at vaccination centres across the district. 

She noted that the existing legislation which allowed council meetings to be held on-line ceased on 5^th May 2021 and that many local government organisations were lobbying the Government to allow them to continue

The Chief Executive of SPARK Somerset and introduced the South Somerset Voluntary Service Adviser and they both provided Members with a short presentation on the work of the organisation, which included:

·         They had provided support and advice to many Covid volunteer groups.

·         They had held 7 South Somerset forumson-line to support local groups with advice and shared learning and 94 representatives had attended.

·         30 South Somerset residents had volunteered to be Covid-19 Community Champions to signpost groups and individuals to well-being services.

·         Lottery funding in Chard allowed community groups to meet and work effectively for the health and well-being of local residents.

·         Many on-line training sessions had been held including Mental Health Awareness, Adult Safeguarding, Child Protection Training, First Aid, Accounting for Your Project and Volunteer Management. 330 attendees.

·         A new County wide volunteering on-line platform had been launched with 361 organisations and 1,972 volunteers already signed up on www.sparkachange.org.uk

·         A support service for the NHS health staff and the voluntary sector to access emotional wellbeing support.

The Chief Executive of SPARK Somerset concluded that the core funding granted by SSDC was greatly appreciated and it enabled them to attract additional funding so they were able to do more for the residents of South Somerset.

Councillor Jason Baker said that SPARK Somerset had greatly assisted the Covid volunteer group in Chard when they first set up and it would be good to keep the younger volunteers engaged.

The Chief Executive of Citizens Advice South Somerset advised that when the Covid lockdown began, because they had invested in new IT technology they were able transition their service to phone calls with a small number of face-to-face appointments.  With funding from Somerset Community Foundation, they were able to make a number of films for the public on employment advice, managing money, applying for benefits which enabled the public to self-help. 

She said they had:-

·         A package of help, provided in partnership with SSDC, for those affected by redundancy.

·         Diversity Voice were a new partner who could assist with language support.

·         A pilot for advice kiosks with touch sensitive screens for people with no internet connection.

·         A new single point of contact website in partnership with the other Somerset Citizens Advice.

·         Assisted more clients during 2020/21 than during 2019/20.

·         There were more younger clients and working families seeking advice on redundancy, employment and furlough issues.

·         More people were seeking help with food and charitable grants.

·         Fewer clients seeking help with debt advice as there were safeguards in place during the Covid.  This was expected to increase again.

·         Partnership lottery funding had enabled them to set up the Somerset Advice Academy to train advisers so they could work remotely and answer client emails and phone calls.

She concluded that a full end of year report would be available by the end of the month. 

The Portfolio Holder for Health and Wellbeing thanked the Chief Executive of SPARK Somerset and Citizens Advice South Somerset for attending to update the Committee on their work.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 271.

The Chairman, as Portfolio Holder for Strategy and Housing, introduced the report and congratulated the local residents who had progressed the plan. 

The Specialist, Strategic Planning congratulated the Neighbourhood Planning Steering Group for their work in reaching the referendum stage of their Neighbourhood Plan process.  She confirmed the referendum would take place on 6^th May 2021.

The Chairman of the Scrutiny Committee said that they had sought clarification on the date of the referendum and the effect of any unitary proposal and Government changes to planning policy on all Neighbourhood Plans.

At the conclusion of the debate, Members were content to confirm the recommendations of the report.

The Lead Specialist for Environment introduced the report and advised this was a revision to the existing policy and there was a requirement to set out how grant money was spent.  The changes allowed for flexibility on how the Better Care funding was allocated on discretionary elements as well as mandatory for Disabled Facilities Grants.  The repair element had been increased because the cost of works had increased year on year.  This provided essential repairs to households who were financially vulnerable to weatherproof their home.  There was also increased flexibility on energy efficiency measures to align with the Council’s Environment Strategy.

The Chairman of the Scrutiny Committee said they had sought assurance that protocols and safeguarding procedures were in place to protect officers when their decisions faced criticisms in the event of refusal of grant funding.

The Lead Specialist for Environment confirmed that the mandatory element of Disabled Facilities Grants was capped at £30,000 and the discretionary element allowed to provide for larger scale adaptations to properties.  There was an Exceptions and Appeals Panel for controversial or unusual grant requests.  All decisions were made in accordance with the policy.

At the conclusion of the debate, Members agreed the amendments to the Private Sector Housing Grants/Loans and other Financial Assistance policy.

The Portfolio Holder for Economic Development and Income Generation introduced the report and advised that the commercial investments provided a vital income for the Council so that services were maintained.  He drew attention to the recommendations which noted the resilience of the property investment portfolio so far in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.  Progress in acquiring new investments was on track and rent collection was in excess of 98% which was a tribute to the team.  The net return being achieved was slightly below the target of 7% but the income target of £3.35m p.a. was on track to be achieved. 

The Commercial Property, Land and Development Manager advised that additional liaison with tenants, some temporary rent concessions and allowing flexibility on the payment pattern had meant that the quarterly rents collected had been between 95% to 98%.  One tenant had broken their lease early and that space would be marketed and re-let, and one other lease had not been renewed at another property in Bristol.  Trafalgar House in Taunton was now fully let and the lease on the Ralph at Marlowe was restructured to the advantage of both the tenant and SSDC. The investment market had been strongly affected by the lockdown period during 2020 but it was now recovering.  Industrial and distribution investments had generally gained in value, the office sector had weakened slightly and the expectation was for a one-time reduction in demand, high street retail had weakened considerably and the expectation over 4 years was a 50% reduction.  Other retail sectors were faring well as were out of town sites.  A recent acquisition was a leisure facility on the south coast and due diligence was being progressed on a food production facility and a data centre in the Midlands.  A battery storage scheme in Fareham had also been acquired.

The Chairman of the Scrutiny Committee said that disappointment at the progress on the Marlborough development had been expressed at their meeting and the Commercial Property, Land and Development Manager had subsequently circulated a briefing note for them on the development. He said they had been impressed with the level of rent collections under the circumstances and the Commercial Property, Land and Development Manager had answered their questions on points of detail.

The Portfolio Holder for Finance and Legal Services said the income derived from the asset investments was essential to keep council services funded.

At the conclusion of the debate, the Chairman thanked the Director for Commercial Services and Income Generation and her team for their work in progressing the Council’s investments.  Members were content to note the report.

The Portfolio Holder for Health and Well-Being noted that District Executive had agreed in principle to the project at their meeting in January 2021. Officers had investigated if VAT could be reclaimed on the project and it had been confirmed that it could which was a significant impact upon the project. He was also pleased to announce that the Arts Council budget had set aside £10m for the project which was good news to help fund the project.  He noted that if the project did not go ahead as planned then significant refurbishment work would still need to be carried out at the theatre.  He proposed the recommendations be progressed to Full Council.

The Arts and Entertainment Venues Manager said the confirmation of the funding from the Department of Culture, Media, and Sport upon the recommendation of the Arts Council was very welcome towards the project and the financial projections would be updated prior to presentation to Council.

During discussion, the following points were made:-

·         the £10m grant made the project more viable.

·         The scale of the expenditure being underwritten by the Council was still large and it was a substantial public project. 

·         The highest level of scrutiny during the project was required.

·         The period of closure during the rebuilding work must be minimised.

·         A user requirement document needed to be produced and the seating arrangements must be laid out correctly.

·         This was good news for Yeovil and the surrounding area.

·         The theatre was surrounded by car parks within a 5 minute walk.

The Chairman of the Scrutiny Committee said that some members had expressed concern at the impact on the smaller theatres across the district.  They had also asked for information on progress reports during the development however, they had voiced their support for the project. 

It was proposed and agreed that the Project Board also include the Portfolio Holder for Finance and Legal Services and recommendation c. was amended to reflect this.

At the conclusion of the debate, Members confirmed the amended recommendations to Full Council.

The following additions and amendments to the Forward Plan were noted:

·         SSDC Traded Services – Elleston Services Ltd – May 21

·         Capital & Revenue Budget Outturn reports for Quarter 4 – moved to July 21

The Chairman also asked to be updated on the Allowenshay mains water project.

Members noted that the next scheduled meeting of the District Executive would take place on Thursday 1^st April 2021 as a virtual on-line meeting using Zoom meeting software commencing at 9.30 a.m.