Meeting Details

The Chair

The Leader, Councillor Topping welcomed Councillor Leach and Councillor Cawley, following the recent by-election. 

The Leader welcomed Nick Denny, the new Head of Property and Place to East Suffolk Council. 

Councillor Langdon-Morris mentioned the recent round table Farmers Meetings which had been positive.

Councillor Whitelock discussed Town and Parish Council's Conference which was attended by 80 delegates. It was a well organised and successful event.

On the proposition of Councillor Daly, seconded by Councillor Candy it was unanimously

RESOLVED

That the Minutes of the meeting held on 4 February 2025 be agreed as a correct record and signed by the Chair. 

RESOLVED

That Cabinet:

1. Approved the Local Development Scheme (Appendix A of this report) and agrees to its publication, replacing the Council’s existing Local Development Scheme, and that this will take effect from Friday 14th March 2025.

2. Approved the content of the Interim Housing Position Statement (Appendix B of this report) and agrees that this is published.

3. Approved the content and conclusions of the addendum to the review assessment of the East Suffolk Council – Waveney Local Plan (Appendix C of this report) and agrees that this is published.

4. Authorised future technical updates to the Interim Housing Position Statement to be undertaken by the Head of Planning, Building Control and Coastal Management in consultation with the Cabinet Member with responsibility for Planning and Coastal Management.

5. Authorised the Head of Planning, Building Control and Coastal Management, in consultation with the Cabinet Member with responsibility for Planning and Coastal Management, to make any typographical or presentational changes to the Local Development Scheme, Interim Housing Position Statement and Addendum to the Review Assessment of the Waveney Local Plan, prior to their publication. 

Councillor Wilson, Cabinet Member with responsibility for Economic Development and Transport introduced report ES/2301 which related to the replacement of existing pay and display machines. There were 76 car parks across the district with a total of 96 parking machines located within them. The machines currently in place were no longer fit for purpose.  Most of the machines had been in situ for circa 25 years and were at the end of life.  On average they have a life expectancy of 10-15 years.

An initial review of the market had been carried out and the leading machine had been identified.  The machine was a standalone unit with coin / contactless option for cards, phones or watch payments. The machines had a large tamperproof/anti vandalism SmartScreen type display reducing the risk of damage.

The touch screen was easy to use, understand and had accessibility features supporting equality, diversity and inclusion capabilities. The machine could be used for advertising whilst not in use, allowing opportunities to promote ‘Our Direction’, projects, news or local events.  There was also the option to sell advertising locally, to generate a small income.

Councillor Langdon-Morris queried if the new machines were ‘SMART’ detailing how many spaces were free in a car parks and if they linked to ‘Ringo’.

 Councillor Wilson responded that there had been some really good ideas from the recent Overview and Scrutiny meeting which would be explored, including consultations, communications and technology options.

 The Strategic Director added that the machines would not show capacity of the car parks. It would be linked to parking apps which would provide some data on usage. ANPR based provision was not part of the current plan.

 Councillor Packard queried how long the machines would last. The Strategic Director advised they would have a 10-15 year life expectancy.

 Councillor Jepson queried if the machines were split evenly across the car parks. Councillor Wilson responded that there would be a mix of cash holding and cashless machines, situated according to need. The Head of Property and Place added that every facility would have the capacity to accept cash and also operate cashless transactions.

 Councillor Deacon added that it would be important to ensure the machines were wheelchair accessible with accessible text used on the machines. The Chair responded that there was a desire not to have any raised platforms in car parks.

 Councillor Byatt queried having a 'roaming ticket' which could be used across the district. The Councillor questioned if the machines would indicate when they were full of coins and would they have QR codes. Councillor Byatt was concerned that QR codes could be vulnerable to criminal activity. The Councillor concluded that it would be useful to have a map of all the car parks in the district.

 Councillor Wilson responded that he would take the map idea back for consideration. Use of a QR code would take users to a secure payment link to access parking payment. The Councillor was not sure if the machines would make a sound indicating if they were getting full, it was anticipated there would be fewer cash pick ups required. Councillor Wilson added that the 'roaming ticket' was a good concept which was being explored, it presented a technical and contractual hurdle which would need to be considered further.

 Councillor Green asked if there would be investment in EV chargers. Councillor Wilson responded that EV chargers would be coming later in the year.

 On the proposition of Councillor Wilson seconded by Councillor Candy it was unanimously

 RESOLVED

That Cabinet:

1. Approved the replacement of the existing Pay and Display machines across the district, at a total cost of £500,000 as allocated in the capital programme for 2025/26.

2. Approved delegated authority to the relevant Strategic Director, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Economic Development and Transport, to enter into a contract for the replacement of 96 Pay and Display machines, after a procurement process pursuant with the Council’s Contract Procedure Rules and Procurement Act 2023 and Procurement Regulations 2024.

Councillor Langdon-Morris the Cabinet Member with Responsibility for Resources and Value for Money introduced report ES/2302 which related to 2024/25 Q3 Financial Performance Report.

The report provided an overview of the Council’s financial performance, comparing the actual expenditure and income position at the end of Quarter 3 (April to December 2024), to the approved budgets for 2024/25 for revenue and capital, including the General Fund and the Housing Revenue Account (HRA).

The report also summarised key budget risks, which may lead to future financial implications over the duration of the Medium Term Financial Strategy (MTFS).

There were no questions from Cabinet or Members present.

The Chief Executive advised that there was a dedicated meeting of CLT to discuss the quarterly budget.

On the proposition of Councillor Langdon-Morris seconded by Councillor Whitelock it was unanimously

RESOLVED

That Cabinet:

 1. Noted the Council’s financial position for the period April to December 2024 and the forecast position for the end of the financial year.

2. Noted the areas of financial risk identified, the impact of which is reflected in the Medium-Term Financial Strategy. 

On the proposition of Councillor Wilson seconded by Councillor Langdon-Morris it was

 RESOLVED

 It was recommended that under Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972 (as amended) the public be excluded from the meeting for the following items of business on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act.