Meeting Details

Members are invited to a Meeting of the Full Council

to be held in the Conference Room, Riverside, Lowestoft

on Wednesday, 16 July 2025 at 6.30pm

This meeting will be broadcast to the public via the East Suffolk YouTube Channel at https://youtube.com/live/fQ_PCuXvxik?feature=share

To receive apologies for absence, if any.

Members and Officers are invited to make any declarations of interests, and the nature of that interest, that they may have in relation to items on the Agenda and are also reminded to make any declarations at any stage during the Meeting if it becomes apparent that this may be required when a particular item or issue is considered.

To receive any announcements from the Chair, the Leader of the Council, members of the Cabinet, or the Chief Executive, in accordance with paragraph 28.2 of the Council Procedure Rules.

No questions have been submitted by the electorate as provided by paragraph 29.1 of the Council Procedure Rules.

The following question(s) from Members has/have been submitted in pursuance of paragraph 29.4 of the Council Procedure Rules:

Question from Councillor Mark Jepson to Councillor Sally Noble, Cabinet Member with responsibility for the Environment

 The data on the key performance indicators sadly indicates that fly tipping has increased in the vast majority of wards in 2024/25, the last year of full data, in some areas quite considerably.

Disappointingly, action relating to fly tipping has also reduced too; between 2022/23 and 2034/25 actions from reports have reduced from 2416 to 972.

For the same periods:

Investigations down from 2210 to 868
Statutory Notice from 12 to 3
Warning letters from 156 to 69

Can the Cabinet Lead outline why there has been a reduction in positive actions and what they propose to implement to address this upward trend.

Question from Councillor Mark Jepson to Councillor David Beavan, Cabinet Member with responsibility for Housing

In the press release dated 11th June, Councillor Beavan is highly critical of the previous Conservative administration, stating; "I apologise to our tenants for these failures and assure them that we are, step by step, turning round this housing department after years of neglect." 
It has always been recognised how diligent and conscientious the previous Housing Cabinet member was, so it is disappointing to read these comments.

The latest report reflects that 51 properties out of 4345 were identified as 'non decent.' Councillor Beavan has been leading East Suffolk's housing portfolio for the last two years, if the housing stock had been so poorly neglected why was he not able to identify these issues previously.

Question from Councillor Jamie Starling to Councillor Paul Ashton, Deputy Leader and Cabinet with responsibility for Corporate Services – Digital, Customer Services, HR and Assets

 Recent articles in Reuters, The Times and other news agencies have highlighted concerns regarding spyware and kill switches installed in solar panel inverters.

 Energy officials are reassessing the risk posed by Chinese-made devices that play a critical role in renewable energy infrastructure after unexplained communication equipment was found inside some of them.

 Solar/ power inverters, which are predominantly produced in China, are used throughout the world to connect solar panels and wind turbines to electricity grids. They are also found in batteries, heat pumps and electric vehicle chargers.

 Can the Cabinet member for Corporate Services confirm that none of the solar panels used by the council, or our planned purchases will be manufactured in countries suspected of installing these hacking tools?

Report from the Cabinet Member with responsibility for the Environment in relation to the petition that has been received in pursuance of paragraph 30.1 of the Council Procedure Rules:

Change Southwold Beach Dog Ban to May 1st

Currently Dogs are banned on Southwold beach from April 1st each year, whereas every other beach in Suffolk is May 1st. If you would like to see the ban brought in line with every other beach in Suffolk to May 1st, please sign this petition.  Why should Southwold be any different from the rest of the county?

Let's extend our dogs walkies by 1 month a year! Please sign and share. We need more signatures, please share with all your contact lists and let's get this on the councils agenda. 

Meanwhile, here's a little personal story about my life with dogs in Southwold....

I was born in Southwold in East Street near the beach and have 2 older brothers. At the age of 8 in 1976 I was desperate to have a dog, but my older brother was afraid of them, so family disputes were highly debated over the topic. Every day I would look at the classifieds section in the back of my fathers EADT newspaper, reading out all the puppies for sale. My father trying to be diplomatic said if we were to have a dog, he would prefer a Boxer dog, which were £150 at this time. He told me if I could save up £150 of pocket money I could have one. In 1976 this was a LOT of money and a seemingly unsurmountable accomplishment for an 8 year old! I shook hands on the deal and went for a walk on Southwold beach. On the beach I found three £50 notes rolled up with an elastic band round them!!! I took them home and proudly presented my parents with the £150 and asked if we could now get a puppy! My mother asked where on earth I had got the money from, on telling her i found it on the beach, she said someone has lost this and we must hand it in at the Police station, which we did. The Police officer said we had to wait for 6 weeks to see if anyone claimed it. Every day I ticked off the days on the calendar. After the 6 weeks was up, the Police called to say no one had claimed it and it was mine! Shortly after we got our first Boxer named Benjy, who the whole family, including my brother who had previously been scared of dogs, fell i love with.

I'm now 57 and have had dogs my whole life. I never wanted children, but dogs (and cats) have been my constant companions. I've gone from Boxers to Scotties as I've got older, but love all breeds and know as a long term dog owner that what you put into dogs you get out. Responsible ownership, cleaning up after your dog, keeping them on lead on the promenade, ensuring your dog is not a threat to others, all help create a better social environment for us all. In summer taking water bowls and shade for our dogs, who love a dip in the sea just as we do. Let's hope that if we keep sharing and signing the petition we will get whats fair and in line with every other beach in Suffolk, allowing us on the beach with our dogs until the end of April each year. 36% of households in the UK own a dog! So many families bring dogs to the town for holidays, it was voted 70/100 top places in the UK that is dog friendly, which helps tourism in the town and helps support local business. 

Thanks for listening, sharing and supporting this petition. 

The following motion has been received from East Suffolk Youth Council in pursuance of paragraph 31.2 of the Council Procedure Rules:

Flooding Motion

Proposer:  TBC

Seconder:  TBC

This Council notes: 
1. Floods, like those on the 20th of October 2023, can have devastating impacts on local communities.
2. More than 14,900 properties in Suffolk as a whole are at risk of flooding.  
3. Flooding can cause damage to the mental and physical health of residents of towns and villages affected, damage to properties and businesses and can cause pollution in the local environment.  
4. Climate change is increasing the strength and regularity of flooding and the vulnerability of properties and businesses to flooding. 
5. East Suffolk Council has already established a new £500,000 fund to provide immediate, short-term responses to emergency events in their 2024-2025 budget.  
6. The Lowestoft tidal barrier project, aimed at reducing the impacts of flooding in Lowestoft was halted due to a £124 million funding gap.   
7. Lots of towns across East Suffolk, including Woodbridge, Aldeburgh, Beccles, Framlingham and Lowestoft have a high chance of flooding according to the Long-term flood risk page on the Gov.uk website.  
8. Trees and plants can limit the impact of flooding by intercepting rainfall and stopping soil erosion. East Suffolk Council has an aim to enable 250,000 trees to be planted and new hedgerows to be created across East Suffolk by the end of 2027. This is part of a new tree and hedgerow strategy announced in July 2024.  
 
East Suffolk Youth Council calls on East Suffolk Council to: 
1. Acknowledge that East Suffolk Youth Council has declared its support for the construction of the Lowestoft Tidal Barrier and believes the scheme to play an important role in the Lowestoft Flood Protection Project.  
2. Continue lobbying the Government to provide funding to enable work on the Lowestoft Tidal Barrier to resume. 
3. Involve East Suffolk Youth Council in the implementation of the East Suffolk Council Tree Strategy, and to consult the Woodland Trust regarding the possibility of planting sedges and Typha to effectively mitigate flooding impacts. Additionally, to keep East Suffolk Youth Council informed of progress with regular updates. 
4. To support East Suffolk Youth Council in writing a letter to the Suffolk County Council Cabinet Member with responsibility for Highway Drainage and Flooding to stress the importance of clearing drains during extreme weather and to ask whether they utilise their long-term flood risk technical map to prioritise areas for cleaning where flooding is more frequent. 
5. Facilitate a meeting between any or all four MPs with responsibility in East Suffolk and a delegation from East Suffolk Youth Council to request their support for the Lowestoft Tidal Barrier and to discuss coastal protection and the impacts of flooding. 

The following Motions have been submitted in pursuance of paragraph 31.1 Council Procedure Rules:

MOTION TO FULL COUNCIL

Proposer: Cllr Caroline Topping
Seconder: Cllr Peter Byatt

This Council notes that:

 Suffolk’s five district and borough councils have conducted an engagement survey about Local Government Reorganisation (LGR) and the most popular priority from over 1,500 respondents is: “Being Local - Ensuring decisions that affect you, and where you live, are made close to you - by councillors and a council that understand your needs and represents your area”. This is consistent across each district and borough in the county. 

The voices of residents, businesses and organisations are essential in shaping the future of Suffolk.

Research from the University of Cambridge’s Bennett Institute for Public Policy has found that ‘public satisfaction is higher with authorities that are smaller in size’.

An analysis of existing unitary councils has further identified that there is no link between councils’ size and their performance. For example, almost twice as many councils with the smallest populations obtained the CQC’s (Care Quality Commission) highest ‘outstanding’ rating than councils with larger populations.

A vast Suffolk-wide council would most likely create a barrier to truly local representation, reducing the total number of Councillors from c.300 to between 90 and 140 and therefore significantly increasing the number of residents represented by each elected member, risking poor democratic representation.

This Council resolves to:

Further develop the case which presents a preferred option for a three-unitary model. This will enable decision-making to remain close to communities and offer genuine value for money.

Consult further with KPMG to present the detail which establishes that a three unitary model provides high quality, sustainable public services whilst delivering efficiencies.

Prioritise the needs of our residents throughout the process of Local Government Reorganisation by engaging with them throughout.

MOTION TO FULL COUNCIL

Proposer; Councillor Rosie Smithson
Seconder; Councillor Tess Gandy

 This Council notes that

Our environmental impact strategic priorities include a focus on reduction, re-use and recycling of materials through our own practices and by encouraging others.

In East Suffolk the percentage of household waste sent for recycling or composting remains below target at around 40% of all domestic waste we produce. A key area where we could easily do better is in the recycling of drinks cans and plastic bottles.

A simple yet highly effective way to increase recycling and reduce litter is the installation of public reverse vending machines (RVMs) that accept bottles and cans, giving back rewards such as points, money or vouchers. Ubiquitous in many parts of Europe, RVMs are usually part of a Deposit Return Scheme (DRS), under which people pay a small deposit when buying a drink and are refunded the deposit when they return the bottle or can for recycling.

West Suffolk Council has recently installed RVMs in three Suffolk towns that earn users points for each item recycled. These points are then used to redeem rewards from local and national retailers. The scheme incentivises recycling, reduces the carbon footprint, fosters greater public engagement in environmental initiatives and helps local businesses by encouraging footfall.

 This Council resolves to 

 Investigate the West Suffolk Council deposit return scheme for cans and plastic bottles with the ambition to adopt the same initiative here.

Provide Full Council with a report on the investigation with recommendations within six months.

It is recommended that under Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972 (as amended) the public be excluded from the meeting for the following item 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.     

• Information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person (including the authority holding that information).