Meeting Details

Members are invited to a Meeting of the Full Council

to be held in the Deben Conference Room, East Suffolk House,

on Wednesday, 27 July 2022 at 6.30pm

This meeting will be broadcast to the public via the East Suffolk YouTube Channel at https://youtu.be/3gdQ4tmMGbU

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 Chairman, the Leader of the Council, members of the Cabinet, and the Chief Executive, in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 5.1(e).

The following question has been submitted by the public in pursuance of Council Procedure Rule 8:

Question submitted by Mr Adam Robertson to Councillor Mary Rudd, Cabinet Member with responsibility for Community Safety

As the freeholder of the Gateway Retail Park, how long will East Suffolk Council allow negotiations to continue between the leaseholder Freshwater Group and Peter Aldous MP before enforcing a solution as the freeholder, which will stop the congregation of cars and anti-social behaviour happening at the Retail Park? 

The following question(s) from Members has/have been submitted in pursuance of Council Procedure Rule 9:

a) Question submitted by Councillor Tom Daly to Councillor James Mallinder, Cabinet Member with responsibility for the Environment

Theberton and Eastbridge  Parish Council have expended a lot of time and effort  to obtain Dark Skies in their area which is classed as category 1, Milky Way quality. Other PCs in the area are looking to follow suit.

They simply need ESC approval to complete the process of securing Dark Skies status.

I have been asking for a response for them since August 2021. Environment is one of the main pillars of our statutory plan; can we please give them the encouragement they deserve in their sterling efforts for their local environment by giving our approval?

b)  Question submitted by Councillor David Beavan to Councillor Richard Kerry, Cabinet Member with responsibility for Housing

 Dismayed by the low registration for social homes via HomeChoice in my ward, I decided to test the system by registering myself in March. Why is there no ‘save’ option for the 17 page online application form whose second page of 38 questions starts by saying, “You must submit this page in the next 15 minutes”?  Why is my registration still waiting for approval four months later? Can we make this system fair and fit for purpose?

c)  Question submitted by Councillor David Beavan for Councillor James Mallinder, Cabinet Member with responsibility for the Environment

How long will the air quality monitoring at the current sites within Woodbridge continue? Bearing in mind that the UK air quality standards are far less strict than WHO’s Air Quality Guidelines, which state that 10μg/m3 is the highest safe level of NO2, and that levels in Woodbridge are still at 25μg/m3, will Cabinet commit to continue monitoring these sites on a permanent basis?

No petitions have been received as provided by Council Procedure Rule 10.

The following Motions have been submitted in pursuance of Council Procedure Rule 11:

a)  Motion submitted by Councillor Byatt

This Council recognises that the cost of living crisis has had a noticeable impact on the price of freshly-grown food.  Some residents already make use of their own outdoor spaces to grow their own vegetables and fruit, and also there are those who are fortunate enough to have access to Allotments. 

 We believe that there is a simple and positive way to support residents in the long-term to save money and at the same time, to encourage a healthy life-style.

 This Council resolves, therefore, to establish a Working Group to liaise with Parish Councils, local Allotment Groups, land-owning Charitable Trusts and other land-holding bodies with the purpose of seeking opportunities to provide additional Allotments across East Suffolk.

 In addition, this Working Group will widen its brief to consider the current status of public green and brown spaces across the District, with the purpose of encouraging community groups to adopt these spaces, to establish Pocket Parks, Community Gardens and Orchards.

 b)  Motion Submitted by Councillor David Beavan

 This Council notes: 

1. Following the announcement in May of the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill by DLUHC, ESC will be able to utilise a new discretionary council tax premium of up to 100% on second homes which are not let out or lived in for at least 70 days a year.
2. As of 2021 there were 4,113 second homes in East Suffolk, which inflate the local housing market beyond the reach of local people, depopulating the resident communities for lack of alternative social housing to rent.
3. This could provide up to £7.6m annually for the East Suffolk area from 2024/25, of which ESC would receive £700k. 

This Council resolves to:
1. Utilise the full 100% council tax premium on second homes and empty dwellings to fund Community Land Trusts to provide local social housing for rent in the wards affected by second homes.  At a cost of roughly £210k per new home, ESC would be able to provide up to three new rented social homes per year.
2. Reach out to Suffolk County Council and the Police and Crime Commissioner to explore the possibility of working together to utilise the entire £7.6m pot for the construction of up to 36 homes a year. 

There are no Exempt or Confidential items for this Agenda.