Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Biederman, D. Knight and P Leaver.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting held on 3 July 2023 (circulated previously) be approved as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

In response to a question in relation to minute 18, the Director of Resources and Deputy Chief Executive advised that the Future High Streets Fund project team were in the process of exploring other options for a design scheme and that the Head of Place, Property and Regeneration would provide an update report to either the October or November meeting of the Committee.

There were no items brought forward which in the opinion of the Chair should be considered by the meeting as a matter of urgency.

(Please telephone the Corporate and Community Services team to prepare a form for your signature before the meeting.  Interests must be re-declared when the item is called, and Councillors must leave the room if necessary).

The following declarations of interest was announced:

Councillor Roome – item 6, non registerable interest as a veteran of the Armed Forces (declared for the purposes of transparency with no action to be taken).

Report by Head of Customer Focus (attached).

The Committee considered a report by the Head of Customer Focus (circulated previously) regarding the Forces Covenant.

The Head of Customer Focus highlighted the following:

·       The work and policies that the Council have in place with regard to supporting both veterans and serving military to give Councillors the necessary assurance that the Council was in a position to sign a new Armed Forces Covenant.

·       Paragraph 4.4 of the report outlined how the Council demonstrated its commitment to sign up to a new Armed Forces Covenant.

·       The Covenant would be reviewed on an annual basis and updated as and when any policies are reviewed in the future.

·       The Covenant would be included on the Council’s new website which would be launched later this month.

Jon Beake, Regional Employment Engagement Director, Defence Relationship Management in the South West addressed the Committee and outlined his role in assisting and working with employers to develop Armed Forces Covenants. Previously the Council had co-signed the Armed Forces Covenant with Devon County Council.  Devon County Council had now adopted a Covenant in its own right.  He outlined the Council’s moral obligations and advised that the Council now had a duty to have regard to such a Covenant. He welcomed the Council signing up to a new Covenant and that it would be reviewed on an annual basis.

Wing Commander Alex Drake, Air Regional Employer Engagement Officer addressed the Committee and highlighted the importance of having a Covenant in place and how it also supported reservists, widest defence community, veterans and cadets. It provided support at grass root levels and enabled the military to continue to deliver its services.

RESOLVED that the Council’s proposed Armed Forces Covenant as outlined in Appendix A of the report be approved.

Councillor Roome and Wing Commander Alex Drake formally signed the Armed Forces Covenant.

Report by Sustainability and Climate Officer for NDC and TDC (attached)

The Committee considered a report by the Sustainability and Climate Officer for NDC and TDC (circulated previously) regarding the formation of a Councillor Climate Action Team.

Councillor R. Knight outlined the report to the Committee and advised that there had been some delay in setting up the Climate Action Team. He thanked members of staff, Councillor C. Leaver and former Councillor Lofthouse for their support.  He advised that the inaugural meeting would be held in two weeks and would then meet on a bi monthly basis.

RESOLVED:

(a)  That a Councillor Climate Action Team continues to meet and function under the Terms of Reference attached at Appendix One of the report.

(b)  That the Council Members listed at paragraph 4.3 of the report are appointed onto the Climate Action Team.

Report by Director of Resources and Deputy Chief Executive (attached).

The Committee considered a report by the Director of Resources and Deputy Chief Executive (circulated previously) regarding Performance and Financial Management Quarter 1 of 2023/24.

The Finance Manager highlighted the following:

·       The revenue budget for 2023/24 was approved at Council on 22 February 2023 at £14,766,450.

·       As at 30 June 2023, the latest forecast net budget was £14,749,450, which produced a budget surplus of £17,000. Details were shown in “Appendix A – Variations in the Revenue Budget”.

·       The original budget for 2023/24 included a forecast to achieve £250,000 worth of salary vacancy savings. The current position forecasts we will achieve £93,000 based on known vacancies to date, but it was anticipated that the budget of £250,000 will be achieved by the end of the financial year.

·       The National pay award was currently being considered by the Unions; however if the 2023-24 pay award exceeded the budgeted 4% included in the original budget then we would look to fund any shortfall from the Budget Management reserve, which currently had a balance of £814,000.

·       As at 1 April 2023 the Collection Fund reserve balance held is £1,340,177. This earmarked reserve was created to deal with the timing impacts of the Collection Fund (Business Rates), which ensured the revenue budget was not unduly affected in the year the taxes were collected. Collection Fund deficits/surpluses were reversed out to bring the revenue account back to the budgeted figure for the year; the deficits/surpluses were recovered/distributed in the following financial years. This reserve included a £912,563 balance that will be utilised in 2023/24 and 2024/25 to mitigate timing differences of business rate reliefs awarded in 2022/23 that from an accounting perspective impact over the next two financial years; thus leaving the fund reserve with a residue balance of £427,614 protection against future volatility.

·       The Valuation Office Agency (VOA) have notified the Council that they were to reduce the Rateable Value of the Museum from £146,000 to £1, this change had been back dated to 2019 and a refund in rates payable had resulted in a net positive impact to the council of £184,000. It was recommended this refund amount be contributed to the Regeneration Reserve for future projects.

·       At the 30 June 2023 total external borrowing was £3,000,000. The timing of any future borrowing was dependent on how the authority managed its treasury activity. Due to on-going higher interest rates the Council was reporting a £90,000 net increase in Interest receivable.

·       “Appendix B – Movement in reserves and Balances” detailed the movements to and from earmarked reserves in 2023/24.

·       The 2023/24 Capital Programme was detailed in “Appendix D – Capital Programme 2023/24”.

·       The Budget and Financial Framework report to Full Council on 22 February 2023 outlined the Capital Programme for the 2023/24 financial year of £21,247,098. Project underspend and further variations of £6,921,154 were approved as part of the performance and financial management report to Strategy and Resources Committee, to produce a revised 2023/24 Capital Programme of £28,168,252.

·       Overall variations of (£5,648,600) were proposed to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 29.

Report by Community Protection Officer (attached)

The Committee considered a report by the Community Protection Officer (circulated previously) regarding the Public Spaces Protection Order to address Anti-Social Behaviour.

The Committee noted that the constitutional context under paragraph 9 of the report was incorrect and should have stated “Part 3, Annexe 1, Paragraph 1” of the constitution which allowed the Committee to make this decision without the requirement to refer to Council for the final decision to be taken.

The Community Protection Officer highlighted the following:

·       The current Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO) would expire on 1 January 2024. By enacting the new order we would be able to avoid a period where there are no powers to address Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB) in Barnstaple and Ilfracombe.

·       The operation of the current order has allowed identification of areas where it would be useful to strengthen the conditions. The existing power allows the dispersal of groups of two or more to outside of the PSPO area for a period of six hours had been amended in proposals for the new order. The new proposal would allow for the dispersal of individuals, in addition to groups of two or more. The dispersal time period had been extended to twenty four hours, up from six hours.

·       The area covered by the PSPO had also been extended as detailed in Appendix B of the report. Two areas have been added to the Barnstaple map, Rotary Gardens and Portmarsh, as both sites have been subject to anti-social behaviour related to the consumption of alcohol and other intoxicating substances.  The proposed PSPO area in Ilfracombe remained unaltered.

In response to questions, the Community Protection Officer advised the following:

·       The Street Marshals in Barnstaple were currently not “authorised persons”, however they would be shortly. There were currently no Street Marshals in Ilfracombe, however other officers would be designated as “authorised persons” who would be able to act in this area.

·       Information regarding the number of £100 fines issued could be reported back to the Committee.

·       There was always an issue with regards to displacement of anti-social behaviour to other areas outside of the PSPO.  The guidance advised that the PSPO areas should be as small as possible. The Outreach Teams were in place to address issues before they arose.

·       Incidents of anti-social behaviour had also been reported in other areas such as Braunton and South Molton.

·       There was an ongoing issue regarding the number of police officers in other areas. During the summer of 2020, following Covid, Street Marshals had been employed in both Croyde and Woolacombe.  There was always a significant increase in numbers over the summer months in these areas due to holiday visitors.  There may be other anti-social behaviour powers that can be used by the Council.

In response to questions, the Director of Resources and Deputy Chief Executive advised the following:

·       That there was a report later in the agenda for this meeting in relation to expanding the Street Marshal scheme into Ilfracombe  ...  view the full minutes text for item 30.

Report by Environmental Health Manager (attached).

The Committee considered a report by the Environmental Health Manager (circulated previously) regarding the Public Spaces Protection Order Review 2024 (Dog Controls PSPO).

The Committee noted that the constitutional context under paragraph 9 of the report was incorrect and should have stated “Part 3, Annexe 1, Paragraph 1” of the constitution which allowed the Committee to make this decision without the requirement to refer to Council for the final decision to be taken.

The Environmental Health Manager highlighted the following:

·       On 1 June 2020 Members considered a proposed public consultation exercise on the implementation of a number of controls designed to address anti-social behaviour associated with irresponsible dog ownership.

·       The current PSPO will end on 31st of December 2023 and ideally we will be in a position to seamlessly move to a new order from 1 January 2024. Without it, we will have no provision for enforcement of dog fouling or other controls within the existing order. 

·       Appendices attached to the report.

·       The current PSPO that was in place.

·       New proposals for consultation.

·       Proposed new Paw Scheme.

·       PSPOs – proposal new design and visuals

·       Identification of hot spots.

·       Proposed new Dog Walking Code of Practice.

In response to questions, the Environmental Health Manager advised the following:

·       It was Council policy not to pick up dog fouling and the responsibility was to control.  This would be included within the consultation.

The Chief Executive advised that it was not the Council’s responsibility to pick up dog fouling on footpaths.

In response to questions, the Neighbourhood Officer advised the following:

·       It was a nationally recognised approach to utilise the notion to try to build community awareness and identify offenders of dog fouling.  It was a much better approach to engage with the community and it also had impact on psychological behaviour of offenders. This also enabled officers to use other techniques such as CCTV and identification of hot spots. In his experience, this had a positive impact.

·       Proposals also included restrictions on the number of dogs that must be kept on leads for professional dog walkers and a new Dog Walking Code of Practice was proposed.  Currently professional dog walkers were unregulated with no controls in place.  The new Code of Practice had been drafted based on guidance from Defra.  It was also proposed that conditions would also be included as part of licensing dog kennels. The Code of Practice would also be provided to landowners to enable them to control and moderate the number of people walking dogs on their land.

RESOLVED that the Public Spaces Protection Order (Dog Controls) Review and Consultation Process be approved and that the results of the consultation be presented to the Committee on 6 November 2023.

Report by Director of Resources and Deputy Chief Executive (attached)

The Committee considered a report by the Director of Resources and Deputy Chief Executive (circulated previously) regarding the formation of a community lottery for North Devon.

The Director of Resources and Deputy Chief Executive advised that Carol O’Neil, Lottery Manager of Gatherwell was present to answer any questions. He highlighted the following:

·       A local lottery for North Devon would offer a valuable new income stream for local voluntary and community organisations.

·       Local Authority lotteries have to deliver a minimum of 20% of proceeds to purposes for which the authority has the power to incur expenditure.  It was proposed to deliver up to 60% of the Lottery proceeds to good causes.

·       The three options for consideration by the Committee as outlined in paragraph 4.4 of the report.   Option 3 was recommended to the Committee for approval.

·       It was proposed that rather than allocating officer time and significant cost to setting up and managing an in-house lottery, an External Lottery Manager (ELM) was used to oversee the operations of the local lottery. There would be some in-house resources required to liaise with the external provider to get the lottery up and running.

·       There were very few ELM’s in the marketplace and, as indicated, Gatherwell were specialists in delivering local authority lotteries. It was therefore proposed to utilise Gatherwell as an ELM for the lottery, initially for a one-year, with an option to extend to a second year.

·       Gatherwell now provided this service for around 140 local authorities, including district, metropolitan, county and unitary councils, and their remit was to increase funding to good causes. No other quotes have been obtained from lottery providers as there does not appear to be any other company that can facilitate this type of local authority lottery.

·       One of our neighbouring local authorities, Teignbridge District Council, recently set up their community lottery and as part of their research considered other ELM’s as detailed in paragraph 4.8 of the report.

·       The Council would need to define eligibility criteria against which applications for good causes wishing to join the lottery would be assessed. The proposed criteria was detailed in paragraphs 4.10, 4.11 and 4.12 of the report.

·       Once the criteria have been agreed, Gatherwell would set up a new website and manage the publicity and recruitment of good causes to the platform. Experience of running 140 such lotteries suggested that there was no upper limit on the number of good causes and the most successful lotteries support the largest numbers of causes.

·       Local authorities would have significant input into the branding, marketing and launch of the lottery, even to the extent of naming the lottery, however ongoing marketing need only incur modest expenditure, with good causes largely doing this work themselves.

·       Ticket sales would all be administered by the ELM and participants would be expected to set up a monthly direct debit. No tickets were sold in shops, offices or on the street. The ELM would also be responsible for payment of prizes and distribution of proceeds to good  ...  view the full minutes text for item 32.

Report by Public Protection Manager (attached).

The Committee considered a joint report by the Public Protection Manager and Environmental Health Officer (circulated previously) regarding proposed amendments to the Council’s existing amenity standards with respect of short term holiday letting of licensed Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs).

The Environmental Health Officer (TR) highlighted the following:

·       Consideration was sought in respect of proposed amendments to the Council’s Amenity Standards, and in particular in respect of the short term holiday letting of rooms within licensed HMOs. The proposed revised Amenity Standards document with highlighted changes was found within Appendix A of the report.

·       The popularity of short term letting for holiday purposes of domestic properties has increased, particularly in the area of North Devon which has access to popular tourist locations and some landlords are looking to diversify their current portfolio of properties.

·       There were an estimated 1,100 HMOs in North Devon, of which approximately 290 fall under the Part 2 mandatory licensing scheme.

·       As at 30 June 2023, there were 1867 business rated properties with a description containing ‘self-catering holiday units’.

·       An enquiry was received from an agent, whereby they approached the Council to ask if there were any restrictions in relation to landlords renting out rooms within licensed HMOs on a holiday let basis, as a landlord had proposed to rent out their property in this way.

·       Having reviewed the request, there were believed to be a number of risks with mixed use short term holiday lets and HMOs as detailed in paragraph 5.7 of the report.

·       In light of this request, it was proposed that the Council do not permit rooms within licensed properties to be rented out on a holiday let basis (e.g. via Airbnb, Vrbo etc.). All living accommodation must be occupied by persons as their only or main residence or by persons who are to be treated as so occupying it (e.g. on a permanent basis or in line with Section 259 of the Housing Act 2004).

·       It is proposed that a consultation is undertaken with key stakeholders including estate agents, management companies and current HMO landlords and applicants.

·       A period of six weeks has been suggested for the consultation in line with the Cabinet Office guidance, as six weeks provided a proportionate and realistic time period in order for stakeholders to provide a considered response.

In response to questions, the Public Protection Manager advised the following:

·       That the proposed amendment was to not permit rooms within licensed properties to be rented out on a holiday let basis.

·       There was no legal requirement to carry out consultation on this proposed amendment.  However, property owners would need some period of notice if they already let out accommodation as holiday lets.

·       Other licensing policies (e.g. Licensing Act and Gambling Act) were required to be subject to formal consultation.

·       As the original policy had been subject to consultation, it was proposed that consultation be undertaken on this proposed amendment to allow for a level of transparency. A shorter period of consultation may be tolerated.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 33.

Report by Head of Environmental Enhancement (attached)

The Committee considered a report by the Head of Environmental Enhancement (circulated previously) regarding the approval and release of section 106 public open space funds for two projects in the Fremington ward.

The Head of Environmental Enhancement highlighted the following:

·       The approval and release of section 106 public open spaces funds were for two projects in the Fremington Ward for the replacement of play equipment at Ellerslie Road play area and at Beechfield.

RESOLVED:

(a)  That £55,215 be allocated to Fremington Parish Council for the replacement of play equipment at Ellerslie Road play area

(b)  That £39,868 be allocated to Fremington Parish Council towards the replacement of play equipment at Beechfield;

RECOMMENDED:

(c)  That Council be recommended to vary the capital programme by £95,083 and that funds be released subject to a funding agreement upon such terms and conditions as may be agreed by the Senior Solicitor for external projects.

Councillor Walker thanked officers for bringing forward the report and the Committee for its support on behalf of the children of Sticklepath.

Joint report by Place Manager (Town Centre) and Director of Resources and Deputy Chief Executive (attached).

The Committee considered a joint report by the Place Manager (Town Centre) and Director of Resources and Deputy Chief Executive (circulated previously) regarding the Street Marshal Scheme.

The Director of Resources and Deputy Chief Executive highlighted the following:

·       The concept of providing a reassuring visible presence in town centres was first introduced following the pandemic in December 2020. Known locally as Place Makers (nationally as Covid Marshals) their role was primarily to provide a warm, friendly welcome to residents and visitors and to provide assistance to both residents and businesses on Covid restrictions and regulations, in line with Public Health measures when town centres re-opened. 

·       This visible presence was highly valued by both members of the public and businesses and schemes in Barnstaple and Ilfracombe were funded through the Welcome Back Fund following the lockdown periods in 2021.

·       The scheme was reinstated in March 2022 using the Contain Outbreak Management Fund (COMF) with an expanded role to include de-escalating situations that could lead to Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB).

·       Following the success of these schemes; a subsequent increase in antisocial behaviour incidents in Barnstaple Town Centre once they stopped and a public survey which determined that an increased presence by uniformed enforcement officers was the main intervention that would make people feel safer, a successful bid to Safer Streets round four was submitted which included funding for street marshals in Barnstaple.

·       The street marshals have been an unprecedented success, contributing towards a significant reduction in overall crime and incidents of ASB reported to the Police. In the 12 month period June 2022 to May 2023 compared to the same 12 month period the year before (2021-2022).  Reported crime had decreased by 18% a reduction of 382 incidents.  Reported incidents of ASB have decreased by 34% a reduction of 145 incidents.

·       The Safer Streets funding comes to end on 30 September 2023, the purpose of this report is therefore to set out the benefits of the current scheme and seek approval for funding to enable a scheme to continue until the end of March 2024 in both Barnstaple and Ilfracombe with a view to seeking a long-term partnership funding solution from April 2024. 

·       The options for consideration were either to continue with the scheme or to stop.

·       The aim of the current scheme and role of street marshals as outlined in paragraph 4.10 of the report.

·       The proposal and benefits of the scheme.

·       The scheme was valued by businesses and the community as outlined in paragraph 4.15 of the report.

·       There were significant benefits to all public services, it would therefore be appropriate that a long term, multi-agency funding solution be sought to ensure the scheme for Barnstaple and Ilfracombe was sustainable moving forwards. Approving funding until April 2024 would enable such an agreement to be explored and implemented and a further report would be brought back to Members once this had been identified.  Over the next six months discussions would take place between NDC officers and multi-agency stakeholders  ...  view the full minutes text for item 35.

Report by Service Manager – Housing (attached).

The Committee considered a report by the Service Manager – Housing (circulated previously) regarding the Refugee Support Contract.

The Director of Resources and Deputy Chief Executive highlighted the following:

·       The Homes for Ukraine scheme had introduced 12 months ago. The Council had engaged with Pickwell Foundation to provide support to refugees and had been significantly valuable in rehousing refugees successfully. They also re-matched those households requiring alternative accommodation.

·       The 12 month contract with Pickwell Foundation was due to end shortly.  The options were for Pickwell Foundation to continue to provide this service on behalf of the Council or look for an alternative service provider.  It was recommended that Pickwell Foundation continue to provide this service.  Grant funding was in place for this service.

·       Last year, the Council had received £6,000 per refugee for this scheme of which £1,500 per refugee had been allocated to Pickwell Foundation for the service.

·       The Council have agreed to 12 units of family accommodation for those under the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP) scheme at RMB Chivenor.

RESOLVED that the Head of Planning, Housing and Health be authorised in consultation with Senior Solicitor and Monitoring Officer, to make any necessary amendments to the Grant Agreement for provision of support to Ukraine Refugee’s dated the 17 May 2022 with the Pickwell Foundation to account for the Homes for Ukraine scheme and the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP) scheme.

To note the urgent decision that has been made by the Chief Executive in accordance with paragraph 3.45, Annexe 2, Part 3 of the Constitution.

·         Local Authority Housing Fund – Round 2.

The Committee noted the urgent decision that had been made by the Chief Executive in accordance with paragraph 3.45, Annex 2, part 3 of the Constitution (circulated previously) regarding the Local Authority Housing Fund – Round 2.