Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors C. Leaver and Worden.

(attached)

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting held on 8 January 2024 (circulated previously), be approved as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

There were no items brought forward, which in the opinion of the Chair, should be considered 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. A declaration of interest under the Code of Conduct will be a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest, an Other Registrable Interest or a Non-Registrable Interest.  If the item directly relates to your interest you must declare the interest and leave the room for the item, save in the case of Other Registrable Interests or Non-Registrable Interests where you may first speak on the item as a member of the public if provision has been made for the public to speak.  If the matter does not directly relate to your interest but still affects it then you must consider whether you are affected to a greater extent than most people and whether a reasonable person would consider your judgement to be clouded, if you are then you must leave the room for the item (although you may speak as a member of the public if provision has been made for the public to speak) or, if you are not, then you can declare the interest but still take part).

The following declarations of interest were made:

Councillor Prowse declared an ‘Other registerable interest’ in item 6 as he was a member of the Barnstaple Rugby Club.

Councillor D Knight declared an ‘Other registerable interest’ in item 6 as he was a member of the Tawstock Parish Council, and although the Village Hall was not owned by the Parish Council he wanted to make the declaration.

Councillor R Knight declared an ‘Other registerable interest’ in item 6 as he was a member of Tawstock Parish Council.

Report by Parks, Leisure and Public Open Space Officer (attached).

The Committee considered a report by the Parks, Leisure and Public Open Space Officer (circulated previously) regarding the Approval and Release of S106 Public Open Space Funds – Barnstaple, South Molton and Tawstock.

The Parks, Leisure and Public Open Space Officer highlighted the following:

·         The allocation of monies towards projects were are follows:

·         £178,292.29 for South Molton Football Club towards the cost of new pitches and clubhouse facilities.

·         £9,621.95 for South Molton Bowls Club towards the purchase and installation of solar panels on their pavilion.

·         £60,000.00 for South Molton Town Council towards the purchase and installation of play equipment in Central Park.

·         £20,000.00 for South Molton Town Council towards the extension of the BMX track in the Woodlands on Parsonage Lane.

·         £33,680.45 to South Molton Town Council for the improvement of the skate park in central park.

·         £41,137.21 for Barnstaple Rugby Football Club towards the cost of refurbishing the old cricket pavilion to provide dedicated female changing facilities.

·         £1,500.00 for United Services Bowls Club towards the cost of completing their refurbishment of their clubhouse.

·         £13,788.07 for Tawstock Village Hall for the purchase and installation of battery storage units to accompany their recently installed solar panels.

In response to a question relating to the process of allocation of S106 and how this occurred, the Parks, Leisure and Open Space Officer advised that he would circulate refreshed information on the process of applying for S106 monies. 

The Chief Executive responded to a question about more rural areas being given opportunities to receive funding.  He explained that S106 contributions were made by developers to offset planning developments where services/infrastructure could not be provided onsite.  In rural areas where no developments were occurring then this contribution would not be available.

Chair requested that a briefing of S106 allocations be given to full Council at its next meeting.

RESOLVED that:

(i)    £178,292.29 be allocated to South Molton Football Club towards the cost of new pitches and clubhouse facilities.

(ii)  £9,621.95 to South Molton Bowls Club towards the purchase and installation of solar panels on their pavilion.

(iii)£60,000.00 to South Molton Town Council towards the purchase and installation of play equipment in Central Park.

(iv)£20,000.00 to South Molton Town Council towards the extension of the BMX track in the Woodlands on Parsonage Lane.

(v)  £33,680.45 to South Molton Town Council for the improvement of the skate park in central park.

(vi)£41,137.21 to Barnstaple Rugby Football Club towards the cost of refurbishing the old cricket pavilion to provide dedicated female changing facilities.

(vii)                £1,500.00 to United Services Bowls Club towards the cost of completing their refurbishment of their clubhouse.

(viii)               £13,788.07 to Tawstock Village Hall for the purchase and installation of battery storage units to accompany their recently installed solar panels.

RECOMMENDED that Council vary the capital programme by £405,112.32 and the funds be released subject to a funding agreement upon such terms and conditions as may be agreed by the Senior Solicitor and Monitoring Officer for external projects.

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 Performance and Financial Management Q3 2023-24.

The Finance Manager highlighted the following:

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

·         As at 31st December 2023, the latest forecast net budget was £14,693,450, which produces a budget surplus of £73,000. Details are shown in “Appendix A – Variations in the Revenue Budget”.

·         The original budget for 2023/24 includes a forecast to achieve £250,000 worth of salary vacancy savings. The current position forecasts we will achieve £296,000 based on known vacancies to date.

·         The National pay award negotiations for 2023/24 had been settled and was paid to staff in Novembers’ salary, backdated to 1 April 2023. The pay award worked out to be an average of 6.7%, the original budget included 4%, and the additional costs of £436,000 had been funded from the Budget Management reserve.

·         As at 31st December it was now estimated income growth from Business Rates to be an additional £950,000, it was proposed to place the £950,000 into the following earmarked reserves:

Ø  Collection Fund reserve £450,000

Ø  Budget Management reserve £150,000

Ø  Town Centre Management reserve £200,000

Ø  Treasury Management reserve £150,000.

·         As at 1st April 2023 the Collection Fund reserve balance held was £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 would 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; Due to the additional business rates income above, the reserve had been increased by a further £450,000, thus leaving the fund reserve with a residue balance of £877,614 protection against future volatility.

·         The Valuation Office Agency (VOA) had 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 £228,000. It was recommended within the Q1 report that this refund be placed into the Regeneration Reserve for future projects.

·         As at the 31st December 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 project spend slippages in the Capital programme and using the cash flow balances for internal borrowing had reduced borrowing costs on the revenue budget and it was currently forecasted a £274,000 underspend on the interest payable budget. In addition, due to on-going higher interest rates the Council was also  ...  view the full minutes text for item 88.

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 Review of Fees and Charges for services 2024-25.

The Finance Manager highlighted the following:

·         The change in fees charged for services provided by the Council was in line with the Medium Term Financial Strategy.

·         The charges for the provision of services were reviewed annually in the context of policy guidance within the Medium Term Financial Strategy, and the recommended levels of increase to produce a target income level.

·         This year the guidance was to increase fees and charges by 5%, although some fees were set by statute and these would be set nationally. Other variations to the 5% increase were set out in sections 4.3 to 4.11 of the report,

·         Building Control fees had been raised by an average of 6.7% and rounded to the nearest pound, this was to ensure that revenue income recouped the actual cost of providing the service and were competitive in the sector.  Details of this could be seen in Appendix B of the report.

·         Land Charges fees had been set to recoup the cost of providing the service, the recommended fees for the land charges service was estimated to recover all the costs and break even, as detailed at Appendix D of the report.

·         There were two changes to the Environmental Health fees, as the majority of these were set by statute or set to recover costs. The introduction of a fee for “Film Classification Certificate” and variation to the “Export Health Certificate” fee to ensure the cost of providing the service is fully recovered, as detailed at Appendix E of the report.

·         Pannier Market (Venue hire) – Following the recent refurbishment and new facilities within the Pannier Market the Council now offered an enhanced look and feel to the market and had varied the prices to reflect the venue offer, the revised prices were now in line with other similar venues, as detailed in Appendix H (b) Venue of the report.

·         Bulky Waste Collections – To increase the fees as follows: as detailed in Appendix I of the report.

Ø  Up to 2 items £30.00 (30.43% increase)

Ø  Up to 3 items £38.00 (22.58% increase)

Ø  Up to 4 items £45.00 (18.42% increase)

·         The proposed increases above brought the Council’s charges in line with our neighbouring authorities.

·         Garden Waste – Increase in fee of £5, this level of charge was similar to the charges made by other Devon councils and ensured the cost of providing the service was recovered by the income as seen at Appendix J of the report.

·         Estates Event Licence fee – The licence for both charity and Commercial events on the Council’s land had been set to recover the cost of administering the licence fee, as detailed in Appendix M of the report.

·         Estates Contractors Works licence - This was a new fee for 2024-25 and was set to recover the cost of administering the new licence fee, details  ...  view the full minutes text for item 89.

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 Revenue Budget 2024-25, Capital Programme and Medium Term Financial Strategy 2024-25 to 2029-30.

The Lead Member for Resources and Commercialisation addressed the Committee and gave a brief introduction:

·         The Council had a legal duty to prepare a balanced budget.

·         This had been achieved despite the unforeseen pressures on Councils due to higher than expected pay awards, ever decreasing central Government funding and the high rise in inflation.

·         The budget process began in the summer of 2023 with a cross party workshop in the autumn of 2023.

·         The Council had responded to the Government’s consultation on the Provisional Local Government Finance Settlement.

·         Rural authorities were still seen as the ‘poor relation’ compared to urban authorities.  With an average, per head, of £142 less awarded to rural authorities.

·         Council tax had to be increased to help bridge the gap in funding.

·         The purchase of Green Lanes was seen as a strategic decision proving to be a beneficial revenue stream.

·         £200,000 had been earmarked for the continuation of the much-valued Street Marshal scheme.

·         The demand on Temporary Accommodation was an ever growing burden but somewhat mitigated by the purchase of properties, by the Council, to help offer a cheaper alternative to expensive B&B placements.

·         The delay in the fair funding review, which was now expected in two years’ time, meant predicting the Medium term finance strategy was challenging.

The Lead Member for Resources and Commercialisation gave thanks to the Director of Resources and Deputy Chief Executive and his team for producing a balanced budget without the need to cut services.

The Director of Resources and Deputy Chief Executive gave the Committee a presentation, which included the following highlights:

·         The provisional Local Government finance settlement was announced in December 2023 and confirmed a 3% funding guarantee for all authorities and Council Tax Referendum limit principles of 3% or £5 (whichever was the highest).

·         The final Local Government finance settlement figure was expected to be announced this week.

·         Members had received the detailed budget book early, normally circulated ahead of the February Council meeting.  This information looked in detail at funding each service area of the Council.

·         Nationally the total funding settlement stood at just over £64 billion with a core spending power of 6.5%.  This included council tax setting.

·         There were significant cuts in core grant funding from Government since 2015-16.

·         Government SFA funding, which used to equate to around 50% of authorities funding was now a smaller proportion, with council tax collection now equating to more than 50% of revenue into the Council.

·         The allocation of the finance settlement depended on the type of authority.  North Devon Council was a Shire District authority. 

·         Nationally a Shire District authority received 4.9% Core Spending Power share but our allocation was lower still at 4.7%.

·         The level of CPI inflation at October 2023 was 4.6%.

·         For 2024-25 the Revenue and Support Grant and Baseline Funding increased by  ...  view the full minutes text for item 90.

Report by Head of Governance (attached)

The Committee considered a report by the Head of Governance (circulated previously) regarding the Treasury Management Strategy Statement 2024/25.

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

·         Section 5.1 of the report detailed how Capital expenditure would be financed.

·         Section 5.2 of the report detailed the Capital financing requirement.

·         Section 5.4 of the report detailed Year end resources.

·         Section 6.1 of the report detailed external debt figures.

·         Section 6.3 of the report detailed forecasts of interest rates.

·         The investment strategy could be seen at section 7 of the report.

·         If it was felt that there was a significant risk of a sharp FALL in borrowing rates, then borrowing could be postponed.

·         If it was felt that there was a significant risk of a much sharper RISE in borrowing rates than that currently forecast, fixed rate funding will be looked to be drawn whilst interest rates were lower.

·         Any decisions would be reported to the Leader and the Lead Member for Resources and Commercialisation.

RECOMMENDED that Council approve the Treasury Management Strategy Statement, Minimum Revenue Provision Policy Statement and Annual Investment Statement 2024/25, including the Treasury Management and Prudential Indicators for 2024/25 to 2026/27.

Report by Head of Governance (attached)

The Committee considered a report by the Head of Governance (circulated previously) regarding the 10 Year Capital Strategy 2024 to 2034.

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

·         The Capital Strategy was a high-level longer term review of the capital priorities, capital investment ambition, available resources, affordability and risk management in the context of ensuring the long-term financial sustainability of this authority. 

·         The report was broken down into two time frames; firstly the medium term and secondly the long term from 2028-29 through to 2033-34.

·         Ongoing financial commitments of the Council were identified in section 4.5 of the report.

·         The total Capital Financing Requirement, or borrowing need, for 2028-29 was projected at just over £36 million and dropped to just over £30 million for year 2033-34.

·         The projected External Borrowing figure was just over £23 million and dropped to just over £19 million for year 2033-34.

RECOMMENDED that Council approve the Capital Strategy 2024/25 to 2033/34.

Report by Head of Customer Focus (attached)

The Committee considered a report by the Head of Customer Focus (circulated previously) regarding the Town Centre Hub.

The Head of Customer Focus highlighted the following:

·         The project formed part of the overall objective of the Customer Focus Programme which was presented and adopted by members in December 2021.

·         Units 38 and 39 had been empty since the Council purchased Green Lanes in November 2021 and even though the units had been actively marketed over the past two years, there had been no commercial interest from retailers during this time. Reported feedback had said it was the wrong shape and size for modern retailers; not big enough for larger requirements and too large for others. If the Council did not occupy the unit then it would take considerable additional investment to create a space to interest potential retailers.

·         Units 38 and 39 being vacant within Green Lanes was currently a cost already borne by the Council as Landlord and had been since the  shopping centre was acquired in November 2021. The current business rates and service charges for the units were approximately £50,000 per annum, which was currently built into the Green Lanes revenue budget. If the Council were to occupy the premises, there was the opportunity to create an additional income stream by sharing with third parties.

·         It was proposed to revert to pre-Covid19 opening hours of 9am-5pm Monday to Friday. Customer Services currently see approximately 100-130 customers per week on the 3 mornings a week that Lynton House was open. There was no ‘passing trade’ along Commercial Road and so the only people seen were those who had made a special trip to come into town to visit the Council for a purpose.

·         With a current footfall of approximately 10,000 per day into Green Lanes along with a more central location, it was anticipated that there would be an increased number of people coming in to see and speak to staff regarding a variety of services.

·         This was seen as a positive opportunity to further humanise both North Devon Council and our staff by having a more regular presence in our residents’ day-to-day lives.

·         Community engagement brought together diverse perspectives to improve the impact of policies and projects on people.  The Hub would enhance what was currently offered by having the space for public consultations for both physical documentation and screens with information.  There would be a hot-desk space for officers to locate themselves during consultations when expertise was required on-site.

·         Self-serve kiosks would be available to encourage customers to interact with us digitally, with staff on-site to help those who needed assistance.

·         Alongside Customer Services, there would be a daily presence from those services which had the most regular customer interactions, namely Housing and Revenues & Benefits.

·         The Police had provided a commitment to occupy the premises alongside the Council with a daily presence from members of the neighbourhood team, which would further benefit retailers in both Green Lanes and the whole town centre.

·         Green Lanes had a  ...  view the full minutes text for item 93.

Report by Property Manager (attached)

The Committee considered a report by the Property Manager (circulated previously) regarding Land at St George’s Road, Barnstaple – Joint Marketing with Adjoining Devon County Council Land.

The Property Manger highlighted the following:

·         The site was surplus to requirements and this proposal provided the opportunity to generate a capital receipt and would support a housing scheme in the St. George’s Road area of the town.  A request had been made to Devon County Council to include Affordable Housing providers in the disposal process.

RESOLVED that North Devon Council market our asset alongside Devon County Council’s site and agree the freehold disposal.  The disposal mechanism to be delegated for approval by the Head of Place, Property and Regeneration in consultation with the Leader and the Lead Member for Place, Property and Regeneration.