Agenda and draft minutes

To confirm and sign as a correct record the Minutes of the Annual General Meeting of Full Council held on 12 May 2025.

 

 

Having been proposed and seconded, on being put to the vote it was:-

 

RESOLVED that the Minutes of the Annual Meeting of Full Council held on 12 May 2025 be confirmed and signed as a correct record.

 

 

Members may make any declarations of interest at this point and may also make them at any point during the meeting.

 

 

No declarations of interest were made at this point in the meeting.

 

 

Setting out the current position of previously agreed actions as at 27 June 2025.

 

 

The Chairman introduced the report advising Members that it would be taken “as read” unless Members had any questions that they wished to raise.

 

With no comments or questions and with no requirement to vote, the matters arising were DULY NOTED.

 

 

i)               Chairman of Council

ii)              Leader of the Council

iii)            Head of Paid Service

 

 

Chairman

 

The Chairman addressed the Council, referencing briefly some of the events in which he had been involved and attended since assuming the role of Chairman at the Council’s Annual General Meeting in May 2025.

 

First reference being to the Lincolnshire Show, and what the Chairman considered had been a really successful couple of days.  Engagement levels had been high and the cinema project and the robotic dogs had drawn the crowds, the marquee had been as busy as the Chairman could recall and he advised Council that he had emailed both Officers and Staff involved in the event to congratulate them on the success of the event.

 

The second event referenced being the GO festival.  Again, the Chairman considered the event to have been a successful one, the Gainsborough Market Place had been busy for the entire day, and Councillor Barrett ringing his bell attracting the crowds had been a noticeable part of the day.  Thanks were again expressed to those Members and Officers involved, with a number of Officers volunteering their time to ensure the event ran smoothly.

 

Finally, the Chairman referenced the opening of the Meatery in the Gainsborough marketplace, commenting on the improved street scene along that row of shops.  He paid credit to those shop owners and businesses and looked forward to welcoming forward- thinking business and entrepreneurs to the Town and District.

 

 

Leader

 

The Leader addressed Council and advised that himself along with his Deputy and the Director of Change Management, ICT and Regulatory Services had attended the LGA conference the previous week.  The key theme of the conference had been Local Government Reorganisation, its likelihood and the timescales involved.

 

The Leader also took time to celebrate the imminent opening of the Savoy Cinema in Gainsborough.  He praised the Council as a whole and the Officers involved in delivering what he considered a real success for the Town and District, and something to be truly proud of.   Reference was made to the all Councillor invite to visit the facility and the regenerated Whitton’s Gardens on Friday 11 July and encouraged and welcomed Councillors attendance.

 

 

Head of Paid Service

 

The newly appointed interim Head of Paid Service addressed Council and spoke of the privilege at attending Full Council on what was his first full day in post and his delight at working for West Lindsey.  Mr Cullen outlined his previous local government experience, having been a Chief Executive for the last eight years in Leicestershire, and his aspirations for his time with the Authority, these being to support both Members and Officers in continuing to provide high-quality services for our communities. He spoke of the enormous passion that existed across this council, demonstrated through his early meetings with teams and of the strong, shared commitment to delivery.

 

Whilst announcements would be brief, he believed they reflected the vibrant energy of West Lindsey and the ambition of the Council’s priorities.

 

 

·       Go Festival 2025 – A Celebration of Culture

 

As referenced by the Chairman of Council ,  ...  view the full minutes text for item 21.

Received question(s) attached.

 

 

 

 

The Chairman advised the meeting that one question had been received from a Member of the Public.  The question submitter was not present at the meeting, therefore at the request of the Chairman and in accordance with the Scheme, the Monitoring Officer, read the question aloud to the Chamber, as follows: -

 

“Since becoming Leader of the Council in May 2023, I am aware that you have successfully driven through the Council’s opposition to having asylum seekers housed at RAF Scampton and you are now leading a £300m regeneration project on that site. What other initiatives are you most proud of?”

 

The Leader of the Council responded as follows: -

 

“Thank you, the Liberal Democrat Administration Group have had a two -year battle with the Government to Save RAF Scampton from being used as an asylum centre.

 

Our fight to save the heritage of the site and deliver a £300 million development on the site is still ongoing with this Labour government. It's clear that if we had had a Conservative Group being in control of this council, our fight would have been lost and the asylum seekers would have been housed on the site, as they would not have taken their own government to judicial review.

 

The Liberal Democrat administration group took control of the council in 2023. It's been Conservative led for 14 years and where the council was Officer led, lacked leadership and direction.  In contrast, we've shown strong leadership with a much more hands-on approach to running the council.

 

We're particularly proud of a number of initiatives but I'll attempt to list a few: -

 

Town Centres

Town centres are challenging for most councils. We have delivered a £20 million investment into our town centre. The investment in one year by our own administration is more than has been invested in the history of this council. We see this is phase one of the regeneration of the town centre.  Phase two, which I will talk about later, is now to attract more high street retailers to the town.

 

Jobs and growth development

We are extremely proud of our work on the Step Fusion Project, which will attract thousands of new jobs to the area. It will also create opportunities for education and skills development for our young people, and we aspire to bring a university facility to West Lindsey.

 

Improved access to health services across the district

It has been a key priority for our administration, and we have been extremely encouraged by the meetings held with Integrated Care Board colleagues on delivering a new GP service to Gainsborough and exploring opportunities for health improvements elsewhere in the district.

 

The Environment

The Environment is such an important issue and tackling problems such as fly tipping is always challenging for councils.  We have employed two additional enforcement officers across the district.

 

Culture

The absence of a cultural strategy was highlighted as a weakness of the Council in a previous peer review report. In the first year of  ...  view the full minutes text for item 22.

Question(s) received attached.

 

 

The Chairman advised the meeting that one question had been received pursuant to Procedure Rule No.9, from Councillor Emma Bailey, Ward Member for Lea.   The question had been circulated to all Members, separately to the agenda, and published on the website.

 

In the absence of Councillor Bailey, the Chairman invited Councillor Lynda Mullally to put the question to the Leader of the Council, Councillor Trevor Young, as follows:-

 

“Can the Leader offer residents reassurance that the sands and Minerals site that has been previously identified in Lea will not be reconsidered. This is the wishes of the residents represented by the Friends of Lea Marshes, in Lea, over their concerns regarding destruction of ecosystems, potential impairment of water quality, water level of the river could increase, loss of habitats not to  mention the daily barrage of noise, and dust pollution as well as the increase in Co2 emissions from numerous trucks to and from the site.

 

The LCC Aggregates Monitoring Report 2025 states that approximately 50% of the total sand and gravel extracted in Lincolnshire is exported out of the county. This would increase the environmental impact even more.  The world is extracting sand more than 3x faster than nature can replenish and whilst we agree there is a need for homes in the UK and therefore the sands and minerals to do this, however, we should be looking at designing and constructing houses and infrastructure, reducing the level of demand of sand eg. recycling old concrete.

 

Thank you”

 

The Chairman thanked Councillor Bailey, in her absence, for the question, and invited Councillor Trevor Young, in his capacity as Leader of the Council, to respond.

 

The Leader indicated to the Chamber that Councillor Bailey would receive a response in writing as per procedure rule 9.5 b) iii).

 

 

Motion 1 – The Council resolves to remove Cllr Trevor Young as Leader of the Council

 

Council at its meeting on 12th May 2025 resolved to appoint Cllr Trevor Young as Leader of Council for the civic year, Minute 6 refers.

 

Since that time, I believe that Cllr Young has lost significant support from the Liberal Democrat Administration, Article 6.3 (c) of our Constitution states, the Leader of the Council will:

 

“be the lead member for matters regarding the priorities and aims of the administration and its political manifesto”

 

As Cllr Young has unfortunately, I believe, lost the support of his Group, he can longer, in my view, fulfil this function of the Constitution.  Therefore, in the interests of the Council and its need for clear and concise leadership, and in concordance with the spirit of the Constitution, acknowledging Council Procedure Rule 13 – the required 10 signatories have been received to seek Council support to rescind that decision.

 

As such Council resolves: -

 

1.         to rescind the decision made at the AGM on 12^th May 2025 to elect Cllr Trevor Young to office of Leader (minute 6 relates); and

 

2.         by resolution of this Council, in accordance with Article 6.1 (c) remove Cllr Trevor Young from office of Leader.

 

 

I so move

Cllr Trevor Bridgwood

 

 

Motion 2 – The Council resolves to remove Cllr Lesley Rollings as Deputy Leader of the Council

 

Council at its meeting on 12th May 2025 resolved to appoint Cllr Lesley Rollings as Deputy Leader of Council for the civic year, Minute 7 refers.

 

Since that time, I believe that Cllr Rollings has unfortunately lost significant support from the Liberal Democrat Administration.   Article 6.4 of the Constitution of West Lindsey District Council states that the Deputy Leader of Council is appointed to fulfil the functions of the Leader of the Council in their absence, thus, they too must be able to be the lead member for the administration’s priorities and aims.   As Councillor Rollings, I believe, no longer commands the confidence of a significant number of the Liberal Democrat Administration, acknowledging Council Procedure Rule 13 – the required 10 signatories have been received to seek Council support to rescind that decision.

 

As such Council resolves: -

 

1.         to rescind the decision made at the AGM on 12^th May 2025 to elect Cllr Lesley Rollings to office of Deputy Leader (minute 7 relates); and

 

2.         by resolution of this Council, in accordance with Article 6.1 (c) remove Cllr Lesley Rollings from office of Deputy Leader.

 

 

 

I so move

Cllr Trevor Bridgwood

 

 

The Chairman advised the meeting that two Motions had been submitted pursuant to Council Procedure Rule No.10 and these were set out in the agenda.

 

As the mover of both motions, Councillor Trevor Bridgwood was invited to read aloud his first motion to the meeting, as follows: -

 

Motion 1 – The Council resolves to remove Cllr Trevor Young as Leader of the Council

 

Council at its meeting on 12th May 2025 resolved to appoint Cllr Trevor Young as Leader of Council for the civic year, Minute 6 refers.

 

Since that time, I believe that Cllr Young has lost significant support from the Liberal Democrat Administration, Article 6.3 (c) of our Constitution states, the Leader of the Council will:

 

“be the lead member for matters regarding the priorities and aims of the administration and its political manifesto”

 

As Cllr Young has unfortunately, I believe, lost the support of his Group, he can no longer, in my view, fulfil this function of the Constitution.  Therefore, in the interests of the Council and its need for clear and concise leadership, and in concordance with the spirit of the Constitution, acknowledging Council Procedure Rule 13 – the required 10 signatories have been received to seek Council support to rescind that decision.

 

As such Council resolves: -

 

1.         to rescind the decision made at the AGM on 12^th May 2025 to elect Cllr Trevor Young to office of Leader (minute 6 relates); and

 

2.         by resolution of this Council, in accordance with Article 6.1 (c) remove Cllr Trevor Young from office of Leader.

 

 

I so move

Cllr Trevor Bridgwood”

 

With the motion duly seconded, in the first instance Councillor Young was given a right of response but he indicated he would reserve the right to speak until the conclusion of the debate.

 

Debate ensued, with the Deputy Leader being clear that in her view this was a personal agenda, requesting a Leader to step down when they had performed poorly, would be perfectly acceptable, however Councillor Rollings did not consider this to be the case in respect of the current Leader outlining some of the key achievements as mentioned in the answer to the public question.  In her view the Scampton outcome would have been very different under a different administration.

 

It was suggested the motion showed a disregard to the communities who had wanted a change in Leadership, as demonstrated by the Local election results in 2023, a disregard for the work that could have been achieved with new priorities being set and it showed elected Members up.

 

She called for the motion mover to be transparent about his political affiliation, questioned the credibility of the newly formed Consensus Independent Group and suggested the Opposition Group had their own inner politics to resolve, with a recent change of Group Leader. She urged Members to reflect on the political parties they were in, their political aspirations and vote according to their consciences.

 

A supporter of the motion stated the motion was a constitutional  ...  view the full minutes text for item 24.

The Chairman, prior to introducing the report, advised the Chamber that unfortunately, representatives from the Parish Council and Neighbourhood Planning Group were not available to attend the meeting, in line with custom and practice. 

 

The Chamber, in their absence, acknowledged and congratulated the Parish on the commitment and level of dedication needed to get a Neighbourhood Plan to adoption stage concluding in a round of applause.

 

Ward Members addressed the Chamber and again spoke of the dedication and commitment of the Parish in preparing and promoting their Plan.  Members also commented on the support shown for the Plan by those voting. It was suggested that the Chairman of Council should consider visiting Reepham to personally congratulate them, given they had been unable to attend.

 

The Chairman agreed to consider the request.

 

Having been proposed and seconded, on being to the vote it was: -

 

RESOLVED that the Reepham Neighbourhood Plan be adopted in accordance with the Neighbourhood Planning Regulations 2012.

 

 

The Chairman again congratulated the Group on their achievement, before proceeding to the next item of business.

 

 

To note the Group Leaders of each Group and the number of Members to be appointed to serve on each Committee in accordance with the provisions of Section 15 of the Local Government Act.

 

 

The Chairman presented the report, which set out details of the political groups on the Council, the number of Members to be appointed to serve on each Committee, and the allocation of seats on each of the Committees based on political groupings, noting the reasons for the review as detailed in the report and with the last review having been undertaken at the Annual General Meeting.

 

This was a matter, which had been determined by the Head of Paid Service under his delegated authority, in Consultation with the Group Leaders, with all Group Leaders having indicated their agreement to the allocations, as such, there was no requirement for a vote.

 

The Group Leader of the Liberal Democrat Administration addressed the Chamber, and in referencing the reason for the re-balance, proceeded to question the Councillor on her motives. Objections were made across the Chamber and the Chairman called for the comments to refrain from being personal in nature.  Having been granted permission to continue, the Group Leader was again halted from continuing, with the Chairman ruling the debate out of order.

 

In response to Members’ questions regarding the accuracy of the position stated in the report, in relation to Group Membership and how long the current balance would remain in place, the Monitoring Officer advised that this was the Group Membership as reported to Officers and supported by the required notices.  Should further notice be received, then the political balance would be re-calculated and reported to the next Council Meeting.

 

Following further questions relating to the pausing of the allocations process based on the balance within the report, the Monitoring Officer reaffirmed her previous position, only on receipt of formal notice could the balance be re-calculated.

 

With no further questions or comments posed, the following was DULY NOTED: -

 

(a)        the details of the political groups, as set out in Appendix A of the report,

 

(b)        the number of Members to be appointed to serve on each committee and sub-committee; and

 

(c)        the allocation to different political groups of seats on committees/sub-committees, as set out in Appendix B of the report.

 

 

In accordance with the provisions of Section 16 of the Local Government and Housing Act 1989, to appoint Members to Committees for the Civic Year, in accordance with the wishes expressed by the Political Groups.

 

 

The Chairman of the Council presented the report which set out the wishes expressed by the political groups in respect of the appointment of Members to serve on each of the Council’s formal Committees for the remainder of the 2025/26 Civic Year.

 

Members were advised that the published report had contained some blanks where nominations had still been awaited from the Group Leader of the Liberal Democrat Administration namely: -

 

• 1 seat on Prosperous Communities Committee
• 2 seats on Planning Committee
• 1 seat on Corporate Policy and Resources Committee
• 3 seats on Chief Officer Employment Committee
• 2 seats on Standards Committee
• 3 seats on Overview and Scrutiny Committee
• 2 seats on both Licensing and Regulatory Committee.

 

 

The following nomination was provided verbally to the meeting,

 

Councillor Lesley Rollings (Liberal Democrat) to join the Corporate Policy and Resources Committee.  The Group Leader advised the remainder of the names would be provided to the Head of Paid Service, over the coming days.

 

With Councillor Brockway having been appointed Group Leader of the Opposition Group, and relevant notice received, the Chairman advised that the previously expressed wish for her to sit on the Governance and Audit Committee would now be unconstitutional, due to the limitations on membership set out in the Constitution, and as such sought an alternative nomination from the Group Leader.

 

The Opposition Group Leader advised that an alternative name would be provided to the Head of Paid Service, over the coming days.

 

On that basis it was

 

RESOLVED that in accordance with the provisions of section 16 of the Local Government and Housing Act 1989, the wishes expressed by political groups and provided verbally at the meeting, Members be appointed to serve to the Council’s Committees for the remainder of the 2025/26 civic year as follows: -

 

 

Chief Officer Employment Committee (11 Members)

 

Councillor O Bierley

Councillor J Barrett

Councillor P Key

Councillor P Morris

Councillor J McGhee

Councillor M Palmer

Councillor L Rollings

Councillor T Young

Vacancy (Liberal Democrat Group)

Vacancy (Liberal Democrat Group)

Vacancy (Liberal Democrat Group)

 

 

Corporate Policy and Resources Committee (11 Members)

 

Councillor O Bierley

Councillor M Boles  

Councillor S Bunney  

Councillor I Fleetwood

Councillor P Key

Councillor J McGhee

Councillor R Patterson

Councillor L Rollings

Councillor T Smith  

Councillor P Swift 

Councillor T Young  

 

    

Governance and Audit Committee (6 Members)

              

Councillor John Barrett

Councillor S Bunney

Councillor D Dobbie

Councillor A Lawrence

Councillor B Velan

Vacancy (Opposition Group)

 

 

Licensing Committee (13 Members)

 

Councillor J Barrett

Councillor E Bennett  

Councillor K Carless

Councillor L Clews  

Councillor D Dobbie   

Councillor P Key

Councillor P Lee

Councillor M Palmer

Councillor Mrs D Rodgers

Councillor T Smith

Councillor B Velan      

Vacancy (Liberal Democrat Group)

Vacancy (Liberal Democrat Group)  

 

 

 

Regulatory Committee (13 Members)

 

Councillor J Barrett

Councillor E Bennett  

Councillor K Carless

Councillor L Clews  

Councillor D Dobbie   

Councillor P Key

Councillor P Lee

Councillor M Palmer

Councillor Mrs D Rodgers

Councillor T Smith

Councillor B Velan      

Vacancy (Liberal Democrat Group)

Vacancy (Liberal Democrat Group)  

 

 

Planning Committee (11 Members)

 

Councillor  ...  view the full minutes text for item 27.

Having re-appointed the Committees, the report under consideration sought to appoint Chairmen and Vice-Chairmen to each of the Committees and for Council to re-affirm the normal commencement time for each meeting.

 

Members noted that no nominations had been included in the report and as such the Chairman advised he would take nominations, any counter nominations and hold a vote for each position in turn, with the exception of those highlighted in the report.

 

Therefore, nominations were sought for the position of Vice-Chairman of the Chief Officer Employment Committee.

 

In response to a Member’s Point of Information, Officers confirmed that if no nominations were made and no positions appointed to, each Committee would need to, when it met, appoint a Chairman for the meeting only.  The Committee not having a Chairman, would not prevent the Committee’s from meeting, and as such this was a matter for Member decision.

 

Nominations were sought for the position of Vice-Chairman of the Chief Officer Employment Committee, with the following nominations being proposed and seconded: -

 

·       Councillor Lesley Rollings

·       Councillor John Barrett

 

Another Member supported the notion of deferring appointments given the Council would most likely need to revisit these matters at its next meeting.  However, with formal nominations made and not withdrawn the Chairman advised the Chamber they would now need to vote on the matter.

 

On moving to the vote, a request for a recorded vote was made and duly seconded. As such the motion was put to a recorded vote, with votes being cast as follows: -

 

Votes for Cllr Rollings: Councillors Darcel, Dobbie, Hague, Howitt-Cowan, Rollings, Velan and Young (7)

 

Votes for Cllr Barrett: Councillors Barrett, Bierley, Bridgwood, Brockway, Brown, Carless, Duguid, Lawrence, Lee, McGhee, Morris, Palmer, Pilgrim and Rodgers (14)

 

Abstentions: Councillors Bennett, Boles, Bunney, Flear, Key, Mullally, Snee J, Snee, M Westley (9)

 

With a total of 7 votes cast for Councillor Rollings, 14 votes cast for Councillor Barrett and 9 abstentions, Councillor Barrett was declared APPOINTED.

 

Arising from political exchange the newly notified Leader of the Opposition confirmed her previous stance on the number of Vice-Chairmen and that in her view each Committee should only have need for one.  The Chairman in bringing order advised Members that reducing the number of positions was not within the gift of Members this evening and would require a motion with notice to Council.

 

Moving to the next position to be appointed to, again Members expressed support for the notion to defer, with several Members informally supporting calls for a deferral and becoming frustrated by the procedure.

 

Having sought advice the Chairman advised the Chamber that if nominations for positions were made, seconded and not withdrawn, they would have to be put to the vote, alternatively, noting the mood and appetite of the Chamber, a Member could choose to move a formal procedural motion to defer the appointments to the next meeting.

 

A procedural motion to defer the appointments was duly made and seconded and on being put to the vote was  ...  view the full minutes text for item 28.

The then Chairman of the Chief Officer Employment Committee presented the report which sought to appoint Mr Paul Burkinshaw into the role of Chief Executive and further sought to designate him as Head of Paid Service, Returning Officer and Electoral Registration Officer

 

The appointment process undertaken was detailed in Section two of the report and section three gave brief details of the candidate’s previous experience.

 

The Chairman for the Committee took the opportunity to thank everyone who had been involved in the process, spoke of the positive outcome and how she and looked forward to Mr Burkinshaw joining the Council.

 

With the recommendation proposed and seconded, and with no questions raised, on being put to the vote it was:

 

RESOLVED that the recommendation from the Chief Officer Employment Committee be accepted and Mr Paul Burkinshaw be formally appointed to the role of Chief Executive and designated as Head of Paid Service, Returning Officer and Electoral Registration Officer from the date of commencement of employment as Chief Executive.

 

 

 

The Chairman proposed a 10-minute adjournment prior to Members considering the final item of business.  With Council signifying their agreement, the meeting was adjourned at 8:25 pm, resuming again at 8:37pm.

 

With the meeting resumed the Monitoring Officer, for transparency purposes, outlined to all Members, advice which had been given to some Members, in the break relating to whether or not an extraordinary Council meeting would be required to resolve some of the matters that Council haven't been able to make a decision on during the evening’s proceedings.

 

The advice being that it was a matter for this Council. Full Council were able to call an extraordinary meeting if they felt it is required, alternatively, Full Council could wait until the next scheduled council meeting in September to make a decision on matters that remained unresolved following this evening’s meeting. It was entirely a matter for Members.

 

This resulted in a number of views being expressed by a variety of Members as to the best way to proceed and a rationale for their views.  It was confirmed that only one full round of committees was scheduled between now and the next meeting of Council.  Arising from the debate a  number of formal proposals were moved namely: -

 

·       To hold an Extraordinary Council meeting on 11 August;

·       To hold an Extraordinary Council meeting on 18 August

·       To consider the matters at the next scheduled meeting on 8 September

 

To assist deliberations, the Chairman allowed all three motions to be debated simultaneously with Members having a lengthy and frank exchange of views on the needs, merits or otherwise of each option proposed.

 

In light of comments and views expressed all formal proposals were subsequently withdrawn, with Council indicating it was content at this time to wait until the scheduled meeting in September.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Chairman invited the Interim Head of Paid Service to firstly give Members an overview of the Local Government Re-organisation (LGR) process to-date and going forward after which the Policy and Strategy Manager would present the report for consideration to Members.

 

In addressing the Chamber, the Head of Paid Service advised that LGR affected 21 areas of the country, the report before Members provided an update on LGR with Council having last considered the matter at a March meeting.  The report sought approval of the next steps, as detailed in the recommendations

 

Following the decision of Council, in March, an interim proposal in response to the

Government's statutory invitation was submitted. The Government had since provided feedback on all the proposals submitted in a single letter to the Greater Lincolnshire Council Leaders on 3 June this year (Appendix 2 of the report related). As well as providing feedback, the Government had committed to also providing capacity funding of just over £350,000 to Greater Lincolnshire authorities to support the development of the final proposals.

 

In wider context Members were advised the Devolution Bill was likely to be published in July and would likely receive Royal Assent next spring. The Bill would introduce a four-part kind of process, namely: -

·       structures /areas of new strategic authorities,

·       the powers and functions of those new strategic authorities including things like the development of spatial development strategies for areas.

·       wider reforms including abolishing the committee system. (although early indications were those districts subject to LGR would be exempt – clarification awaited

·       addressing local audit arrangements

 

The Ministry for Housing Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) expectation was for areas to try and collaborate and come together on a single proposal, however indications were that this was unlikely for most of the 21 two-tier areas. As a result, multiple proposals were expected, and this was being acknowledged by the officials at MHCLG.

 

The development of area Committees was a suggestion being keenly pursued by MHCLG but the challenge back had been the lack of blue-print for such proposals, whilst there was a Government desire to have some form of consistent approach to local engagement.

 

There was no sign that the Government were proposing shifting from their timetable on LGR, even though many areas were late in receiving their response to their initial proposals. There had been no deviation from the requirement to submit final proposals by 28th of November, nor to the programme for vesting days for areas not fast tracked, this being by the 1st of April 2028.

 

Acknowledging the wider strategic context, the Policy and Strategy Manager summarised the report to Members outlining in detail the contents of the letter of response received from the Government,  which had re-affirmed the final submission date and provided confirmation that final proposals would be evaluated against the criteria previously outlined in the statutory invitation.  The criteria had been included at Appendix 1 of the report and was summarised aloud to the Chamber.

 

 

The letter also made clear  ...  view the full minutes text for item 31.