Agenda and minutes

The Chairman welcomed all Members and Officers to the first meeting of the 2022/23 Civic Year. Noting the Committee’s membership had changed at Annual Council, he expressed thanks to Councillor Mrs Snee, who had left Committee, for the work she undertaken and welcomed Councillor Rollings who had joined the Committee.

Up to 15 minutes are allowed for public participation.  Participants are restricted to 3 minutes each.

There was no public participation.

To confirm and sign as a correct record the Minutes of the Prosperous Communities Committee held on Tuesday, 3 May 2022

RESOLVED that the Minutes of the Meeting of the Prosperous Communities Committee held on 3 May, 2022 be confirmed and signed as a correct record.

Setting out current position of previously agreed actions as at 26 May 2022

With reference to the Matters Arising entitled CCTV- Case Studies, whilst acknowledging it was not directly related to the action, a Member referenced recent interactions with the Police where it had been stressed by them the importance of really effective and high-quality CCTV to ensure prosecutions and convictions, noting the recent spate in crimes.

The Member sought an update as to whether there had been and/or would be ongoing interactions between West Lindsey Officers and the Police to ensure that the Council was supporting the Police as fully as possibly and whether there were plans to grow the quality and provision of CTTV in particular hotspots.  

In responding the Chairman outlined interactions which had been held and confirmed to Members that a report in respect of CTTV provision was due to presented to Corporate Policy and Resources Committee later in the month.

With no further comments or questions, the contents of the Matters Arising schedule were duly NOTED.

Members may make any declarations at this point but may also make them at any time during the course of the meeting.

There were no declarations made at this point in the meeting.

The Committee gave consideration to a report from the Communities Manager, presenting the new Memorandum of Agreement for the Lincolnshire Wolds Countryside Service, including the funding commitment matching DEFRA and other Local Authority contributions. It was explained that the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949 (NPAC Act) established the powers to designate AONBs; with the primary objective of conserving and enhancing their natural beauty, whilst taking account of the needs of agriculture, forestry and other rural industries. The Countryside and Rights of Way Act (2000) reaffirmed the duty and obligations for the protection and management of AONBs. Part IV of the Act; Sections 82, 84, 85, 86 and 89 (as detailed within the Management Plan) were of particular relevance, and placed a legal requirement on all relevant local authorities to prepare and publish a partnership Management Plan.

It was highlighted that approval was sought for a commitment of £17,830 per annum for the three financial years 2022/2023 to 2024/2025. There was an ongoing budget provision of £17,900 pa allocated within the MTFP for this purpose.

Debate ensued during which there was cross chamber support for committing the funding requested.  Members spoke passionately of the value of the service, the benefits it afforded to the wider surrounding area, the visitors and additional spend the Wolds brought to the District.

It was even suggested that additional funding should be committed.

A the request of the Committee, the Communities Manager, outlined the history of the funding schedule, why current levels were set as they were and the potential risks in amending the amount of funding afforded directly to the Partnership through this means, including a likely impact on the total amount the Partnership could secure from DEFRA . 

The Lincolnshire Wolds Countryside Service delivered excellent value and return and whilst having limited operating budgets, Officers advised that this was supplemented with other grant funding.  The Countryside Service were excellent at bidding for community grants and external funding to fund specific project activity beyond the core base budgets.

It was stressed that this decision did not prevent the Authority funding specific projects and events, run by the Partnership in the future. This funding was the amount allocated to the Partnership solely, as part the Memorandum of Understanding  

It was also brought to Members attention that the current Management Plan ran until 2023,  there would be a public  consultation exercise undertaken in reviewing the Plan and Members were encouraged to engage in the process.

The Chairman requested the Communities Manager express the Committee’s sincere appreciation to the Lincolnshire Wolds Countryside Management Service for the services they provided and work they undertook.

RESOLVED that the 3-year funding commitment for the Lincolnshire Wolds Memorandum of Agreement 2022-2025 be approved.

Members gave consideration to a report presented by the Senior Growth Strategy & Projects Officer, regarding the draft West Lindsey Visitor Economy Strategy and Action Plan for approval. Members heard that in late 2019 West Lindsey District Council began the drafting of a Visitor Economy Strategy to support the Corporate Plan ambition of ‘a vibrant visitor economy’. A draft of the strategy was initially developed however, in early 2020, resources were diverted into the delivery of the Covid-19 business grants and work on the strategy was delayed. Although the Corporate Plan aspiration for the visitor economy remained, the national and regional policy environment, as well as the sector itself, had shifted significantly since the strategy was first drafted in 2019.

It was explained that the Council was successful in receiving support from the Local Government Association Economic Growth Advisor Programme. Planning Solutions Consulting were appointed by the Local Government Association to support the Council with the development of a Visitor Economy Strategy and Action Plan, building on the work developed in late 2019.

The Visitor Economy Strategy and Action Plan had been drafted in consultation with key stakeholders. It was vital that the process of identifying new opportunities and developing the Visitor Economy Strategy must align with and embrace the needs and aspirations of stakeholders involved in the visitor economy. The consultations were carried out through one-to-one discussions with Officers and Members and key partners including the County Council, East Lindsey District Council, Lincolnshire Wolds AONB, Visit Lincoln and Greater Lincolnshire. Virtual workshops were held online to discuss the action plan with key stakeholder groups such as tourism businesses including key attraction and accommodation representatives. It was highlighted that the Visitor Economy Strategy and Action Plan had been developed and endorsed by Members of the Leisure, Culture, Events and Tourism subgroup.

Members heard that, as previously reported to the Committee, the Visitor Economy Strategy and Action Plan would feed into the development of a Cultural Plan for West Lindsey. The findings from the research had been compiled in a draft report which included an action plan with a suite of detailed interventions and initiatives which responded to the vision to create a community-led destination that develops, refines and presents an authentic responsible tourism product with a focus on sustainability and community benefits.

The Chairman thanked the Officer for her thorough presentation and invited comments from Members of the Committee. Members were supportive of the strategy and associated action plan, however it was highlighted that the Council needed to take responsibility for the implementation of the strategy and drive it forward. Members highlighted the many and varied attractions for tourists across the district, not just the market towns and Lincoln fringe.

During the discussion on the Visitor Economy item Members noted that the currently proposed Solar Farm developments had the potential to pose a serious threat to the Visitor Economy. In particular concern was raised around a potential impact on the visual amenity and accessibility of open spaces across the District. During  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

The Chairman welcomed the Change Project and Performance Officer to the meeting and invited her to present the Progress and Delivery report for quarter 4 of 2021-22, which covered January to March 2022 and the end of year report for 2021/22. It was explained that, as this was an exceptions report, the Officer would run through each portfolio highlighting the measures that had performed above or below target for two consecutive periods. It was noted that there was a correction to be made within the quarter 4 report in terms of the percentages, explaining that 45% of measures had exceeded their targets, 32% were within tolerance and 23% were performing below the agreed target. In addition, 71% of measures had exceeded their targets for two quarters or more while the remaining 29% had been below target for two quarters or more. Overall performance had improved on the last quarter with 77% of measures within tolerance or above compared with 65% in quarter three. In addition, measures exceeding target had also improved with 71% of measures exceeding target compared with 59% in quarter three.

Corporate Health

Members heard that all measures regarding % of calls answered in 21 seconds were either above target or within tolerance, meaning corporate health reported a good overall performance. The measure CH12 had been removed within the 22/23 measure set as it had not presented an accurate representation of the call handling within the council.

Finance and Property

The rental portfolio voids reported at above target for at least two previous quarters, with voids at 3%. There were no measures reporting below target within the finance and property portfolio.

Homes and Communities

There were 3 performance measures which had performed above target for at least two consecutive quarters, these being long term empty properties as a % of all housing stock; number of households which had been housed from the housing register (removed 22/23) and homeless prevention (amended 22/23 to homeless approaches with positive outcomes). Four measures had performed under target for at least the previous two consecutive periods, these measures related to home choices and homes, health and wellbeing. For home choices the measures below tolerance for two consecutive periods were regarding the number of nights spent in B&B accommodation and Homeless prevention cases as a % of total approaches. In terms of the number of nights spent in B&B accommodation, whilst this had increased from the last quarter it had decreased from quarter 4 20/21 which was at 512 nights and all contracted temporary accommodation had remained full during quarter 4. Delays with moving on, due to issues outside of the Council’s control, had contributed to the increase. In addition the protect and vaccinate programme, which required additional temporary accommodation, also contributed.

For homes health and wellbeing, the measures below tolerance related to the average number of days from DFG referral to completion and long-term empty properties brought back into use. Starting with the average number of days from DFG referral to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

On consideration of the work plan, a Member of the Committee raised grave concerns that there was a planned item in relation to the South West Ward, where there had been no prior communication or consultation with either Ward Councillor. Work had been undertaken previously, and the Member stated it to be incredible that further work was on the work plan having had no consultation with Members or the community. His comments were noted to be discussed with Officers.

There were further comments made regarding the upcoming report on the Parking Strategy, with Members of the Committee raising issues regarding pay machines being out of order and the pay by phone being the only option, this not being suitable for some people. These comments were also noted by Officers, with it explained that the strategy would seek to address some of those concerns.

With no further comments, questions, or requirement for a vote, the Work Plan was DULY NOTED.