Agenda and minutes

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 30 May 2023.

RESOLVED that the Minutes of the Meeting of the Prosperous Communities Committee held on 30 May, 2023 be confirmed and signed as a correct record.

Setting out current position of previously agreed actions as at 3 July 2023.

The Democratic Services and Elections Team Manager introduced the report.

A member referred to the Disabled /facilities /grant flowchart and it was agreed that this would be made available to members at the earliest opportunity.

With no further comments, questions or requirement for a vote, the Matters Arising schedule was 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 of interest at this juncture.

The Homes, Health & Wellbeing Team Manager introduced the report seeking adoption of the Lincolnshire District Councils’ Health and Wellbeing Strategy the principles of which would provide a framework for improving health and wellbeing across the county, demonstrating how District Councils deliver services which contribute and support the health and care system.

It was advised that Health and Wellbeing had been embedded in the ‘Our People’ and ‘Our Place’ themes of the Council’s Corporate Plan and the new plan retained this focus and contains strategic aims and objectives relating to improving health outcomes and promoting wellbeing through the promotion of healthy lifestyles. This has influenced the focus of the Council’s work with other Lincolnshire districts in the development of shared district Health and Wellbeing strategic aims and objectives.

The Strategy was based on five key ‘lever’ areas which district councils are uniquely positioned in the system to influence and where they can most effectively work with partners to deliver sustainable change. These include Housing and Homelessness; Activity and Wellbeing; Environment and Climate; Economic Inclusion and Working with Communities.

The Lincolnshire District Councils had approved this Strategy through their relevant governance routes. For West Lindsey, the Strategy had been developed to align with existing policies, strategies, projects and workstreams in operation across the Council, including the Corporate Plan, the Environment, Sustainability and Climate Change Strategy, the Housing Strategy and the Central Lincolnshire Local Plan. As such, the District Health and Wellbeing Strategy aligns these threads into one overarching strategy that sits in support of delivering the Council’s Corporate Plan.

Each lever area would be allocated to a Team Manager in the relevant area to implement through their business plans and the overall co-ordination of the Strategy will be led by the Homes, Health and Wellbeing Team Manager.

The business planning process was used to identify action already being taken in support of the Health and Wellbeing Strategy, and to identify and address any gaps to ensure new actions were deliverable, appropriately resourced and that they offer value for money.

The premise of this really was that the majority of this work was being undertaken in one form or another already and there was a need to start ensuring that those outcomes were captured and areas where more could be done these could be scoped and delivered under the health and wellbeing umbrella.

A Councillor in welcoming the strategy highlighted the need for a concurrent action plan to be in place with some of the questions that might need to be asked and were relevant to members of local communities. It was emphasised that there would be variations in priorities within the district. It was requested that update reports be presented on the overall strategy and identifying what has been done, what we're able to do and any new issues.

Members spoke in support of the strategy and noted that the process had been ongoing and the impact of the Covid pandemic had clearly demonstrated the role and impact that district councils  ...  view the full minutes text for item 13.

The Development Management Team Manager introduced the report seeking consideration of the Local Impact Report (LIR) prepared for the Gate Burton Solar Project.

The committee was informed that the project was the first of four solar nationally significant infrastructure projects within the district. It was confirmed that due to the scale of the proposal the planning process was different to normal. The application would be considered by government with the Planning Inspectorate being the examining authority. The scheme would be reviewed by them and then recommendations made to the Secretary of State.

The timetable for the process  was outlined with the first of the deadlines being 18^th July for the local authority to submit a Local Impact Report (LIR) if they wanted, as it was not statutory. If submitted, it would need to be considered as part of the determination. The committee was informed that whilst there was no set format it was suggested that the impact report should highlight positive, neutral and negative impacts. The recommendations were outlined and the suggested response which followed the same structure as the developers environmental assessment was highlighted.

A councillor, in support of the recommendations,  suggested that the cumulative impact of solar developments needed to be borne in mind and expressed the hope that this LIR could be a template for subsequent applications. It was emphasised that the site could have a 60-year lifespan. It was noted that the timescale was very tight.

A member supported the approach of matching the format to that of the  developers and found it very useful to see both the positive and the negative impacts and the fact it provided a balanced argument. It was suggested that an overall assessment of what it would mean for West Lindsey was needed. There appeared to be quite a lot of negative impacts and concluding paragraphs bringing that out would be of use to the developers, decision makers and public. It was indicated that a press release would be beneficial.

The committee was reminded that there were further stages including the submission of written representations that could expand on some of these issues. Members conveyed their thanks to officers for their hard work in preparing the report.

The recommendations were proposed and seconded and it was suggested that the second recommendation be amended so that the delegation was to the Development Management Team Manager in consultation with the Chair as opposed to “Officers” as printed in the report.

On being put to the vote the proposition was carried.

RESOLVED:

a)    the submission of a Local Impact Report (LIR) in relation to the 500MW Gate Burton Energy Park Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project (DCO application); be approved; and

b)    delegated authority be granted  to the Development Management Team Manager in consultation with the Chair of this committee, ,to finalise the draft Local Impact Report (LIR) prepared for the Gate Burton Solar Project and submit the final LIR by Deadline 1 (18th July) set by the Examining Authority, taking into  ...  view the full minutes text for item 14.

With no questions or comments, the work plan was DULY NOTED.