Agenda item

Accepted Questions received under this Scheme now attached.

The Chairman advised the meeting that three questions had been received pursuant to Procedure Rule No.9. The questions had been circulated to all Members, separately to the agenda, and published on the website.

The Chairman invited Councillor Howitt-Cowan to put his question to the Leader of the Council, Councillor Jackie Brockway, as follows:-

“Could the Leader please inform the Council of the intentions for the redevelopment or future use of the old Guildhall site and the former B&M building on Lord Street, Gainsborough?

Both sites are of significant strategic importance to the town, and residents feel that a clear plan should be established ahead of any local government reorganisation to ensure their long-term benefit to the community.”

The Leader responded as follows:-

“Thank you for your question Councillor Howitt-Cowan. With regards to the old Guildhall site in Gainsborough, this is designated as surplus land on the Council’s asset register and currently the Council has no plans for this site. In respect of the building at 14-20 Lord Street, Gainsborough this is now being actively marketed and it is hoped that the Council  can secure a tenant in the near future.”

The Chairman invited Councillor Velan to put his question to the Leader of the Council, Councillor Jackie Brockway, as follows:-

“In light of the recent case in Sudbrook where a Section 106 Highways contribution has been deemed unrecoverable following the death of the original landowner and the subsequent liquidation of the successor company, could the Council provide:

-       The total number of Section 106 agreements across the district that have resulted in unrecoverable contributions over the past ten years

-       The total financial value of these unrecoverable sums

-       A breakdown of the main reasons why these contributions could not be collected, including instances involving company insolvency, legal limitations, or prohibitive recovery costs

-       And finally, what mitigation measures the Council is putting in place to reduce the risk of similar losses in future, such as strengthened monitoring of trigger points, earlier invoicing, enhanced due?diligence on land transfers, or revised legal drafting to protect the authority where ownership changes occur?”

The Leader responded as follows:-

“Thank you for your question Councillor Velan. The total number of Section 106 agreements across the district that have resulted in unrecoverable contributions over the past ten years is one, that being the Sudbrooke case.

The total financial value of these unrecoverable sums is  £ 49,944.52  which is solely the Sudbrooke case including indexation. For the Sudbrooke case, death of the original landowner and the subsequent liquidation of the successor company.

All Section 106 agreements are regularly monitored in relation to the associated obligations and financial contributions due, to ensure that the requirements are delivered in accordance with the particular agreement.

A Section 106 Monitoring Fee was adopted in 2025 to contribute towards the cost of this work, which includes the following tasks:

-       Centralised logging of agreements onto the housing database.

-       Desktop monitoring of development progress against section 106 triggers.

-       Site visits to check progress on the ground.

-       Enforcement action where necessary if obligations are not being adhered to.

-       Liaison and coordination with other recipient parties (e.g. NHS, LCC, parish councils).

-       Financial tasks (calculation of indexation and interest due; recording payments received; making payments to third parties).

-       Reporting of section 106 obligations met and funds held.

Full details of section 106 obligations agreed and payments received and spent are contained within the Infrastructure Funding Statement which is produced annually and published on the Council’s website.

With regard to the specific Sudbrooke case, the unrecoverable contributions related to Highways and were therefore payable directly to Lincolnshire County Council (LCC). The circumstances of the death of the original landowner and the subsequent liquidation of the successor company were particularly unusual.

The decision to right off the debt as being unrecoverable was taken by LCC, following legal advice. It should be noted, however, that the section 106 agreement also contained two other obligations relating to the provision of a car park and the transfer of a piece of land to LCC, with both of these obligations being met.”

The Chairman invited Councillor Dobbie to put his question to the Leader of the Council, Councillor Jackie Brockway, as follows:-

“Leader, I have asked over the past couple of years why we have not looked into having Safety Zones in our town Centres to try to improve security to our night time economy?" 

The Leader responded as follows:

“Thank you for your question Cllr Dobbie. Gainsborough’s key areas for night time economy are well covered by CCTV, something the Council has invested heavily in, and we do have an active pub watch scheme.  

A dedicated safe space has not been specifically investigated over the last two years but certainly, there is absolutely no problem in looking at these things and considering whether the detailed covering that we have got at the moment can be enhanced in any way. I have spoken with officers, and if I find anything extra which might help you with the information I will come back to you. Thank you very much.”

Through the Chairman, Councillor Dobbie asked a supplementary question, that being:-

“How many Officers or Councillors have been out with the Bearded Fishermen watch scheme to see the issues at night time in our communities?”

The Leader offered the following response:-

“I would need to speak with others to find out that information, however, I have certainly been out in the evening. I have also engaged extensively with the police and have viewed videos about night-time behaviour and in fact I have a meeting tomorrow about similar things. I can only tell you about my activity there but of course it's perfectly easy to ask Councillors or Gainsborough Councillors certainly what their activities are in relation to this. Thank you very much.”

This brought Rule No.9 questions to an end.