Report of the Chairman of Executive Board.

The Leader of the Council presented Members with his report, pages 35 to 38 of the Agenda refer.

Following which, the Leader read out an addendum to his report in relation to the East Lindsey Investment Fund as follows:

‘We are delighted to be able to bring forward this ambitious new £10m investment to transform local places in East Lindsey as part of the new plan to boost growth and prosperity.  The fund will prioritise investment in four distinct target areas: community development, promoting visitor economy, business support and to boost the attractiveness of the area.  A key part of the East Lindsey Investment Fund is about making the district’s places more welcoming through initiatives that help improve cleanliness, safety, promote tidy and attractive shop fronts and enhance parks and public spaces.  These are the main concerns residents regularly raise with us and we want to address them face on.  We believe that this will help attract more people to visit the Lincolnshire Wolds and coastal areas, which is vital to our local businesses and economy’.

The Leader highlighted that the Council was looking to support all communities and it was critical to point out that the smallest parish should be able to gain from this as well as the larger parish and town councils and he looked forward to working with them during the process.   Thanks were also passed to Councillors Grist and Kirk who had worked very hard with officers to make this possible.

Following which, questions and comments were put forward as follows:

APSE Awards

Further to the update on the APSE Awards, a Member asked for clarification from the Retrofit Team on how long the funding for improvements would continue.

In response, the Leader of the Council advised that he would seek details with regards to the funding for improvements.

It was further queried whether small business rate relief was likely to end in March 2025.

In response, the Leader of the Council stated that there could be changes from the new government that potentially could have a damaging effect on small businesses.  There could also be changes that affected how the Council dealt with things in terms of council tax and how and where this was spent.

Wellbeing Service

A Member offered her congratulations to the Heart Team and the team responsible for the HUGS grant delivery.  Thanks was also extended to the Wellbeing Service, and clarification was sought on whether the contract was for 5 or 10 years.  A Member added that the Wellbeing Service in East Lindsey was second to none and had helped many residents in Skegness.

In response, the Leader of the Council thanked Members for their supportive comments and to the teams involved.

Household Support Fund (HSF)

A Member expressed her thanks on behalf of the people of Louth and district who had benefited from the funding and had been pleased to work with families to offer help and support.

A Member highlighted that a number of councils had already  ...  view the full minutes text for item 45