Ahead of presenting his report, the Leader of the Council reflected that the meeting would be the last one held in Tedder Hall ahead of the move to the purpose-built Hub in Horncastle and highlighted that many important and notable moments had been shared in the Council Chambers.

The Chairman of Executive Board presented his report as circulated in the Supplementary Agenda, pages 1 to 6 refer.

Councillor Jackson expressed her disappointment that further to the Invest to Save projects initiative detailed at the previous meeting, there had been no further information on these projects, Council Minute No. 32 refers. 

In response, the Chairman of Executive Board advised Members that the Invest to Save projects initiative was still live and was therefore work in progress.

Green Homes Grants

Councillor Howard was pleased to note the positive points in the report, however highlighted that the Council needed to prioritise and promote to move away from what was standard building practices at the moment in relation to carbon burning and refurbishment of old properties. 

In response, the Chairman of Executive Board stated that he understood the challenges of housing, particularly as there was a very large stock of old housing across the district and acknowledged that new housing must be built to the best standard possible, however highlighted that the decision-making process relating to housing standards was not a matter for the Council.

In response to Councillor Cunnington’s comments about the late receipt of reports, the Chairman of Executive Board apologised to Members for the lateness of his report and assured Members that he would do better in future.

Enviro-crime Enforcement Contract

Further to the information provided, Councillor Mossop raised his concern that communities were not receiving feedback from reported enforcement cases and emphasised that communication was very important to encourage other people to work with them.

In response, the Chairman of Executive Board advised Members that the principle of the Enviro-crime Enforcement Contract roll-out would be to engage, educate and enforce and assured Members that this would be adhered to.

Cost of Living Support

Councillor Makinson-Sanders asked that her thanks be conveyed from the people in Louth for the warm spaces provided in the town. 

In response to Councillor Howard’s comment with regards to food banks and warm spaces being an indication of a failure of society, the Chairman of Executive Board responded that there were many outside factors that made it very difficult, including the cost of living crisis and praised the work of housing officers and those that dealt with the public going through difficulties on a daily basis.

Emergency Accommodation for Asylum Seekers

Several comments were received from Members that raised concerns, including asylum seekers arriving in Britain who were only allowed to work after they had been waiting for a decision after one year.  It was highlighted that this was out of step with other developed nations and considered that the Council should be campaigning against this so that the 12 months wait should be reduced in line with these to promote integration and to reduce harm to the local economy.

In response, the Chairman of Executive Board acknowledged that vulnerable people were involved, however was also aware that there were people coming over to the UK to exploit criminality and it was important to be able to distinguish between those two groups.  It was noted that the points were well made and reference was also made to the number of safe groups coming through from Hong Kong and Ukraine, including those evacuated from the collapse of their country’s regime, all capable people who were willing to contribute to society.  It was highlighted that there had been difficulty dealing with large numbers whilst at the same time having to react very quickly.  The Chairman of Executive Board also stated that he understood the concerns of those residents affected and potentially of those concerns to businesses.  It was a challenging situation and one that the Council hoped to see remedied over a period of time.

Councillor Tony Howard, a Member on the East Midlands Council’s Migration Board expressed his disappointment in relation to the inconsistent attendance by Home Office personnel at the meetings which resulted in poor feedback and prevented issues from being progressed. 

In response, the Chairman of Executive Board stated that Councillor Richard Wright, North Kesteven District Council was the district representative and considered that he put forward the Council’s case well.

Towns Fund Update

Councillor Tony Howard raised a concern that the Council was having to put more money into the projects in deprived areas whilst the money from government remained the same. 

Councillor Makinson-Sanders stated that she was pleased to see the progress on the Towns Fund projects as without this the Council may not get the opportunity for funding into the district.

Pride in East Lindsey

Councillor Jackson highlighted that she was pleased to see this come forward following a campaign by the Labour Group in previous budget submissions.

Twin Stream Recycling

Councillor Jackson was disappointed to learn that there had been very poor feedback from Louth residents following the roll-out of the purple lidded bin and highlighted lessons had not been learned from the Boston Borough Council roll-out.  It was considered that another approach should be taken to tackle the communication issues that were present.

In response, the Chairman of Executive Board advised Members that in reality there had been difficulties in terms of transition in a large number of locations and was confident that this would settle down. 

With regards to communication, there had been a very early notification to all residents and this was ongoing.  Members were advised that Councillor Foster, Portfolio Holder for Operational Services would take up the cause of the issues with Lincolnshire County Council.  It was acknowledged that there had undoubtedly been difficulties and an underestimation of the size of district and impact of that in the distribution of bins and the roll-out has not been as smooth as it should have been. 

Councillor Makinson-Sanders further requested that the issue of the monthly recycling sack collection be raised as this was disadvantaging residents.

Councillor Mossop queried when the unsightly bottle banks around the villages being used by commercial business would be removed. 

In response to a query on whether the Council would receive money back from the paper mill due to the high quality of cardboard now being recycled, the Chairman of Executive Board advised Members that the Council was currently in the process of understanding what the benefit of this would be to the district and would know more when targets were reviewed and what share there may be for ELDC.

The Hub Project

In response to a query on what the actual completion date was going to be and when Willow house would be ready for use, the Chairman advised that he would seek a response after the meeting.

Further to a query raised by Councillor Makinson-Sanders on rumours that Tedder Hall was going to become an open prison or asylum centre following its sale, the Chairman of Executive Board responded that he could not comment on the new owner’s intentions, however had not heard anything to that affect.

Councillor Makinson-Sanders considered that it would be nice to register the Council’s thanks to those people from long ago in the purchase of Tedder Hall as it had been a good investment for both the Council and its ratepayers. 

Furthermore, Councillor Makinson-Sanders sent her best wishes on behalf of the Independent Group for a Happy Christmas to all of the district’s Ukrainian visitors, particularly due to the ongoing situation in their homeland and to all staff for their help and also to fellow Members.

In response, the Chairman of Executive Board acknowledged that this would be a challenging Christmas for many people and as community representatives asked Members to keep an eye out for the vulnerable, following which he wished all Members a very Happy Christmas.