Report of the Chairman of Executive Board.

The Leader of the Council presented Members with his report and also referred Members to the electronic communication circulated to Members relating to the Council’s position on the current National Grid proposal to run a 400kV overhead transmission from Grimsby to Walpole.  A copy of this is attached to the Minutes at Appendix A.

 

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

 

Flood Support

 

Councillor Martin asked it be noted that the donation of £2k should read Horncastle Town Council, not Centre.  Thanks were also conveyed to all ELDC staff who worked so hard after the flood to support Members and administered the grants which had been widely and gratefully accepted

 

It was highlighted that the Environment Agency’s (EA) report on the flooding had just been published which raised a lot of concerns and it was suggested that Overview Committee should undertake some scrutiny work around this.

 

A Member echoed the Leader’s comments and congratulations regarding the work of the staff, particularly the Wellbeing Team and the Planning Department and highlighted the remarkable impact their work had made,

 

In response, the Leader acknowledged the concerns raised with the EA’s report and endorsed that this should go to Overview Committee to carry out a piece of scrutiny work.  Flooding was an issue that the Council had to deal with across East Lindsey, and it was not just the potential of the sea flooding but also the rivers and surface water flooding which was a critical issue in some of the communities.

 

Funding

 

A Member thanked the Leader for referencing the funding allocated to Goulceby Church and highlighted this as a good example of a community working together and the benefits it could achieve.

 

In response, the Leader appreciated hearing the gratitude of the residents and stated that it was always good to hear when things happened locally to make a difference to people’s lives.

 

Digital Support

 

A Member passed her thanks to Lincs Digital for providing the service and was pleased that this service had finally come to Louth.

 

Achievements

 

A Member thanked the Leader for his report and offered his congratulations to the officers who were being rewarded for their achievements.

 

Wellbeing Service Delivery – Case Study

 

Further to the case study referred, a Member asked that her thanks be noted to the Wellbeing Service for its excellent work on behalf of her residents.

 

Recognition was also given to the Household Support Fund which had reached families in need in the district’s communities and who were very grateful for the help they had received.

 

In response, the Leader commented that a lot of work was undertaken but unseen by members of the public in relation to vulnerable people and sensitive cases.  It was highlighted that the officers did a sterling job every day with a 24-hour service in operation and his thanks and appreciation went to them.

 

Planning Service Update

 

The Portfolio Holder for Planning thanked the Leader for his kind words in respect of the Planning Service update and asked that his thanks went to Mike Gildersleeves, Assistant Director for Planning and Strategic Infrastructure who was leaving the Partnership.  He added that Mr Gildersleeves had been a huge support to him in his portfolio role, and also to the development, management and planning policy teams.

 

In response, the Leader added that Mr Gildersleeves had been a very helpful officer over the last few years and it had been a great pleasure to work with him and wished him well in his future role.

 

Asylum/Refugees in Skegness Hotels

 

A Member commented that it was good to see that Skegness would be getting the hotels back for tourists following their use by asylum seekers and queried whether there was a date when the hotels would be completely empty and back in use.

 

In response the Leader advised that he would ask the relevant officer to contact him with the latest information.

 

Towns Fund projects for Mablethorpe and Skegness:  February 2024 Update

 

A Member referred to the approval of 12 project business cases in 2022, however highlighted that there were 13 projects in total and queried why Mablethorpe’s Mobi Hub project had not been detailed.

 

In response, the Leader advised that he would obtain the detail with regards to the Mobi Hub.

 

It was highlighted that the Council had been in receipt of Towns Funding for a while and that there was a range of outcomes in terms of projects that had been delivered on time, on budget and to specification.  It was queried whether at this stage how the Council, as guardians of public funds would leverage the experience from this to ensure that the big projects could be delivered on budget and on time.

 

In response, the Leader advised that the Council was going through COVID through the delivery of the projects.  It also had to deal with a massive financial crisis that affected many people and pushed up the cost of resources and the cost of inflation.  Therefore, it was a real challenge to deliver the projects and considered that the teams had done exceptionally well to manage those, and lessons had been learned.

 

It was highlighted that the Council had been recognised in its endeavours with its officers for Levelling Up Funding, dealing with government agencies and officers and ELDC had been recognised as a very good authority in dealing with that across the Partnership.

 

A Member commented that it was good to see that works had started on the towns fund projects and was pleased to see that these were progressing.

 

A Member commented it was wonderful to see the construction projects coming to fruition in the district.  It was queried where the Leader saw funding for future capital projects coming from, whilst also taking into consideration implications of an impending general election and possible change of government and as stated by the Leader, the Council was in continuing dialogue with various developers of nationally significant infrastructure projects.  A concern was raised that the outstanding natural beauty of the area and the health and wellbeing of the Council’s residents was at risk of being abandoned in exchange for something else on future capital investment sources for the district council.

 

In response, the Leader stated that the Council had done very well out of the Levelling Up Process and acknowledged that the comments were genuinely made about the benefit that it was going to bring to various communities along the coast.

 

With regards to what would happen after the election was unknown, however highlighted that the benefit of the Partnership was to make its footprint and voice known and heard.

 

In anticipation of the future, the Leader highlighted the continued need for good engagement with the Local Government Association which had strong links and engagement with government.  It was important for the Leaders from each of the three Councils to see what the new landscape potentially could be and hoped this was a blue vision for the future.  The Partnership would continue to press for Levelling Up funding which had been an ambitious project that had delivered very well.

 

The Portfolio Holder for Coastal Economy added that he was pleased to see that work had commenced on the Further Education College in Skegness which was making steady progress.

 

In response, the Leader stated that one of the great strands of Levelling Up was the 12 ambitions and skills.  The Skills Agenda was a key part of that and had resulted with the delivery of the college in Skegness from a small satellite campus to a bespoke facility with a curriculum that was going to support local businesses and local students as they progressed with their lives.  It was highlighted that it was important to keep ambition and growth of the young people in the district, to invest locally and work locally.

 

National Grid proposal to run a 400kV overhead transmission from Grimsby to Walpole

 

A Member thanked the Leader for the updated report on the National Grid proposal and his quick response on this, however highlighted her disappointment that the people from Mablethorpe had been asking the Leader for a response to the Geological Disposal Facility (GDF) proposal and had waited 2 ½ years for this.

 

In response, the Leader highlighted with regards to Mablethorpe and the GDF, the Council was asked to be part of the working group by Nuclear Waste Services and Lincolnshire County Council as the other primary partner in this, in terms of their role.  Following pre-decision scrutiny it was Executive Board’s decision to be part of that working group to ensure engagement in the process.  There would be a test of public support where local residents in the search area would be able to make a decision on whether they accepted the GDF being undersea near Theddlethorpe.

 

A Member commented that local authorities got to know about large infrastructure planning proposals much earlier than elected Members and considered that it was time for this to be addressed in order that Members could scrutinise and be fully engaged in the process.

 

In response, the Leader stated that there was a point in time when such proposals landed on local authorities in the initial stages, whereby they were financially sensitive and become a burden of knowledge until the point where could be made public.  However, the point on timeliness of Councillor awareness was taken.

 

A Member thanked the Leader for the update and considered that it would be a travesty if the pylons were allowed in Lincolnshire.

 

Councillor Colin Davie, also a Lincolnshire County Councillor (LCC) stated that LCC had a very strong view on this matter and would be publishing its response to the round one consultation the following week.  It was highlighted to Members that the initial proposals did not tell the whole story and within the document it was clear that there would be a huge number of new projects what would wish to connect to the National Grid if it was consented and would require an estimated land take of 6000 acres in East Lindsey.

 

It was requested that the Leader should strive for all local authorities concerned to work together in making sure that there was no duplication of expenditure and to commit to make available whatever resources were required to defend the South East Lincolnshire Councils Partnership area from the proposals.

 

In response, the Chairman thanked Councillor Davie for his comments.  He added that LCC had made a very strong position statement on this and was happy to confirm that the Council and wider Partnership would proceed to deal with this as a united voice across the local authorities.  Work would have to be undertaken together in terms of the expenditure and he would make available whatever resources were needed as this was a significant issue for the whole of the county.

 

Several Members further concurred with the points made and thanked the Leader for making a very clear statement on the pylons and the excellent work that had gone into this.