Report of the Chairman of Executive Board.

The Leader of the Council presented Members with his report, pages 31 to 34 of the Agenda refer.

 

Following which, the Leader read out an addition to his report as follows: ‘

 

Community Partnership work relating to the proposal to site a Geological Disposal Facility (GDF) on the Lincolnshire coast.

 

‘In 2021, ELDC was invited by Radio Active Waste Management (now Nuclear Waste Services) to join a Working Group to explore whether the former Gas Terminal at Theddlethorpe would be a suitable location for a GDF.  Lincolnshire County Council had already accepted the same invitation.

 

Constitutionally, this was a decision for the Executive to make.  Recognising the potential and wide-ranging impact of such a proposal, the Overview Committee was asked to consider the invitation as part of a pre-Decision scrutiny.  The outcome of which was fed back to the Executive Board that being, we should engage in the process.  That meeting took place on the 19th October 2021.  This was a public meeting and the minutes are available online. 

 

We entered the process in good faith believing it was better to be involved and influencing a potential major infrastructure development that could have far ranging impacts, both positive and negative, for our residents and communities. 

 

This whole process is regulated and managed according to government policy.  Recognising that the timescales for a Test of Public Support (ToPS) were overly lengthy both Cllr Hill and myself as leaders of the Relevant Principal Local Authorities directed that the ToPS should happen by 2027.

 

While the search area has been named, for a ToPS to happen the Potential Host Community (PHC) needs to be identified.  That will only happen once the full impact of all the infrastructure associated with a potential GDF is established and further geological investigation is undertaken.  The PHC could take in more wards of the district if infrastructure requirements extend beyond the wards already affected. 

 

It is for the Community Partnership to establish the boundaries of the PHC.  Only then can a ToPS take place.  The Community Partnership determine the methodology of the ToPS. 

 

For the whole process to be halted the policy allows for a Right of Withdrawal.  It would need both Principal Authorities on the Community Partnership to invoke the Right of Withdrawal.   No single principle local authority would be able to invoke the Right of Withdrawal.  ELDC cannot act alone in this. 

 

The only way that ELDC can act unilaterally, is by leaving the Community Partnership entirely so that we are no longer involved in the process.  LCC would still be able to represent the communities and we would be blind to the activities and actions of the Community Partnership.

 

That would be concerning as at this point in time, the consultation and engagement process has not been effective or informative in the way we had anticipated or hoped for. 

 

I would go further - all that the Community Partnership and NWS have achieved so faris to unnecessarily antagonise our residents and communities. 

 

Indeed, NWS and the Community Partnership recognise the engagement process has been clumsy, interrupted and not helpful.  This needs to be remedied in short time.  There is information that needs to be gathered and shared effectively.  As a Council, we cannot ignore the potential benefits that the GDF could bring.  It would be negligent of us not to consider the benefits and make those known so that residents can make an informed decision.  

 

With this in mind, and after listening to community voices through the recent election campaign and our own councillor voices, at parish, district and county level, I will recommend to the Executive that we push NWS and the Community Partnership to effectively engage with the communities affected.  We should give that process no more than 1 year and if at that point in time the Potential Host Community has not been defined we should consider withdrawing from the process unilaterally.  That recommendation being part of an Overview Pre-Decision scrutiny process.

 

I am obviously aware of the motion to council.  We would need to amend the motion to take account of the current government policy’.

 

N.B.  Councillor Will Grover joined the Meeting at 6.53pm.

 

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

 

Towns Fund Projects

 

Councillor Claire Arnold highlighted her disappointment that the Mellors Group had withdrawn its match funding contribution and input in terms of the Culture House and surrounding public realm area at the Embassy Theatre.  It was queried whether lessons had been learned from this to ensure that the Council was in a good place both now and moving forward on a long-term plan to ensure the Council was protected under ambitious projects that were being taken forward.

 

In response, the Leader of the Council stated that the Council had to engage and operate with other businesses and organisations and that there would always be a risk when working with the private sector.  He continued that the Mellors Group was still committed to the development of the pier, however it had to prioritise its funding for other elements and parts of their business which was beyond the Council’s control.  The Leader continued that the whole purpose of the towns fund engagement and connected coast was to achieve match funding and engagement with businesses and that would continue into the future.

Councillor Danny Brookes thanked the Leader for his report and queried whether the Council had a contingency plan should the Arts Council not increase the funding.

 

In response, the Leader of the Council stated that extra towns fund money, plus money from the Council had been made available to fill the gap, however he was hopeful that the Arts Council would be committed to the monies being delivered.  Officers had provided the Arts Council with more information as requested by them and the Council was determined that the project would go ahead as it would be very meaningful and beneficial to Skegness.

 

Household Support Fund

 

Councillor Arnold asked that her thanks be noted and passed to all teams involved that ensured the residents within the communities were assisted and hoped that work continued to support the food banks for vulnerable people.

 

Councillor Jill Makinson-Sanders commented that she was sad to read that the final local allocation of Household Support Funding had been distributed as it had been so helpful and useful to many people.

 

Wragby ChEF (Children Eat Free) was highlighted as an initiative supported by the Council where free lunches were provided to all school aged children in the Wragby area.  This scheme now operated successfully in Horncastle and five further towns (Alford, Burgh le Marsh, Louth and two in Mablethorpe) would be joining the scheme this year.

 

In response, the Leader of the Council thanked Members for their comments relating to the Household Support Fund and hoped that the new government would continue to provide the funding.

 

Digital Inclusion

 

Members highlighted their support for the project and the Leader of the Council recognised the scheme was much appreciated across the communities.

 

Theddlethorpe GDF Community Partnership

 

Councillor Stef Bristow highlighted her disappointment that since its inception in June 2020, the Community Partnership had not facilitated discussion or ensured that the community had the relevant information provided to them and furthermore did not consider that an additional 12 months would make a difference.  This was supported by Councillor Danny Brookes.

 

In response, the Leader of the Council stated that he wanted to be positively involved in the Community Partnership and it was important to understand the benefits and potential challenges of that.  It was highlighted that information from the Community Partnership needed to be clear and concise, and at this point it was not and that was the reason for his statement.

 

Councillor George Horton highlighted the Community Partnership Community Vision Section and the ten key areas it would like to focus on for visioning and queried why tourism, as one of the district’s biggest industries was not included.

 

In response, the Leader of the Council acknowledged the points raised, however considered that once a meaningful consultation and delivery of positive engagement had taken place, that would identify there was a need to the process.

 

Councillor Ru Yarsley agreed that little had been discussed about tourism and queried whether a study had been undertaken on how tourism would be impacted by a GDF, both now and in the future.

 

In response, the Leader of the Council stated that officers provided input into the process and had made the Community Partnership and NWS very aware of the importance of both the Council’s tourism industry and also the important agricultural industry.  This would hopefully be part of the feedback that the Council got back about the value that was protected by flood defence and the need for flood defence protection for both industries.

 

Councillor Travis Hesketh commented that he had been involved with the nuclear waste disposal facility for some time and considered the whole project to be a mess.  For a £50b project it had no scope of work, no definition, no quality plan, no deliverables, no milestones, no timelines and no achievements, only vague intellectual aspirations.

 

In response, the Leader of the Council acknowledged the points raised on the GDF by Councillor Hesketh over a period of time and that they had been consistent.  The Leader continued that he was always willing to engage with him in a very positive sense about the discussions to be had about Nuclear Waste Services and was happy to continue these and understand his communities’ views.

 

Michelle Hillard

 

Members were saddened to hear of the loss of Michelle and acknowledged her brave fight during her illness.  It was recognised that Michelle worked diligently in her role and also with the fundraising she had undertaken.  Condolences were passed to her family, friends and colleagues.