Cabinet - Wednesday 12 February 2025, 5:00pm - Folkestone & Hythe webcasting

Cabinet
Wednesday, 12th February 2025 at 5:00pm 

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Cllr Jim Martin - 0:00:00
Cllr Jim Martin - 0:00:04
the Internet. For those who do not wish to be recorded or filmed, you will need to leave
the chamber now. For members, officers and others speaking at the meeting, it is important
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you. Would anyone with a mobile phone please switch it to silent mode as they can be distracting.
I would like to remind members that although we have strong opinions on the matters under
consideration it is important to treat members, officers and public speakers with respect.
Thank you very much.

1 Apologies for Absence

So welcome everyone to the meeting of the Cabinet and if we can kick off with apologies
for absence.
Gemma.
Ms Jemma West - 0:00:49
We've received one apology from Councillor Speakman.
Jolly good.
Cllr Jim Martin - 0:00:52
Okay, moving on to declarations of interest.

2 Declarations of Interest

Are there any declarations of interest?
Councillor Shrew.
Thank you.
As a member of the board of Otterpool Park LLP,
Cllr Rebecca Shoob - 0:01:07
I'll be withdrawing for the Item 6.
Okay, that's noted.
Cllr Jim Martin - 0:01:12
Thanks very much.
No other declarations.
We'll move to the minutes to consider and approve

3 Minutes

there's a correct record, the minutes of the meeting
held on the 22nd of January, 2025.
Could I have a proposer for the minutes?
I'd be happy to propose.
Cllr Tim Prater - 0:01:33
So Councillor Prita to propose,
Cllr Jim Martin - 0:01:34
Councillor Polly Blake -Nard to second.
All those in favor, please indicate.
Thank you very much.

4 Housing Domestic Abuse Policy

Thank you very much.
Cllr Jim Martin - 0:01:55
So we'll move to the first substantive item of business, item four, the housing domestic
abuse policy, pages 13 to 38.
And I understand that Councillor Shrew will be leading us through this.
Over to you.
Thank you.
Cllr Rebecca Shoob - 0:02:15
So as you'll be aware, the housing team has been working towards accreditation with the
Domestic Abuse Housing Alliance or Daha.
This accreditation is the UK benchmark for best practice when dealing with domestic abuse
survivors in a housing service context.
Having a standalone housing domestic abuse policy is a key element of achieving Daha
accreditation.
So within the policy framework we have internal procedures which have been developed to cover
both the council's responsibilities as a landlord with regard to its tenants as well as for
the housing options team which covers for example when people approach the council for
housing assistance as a result of domestic abuse making their current housing situation
untenable.
So the overarching aim of the policy and indeed accreditation with Daha is to ensure that
staff are confident in how to handle cases involving domestic abuse and so that survivors
can get appropriate, sensitive and confidential support.
So I'd recommend that we accept the officer recommendations and I'm very happy to move
the report.
Thank you.
Cllr Jim Martin - 0:03:33
Thank you very much, Councillor Shrew.
I think it's an excellent piece of work and I'm very happy to second and open for debate.
Councillor Fuller.
Cllr Jim Martin - 0:03:48
I'll just say it's welcome that both the safeguarding officer and an
Cllr Gary Fuller - 0:03:52
equality impact assessment
were involved in the process.
I think that's really good.
Yeah, happy to support.
Any other contributions such?
Cllr Jim Martin - 0:04:03
Jolly good.
Okay.
So we have a proposer in Councillor Shorten.
We have a seconder in myself.
All those in favour, please indicate.
That's unanimous I think.
Thank you very much.

5 Draft Local Plan Timetable

Moving on to item five, which is the draft local plan timetable.
Now fortunately I have had something that I have to read out here.
So this report sets out a provisional timetable for the preparation of the council's new local
plan.
The government has set a target to get complete coverage of local plans in England within
this Parliament.
Currently only one third of local authorities have an up -to -date local plan in place, including
us.
To drive forward plan preparation, the Deputy Prime Minister wrote to all local authorities
at the end of last year to request that they submit
an up -to -date local plan timetable to government
by the 6th of March.
Authorities progressing local plans
under the existing 2004 legislation
have been given a deadline by which they must submit
their local plans to the Secretary of State.
For authorities like Bogus and Hyde,
which have an up -to -date, bright, sparkly, shiny local plan in place
and are looking to progress a plan under the 2023 Leveling Up Act.
There is very little detail to go on,
as regulations have not yet been published.
Officers have raised this with government officials
and we have been told that government wants submissions from every authority
and that we should take the best estimate we can.
The timetable set out in appendix one of the report
is therefore a best guess.
We've assumed that the new local plan system
will be implemented in summer this year
and the time scales will follow those set out
by the previous government as part of its reforms
with a four month scoping period
and a 30 month plan preparation period.
If approved by cabinet, we'll submit this to the government
by the March deadline.
Officers are working on a properly formatted version
of the document for the submission.
The timetable is likely to need revision in a few months
when more detail is published.
But the Deputy Prime Minister's letter raises the prospect of intervention if authorities
do not respond to her request.
We don't want to upset Angela at the moment, believe me.
So obviously there's a lot of information in the pack.
I hope you've had a good look at it.
We are very good at our local plan.
we've got an excellent local plan and we've got a tradition of being up to date with our
local plan, which not all of our neighbours can claim. So I am very, very happy to move
the report and fortunately we've got David and Adrian here to answer any difficult questions.
So I'm happy to open it up.
Cllr Stephen Scoffham - 0:08:02
Stephen.
Just to come in on what you're saying, I endorse entirely, it's very encouraging to know that
we are in a strong position with the local plan and indeed the officers have been proactive
in getting to this point and been thinking about what to do with the revisions already,
the head of the game as far as it's possible to be in the head of the game when the goalposts
seem to be pretty capable of shifting at short notice,
but I feel we're in very good hands with the officers
who are working on this, and I commend the plan.
I think it's at the timetable that's excellently thought out.
Would you be happy to second?
Cllr Jim Martin - 0:08:45
Well, I believe it or not, I would.
Cllr Stephen Scoffham - 0:08:47
Thank you very much.
Cllr Jim Martin - 0:08:50
Any other contributions that we care to have?
No, jolly good.
Okay, so we have a proposer in myself.
we have a seconder in, Councillor Scoffram,
those in favor, please indicate.
Thank you very much, I think that's unanimous,
very good.

6 Otterpool Park: Solar Park and Smart Grid Business Case update

Thank you, so we move on into item six,
Otterfall Park, Solar Park and Smart Grid Business Case
Update, pages 63 to 89,
There's a lot of detail in it.
I'll just read the introduction.
This report presents the work undertaken following approval of the recommendations in the cabinet
report C of leak 23 of leak 26 in December 2023 and brings members up to date with the
business case for the solar park and the connection to the smart grid at Otterfield Park.
The report examines the requirements to develop the electricity infrastructure to supply residents
and businesses located in Otterpool Park, recognizing the environmental and economic
context.
The succession criteria of the business case includes creating a credible pathway to a
net zero exemplar development,
optimizing the Council's oblique
Otipool Park LLP's income,
minimizing any governance risk,
and having no capital investment requirement
for the Council.
The preferred solar park developer,
Synergy Limited, working with Otipool LLP
and the Council have identified
that the combination of the smart grid
and solar park, phase one, close bracket,
meet the success criteria above for the council.
Now, in introducing this item,
just to make sure members understand,
synergy were already in place in terms of the smart grid.
The solar park is the new bit.
The smart grid has already been dealt with.
But you will all have had a lot of correspondence from me with regard to this
and including a lot of correspondence from the solar forum.
Now, there was a significant misunderstanding
whereas I and others were in the view
that this included a district heating system.
It doesn't.
And so anything that we've talked about
in terms of district heating no longer applies.
That's not part of it.
This is a system of, called a heat vault,
which is created by drilling deep underground
and storing a liquid, I assume water,
but storing a liquid there.
The heat goes into that liquid via a heat exchanger
and then provides electricity the same way when it's called for,
when the hot water, hot liquid comes out to another heat exchanger
and is converted back into electricity.
So rather than replacing the solar panels,
what it actually does is replaces the batteries.
That's ultimately what the heat bulk does.
Instead of batteries, you have a heat pool.
The problem is, as you will have seen from the correspondence, is it represents yet another
principal infrastructure investment.
And that is why it's going to be very, very difficult to do it.
But I am very, very, very happy to continue the discussions that I've been having with
the Solar Forum.
Because obviously it doesn't compete with our Solar proposal, in fact it could benefit
from it.
I couldn't envisage a situation where they could fit hand in glove.
But that's another day's journey, as it were.
So I'm very, very happy to consider alternatives,
not only from Solar
advantages of Otterpool Park.
So that said, what you see before you represents an awful lot of work by an awful lot of people
in putting this together.
It's been through several iterations.
We have a stellar group of consultants with us this evening who are able to answer questions.
But we've been around the block a couple of times on this just to get it exactly right.
The officers, in particular Andy, have taken a very, very real interest in this.
and I think that we've worked up an excellent piece of work.
So I'm very happy to move the report
and open it up for comment from other councillors. Thank you.
Are you a councillor from that?
Cllr Jim Martin - 0:15:16
I'm being into it. That's on you.
I'll warm them up.
Cllr Gary Fuller - 0:15:21
Yeah, I'll warm them up. You knock them down or something like that.
Yeah, I just wanted to clarify a couple of things in my head that I think I know the
answer to, but I just wanted to make sure, and that is that obviously we've had some
of the feedback from the forum around the park, and the reason a solar park is required,
as it were, why this development is required is twofold.
One for the early stage of Otterpool to provide power to building works and early buildings
infrastructure and so on. And secondly, because the rooftop solar won't be sufficient to provide
all of the energy for the site once it's complete. Is that a reasonably accurate description
or have I got the right end of the stick?
Cllr Jim Martin - 0:16:08
Well, I'll just come in quickly. I will refer to you, Andy, so don't lose it, mate. So you're
You're right on both counts, but one of the beauties of this is that the solar installation
builds with the development.
So there won't be for years and years, because there's no connection to the grid, there's
no point in putting panels in the field when you haven't got houses to connect them to.
So the early panels will offset some of the embodied energy of the construction process.
Now the reality is that's not going to change the world.
It's not a huge impact but in terms of the construction process it's the holy grail that
we're all seeking.
Anything that reduces the embodied energy in construction is seen as a good thing.
Construction, the process is a carbon hungry process.
So anything that we can do towards that
will be extraordinarily helpful.
And it builds as it goes.
So halfway through to development,
we'll have half the field in proportion,
whatever way it works out.
But that's one of the really good things
that I like about it.
So, just incidentally, while it's not full of panels,
the field has got other uses
in terms of the community gardens for Lynn,
community orchard, etc, etc.
So, it's a big plus.
So, Andy, sorry.
Thank you, Chair. I'll just add to that.
Mr Andy Blaszkowicz - 0:17:54
Yeah, it's correct.
When we first started looking at this,
the solar part was predicted to supply about 50 % of the power for phase one.
As we've come through and developed the model with the rooftop solar and the solar
part for the battery storage, you're looking at about 50 % of the power for the peak generation
for the whole development, so for the full 8 ,500 homes with the rest of the energy supplied
by one of Green's turrets feeding into the smart grid.
Cllr Jim Martin - 0:18:23
I think it's worth saying as well that as solar technology improves, there may be newer
materials whereby more sunlight gets converted into electricity and similarly at the other
end how solar appliances, heat pumps etc becomes more efficient.
So, at the moment, that's what we're looking at.
It qualifies as net zero because by the time we get to that point, the grid will have been
decarbonised.
Councillor Prater.
Cllr Jim Martin - 0:18:58
Thank you.
Cllr Tim Prater - 0:19:03
I think some of the key points to this is that the solar farm is not an alternative
to on -roof solar.
On -roof solar is very much the starting point of that and it is both of those together.
you can't get rid of the solar farm by having on -roof solar,
because on -roof solar is already part of it.
Both of those, plus a distributed battery storage system.
As I understand it, the batteries are effectively dotted around with the development
and they are close to each of the properties in clusters.
So the solar feeds the batteries, both off the roofs and from the solar farm,
feeds the batteries, the batteries then feed the houses,
then there's augmented from take from the grid,
from green supplies as required.
Gary keeps nodding so I'm going to take that as a good sign.
What I think is also useful for this proposal at the moment
is obviously we've got to walk into a room at the moment
without using the phrase local government reorganisation
so I'm going to do it.
We are facing that and we don't know in two or three
or four years time what our success or authority is going to be. We don't know effectively
who will own the field, the number of fields, the property that that solar farm is going
to go on. We know that we currently do and we know that alternative sites which have
been suggested for a solar farm have got planning permission to build houses on in phase one.
So are inappropriate sites for any alternative sites? The reason why this is an appropriate
site for this, it is currently not within every area we have applied for planning permission
for, but it is a location that you could build houses in.
And it is a location that as people keep softening the planning regime in order to allow housing,
and that is clearly the government's direction of travel at this moment, it will become something
that will become irresistible for somebody to sell for a housing development, whether
as part of Otterpool or whether as a neighbour of Otterpool to a developer.
And a successor organisation to ourselves is going to look in three or four or five
years time at the assets that it takes from across all of the councils which are feeding
into it and go, I wonder what that farm's worth.
I wonder what that field's worth in terms of development.
And at this moment it's worth just under £10 ,000 a year in terms of the income makes of it.
and any successor authority is going to go,
that's not good value for that money.
If there's a contract for 30 years on that field
to be a progressive build -out of solar
over the course of 30 years,
and it really is progressive as I understand it,
it starts at the back and pretty much moves forward,
you don't see it for a long time
because pat walls come gently down the field.
If there's a contract for 30 years,
that's the best defence that any local resident could have
against somebody building on that field is that there's a contract not to do so, there's
a contract to supply power from that field for the next 30 years. There'll be a rent
of £120 ,000 a year payable for the field towards either Otterpool or the council, wherever
it ends up going. Plus it's an integral part of the power of Otterpool Park itself. It's
become something that a successor authority can't look at and go, well that's an appropriate
site for a 600 house housing estate and sell it to a property developer for 60 million
quid and wander off. Because they are going to be looking for those forms of income, they
are going to be looking for those capital spent. So, I think when people are looking
at the moment about whether this solar farm, whether it's, whether to have a solar farm
or leave it as it is, is a false choice. What you're going to end up with there is a solar
farm or a potential development site. And I think it makes a better solar farm. It strengthens
the case for Othoffool Park. It leaves an area which probably doesn't need another 600
houses worth of traffic and development and would be protected for the next 30 years from
that. Because solar farms, although they might not be what everyone likes to look at, they're
very quiet and create very little additional traffic. They are a really good neighbour
compared to the other neighbours that you can have. So on the balance of that's what
people need to consider what those options are, I think that given our uncertainty of
the ownership into the medium and long term as opposed to the short term, I can't see
a reason why we wouldn't pursue the recommendations of the report. So I'm very happy to accept
Cllr Jim Martin - 0:23:57
Any other contributions? Stephen?
Cllr Stephen Scoffham - 0:23:58
Yes, I'm coming at this from a number of different angles, but I think what you said at the beginning
about a credible pathway to net zero is what I read when I read this, and I think that
that, with Otterpool being the prize that it could be, a visionary settlement for our
getting a credible path to net zero is a huge prize.
So I was really excited to read and to re -read the documentation that's come through
because it seemed it was credible on a financial level.
And as Councillor Prater has just said, you pointed out the rent.
I think we got a figure of nearly 25 million over the 35, over the 25 million over the 30 year period.
Yes, huge royalties, the connection fees and so on add up over a long time and bring money into the council.
So that is a win -win and it's a win for the developer because the connection installations seem to be, again,
there's no cost involved in that for the developer.
So there's benefits for residents, which will get cheaper electricity and electricity that comes from
neutral sources, carbon neutral sources, which is really powerful, benefits for all round,
everybody seems to benefit on the financial side.
On the environmental side, again this is going to be something that we discussed at the planning
committee as to whether it's a suitable use for that particular piece of ground, but the
idea that this could be land that is grazed, that there's a community orchard, there is
an environmental plus here that is considerable
and the monoculture that many fields do not represent
a strong ecological base.
This could actually be a plus.
And we discussed this in the past.
And we've got the idea of grazing it, the sheep grazing
that's been mentioned.
So there are pluses on the ecological side.
There are pluses on the carbon reduction side.
And it contributes very significantly
to the division of particle.
So I'm very pleased to support this.
Thank you very much.
Any other particular contributions?
I don't know, did I get a seconder?
No, I haven't, sorry.
You do now.
Thank you very much.
Councillor Prater.
Cllr Jim Martin - 0:26:24
So I proposed to move the report.
Councillor Prater seconded.
So all those in favour, please indicate.
Thank you very much everyone and Councillor Shroop can now rejoin us which is useful because
I think Councillor Shrink is going to be introducing us on Item 7, am I correct?
Thank you.
Cllr Rebecca Shoob - 0:27:24
So this report sets out the position of the HRA at the end of quarter three.
There's been an underspend of £220 ,000 on the revenue account, and this is largely due
to the decrease in revenue contribution to capital,
as the $3 million in borrowing was not actually
used in year 23 to 24.
And there was a larger than anticipated increase
in the repairs and maintenance contract of 8 %
due to inflation.
So the overall result is a net underspend of $220 ,000.
The HRA capital account shows an overspend of 531 ,000.
This is largely due to a 1 .5 million spend on social housing decarbonisation.
However, this is fully offset by a corresponding grant for the works.
So the true net overspend of £100 ,000 is again due to the larger than expected repairs and maintenance contract inflation.
So, very happy to meet the report.
Cllr Jim Martin - 0:28:40
Thank you, Councillor Shaw, I'm very glad that we continue to attract grants, which
are always helpful.
I'm very, very happy to second the report and open it up for Councillor contribution.
Cllr Jim Martin - 0:29:00
It was that excellent introduction that did it at the Council.
So we have a proposer in Councilor Shrewd, we have a seconder in myself.
All those in favour please indicate.
Thank you very much.
And so now we can move on to the main event, the Tim Prater show.
And the first of Tim's items is Item 8, Draft General Fund Revenue Budget Monitoring, third
quarter.
Hi, welcome to the Councillor Praetor Show.
Cllr Tim Prater - 0:29:38
The exciting paragraph in the Quarter 3 report is at 2 .4, which I'm sure all of you have
highlighted the interesting one already.
Obviously, we know that our quarterly monitoring reports, they are a prediction of where the
year ends as opposed to a snapshot in time, and the closer we get towards the end of the
year, hopefully the closer our prediction is to the final outcome.
You'll recall at the end of quarter two that we thought that we were going to be in a fairly
difficult position, and we were projecting a significant overspend.
And you'll see in 2 .4 that there is now an overall projected revenue overspend at £10 ,000,
down from about half a million, before the use of earmarked reserves, which is £1 ,446 ,000,
the use of reserves.
The reason why there has been such a significant change at this moment is for a number of reasons.
One, just because stuff changes between quarter two and quarter three, there have been ups
and downs in the budget and so forth.
Two, there have, and that includes since this paper I think went to the finance scrutiny
subcommittee, there's been a move on pension pressures, etc., which has slightly improved
the position further as well.
But the other is because we've done, the finance team has done a great deal of work at looking
at the areas where we've had an overspend and making sure that where there were reserves
that had been put aside specifically to meet those areas of overspend, so homelessness
is a particular thing, where we've got a homelessness reserve and we put money into it for a rainy
day, the answer was we just overspend this budget by half a million pounds, it's raining.
So, where it has been appropriate to use reserves towards expenditure in year that was over
budget, that it has been taken from those reserves.
So you will see a change in the earmarked reserves position, in that we have spent money
from those earmarked reserves on the things that the money had been earmarked to be spent
on.
And that has therefore changed the position and the picture quite substantially to mean
that we have an underspend in year of the general reserve because of the general account
because those earmarked areas have had many used from the reserves ringmarked for them.
Please don't try and spend any of that £1 .446 million.
I put that there before Lidia gets there now.
You will find as we get to the General Fund Budget for next year, it is predicated on
spending all of that on supporting your budget for next year.
There ain't no change.
Don't spend it.
But it does mean that we're going to add, that we should, as long as this forecast,
as the predictions work through, as long as the projections work through,
should mean that we are in a position of not only being able to balance this year's budget,
as we said we would, but balancing next year's budget,
using that underspend and rolling it forward,
as part of that income as well.
I'll come back to the long -term threats of this strategy later,
but it works for now.
That's the monetary report in front of you,
and if you have questions in detail, Jonathan, Montessori and Lydia love them.
So go for your life.
Did you move the report, Councillor Prager?
Cllr Jim Martin - 0:33:17
I very much do move the report.
Cllr Tim Prater - 0:33:21
Cllr Jim Martin - 0:33:22
I'm very, very happy to second it and open it up for discussion, questions.
All seems pretty good to me.
Good.
Okay, well, we have a proposer.
We have a seconder in myself.
All those in favour, please indicate.
Thank you very much, everyone.

9 Draft General Fund Capital Programme Budget Monitoring 2024/25 - 3rd quarter (Q3)

We move on now to item 9, draft general fund capital program budget monitoring 2024 -25.
Councillor Prater.
Thank you.
Happy to move this report as well.
Cllr Tim Prater - 0:34:04
It's an easier report to understand, I think, in terms of the movements there.
2 .2 is your simple, too long, didn't read paragraph in terms of the movements at that
stage.
There is a projected £7 .7 million under spend on the capital programme and 2 .2 details where
that is.
Mainly focused in brighter place, the substantive works to start in the new financial year,
so that's a lot of the sweat.
Otterpool as well, a reduction I think in terms of the total that was being put there.
Coast Drive, seafront development very much still going to happen, but not in this financial
year.
Andy hasn't managed to do a million quid's worth of building works in this year.
Don't know why.
Don't know why.
But very much plans to do them next year.
So that's where the slippage is now.
We've always seen capital reports is that you start, you put everything into your plan
and you can't start everything and you face things and things you take out of your plan
as you're going forward.
That's what you've got here.
So that's a report on the capital expenditure to the end of Q3.
Thank you very much, Councillor Procter.
Cllr Jim Martin - 0:35:17
I'm very happy to second the report and open it up for questions or discussion.
Certainly.
Cllr Jim Martin - 0:35:26
Cllr Tim Prater - 0:35:30
Sorry, I was just going to say, just because I could actually feel him smiling on that
day and you can rarely feel Andy smiling. Paragraph 2 .8, the sale of Biggins Wood completed
in December 2024. That's clearly a significant capital receipt and how he didn't buy drinks
for everyone in the building I don't know and it's an oversight which he does need to
deal with at some stage because he was a happy guy back when away because it was a huge piece
of work to get that site away and it will see 77 new homes plus new jobs in the industrial
units there and all of those 77 homes as we know are either affordable or part share homes.
So it's excellent that it's away, it's excellent that it was done and there's only the most
relieved man in the building, well Zandy, so I just wanted to make sure it was on the
record that well done. He'd been waiting for that check for a long time.
Cllr Jim Martin - 0:36:29
Yeah, just to reiterate my congratulations on that. I said thank you before Andy, but
believe me I know some of the work that you did on it and it was extensive and complex
so thank you for your tenacity if nothing else. Well done mate. So any other comments
or questions or?
Okay so Councillor Prater proposed.
I was happy to second.
All those in favour please indicate.
Thank you very much.

10 Draft General Fund Budget and Council Tax Resolution 2025/26

We now move on to item 10, draft general fund budget and council tax resolution 25 to 26.
Councillor Prater.
Right, this is where the funding is.
Cllr Tim Prater - 0:37:16
Okay, first I just want to name check in strict alphabetical order
Daniella and Jonathan and Lydia and Marcella for the heroic work
that they have done on drawing this budget together.
It's obviously one of the two biggest pieces of work which the finance team do each year,
the second bit being trying to convince the auditor that we did what we said we did.
And it's the number of iterations that you have to go through in terms of these things,
the number of changes that you use.
You start with the shape in September and that shape just keeps changing as people change
the numbers in front of you.
And I just can't thank the team enough for the work that they have done to get us here.
I think as you read through the report, I think it should be clear that it's not been
an easy budget to put together.
I think in July, when the government changed, a number of us hoped that the attitude and
indeed maybe funding of local government, or towards local government, would change
as well and that we'd get some generous, more generous would have been nice, but I think
earlier notice and more respect for local government in terms of the way that we were
being handled would have been nice.
And even honesty at times.
Some of the pressures which we've got within this budget and had to deal with are pressures
which the government said we wouldn't have.
So for instance, when they increased the national insurance across the piece, they said that
local government, our levels of local government, would be fully funded for that, and that the
about £450 ,000 cost to this council would be fully funded.
Well, it's fully funded, but they funded just under half of it.
You got about £220 ,000?
Two.
It is only just half of what the cost of this council actually was.
When they said that the grants will go up and everybody will go,
that's just not the way it happened.
The report here, make that clear, is that if you include everything in,
including that NI payment, then maybe you're about equal,
but we're certainly not better off,
and we're certainly not being really precious.
Financially, this was a harder national local government
settlement for us than the previous year
by some significant distance.
I'm sorry to answer.
If she's listening, it's still true.
It wasn't a great settlement for us.
That said, what this budget does is takes those lemons and produces a budget which is
balanced, and I continue to use the balanced as we are not using our general reserves in
order to fund the expenditure on this, and sticks to a maximum council tax increase of
2 .99%, and as everyone in this room will know, we went through the pain of Star Chambers
and looking for substantial cuts from our portfolios and from service areas last year,
and we have not done that same pain this year.
We have held every service, we haven't had conversations about what do we have to stop
doing, what do we have to cut, what do we have to increase, which councils across the
country are doing and that the only way they are making their budgets balance and not issue
notice is by having those conversations.
We're not doing that.
So the budget is in front of you.
As I say, as I said previously in terms of the quarter three monitoring statement, the
The way that it balances, the way that it doesn't take from the General Fund reserve
for parents' expenditure, within the margin of error, by the way, I think there is in
the papers in front of us, but not going to cancel a £90 ,000 reduction on the General
Fund balance, I think that that might be edited by the time we get it to Council, within the
margin of error, it's not being funded for that.
But where there are earmarked reserves, those earmarked reserves are for a purpose than
and they will be left, they will be used for that purpose.
So again, homelessness grants, etc. used as appropriate.
And also, it is supported by the rollover from this financial year into next financial
year.
And what's very important for us to be clear on, looking at the MTFS and going forward,
is that that only works if you've got a roll forward year from year, and doesn't necessarily
work next year, the following year, if we don't have that.
and I'm here to predict now that a £1 .5 million underspend next year,
I think would be an optimistic look at the budget as we sit here at this moment.
So, making no predictions for what the median term looks like,
not least because Jonathan keeps giving me sleepless nights
by talking about business rates reviews
and the fact that that's been published,
which could leave us £2 .5 million down next year,
Plus the fact that you haven't got roll forwards through these years.
It is difficult to foresee the future. It's particularly difficult to foresee the future
where government will tell you what that is. Or how long the future is.
Or what they're going to pay for.
So, to your recommendations
as in front of you, and they're no budget estimates,
there will be some minor alterations and movements in numbers
between now and the Council meeting,
but they're pretty much there.
They will be.
Will make sure that they are
flagged for changes.
Uhm? And it approves the Council tax reduction.
It notes fees and charges in building control,
proposing a fees and charges in building control.
I believe because things changed since
we passed the fees and charges document,
is that correct?
So I think it changed since we
So we needed to revise those.
And to note the revised medium term financial strategy.
As I said before, that's always a four year plan of what a finance is going to look like for four years.
As we all know in this room, the chances of being sat in this room in four years time at this moment
is negligible. Therefore, where it's previously been guessing with style, please delete style.
The median term financial strategy at the moment until government gives us a clearer picture of what the financial
picture is going to be for local government and indeed whether they're going to exist is now just guessing.
Beyond this year, we will then see where we go to.
A few other papers which have come out and I apologise profusely to Mona Solor in particular and Jonathan for making
those things happen, but you will see that a new reserve has been created, the Financial
Stability Reserve, which has put money aside for a series of rainy days that may occur
to us in the course of next year and it's detailed on there what those rainy days are.
It's appendix 10, I think. I'll find it now. But it details how that four minute, why that
that £4 million reserve has been created, which is in large proportion in order to protect
ourselves if the order to turn around and says you're going to write off £3 .5 million
on crisis pro, or nearly £3 .5 million on budget red, plus a number of other provisions
against potential legal actions, potential work that we have to do, etc.
Here is that very specific total because we've added up each of those things.
We'd be delighted not to spend that reserve on all of those things if all of those things
did not come true, but it is important to make a provision for them coming true under
those circumstances.
That report also details where that money came from and the various, in some instances,
very small pots of reserve which have moved from A to B, some very small balances in some
places and some very significant balances in other places.
Sorry Stephen.
I would like to say the Climate Change Reserve has gone towards the saving of a very large
green space and carbon sink within our district and it salutes you.
So that's there.
As I said, as ever, if you have detailed questions on this, I'm looking forward very much to
the team answering them. I can only thank them again and I move the budget.
Cllr Jim Martin - 0:46:31
Thank you very much, Councillor Payer. A fantastic piece of work, has to be said. A very, very,
very large piece of work and I know it's been on something of a big dip arrived in its presentation.
But an excellent piece of work all round. Well done the team. Thank you very much for
all of your hard work and thank you to Councillor Prater for steering the ship.
So yeah, Councillor Prater proposed.
I'm very happy to second and open for comments or questions.
Councillor Blakemore.
Thank you, Chair.
I won't repeat what Councillor Prater said but I had made a note to
Cllr Mike Blakemore - 0:47:18
say some of what
He said that it is remarkable that we've managed to get to the position we have without having
to make the kind of cuts we made previously.
I think it's, you know, I think it is a matter of great regret that the government has come
in and increased employers' national assurance and then not covered the cost of that, only
to cover about half of the cost of that.
And I think it's in this report and maybe elsewhere that it's noted that in real terms
Local government funding has been reduced by 21 % since 2010.
And this government, when it's in opposition,
would have objected to that continued erosion of local government funding
and the austerity that's gone with it.
I know they will blame black holes,
I know they will blame the inheritance they've received,
but it's a very, very difficult, very unpleasant pill to swallow, I think.
but for council tax payers, they'll only face the 2 .99 % increase
because that's as much as we can do,
but they will face bigger increases from elsewhere
as part of their council tax bill,
and that will be difficult for them to bear at the moment as well.
Thank you very much, Councillor Prita.
Councillor Holgate.
Cllr Jim Martin - 0:48:30
Sorry. Excuse me.
Cllr Rich Holgate - 0:48:33
I had two questions through the lens of LGR,
so they're not relevant for this,
than happy to take them offline.
One was the MTFS, and I just question the need
to do any work on it whatsoever.
But I don't know whether it's a statutory obligation.
Legal requirement.
Right.
OK.
Maybe that's answered.
A legal requirement.
But also then the reserves.
I think most of the room know I'd
like to spend all the reserves.
There we have.
So my question is more constructively,
do we know yet at what point we can
start to have conversations around using reserves
whilst we are still in office, quote unquote.
Just curious.
Cllr Jim Martin - 0:49:13
Well, we're not entirely sure exactly where we are
in terms of local government reorganisation yet.
So it might be a little early to fire a starting gun,
but I don't know whether you've got a view of it too.
Yeah, not yet.
Cllr Tim Prater - 0:49:35
We don't know. We've certainly got another budget to do for
the year starting 2026. We will have a much clearer picture than
what our end point is, so to speak. It feels quite terminal,
because it is quite terminal. We'll also know the rules that
govern what you're allowed to do around that, including that we
fully expect a letter from a minister at some stage telling us
to stop thinking about what you're thinking about.
So that will happen, but absolutely we are going to be looking at all of our assets and
assets and our services and indeed reserves over the course of the next year and making
sure that we are applying them best for the residents of this district and you can capitalise
that where you want.
I don't think anybody is going to want to see large reserves left to a successor body
to be spent elsewhere.
However, we'll see what the rules of the game are when somebody actually writes some rules
of this game.
I just wanted to say in terms of one of the pieces picking up on Councillor Blakewell's
point is that obviously different Council are with the precepting authority, so we issue
the bill and therefore get pointed at for a number of different councils.
It's not just our council tax that we're taking, but also our town and parish councils, the
special expense for folks and parks and gardens, Kent County Council, the Police and Crime
Commissioner and Kemp Fire and Rescue. Which one have I missed? None of them? Blimey. Full
show. And each of those are bearing my sight with different rules. I just wanted to say
thank you to our Town and Parish Councils on the other hand. Although our increase is
2 .99%, the Town and Parish Councils increase as far as I can see was 3 .08%. Yeah, it's
a tad higher than that is, but given the fact that it's within the margin of error of 3%,
I think their restraint across the board shows that they are also listening to the resident
of this district because they are understanding that pressure as well. They haven't gone out
there and looked for more, despite the pressures that they've got, and their pressures are
in often the worst because they weren't covered for the NI increase at all. So quite often
they were seeing several thousand pounds walking out the door, which they get none of it back,
So they've protected the council taxpayers, and I'm grateful for them having done so,
and impressed that they've managed to do so, despite inflationary pressures and their
low pressures, and all the rest.
So well done to those councils in our district who've done that.
Again, it won't be the same across the board, there'll be a number of places whereby they've
gone up significantly, but I think it's important to acknowledge that we don't set those budgets
for town and parish councils, they set themselves and they sent them to us maybe a fortnight
earlier next year would be nice. We'll discuss the timetable in the sending notes to it.
But it was a very restrained piece by our town and parish councils. I think we should
acknowledge that as well. So, yeah.
Cllr Jim Martin - 0:52:46
Thank you very much, Tim. Great. So, we have a proposer, and Tim, I was happy to second
All those in favour, please indicate.
Well done.

11 Draft Housing Revenue Account Revenue and Capital Original Budget 2025/26 and Housing Rent Setting Budget report 2025/26

So now, as in the Super Bowl, the highlight is the half -time show.
We now have a respite from the Tidprayer show and we have Councillor Shrimp.
Councillor Shrimp.
Sorry.
So busy on my introduction.
I'm going to introduce you.
Councillor Shrewbrook, item 11, draft housing revenue account, revenue and capital original
budget 25 -26, housing rent setting budget report, pages 303 to 320.
Rebecca.
Thank you.
Cllr Rebecca Shoob - 0:53:38
That might be the biggest intro I've ever heard.
There's a lot to live up to there.
So yeah, this is the.
Hang on where am I?
The with me.
So yeah, this report sets out the proposals for the HRA
revenue and capital budgets as well as the proposed rents and
service charges for 2025 -26. So being asked to approve these
and recommend their approval by full Council as well.
So I'd like to thank officers for the work that's gone
into preparing this budget.
It really does reflect the ambitions we previously
set out and agreed in the 30 year HRA business plan.
So this budget allows us to build on the success
we've already seen in increasing our Council stock.
You'll know that the business plan set out
£5 million a year minimum for building and acquiring new stock, which is obviously to
be supplemented by additional funding such as section 106 money, capital receipts and
any ad hoc grants we're able to secure.
So we've got off to a brilliant start already over the last year or so and this budget looks
to continue a healthy programme of adding much, much needed affordable homes to the
housing stock. The highlights so far this year, we've got 44 homes at Risborough Barracks,
a further 20 coming in Hyde. You'll see in the capital budget that some items have been removed
as those works have finished, primarily wave two of the social housing decarbonisation programme
and the telecare project, but other growth items have been built in and detailed at 3 .1
of the report.
Notably, there's an increase on the baseline 5 million for new builds.
This reflects the year -to -year changes in the new build program as the pipeline and
opportunities change.
So the capital budget also allows for the conversion of Everest Court in Liming back
into homes, although I will add that no decision has yet been taken on that,
but obviously we want to make sure there is some budget.
Urgent works on exterior walkways in flats in the Sandgate, installation of CCTV at some blocks,
and budget for any urgent capital works that arise.
We've also got some budget in there to retain our decarbonisation team
in case the grant funding is not continued.
We've got a lot of in -house expertise now, so really beneficial that we keep that.
The capital budget, obviously, it's generally what grabs the attention and headlines,
but I'd like to stress that the revenue budget is just as important and underpins the great
service that we want to deliver to our tenants in maintaining and improving the existing
housing stock.
The housing team has done an absolute transform in the housing service since it came back
in -house and we want to maintain that great work and this budget allows us to do that.
So that brings me on to the rent setting and the service charges which are reflected in
the proposed revenue budget.
So you'll see that rents are included at a 2 .7 % increase which is in line with government
guidance.
We've got 18 shared ownership properties and the increase there is 3 .2%, again in line
with government guidance and the general service charges are also set at 2 .7.
You'll see in the report that different rates apply to the sheltered
housing schemes which unfortunately currently have more expensive to run
communal systems but worth noting that this is something we're
actively looking to address in the longer term through ongoing
So again, I'd like to thank officers for all the work that's gone into building this budget
and the sharp focus on what really matters in delivering a great service to tenants and
increasing availability of much needed council homes across the district.
So I'd like to recommend the budget to you and move the report.
Cllr Jim Martin - 0:58:33
Thank you very much, Rebecca.
I'm very, very happy to second.
And in saying, just to, just really to reiterate your main point in, you know, what a performance.
You know, we've not only are we, you know, running a very successful decarbonisation
programme, not only are we repairing our properties but we're improving them.
And we're also adding to our stock.
When we set out, when we were first elected, the target was 80 homes across four years.
Well, we've gone way past that and we're not halfway there yet.
So I couldn't be happier about this.
It's a fantastic piece of work.
So thanks to you, thanks to all of the officers, thanks to Mr. Blazkowicz's deal -making qualities
and his ability to listen to certain developers drone on and on and on and on.
But fantastic performance by all and really, really happy to second this report and open
up for comment and discussion.
Councillor Prater.
Cllr Jim Martin - 1:00:02
I'm not going to let a report go by that puts £250 ,000 into
Cllr Tim Prater - 1:00:06
rebuilding the walkways for
the Sago flats going without mention, so thank you for doing that. That's a piece of work
which I know that those flats have been waiting for for some time. They've been covered in
scaffolding at the back for about a year now and are hoping to see that gone in the six
months' time. But the reason it has taken so long is because it's a very complicated
piece of work, and a very difficult piece of work, to remove the balcony of a masonette
and replace it.
So it's going to go up and it would be welcome if that was done.
And the reason why pieces of work like that can be done in this is because of the revenue
that we make off the existing house stock.
and the reason why we can talk about the fact that another 70 houses will be out, another
70 properties will be added to our housing stock next year under this budget is because
it's underpinned by the revenue that we make off those rents. Yes, we're borrowing side
of it, unless you can pay the interest, unless the books add up, you can't do that. And although
I'm sure that all of us would prefer not to put rents up on places, that's the cost of
doing things like making the places better and having more of them.
And when you look at the rents that they're charging, they are below private market rents
and they should be pressed, the private market will do that.
And a 2 .7 % rise in the rent charges there is less than the private rented sector will
have.
And there are many, many more people in the private rented sector in this district at
who would give their eyes for one of our properties.
And the more that we can afford to buy, and the more that we can add to our stock,
the more that those people can have one of those properties.
Whereas at the moment, the answer is we've only got that many,
we haven't got enough, a small percentage of the people who are on our waiting list
to have one of those properties.
By allowing that rent to rise, the 2 .7%,
lower than it's likely to be for private rental sale. That allows us, allows Andy to go and
do those deals where they are available, to add new housing stock to it so there will
be another 70 families next year who can benefit from those rents and who would be otherwise
paying hundreds of pounds more a month for rent for a substantially less good property.
That's why here, that's why the work of Rebecca and the housing team and Andy is so important,
in terms of what we've done together, is that we are housing thousands of families in the
best way that we possibly can.
We are making the houses better and we are adding to them.
So I'm very strongly in support of that budget.
Well done.
Thank you very much.
Excellent work.
Cllr Jim Martin - 1:03:00
Okay, we have our proposer in Councillor Shrew.
I was happy to second it.
All those in favor, please indicate.
That's unanimous.
Very good.
Moving on then to item 12,
the draft capital strategy 25 -26
and the minimum revenue provision statement 25 -26.
Always a highlight, this one.

12 Draft Capital Strategy 2025/26 and Minimum Revenue Provision Statement 2025/26

Would you like to outline it for us, Jim?
Cllr Tim Prater - 1:03:33
Yes.
It does feel a tad dry because it is.
Most of this is statutory report.
It's what you have to do each year.
MRP, as you'll know, is that on our borrowings we have to make not just interest payments
on those, but make sure that we are taking provision against the value of the borrowing
that we have each year and you have to specify what they are.
The paper is in front of you.
It is detailed.
It is dry.
And Lydia would be delighted to answer questions on it.
I'm happy to move.
Thank you, Councillor Prater.
Cllr Jim Martin - 1:04:15
Very happy to second and open for questions or comments
on the paper.
I'm not seeing any indications.
So you're off lightly, Lydia.
Okay, so we have a proposal, we have a seconder.
All those in favor, please indicate.
Thank you very much, everyone.
Moving on to item 13, draft Treasury Management Strategy Statement 2526.
Councillor Prater.
It's before you, I move.
Cllr Tim Prater - 1:04:53
Again, this is a paper which is detailed and technical and required in nature.
It sets limits to our borrowing, it sets a framework for both our investments and our
borrowing.
It gives you indications of how much we could borrow to and you'll note within that that
we are within that amount throughout the zealous report.
You'll note that it goes through till 2028, which sounds exciting.
So again, the report is in front of you.
Because it is regularly flagged with me and flagged with other people, and I have regularly
flagged it myself, we also note a recommendation 5, but we do note our approach to environmental
safety and governance concerns.
They have to come second to making sure that the money remains there, so there's liquidity
questions and security etc.
Don't lose the money.
Don't tie it up for ten years so that you can't spend it.
So there are those financial questions that you have to answer first, but we absolutely
do have built in those environmental, social and governance questions to our consideration
on those investments where we can.
There's ongoing discussions, because that's sometimes quite technical.
It's very difficult to look sometimes into funds and those investment ones and know exactly
what's in them because they are so distributed.
But our investment advisors are in close assisting in looking at those and trying to give us
the guidance to make sure that we are doing the best we can.
It's also quite difficult because one person's social investment is something else.
It's difficult sometimes getting a balance between what gets things out.
but we do take note of it.
It is built into what we do,
and again, I move the recommendations of the report.
Thank you very much, Councillor Craitor.
Very happy to second the report
and open it up for questions or queries.
I don't... Oh, Councillor Scoffron. Thank you.
Just to say thank you very much for flagging up the ESG policy
and the way that it's difficult to implement,
but the general direction of travel
seems to me very encouraging.
And I did note that historically ethical issues weren't included
in our investment policy, and they now are.
So that is definitely the right direction of travel.
And the things that are listed are human rights
abuse, environmentally harmful activities,
and socially harmful activities cover a huge range of things.
Very difficult, as you say, to actually quantify
what they should be.
but the wording is carefully worded
and I think it makes sense.
Cllr Stephen Scoffham - 1:07:48
It's very good to know that our interests are looking at this
and seeing how the position can be strengthened.
So I welcome that.
Thank you very much, Councillor Scotland.
Cllr Jim Martin - 1:07:59
Are there any more questions or queries?
Okay, we have a proposal in Councillor Prater.
I was happy to second.
and all those in favour, please indicate.
Thank you very much.
We move swiftly onto draft investment strategy 2526,
item 14, and it's Councillor Prater.
It's in front of you, I move.
Cllr Tim Prater - 1:08:28
Cllr Jim Martin - 1:08:32
You happy to move it or?
That was the I move bit of the sentence.
Cllr Tim Prater - 1:08:38
Cllr Jim Martin - 1:08:42
Well, if a very brief comment, that was terrific.
So I'm very happy to second the report and open it up for questions or queries, comments,
et cetera.
I don't see anybody indicating.
So, Councillor Prater proposed.
I was happy to second.
All those in favour, please indicate.
Jolly good.
It indicates a very good, very well written report, I think.
Moving on then finally to Item 15,
update on the General Fund Medium Term Capital Program 25 -26.
Councillor Prater.
Cllr Tim Prater - 1:09:30
Yeah, this is again one of those moving targets and what you have here is a snapshot of where
we are, stroke were at the moment until people through government reorganisation across the
table of some broad areas of capital expenditure that we were looking at and how that would
play forward in a budget over the course of the next four years.
how that man plays forward will come back to us over the course of the next year.
There will be a number of projects that we're going to put into piles of
do it, ditch it, and delegate it to the next authority,
because there will be some things that we might have wanted to do
that we might not have any time to do any more.
There might be some things that we might have been planning to do a big thing
and we do a slightly less big thing in order to make sure that there is something there
to leave the district.
There might be a number of different areas
whereby we move these things around a bit.
And there'll be some things that we just say,
well, we're not going to be able to do that.
So this is, again, part of the guessing with style,
but without style because you can't put into a four -year
program what you're going to build over the course
of the next four years.
The answer is, am I still here in four years time to do that?
That's quite difficult to do budget for.
However, you can only take the best picture
that you have at the moment with the ideas and priorities for the Council which we have
at this time. There will be movement on this in the course of the next year. There will
be a number of papers and a number of discussions to have about what things come into and what
things leave this over the course of the next 12 months. So please don't take this as a
settled position. Take this as a where we are at this moment looking forward the best
we can without good information from people who need to provide it to us.
So that's what it is at this moment.
Cllr Jim Martin - 1:11:30
Thank you very much, Councillor Proater.
I'm very happy to second and I wonder if you could answer a question for me.
If I could draw your attention to page 382.
4 .3.
The table of costs or the table of borrowing there.
Otseford Park I recognise.
Leisure centre development 23 ,000.
What's that?
23 million mate.
Cllr Tim Prater - 1:12:10
You're underselling yourselves. We had built into our budget, I think for the years 27, 28, 28, 29, Lydia and Jonathan are both
nodding, so I'm going to keep ploughing on. We had built into our budget provision for new leisure centre development in the
district to that, and that was effectively borrowing, that's effectively giving ourselves that, okay, if we were going to do
that at Sun Station. We haven't agreed it through cabinet and we haven't agreed that,
but we know that we have an aspiration for new financial facilities, we know that Hyatt
buildings broadly needs help. We know that there are a number of things to do there.
So we had budgeted into the long term capital programme and it was there last year as well,
so this is not a new addition. It was there last year for money towards financial development
supported by Macquarie. Obviously there may be other sources of income for any potential
development of S106 money around things like that, grant funding etc.
So an amount of money was put into the budget for that period of time and that is exactly
the sort of conversation that we're going to have to have over the course of the next
12 months is what is our aspiration for leisure in our district, what is our leisure strategy,
what can we see left in terms of leisure provision in this district to be run by a successor
authority and that's why there was money budgeted into that.
That said, most of the expenditure of that, the extended profile of that, one was expecting
it to be towards 28, 29, that sort of thing.
We might have to do something a bit different and I'm sure that a leisure strategy would
inform that and I'm sure that we'll be brought options which are the art of the possible
or proposals that we have to our successor of things that we would like them to deliver
for the district for us.
We will see.
Thank you very much.
Cllr Jim Martin - 1:14:06
Just to remind members that our next sort of big piece of work that we're going to tackle
is our leisure strategy.
So, you know, I'm glad that having written the strategy, there will be some sort of a
and money to do something with it.
So that's excellent.
So happy to open it for other comments or questions.
Councillor Holgate.
It relates perhaps to my previous comment.
Cllr Rich Holgate - 1:14:45
I just around the landscape where
we're trying to protect officer capacities,
these mid to long term views, I just find ludicrous
is my personal opinion.
I just, you know, should even, should incur a slap on the wrist or the wrath of Anjala,
I just, if we could be quite ruthless about the need to do this type of work, whilst I
appreciate it's helpful to the extent.
It's just something I'd advocate for is to, yeah, prioritise when necessary.
Cllr Jim Martin - 1:15:14
Yeah, I think everyone picks up the same sentiment, Councillor Holgate, and so thank you very
much for that.
Any other comments or questions to ask?
Very good, okay, we have a proposal in Councilor Prater,
a seconder in myself.
All those in favor, please indicate.
Thank you very much, I think that's unanimous,
and thank you very much, members.
Very, very large and detailed agenda.
Thank you for reading the document,
and thank you, and I hope you all
have a very pleasant evening.
Thank you.
.