Agenda and minutes

To confirm and sign the minutes of the meeting held 17 July 2023.

The minutes of the previous meeting held on 17 July 2023 were approved and signed.

To update Cabinet on the March Future High Street Fund (FHSF) project and to provide members with the information required to make a decision on the location of the March Fountain following consideration of a petition at Full Council.

Appendix 11 to this report comprises exempt information – to exclude the public (including the press) from a meeting of a committee it is necessary for the following proposition to be moved and adopted: “that the public be excluded from the meeting for Items which would involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in the paragraphs 5 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972 (as amended) as indicated.”

Members considered the options for relocation for the fountain following the petition presented to Full Council presented by Councillor Seaton.

Councillor Seaton stated concentration would be on the alternative site options that have been investigated as an alternative to the approved and present location. He recognised and acknowledged the letter received by all Cabinet members from Lindsey Betts and Gary Richmond.

Councillor Seaton stated that it was organised for Cabinet members to be given a guided tour around the alternative site locations within the past week, which was to enable an informed decision to be reached by looking at the sites and not based solely on the written report. He stated that it was investigated moving the fountain position slightly closer to the road but this was rejected due to safety reasons and referred to each of the alternative sites, with their associated risks as detailed in the report.

Councillor Seaton stated that these options have been extensively investigated and based on the difficulties that each of the option sites have produced he proposes that the present location which has been approved should be progressed as planned.

Members made comments, asked questions and received responses as follows:

·       Councillor Tierney stated that on lots of the options it was said that it was unlikely that they would be supported, which he presumes means by Historic England, but he would like to understand what their power is, are they advising or must the Council do as it says. Councillor Seaton responded that they are a statutory body but they are an advisory body, which means they possibly would not block a different option, however, it could challenge to the Secretary of State if it did not approve where the fountain was going to be moved to.

·       Councillor Tierney expressed the view that these issues are very personal to towns and as a Wisbech councillor he is always uncomfortable on making a judgement on something that is so personal to a different town but members are in the situation they are in and have to try and make the best decision. He feels it is good that so many options have been investigated and it is unfortunate that the view is taken that Historic England would say no to so many but he would like going forward to speak to them and ask what leeway there is in these matters as this is not going to be the last time this happens and he would like to understand what their appetite is for other suggestions rather than assuming they are going to say no to everything.

·       Councillor Murphy stated that he walked around all the sites and considered all the information provided and, in his opinion, the land outside Iceland is too far out of the centre of March and is already a busy area with existing businesses too close and would be vulnerable to vandalism; outside the Library again this is too far outside the centre, would be hidden and vulnerable to  ...  view the full minutes text for item CAB19/23

To provide an update to Cabinet of the work of the Investment Board from March 2023 to August 2023. 

Members considered the update on the work of the Investment Board from March 2023 to August 2023 presented by Councillor Boden.

Councillor Boden stated that he had been slightly disappointed by the speed of progress, which has not been as quick as he would like but it has taken time to go through the various processes which have been necessary. He stated that it is still at a stage where the overall likely success or otherwise cannot be judged of the two ongoing projects.

Councillor Boden referred to the objectives, the first one being to realise more by going through this process on these two sites rather than selling them on the open market with no development and secondly to covert as much as possible of the gain on these two sites from capital to revenue. He stated that both of these objectives have progressed and the Council disposed of the sites to Fenland Future Ltd and what Fenland Future Ltd do with the sites will now be what results in the return that the Council gets, with their being financial difficulties over the past couple of years that had not been anticipated not least the effect of the war in Ukraine and it is being seen nationally a definite slow down if not reversal on the private housing market.

Councillor Boden made the point that there was a significant amount of resilience built into the plans and not all the site in Wisbech is for private housing and he believes there is still a very good business case in both sites but it is not known what the position will be economically in six months’ time. He stated that there is no reason to change the plans that the Council has for these two sites.

Councillor Boden referred to the second objective, this has been occurring and it is too early to say how successful this has been but the Council has already, even though a single house has not been built, undertaken the ground work so when the gains come in a significant proportion will be turned from capital to revenue. He feels it paints a picture of something going in the right direction and it makes sense to keep going in that direction.

Members made comments, asked questions and received responses as follows:

·       Councillor Mrs Laws made the point not to put scarers on the market as whilst she acknowledged the property market had slowed down she does not think it is in a position where it is failing.

·       Councillor Miscandlon stated that the only people who seem to be slowing down on their investment are the very large companies that pay massive bonuses to their staff and the smaller and more resilient local companies seem to be doing well and long may they do so.

·       Councillor Boden expressed the view that the potential reduction in return or the risk he particularly had in mind was the level of new house prices and that has been subject  ...  view the full minutes text for item CAB20/23

To extend the Wisbech PSPO on the consumption of alcohol by a further 3 years.

Members considered the extension of the Wisbech Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO) on the consumption of alcohol by a further 3 years presented by Councillor Wallwork.

Councillor Wallwork stated that in 2017 the Council introduced the PSPO to cover areas of Wisbech Town Centre to deal with issues of street drinking and anti-social behaviour. She advised that the PSPO can be made for a maximum of three years and must be reviewed before being renewed, it was previously extended in 2020 and expires in October 2023.

Councillor Wallwork stated that as part of the renewal the Community Safety Team have carried out a consultation with the public and key stakeholders as well as reviewing data to determine whether the PSPO should be extended for a further three years. She made the point that the report outlines the issues, the consultation process outcomes and the role the PSPO plays in Police enforcement.

Members made comments, asked questions and received responses as follows:

·       Councillor Tierney stated that he championed introducing the PSPO when it was first introduced but he did say at the time that he did not think it was going to work as a new policy was being introduced with no means of enforcing it. He expressed the view that these new powers become available, the public demand something is done and the Council responds correctly but if there is no structure in place to enforce any of it, it all becomes useless and it is useless, it does not work as nobody will enforce it and the only people who have the power to enforce it are the Police and they will not do it as they are too busy, have to put their resources elsewhere and the areas where PSPOs are put in place people are still drinking in them and creating anti-social behaviour. He believes that no one has been enforced or charged since the introduction of the PSPO but he is still going to support renewing it as if you do not renew it people will say why would you not back this clear policy to counter it and he finds it is a difficult situation where members have to support policies where there is no enforcement undertaken and the Government should be challenged to say with these powers in place who is going to enforce it in future and how are the Police going to be encouraged to keep the law and how are they going to be resourced to do this. He stated that he did want to point this out as if it keeps get nodded through without pointing out the weaknesses then he does not think members are doing their job.

·       Councillor Mrs Laws added that a lot of time, effort and work goes into these policies, which is not good if they are not enforced but it has to be reviewed on the understanding that nobody is enforcing it.

·       Councillor Miscandlon agreed with the comments of the other councillors but stated  ...  view the full minutes text for item CAB21/23

To renew the contract arrangements for the provision of temporary agency workers 2024-25 via the procurement MSTAR4 framework.

Members considered the renewal of the contract arrangements for temporary agency workers presented by Councillor Boden.

Councillor Boden stated that the Council does already utilise a neutral managed service provider via Eastern Shires Purchasing Organisation (ESPO) and the current contract arrangements needs to be renewed or changed as the contract only runs until December. He made the point that there are other organisations other than ESPO but under the research he has undertaken there is nothing wrong with what ESPO provides to the Council and he sees no advantage whatsoever of moving away from ESPO and looking for alternative arrangements.

Proposed by Councillor Boden, seconded by Councillor Mrs French and AGREED that the Council recontract agreement with a vendor neutral managed service provider via the ESPO framework arrangements to enable it to continue with the current effective arrangements.

To provide Cabinet with a monthly update regarding ongoing work related to 24 High Street, Wisbech.

Members considered the Wisbech High Street update presented by Councillor Seaton.

Members made comments, asked questions and received responses as follows:

·       Councillor Tierney appreciated the work starting as it has been a long time coming and it is great to see it commencing. He feels that the people of Wisbech understand it takes time to work on projects such as this and appreciate that it is being undertaken without having to close the High Street, which is vital to businesses, but the change to move the scaffolding back is a great idea, it will really help as there are lots of people struggling to get up that path who have mobility issues and he welcomes this change.

·       Councillor Mrs Laws questioned the £25,000 cost of scaffolding and asked if various quotations were sought and does it include insurance? Councillor Seaton responded that there is a lot of scaffolding here, it is virtually the whole of 11-12 that has been scaffolded as some of the walls are unsafe so it is a large job and officers have obtained the best price from the scaffolding firm that are already there, with the scaffolding being an ongoing cost that the Council has.

Proposed by Councillor Seaton, seconded by Councillor Tierney and AGREED to note the current position in relation to the 24 High Street construction project in Wisbech and information regarding the property at 11-12 High Street.

For information purposes.

Councillor Boden presented the draft 6 month Cabinet Forward Plan for information.

Members made the following comments:

·       Councillor Boden made the point that currently at the November and December meetings of the Cabinet there is a further update on the Wisbech High Street but noted that Councillor Seaton said there may not be any substantial change until January but he would like this to remain on the agenda as it was stated that there would be monthly reports and there could be developments. Councillor Seaton agreed with this course of action.

·       Councillor Mrs French stated that the Forward Plan does not include anything about Civil Parking Enforcement, she attended a presentation last week at County Council and it is likely to be going to the Highway and Transport Committee meeting on 3 October and she hopes there may be some information that can be reported. She added that she did ask the specific question of whether the Council has to use the County’s contractors to do the lining and the signs and the answer was no. Councillor Boden suggested that this be added to the 13 November Cabinet agenda, even if it is a for information item.

·       Councillor Mrs French stated that the other question she asked was if it was possible that the Council could look to bring in Civil Parking Enforcement in Fenland in 2024 and not 2025. Councillor Boden stated that he is aware that Councillor Mrs French asked this question but there are a lot of hurdles to overcome before this point is reached. Councillor Mrs Laws asked what the response was to this question? Councillor Mrs French responded possible.

Freedom Leisure has asked the Council to consider providing financial support to cover the increase in excess energy costs to run the four leisure facilities. 

Appendix C Schedule 17 to this report comprises exempt information – to exclude the public (including the press) from a meeting of a committee it is necessary for the following proposition to be moved and adopted: “that the public be excluded from the meeting for Items which would involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in the paragraphs 5 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972 (as amended) as indicated.”

Members considered providing financial support to Freedom Leisure to cover the increase in excess energy costs to run Fenland’s four leisure centres presented by Councillor Miscandlon.

Councillor Miscandlon stated that from meetings with Freedom Leisure they are quite surprised that they are doing better than they anticipated, which is to the Council’s advantage because the cost analysis that they require from the Council diminishes and the managers are very upbeat about going forward and are grateful for the support from the Council. He acknowledged that there is work to be carried out on the centres, some of this is being investigated currently, which will enhance the centres for the public.

Members made comments, asked questions and received responses as follows:

·       Councillor Tierney stated that he is glad that Freedom Leisure appreciate the support the Council has given them as it was comprehensive and he wants to make it clear that the Council did this as it was supporting the people of Fenland as those services are valued and did not want to see Covid and other things put an end to this so it was investment for the people of Fenland and not for the company although it had a knock on effect.

·       Councillor Boden referred to Councillor Miscandlon saying that Freedom Leisure were surprised that they were doing as well as they are and he is also surprised but it is to the benefit of everyone. He agreed with the comments of Councillor Tierney, with there being councils around the country where the leisure provision that is available, particularly swimming pools, have been reduced and in some cases eliminated entirely and this Council has taken a deliberate decision to protect those facilities for residents in Fenland to the extent that it has. Councillor Boden made the point that there are 4 leisure centres across the area which is a lot more than most councils of Fenland’s size would have due to the very unusual set up of having 4 towns within its area, with many authorities the size of Fenland having one centre, and as a result this Council faces a much larger challenge to provide services at locations where people will find them as convenient as possible and the decision has been taken, where the Council can, to continue to support that operation and it intends to do so in the future subject to external factors, which cannot be predicted. He stated he is pleased with the information in the report but the Council needs to continue to be rigorous in the financial implications of it and he knows a great deal of hard work goes on behind the scenes between officers and Freedom Leisure and he is grateful for this.

·       Councillor Miscandlon agreed with the comments of Councillor Tierney that this support is not for the benefit of Freedom Leisure but is for the benefit of the residents of Fenland and this needs to be kept within the forefront of people’s minds as Freedom Leisure are a  ...  view the full minutes text for item CAB25/23