Agenda and minutes

Apologies were given from Councillors Duckworth and Whitehead.

To receive any declarations of interest. Members are advised to consider the advice contained within the Declaration of Interest advice attached to this Agenda. If a Member declares an interest, they should complete the Declaration of Interest Form

The report had been to the Overview and Scrutiny Committee. There had been no recommendations given by the Overview and Scrutiny Committee. The vehicle replacement programmes included the provision for the purchase of two 7 ½ tonne mechanical road sweepers. Previously, the service had an 18 tonne sweeper, and four 2 tonne sweepers, however these had reached the end of the working life. The proposal was in line with the corporate plan to keep the district clean.

Councillor Bayford spoke under Council Rule Procedure 20.1.

Councillor Albon proposed, Councillor Keen seconded and Cabinet agreed:

“The purchase of two 7.5 tonne mechanical sweepers at a cost of approximately £175 K per vehicle.”

Having a clean and well maintained environment remained important to the council. To achieve this, the council was cultivating a shared responsibility approach delivering a clean and accessible environment with an emphasis on prevention but where necessary using an enforcement approach.

The report requested that cabinet considered a proposed increase in the level of fines. On 10th July 2023, the government introduced a statutory instrument increasing the upper limits for various penalty notices.

Fly tipping was noted as an increasing problem. In 2022, the council investigated 2,881 fly tipping complaints. Increasing the upper limit to the maximum allowed is in line with government guidance and is envisaged to be a deterrent.

Councillor Keen proposed, Councillor Albon seconded and Cabinet agreed that:

“1. To increase the penalty limit for fly tipping offences from £400 to £1000;

2. To increase the early payment option for fly tipping from £300 to £400;

3. To increase the penalty limit for breaches of care notices in relation to waste from £400 to £600;

4. To increase the early payment option for breaches of care notices from £300 to £400.”

The council was in the position to approve the lease arrangements for East Kent College group to take on 53 to 57 High Street Margate to deliver the Margate digital campus. There had been some complications in approving this which had been outlined in the report. The council would not be losing an income from this, the funding to purchase the building was from grant funding. Consequently, the council would not recoup any proceeds from a sale or from rental payments.

Councillor Everitt proposed, Councillor Keen seconded and Cabinet agreed that:

“1. Agree that the grant agreement at Annex 1 between the Council and East Kent Colleges Group be signed by the Section 151 Officer, with the seal to be witnessed by two authorised officers.

2. Approve the proposed Lease to East Kent Colleges Group of 53-57 High Street, Margate on 125 year term at a peppercorn rent, and approve that the appointed Joint Venture Steering Group members confirm consent to the same. The approval is required under the Joint Venture Agreement dated 14 December 2007 between the South East England Development Agency and Thanet District Council.

4. Authorise the Head of Regeneration and Growth in consultation with the Head of Property to finalise the terms.

5. Authorise the Head of Legal and Democracy to negotiate and complete the necessary legal formalities and all necessary deeds and agreements arising from or ancillary to the grant of the lease of the property.”

This was an update report for the Margate Regeneration Projects. The report provided an update on each of the schemes, and would go to Overview and Scrutiny for any further comments.

As noted in the report, there were changes and challenges in the programme which had been faced. This was not considered a decision making report, there were no approvals in the reallocation of funding.

The Leader was looking forward to attending the first meeting of the new regeneration partnership board. This would be an opportunity to update the board with the changes and challenges which had been encountered.

Councillor Everitt proposed, Councillor Keen seconded and Cabinet agreed to:

“1. Notes the progress achieved in the delivery of the approved Margate regeneration projects in this report.

2. Notes that further reports will be received, authorising specific procurement activities as each respective project reaches that stage, and setting out the project deliverables, timelines and costs.

3. Notes the proposed monitoring and reporting arrangements, set out in section 6.

4. Note that there will be a future decision report required for the reallocation of funding, following the announcement relating to the funding allocation to the Destination Dreamland project.

5. Refer this report to the Overview and Scrutiny Panel and subsequently consider any recommendations made by the panel.”

Councillor Davis and Garner spoke under Council Rule Procedure 20.1

The report was presented to Cabinet for its consideration and approval. The key financial messages regarding the general net revenue spending is forecasted to be approximately £1.3 million over budget, which was due to an anticipated overspend on accommodation for homelessness and a shortfall against some of the council’s income streams. Budgets were regularly monitored to ensure that the council expenditure remains within the agreed budget where possible. In the council’s housing revenue account, it was forecasted that there would be a £1.4 million surplus against the budget.

Councillor Yates proposed, Councillor Albon seconded and Cabinet agreed:

“1) That Cabinet notes the following:

 i) The General Fund revenue budget 2023/24 forecast position.

ii) The General Fund Capital Programme 2023/24 forecast position.

iii) The Housing Revenue Account position.

2) That Cabinet recommends to Council for approval the supplementary budgets for:

i) The £275k requirement for the removal of waste at the Dane Park Depot is funded from the risk reserve as set out in section 3.2 of this report and previously reported to Cabinet in January.

3) That Cabinet agrees to the capital programme budget adjustments, numbered (i) and (ii), as set out in section 6.4 and Annex 1 to this report.

4) That Cabinet recommends to Council for approval the supplementary capital budgets, numbered (i) and (ii), as set out in section 6.5 and Annex 1 to this report. 5) That Cabinet recommends to Council for approval the supplementary budget for the new HRA scheme for Newington, as set out in section 8.5 to this report.”