Agenda item

To receive a report from the Leader of the Council in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 2.4.

The Leader, Councillor Everitt, presented his report to Council, covering the following key  points:

·  There had been a peaceful conclusion to the long running use of the port of Ramsgate by a group of travellers that had extended back to summer 2021.

·  There had been an outstanding contribution by the Deputy Leader, Councillor Whitehead, to understand the travellers needs and mutually agreeable solutions for individuals on the port site.

·  A cyber incident in February 2024 had caused the council to shut down some of the computer systems as a precaution. This effected both staff and residents. There is no evidence that information had been gained from this disruption.

·  There would be a new cabinet advisory group to consider the councils IT security moving forward.

·  The equalities cabinet group was soon be set up.

·  Work continued on the regeneration projects in Margate and Ramsgate.

·  The leader had met with the Thanet Fisherman’s Association.

·  It was noted that the new owners of Dreamland had no taken on the £4 million allocation of funding from the Town Deal. It was for Dreamland to explain this decision.

·  The allocation of money was believed to be used on the Winter Gardens project.

·  There was a new corporate plan, and a balanced budget for the councils 2024 year ahead.

·  The council would be celebrating its 50^th anniversary of formation in May.

Councillor Pugh, as Leader of the Conservative Group, made the following points:

·  The news of a cabinet advisory group for cyber issues was welcomed.

·  During the time of the cyber issues in February 2024, the planning portal had also been affected. It would be positive if there was some delays on the planning committee due to the planning portal having disruptions.

·  The regeneration projects were welcomes.

·  It was positive news that the equalities cabinet advisory group was to be set up soon.

·  Would the council use levelling up funds for the port?

·  It was agreed that the funding not taken by Dreamland should now be allocated to the Winter Gardens.

·  It was disappointing that Dreamland had not taken the funding.

·  Congratulations were given to the council for its 50^th anniversary.

The Leader responded to Councillor Pugh’s comments with the following points:

·  The council shared the position that it could not commit significant levelling up funds without commitments of the port being used.

Councillor Garner, as Leader of the Green Group, made the following points:

·  Gratitude was given to the housing team.

·  The port had not been a good place to live. The root cause to this issues stood by the council neglecting its duty to provide a permanent site for travellers to use which had resulted in incursions.

·  The consultation regarding the potential use of land off Shottendane Road was welcomed.

·  The regeneration projects had been welcomed.

·  It was positive with the potential work with the Thanet Fisherman Association.

·  The port had raised concerns.

The Leader responded to Councillor Garner’s comments with the following points:

·  Much of Councillors Garners comments were agreed with.

·  Scrutiny discussions around regeneration was positive, and had added value to the process.

·  The council had expressions of interest of the port, as the port is currently. The council was committed to not spending large amounts of money without understanding what the prospect were in terms of the port.