Agenda and minutes

The Cabinet welcomes engagement from members of the public. To speak at this meeting please register no later than one working day prior to the date of the meeting via democracy@southkesteven.gov.uk

The Leader of the Council opened the meeting. He highlighted the forthcoming Grantham Festival of Community, taking place in Grantham market place on 19 October 2024.

The Leader also thanked everyone who had participated in the Lincolnshire Day celebrations of 1 October 2024.

There were no questions from members of the public.

There were no apologies for absence.

Minutes of the meeting held on 24 September 2024.

The minutes of the meeting held on 24 September 2024 were agreed as being an accurate record.

There were no declarations of interests.

To approve the award of a contract to Gratton Construction Ltd for the replacement of kitchens and bathrooms in Council owned social housing dwellings.  The contract would be awarded for an initial period of 2 years with an option to extend for a further 1 plus 1 year.

Purpose of Report

To purpose of the report was to approve the award of a contract to Gratton Construction Ltd for the replacement of kitchens and bathrooms in Council owned social housing dwellings. The contract would be awarded for an initial period of 2 years with an option to extend for a further 1 plus 1 year.

Decision

Cabinet approved the award of a contract to Gratton Construction Limited for the replacement of kitchen & bathrooms in South Kesteven District Council social housing dwellings with an annual contract value of up to £1.325m, for a period of 2 years with the option to extend for a further 1 year plus 1 year.

Alternative options considered and rejected

Consideration was given to the option of maintaining existing kitchens and bathrooms. This was rejected because it would not be cost-effective in the long term with replacements being unavoidable.

Reasons for decision

The contract award followed a compliant procurement process and ensured residents’ access to safe, good quality and sustainable housing.

The 2024/2025 Housing Revenue Account (HRA) contained a budget allocation of £1.843m for the replacement of kitchens and bathrooms. Housing surveys would identify which properties required replacement units.

The tender score awarded to Gratton Construction was 84.48%, with the next highest bidder scoring 78.01%.

The contract would cover kitchen and bathroom replacements for the next financial year. It was estimated approximately 261 kitchens and 291 bathrooms would require replacement. There had been a significant uplift in the amount of replacement units required this year compared to previous years; however, this new contract overlapped with the work of an existing contractor for around 6 months.

The Cabinet Member for Housing would report back to Cabinet colleagues following a review of the framework used to seek tenders.

To approve the award of a contract to ABCA Systems for Safety of Life Systems.  The contract would be awarded for an initial period of 3 years with an option to extend for a further 2 years.

Purpose of Report

To approve the award of a contract to ABCA Systems for Safety of Life Systems. The contract was to be awarded for an initial period of 3 years with an option to extend for a further 2 years.

Decision

Cabinet approved the award of a contract to ABCA Systems for Safety of Life Systems with an annual contract value up to £40k for a period of 3 years with the option to extend for a further 2 years.

Alternative options considered and rejected

There were no other options available as the Council required this contract to meet compliance responsibilities.

Reasons for decision

The contract award followed a compliant procurement process and provided the Council with the appropriate contract to deliver the commitment that ensured residents could access housing which was safe, good quality and sustainable.

The HRA budget included a budget of £1.2 million for compliance works which could be used to fund the cost of the contract. The contract would include the installation of:

• Detection of fire systems
• Fire alarms
• Emergency alarms and lighting
• Fire extinguisher servicing.

The procurement involved a competitive tender. Three bids were received, with the overall score for ABCA Systems being 82.07%. The next highest bidder received a score of 75.2%.

To seek Cabinet approval for the adoption of the 2024 – 2028 South Kesteven Economic Development Strategy.

Purpose of report

Cabinet approval for the adoption of the 2024 – 2028 South Kesteven Economic Development Strategy.

Decision

Cabinet approved the adoption of the 2024 – 2028 South Kesteven Economic Development Strategy.

Alternative options considered and rejected

The Cabinet could have decided not to adopt the Economic Development Strategy. This was not considered an appropriate option because the strategy was an important document in delivering the ambitions of the Corporate Plan 2024 – 27.

Reasons for decision

The revised South Kesteven Economic Development Strategy 2024 – 2028

represented an opportunity to strategically manage economic development activity across South Kesteven, providing a ‘Golden Thread’ between the work of the Economic Development Service and the ambition of the Council, through its Corporate Plan, ‘To enable and support a dynamic, resilient and growing local economy, which benefits all communities’.

The Strategy included 5 areas of focus:

• Business, job creation and employment safeguarding
• Skills development
• Inclusive growth and regeneration
• Inward investment
• Enhancing South Kesteven’s tourism and visitor economy offer

The Strategy had been subject to various consultations including scrutiny by Finance and Economic Overview and Scrutiny Committee on two occasions as well as two Members’ workshops.

The Strategy promoted the district as a prime area for investment. There were many popular places to visit within the district and just outside, including stately homes and National Trust properties.

Great work was already taking place, for example the regeneration of the Grantham market as a result of the work of officers and local Members.

A compliant procurement process has been undertaken to identify a preferred supplier to satisfy the Council’s security requirements.  This report seeks Cabinet approval to award a contract to the successful contractor.

This item was withdrawn and would be considered at a future meeting.

Purpose of Report

Approval to enter into a 5-year renewal of the contract with IDOX Software Ltd for planning, building control and land charges software.

Decision

Cabinet approved the award of contract to IDOX Software Ltd for the provision of the Planning, Building Control and Land Charges software for a period of 5 years at a total cost of £306,855.59.

Alternative options considered and rejected

The Council considered replacing the software with an alternative product. However, the existing contract expired on 30 October 2024 and there was insufficient time to source, develop and transfer data to a new system. This option was therefore discounted.

Consideration was also given to entering into a shorter contract. However, this was not possible so this option was discounted.

Reasons for decision

Changing to another software supplier would have increased costs to the Council and could also have caused compatibility problems with our partner authorities for Building Control information to be accessed by their own Idox installations.

The IDOX software had been used by the Council for a number of years and was embedded in the service provision. Switching to another operator would have been complex and taken a considerable amount of time. The Council was legally required to hold databases for Planning and Building Control and if an alternative provider had been sourced it would have taken time to design a new system and to ensure registers were properly transferred. The system was used by both officers and the public who could view planning and building control registers online.

Significant work had been carried out in the last year to use the Public Access function allowing residents and statutory consultees to interact with the system. This included online viewing and commenting on planning applications. This had resulted in a reduction in administration work and greater transparency for officers, Councillors and members of the public.

The Land Charges software (TLC) was linked to Uniform and used planning and building control data in order to provide land charges searches quickly and efficiently for our customers.

Software costs were spread across the duration of the contract so a three- or four-year contract would mean a significantly higher cost per year for the same service. A three-year contract would have a higher annual cost of approximately £67,000.

The procurement of the software had followed a compliant process. There was provision for this purchase in the indicative budget for 2025/2026.

This decision was not subjected to call-in and could be implemented immediately.

To brief Cabinet on the Council’s requirements to have a Contaminated Land Strategy, along with providing the proposed updated strategy for approval.

Purpose of report

To brief Cabinet on the Council’s requirements to have a Contaminated Land Strategy, along with providing the proposed updated strategy for approval.

Decision

Cabinet:

1. Approved the revised Contaminated Land Strategy 2024 for adoption and implementation as contained in Appendix 1 with the inclusion of the suggested amendments contained in section 6 of the report.

2. Approved that any future minor amendments to the Contaminated Land Strategy 2024 were made with the approval of the Head of Service – Public Protection, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for People and Communities.

Alternative options considered and rejected

Consideration was given to not updating the existing Contaminated Land Strategy.

Consideration was also given to approving the revised Contaminated Land Strategy 2024 in Appendix 1 without the recommendations in Section 6 of the report.

Reasons for decision

The revised Contaminated Land Strategy 2024 ensured that the Council had an up to date and clear approach to dealing with potentially contaminated sites within the South Kesteven district.

Part 2a of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 gave South Kesteven District Council regulatory duties and powers related to contaminated land. Provisions of part 2a came into force on 1 April 2000. The Council had a published contaminated land strategy since 2001, with the latest revision in 2010. The Strategy set out how the Council would identify contaminated land.

There were currently no known contaminated land sites in the district. Two sites identified previous had been remediated.

There had been no changes to relevant legislation and the approach of the Council had not changed. A consultation had taken place which had received a low number of responses; none of these respondents disagreed with the content of the new Strategy. The consultation had been available on the front page of the council’s website. Furthermore, consultation information had been sent to various stakeholders including parish councils, the Environment Agency and Lincolnshire County Council.

This report highlights matters on the Cabinet’s Forward Plan.

The forward plan was noted.

There were no questions from Councillors.

The meeting closed at 2:26pm.