Agenda item

The Council noted the Chairman’s engagements.

The Chairman of the Council had seen several engagements cancelled due to inclement weather. Congratulations were offered to officers and members who contributed to the effort to combat flooding during that period.

Thanks were also offered to Fred Mann who had served as one of the Council’s Independent Persons for many years.

Leader of the Council

The Leader of the Council made the following announcements:

·       The draft programme of meetings for 2025/2026 had been circulated to all Councillors. Councillors were advised to respond to Democratic Services with any comments as soon as they could.

·       Local government re-organisation - the Leader of Lincolnshire County Council Councillor Martin Hill sent a letter to government to say that if they were to postpone the upcoming County Council elections in May 2025, he wouldn’t object. An answer from government on this issue was expected imminently.

·       The terms of engagement for local government reorganisation would be learned soon. A reply from government was expected by 31 January 2025 and would be shared with all Councillors.

Cabinet Member for Environment and Waste

The Cabinet Member made the following announcements:

·       Progress on A1 and litter. Officers were working closely with National Highways and their contractor to ensure a safe and effective approach to clearing litter from the A1. On site operation should begin in week commencing 10 February, but it was noted the Council did not control this start date. Local stakeholders and MPs had been informed.

·       New bins for laybys have been staked in place on the A1. Dedicated team will service A1 laybys three times a week with a caged wagon. Commuters would see bins emptied regularly with appropriate capacity for waste disposal on that road. Those that littered the road were condemned.

·       Two teams of staff had been engaged to work in designated areas behind the roadworks – this had ben coordinated with National Highways and their contractor. These works would only be on the offside verge and not in the central reservation as there must be by law a gap of 1.2 metres between an operative and the carriageway. All staff would receive specialist PPE and additional lighting. All vehicles had been upgraded to comply with Chapter 8 standard.

·       Thanks to StreetScene team who worked additional shifts in unsocial hours and dangerous conditions. Further thanks were offered to the leadership team and the Assistant Director (Leisure, Culture and Place).

Cabinet Member for Planning

The Cabinet Member made the following announcements:

·       This year saw the 80^th anniversary of the end of World War II. VE Day would be on 8 May 2025, and VJ Day on 15 August 2025. Informal discussions about events to be tied in with these dates were taking place with appropriate officers and the Armed Forces Champion.

·       The new government had now published the amended National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), which would increase the number of houses the Council would be expected to give consent to. Thanks were given to Planning Officers for their work in this area. A report would be considered by Cabinet giving details of the impact of changes on the Local Plan review and how the Council could meet them.

Cabinet Member for Corporate Governance and Licensing

The Cabinet Member made the following announcements:

·       Councillor personal development plans had been raised in the past and had been unanimously accepted as being desirable to have. Development of members must be a step forward in the quality of representation seen by residents.

·       How Councillors understood problems and managed people, whilst improving quality of performance benefitted SKDC.

·       Response so far had been mixed – Member Development Group was being led by the Monitoring Officer and Group Leaders. It was important to treat the Personal Development Plan seriously and try to accommodate requirements of members. Even a nil return for training needs was preferable to no return at all.

Head of Paid Service

The Head of Paid Service informed all of a temporary change to a polling station for the upcoming elections in May 2025. Stamford Rugby Club was the usual venue for Stamford All Saints’ and Stamford St. John’s wards. However, the Head of Paid Service had exercised her delegated authority to change this to Stamford and District Bowls Club for this next round of elections as the Rugby Club was unavailable.