Eastleigh Borough Council Cabinet Meeting

There were no declarations of interest in relation to items of business on the agenda.

RESOLVED -

That the Minutes of the meeting held on 21 September 2022 be agreed as a correct record.

There was no public participation on this occasion.

There were no recommendations from Committees on this occasion.

Issue

The Council’s Medium-Term Financial Plan forecasts the Council’s budgetary position over the coming years to enable effective and sustainable service planning. This Plan is regularly reviewed to determine the impact of service changes, Council decisions and also the national picture. In recent years, by prudently planning the Council’s operations, the Budget has been well managed with external impacts being absorbed whilst maintaining service provision and therefore a formal annual review of the Plan has been sufficient. (Paper 6)

Consideration

The significant additional financial pressures necessitate the need to drive forward a more ambitious continuous improvement plan which will be developed over the coming months, with additional savings necessary from 2023/24 onwards.

RESOLVED –

That Cabinet note the Council’s revised Medium-Term Financial Plan as shown in Appendix A.

Consideration

Stoke Park Farm was recently acquired by Eastleigh Borough Council (EBC) as part of their broader strategic land acquisitions that equate to 243.23 hectares of agricultural land. The strategic land was purchased to take out of agricultural use in order to generate credits that developers or other agencies could purchase in order to offset their nutrient outputs. In addition to the offset scheme, the Council is exploring additional uses of the strategic land such as generation of further mitigation credits, Solar PV, Suitable Alternative Natural Greenspace (SANG) and tree planting schemes. (Paper 7)

Issue

To ensure that the benefits of the strategic land owned at Stoke Park Farm are maximised, it is proposed that a consultation exercise with all stakeholders is carried out to run for three calendar months from 1 December 2022.

RESOLVED –

That Cabinet:

(1)  approves consultation with stakeholders on proposals to enhance the environment including appropriate public access on the strategic land recently purchased by the Council in Bishopstoke; and

(2)  endorse the continued tenancy on the site of the fish farm whilst committing to work with the business to improve environmental impacts from its operation.

[Councillor Tidridge spoke on this item with regards to the Motions passed by Bishopstoke, Fair Oak and Horton Heath Local Area Committee and Bishopstoke Parish Council.]

Issue

Revisions were last made to the Council’s Waste and Recycling Policy in July 2020. Minor changes to this policy are proposed in order to provide clearer and more information to residents and ensure the policy is up to date. (Paper 8)

Consideration

A number of changes are requested to be considered to enable the Council to meet its waste obligations and objectives.

RESOLVED –

That Cabinet agrees the proposed revisions to the Domestic Waste & Recycling Policy.

Issue

The report presents the Council’s operational performance position for the first quarter (Q1) of 2022/23 and highlights significant and emerging performance issues. (Paper 9)

Consideration

Regular monitoring and management of the Council’s performance, is key to ensuring delivery against strategic objectives set out in the Council’s Corporate Plan 2015-2025, delivery of actions in the Corporate Action Plan 22/23, and contributes to the management of corporate risk.

RESOLVED –

That Cabinet note the service performance of the Council for the first quarter of 2022/23.

RESOLVED -

(1)  That, in pursuance of Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the press and public be excluded from the meeting for the following items of business on the grounds that they are likely to involve the disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act; and

(2)  That, in pursuance of the public interest test, the public interest in disclosing the information contained in the following item of business was outweighed by the public interest in maintaining the exemption.