Agenda and minutes

The Chair opened the meeting and said that he had sadly learnt of two former councillors who had recently passed away. Councillor Eric Hicks, who represented High Easter and Barnston and later Dunmow South and Barnston, from 2003 to 2019, and Councillor Emily Gower, who represented Dunmow South from 2004 to 2011. He offered his sincere condolences to their family and friends and asked Council to stand for a minute’s silence as a mark of respect.

Public statements were given by Ms Sharp, Ms Buscombe and Ms Waters. A statement was read out on behalf of Mr Harrison. Summaries of their statements have been appended to these minutes.

To receive any apologies and declarations of interest.

Apologies were received from Councillors Criscione, Haynes, Emanuel, Pavitt, Loveday, McBirnie, Martin, Neil Reeve, Dean, Silcock, Tayler, Sutton, Ahmed and Loughlin.

There were no declarations of interest.

To consider the Planning and Environmental Health issue at Mortimer’s Gate, Saffron Walden.

The Chair moved Item 4 forward in proceedings for the benefit of the public present at the meeting.

Councillor Freeman spoke to the report regarding Mortimer’s Gate and said the electricity sub-station was situated in his Ward. He said the noise emanating from the sub-station had caused significant problems for many residents on the surrounding housing development, which had led to a complaint to the Ombudsman. The Ombudsman’s report recommended that the Council find a lasting solution to the issue, although this was not a legal obligation but rather a moral one. He said that the developer had failed to engage with the Council in order to resolve the problem, and while the Council should not take responsibility, the damage to affected residents’ quality of life could not be allowed to continue. He urged members to take the moral approach and support funding the works which would reduce the noise by 20db. He proposed the recommendation to Cabinet that the Council funded the remedial works up to a sum as stipulated in confidential Appendix C and approved the additional expenditure.

Councillor Gregory seconded the proposal.

Members discussed the proposal to fund the remedial works. The following points were raised:

·        The developer was a wealthy corporate body and should fund the remedial works.

·        The issue before members was essentially a moral one; the Ombudsman’s findings were not legally enforceable.

·        It should not fall to the tax-payer to remedy this problem and concerns were raised that this could set a precedent. A request was made for a report outlining spend on this issue.

·        The issue was between private home owners and the developer.

·        The “Buyer Beware” attitude was not appropriate here as the planning conditions imposed on the developer had not been adequate. It would fall to the Council to be the “refuge” for those affected.

·        The Council was looking at implementing measures to ensure this would not happen again. One proposal was to oblige developers to sign a “truth and honesty” statement during the application process.

·        The developer had been approached many times in order to find a solution; they had refuted all responsibility in every instance and were unwilling to assist residents who lived on their development.

·        This was a difficult decision with compelling arguments on both sides. This was reflected in the debate and public speaking statements at Scrutiny Committee on 22 August 2023, whereby a cross-party recommendation had been approved to fund the remedial works. Primarily, this was a moral argument as the Council was not legally responsible to fund the works.

Councillor Freeman was invited to speak before the Chair took the matter to a vote. He urged members to support the recommendation to fund the works without accepting liability.

RESOLVED: to recommend to Cabinet that the Council funds the remedial works up to a sum as stipulated in confidential Appendix C and approves the additional expenditure.

To consider the revised Licensing Policy Statement for the period 2022 to 2027.

Councillor Armstrong, Chair of the Licensing and Environmental Health Committee, introduced the report regarding the Statement of Licensing Policy. He said the Policy had been circulated for consultation and no objections had been received, with the Policy being recommended for approval at the Licensing and Environmental Committee meeting on 10 August. He clarified that the governance process had been correct and the Statement of Licensing Policy was reserved to Full Council for formal approval. He proposed adoption of the new Statement of Licensing Policy to take effect from the 01 December 2022 to maintain continuity with the current policy.

Councillor Alex Reeve commended the report and seconded the proposal.

Councillor Moran spoke in support of the new Statement of Licensing Policy and referred to his experiences as a Police Officer. Over the years he had seen how such Policy documents had developed and commended the new Policy as the best he had ever seen.

The Chair took the proposal to a vote; it was approved unanimously.

RESOLVED: The Council adopts the proposed new Statement of Licensing Policy to take effect from the 01 December 2022 to maintain continuity with the current policy.

To consider the request from Aspire (CRP) Ltd for additional funding for further development at Chesterford Research Park.

Councillor Hargreaves presented the report regarding a request from Aspire (CRP) Ltd for additional loan funding. The purpose of the loan was to fund new development at Chesterford Research Park, namely the building of a new unit for letting (Building 800), and phase 1 of an on-site solar farm. The loan was forecast to provide a significant positive return to the Council over a number of years. Furthermore, should the Council decide not to proceed, there was a risk that the value of Aspire’s existing stake in Chesterford Research Park would be adversely affected. For these reasons, it was recommended that the Council proceed with the loan as requested. He said the proposal had been recommended for approval by both the Investment Board and Cabinet. He formally proposed the recommendation set-out in the report.

Councillor Sell seconded the proposal.

Members discussed the report and were supportive of the development.

In response to a request from Councillor Barker, the Strategic Director of Commercialisation and Corporate Services said a site visit would be arranged for members.

The Chair took the proposal to a vote.

RESOLVED:

                      I.        Approve a new loan facility of up to £21,060,000 be made available to Aspire (CRP) Ltd, to be drawn down in tranches over a period of up to 2 years;

                    II.        Note the implications of making the loan on the Council’s access to Public Works Loan Board, as set out in paragraphs 50 to 57;

                   III.        Delegate authority to the Director of Finance, Revenues & Benefits (in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Finance and the Economy and the Council’s external treasury advisers) to agree the final terms of the loan facility, including the interest rate to be charged (such rate to be no less than 7.5%); and

                          IV.            Approve the financing of the new loan facility through additional external borrowing as set out in paragraphs 38 to 41 of the report.