Agenda, decisions and minutes

None were received from members of the Cabinet.

To confirm the minutes of the meeting held on 4 May 2016 as a correct record.

RESOLVED:

That the minutes of the meeting held on 4 May 2016 be signed by the Chairman as a correct record.

To note any declarations of interest made by members in connection with an agenda item.  The nature of the interest must also be specified.

Members are asked to discuss any possible interests with Democratic Services prior to the meeting.

Cllr Mrs Beeton disclosed a non-pecuniary interest as a member of Milford on Sea Parish Council. She concluded that there were no grounds under common law to prevent her from remaining in the meeting to speak and to vote.

Cllr Rickman disclosed a non-pecuniary interest as a beach hut owner. He concluded that there were no grounds under common law to prevent him from remaining in the meeting to speak and to vote.

Cllrs Mrs Beeton and Rickman disclosed non-pecuniary interests in Item 5 (Minute no 6).

To note any issues raised during the public participation period.

No issues were raised in the public participation period.

The Leader of the Council reminded members that the second New Forest Business Expo would take place on Friday, 3 June 2016 (10am - 4pm) at Brockenhurst College.

The New Forest Business Expo had become a major event for local businesses with attendance set to increase from last year.  This showed that the Expo was going from strength to strength and helped the Council to work towards achieving one of its key priorities – ‘to help local businesses grow’.

To consider the Council’s performance with respect to the Corporate Plan and against the budgets for 2015/16.

RESOLVED:-

(a)         That the Council’s performance and achievements, as set out in Sections 3 and 5 of Report Item 4 considered by the Cabinet, be noted;

(b)         That the provisional General Fund outturn position, as set out in Section 4 of Report Item 4 considered by the Cabinet, be noted;

(c)         The provisional outturn position of the Capital Programme, as set out in Section 4 of Report Item 4 considered by the Cabinet, be noted; and

(d)         That the provision outturn position of the Housing Revenue Account, as set out in Section 4 of Report Item 4 considered by the Cabinet, be noted.

The Cabinet considered an evaluation of the Council’s performance and achievements during the last year of the corporate plan for 2012-2016 “Delivering for our communities”.  Future strategic direction would be set by “Our corporate plan”, which covered the period 2016-2020.  With the financial planning process supporting the delivery of the corporate objectives, the Council’s financial performance was an important element of that assessment.

The provisional outturn figures showed that an overall saving of £1.774 million had been achieved against the General Fund budget of £18.327 million.  The General Fund provisional outturn figures, highlighting the sources of the variations, were set out in section 4 of report item 4 considered by the Cabinet, together with a summary of the outturn on the Housing Revenue Account, which had improved upon the budget by £573,000; and the capital programme, where additional funding of £3.75 million to provide further housing acquisitions had been partly offset by savings and the rephasing of expenditure into future years.

The Council’s achievements during 2015/16 were set out in Section 3 of the report.

The Council’s performance against the key organisational indicators for 2015/16 was set out in Section 5 of the report.

The Cabinet welcomed the proactive approach being taken by the Chief Executive and the new senior management structure which was ensuring that the Council continued to provide high quality services to meet the needs of the local community, while achieving the essential savings that must be made against the Council’s budgets.  While some key indicators highlighted the continuing pressures faced by the Council, in particular with respect to the provision of affordable homes and the use of bed and breakfast accommodation, overall, the Council’s performance and services to its customers had been maintained and positive steps had been taken to meet these challenging targets.  As such, the Cabinet thanked the Chief Executive and officers of the Council for their hard work and achievements to date.

RESOLVED:

(a)         That the Council’s performance and achievements, as set out in Sections 3 and 5 of Report Item 4 considered by the Cabinet, be noted;

(b)         That the provisional General Fund outturn position, as set out in Section 4 of Report Item 4 considered by the Cabinet, be noted;

(c)         The provisional outturn position of the Capital Programme, as set out in Section 4 of Report Item 4 considered by the Cabinet, be noted; and

(d)         That the provision outturn position of the Housing Revenue Account, as set out in Section 4 of Report Item 4 considered by the Cabinet, be noted.

To consider whether to recommend to the Council that linked supplementary budget approvals should be granted to allow environmental enhancements as part of the beach hut replacement project at Milford on Sea.

RECOMMENDED:

(a)     That to enable the contract to be awarded to the most advantageous contractor the following two supplementary capital budgets be approved, together, to achieve the integrated scheme as approved following the public consultation exercise:

(i)               Original hut replacement scheme -  £170,560; and

(ii)             Public and environmental enhancements, following public consultation - £861,271 (allowing an offsetting revenue contribution of £70,000 to the scheme)

(b)     That authority be given to the Executive Head of Operations to award the contract for the construction of 119 beach huts and associated environmental improvements to the most economically advantageous contractor following the recent tender exercise.

Cllr Mrs Beeton disclosed a non-pecuniary interest as a member of Milford on Sea Parish Council.  She concluded that there were no grounds under common law to prevent her from remaining in the meeting to speak and to vote.

Cllr Rickman disclosed a non-pecuniary interest as a beach hut owner elsewhere in the District.  He concluded that there were no grounds under common law to prevent him from remaining in the meeting to speak and to vote.

The Cabinet was addressed by Mr Holdsworth, the Milford on Sea representative of the New Forest Beach Hut Owners’ Association who spoke in support of the report. The beach hut owners were now experiencing their third year without their beach huts and while it was regrettable that the predicted cost of the project had increased, the current scheme would offer enhanced views for owners and visitors alike and was therefore welcomed by the Association.  The Association hoped that the scheme would now be able to move ahead swiftly to the satisfaction of all concerned.

The Cabinet recalled that on 6 August 2014 (minute 19 refers) they had approved a budget of £1,259,070 to allow the replacement of the 119 beach huts which had been damaged by the storm of 14 February of that year.  Since that time there had been further research to achieve the best option for the future of this area of the coastline at Milford on Sea, and there had been a thorough public consultation exercise.  This had established a preferred option, which included a number of environmental enhancements, in particular using a fully integrated scheme that incorporated an inhabited roof to the terraced beach huts, allowing uninterrupted views across to the Isle of Wight, along with improved access for all users of the area.

The tender process had now been completed and, in order to implement the fully integrated scheme with environmental enhancements, a further budget allocation was required.  Full details of the additional work proposed and the consequent financial implications were set out in Section 3 of Report Item 5 considered by the Cabinet.

The Cabinet considered that it was important to take advantage of this once-in-a-generation opportunity to secure a scheme that would benefit the community and the local economy for many years to come.

RECOMMENDED:

(a)     That to enable the contract to be awarded to the most advantageous contractor the following two supplementary capital budgets be approved, together, to achieve the integrated scheme as approved following the public consultation exercise:

(i)               Original hut replacement scheme -  £170,560; and

(ii)             Public and environmental enhancements, following public consultation - £861,271 (allowing an offsetting revenue contribution of £70,000 to the scheme)

(b)     That authority be given to the Executive Head of Operations to award the contract for the construction of 119 beach huts and associated environmental improvements to the most economically advantageous contractor following the recent tender exercise.