Agenda and draft minutes

There were no apologies for absence received from any Panel Members.

To confirm the minutes of the meeting held on 17 July 2024 as a correct record.

RESOLVED:

The minutes of the meeting held on 17 July 2024 were confirmed 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 Mballa declared an interest in agenda item 5, New Forest Leisure Partnership as he had worked with one of the representatives from Freedom Leisure attending the meeting.  He therefore reported he would not participate in any discussion on this item.

To receive any public participation in accordance with the Council’s public participation scheme.

There was no public participation.

To receive an annual report providing an update on the contract with Mytime Active on Dibden Golf Course.

The Contract Relationship officer introduced Adam Freeman, Centre Manager and Chris Deadman, Special Projects from Mytime Active who manage Dibden Golf Course.

A presentation was given to members outlining the annual report for the financial year 2023/24 as follows:

·         Background to Mytime Active: A social enterprise partnership, with an objective to improve physical and mental wellbeing;

·         Three Corporate Priorities; to increase employee engagement, improve the wellbeing of their communities and to deliver a sustainable EBITDA;

·         The performance related income: Membership had increased from the previous financial year.  Income from green fees and societies had decreased.  It was explained that this was due to the increased membership as well as poor weather conditions, with flooding which had decreased the space available on the golf course.  A new membership for 21-30 age group had been introduced, increasing participation levels in this demographic.  Food and beverage income had also risen. It was recognised that the younger demographic typically spent more in this area.  Driving range income had increased and there had been further investment to purchase new balls and mats for the driving range;

·         Expenditure: Staffing costs had risen by nearly £58,000 due to the National Minimum Wage, and the reopening of the pro shop with increased hours of operation required more staff.  Repairs and maintenance costs had risen due to the refurbishment of the pro shop.  Utilities costs had decreased due to the golf course being closed at times due to poor weather;

·         Roundage: A graph of the 9 and 18 hole course usage was shown.  This decreased after August into the autumn and winter months.  Last year the course had been closed for 171 days which was extreme, due to the poor weather conditions.  It was hoped that more could be done to try and extend the season for a longer period of time;

·         Completed works included the pro shop refurbishment and an indoor golf studio which was proving to be popular.  The function room had been redecorated and the windows replaced to encourage more use.  The bunker renovation works would continue.  It was explained that members had been involved in the discussion regarding which bunkers required maintenance work.  An ongoing project is clearing drainage pipes which would help prevent flooding.

·         The future goals were outlined, which included ensuring the golf course was at the heart of the community, and increasing golf memberships and participation in golf.  This would include using social media and other marketing tools to attract new members.

In response to a member question about clubs and competitions at the golf club, it was noted that Bramshott Hill Golf Club operated at Dibden Golf Couse.  This was a separate organisation to MyTime Active.  An aspiration was to become more involved with the Golf Club.  Mytime Active provided regular clubs for children and young adults to get involved in golf, but it was recognised more could be done to promote these within the local community.

A question was asked about the increase in staffing costs noting this seemed  ...  view the full minutes text for item 17.

To consider the annual report in relation to the New Forest Leisure Partnership with Freedom Leisure operating five leisure centres in the District.

The Contract Relationship Officer introduced the four representatives from Freedom Leisure who were in attendance at the meeting as follows; Peter Cheeseman, National Commercial Manager, Matt Wickham, Chief Operations Officer, Samantha Isherwood, Area Manager for the New Forest contract and Paul Doyle, Regional Manager for the South Region.

A presentation was given to the Panel providing an overview of performance of the Partnership over the 2023/24 financial year.  This included:

·         Objectives and purpose of the partnership, for example to increase levels of participation, support to active communities and to reduce negative environmental impacts;

·         Health and fitness memberships had increased by 1,700 over the last 12 months, which was positive news;

·         Swim lesson subscriptions had increased to just under 4,800, with a utilisation of approximately 79% across the sites;

·         There had been investment of just over £3.8 million into three capital projects with gym refurbishments in Applemore, Totton and New Milton.  Each of these had seen an increase in membership and an additional fitness instructor resource had been provided;

·         Healthy communities: this supported those in the community, following a GP referral.  Examples of the types of classes provided included chair yoga and health circuits.  The level of participation had increased by over 2,600 in the last year.  Freedom leisure worked with over 30 GP practices to encourage and drive more people to use the service.  A new membership category had also been introduced for ante-natal swimming, which cost £20 for a year and was proving to be successful;

·         Customer experience data: this had been collected and broken down into complaints, compliments and comments / suggestions.  Complaints had decreased over the last 12 months.  This was positive news, particularly as there had been an increase in the number of customers using the services; 

·         Utilities and gas usage over the last year had decreased.  Air Source Heat Pumps had been installed in a number of the leisure centres which supported environmental goals.  Grant funding for year 4 had been secured from the swimming pool support fund.  It was highlighted to the Panel that when Freedom Leisure had submitted a bid for the contract, the cost of utilities was expected to be £47,000 for gas and electricity.  However, the actual costs were significantly higher at £922,000 per annum.  Support had been provided to help with the cost of this by the District Council;

·         Participation levels had increased by half a million customers from year one.  There were currently around 28,000 customer visits a month;

·         Charity work was outlined with £2,500 raised as part of the Wear it Pink campaign for breast cancer.  A Christmas present campaign had been held which had resulted in over 1,000 being donated to children spending Christmas in hospital;

·         The financial performance was presented to the Panel.  Last year there had been a loss of £320,000 and it was expected that the contract would break even for the 2024/25 financial year.  This was considered to be good news.

·         The objectives for 2024/25 were detailed.  This included Lymington gym refurbishment which  ...  view the full minutes text for item 18.

To consider the Food and Safety Service Performance report.

The Food and Safety Team Manager presented the report which provided details of the work carried out over the 2023/24 financial year and the work programme for the current financial year.

The Food and Safety Team consisted of four Environmental Health officers, a part time Technical Officer and two apprentices.  In addition to food safety, other work included the licensing of skin piercing, caravan sites, animal welfare and health and safety enforcement.

The New Forest had over 2,000 food businesses, the majority being caterers.  Each business is assessed and given a risk category from A to E.  Category A being the highest risk and E, the lowest risk.  The rating then determined how frequently the business needed to be visited.  Category A rated businesses receive one visit every six months.  The food hygiene rating system was explained where businesses were scored between 0-5 on their hygiene, with 5 having the highest standards of food hygiene.

In the last year, all high-risk food inspections had been carried out of A, B and C rated businesses and nearly all D rated inspections.  The lowest risk, category E had only a small proportion of inspections carried out.

It was highlighted to the Panel that the team were not fully resourced.  The main reason for this was due to the national shortage of qualified people to carry out the inspections.  Recruitment was therefore a challenge.  The Food Standards Agency recognised that local authorities were under pressure to carry out inspections and had enabled officers to work in more innovative ways to achieve the same outcomes and maximise resources.  For example, partial inspections could be carried out and officers could speak to businesses remotely. 

Two apprentices had been appointed to the team and they had completed their first year of a four-year degree in environmental health.  The apprentices were an asset to the team, and whilst not qualified to conduct the inspections, they could carry out sampling, revisits, shadow other staff members, etc.

Members praised the food safety team for completing all high-risk inspections and acknowledged that the employment of apprentices was a positive step towards filling the national shortage of food safety officers. 

The professional qualification to carry out food safety inspections was discussed.  The two apprentices were carrying out an Environmental Health degree and it was felt that this was the best option to obtain a good all-round qualification, however there were alternative ways to obtain the necessary qualification.  A member of the Panel asked about succession planning and whether there would be more apprentices.  The Food Safety Manager in response reported he only had a small team and therefore it might be difficult without expanding the team further to provide the necessary support, however it was something he would like to do.

Further clarity was sought to explain remote access inspections.  The Food and Safety Manager reported that these were only carried out for the lower risk businesses and where technology could be used, for example to look around a kitchen.  It  ...  view the full minutes text for item 19.

To receive an annual update on the delivery of the Greener Housing Strategy.

The Service Manager – Housing Maintenance Programmes and Servicing presented the report and detailed the work being carried out within each of the Strategic Priorities associated with the Greener Housing Strategy detailed below:

·         Strategic Priority 1: Reduce Carbon Emissions in the Council Housing Stock

·         Strategic Priority 2: Council Housing and New Build Standards

·         Strategic Priority 3: Private Sector Housing Decarbonisation

·         Strategic Priority 4: Housing Service Operations

The Chairman of the Panel acknowledged the challenges of greener housing and the importance of new homes being built to the Future Homes Standard.  He was pleased to see investment in staff, including, the Level 5 diploma in retrofit coordination and risk management which would help to drive up the quality and standards of the housing stock. 

It was questioned how staff could be retained, recognising that investment was being made in them with additional training, might encourage them to seek opportunities elsewhere.  The Service Manager – Housing Maintenance Programmes and Servicing reported that through the new Corporate Plan and Transformation Programme it was planned to make the District Council a great place to work.  The work within the housing team was innovative and there was a degree of excitement around this.  It was acknowledged there was a risk of staff seeking alternative employment, however this was not a reason to not provide training for staff.

There was a discussion about Council owned properties and the cost of retrofit works not being economically viable.  It was reported that all properties would be assessed, and modelling software would be used to help to review the works and costs associated with retrofitting.  Options would then be considered with recommendations for approval.

A member of the Panel questioned why the Home User Grant wave 2, had attracted the submission of 103 applications and the reasons why only 21 properties had been completed the works.  It was reported that this grant was specifically for off gas private properties and therefore had limited eligibility. A new wave of funding would be available in March 2025 and it was anticipated that the eligibility criteria would be wider, enabling more people to be successful in receiving funding.

It was acknowledged that there were 2,228 council owned properties in need of retrofit works and questioned whether the target to bring properties to an EPC rating of a C by 2030 would be achievable.  It was noted that the majority of these were D rated and many of these could have small incremental improvements which could bring them closer to an EPC C rating.  277 properties had been improved through this method without any additional work or cost.

A question was asked about new developments being approved in the District providing which would provide affordable housing, but were not being built to the Future Homes Standard.  These would require retrofit works, which was not cost effective.  It was acknowledged that this was not part of building regulations at the current time.  The Council might purchase some of these properties as part of the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 20.

To receive an update on homelessness.

The Service Manager Housing Options and Tenancy Accounts gave a presentation updating the panel on homelessness.

The presentation included:

·         Challenges to prevent homelessness: Prevention continued to be a key priority.  Understanding the reasons behind the threat of homelessness was important;

·         In August, accommodation had been secured for 6 households for 6 months or more, 3 households had accommodation secured for 12 months or more and 2 could remain in their existing accommodation for over 12 months;

·         The key reason for evictions and homelessness was increases in rent in the private sector;

·         Families in Emergency Accommodation:  The numbers remained stable.  It was desirable to limit the length of stay in emergency accommodation however, family dynamics were often complex and there was a need to balance the wishes of the family, for example being close to schools, other family members, doctors, etc against moving to alternative accommodation;

·         Budget: Expenditure was within expected targets and closely monitored.  The increase in council owned emergency accommodation had ensured costs were being maintained.  The average monthly gross spend was £121,000.  The average monthly spend for rent in advance to help secure private rented properties was £7,000;

·         Rough Sleeping: The Rough Sleeper Initiative funding was due to end in March 2025.  The current figure for known rough sleepers was 0, but this could fluctuate daily.  A physical count of rough sleepers was to be carried out later in the year where known areas for rough sleepers would be visited as well as unfamiliar parts of the District.  The results of the count were reported directly to Government;

·         Emergency accommodation statistics: In August, the number of households in emergency accommodation at the end of the month had been 59;

·         Housing Register Update: The number of applicants on the housing register was increasing month on month.  The current number was 2,061 spread across all housing bands with 36 in Band 1, for those with the highest priority.  Three households had been housed from Band 1 in August.  All vacant properties were allocated as quickly as possible, this however, needed to be balanced against the type of accommodation, as it was important it met the needs of the tenant;

·         Homes for Ukraine:  54 families remained with hosts.  10 were living in LAHF properties.  46 families had been helped into the private rented sector.  All hosts currently receive thank you payments from Hampshire County Council, but the future of these payments was uncertain and there was a risk of future homelessness.  The Council had good processes and procedures in place, if required;

·         Ex offender accommodation: The national prison release scheme placed a pressure on Councils to provide additional accommodation.  However out of the 150 released in the south central area, only three had been received in the District.  The Panel noted that there was an ongoing scheme with a target of housing 24 ex offenders in the District within 2 years.  In the last year, 18 had been housed. 

To receive an update on the progress of the Housing Strategy and HRA property development and acquisition.

The Panel received a presentation, which had been attached to these minutes as an Appendix.

The presentation included the following:

·         St Georges Hall, Calshot refurbishment and modernisation project.  The aspirations of the local community had been incorporated into this work in an area of social deprivation.  The total cost of the project was £375k with grant funding from the Rural England Prosperity Fund and the Contain Outbreak Management Fund, which had been available through the covid pandemic.  Work had been carried out internally and externally and included, for example a DDA compliant toilet and increased wall and roof insulation.  This project had been a corporate project with numerous different departments within the council playing a part;

·         A one bed flat over garage in Burgate, Fordingbridge had been completed for shared ownership;

·         Under Construction:

o   Moore Close in New Milton: Under construction and completion due in January 2025.  This was being built to the Future Homes Standard with 11 units to be rented and 5 for shared ownership.  2 properties would be wheelchair accessible with a further 5 to be adaptable.  An open day had been held for the shared ownership properties which had generated significant interest. 

o   Hythe Hospital: The ground works construction was underway.  Contract value for the build was £5m.  £1.8m grant funding had been secured from Homes England.  Completion expected October 2025. 

o   37/39 Salisbury Road, Totton: A £3.5m contract had been secured with Amiri construction to build the homes.    A £2m grant toward the costs had been secured from Homes England for 20 homes for social rent.  Construction was to commence on site in October 2024 with completion due in January 2026.  Japanese knotweed was present on the site and would need to be removed properly.

·         Advertiser and Times building, New Milton: This scheme would convert the existing building for housing and build new flats.  The project would provide in total 23 homes for rent split into three phases.  Completion was expected in November 2025. The scheme had received a £2.26m Homes England grant;

·         Local Authority Housing Fund 3:   A new round had been opened in March 2024.  The District Council had been awarded just under £1m to provide 5 homes over the next two years, to provide 3 homes under the Afghan settlement scheme and 2 as temporary accommodation.  These would be delivered through the ex-council buy back scheme;

·         New opportunities: These were outlined and included the intention to submit a bid to purchase Hythe Police Station later this month and working on potential proposals for the future of Claymeadow Depot in Hounsdown;

·         Penman House had been shortlisted for an Inside Housing award;

·         The Panel noted that the Affordable Housing Task and Finish Group which had been considering modern methods of construction would be drawing to a close and would form recommendations and conclusions;

·         Affordable housing programme: 421 new affordable homes had been completed or had certainly of being completed.  A further 53 new homes were to be delivered by April 2026.  Opportunities had been  ...  view the full minutes text for item 22.

An opportunity for the Portfolio Holder’s to provide an update to the Panel on developments within their portfolio.

The Portfolio Holder for Housing and Homelessness gave an update on the following:

·         Housing tour: This had been attended with other members visiting housing sites in the District.  There was an impressive range and variety of housing was available; 

·         Orchard Gate, Dibden: In August, he had attended a “ground breaking” event hosted by the builders AJC. This site had been granted permission, following an appeal by a planning inspector.  It would provide 25 affordable homes for NFDC residents.  These homes were all electric, would be built to the Future Homes Standard;

·         Hythe Hospital:  Earlier this month he had enjoyed another event to mark work on site. This was another AJC development and would provide 22 affordable homes. These would be all electric and built to the Future Homes Standard;

·         Shared Ownership: The Portfolio Holder had attended a drop-in session for those interested in Shared Ownership for the Moore Close site in New Milton. He reported that was say it had been a popular event was an understatement.   Shared ownership provides an excellent opportunity for anyone wishing to own a property to get on the home ownership ladder.

To agree the work programme to guide the Panel’s activities over the coming months.

RESOLVED:

That the Work Programme be approved.

To note the following schedule of Housing and Communities Overview and Scrutiny Panel meetings for the remainder of the 2025/26 municipal year, all commencing at 6.00pm:-

2025

18 June

17 September

2026

21 January

18 March

RESOLVED:

That the following meeting dates for the 2025/26 municipal year, all commencing at 6.00pm be agreed:

2025

18 June

17 September

2026

21 January

18 March