Agenda and minutes

1. This virtual meeting is to be webcast. Members are reminded of the need to unmute before speaking.

2. The Chairman will read the following announcement:

“I would like to remind everyone present that this meeting will be broadcast live to the internet (or filmed) and will be capable of repeated viewing (or another use by such third parties).

Therefore by participating in this virtual meeting, you are consenting to being filmed and to the possible use of those images and sound recordings for webcasting and/or training purposes. If members of the public do not wish to have their image captured they should ensure that their video setting throughout the virtual meeting is turned off and set to audio only.

In the event that technical difficulties interrupt the virtual meeting that cannot be overcome, the Chairman may need to adjourn the meeting”.

The Chairman reminded everyone present that the meeting would be broadcast live to the Internet, and that the Council had adopted a protocol for the webcasting of its meetings.

To confirm the minutes of the meeting of the Committee held on 21 September 2023 and any matters arising therefrom.

RESOLVED:

The minutes of the meeting of the Committee held on 21 September 2023 be taken as a correct record. 

The Local Councils would like to invite the Chairman of the Qualis Group to attend the meeting and provide an update on the Qualis organisation, how it supports the functions of EFDC, his role and responsibilities, and how he will improve openness and transparency for the council tax paying residents in the district.

Chairman of Qualis, Brian Johnson, introduced the Qualis team;

Ben Johnson Manager of operations at Qualis Property Solutions, Simon Rutter Manager of Development of Qualis, Kath Worth Manager of Corporate Services and Jen Fry from Communications at Qualis Group.

Brian Johnson then made a brief introduction about the Qualis group objectives –

1)    Generating income &

2)    provide and grow services for Epping Forest District Council.

3)    Support Epping Forest District Councils regeneration.

Brian Johnson went on to explain the governance of Qualis Group.

Brian Johnson handed over to Ben Johnson, Operations Manager, who gave the Committee a presentation regarding the Year End Performance and Business Update (attached).

The presentation on Qualis Property Solutions, covered four main points of            interest;

1)    Achievements

2)    Challenges

3)    End of Year Performance 2022/23 and

4)    Business Plan & Next 12 Months.

Ben Johnson handed over to Simon Rutter who gave the Committee a short presentation on Qualis Commercial current building projects (attached).

Simon Rutter handed over to Kath Worth, Manager of Corporate Services, and Jen Fry, Communication, who spoke about Communications and the Qualis website being improved.

Following the presentations, the Committee asked the following questions:

·         Has Qualis got any plans of applying for ISO9001 Quality Assurance? Ben Johnson said yes as Qualis develop this is something they will be consider.

·         The budget quilter is out of sync with Parish Councils, could this be addressed?

·         The grant system mentioned in presentation – the forms ask for some information not available to Parish Councils, so how can Parish Councils specify target audiences? What is the total amount of money available?

Ben Johnson replied - beneficiaries needs to be specified as this money is from HRA and therefore needs to benefit those tenants. Fund itself is             £35 000, and each application can apply for up to £5000.

·         Is the cinema and retail units planned for the Cottis Lane site still coming?

Simon Rutter replied – the cinema market is low at the moment, and the proposals are being marketed but are financially challenging. Be in position by summer to discuss next phase.

·         Job opportunities – why is local employment not higher than 40%? How many apprentices? How many staff totally? Operatives outside versus internal staff?

How many of the developments are truly affordable housing?

Ben Johnson replied - 45 % of employees are from the district. There are 150 employees across the whole Qualis group: 120 in maintenance and 75 to 80 internal operatives.  Local employees are preferred; however some staff were tupe’ed from EFDC.  There are currently 5 apprentices, but Qualis is hoping to grow that to 7 within 12 months. Affordable homes – out of the 342 homes with planning consent/or planning consent applied for, 52 are affordable.

·         Can the funding information be sent to Parish Councillors.

Ben Johnson said yes that can be done. Jen Fry explained it has gone out as a press release to EFDC and is also available on Qualis’ website.

·         Can the Community fund be used for grounds maintenance, as  ...  view the full minutes text for item 10.

To discuss the following matters raised by the local councils:

a)     Review of Terms of Reference

              A review of the Committee’s Terms of Reference has been requested by

              the Local Councils. Any suggested revisions will be submitted to the

              Council’s Constitution Working Group for review, prior to being

              submitted to the Council for adoption.

b)    Section 106 legal agreement funding

Is there any guidance / training available for local Councils on how the process for s.106 funds work.  The Local Councils are concerned that they are missing opportunities to apply for or access these funds, which could be used to improve the facilities in their areas.

a)    Review of Terms of Reference

Democratic Services Manager Gary Woodhall updated the Committee that the review has not been undertaken fully. Local Councils Liaison Committee is an outside body, and it is therefore not in Epping Forest District Councils constitution. However, District and Local Council Charter has previously been reviewed, and members can at the next meeting take a view if a separate term of reference is needed or if the charter can be used.

Local Council Liaison Committee is a liaison committee to discuss items of mutual interest, it is not a decision-making committee, and this will be reflected in the terms of reference.

The Chairman pointed out that although no terms of Reference is available at this time Local Councils can still ask for issues to be raised.

The Committee asked the following question:

·         Is it the role of Essex Association of Local Councils to look at the Terms of Reference? Gary Woodhall confirmed that currently there is no secretary appointed to the Essex Association of Local Councils, and therefore there is no single point of contact. If the Epping Forest branch of the Essex Association of Local Councils wants to take on that role, Gary Woodhall would be happy to provide guidance.  

Action:

Woodhall will report back to the Local Council Liaisons Committee at the next meeting and the Committee can then decide whether to adopt the Terms of Reference.

B)   Section 106 legal agreement funding

Service Director Nigel Richardson presented on Section 106 Legal Agreement Process (attached), explaining when Section 106 is needed, how it can be done and what they will cover.

Here are some links to relevant documents mentioned in the presentation;

Infrastructure Delivery Fund

Air Pollution Mitigation Strategy

Annual Infrastructure Statement

The Committee asked the following questions:

·         How can Councillors influence the Section 106 conversations with their local knowledge? Nigel Richardson replied, there has been a lot of consultations, however this needs to be captured at pre-planning application stage, and this will be looked at. 

·         There is no mention of Highways, Epping is congested – is any Section 106 money going to Highway improvements? Nigel Richardson said he cannot comment on individual applications, however confirmed that Epping Forest District Council (EFDC) does consult Essex County Council and they do comment on applications and can ask for S38 and S278 Highway contributions.

·         The Parishes ask for small amounts of money compared to the sums in the development. Local Councillors have a hard time explaining that there is no money even for small aids like high visibility vests for Community Speed Watch or for Village Gates. The Chairman advised the Parish Councillors to speak to their County Councillor.

·         The area where the construction and development are done should be the area that benefits from the Section 106 money. Nigel Richardson explained that the Section 106 contributions should be spent where relevant and necessary i.e. the local area the development is in. Cllr Sam Kane confirmed that Essex County Councils education contribution may however be  ...  view the full minutes text for item 11.

To note that the next meeting of the Committee will be held on 26 September 2024 at 7pm.

The Committee noted that its next meeting would be held on 26 September 2024 at 7.00pm.