(Leader of Council) To receive an overview of the Council’s Corporate Priorities for 2021/22.
Minutes:
The Leader, Councillor C Whitbread, presented an overview of the Council’s corporate priorities for 2021/22 at the Committee’s first meeting in the new municipal year and it was appropriate to physically be in the refurbished Civic Offices. Over the coming weeks members would be invited to tour the building. Good progress was being made with partners and this underpinned the transformation process. This fundamentally protected frontline services and the Council as a low Council Tax authority.
New era - improved technology had been rolled out to enable virtual meetings via Zoom to take place over the last year. The remainder of the Council’s estate had moved forward and would be producing returns for residents. Qualis was more than a development company as it provided council housing alongside other development projects and would bring greater savings and returns. There were five sites in Epping, with another sports centre. Qualis’ Four-Year Business Plan would set out its future developments and plans. If the Council was to provide frontline services, it had to maximise its assets.
Renewal was the theme of the Leader’s presentation. The way we worked would change so would other things change. Businesses would not be seeking to return to the City but would move local, leading to partnership arrangements for use of the Civic Offices and commercial interest in the top floor. There would be a further report to Cabinet on the regeneration of the high streets.
Renewal environment – more charging points were needed. More hybrid meetings held virtually would result in less road usage, which was better for the climate. The first priority was the Local Plan, as it was more important than ever to have planned development, not unplanned. The robust process for the Local Plan was started ten years ago. The main modifications that had been with the Inspector would be taken forward to consultation in July 2021. There was a need for homes to reduce homelessness.
Council housebuilding programme – the Council was proud to deliver this, and so too should members, and to give young people the best chance possible with developments of mixed tenures.
Income / assets – normal parking tariffs had started again in June, but the Council had been flexible and agile with car parking charges. North Weald Airfield was the Council’s biggest asset. The National Police Air Service and Air Ambulance were based there, and the airfield was a large asset commercially. The Council was also working on a masterplan for North Weald. Pre-scrutiny was important for the scrutiny committees. In particular, the town centre regeneration reports would be going to Overview and Scrutiny Committee very soon. It would be a busy year ahead for the Council and certainly busy for the scrutiny committees.
Councillor S Murray was supportive of the Leader, but it was important to scrutinise carefully and be healthily sceptical, as scrutiny was important, and it helped the Cabinet. The Councillor was not impressed the Member of Parliament had been shown round the Civic Offices before members, so he hoped this would be soon. As Buckhurst Hill, Chigwell and Loughton town centres had not benefitted from Central Government and County grants during Covid, member involvement should be allowed on these town centre reports. The Local Plan’s ten-year progress had been very interesting and different for various communities as he thought some had been treated more fairly. It would be a greater benefit to the environment if more virtual meetings were held. Councillor C Whitbread replied that Councillor Murray had made some good points and liked – positively sceptical. The Leader was proud of the refurbished Civic Offices and had shown the Member of Parliament and the County Member for Library Services around. The Leader was supportive of officers to advise on the town centre reports. There would always be winners and losers with the Local Plan. The Council was now looking forwards to infrastructure to go with the Local Plan.
Councillor S Rackham agreed it would be a challenging year ahead and scrutiny was vital. What other interaction had there been with other local authorities prior to setting up Qualis? In relation to high streets and partnerships, what sort of partnerships would there be in future? Councillor C Whitbread replied that a healthy amount of scrutiny and scepticism was beneficial. In the initial phase of Qualis a lot of advice was received from other local authorities on failures and successes, as there were always lessons to be learnt. After the Covid pandemic things had fallen behind and it had brought the best and worst out of people, in equal measures. The Council was looking forward to delivering for local people and high streets would change. After 21 June 2021, it was hoped the Government would allow a full unlock. With more people working from home they were getting into a routine and taking lunch breaks but were using the high streets and doing more locally.
Councillor McIvor agreed scrutiny was important and pleased about support of the high streets and that North Weald Airfield played an important role. How was the success of renewal measured? Councillor C Whitbread replied by modernising what we did and by changing the way we did things. The Civic Offices were a modern place to work. With agile working and through great teamwork we had managed to create a civic centre that was future proofed. There had been lots of interest in the third floor as businesses and people would not be returning to the City, so this was a win for Epping. We can survive and bounce back, and this was a good place to start from.
In relation to electric vehicles and air quality across the whole District, Councillor A Lion asked how the roads were going to be developed? Councillor C Whitbread replied this work was ongoing and the Council had employed a Sustainable Transport officer. Also, Councillor Lion’s work on broadband in the District early on had meant the Council was doing the right things. With more electric charging points this was moving into becoming more sustainable.
Councillor S Heap asked if staff were okay with agile working and asked about Qualis Commercial? Councillor C Whitbread replied its staff were very important and were a most valuable commodity. The Chief Executive held regular staff briefings, so staff were fully engaged but it was important to listen to staff feedback and come together and move forward. Transformation was ongoing. Qualis Commercial was an important part of Qualis and had started to operate with the five Epping town sites.
Councillor M Sartin acknowledged that there was a lot of work ahead and this would be an opportunity for members of the scrutiny committees to question the work of Cabinet.