Agenda, decisions and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Tamsin Thomas.

Audio recording – 1 minute 11 seconds

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Tamsin Thomas.

To take as read and approve as a true record the minutes of the meeting of the Committee held on the 18 March 2025.

RESOLVED:That the Minutes of the Meeting of the Committee held on 18 March 2025 be approved as a true record of the proceedings and be signed by the Chair.

Audio recording – 1 minute 22 seconds

Councillor Daniel Allen proposed and Councillor Mick Debenham seconded and, following a vote, it was:

RESOLVED:That the Minutes of the Meeting of the Committee held on 18 March 2025 be approved as a true record of the proceedings and be signed by the Chair.

Members should notify the Chair of other business which they wish to be discussed at the end of either Part I or Part II business set out in the agenda. They must state the circumstances which they consider justify the business being considered as a matter of urgency.

The Chair will decide whether any item(s) raised will be considered.

There was no other business notified.

Audio recording – 2 minutes 3 seconds

There was no other business notified.

Climate Emergency

The Council has declared a climate emergency and is committed to achieving a target of zero carbon emissions by 2030 and helping local people and businesses to reduce their own carbon emissions.

A Cabinet Panel on the Environment has been established to engage with local people on matters relating to the climate emergency and advise the council on how to achieve these climate change objectives. A Climate Change Implementation group of councillors and council officers meets regularly to produce plans and monitor progress. Actions taken or currently underway include switching to green energy, incentives for low emission taxis, expanding tree planting and working to cut food waste.

In addition the council is a member of the Hertfordshire Climate Change and Sustainability Partnership, working with other councils across Hertfordshire to reduce the county’s carbon emissions and climate impact.

The Council’s dedicated webpage on Climate Change includes details of the council’s climate change strategy, the work of the Cabinet Panel on the Environment and a monthly briefing on progress.

Ecological Emergency

The Council has declared an ecological emergency and is committed to addressing the ecological emergency and nature recovery by identifying appropriate areas for habitat restoration and biodiversity net gain whilst ensuring that development limits impact on existing habitats in its process.

The Council has set out to do that by a) setting measurable targets and standards for biodiversity increase, in both species and quantities, seeking to increase community engagement, b) to work with our partners to establish a Local Nature Partnership for Hertfordshire and to develop Nature Recovery Networks and Nature Recovery Strategy for Hertfordshire and c) to investigate new approaches to nature recovery such as habitat banking that deliver biodiversity objectives and provide new investment opportunities.

Declarations of Interest

Members are reminded that any declarations of interest in respect of any business set out in the agenda, should be declared as either a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest or Declarable Interest and are required to notify the Chair of the nature of any interest declared at the commencement of the relevant item on the agenda. Members declaring a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest must withdraw from the meeting for the duration of the item. Members declaring a Declarable Interest, wishing to exercise a ‘Councillor Speaking Right’, must declare this at the same time as the interest, move to the public area before speaking to the item and then must leave the room before the debate and vote.

(1)   The Chair advised that, in accordance with Council Policy, the meeting would be recorded.

(2)   The Chair reminded Members that the Council had declared both a Climate Emergency and an Ecological Emergency. These are serious decisions, and mean that, as this was an emergency, all of us, Officers and Members had that in mind as we carried out our various roles and tasks for the benefit of our District.

(3)   The Chair drew attention to the item on the agenda front pages regarding Declarations of Interest and reminded Members that, in line with the Code of Conduct, any Declarations of Interest needed to be declared immediately prior to the item in question.

(4)   The Chair advised for the purposes of clarification that 4.8.23(a) of the Constitution did not apply to this meeting.

Audio recording – 2 minutes 7 seconds

(1)   The Chair advised that, in accordance with Council Policy, the meeting would be recorded.

(2)   The Chair reminded Members that the Council had declared both a Climate Emergency and an Ecological Emergency. These are serious decisions, and mean that, as this was an emergency, all of us, Officers and Members had that in mind as we carried out our various roles and tasks for the benefit of our District.

(3)   The Chair drew attention to the item on the agenda front pages regarding Declarations of Interest and reminded Members that, in line with the Code of Conduct, any Declarations of Interest needed to be declared immediately prior to the item in question.

(4)   The Chair advised for the purposes of clarification that 4.8.23(a) of the Constitution did not apply to this meeting.

To receive petitions, comments and questions from the public.

There was no public participation at the meeting.

Audio recording – 3 minutes 9 seconds

There was no public participation at the meeting.

Any Items referred from other committees will be circulated as soon as they are available.

The Chair advised that referral 6A referred from the Overview and Scrutiny Committee would be taken with Item 7 on the agenda.

Audio recording – 3 minutes 14 seconds

The Chair advised that the item referred from the Overview and Scrutiny Committee would be taken with the respective item on the agenda.

REPORT OF THE DIRECTOR – ENVIRONMENT

This report seeks to update Cabinet on progress on the leisure decarbonisation project, including latest financial implications and seeks approval to award the construction contract to Willmott Dixon Construction Ltd (WDC).

RESOLVED: That Cabinet:

(1)   Agreed to increase the project capital budget to £16.271 million.

(2)   Approved the extension of the lido seasons at both Hitchin and Letchworth as per paragraphs 8.13-8.14.

(3)   Approved the changes to the 2025/26 General Fund budget, resulting from the planned closures and extended opening of the lidos, a £937k increase in net expenditure.

(4)   Awarded the leisure decarbonisation construction contract to Willmott Dixon Construction at a value of £15.890 million.

REASON FOR DECISIONS: To enable Cabinet to review the progress of the leisure decarbonisation project, including spend to date and anticipated increases in capital budget expenditure, as well as revenue implications (loss of income during closures and net costs of extending outdoor pool opening), and approve the award of the construction contract to Willmott Dixon Construction.

Audio recording - 3 minutes 31 seconds

Councillor Mick Debenham, as Executive Member for Environment, Leisure and Green Spaces, presented the referral from the Overview and Scrutiny Committee, on behalf of the Chair of Overview and Scrutiny, on this item and advised that the Committee expressed the view that:

·       There was concern about the increase in costs of the project over the past 18 months.

·       The construction contract should ideally include protections against any further unforeseen costs related to extended closure of facilities.

·       The Committee recognised the work done by officers and the project board to mitigate the impact of extended closures at the three leisure centres whilst the decarbonisation work was carried out.

·       It was understood that no membership direct debit payments would be taken during the closures of the leisure centres.

·       The communication plan should be proactive and used on all available media channels to ensure information was passed on to all customers.

In response to a question from Cllr Daniel Allen, Cllr Mick Debenham advised that at the recent Overview and Scrutiny Committee meeting. a cross party of Members had voted unanimously to continue with the project.

Councillor Mick Debenham, as Executive Member for Environment, Leisure and Green Spaces, then presented the report entitled ‘Decarbonisation of Leisure Centres Contract Award’ and advised that:

·       In February 2024 the Council was awarded £7.74 million grant funding from Salix for the decarbonisation works of the three leisure centres.

·       This project included the extension of the gym at Royston Leisure Centre, refurbishment of the changing village at Royston Leisure Centre and conversion of the wet change at North Herts Leisure Centre into a change village.

·       Cabinet were being asked to award the construction contract for the works to Willmott Dixon Construction Limited at a value of £15.890 million and to agree to increase the overall project budget to £16.271 million, to ensure a reasonable contingency was allowed for any unseen issues. The contracting sum and budget included a £110K contribution from Everyone Active

·       Due to the requirement of the grant funding from Salix, early orders had been placed and therefore the spend to date was £6.709 million on this project.

·       Everyone Active had provided an indicative figure for the revenue impact the Council would have to incur for closures of approximately £900K.

·       Due to the scale of the project, there would inevitably be some disruption to customers whilst works were undertaken.

·       Everyone Active would look to the redeployment of staff and other operational efficiencies where possible to reduce costs.

·       A significant issue would be the 23-week partial closure of the Hitchin pool from 8am to 4pm Monday to Friday (with a two-week full reopening over Christmas) required to install insulation and solar PVs to the roof, as detailed in paragraph 8.8 of the report. The pool would reopen at 4pm to allow swimming lessons to take place and would also be fully open at weekends.

·       Cabinet were being asked to consider extending the outdoor pool seasons at Letchworth to coincide with  ...  view the full minutes text for item 133.