Agenda and draft minutes

It was reported that, under Regulation 13 of the Local Government Committee and Political Groups Regulation 1990, Councillor S Bunney replaced Councillor M Boles for this meeting only.

No interests were declared at this point in proceedings.

RESOLVED

That the minutes of the previous meeting held on 27 February 2024 be approved and signed by the Chairman as a correct record.

The Chairman made the following announcements on behalf of the Executive Councillor for Economic Development, Environment, and Planning:   

·         The Lincolnshire Forum for Agriculture and Horticulture had been reinstated and its first meeting was scheduled in May 2024.

·         Team Lincolnshire (TL) was hosting a variety of agri-tech and agri-food events in order to connect local businesses and facilitate automation opportunities in the sector.

·         The Council would be represented by the Executive Councillor at the UK Real Estate Investment & Infrastructure Forum (REiiF) event in Leeds where he planned to promote business opportunities in Lincolnshire to external investors.

·         The majority of civil engineering works involved in the Sutton Bridge scheme had concluded, and public realm activities were expected to be completed before a celebration event in June.

·         Preparatory work was underway in partnership with East Lindsey District Council in regard to the expansion of the Horncastle Industrial Estate, and the Economic Development Team was working to bring devolution capital funding projects forward for an early delivery.

Members noted the announcements, and raised the following matters in response:

·         Questions were raised regarding the membership process and arrangements for the Lincolnshire Forum for Agriculture and Horticulture; the Head of Infrastructure Investment explained the Forum held open meetings although membership was primarily targeted at the agricultural sector. The National Farmers Union (NFU), and the conclusions drawn from the Scrutiny Panel on Agricultural Sector Support helped to inform the membership which included active farmers, young people working in the sector, landowners, and innovative business owners. It was expected that a report on the progress of the Forum would be considered by the Committee in Autumn.

·         It was requested that information relating to the Lincolnshire Forum for Agriculture and Horticulture was shared with Councillors. The Head of Infrastructure Investment agreed to share details, and advised that work was ongoing with the Communications Team to ensure the Forum was heavily promoted across Lincolnshire.

·         Members questioned the objectives of the Forum and highlighted the importance of ensuring the work of the NFU was not duplicated. The Head of Infrastructure Investment assured that the Forum would seek to avoid duplication. This was supported by the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA) who managed a national network of agricultural fora and managed the agenda content for meetings to ensure that work was complimentary, not duplicative. These considerations would be included in the report that the Committee would consider later in the year.

[Note: Cllr L Wootten joined the meeting at 10:15am]

(To receive a report from Chris Miller, Head of Environment, which provides an introduction to the East Atlantic Flying Way Heritage Site Bid)

Consideration was given to a report from the Head of Environment which provided an introduction to the East Atlantic Flying Way Heritage Site Bid. It was reported that the government invited nominations for inclusion on the list of the World Heritage Sites every ten years, and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) was leading the proposal for the East Coast Wetlands, otherwise known as the East Coast Flyway, to be recognised as a World Heritage Site by initially bidding for inclusion on the tentative list.

The areas in Lincolnshire that would be considered as part of the World Heritage Site was the collection of existing Special Protection Areas designated by the European Union, and was illustrated on page 18 of the report.

The general criteria required the site to hold cultural or natural significance, or a combination of both, and it was reported that the East Coast Flyway held natural significance as one of the eight major migratory routes for birds in the East Atlantic Flyway. Potential Heritage Sites were assessed on whether it held Outstanding Universal Value (OUV). The East Coast Flyway was deemed to hold OUV due to the biodiversity it facilitated.

It was noted that the recognition of the East Coast Flyway as a World Heritage Site would be beneficial for Lincolnshire in terms of eco-tourism/green tourism, increased funding for infrastructure and investment on the East Coast, and adherence to national biodiversity obligations.

During consideration of this item, the following matters were noted:

·         It was reported that the two main Flyway locations in Lincolnshire were at the Wash and the Humber Estuary, and it was clarified that migratory corridors would not be included.

·         It was noted that the Flyway achieving World Heritage status would not provide any additional legal powers to protect the birds.

·         Members expressed concern that areas close to the Flyway used air space for flight training, or had multiple pylons, wind turbines and flood defences that may endanger the birds. The Head of Environment clarified that the bid for World Heritage Status was a recognition of the pre-existing migratory route adopted by birds that occurred already despite these obstacles. The powers from the existing EU-designated Special Protection Areas would persist, and managed realignment works and coastal adaption which added more wetlands near Donna Nook would also contribute to enhanced biodiversity.

·         The potential funding accessible to Lincolnshire given a successful bid was not currently known, although it was suggested that funding could be accessed via the Local Nature Recovery Strategy.

·         Members emphasised the importance of adequate tourism infrastructure following a successful bid as it would attract eco-tourists. The Head of Environment accepted that if the claim was successful, the Council would develop existing green tourism projects to accommodate a potential increase of visitors.

·         The timescales of the claim and the selection process depended on the government; it was reported the tentative list of World Heritage Sites was reviewed every two years, and the East Coast Flyway was currently at the first stage,  ...  view the full minutes text for item 68.

(To receive a report from Mary Powell, Place & Investment Manager and Justin Brown, Assistant Director – Growth, which outlines the Strategic Plan Objectives to support the Visitor Economy in Lincolnshire)

Consideration was given to a report from the Place & Investment Manager and the Assistant Director - Growth which outlined the Strategic Plan Objectives to support the visitor economy in Lincolnshire. The Committee was informed that the Plan comprised of three interconnected objectives: business support, product development, and enhancing the visitlincolnshire.com website.

Research undertaken by the Economic Development (ED) Team had indicated that there were multiple types of attractions in Lincolnshire that were generally popular among tourists, however they were unaware that they could be found in Lincolnshire which highlighted the importance of promoting the County.

The Council continued to work with District Council colleagues and Destination Lincolnshire, which operated the County Council’s social media. Work was underway to establish a website analytics group to examine the site’s traffic and it was anticipated that the information collected by District Councils would also feed into this data.

During consideration of this item, the following matters were reported:

·         Members welcomed the progress outlined in the report and the efforts made by the ED Team to attract tourists and empower Lincolnshire’s visitor economy.

·         It was suggested that the training and workshops offered as part of the business support offer may be inaccessible to micro-business owners who do not have capacity to close their business to attend. The Place & Investment Manager acknowledged the Committee that the tourist industry in Lincolnshire was characterised by small/micro-businesses, which was considered a strength. She acknowledged that smaller businesses may have difficulty finding availability to attend sessions which was why one-to-one bespoke support was provided by the Growth Manager – Visitor Economy.

·         Members raised questions regarding the content of the training sessions and workshops that were ran as part of the strategic plan; the Place & Investment Manager highlighted that a number of Workshops were held about the Kings Coastal Path. Training also addressed topics  such as future-planning and connectivity.

·         Members recommended that more could be done to attract tourists to churches across Lincolnshire; the Place & Investment Manager agreed that church tourism was vital to the visitor economy, and the ED Team was working to develop multiple themed walks, one of which could be church-themed.

·         The ED Team planned to create itineraries on the Visit Lincolnshire website as part of a growth area for 2024 to inform days out for families.

·         A substantial number of tourists returned to Lincolnshire which was considered both a strength and weakness of Lincolnshire’s tourism offer.

·         It was suggested that larger-scale events posed excellent opportunities for the visitor economy; particularly the 400^th anniversary of Boston, Massachusetts in 2030 which was supported by many in Lincolnshire given its namesake. The Place & Investment Manager highlighted that anniversaries were a key focus of the Team, and agreed that the event should be celebrated in Lincolnshire. Irish and Italians were a key demographic in Boston in the US, thus it was important to target approaches towards these groups, however it was also noted that these demographics were passionate about their ancestry, and would welcome involvement with an event which  ...  view the full minutes text for item 69.

(To receive a report from Justin Brown – Assistant Director – Growth, which provides a 6-monthly update on the progress of the Theddlethorpe Geological Disposal Facility Working Group. Edward Wright, Senior Adviser for Energy Opportunities – Infrastructure Investment, will also be in attendance for this item)

Consideration was given to a report from the Assistant Director – Growth, which provided a biannual update on the progress on the progress of the Theddlethorpe Geological Disposal Facility (GDF) Working Group. The Senior Adviser for Energy Opportunities – Infrastructure Investment was also in attendance for this item. It was reported that Councillor M Hill OBE represented the County Council on the Working Group, and the Councils membership did not indicate support of the GDF. Three key developments were reported:

·         Firstly, the Community Visioning Programme for Mablethorpe, Withern and Theddlethorpe was established and sought to develop the evidence base of strategic infrastructure investments required from government if the GDF development went ahead. The key themes of the programme included place, economy, environment, and education. The Programme Team was established in the County Council to ensure oversight, and that infrastructure requirements were accurately analysed.

·         Secondly, Nuclear Waste Services (NWS) had undertaken a community opinion survey comprising of 250 respondents, and Members were directed to page 37 of the report where the findings were listed. It was summarised that respondents generally would welcome more information on safety considerations, impacts on house prices and more generally, the overall impact the GDF would have on the community.

·         Thirdly, the Council continued to liaise with STEP fusion as they implemented their siting programme in West Burton, Nottinghamshire to learn good practice for the Theddlethorpe site. It was reported that STEP fusion’s engagement had led to strategic work with education providers to promote relevant skills in the community to encourage employment at the GDF. Transport analysis and work on business supply chain had also been undertaken as part of the engagement activity which would be advantageous to replicate in Theddlethorpe.

The Assistant Director – Growth gave assurance that the progress of the Working Group and the development as a whole was positive.

[note: Councillor K Cooke left the meeting at 11:15am]

During consideration of the report, the following matters were noted:

·         Some concern was expressed in regard to the emotive impact of the word ‘nuclear’ when raised with residents, and that they may misunderstand that it posed a significant threat. It was agreed that this demonstrated the importance of sufficient communication to provide assurance and accurate information to residents.

·         There were around 20 similar GDFs being developed, and it was imperative lessons were learned and adopted at Theddlethorpe.

·         The Council was looking for manufacturing plants and engineering businesses to support the Theddlethorpe development. The Assistant Director – Growth assured this would be analysed, as well as the associated opportunities for the manufacturing sector in Lincolnshire. Members welcomed the active pursuit of modular nuclear reactor programmes.

·         The community survey was welcomed by the Committee, and it was subsequently questioned how the Council could support NSW to ensure residents were fully informed. It was noted that the government policy for siting GDFs placed responsibility to inform on organisations, in this case, NWS as the developers, and the community partnerships in each area, not the Local Authority. Additionally, the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 70.

(To receive a report by Kiara Chatziioannou, Scrutiny Officer, which enables the Committee to comment on the content of its work programme for the coming year to ensure that scrutiny activity is focussed where it can be of greatest benefit)

Consideration was given to a report from the Scrutiny Officer which enabled the Committee to comment on the content of its work programme for the coming year to ensure that scrutiny activity was focused where it could be of greatest benefit.

It was reported that no additions or amendments had been made to the Work Programme since its publication on 8 April 2024, and Officers were invited to liaise with the Scrutiny Officer if they wished for any reports to be timetabled.

During consideration of the report, the following matters were noted:

·         It was requested by Members that the ‘Climate Change Impact’ report listed under ‘items to be programmed’ on page 44 of the report was considered at an upcoming meeting soon.

·         It was suggested that a report on the carbon usage of the Council was also scheduled, although it was clarified that the Head of Environment reported this data annually as a standing item.

RESOLVED

1)      That the Committee approves the existing work programme as detailed in pages 41-46 of the agenda.