Agenda and draft minutes

Before the meeting began, a minute silence was held in memory of Cabinet member, Councillor Nicholas Rushton.

There were no apologies for absence.

Under the Code of Conduct members are reminded that in declaring interests you should make clear the nature of that interest and whether it is a disclosable pecuniary interest, registerable interest or other interest.

There were no interests declared.

There were no questions received.

To confirm the minutes of the meeting held on 11 June and 23 June 2026

Consideration was given to the minutes of the meetings held on the 11 and 23 June 2026.

It was moved by Councillor K Merrie seconded by Councillor T Saffell and

RESOLVED THAT:

The minutes of the meetings held on the 11 and 23 June 2026 be approved and signed by the Chair as an accurate record of the proceedings.

Reason for decision: The Cabinet (Executive) Procedure Rules require that the minutes of the previous meeting are considered and confirmed as a correct record.

Report of the Chief Executive
Presented by the Leader of the Council

The report was presented by the Leader of the Council.

After the presentation, Councillor J Legrys was invited to speak to the report as Leader of the Labour Group. They spoke in support of the report’s conclusions and commented that ‘we must move forward to ensure the best Local Government Reorganisation…for all residents of North West Leicestershire.’

In response to questions from Councillor J Legrys, the Chief Executive explained that the Joint Committee membership would be made up of half Leicestershire County Council, 2 from Rutland Council and 1 from each District Councils. The Chief Executive explained that it was anticipated that the representative of North West Leicestershire District Council would be the Leader of the Council.

A member spoke against the decision to have a unitary council, commenting that central government ‘failed to listen’ and had decided to impose change which would lead to less accountability and make the council more remote and expensive.

It was moved by Councillor R Blunt, seconded by Councillor K Merrie and

RESOLVED THAT:

1.  The report, government decision and further updates regarding Local     Government Reorganisation be noted.

2. Authority be delegated to the Chief Executive, in consultation with the Leader of the Council, to respond to the decision on Local Government Reorganisation.

3. Subject to the similar approval by all Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland (LLR) councils, the establishment of one or more voluntary joint committees, in accordance with Section 101 of the Local Government Act 1972 be approved.

4. Authority be delegated to the Chief Executive, in consultation with the Leader of the Council, to nominate representatives to such voluntary committee(s).

5. Authority be delegated to the Chief Executive, in consultation with the Leader of the Council, to nominate and appoint any substitute member to the joint committee(s).

6. Authority be delegated to the Chief Executive, in consultation with the Leader of the Council, to approve the draft terms of reference of the voluntary joint committee(s) and make minor amendments to the same.

Reason for decision: To ensure Cabinet is kept up to date with progress in relation to LGR. To enable voluntary joint arrangements between the LLR authorities.

Report of the Strategic Director of Resources
Presented by the Finance and Corporate Portfolio Holder

The report was presented by the Finance and Corporate Portfolio Holder.

It was moved by Councillor K Merrie, seconded by Councillor A Woodman and

RESOLVED THAT:

1.  The saving of £1.15m on the General Fund for 2025/26 to be transferred          to the MTFP reserve, be noted.

2. The slippage of £15.97m on the Capital Programme be noted.

3. The approval of the creation of the following new earmarked reserves in      excess of £100,000 be recommended to full Council:

- Planning application income reserve (£179,879).

- ICT cyber assessment framework grant reserve (£150,000).

4. The approval of the addition of £7.309m to the Business Rate Reserve be recommended to full Council.

5. The application of £0.984m of brought-forward UK Shared Prosperity    Fund (UKSPF) grant funding to support expenditure incurred during        2025/26 be noted and approved.

Reason for decision: As required under Financial Procedure Rule A19.

Report of the Strategic Director of Resources
Presented by the Finance and Corporate Portfolio Holder

The report was presented by the Housing, Property and Customer Services Portfolio Holder.

It was moved by Councillor A Woodman, seconded by Councillor K Merrie and

RESOLVED THAT:

1. The 2025/26 HRA revenue provisional deficit of £1.690m which has provisionally been funded through drawing down from the HRA general reserves be noted.

2. The approval of the use of £1.69m of HRA general reserves to fund the 2025/26 deficit position be recommended to full Council

3. The position of the HRA Capital Programme, as detailed in Table 2 be noted.

4. The acceleration of the Home Improvement Programme of £1.260m, stock conditions surveys of £0.012m and roofing programme of £0.988m to be funded through the major repairs reserve be recommended to full Council.

Reason for decision: To enable Cabinet to consider the outturn position and ensure appropriate oversight of the financial performance of the HRA.

Report of the Strategic Director of Communities
Housing, Property and Customer Services Portfolio Holder

The report was presented by the Housing, Property and Customer Services Portfolio Holder.

In response to a question, the Strategic Director of Communities explained that the housing fleet was maintained by the depot garage, and the deliverability of the servicing capacity in the garage had been agreed  by Heads of Services.

It was moved by Councillor A Woodman, seconded by Councillor T Saffell and

RESOLVED THAT:

1. The procurement of contracts for the provision of a replacement housing repairs fleet as detailed in Annex A, within the identified financial limits be approved.

2. Authority be delegated to the Strategic Director with responsibility for Housing, in consultation with the Housing, Property and Customer Services Portfolio Holder and the Section 151 Officer, to award the contract to the chosen supplier and enter into all necessary agreements applicable to the contract award.

Reason for decision: To replace the Housing Repairs fleet, which is at the end of its operational life, in order to maintain service delivery, improve reliability, reduce operational risks and support the Council's environmental commitments.

Report of the Strategic Director of Communities
Presented by the Housing, Property and Customer Services Portfolio Holder

The report was presented by the Housing, Property and Customer Services Portfolio Holder.

Comments were made in support of the decision to increase housing stock and that they hope for future continuation.

It was moved by Councillor A Woodman, seconded by Councillor R Blunt and

RESOLVED THAT:

1. The addition to the Council’s Housing Revenue Account (HRA) Capital      Programme of £3.7m be endorsed, funded from right to buy receipts, and        this expenditure be recommended to Council for approval at its meeting           on 15 September 2026.

2. Subject to (1) above, a single contract be entered into with Bloor homes (the developer) to acquire twenty-two properties of varying archetypes for £3.7m over three years, as set out in the report, subject to council approving the addition to the capital programme.

3. Authority be delegated to the Strategic Director responsible for Housing     to finalise and agree all necessary legal and contractual documents and     take all appropriate procedural and operational steps to deliver the     above.

Reason for decision: To comply with the constitution of the Council as this report requires Cabinet approval as it is in excess of £100k and to ensure Right to Buy Receipts are spent within their statutory timeframes.

Report of the Strategic Director of Place
Presented by the Planning Portfolio Holder

The report was presented by the Planning Portfolio Holder.

The Planning Portfolio Holder thanked Community Scrutiny Committee for their steer in setting up the Task and Finish group and members of the Task and Finish Group for their work in gathering evidence and producing clear recommendations.

Councillor T Eynon was invited to speak, as chair of Community Scrutiny Committee. Thanks were given to the Chair, the working group, residents, parish councillors, Severn Trent Water representative Stephanie Cawley, East Midlands Councils, and council officers for their contributions to the report on sewage outflows and drainage issues. They expressed appreciation for the Council's positive response to the report's recommendations. Councillor T Eynon welcomed the Council's intention to work with the local MP to encourage the Government to implement the Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS) Approval Body provisions. They highlighted the impact on downstream landowners, noting that sewage pollution—including waste and debris—had affected Mary Lorimer’s land at Townsend Lane. Councillor T Eynon argued that stronger public oversight of SuDS would help address such situations. they raised concerns about one SuDS pond at the end of Frearson Road, Hugglescote, which appeared different from the others and may not be functioning properly. They suggested that this could be contributing to water ingress during wet weather and therefore to the sewage overflow problems at Townsend Lane. Councillor T Eynon asked the planning and development team to raise this concern with Severn Trent Water, as the infrastructure owner, and concluded by expressing the hope that the company was being held accountable for the environmental impacts occurring on affected land.

In response to a query about Recommendation 3 from Councillor T Eynon, the Strategic Director of Place advised that Cabinet did not have the authority to direct planning enforcement actions, as it was a planning function and that was reflected in the recommendation and Officer response.

They commented that discussions had taken place with the Planning and Development Team, following the review, which had identified a potential opportunity to introduce additional planning conditions on future developments that could provide better monitoring and oversight of drainage issues. However, that remained a matter for further investigations and development.

The financial risks in relation to planning applications being overturned at appeal were noted.

The Planning Portfolio Holder moved each recommendation from the Task and Finish group individually.

A member commented that the work done by the Task and Finish group was very important and that it was good to see Community Scrutiny working at a very high level.

It was moved by Councillor T Saffell, seconded by Councillor K Merrie and

RESOLVED THAT:

1.  The Strategic Director with responsibility for        Planning be requested to   write to Severn Trent Water and requests a review of their approach     taken in responding to planning applications and seek further        engagement between Planning Officers and STW in this matter, including the Regulation 19 Local Plan consultation commencing in July    2026.

2.  The Strategic Director of Place writes be requested to write to Severn Trent Water to request  ...  view the full minutes text for item 42.

Report of the Strategic Director of Communities

Presented by the Community, Environment and Climate Change Portfolio Holder

The report was presented by the Community, Environment and Climate Change Portfolio Holder.

Comments from the Community Scrutiny Committee on the report were considered and acknowledged in turn. The Community, Environment and Climate Change Portfolio Holder welcomed the support from Community Scrutiny. In relation to Comment 4, they expressed that they were hopeful that street litter would be less visible from the fortnightly recycling.

It was moved by Councillor M Wyatt, seconded by Councillor A Woodman and

RESOLVED THAT:

1. The comments and recommendations made by Community Scrutiny     Committee at its meeting on 25 June 2026 be considered.

2. The progress and plans made to date in preparing to roll out the new scheme be commented on.

3. The rationale for phase one be approved.

4. The preferred proposal for bin lid colours be agreed.

5. The Waste and Recycling Collections Service statement, subject to       officers applying the policy with appropriate discretion and in accordance   with individual household circumstances, be adopted.

Reason for decision: To comment on the progress being made by this project to date and formally approve the proposals in regard to the new bin colours, the approach to phase one and the Service Statement

The officers consider that the press and public should be excluded during consideration of the following items in accordance with Section 100(a) of the Local Government Act 1972 as publicity would be likely to result in disclosure of exempt or confidential information.  Members are reminded that they must have regard to the public interest test and must consider, for each item, whether the public interest in maintaining the exemption from disclosure outweighs the public interest in making the item available.

It was moved by Councillor R Blunt, seconded by Councillor T Saffell and

RESOLVED THAT:

In pursuance of Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the press and public be excluded from the remainder of the meeting on the grounds that the business to be transacted involves the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A to the Act and that the public interest in maintaining this exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information.

Reason for decision: To enable the consideration of exempt information.

Report of the Strategic Director of Resources
Presented by the Housing, Property and Customer Services Portfolio Holder

The report was presented by the Housing, Property and Customer Services Portfolio Holder

It was moved by Councillor A Woodman, seconded by Councillor K Merrie and

RESOLVED THAT:

1. The procurement of Telephony Contact Centre Solution, using an     appropriate and compliant route to market, the contract being for an     initial period of two (2) years, with options to extend by a further two     years (1 plus 1), be approved.

2.  Authority be delegated to the Strategic Director of Resources to:

- finalise the procurement documentation,

- award the contract following completion of the procurement process; and

- approve any necessary mobilisation and contractual arrangements.

Reason for decision: Cabinet approval is required because the potential value of the contract exceeds £100,000 and a procurement exercise must be undertaken.