The meeting confirmed the minutes of the meeting held on 5 November 2024 and noted the Forthcoming Decisions List. The Cabinet approved three Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) bids for the Stowmarket Health Education and Leisure Facilities (SHELF) project, Thurston Community College and improvements to the Thurston Rail Station level crossing. The Cabinet also noted the Greenhouse Gas Emissions Report 2023/24 and the new Council Housing Repairs and Maintenance Policy 2024.

Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) - CIL Expenditure Programme December 2024

Cabinet approved three CIL Bids.

Stowmarket Health Education and Leisure Facilities (SHELF)

The Cabinet approved a CIL bid of £497,272.72 from the Strategic Infrastructure Fund for the Stowmarket Health Education and Leisure Facilities project, subject to the completion of a Community User Agreement. The bid will contribute 57.76% of the total project costs of £861,053.00. Section 106 funds of £231,330.28 and Mid Suffolk District Council (MSDC) own funds of £132,450.00 will contribute the remaining funding. The project has been developed in partnership with Suffolk County Council (SCC), Town and Parish Councils, and local health and education providers. This phase of the project will see the purchase and installation of new floodlights on the rugby pitch at Chilton Fields, the creation of a new Active Track facility and the installation of a new mini athletics track.

The report states,

The large housing developments in Stowmarket and Thurston/Woolpit/Elmswell in Mid Suffolk are priority areas for the Councils to consider additional and improved sport and physical activity provision due to the scale of the developments and the likely pressure this will place on the capacity of existing provision.

The SHELF project is listed in MSDC's Infrastructure Funding Statement (IFS). The new community facilities should encourage local residents to adopt healthier lifestyles through regular participation in sport and physical activities and help reduce the levels of poor mental and physical health that can arise from inactivity and a lack of social interaction opportunities. The facilities will be available for casual use, benefiting all members of the local community. Letters of support for the SHELF project have been received from England Netball, Volleyball England, British Gymnastics, The Lawn Tennis Association, and a number of local clubs.

Thurston Community College

Cabinet approved a CIL bid of £188,548.81 for the remaining costs of phase 1 of the Thurston Community College expansion, including fencing and access works, subject to the grant of planning permission. £94,274.41 of the bid will be provided by the Strategic Infrastructure Fund and £94,274.40 from the Ringfenced Infrastructure Funds for the parishes of Walsham-le-Willows, Badwell Ash, Thurston, Elmswell, and Woolpit. Phase 1 involved the purchase of additional land for the College. Phase 2, the expansion of the school buildings, has already been completed. Phase 3 will involve the construction of a new full-sized 3G floodlit artificial grass pitch.

Thurston Community College is the largest school in Suffolk, educating more children than any other. The report states,

The number of homes within this catchment area is set to increase significantly in the near future (both from existing approved growth and planned growth (through the Joint Local Plan)), placing greater pressure on the College facilities and the need to increase pupil places for education provision. By securing additional land and bringing it into school use now, it will enable the school to expand in the future and meet the demand for additional pupil places.

The expansion of Thurston Community College is listed in MSDC's IFS as an essential project. The funding is intended to support local communities' requirements arising from new housing developments by providing sufficient school places. The project will also create further employment opportunities at the school.

Thurston Rail Station Improvements

Cabinet noted the delegated decision to approve a CIL bid of £6,000 from the Strategic Infrastructure Fund for pre-engineering stage (ES3) costs for the next phase of the Thurston Rail Station level crossing project. This follows the completion of the Thurston Rail Station Improvements Feasibility Study by Network Rail in April 2024. A further CIL bid has also been received for the costs of taking the subway scheme to engineering stage (ES3) but this is being held in abeyance until this pre-ES3 stage has been completed.

This phase of the project will see the single option selection and endorsement of a suitable crossing at the station. The report states,

This CIL Bid follows the completion of the Thurston Rail Station Improvements Feasibility Study in April 2024 and would allow Network Rail to progress necessary work at pre ES3 stage to develop a cost and programme for the ES3 phase which is about single option selection and endorsement of a suitable crossing at this Station. Delivery timescales for this pre ES3 stage work costing £6,000 are expected to start in November 2024 and be completed by the end of February 2025.

Improvements to the rail station are listed as key infrastructure in MSDC's Infrastructure Delivery Plan and in the current IFS. Thurston Parish Council and District Councillors Harry Richardson and David Bradbury all support the bid. Suffolk County Councillor Penny Otton also supports the bid but would like to see a timeline for the delivery of this stage.

Greenhouse Gas Emissions Report 2023/24

Cabinet noted the Greenhouse Gas Emissions Report 2023/24, prior to its publication on the council's website. It uses 2018/2019 emissions data as the baseline and measures progress in terms of carbon emission reduction and the trajectory that must be maintained to achieve carbon neutrality by 2030. The report identifies areas that require greater focus and seeks to understand the impact of measures implemented in previous reports.

Total GHG emissions for 2023/2024 are 3,388 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (tCO2e), a reduction of 2,544 tCO2e (42.9%) against the 2018/19 baseline of 5,993 tCO2e.

Sheltered Housing

Emissions from sheltered housing in 2023/2024 were 655 tCO2e, a 1.9% increase compared to the previous year. The report suggests that this is due to the specific care needs of elderly residents, which have not been accounted for in the report but will have contributed to an increase in gas and electricity usage. The report states,

Given the essential nature of heating and similar utilities for resident care, reducing emissions in sheltered housing can only realistically be achieved through further investment in the buildings themselves.

Existing solar photovoltaic (PV) panels on the social housing estate continue to reduce scope 2 emissions¹.

Leisure Centres

Total emissions from leisure centres were reduced by 45.7 tCO2e (8%) this year. This is attributed to a series of enhancements made in early 2023, including roof-mounted solar PV, solar car ports, low-carbon heat pump technology, and the replacement of boilers with energy-efficient boiler plant and modern control systems.

The council's two leisure centres are the second biggest source of emissions, accounting for 34% of the total. The report states that the council will,

get the leisure centres to integrate and actively use half-hourly data (day+1), solar energy data and battery storage to further improve the timing of their processes and building management.

Mid Suffolk Leisure Centre has been awarded £108,500 of Sport England funding for a water filtration system and pool covers.

Waste, Fleet, and Electric Vehicle Charging Points

Emissions from the council's waste collection fleet, which operates on Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO)², have continued to decline, with a reduction of 107.8 tCO2e (52%) this year. Emissions from the public realm service, which also uses HVO, increased by 0.8 tCO2e (26%).

Twenty-five new electric vehicle charging points (EVCPs) were installed in Mid Suffolk this year, although twelve of those were installed at the end of March so their carbon emissions are not included in the report. Mid Suffolk's EVCPs consumed 28,025 kWh of energy in 2023/24.

Pathway to Net Zero

Performance to 2023/24 is 4.7% adverse from target, meaning that the council must achieve an average annual reduction of 539 tCO2e (9.1%) to meet its target.

The report acknowledges the challenges in achieving net-zero emissions by 2030. It states,

Whilst urgent and sustained action is crucial, it needs to be recognised that certain decarbonisation interventions are linked to longer term decisions on the useable life span of our built assets, e.g. the depot, leisure centres and sheltered housing schemes. It would be counterproductive and could even be carbon inefficient to install energy saving schemes where the life of the scheme is significantly less than the usable remaining life of the asset.

Overview and Scrutiny Committee Recommendations

The Overview and Scrutiny Committee reviewed the GHG report and made eight recommendations. Three of those recommendations related to the report. The Committee noted the report and supported the work undertaken by the Climate Change team. It also supported the separation of the approach towards carbon emission reduction and decarbonisation investment between Babergh and Mid Suffolk District Councils. The Committee also recommended that officers provide more clarity about changes to gas usage, electricity consumption, and carbon emissions within the council's sheltered housing stock and communicate this to the Cabinet.

Council Housing Repairs and Maintenance Policy 2024

Cabinet reviewed, approved, and endorsed the new Joint Repairs and Maintenance Policy 2024. The policy clarifies the obligations the council has to its tenants in the delivery of the repairs service, making it clear who is responsible for repairs and when they will be carried out. It also highlights the responsibilities of tenants, including their obligation to report repairs and to allow reasonable access to their homes for repairs to be carried out.

The policy aims to provide a seamless, high-quality, and customer-focused repairs service where repairs are completed right first time where possible. It is underpinned by the council's commitment to provide safe, decent and comfortable homes for its tenants and to deliver value for money.

Repair Priorities

The policy details the different categories of repairs, the response times for each category, and examples of the types of repairs in each category. These categories are emergencies, urgent, routine, planned repairs, and out-of-hours repairs. The response times for emergencies are 24 hours, or 4 hours if the issue presents a serious risk to the tenant's safety or to the property. The response times for urgent repairs are 5 working days. The response times for routine repairs are 20 working days. Planned repairs will be completed within 90 working days. Out-of-hours repairs will be completed within 24 hours, or 4 hours if the issue presents a serious risk to the tenant's safety or to the property.

Restrictions

The policy outlines the circumstances in which the repairs service may be restricted. These include:

• If a tenant misses 3 consecutive appointments for repairs in the past 6 months.
• If a tenant has not paid their rent on time for at least 12 weeks.
• If a tenant has rent arrears, unless a repayment arrangement has been kept to for at least 12 weeks.
• If a tenant has any breaches of tenancy, such as an anti-social behaviour order or a notice of possession.
• If a tenant owes the landlord any money, such as for rechargeable repairs or other services.
• If a tenant has a proven history of violent or abusive behaviour towards council staff or its representatives.
• If a tenant has a proven history of unreasonable use of the repairs service.
• If a tenant has started the right to buy process.
• If an abandonment notice has been issued.

Mutual Exchange

The policy explains that tenants moving into a property through a mutual exchange will take on the repair responsibilities of the outgoing tenant. This includes responsibility for any alterations the outgoing tenant has made to the property.

Tenant Board and Resident Readers

The policy was shared with the Tenant Board and the Residents Readers panel for their feedback. Their feedback was used to develop the policy.