The Leader advised that he had received many emails from members of the public objecting to the siting of the modular toilet block at Minster Leas at location A as agreed at Cabinet on 22 April 2020, and he had received suggestions of alternative sites that were not included for consideration in the Cabinet report.  He explained that alternative options were not part of this report and Cabinet would be considering whether to continue with location A or to reconsider it as a result of the Scrutiny Committee’s recommendations.

The Cabinet Member for Environment introduced the report and advised that he had visited the site again that day.  He went through the recommendations from the Scrutiny Committee and his response to each, as set out in the tabled report.  He concluded by saying that a meticulous process had been followed and he could see no reason to change the original decision.

Councillor Lloyd Bowen, in his role as Chairman of the Scrutiny Committee, referred to the response to recommendation two in the report and said it was unclear why the original 5 options were reduced to 2 options. He considered that it was insulting to assume some public would not understand the technicalities of the scheme.  Councillor Bowen drew attention to the response in recommendation three and said that as there was a 16 week lead in time for projects, the 2020 summer season would be missed. He added that there was confusion whether Members were consulted or not, in their role as a Parish Councillor or a Ward Member, information was left out of the original report and that it was not for officers to apologise as Cabinet Members should be responsible.

The Leader reminded Members that the role of Scrutiny was to examine decisions based on the reasons for a call-in.

The Cabinet Member for Health and Wellbeing was critical of the chairing of the Scrutiny Committee meeting and repeated that Cabinet Members could not be involved in the tender process.

The Cabinet Member for Planning said that lessons had been learned in consulting the public.  He said that the Scrutiny Committee wanted to consult on impossible options, and option A was the only viable option.  He gave his support to Minster Parish Council.

The Cabinet Member for Housing said that a delay risked financial viability.

In summing up, the Leader said that The Leas was vital in SBC’s Visitor Economy and the facilities were long-overdue. He acknowledged the opposition to the location but said the site was challenging and Cabinet had been presented with 2 location options, A and B.  Location B was fraught with issues which he summarised.  The Leader said that the Scrutiny Committee should have addressed the technical and financial issues of site B.

Resolved:

(1)  That the decision made at the Cabinet meeting on 22 April 2020 at Minute No. 649 be agreed.