Agenda, decisions and draft minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor J Birkin.

Members are requested to declare the existence and nature of any disclosable pecuniary interest and/or other interest, not already on their register of interests, in any item on the agenda and withdraw from the meeting at the appropriate time.

There were no declarations of interest.

To approve as a correct record and the Leader to sign the attached Minutes of the meeting of Cabinet held on 15 January 2026.

RESOLVED – That the Minutes of the meeting held on 15 January 2026 were approved as a true record.

Report of Councillor N Barker, Leader of the Council and Portfolio Holder for Strategic Leadership and Finance

That progress against the Council Plan 2023-2027 objectives be noted.

This was not a Key Decision and so can be implemented with immediate effect by officers.

Cabinet considered a report which set out progress on the objectives that underpinned the Council Plan for the period October to December 2025 (Quarter 3).  The report highlighted notable achievements, along with any targeted metrics which had been flagged as not on target.

Attached to the report was Appendix 1, which set out details of what had been achieved and progressed by objective, strategy, and tactic.

Cabinet discussed the report. It was agreed that good progress was being made against the objectives set out in the Council Plan and that the monitoring, tracking and presenting of performance statistics was being done well.

RESOLVED –

That progress against the Council Plan 2023-2027 objectives be noted.

This was not a Key Decision and so can be implemented with immediate effect by officers.

Report of Councillor S Pickering, Portfolio Holder for Environment and Place

To amend the current Enforcement Plan in line with the details in this report.

This was not a Key Decision and so can be implemented with immediate effect by officers.

Cabinet considered a report which sought authorisation to amend the Local Enforcement Plan. The report included the proposed changes and the reasons behind them. A draft version of the updated Enforcement Plan was attached at Appendix 1.

Cabinet discussed the report. It was agreed that the plan showed a clear rationale for prioritising cases. Some Members suggested that a slimmed down version of the plan, that detailed the key points, would be a good idea.

RESOLVED –

To amend the current Enforcement Plan in line with the details in this report.

This was not a Key Decision and so can be implemented with immediate effect by officers.

Report of Councillor S Pickering, Portfolio Holder for Environment and Place

That Cabinet approves the updated timetable for the preparation of the Local Plan and associated changes to the published Local Development Scheme, authorises its publication and that it shall have immediate effect.

This was not a Key Decision and so can be implemented with immediate effect by officers.

Cabinet considered a report which sought approval to update the timetable for the preparation of a new Local Plan. The report highlighted that the proposed timetable introduced an additional period of public consultation and rescheduled the later stage consultation whilst still meeting the overall deadline to submit the plan by the end of 2026.

Cabinet discussed the report. It was confirmed that the timetable had been agreed at the Local Plan Working Group.

RESOLVED –

That Cabinet approves the updated timetable for the preparation of the Local Plan and associated changes to the published Local Development Scheme, authorises its publication and that it shall have immediate effect.

This was not a Key Decision and so can be implemented with immediate effect by officers.

Report of Councillor S Pickering, Portfolio Holder for Environment and Place

1.     That Members considered the content of this report and the pre- publication Issues and Options consultation material that will be made available and approve its use for public consultation.

2.     That Members approve the proposed arrangements for public consultation on the Issues and Options for the Local Plan.

3.     That Members delegate responsibility to the Assistant Director of Planning in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Environment and Place for approving the detailed wording of the Issues and Options consultation material and final arrangements for public consultation.

This was not a Key Decision and so can be implemented with immediate effect by officers.

Cabinet considered a report which provided an update on progress in preparing the new Local Plan and sought approval to undertake publication consultation in line with the arrangements set out in the report. The report provided advice on the proposed development strategy, provided information on the sites that had so far passed through the detailed site assessment process and outlined proposed arrangements for publication consultation.

Cabinet discussed the report. Some Members suggested that the Council was constrained in its options by the lack of available brownfield land. It was agreed that there was still a lot of work to do to get to the final list of sites.

RESOLVED –

1.     That Members considered the content of this report and the pre- publication Issues and Options consultation material that will be made available and approve its use for public consultation.

2.     That Members approve the proposed arrangements for public consultation on the Issues and Options for the Local Plan.

3.     That Members delegate responsibility to the Assistant Director of Planning in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Environment and Place for approving the detailed wording of the Issues and Options consultation material and final arrangements for public consultation.

This was not a Key Decision and so can be implemented with immediate effect by officers.

Report of Councillor J Barry, Portfolio Holder for Growth & Assets.

1.     That Cabinet agrees to support and become accountable body for the Pride in Place Programme whilst the Council is managing the Programme.

2.     That Cabinet endorses the proposed Pride in Place delivery framework.

3.     That Cabinet delegates to the Leader Council nominations for Pride in Place board and any other roles in the governance structure, both now and in the future.

4.     To ensure engagement across the whole Pride in Place area, adopt the name ‘Three Pits Pride in Place (PIP)’ for the promotion and consultation of the Programme.

This was a Key Decision. The call in period for this decision would run until Thursday 5 February 2026.

Cabinet considered a report which asked them to agree to participate in, and accept the role of accountable body for the Three Pits PiP, the Pride in Place Programme for communities in the Grassmoor, Holmewood & Heath, North Wingfield and Tupton areas. The report gave an overview of the programme and detailed the Councils role as accountable body. The report also included a proposed Governance framework for approval.

Cabinet discussed the report. Some Members suggested that there was a need to make national criteria fit local circumstances. It was highlighted that the proposed Board would be community led. It was agreed that, whilst the administration of the scheme would be a challenge, the funding was definitely welcome.

RESOLVED –

1.     That Cabinet agrees to support and become accountable body for the Pride in Place Programme whilst the Council is managing the Programme.

2.     That Cabinet endorses the proposed Pride in Place delivery framework.

3.     That Cabinet delegates to the Leader Council nominations for Pride in Place board and any other roles in the governance structure, both now and in the future.

4.     To ensure engagement across the whole Pride in Place area, adopt the name ‘Three Pits Pride in Place (PIP)’ for the promotion and consultation of the Programme.

This was a Key Decision. The call in period for this decision would run until Thursday 5 February 2026.

Report of Councillor P R Kerry, Deputy Leader of the Council and Portfolio Holder for Strategic Leadership and Finance

That Cabinet note the report and made any comments that they believe to be appropriate with regards to the budget monitoring position outlined.

This was not a Key Decision and so can be implemented with immediate effect by officers.

Cabinet considered a report which outlined financial position of the Council following the monitoring exercise for the General Fund, Housing Revenue Account and the Capital Programme in Quarter 3 of 2025/26. The report summarised the key figures from the monitoring exercise and explained the reasons for variation against the budget.

RESOLVED –

That Cabinet note the report and made any comments that they believe to be appropriate with regards to the budget monitoring position outlined.

This was not a Key Decision and so can be implemented with immediate effect by officers.

Report of Councillor P R Kerry, Deputy Leader of the Council and Portfolio Holder for Strategic Leadership and Finance

That Cabinet note the report concerning the Council’s Treasury Management report for Quarter 3.

This was not a Key Decision and so can be implemented with immediate effect by officers.

Cabinet considered a report which summarised the treasury management position for the first three quarters of 2025/26.

Attached to the report was Appendix 1, which set out the treasury management monitoring report for Q3 of 2025/26, and Appendix 2, which set out the prudential indicators monitoring report for Q3 of 2025/26.

RESOLVED –

That Cabinet note the report concerning the Council’s Treasury Management report for Quarter 3.

This was not a Key Decision and so can be implemented with immediate effect by officers.

Report of Councillor K Gillott, Portfolio Holder for Local Government Reorganisation.

That Cabinet:

1.     Noted the statutory consultation process for Local Government Reorganisation in Derbyshire.

2.     Agreed the proposed responses to the Government’s statutory consultation questions set out in section 6 of this report, including explicit support for Option A1 within the One Derbyshire, Two Councils proposals and use the wording in the report to inform the response to all Derbyshire consultation questions.

3.     Delegated any minor changes to the final response, for all Derbyshire consultation questions, to the Chief Executive, in consultation with the Portfolio Holder.

This was not a Key Decision and so can be implemented with immediate effect by officers.

Cabinet considered a report which provided a summary of the statutory consultation process undertaken by Government in relation to Local Government Reorganisation (LGR). The report also contained a proposed full set of responses to the Government’s statutory consultation questions.

Cabinet discussed the report. The potential timeline for when the Government would decide on which LGR option would be taken forward was shared.

RESOLVED –

That Cabinet:

1.     Noted the statutory consultation process for Local Government Reorganisation in Derbyshire.

2.     Agreed the proposed responses to the Government’s statutory consultation questions set out in section 6 of this report, including explicit support for Option A1 within the One Derbyshire, Two Councils proposals and use the wording in the report to inform the response to all Derbyshire consultation questions.

3.     Delegated any minor changes to the final response, for all Derbyshire consultation questions, to the Chief Executive, in consultation with the Portfolio Holder.

This was not a Key Decision and so can be implemented with immediate effect by officers.

To consider any other matter which the Leader is of the opinion should be considered as a matter of urgency, in accordance with the provisions of Statutory Instrument 2012 No 2089, Regulation 11.

None.

The Leader to move:-

That the public be excluded from the meeting during the discussion of the following items of business to avoid the disclosure to them of exempt information as defined in Part 1 of Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act 1972, (as amended by the Local Government (Access to Information) (Variation) Order 2006).  [The category of exempt information is stated after each item].

Private Session

RESOLVED – that the public be excluded from the meeting during the discussion of the following item of business to avoid the disclosure to them of exempt information as defined in Part 1 of Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act 1972 (as amended by the Local Government (Access to Information) (Variation) Order 2006).

Report of Councillor P R Kerry, Deputy Leader of the Council and Portfolio Holder for Strategic Leadership and Finance

That Cabinet agrees to write off the amounts in respect of council tax, business rates and rents as detailed in Appendix 1.

This was not a Key Decision and so can be implemented with immediate effect by officers.

That Cabinet considered a report seeking approval for the proposed write off of debts in respect of council tax, business rates, housing benefit overpayments and rents.

RESOLVED –

Cabinet agrees to write off the amounts in respect of council tax, business rates and rents as detailed in Appendix 1.

This was not a Key Decision and so can be implemented with immediate effect by officers.

To consider any other matter which the Leader is of the opinion should be considered as a matter of urgency, in accordance with the provisions of Statutory Instrument 2012 No 2089, Regulations 5 and 11.

None.