Agenda and draft minutes

The minutes of the previous meeting from Cabinet held on 4 March 2026 were agreed.

Guidance is available online to Councillors and co-opted members on making declarations of interest

Min 183. Phear Park and The Green Car Park (Broadclyst) Resurfacing Works - Contract above £100k.

Councillor Brian Bailey, Affects Non-registerable Interest, member of the Town Council.

Min 184. Adoption of Exmouth Placemaking Plan and Strategic Outline Business Case.

Councillor Aurora Bailey, Affects Non-registerable Interest, member of the Town Council.

Min 184. Adoption of Exmouth Placemaking Plan and Strategic Outline Business Case.

Councillor Brian Bailey, Affects Non-registerable Interest, member of the Town Council.

Min 184. Adoption of Exmouth Placemaking Plan and Strategic Outline Business Case.

Councillor Nick Hookway, Affects Non-registerable Interest, Devon County Councillor for Exmouth and member of the Town Council.

Min 184. Adoption of Exmouth Placemaking Plan and Strategic Outline Business Case.

Councillor Paul Hayward, Affects Non-registerable Interest, DCC Chair for HATOC.

Min 186. Wild About Seaton NLHF Grant Submission.

Councillor Paul Arnott, Affects Non-registerable Interest, Devon County Councillor for Seaton.

Min 187. Sidmouth Jacobs Ladder Platform, seawall and slipway repairs.

Councillor Ian Barlow, Affects Non-registerable Interest, Member of Sidmouth Town Council.

Min 187. Sidmouth Jacobs Ladder Platform, seawall and slipway repairs.

Councillor Mike Goodman, Affects Non-registerable Interest, Member of Sidmouth Town Council.

Min 188. Sidmouth Connaught Gardens emergency cliff works - Standing orders Exemption.

Councillor Ian Barlow, Affects Non-registerable Interest, Member of Sidmouth Town Council.

Min 188. Sidmouth Connaught Gardens emergency cliff works - Standing orders Exemption.

Councillor Mike Goodman, Affects Non-registerable Interest, Member of Sidmouth Town Council.

Information on public speaking is available online

There were no public speakers.

Information on matters of urgency is available online

There were none.

To agree any items to be dealt with after the public (including the Press) have been excluded. There is one item which officers recommend should be dealt with in this way.

There was one item dealt with in this way recorded at Minute 193.

Members approved the minutes and recommendations from the Scrutiny Committee held on 5 February 2026.

Minute 54 Review of the impact of the ban on use of glyphosate

1.     Streetscene discontinue the use of the hot foam method of treatment and continue to use glyphosate-free alternatives and/or manual methods until the efficiency of recent trials can be established,

2.     The Director of Place to consider how the integrated weed management framework can be developed and brought for consideration by the Overview Committee, including consideration of resources and the impact from other services,

3.     Councillors/Town and Parishes to continue to report areas of weed growth on pavements and roadsides to Devon County Council.

Members approved the minutes and recommendations from the Strategic Planning Committee held on 3 March 2026.

Minute 52: Cranbrook Category 4 Infrastructure Contributions

That the ‘Mechanism for the allocation of category 4 infrastructure contributions’ included at appendix 1, together with the assessment criteria questions at paragraph 16 for use by the council in relation to category 4 infrastructure contributions received from developments in the Cranbrook Plan Area are adopted.

The Marlcombe new community was one of twelve locations shortlisted by the New Towns Taskforce in September 2025 and was the key strategic proposal in the Local Plan review. Despite not being selected as one of the seven high priority location in the current consultation on the New Towns Draft Programme, it was vital that this community was supported by all the requisite infrastructure and services that residents would need. The report put forward proposals to both strengthen governance arrangements and put in place dedicated delivery capacity with the objective of ensuring that an exemplar development comes forward that both learns the lessons from and was integrated with the wider growth programme.

The report set out a three-stage model for strengthening governance arrangements that would ultimately culminate in the establishment of a locally led development corporation. The first stage proposes both the creation of an Interim Growth Board, that would act in an advisory capacity with an independent chair, together with the establishment of a formal joint committee with the County Council.  Alongside this a shared delivery team would be formed including resources from both the County Council and Homes England.

The Director of Place made clear that despite not being identified as a priority location in the current national New Towns programme consultation, all was not lost. Marlcombe was a credible development opportunity and there had been productive conversations with MHLCG and that Homes England and the local team had continued to provide their strong support. Joe Wharton from Homes England congratulated the Portfolio Holder Place, Infrastructure & Strategic Planning and the Director of Place and his team for the credible proposal that had been submitted which Homes England would still be supporting. He reminded everyone that the consultation was not finished and encouraged people to respond.

RESOLVED that Cabinet;

1.     Supports the proposed governance structure and formation of the shared delivery team.

2.     Nominates the Portfolio Holder for Place, Infrastructure and Strategic Planning to be the Council’s representative on the Interim Growth Board.
 

3.     Nominates the Leader and the Portfolio Holder for Place, Infrastructure and

Strategic Planning to be the Council’s representatives on the Joint Committee.
 

4.     Delegates authority to the Director of Place in consultation with the Director of Governance and Portfolio Holders for Place, Infrastructure and Strategic Planning and Council, Corporate and External Engagement to finalise the terms of reference for the Interim Growth Board and Joint Committee.

5.     Delegates authority to the Director of Place in consultation with the Director of Governance and Portfolio Holders for Place, Infrastructure and Strategic Planning and Council, Corporate and External Engagement to recruit the Chair for the Interim Growth Board.

6.     Receives further reports regarding the

·       response to the New Towns Draft Programme consultation 

·       establishment of a locally led development corporation as key milestones are reached. 

REASON:

To ensure that effective governance and place leadership arrangements are in place to support the successful delivery of the Marlcombe new community and wider growth corridor.

The report requested delegated authority to award the Phear Park and The Green Car Park Resurfacing Works to a contractor after undertaking an open tender competition.

RESOLVED that Cabinet;

Grant delegated authority to the Director of Place in consultation with the Portfolio Holder Environment Operations and Portfolio Holder Finance to award the contract to the preferred supplier.

REASON:

To enable the Assistant Director to award the contract to the preferred supplier following completion of the open tender competition. The delegation would allow the contract to be entered without a further cabinet paper to ensure programme targets were met. 

EDDC had completed the updated Exmouth Town Centre and Seafront Placemaking Plan (EPP) and its accompanying Strategic Outline Business Case (SOBC) following extensive Member, stakeholder and public engagement. A six?week consultation in late 2025 generated strong support for practical improvements to the town centre, seafront and station gateway, with clear priorities emerging around wayfinding, public realm, accessibility and environmental sensitivity. Several earlier large?scale proposals were removed in response to public feedback.

The final EPP and SOBC presented a refined, deliverable and community?supported framework for guiding future investment in Exmouth. Key partners including the Placemaking in Exmouth Town and Seafront Group (PETS), Devon County Council and Exmouth Town Council had been asked to endorse the plan, a verbal update on this process would be provided at Cabinet. 

The Portfolio Holder Culture, Leisure, Sport and Tourism thanked Naomi Harnett for her hard work in getting the Plan to fruition.

RESOLVED that Cabinet;

Adopt the Exmouth Placemaking Plan and the Strategic Outline Business Case.

REASON:

The Exmouth Placemaking Plan was a strategic document that provided a framework for future placemaking interventions and had been subject to a thorough consultation process. With the EPP now completed, adoption was required to progress key projects in Exmouth town and seafront. 

EDDC had provided detailed input into the recently adopted Devon Local Nature Recovery Strategy (LNRS) process under the Environment Act 2021.  Devon County Council was the identified `Responsible Authority’ for developing this spatial nature recovery Strategy and all of Devon’s District Authorities were identified as `Supporting Authorities’ who would help with its implementation through their own Local Nature Recovery Plans. 

The draft East Devon Local Nature Recovery (LNR) Plan had identified local priorities and taken full account of the data and priorities within the Devon LNRS. The actions the EDDC would need to take would flow from the East Devon LNR Plan once finalised and also be guided by the Government’s Environmental Improvement Plan 2026 and Environment Act 2021 that targets and prioritises the most important and vulnerable habitats and species.

RESOLVED that Cabinet;

1.     Agree to the public consultation of the draft East Devon Local Nature Recovery Plan.

2.     Note and agree that the draft East Devon Local Nature Recovery Plan be published on the Council’s website to fulfil the Council’s statutory Biodiversity Reporting report duty for the period 1st September 2023 – 1st January 2026.

REASON:

This would enable EDDC to fulfil its role as a Supporting Authority as defined in the Environment Act 2021 and support the delivery of the Devon Local Nature Recovery Strategy. It would also enable EDDC to adopt a Local Nature Recovery Plan and Local Habitats Map that would target the improvement of the priority habitats and species identified within the Plan.

Permission was sought to apply to the National Lottery Heritage Fund for one of its Heritage Grants to support a project entitled Wild About Seaton.

Members thanked James Chubb and his team for producing a strong plan which included engagement with stakeholders. The project was positively received and would be a huge benefit to Seaton.

RESOLVED that Cabinet;

Approves the application for funding to National Heritage Lottery Fund for the Wild About Seaton Project.

REASON:

This gives EDDC the most efficient opportunity to fully fund the extension of Seaton Wetlands into newly acquired land; the creation of Sheeps Marsh intertidal scheme and the provision of access and interpretive infrastructure. To create a discovery trail around the town and provide marketing support to businesses within the town to benefit from this proven tourist driver. To work with the town’s museum to update its natural history collection and utilise their exhibits and information in interpretive work throughout the town.

The report requested delegated authority to award the Sidmouth Jacobs Ladder Platform, seawall and slipway repairs to a contractor on the Environment Agency AOMR Framework that EDDC had access to. 

RESOLVED that Cabinet;

Grant delegated authority to the Director of Place in consultation with the Portfolio

Holder Environment Operations and Portfolio Holder Finance to award the contract to the preferred supplier.

REASON:

To enable the Assistant Director to award the contract to the preferred supplier following completion of the tender exercise. The delegation would allow the contract to be entered without a further cabinet paper, to ensure programme targets were met.

The report outlined the discovered cliff works issue, the risk of prolonged path closure and sought approval to direct award a contract to complete the design and build to secure the cliff. 

RESOLVED that Cabinet;

1.     Note a standing orders exemption to appoint John Grimes Associates for the contract for investigation and design of cliff repairs at Connaught gardens.  Note a standing orders exemption to appoint a yet appointed contractor for the contract for delivering cliff repairs at Connaught gardens.

2.     Agree to delegate authority to the Director of Place in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Environment and Operations to award the contracts.

REASON:

Running a procurement would add an additional 2 -3 months before the path could be reopened which would be during the summer months. The risk of a failure would also remain until it could be fixed.

The report provided feedback on the outcome of the independent examination of the Woodbury Parish Neighbourhood Plan. The Examiner had found that with proposed modifications the Plan met the necessary ‘basic conditions’ and recommended to the Council that it could go forward to referendum. In accordance with the relevant legislation, the Council must now consider its response to the Examiner’s recommendations and satisfy itself that the Plan met the necessary ‘basic conditions’. 

RESOLVED that Cabinet;

1.     Agree to endorse the Examiner’s recommendations on the Woodbury Neighbourhood Plan. 

2.     Agree a ‘referendum version’ of the Plan be produced (incorporating the Examiner’s modifications with minor amendments for corrections where stated, as set out in Annex 1 of this report) and proceed to referendum, and that a decision notice to this effect be published. 

3.     Congratulate Woodbury Parish Council and the Neighbourhood Plan Steering Group on their hard work.

REASON:

The legislation required a decision notice to be produced at this stage in the process. The Plan was the product of significant local consultation and had been recommended to proceed to referendum by the Examiner subject to modifications which were accepted by the Parish Council.

EDDC’s communications approach was shaped by its statutory responsibilities to inform, consult, and engage with residents, partners, and businesses. The council must ensure that all publicity remains lawful, objective, cost-effective and politically neutral, while also providing transparent access to information that enables public understanding and scrutiny of local decision-making. Social media plays a central role in delivering timely, accessible communication, particularly during emergencies and supports the council’s duty to reach audiences “where they are.”

The Corporate Communications team continuously monitors platform performance and sector trends to ensure channels align with both audience needs and organisational requirements.

RESOLVED that Cabinet;

Notes the content of the report

REASON:

The report recommended maintaining the existing channel strategy, increasing investment in video capability and training, and continuing to monitor analytical data and industry developments, with bi-annual reporting to Cabinet.

Members noted the contents of the forward plan for key decisions for the period 1st March 2026 to 30th June 2026.

The Vice-Chair to move the following:

that under Section 100(A) (4) of the Local Government Act 1972 the public (including the press) be excluded from the meeting as exempt information, of the description set out in the agenda is likely to be disclosed and on balance the public interest is in discussing these items in private session (Part B).

RESOLVED that Cabinet:

That under Section 100(A) (4) of the Local Government Act 1972 the public (including the press) be excluded from the meeting as exempt information, of the description set page 7 Cabinet 29 October 2025 out on the agenda, is likely to be disclosed and on balance the public interest is in discussing this item in private session (Part B).

The recommendations as set out in the report were agreed.