Agenda and draft minutes

The minutes of the previous meeting held on 2 October 2025 were agreed and signed as a true record.

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

There were no declarations of interest.

Information on public speaking is available online

No members of the public had registered to speak.

Information on matters of urgency is available online

There were no matters of urgency.

To agree any items to be dealt with after the public (including the press) have been excluded. Thereare no itemswhich officersrecommendshould be dealtwithin thisway.

There were no confidential or exempt items.

There is one item identified, which will be dealt with at agenda item 8: Cabinet Decision 3 December 2025: In perpetuity funding for management of Clyst Meadows SANG – Minute 118.

There was one item to consider which was dealt with at minute 35.

In accordance with the Council’s Constitution, a valid call-in request had been received in respect of a Cabinet decision taken on 3 December 2025: In perpetuity funding for the management of Clyst Meadows SANG.

On 3 December 2025 it was resolved that Cabinet:

1.     Approves the creation of an investment fund of £1.1m, funding from CIL, to secure the in perpetuity funding for the management of Clyst Meadows.

2.     Delegates the authority to the Assistant Director Planning Strategy and Development Management, Finance Director, Place Director and Director of Governance, in consultation with the relevant Portfolio Holders, to set up and arrange for the management of this fund.

A call-in request was received on 9 December 2025, signed by five Councillors, including the Chair of the Scrutiny Committee, Cllr Mike Goodman, and Cllrs Ian Barlow, Colin Brown, Brian Bailey and Aurora Bailey.

The call-in was requested on the following grounds:

·        The Cabinet debate was split, with two members voting for and two against the proposal, and the Chair using a casting vote to approve the decision.

·        Concerns were raised that spending this money does not represent good value for EDDC.

·        The item was initially considered by the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) working group, where a request for £2m was rejected.  The revised request of £1.1m is still considered an expensive way to use capital sums to finance a park.

·        There are other more urgent infrastructure projects that could benefit from this funding.

The Green Infrastructure Project Manager, Paul Osborne, provided a brief summary of the costs of maintaining the SANG in perpetuity and the investment options available. There was concern that there may not be sufficient CIL monies available to meet future costs and Officers had therefore recommended the approach as set out in the report to Cabinet on 3 December 2025. The recommended fund, CCLA Investment Management, was used by 245 local authorities nationally and had a fund value of approximately £1bn.

It was noted that further infrastructure projects, funded by CIL monies and including SANG delivery, would be brought forward and a Strategic SANG Delivery Strategy 2026 – 2040 was in course of preparation jointly with Teignbridge District Council and Exeter City Council. A report would be brought to the Overview Committee and the Strategic Planning Committee in the spring. Currently £2.1m CIL remained unallocated, which would be reduced to £1m should the Cabinet decision stand.

Officers’ recommendation remained that the in perpetuity funding remained the best option, carrying the lowest risk for the Council.

The Chair briefly outlined the previous decisions made by Cabinet and the CIL working group with respect to this matter.

Discussion, questions and Councillors’ views expressed included the following points:

·        It was vital to guarantee funding for the SANG for 80 years and to ensure that Natural England procedures are followed;

·        A reduction in development would see a corresponding reduction in CIL receipts;

·        The proposed investment of £1.1m could be better spent on more important infrastructure and the costs of maintaining the SANG could  ...  view the full minutes text for item 35.