Minutes:
The Leader provided the
following announcement:
‘I want to start by
welcoming Councillor Siggy Atherton to her first meeting this evening,
following her election at the end of March. Siggy has already made a huge
contribution to the people of Melton, through her work at the Storehouse and I
genuinely look forward to her contribution to the work of this Council,
particularly as we continue to develop support for people struggling through
the cost of living crisis.
As we all know, the price
cap for energy costs rose by 54% in April and with inflation at levels not seen
for years, we know people will be struggling.
Our teams have worked extremely hard to pull together a package of
support to help people in need and I am delighted that we were one of the first
councils in Leicestershire to make the £150 energy rebate payments, with
thousands of households already having received their funds and many more to
follow.
As well as welcoming new
colleagues, we must also say farewell to old ones. Following our motion of gratitude to former
Chief Constable Simon Cole at our last meeting, we were all devastated by the
tragic news of his untimely passing so soon after his retirement. Simon was a long-standing colleague and
friend. We often exchanged texts,
particularly about Leicester Tigers, Norwich City and
Nottingham Forest. He was passionate
about Leicester Tigers, youth rugby and Norwich City
and we enjoyed a Norwich City v Nottingham City match together. I worked closely with him for a number of years. He
was an outstanding public servant and leader and he
understood the vital partnership that needs to exist between the police and
local councils. As a council, we
continue to honour his memory and offer our sincere condolences to his family
and loved ones. An untimely death is
always a reminder of what really matters, as are the world events where
ordinary people suffer unspeakable horror in the face of war. Sadly, this is all too common and again our
thoughts turned to those in Ukraine who are facing appalling suffering right
now. As a council, we are working with
our county and district council colleagues to support the Homes for Ukraine
Scheme, undertaking property inspections for sponsor households
and supporting Ukrainian guests and sponsor households as they adapt to the
changing situation. We will continue to
do to do all we can to help those who are suffering in this terrible situation and I genuinely want to pay tribute to those
Members who helped raise over £4k through the recent Charity Race Night. Congratulations to those who organised the
event, to those who enjoyed the event and to those who could not attend but
found ways of giving.
In other news, the County
Council has now submitted their proposal for a level 2 county deal. As district leaders across Leicestershire, we
have made it clear that our preference would be for a superior level 3 deal
across the East Midlands. We await the
outcome of further discussions with government and I
look forward to meeting with our county colleagues and other district leaders
on this issue in May.
Earlier this month, we
received the excellent news that Melton will benefit from nearly £1.2m of UK
shared prosperity funding. This is money
we can use to help increase life chances and pride in our communities and I
look forward to exploring funding options with Members and our partners as we
build our 3 year investment plan over the coming
months. We will also consider
opportunities to fund joint initiatives with neighbouring councils and
particularly those who share our rural market town heritage like Harborough and
Rutland. Working closely with our all
neighbours is crucial to ensuring the East Leicestershire voice is heard and
that we are in the best possible position to submit a very strong joint
levelling up fund bid when the round 2 deadline closes in July.
This month also heralded
another significant milestone in the delivery of the Relief Road, with
demolition work beginning at Sysonby Farm on Nottingham
Road. The Road has been talked about for
generations and it was a delight to see the first steps to make it a
reality. The Melton Mowbray Distributor
Road (MMDR) represents a huge investment for the County Council
and I remain proud of the role this Council has played in supporting them and
ensuring it can be delivered. We will
continue to support the County Council over the coming months
and I look forward to the construction work starting in early 2023. As we know the MMDR will stimulate thousands
of new homes and jobs. I understand it
is thought it will create 6000 new jobs in this locality, which is significant
post Covid recovery and it demonstrates the increased
confidence in Melton. It was great to
see the launch of the stockyard at the Cattle Market recently. It was fantastic to see the new businesses
relocate into the site and establishing a new hub and brand for high quality
food and drink producers to become part of the rural capital of food. I look forward to many more joining them over
the months and years. As a footnote, the
County Council have agreed to serve the compulsory purchase orders in the north
and east and this will allow the archaeological digging to start
and this will be a very exciting time for Melton’.