Cabinet - Monday 9 February 2026, 7:00pm - Epping Forest District Council webcasts

Cabinet
Monday, 9th February 2026 at 7:00pm 

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  1. Cllr Chris Whitbread
  2. Cllr Raymond Balcombe
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  1. Cllr Roger Baldwin
  2. Cllr Chris Whitbread
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  1. Cllr Smruti Patel
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  1. Cllr Smruti Patel
  2. Cllr Jon Whitehouse
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  4. Cllr Chris Whitbread
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  6. Cllr Chris Whitbread
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  1. Cllr Smruti Patel
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  1. Cllr Holly Whitbread
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  5. Cllr Holly Whitbread
  6. Cllr Chris Whitbread
  7. Cllr Martin Morris
  8. Cllr Chris Whitbread
  9. Cllr Martin Morris
  10. Owen Sparks
  11. Cllr Chris Whitbread
  12. Cllr Jon Whitehouse
  13. Owen Sparks
  14. Cllr Holly Whitbread
  15. Cllr Graham Wiskin
  16. Owen Sparks
  17. Cllr Graham Wiskin
  18. Owen Sparks
  19. Cllr Graham Wiskin
  20. Owen Sparks
  21. Cllr Chris Whitbread
  22. Barbara Beardwell
  23. Cllr Chris Whitbread
  24. Cllr Holly Whitbread
  25. Cllr Ken Williamson
  26. Cllr Chris Whitbread
  27. Webcast Finished

Cllr Chris Whitbread - 0:00:00
Cllr Raymond Balcombe - 0:00:00
webcasting introduction to start with, I'd like to remind everyone that this

1 Webcasting Introduction

meeting will be filmed live or recorded and uploaded to the internet and will be
capable of repeated viewing. Therefore by participating in this meeting you are
consenting to being filmed and to the possible use of those images and sound
recordings. If any public speakers on MS Teams do not wish to have their image
captured they should ensure that their video settings throughout the meeting are
turned off and set to audio only.
Members, I don't need to remind you when you're speaking,
turn your microphone on and when you're finished,
turn it off.
Apologies for absence.
None, Chairman.
Thank you.
Declarations of interest.
Now, members, as we go forward this evening,

2 Apologies for Absence

3 Declarations of Interest

I will just say that I intend to take the yellow paper
or the supplementary item under any other business.
so I will take that before we move into private session.
Just want to make you aware of that before we get started.
So, minutes of the last meeting.

4 Minutes

Can I take those as being accurate and agreed?
Thank you.

5 Reports of Portfolio Holders

Are there any additional reports of portfolio holders?
No? Okay.
Public questions or requests to address the Cabinet,

6 Public Questions and Requests to Address the Cabinet

I believe there are none.
No, no there aren't.
Thank you.
Report of overview and scrutiny.

7 Overview and Scrutiny

Councillor Baldwin.
Thank you, thank you, Chairman.
Cllr Roger Baldwin - 0:01:35
So at our last meeting, which was last Tuesday,
the overview and scrutiny committee reviewed the organisational performance of the council.
Fly tipping was raised as a major concern across the district
While we are aware this is a national issue, this will be considered at the place committee,
which meets on the 17th of March.
We also noted the success of Epping Leisure Centre.
Additionally, we reviewed the quarter three budget monitoring reports before the scrutiny
of the medium -term financial plan and budget setting, which I know we're also looking at
this evening.
The committee recognised the new parameters of government funding and the financial pressure
on the Council, and we've had strong support for the Citizens' Advice Bureau and for the
community value of voluntary action at Epping Forest.
We also welcome the verbal assurance from the leader that VAF would receive the £30 ,000
in funding this year, along with a new robust service level agreement.
I think we will scrutinise VAF in the future.
We hope to invite VAF to a scrutiny meeting.
The committee supported the medium term financial plan and the budget setting.
As I said, further discussed this evening.
Our next meeting on the 14th of April will be the last in this civic year.
That is always a bit of a highlight because we welcome the Youth Council to that meeting.
So, I certainly encourage all members to attend.
Thank you very much, Councillor Baldwin.
Any comments on Councillor Baldwin's report?
Cllr Chris Whitbread - 0:03:38
We're covering it all again later on, but thank you very much.
Thank you.
Okay, moving on from there.
In that case, we've got a series of key decisions
around housing.

8 Housing Tenancy Succession and Assignment Policy 2025/26 to 2029/30

These have all been to the scrutiny relevant select panel,
but I'll ask council Patel to introduce them one by one.
So number eight, item eight is the housing tendency
succession and assignment policy.
Council Patel.
Thank you, chair.
Cllr Smruti Patel - 0:04:03
So ideally, I mean, like you've said,
these have all gone through scrutiny
and we've had really great feedback
from the overview and scrutiny committee on these. We've got three recommendations in
front of us. Ideally what we're asking for is the discretionary part of the succession
tenancy to not become an obligation for us to do, but we will still be applying some
kind of discretion because what we want to avoid is homelessness, et cetera. If those
key issues are in play, then we will carry on and make those discretionary decisions
based on case -by -case basis so that the report was in front of you so yeah any
Cllr Chris Whitbread - 0:04:46
questions thank you thank you members any questions on item 8 at all I know
you've all had opportunities to go through this and the select panels
looked at it very closely if not can I take the recommendations as agreed item

9 Council Housing Development Programme - Annual Update

9 council housing development programme and you update council Patel Thank You
Cllr Smruti Patel - 0:05:04
chairman again and these are an annual updates that we were promised that we're
provide the cabinet and they're kind of well on the wayside and we want to make sure that
it keeps back into the schedule and we're going to provide its annual updates. There
are some key sites as you'll see that have been identified whether it's garage sites,
section 106 sites, self -build we've included in there. There are also some where we've
got the garage sites that we might produce specialist living arrangements for disability
purposes as well so yep there's plenty on there for everyone to ponder on so
any questions we'll take them thank you thank you members again same situation
as before if I see no one's to speak on it we'll agree those recommendations
thank you item 10 counts oh sorry Casa White House
Thank You chairman apologies coming a bit late in interest transparency I
Cllr Jon Whitehouse - 0:05:58
should mention that I'm a garage tenant they're not of any of the sites in the
I did want to just ask, the report does talk about the challenges in building our homes
on Goai sites and I just wanted to cheque to an extent the Council's looked at what might
become an alternative of buying pre -built houses or buying bulk buying houses in advance.
Obviously there's an increasing number of large sites that are either in the
planning process or will come through the planning process on allocated sites and
you know what's the cost effectiveness of acquiring housing that way as opposed
Cllr Smruti Patel - 0:06:50
to building it. It's definitely cost effective to buy those pre -built
fabricated houses as opposed to building them ourselves because in the past when
we've tried to build them we've had contamination and all of those issues
coming through with the garage sites as well.
So I mean, just to put the pipeline update
that you've got in front of you,
the yellow highlights are the ones
that we're looking at the garage sites at the moment,
which we're hoping to bring in some projects,
whether it's the prisoner build ones,
or whether it's we convert them
to the disability access ones.
But yeah, definitely more economical,
but if you want exact figures, we can get them to you.
Yeah, thank you.
Council Whitehouse has got our assurance
Cllr Chris Whitbread - 0:07:26
that we do look at all different ways
of procuring council housing.
And if you think just recently we've delivered 20 homes
in Wolfram Abbey built by Qualis,
which are all new council houses,
which people are now taking up occupation of,
which should be welcomed, Councillor Patel.
Yeah, I mean, this coast is very coincidental.
Cllr Smruti Patel - 0:07:46
We're part of my feed when I feed with the homeless shelters
when I do our deliveries is Eton Feed One Club that I run.
and I coincidentally had a resident who was actually leaving Norway House and so excited going,
and also sad, I can't accept your food today because I'm supposed to be moving out,
but she was so excited that she was moving to our Waltham Abbey sites
and, you know, absolutely happy that the house, what we've provided is really good condition and great facilities.
So it's nice to see that first -hand experience from the residents and feedback from them as well.
So yeah, she was more than happy to come on camera next time I visit her on site as well.
That's brilliant, well done.
Thank you.
Cllr Chris Whitbread - 0:08:28
Okay, so members, any other questions
on that particular one
or can we just agree to recommendation?
Agreed?
Thank you.
If we then move on to item 10,

10 Council Housing Development - Accessible Homes

which is council housing development accessible homes.
Council Patel.
Cllr Smruti Patel - 0:08:44
Well, this is another brilliant example
in terms of what we're doing with our garage site.
So we are bringing in the M4 development,
which we are definitely not equipped for.
So what we're doing is coming up,
coming in with a partner.
I'm trying to think of the name now.
It's gone up my head, literally lost it.
Okay, so I think it's Habitec, Habintec.
And basically they will be building the M4 category
of housing for us, which is gonna be brilliant
because we don't have the capability.
And that's, you know, another ideal one
for Councillor Whitehouse's in terms of looking
into how we do it as well.
I'm attending a webinar on the 27th of February
to see about how they plan to deliver, et cetera,
so I can bring more information in.
Good, thank you.
Members, any questions?
Cllr Chris Whitbread - 0:09:32
Therefore, in that case,
can I please agree those recommendations?
Thank you.
We then move on to item 11,
which is the scene setter for the budget,
the quarter free budget monitoring report,

11 Quarter 3 Budget Monitoring Report 2025-26

Councillor Hollywood bread Thank You chairman and I know there was an
Cllr Holly Whitbread - 0:09:55
extensive debate at scrutiny last week and thank you for presenting that report
for me and to the officers for their support on that report as well and I did
watch back the debate and apologies that I wasn't in attendance and since that
debate there is one update to add on our settlement for this financial year and
next financial year castle brother fee might want to bring that onto the next
item which is the full budget. Oh okay. Apologies. Should I just take these two together? Is
that... You can. Before we do that in that case, Members I was going to say under any
Cllr Chris Whitbread - 0:10:29
other business I apologise for the late papers that you've received for the budget but obviously
they have only just been completed and of course once it's been heard here this evening
it will be referred up to Council for that final decision. Councillor Whitbread continue.
Thank you. So I will take these together. So the first paper is the medium -term financial
Cllr Holly Whitbread - 0:10:52
plan, and that sets out the similar storey that we have seen both in Overview and Scrutiny
the other evening and across the budget papers that we have seen and really sets the foundations
for the budget we are about to set and shape for next year. We have seen a number of pressures
across the financial year, particularly in relation to homelessness and temporary accommodation,
that being an increased theme and some of the pressures we've seen around there.
There's been under spends in certain areas notably ICT and but we continue to
see pressures which have been a theme for some time but we end the year in a
relatively strong position with a balanced budget and the 3 .4 million
pound budget gap filled. Thank you and I will move on to the budget. Sorry council member. If we can just
agreed recommendations with regards to quarter three. It is a bit retrospective now, but
Cllr Chris Whitbread - 0:11:44
can we agree those recommendations first of all? And now we will move on to the budget.
Thank you. Apologies for that. For some reason I hadn't received the supplementary paper,
Cllr Holly Whitbread - 0:11:57
so I do apologise about that. The budget for this year, so as I said, there was an extensive
debate in overview and scrutiny last week, which looked at the budget as is. And we are
now in a relatively strong position and we will be looking at a balanced budget for the
next financial year with that 2 .98 increase in council tax proposed. The update I was
going to give is in relation to the government settlement. We have had some bad news in relation
to the government settlement fresh in today that we are looking at basically they've changed
the way they split the business rates and we're going to have a greater pressure for
the business rates with more of the business rates going to the upper tier authorities.
So for this year the government are given a grant to cover that, however next year we
will have to find another £600 ,000 which will obviously bring our budget gap up significantly
to around £1 .5 million, it's currently at just over £800 ,000. So that will lead to
more challenges next year, but as I said, that grant for this year will still mean that
we have a balanced budget, but the government's settlement not quite as rosy as we thought
when we looked at the report in scrutiny.
The subject of much of the debate at the overview and scrutiny meeting was the Voluntary Action
Epping Forest Grant, and following that debate, I believe that the decision, and obviously
for cabinet to discuss, is that we will award the £30 ,000 grant this year, but that's subject
to an SLA and VAEF coming to scrutiny to make sure that we are getting value as a Council
for that grant. I think a really important thing to also note is that we will be giving
Citizens Advice Bureau a grant for three consecutive years. We see, particularly with some of our
pressures around temporary accommodation and homelessness, the work that the CAB do is
both quantifiable and really important in supporting the most vulnerable residents within
our community and to be able to give them the three year grant gives them that certainty
particularly in light of local government reorganisation and also the reorganisation
of CAB locally as well.
So to look at the report we're looking at a balanced budget, a 2 .99 % increase. We still
have the lowest council tax in Essex, I believe,
a record that we continue to be proud of.
As I said, I know members have looked at the report
in detail just last week,
so I won't go through every aspect of it
and look forward to presenting it in full at full council.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Cllr Chris Whitbread - 0:14:43
Members, we had a good evening overview
and scrutiny discussing it.
Obviously the settlement figures this evening
are very disappointing for us as a district council.
I know the upper tiers will have benefited slightly from it,
but to be honest with you, it is a real blow for us
over the medium term.
It will make things a lot tougher as we move forward
and makes this year's budget even more important
than previously.
The increase in the council tax by 2 .99 %
is a sensible step bearing in mind where we are
and is the best choice we can make
for the residents of Epping Forest
and making sure that they're secure for the future.
Members, any questions?
I did have just one question.
Cllr Martin Morris - 0:15:27
We got the papers late, so I'm not sure if I have got the right version here.
On page 39 of the report, the VAF budget hasn't changed.
It is still showing as a saving in the general fund.
I just wondered if that was...
Would you like Mr Sparks to answer?
Cllr Chris Whitbread - 0:15:48
I don't know if I have got the wrong version of the paper here.
Cllr Martin Morris - 0:15:51
No, that's just timing between obviously the meeting we had last week and then getting
Owen Sparks - 0:15:55
the papers published but will be updated for the council version. Obviously that's to be
discussed but we'll make those changes for that version.
Thank you. Well spotted.
Councillor Whitehouse.
Cllr Chris Whitbread - 0:16:05
Yeah, I'll be brief because you said we discussed it over -inclusion and we'll discuss it again
Cllr Jon Whitehouse - 0:16:11
at council. Obviously pleased that we have now got the VAF budget in there. Still a bit
concern that we're using the garden waste charge to generate income rather than just
pay for the service. But I just wanted to ask about the – there's a mention here of
there being provisions to add at the end of the year, which aren't sort of quantified,
and obviously they presumably will have an impact on the medium -term financial strategy.
And I just wondered at what stage we'll know what the size of those provisions will be.
What page is that on, Councillor? I think it's probably to do with, we're looking
Owen Sparks - 0:17:04
at provisions which look at the year end, really around bad debt, NNGR appeals, it's
those areas so obviously we've got a an NNGR revaluation issue as well so we're
looking at what that appeals provisions gonna look like and it's not gonna have
to increase it that's the bad debt and for NNGR appeals as well. Thank you.
Councillor Whitbread. Thank you and on the garden waste charge it is worth
Cllr Holly Whitbread - 0:17:29
noting that we are the last council in Essex to do this and we've done
everything we can to avoid it and of course the Liberal Democrat Council's
introduced it some time ago. Thank you. Thank you.
Councillor Whiskin. Thank you Chairman I've got three questions I hope you'll
Cllr Graham Wiskin - 0:17:41
bear with me and probably CFO will field them. Firstly on the executive summary it
says there's a surplus of 0 .12 million pounds before the use of reserves maybe
fill a gap in migrants. What would be the figure after the use of reserves?
Owen Sparks - 0:18:06
Mr Sparks. So that is saying we won't need to use reserves
at the moment, obviously it can move between year end, so this is that flexibility. Any
over -under spend will go to reserves or come from reserves for the position.
Cllr Graham Wiskin - 0:18:19
Secondly, again this is for reassurance after the ONS meeting last week, I'm not sure
which figure is correct on page 35 it says that for car parking the surplus
was 250 ,000 on a page 37 it said it was 370 ,000 whichever is right and given
that it's a surplus can we have assurance again that car parking charges
will not be going up in future as I believe
Councillor Whitburn senior said at the ONS meeting. So there's no additional
Owen Sparks - 0:18:54
increasing car park charges as part of this budget.
Cllr Graham Wiskin - 0:19:01
My third one is slightly more thorny. It's regarding legal costs. I may have missed them,
but I believe at previous meetings I asked about where legal costs would be accrued and
I was assured, this is obviously for the defence of the Bell Motel injunction, I was assured
that it was being taken from reserves. The figure which was mentioned on the leaked report
to the BBC on 7 December 2025 was in excess of £250 ,000. My question really is that I
am assuming that the lawyers would have rendered their bills by now, so the question is, one,
where are they? And if so, is the £250 ,000 mentioned in future use of reserves for next
year in the medium -term financial plan? Is that in anticipation of future legal costs?
Owen Sparks - 0:20:03
So that is just a potential allocation of future legal costs. Obviously it's determined
on the outcome of legal proceedings and what occurs, but that is an earmark that potentially
we may need additional reserves to pay for the costs,
but it all depends on the outcome of proceedings
in the leave to appeal and the ongoing situation basically.
Yeah, I think it may well be worth saying as well,
Cllr Chris Whitbread - 0:20:32
that BBC report was very early on and took into account
very early indicative figures.
So that was not a correct sum
and some will be in excess of that figure.
And that will come through properly
through the council's reporting process at the relevant time
but it was more than the figure that the BBC have quoted.
I think it's important to say that now and say it clearly.
But we still have got the appeal in process
for the Bell Hotel for the injunction.
And that will be heard probably in the spring at some point.
Barbara, did you want to?
Barbara Beardwell - 0:21:15
Yes, Members, the dating the diary for the Court of Appeal, it's the 5th of March, but
it's for the Court of Appeal to determine whether or not the council Epping has permission
to appeal the judgement of the High Court to the Court of Appeal. So that's purely a,
well it's a permission hearing, they'll decide whether or not we get permission. If the council
doesn't get permission that will almost certainly be the end of the matter if it
does then there could be further costs incurred in the Corvapill.
Cllr Chris Whitbread - 0:21:51
Okay Councillor Hollywoodbridge anything to add? I'm nothing to add at this stage
Cllr Holly Whitbread - 0:21:55
thank you. Thank you. Councillor Williamson. Yeah thank you chair just going back on
Cllr Ken Williamson - 0:21:59
the car parking increases the question was car parking increases in the future
I just want to make it clear that there's none in this year next year's
budget but thereafter who knows yeah yeah we only do one budget at a time okay
Cllr Chris Whitbread - 0:22:15
members any other questions at all I want to make sure everyone's had a full
opportunity to have their say which I'm sure they did the other evening in that
case can I take the recommendations as set out within the paper and we'll move
this up to full council is that agreed thank you very much we then need to go
into private session. So if I read the following paper, following item, to
consider whether under section 100 in brackets A in brackets 4 of the Local
Government Act 1972 the public and press should be excluded from the meeting for
the items of business set out below on grounds that they will involve the
likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in the following paragraphs
in brackets of part one of schedule 12a of the act as amended or are confidential under section 100
in brackets a in brackets two these are items 14 and 15 and are the tvs quarter three position
and the quality and quality group quarter free financial position as well if we can end
Can we take that as being agreed?
Thank you
Cllr Raymond Balcombe
District councillor for Rural East ward
Conservative Party
View profile Cllr Raymond Balcombe
Cllr Roger Baldwin
District councillor for Loughton Forest ward
Loughton Residents Association
View profile Cllr Roger Baldwin
Barbara Beardwell
Monitoring Officer & Strategic Legal Advisor
Epping Forest District Council
View profile Barbara Beardwell
Cllr Martin Morris
District councillor for Waltham Abbey North ward
Labour Party
View profile Cllr Martin Morris
Cllr Smruti Patel
District councillor for Buckhurst Hill West ward
Conservative Party
View profile Cllr Smruti Patel
Owen Sparks
Interim Strategic Director / S151 Officer
Epping Forest District Council
View profile Owen Sparks
Cllr Chris Whitbread
District councillor for Roydon and Lower Nazeing ward
Conservative Party
View profile Cllr Chris Whitbread
Cllr Holly Whitbread
District councillor for Epping West and Rural ward
Conservative Party
View profile Cllr Holly Whitbread
Cllr Jon Whitehouse
District councillor for Epping East ward
Liberal Democrats
View profile Cllr Jon Whitehouse
Cllr Ken Williamson
District councillor for Buckhurst Hill West ward
Conservative Party
View profile Cllr Ken Williamson
Cllr Graham Wiskin
District councillor for Loughton St John's ward
Loughton Residents Association
View profile Cllr Graham Wiskin