Agenda and minutes

None.

To confirm the minutes of the previous meeting held on 6 January 2026.

RESOLVED – that the minutes of the previous meeting held on 6 January 2026 be confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

To receive a verbal update from the Leader of the Council.

Given the lengthy agenda for this meeting, the Leader hoped there would be some healthy debate since the agenda showed that Telford and Wrekin was an ambitious Council that was focused on delivering for its residents.

Whether it be the Telford Land Deal or the Housing Investment Programme to show that the Council was investing in good jobs, new homes, thriving local centres, that it continued to strengthen as a Council after 14 years of cuts from the previous Conservative government.

The Council had a government that was backing it now but the corporate peer challenge showed that the Council was willing to listen, that it invite scrutiny, that it wanted to learn, that it wanted to improve but, above all else, continued to be a first-class Council that was delivering first-class services for its residents.

The agenda included the Shropshire Hills National Landscape Plan and local nature reserves that reiterated a simple truth that was often forgotten that protection of the natural environment in Telford and Wrekin was also a priority for the Council.

To receive the Medium Term Financial Strategy 2026/27 – 2029/30.

The Cabinet Member for Finance, Governance and Customer Services presented the report of the Director for Finance, People and IDT, which sought the Council’s approval of its Medium-Term Financial Strategy (MTFS) for the four years 2026/27 to 2029/30.

This overview report, together with the following linked reports on the agenda for this meeting, formed the Council’s overall Medium-Term Financial Strategy for the next four years and the budget framework for 2026/27:

·         The Capital Strategy

·         The Medium-Term Capital Programme

·         The Investment Strategy

·         The Treasury Management Strategy

·         The Prudential Indicators

The report also built upon the MTFS report considered at Cabinet on 6 January 2026, which had been subject to public consultation and scrutiny by members of the Council’s cross-party Business and Finance Scrutiny Committee since that date. The January report was itself an update of the Council’s four-year MTFS approved at full Council on 27 February 2025, and this report remained consistent both with that strategy and the approach to prudent and successful financial management exercised by the Council for many years throughout an unprecedented and protracted period of severe financial constraint.

Councillor Hannington said she was presenting a MTFS with a clear, honest, fully compromised and practical approach, which chose stability and responsibility and by making difficult decisions early rather than waiting for crisis to dictate its actions. 

The Council had delivered £195m of ongoing savings since 2009, and yet, demand for the Council’s most essential services in adult social care and children's safeguarding, continued to rise sharply.  Seventy pence of every pound the Council spent now went into social care as it refused to abandon vulnerable residents simply because demand was hard to meet. 

This budget put people first and did so with clarity and conviction with £15.8m additional investments being put into adult social care and £2.7m more for children’s safeguarding.  These two services were not optional nor negotiable or something the Council could scale back and would fund these properly.

The Council continued to keep Council Tax as low as possible and, despite the proposed increase of £1.20 per week for a Band B property, Telford and Wrekin remained the lowest Council Tax authority in the Midlands for the services it provided, which was an achievement no other authority in this region could match.  Crucially, every penny of that increase went towards social care. 

The Council’s £437m Capital Programme was proof of that ambition and it was building more homes for local families through Nuplace and Telford and Wrekin homes, better roads and safer highways, new school places, which included vital CEN provision, regeneration in Station Quarter, Oakengates and Wellington, improved leisure facilities, new green infrastructure and climate-focused investment.

Investment was not a luxury but was the foundation of a strong local economy and thriving communities, and the Council would not step back from it.  The Cabinet Member made it clear that savings were not easy, but through consultation it had collaborated with Town and Parish Councils and worked with the voluntary sector in order to  ...  view the full minutes text for item CAB-47

To receive the 2025/26 Financial Monitoring Report.

The Cabinet Member for Finance, Governance and Customer Services presented the report of the Director for Finance, People and IDT, which provided Cabinet with the latest financial monitoring position for the year in relation to the Revenue Budget, Capital Programme and income collection.

Councillor Hannington said that despite one of the most challenging national financial environments Councils had faced in over a decade, the Council’s position this year was remarkably strong.  Through disciplined in-year financial management and decisive early action, the Council was projecting to deliver a balanced out-turn for 2025/26, which was a significant achievement when many authorities across the country were reporting severe financial distress.

The Council’s planned budgeted contingencies, both for general pressures and those specifically ringfenced for social care, had been used exactly as intended and had absorbed the pressures experienced without drawing on reserves. As a result, the Council’s budget strategy reserve of £21.7m and general balances of £4.1m remained completely untouched, which demonstrated genuine financial resilience and gave the Council stability heading into next year.

Adult social care continued to face high national demand and cost pressures, but the Council’s approach was working.  It had delivered almost £5m in-year savings and cost avoidance and, importantly, the rate of growth in long-term care demand had begun to slow.  The Council’s home first and prevention focused strategies were not only improving outcomes for residents but also helping to stabilise expenditure.

The Council’s £124m Capital Programme for 2025/26 was progressing well with major regeneration, education and infrastructure schemes advancing and projected to complete on budget.  Capital receipts were on target and the Council’s investment programme continued to deliver visible improvements across the borough.  The Council had again demonstrated the strength of its overall financial governance, a consistent record of balanced outturns and unqualified audit opinions.

The Council’s 2024/25 accounts had been signed off on 10 February 2026 with an unqualified audit opinion ahead of the backstop deadline of 27 February.

A positive, multi-year funding settlement had been secured that increased the Council’s spending power by 8.8 % next year.

The Cabinet Member thanked the whole team for its outstanding work. The positive feedback from KPMG and the Audit Committee was a real testament to the team’s dedication, professionalism and excellence. In summary, this report showed a Council that was financially stable, well managed and proactively addressed pressures whilst protecting frontline services. It reflected the hard work of teams across the organisation, and it positioned the Council strongly for the year ahead.

The Leader of the Liberal Democrat Group said it was not every local authority that got their accounts out as quickly as Telford and Wrekin did, and he congratulated the team for doing so.  Also, to get an unqualified audit report, which meant the figures that had been presented were accurate for the accounts for the previous financial year and were sound meant that the Council was considered to deliver value for money services. He was pleased that this Council took governance, the accounts and audits  ...  view the full minutes text for item CAB-48

To receive details of the Corporate Peer Challenge 2025.

The Leader of the Council presented the report of the Executive Director for Place, which set out the findings of the Peer Review Team (the Team) and highlighted areas of best practice and recommendations for consideration by the Council.

As part of a commitment to continuous improvement, which ensured that services were, and the organisation as a whole was as efficient and effective as it could be to take forward delivery of the Council’s strategic priorities, in October 2025, the Local Government Association (LGA) undertook a Corporate Peer Challenge of the Council, at the request of the Leader and the Chief Executive, to explore how effectively resources were prioritised and used to deliver the Council’s vision “to protect, care and invest to create a better borough”.

Councillor Carter said it was the first time that he had been part of this process and despite having been a little unsure as to what to expect, it was pleasing to present the outcome of that corporate peer challenge.

It was an important external check that helped ensure the Council remained a high performing, well-run Council and that it did not stop driving delivery of good services for its residents, which was its focus.  As part of the Council’s commitment to that continuous improvement, he and the Chief Executive invited the LGA to undertake the peer challenge, since its last review in 2021.

It was considered good practice to have a peer challenge every five years and the Council wanted to do that early, particularly since a change in leadership of the Administration 12 months ago, it was important to have that external view and to understand quickly where the Council could strengthen further.

In October 2025, the Team, made up of cross-party Councillors and Council officers from across the country, met 120 people through interviews and focus groups, which included external partners. The aim was to understand how the Council used its resources to deliver its priorities, and the Team had produced a report of its findings, which identified the Council as having strong leadership and a culture that was working effectively to deliver its vision to protect, care and invest to create a better borough.  It commented that Telford and Wrekin was a confident and high-performing Council with a strong track record of delivery, civic pride and innovation.  The Team praised the quality of the leadership, the workforce, financial management, economic development, social care and its focus on brilliant basics. Fundamentally, it endorsed the way the Council managed its budget, made evidence-led decisions and delivered for its communities.

To support the Council in its desire for continuous improvement and to maintain its strong track record in delivery, the Team had identified eight recommendations to be considered in taking the Council forward. It was positive that these recommendations built on commitments that the Council had already made and provided assurance that the Council was delivering in the right areas.

The recommendations provided an opportunity to review and refine existing activity, to ensure  ...  view the full minutes text for item CAB-49

To receive an update on the Telford Land Deal.

The Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Highways, Housing and Enforcement, presented a report by the Director for Prosperity and Investment, which set out the achievements of the Telford Land Deal, which, with support from the Council’s Growth Fund and the Invest Telford business pledge, had delivered new and higher skilled local jobs, created growth and security in the local supply chain alongside new homes and had been central to the Council’s Strategy to Protect, Care and Invest into Creating a Better Borough.

Councillor Overton said that he was presenting an update of the Telford Land Deal, an important and successful decision that the Council made, which was a clear strategic choice by the Council to work with Homes England to use public land more intelligently, to unlock homes, jobs and regeneration, while ensuring the benefits were reinvested here for the borough’s residents.

When the deal was agreed, many sites were difficult, stalled or long-term brownfield land and left alone, they would have continued to deliver nothing for local communities. By working in partnership, the Council de-risked sites, accelerated delivery, retained strong local influence over outcomes and reinvested receipts directly back into the borough. Through the land deal, the Council had created 2,493 jobs and 1,583 new homes had been delivered or were in delivery, which included 684 affordable homes. Over 209,000 square metres of new employment floor space had been brought forward.  Also, more than 125 acres of brownfield land had been regenerated and over £500m of private sector investment had been leveraged into Telford and Wrekin.

The deal had also delivered strong financial returns with £15.7m retained by the Council. New homes delivered to the deal generated around £2.6m each year in additional Council Tax. This income strengthened the Council’s financial position and helped protect the front-line services residents relied upon, which included care and community services. 

He remained clear this was exactly what the deal was set up to achieve by tackling difficult sites head on and creating high quality homes and communities for local people. The land deal demonstrated the Council’s values in action, protected public finances by making best use of public land, protected communities by prioritising brownfield regeneration, and protected essential services by generating sustainable income. It showed care through affordable homes and community facilities, and it invested in jobs, skills, and long-term growth.

The deal had delivered real social value, supported local businesses and supply chains, apprenticeships and skills, community organisations, green spaces and increased biodiversity, alongside renewed confidence and pride in the borough’s neighbourhoods. The current land deal was always time limited and was now approaching the end of that term. This was not an end point, but a transition.

Building on a decade of delivery, the Council was engaging with Homes England on future arrangements to ensure the model continued to maximise value for residents. The Council would approach the next stage in a position of strength, with a proven track record, clear values and a stronger understanding of what delivered  ...  view the full minutes text for item CAB-50

To receive an update on the Housing Investment Programme & Business Plan.

The Cabinet Members for Neighbourhoods, Planning and Sustainability; and Highways, Housing and Enforcement (Deputy Leader) presented a report by the Director for Prosperity and Investment, which presented for consideration and approval a new Business Plan for the Housing Investment Programme, which included a series of pipeline schemes for investment.

Councillor Overton said that he wanted to present, in particular, the work of Nuplace and Telford and Wrekin Homes because this programme showed how housing policy could deliver high quality housing alongside social value, regeneration and long-term financial responsibility at the same time.

This was an overarching joined-up approach, and a decision to build refurbished homes for the Council's own housing company was deliberate since it allowed it to build on brownfield land rather than greenfield, to raise standards in the private rented sector, to provide good quality homes with security of tenure, and to generate long-term income that helped protect vital Council services. By entering the private rented market, the Council was not competing to the bottom but was setting the standard.

This programme played a direct role in tackling rogue and irresponsible landlords by offering tenants a genuine alternative, well-built new and refurbished home. Professional management and stability in doing so helped drive up expectations across the whole market and supported the Council’s wider enforcement work. The Housing Investment Programme had delivered hundreds of new homes and by emptying redundant properties back into the use through Telford Wrekin Homes, the Council generated burn-through sites and delivered accessible and adaptable homes that supported independence and care needs. It had also created jobs, apprenticeships and a strong Council asset base that generated not just income year after year, but also capital growth.

This programme was a clear example of values in action. It protected residents by raising standards and tackling poor quality housing. It protected neighbourhoods by regenerating eclectic sites, and it protected Council finances by building a growing asset base that supported frontline services. It also showed the Council cared, provided secure homes where people could put their roots, support older residents, families and vulnerable people, and link housing with health, well-being and independence. It was also about investing in the Brownfield land, in high quality homes that lasted, and in a model that paid back into the Council, in order that it could continue to deliver its services that residents relied upon, such as  adult social care packages and children's care placements, but also supporting the Council to make sure it continued to collect green waste for free or free parking in the borough’s towns.

Feedback from residents moving into these homes demonstrated that they felt secure for the first time in years, families were benefiting from better quality homes, and residents no longer worried about short-term lets or poor conditions. These lived experiences showed why this programme mattered and looking ahead, the future of the Housing Investment Programme was clear. The Council would continue to look to expand new build and refurbishment, strengthen links between housing, care and  ...  view the full minutes text for item CAB-51

To receive the Shropshire Hills National Landscape Management Plan 2025-2030.

The Cabinet Member for Neighbourhoods, Planning and Sustainability, presented the report of the Director for Prosperity and Investment, which sought Cabinet’s approval of the statutory Shropshire Hills National Landscape Management Plan 2025 to 2030 and the Terms of Reference for a reformed Joint Advisory Committee for the National Landscape.

Councillor Healy said that the Shropshire Hills National Landscape was probably still known to most people as the area of outstanding natural beauty.

It was a key part of the borough’s visitor economy yet whilst only a small percentage of the national landscape sat within the borough, it attracted tourism and the borough benefitted economically from that.  Other attractions in the area, which included the Ironbridge Gorge, added to the visitor offer as well as visitor welcome facilities and hotels where people could stay in order to then explore all that the wider county had to offer.

It was a local landmark important to the borough and important too that the Council was part of the management of that special landscape. The management plan set out the management for the next five years, which had been subject to public consultation and also consultation with stakeholders, which included landowners and communities within the national landscape. It was a living landscape and a working landscape and the management for the next five years, set out priorities around nature recovery, addressing climate change and climate resilience, and connecting people to nature.

A revision to the terms of reference and the Joint Advisory Committee was necessary to ensure that that management remained focused on delivering against the plan and protecting this nationally important landscape for generations to come. The Cabinet Member thanked Councillor Mark Boylan, who was the Council’s representative on the Joint Advisory Committee and who had worked with her and officers on inputting into the plan.

RESOLVED – that Cabinet:

a)    approved the Shropshire Hills National Landscape Management Plan 2025-2030;

b)   approved the Terms of Reference for the new Shropshire Hills National Landscape Advisory Committee.

To receive an update on Local Nature Reserves.

The Cabinet Member for Neighbourhoods, Planning and Sustainability, presented the report of the Director for Prosperity and Investment, which sought Cabinet’s approval of the declaration of new areas of Local Nature Reserve (LNR) under Sections 19 and 21 of the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949.

Councillor Healy said that the two new local nature reserves were in central Newport and Hurley Brook. Over the last few years, she had several tours of Newport with ward members, the Town Council, the Civic Society and others and on most visits, she had been made clear of the desire to look at the management of a number of sites throughout central Newport and how they could be brought together.

Those representations had been heard and Newport Canal, which was already a site of special scientific interest - a designation that had a higher level of protection than a local nature reserve - but also connected to the canal, the recognition that Strine Brook Park and Victoria Park, which was one of the Council’s green flag parks, were connected to the canal and that by designating the whole area as a local nature reserve, allowed the management of all of those green spaces to be brought together and much more cohesive. The site benefitted from lots of volunteer input and there was a new friends’ group that had been started up and Newport in Bloom also did quite a lot of work around the canal area and other parts of what would be the local nature reserve.

Shrewsbury Newport Canal Trust had also done a lot of work over many years in that area and would be a fantastic new local nature reserve for the borough. If approved, officers would work with local members, the Town Council and these volunteer groups to determine that future management and the naming of the reserve as that needed to be led locally.

Hurley Brook was the other new site, that was in the centre of the Hadleigh and Leegomery ward. The site followed the Hurley Brook with woodlands and meadows attached and supported a wide range of flora and fauna. It was situated in the middle of a quite densely populated part of town and this designation meant that those local people had got easy access to very high-quality green space. Like at Newport, the ward members and especially the chair of Hadley and Leegomery Parish Council had championed this site, which also had a very active friends’ group.

The Council had done some wonderful projects in partnership with those to enhance the nature conservation value of the site and and also to monitor the water quality of the brook to ensure that the Environment Agency and Severn Trent Water met their statutory obligations and worked to reduce pollution there.

On the amended boundaries, sites that were previously approved back in September 2022, the Council was looking to separate out some of those areas and had brought a number of sites together to  ...  view the full minutes text for item CAB-53