Members are reminded that they must declare their disclosable pecuniary interests and other registrable or non-registrable interests in any matter being considered at the meeting as set out in Appendix B of the Members’ Code of Conduct and consider if they should leave the room prior to the item being considered. Further advice can be sought from the Monitoring Officer in advance of the meeting.

To approve as a correct record the minutes of the previous meeting held on 25 September 2025

To receive such communications as the Chairman, Leader and Head of Paid Service may desire to lay before the Council.

Report of the Service Director Legal, Governance and Planning is attached

Contact Tim Collard Tel:  01743 252756

To receive any questions from the public, notice of which has been given in accordance with Procedure Rule 14.  Deadline for notification is 12.00 noon on Friday 5 December 2025

To receive any questions from Members, notice of which has been given in accordance with Procedure Rule 15.2. Deadline for notification is 12.00 noon on Friday 5 December 2025

Report of the Executive Director, Resources is to follow

Contact:  James Walton.  Tel. 01743 258915

Report of the Interim Chief Executive is attached

Contact; Tanya Miles  Email: tanya.miles@shropshire.gov.uk

Report of the Executive Director Public Health is attached

Contact: Rachel Robinson  Tel  01743 252003

Report of the Executive Director, Resources is attached

Contact:  James Walton.  Tel. 01743 258915

Report of the Executive Director, Resources is attached

Contact:  James Walton.  Tel. 01743 258915

Report of the Service Director – Children and Young People is To Follow

Contact:  Sonya Miller Tel: 01743 254264

Report of the Service Director Legal, Governance and Planning is attached

Contact Tim Collard Tel:  01743 252756

Report of the Service Director Legal, Governance and Planning is To Follow

Contact Tim Collard Tel:  01743 252756

Audit & Governance Committee

Councillor Greg Ebbs to replace Councillor Chris Naylor as a substitute member of the Audit and Governance Committee

The following motions have been received in accordance with Procedure Rule 16:

Enhancing Accessibility of Council Meetings

This Council recognises the importance of ensuring that all elected members, regardless of employment status, are able to fully participate in the democratic process and contribute to the work of Shropshire Council.

All Scrutiny and Committee meetings are currently scheduled during standard working hours. This timing can present barriers to engagement for members who work full-time or have other daytime commitments. To improve accessibility and inclusivity for all Members and the Public, this Council resolves to:

1. Move a selection of Scrutiny and other Committee meetings to a 6pm start time, with the aim of enabling greater participation from working-age members.
2. Request that Democratic Services continue to consult with Group Leaders and Committee Chairs to identify suitable meetings for evening scheduling.
3. Review the impact of this change after a twelve-month period from implementation, including feedback from members and officers, to assess its effectiveness and sustainability.

This Motion seeks to modernise our approach to member engagement and ensure that Shropshire Council remains representative and responsive to the needs of all its elected members.

Members of the Economy and Environment Committee were recently briefed on the proposed Sundorne Sports Village redevelopment.  Some of us were disappointed to see that Pyrolysis technology has not been considered for the requirement to supply both bulk heating and electrical energy for the facility, seemingly an ideal solution for such an application.  

Instead, a multi-million pound system of air source heat pumps and solar panels has been selected.  This technology will somewhat mitigate reliance on the world’s most expensive electricity grid but will still be highly dependent on that grid in low light and/or low temperature conditions.  The production and supply chain for the solar panels in particular involves highly carbon-intensive production and transport from China, with a high risk of slave labour being involved.  These panels are also uneconomical to recycle, with the attendant risk to the environment from end-of-life disposal.

By contrast, the Pyrolysis technology provides abundant heat and electricity on demand, is completely ‘off-grid’, is carbon negative and should repays its capital costs over time through the sales of biochar product and carbon credits, unlike the heat pumps and panels which are merely lower carbon and is still heavily grid-dependent.  The equipment is easily recyclable at its end-of-life.  The plants and their feedstock are both locally produced, supporting local employment and commerce.  The Council is already heavily invested in this technology at the Ludlow site, as well as having made a substantial £500000 direct investment in manufacturer Biodynamic Carbon Ltd. 

This Council has already expressed robust support for this technology at a Full Council meeting, voting in additional funding to bring our total investment up to a considerable £3.3 million.  If we are spending over £3 million of council taxpayers’ money on this technology in Ludlow and have substantially bought into the manufacturer, then it should be a serious contender for the Sundorne application. 

 In order to support what would appear to be an economically and environmentally superior technology, as well as supporting local industry and demonstrating confidence in Shropshire Council’s own existing direct investment in its use and production, we move that a full side-by-side comparison of the two systems be made, with the superior technology being selected for deployment on the Sundorne project.  The comparison should consider the full life-cycle costs (including offset through biochar and carbon credit sales) and environmental impact of equipment procurement, replacement and disposal across the expected lifetime of the Sports Village, as well as comparing overall energy and CO2 budgets across that life-cycle.

Let’s keep the Shropshire Pound in Shropshire.

To receive the report of the Shropshire and Wrekin Fire and Rescue Authority Report to Follow

To resolve that, in accordance with the provisions of schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972 and Paragraph 10.4 [3] of the Council’s Access to Information Rules, the public and press be excluded from the meeting during consideration of the following items

Exempt report of the Head of Property & Development is to Follow

Contact Steve Law Tel 01743 251017

The exempt report of the HR & OD Manager is attached.

Contact: Sam Coillins-Lafferty  Tel: 01743 252854