Cabinet 21 July 2025
Cabinet worked through a busy agenda on Monday 21 July 2025.
Items discussed included the recent demonstrations in Epping, Local Government Reorganisation, the budget, and food and garden waste collection service proposals.
Leader speaks out on Epping demonstrations
Leader of Council, Councillor Chris Whitbread, opened the meeting by addressing recent demonstrations at the Bell Hotel in Epping.
Saddened to hear of Wyn Marshall’s passing
Councillor Holly Whitbread shared the sad news that our Tenant and Leaseholder representative and former Chairman of the Tenants and Leaseholders Association, Wyn Marshall, passed away on Friday 11 July 2025.
Wyn was a really great guy, who I had the opportunity to work alongside as the cabinet member for housing for several years and also on the communities select committee.
I want to send my best wishes to his family and friends. He was a real servant to the community locally, particularly in Loughton where he was from, but also a great friend to this council, and the cause of social housing.
Councillor Holly Whitbread, Finance & Economic Development Portfolio Holder
A one-minute silence will be held and tributes heard for Wyn at the next council meeting on Thursday 24 July 2025.
Progress on local government reorganisation plans
Councillor Chris Whitbread presented an update on Local Government Reorganisation. Councils across Greater Essex are continuing work on a business case for Local Government Reorganisation, aiming to improve efficiency while maintaining strong local representation.
The key challenge is balancing financial sustainability with community identity and voice. While fewer, larger councils may save costs, smaller units could better reflect local needs. Representation, however, involves more than councillor numbers—it requires clear structures to empower communities.
Among the options, a 3-unitary model (East, West, and South) is emerging as the most balanced, offering fair representation and manageable governance. In relation to the 5-unitary council proposal, the view is that evidence is now strongly suggesting this option is not financially sustainable. The views expressed in relation to the 3-unitary model align with Essex County Council’s current thinking and are therefore supported by Epping Forest District Council, though the final decision will depend on further data.
Neighbourhood area committees are likely to play a key role in ensuring local voices are heard, especially where parish councils are absent or inconsistent. The goal remains clear: to create a financially viable, resident-focused system that delivers services effectively without disrupting critical areas like social care.
Cabinet endorsed the emerging preferred option, while remaining open to change as new data becomes available.
Strong financial outturn amid tough year ahead
Epping Forest District Council has closed the 2024/25 financial year with a £1.91 million underspend in its general fund, reflecting strong financial management and collaborative working across services. Key savings were achieved in ICT, Customer Services, and Regulatory Services, helping offset pressures in Finance, Housing, and Planning.
Despite this positive outturn, the council faces a £3.4 million budget gap for the year ahead. Councillor Holly Whitbread, Portfolio Holder for Finance & Economic Development, explained that difficult decisions will be required to balance the budget and protect essential services. She hoped that last year’s constructive relationship with the overview and scrutiny committee would continue, last year it was key to navigating challenges. Collaboration will be vital as the council enters an even more demanding financial period.
New food and garden waste collection service proposals
Food and garden waste will be collected separately from April 2026. Cabinet approved the recommendation so that EFDC falls in line with other Essex councils, as the cost for Essex County Council, who dispose of the waste, would increase to take co-mingled food and garden waste.
It was recommended that we look into how much we charge for garden waste collection, and this will be discussed and determined as part of the budget setting process for 2026 to 2027.
Reduce costs and meet recycling targets
Unfortunately, we cannot go on as we are. The cost to Essex County Council to dispose of co-mingled food and garden waste is too high, and ultimately those costs will be passed to us.
All other Essex councils collect their food and garden waste separately, so it makes sense to change our service before the new Essex councils are formed under the Local Government Reform (LGR) in 2028. Food waste will be collected weekly as per UK legislation and garden waste collected fortnightly.
To help fund this change we have to look at the option to charge for a garden waste collection. We simply can no longer afford to financially support a free garden waste collection and will have to introduce a subscription-based service for garden waste. The cost for fortnightly collections will be discussed as part of the budget setting process for 2026 to 2027.
I hope these changes will allow us to reduce revenue costs and meet the recycling targets set out in the Waste Strategy for Essex.
Councillor Ray Balcombe, Contracts Delivery Portfolio Holder
Other news
Waltham Abbey North strategic masterplan framework consultation
Public consultation on the Waltham Abbey North (WAN) Strategic Masterplan Framework was approved by Cabinet. It will take place over 8 weeks from July 2025 until late September 2025.
Community infrastructure levy
A community infrastructure levy, also known as a CIL, is a charge on new developments to help fund new infrastructure such as roads, schools and healthcare, that are needed to support new developments in the area.
Cabinet approved the draft community infrastructure levy charging schedule to go to public consultation, running from Monday 28 July to 5pm on Tuesday 9 September 2025.
Cabinet reduced
Councillor Chris Whitbread has made the cabinet smaller to reflect changes across the council. The Transformation Portfolio Holder role will be dissolved and responsibilities devolved to other cabinet members. Councillor Smruti Patel will take on the Housing Portfolio role and Councillor Nigel Bedford will step down from cabinet.
South Epping masterplan
Councillor Ken Williamson, Portfolio Holder for Shaping Our District, responded to a petition on the South of Epping masterplan. While he acknowledged the call to respect local views, he clarified that abandoning the plan is not possible, as the site is already allocated in the local plan, doing so would risk government intervention and loss of local control.
Overview and scrutiny update
Chairman of the overview and scrutiny committee, Councillor Roger Baldwin, provided an update about the overview and scrutiny work programme which outlines plans to scrutinise a range of issues, policies. External parties like Transport for London have been invited to attend.
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