The Charnwood Borough Council cabinet met on 11 September 2025, confirming the minutes of their previous meeting and discussing the Housing Needs Scrutiny Panel report, and two reports relating to the extension and variation of Public Space Protection Orders (PSPOs) for dog control in Charnwood and at Bradgate Park and Swithland Wood. The cabinet also approved the council's Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (RIPA) policy.

Housing Needs Scrutiny Panel

The cabinet considered the Housing Needs Scrutiny Panel report, presented by Councillor Sarah Monk, Chair of the Housing Needs Scrutiny Panel, which contained eight recommendations and seventeen observations. The panel had been set up in response to concerns about delays in assessing housing register applications.

The cabinet resolved to note the officer recommendations and agreed to develop an action plan linked to the recommendations, with an update report to be presented to the cabinet at a later date. The feasibility of delivering the recommendations will be reviewed when developing the action plan.

The panel's recommendations included:

• Improving the accessibility and clarity of guidance on the housing register criteria and banding system.
• Providing applicants with realistic and transparent information on approximate waiting times for housing.
• Adopting a more proactive approach to allocating suitable properties to applicants, rather than relying solely on the current bidding system, and strengthening enforcement of allocation rules by reducing the number of property refusals permitted before penalties apply from three to two.
• Reviewing and, where appropriate, relaxing eligibility criteria for difficult-to-let properties, and introducing targeted incentives to encourage applicants to accept such properties.
• Establishing a Priority Housing Panel, comprising senior officers, to review applications involving the need for adapted properties or other exceptional circumstances, and employing an Occupational Therapist to assist with the assessment of such cases.
• Amending the existing Housing Allocation Policy to incorporate a more proactive approach for council tenants wishing to downsize or move out of properties with adaptations that they no longer require, and ensuring that existing downsizing incentive payments are more widely promoted and accessible.
• Strengthening collaboration between Planning and Housing teams to ensure more effective use of Section 106 funding¹, with a particular focus on delivering accessible and adaptable properties through new developments.
• Seeking a peer review of its housing allocations service, to gain external insight, identify areas for improvement, and learn from good practice in other local authorities.

Charnwood Borough Dog Control Public Spaces Protection Order 2026

The cabinet considered a report from the Head of Regulatory and Community Safety regarding the Charnwood Borough Dog Control Public Spaces Protection Order 2026.

The cabinet resolved to approve the notice of intention to extend and vary the existing PSPO, which is due to expire in January 2026. They delegated authority to the Head of Regulatory Services and Community Safety, in consultation with the Lead Member for Regulatory Services, to amend and make the order if there are only minor alterations required, and to authorise staff at parish and town councils, or other organisations, to issue fixed penalty notices for dog control offences.

The proposed PSPO includes the following measures:

• Dog fouling: requiring dog owners to clear up after their dogs in all public spaces.
• Dogs on leads: requiring dogs to be kept on leads in specified areas, such as cemeteries.
• Dogs on leads by direction: requiring dogs to be put on a lead if directed by an authorised officer in certain areas.
• Dogs exclusion: prohibiting dogs from entering fenced children's play areas.

During discussion, officers confirmed that the cemetery at Nanpantan Road, Loughborough could be added to Schedule 2 (Keeping of Dogs on Leads). They also noted suggestions from Councillors Birgitta Worrall, Cabinet Lead Member for Planning, and Anne Gray, Cabinet Lead Member for Waste, Open Spaces and Leisure Facilities, regarding possible additional play areas for Schedule 3 (Dogs Exclusion), which would be considered and added if they met requirements.

Bradgate Park and Swithland Wood Dog Control Public Spaces Protection Order 2026

The cabinet considered a report from the Head of Regulatory and Community Safety regarding the Bradgate Park and Swithland Wood Dog Control Public Spaces Protection Order 2026.

The cabinet resolved to approve the notice of intention to make the PSPO, which would replace the existing byelaws. They delegated authority to the Head of Regulatory Services and Community Safety, in consultation with the Lead Member for Regulatory Services, to amend and make the order if there are only minor alterations required, to make revisions and amendments to the order in response to future requests for additional dog controls at Bradgate Park Estate, and to renew the order if there are no major changes required at the renewal time (January 2026). They also delegated authority to authorise staff employed by Bradgate Park Estate to issue fixed penalty notices for dog control offences.

The proposed PSPO includes the following measures:

• Requiring dog owners to clear up after their dogs across the whole Bradgate Park and Swithland Wood estate.
• Requiring dogs to be kept on leads by order when an authorised officer gives a direction if they deem such restraint is reasonably necessary to prevent a nuisance or behaviour by the dog which is likely to cause annoyance or disturbance to any other person, or to a bird or another animal.
• Requiring dogs to be kept on leads in specified areas (yellow zone).
• Prohibiting dogs from entering the protected 'Deer Sanctuary' areas and 'wildlife protection zones' which are signed at entrances as a dog exclusion area (whether the sign uses those particular words and/or symbols having like effect).

RIPA (Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act) Policy

The cabinet considered a report from the Head of Democracy regarding the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (RIPA) Policy.

The cabinet resolved to note that there has been no use of RIPA by the council in the previous twelve months, to request that the Audit Committee continue its responsibility for receiving a quarterly report on the use of RIPA, and to report to cabinet any concerns arising from those reports that may indicate that the use of RIPA is not consistent with the policy or that the policy may not be fit for purpose, and to approve the refreshed RIPA Policy Statement.

RIPA² provides a legal framework for the use of covert surveillance and covert human intelligence sources (CHIS) by public authorities. The Act aims to balance the need for effective law enforcement with the protection of individual privacy rights.