Agenda and minutes

Annual Council Meeting, Full Council - Wednesday 15th May 2024 6.00 pm

Venue: Council Chamber, Arun Civic Centre, Maltravers Road, Littlehampton, BN17 5LF. View directions

Contact: Jane Fulton 

Media

Items
No. Item

1.

Welcome

Minutes:

            The Chair extended a warm welcome to Councillors, members of the public, press and Officers to the Annual Meeting of the Council.

 

            She especially welcomed Honorary Alderman Paul English as Past Chairs of the Council present.

 

            Words of condolence were extended to Councillor Tom Harty who had whose wife had very sadly passed away that morning.

2.

Apologies for Absence

Minutes:

            Apologies for Absence had been received from Councillors Greenway, Harty, Haywood, O’Neill and Patel.  An Apology for Absence had also been received from Honorary Alderman Norman Dingemans.

3.

Declarations of interest

Members and Officers are invited to make any declarations of pecuniary, personal and/or prejudicial interests that they may have in relation to items on this agenda, and are reminded that they should re-declare their interest before consideration of the item or as soon as the interest becomes apparent.

 

Members and Officers should make their declaration by stating:

 

a)  the item they have the interest in

b)  whether it is a pecuniary, personal and/or prejudicial interest

c)  the nature of the interest

d) if it is a pecuniary or prejudicial interest, whether they will be exercising their right to speak under Question Time

Minutes:

            There were no Declarations of Interest made.

4.

Minutes pdf icon PDF 186 KB

To approve as a correct record the Minutes of the Meeting of the Council held on 9 May 2024, which will be circulated separately to the agenda.

Minutes:

            The minutes from the last meeting of Full Council held on 9 May 2024, which had been circulated separately to the agenda, were approved as a correct record and were signed by the Chair.

5.

Urgent Matters

To deal with business not otherwise specified in the Council summons which, in the opinion of the Chairman of the Council (in consultation with the Chief Executive), is business of such urgency as to require immediate attention by the Council.

Minutes:

            The Chair confirmed that there were no urgent items for this meeting.

6.

Appointment of Chair of the Council for the Municipal Year 2024-2025

In accordance with Part 3 [2.0 – Full Council, Paragraph 13 and Part 5, Section 1, Council Procedure Rule 20.9 of the Constitution, to appoint Councillor James Walsh as Chair of the Council for the ensuing year.

 

The newly elected Chair will then make and subscribe the statutory declaration of acceptance of office.

Minutes:

The Chair reminded Members that Councillor James Walsh had been nominated for the position of Chair of the Council for 2024-2025 at the Annual Meeting of the Council held on 31 May 2023.

 

Before moving to the vote on this proposal and inviting proposers and seconders, the Chair highlighted that Council Procedure Rule 20.9 explained that the vote to elect the position of Chair and Vice-Chair of the Council should be by ballot.  Last year the meeting suspended the requirements to hold a ballot for both positions and it was the Chair’s intention that this should be repeated for this meeting. The Chair therefore formally proposed to suspend Council Procedure Rule 20.9 under Council Procedure Rule 27.1 (Suspension of Procedure Rule) to allow the voting on the positions of Chair and Vice-Chair of the Council to be conducted by a show of hands or recorded vote if required.

 

This proposal was seconded by Councillor Walsh and on it being put to the vote it was declared CARRIED.

 

The Council therefore

 

            RESOLVED

 

That Council Procedure Rule 20.9 [Voting on Appointing the Chair and Vice-Chair of the Council] be suspended to allow the voting on the positions of Chair and Vice-Chair of the Council to be conducted by a show of hands or recorded vote if required.

 

Councillor Lury was invited to propose the appointment of Councillor Walsh as Chair of the Council and in doing so confirmed that Councillor Walsh’s hard work and dedication to the community meant that he would be an excellent Chair for Arun and having been an active and influential Member of the Council since 1976, with a term as Chair of the Council for 2003-2004 and Leader of the Council from 2019 to 2021.

 

            Councillor Huntley seconded the proposal and echoed the sentiments of Councillor Lury.

 

            The Council           

                   RESOLVED

                  That Councillor James Walsh be elected as Chair of the Council for 2024-2025.   

           

Councillor Walsh then made the Declaration of Acceptance of Office. 

 

           

7.

Vote of Thanks for the Retiring Chair

To propose a vote of thanks to Councillor Alison Cooper for the services rendered by her as Chair of the Council during the last year.

Minutes:

            The new Chair extended his thanks to the past Chair, Councillor Alison Cooper, for her year as Chair of the Council.

 

            Councillor Stanley, as Leader of the Council, particularly highlighted Councillor Cooper’s contributions that had been made to the Council and he confirmed that he had been delighted to have been Leader of the Council working alongside Councillor Cooper as Chair. Councillor Stanley stated that he had supported the Chair with a number of meetings and visits across the district throughout the last year and he praised her in her role.

 

            Councillor Gunner, as Leader of the Opposition and Leader of the Conservative Group and Councillor Northeast as Leader of the Labour Group also thanked Councillor Cooper for her year in office.

 

            Councillor Cooper gave thanks to all who had supported her during her civic year, and she paid tribute to the many people and organisations that she had had the pleasure of connecting with. Finally, Councillor Cooper announced that she would be donating £1,250 to her charity, AJs Legacy and Antony Nolan Trust from funds raised throughout her year.

 

            Councillor Cooper then received her Past Chair’s badge.

8.

Appointment of Vice-Chair of the Council for the Municipal Year 2024-2025 and Chair Elect for 2025-2026

In accordance with Part 3 [2.0 – Full Council], Paragraph 13 and Part 5, Section 1, Council Procedure Rule 20.9 of the Constitution, to appoint a Vice-Chair of the Council for the ensuing year.

 

The newly elected Vice-Chair will then make and subscribe the statutory declaration of acceptance of office.

Minutes:

            The Chair confirmed that in line with the Council’s Constitution at Part 3, Responsibility for Functions, Rule 13, it was necessary to now appoint the Vice-Chair of the Council.

 

            The Chair invited Councillor Northeast who proposed that Councillor Freddie Tandy be appointed as Vice-Chair of the Council for 2024-2025 and Chair Elect for 2025-2026.

 

            Councillor Wallsgrove seconded this nomination.

 

            The Council

 

                        RESOLVED

 

That Councillor Freddy Tandy be elected as Vice-Chair of the Council for 2024-2025 and Chair Elect for 2025-2026.

 

Councillor Tandy then made the Declaration of Acceptance of Office.

9.

New Chair's Announcements

To receive such announcements as the Chair may desire to lay before the Council.

Minutes:

The Chair thanked Councillors for giving him the honour of being Chair of the Council stating that he felt that it would be a real privilege to represent Arun over the next civic year. He extended his thanks again to the Past Chair for fulfilling the role over 2023 to 2024.

 

Turning to his chosen charity for the year, the Chair confirmed that he would be supporting Mind West Sussex with particular reference to their Littlehampton office and their outreach programme from that base and the Littlehampton Sea Cadets and would provide further detail on these charities as his Civic Reception to be held immediately after the meeting.  

 

10.

Appointment of the Leader and Deputy Leader of the Council

To appoint the Leader and Deputy Leader of the Council in accordance with Article 6 of the Constitution.

Minutes:

            Councillor Stanley formally proposed the appointment of Councillor Lury to be Leader of Arun District Council. The proposals was then seconded by Councillor Wallsgrove.

 

            The Council

 

                        RESOLVED

 

                        That Councillor Lury be appointed Leader of Arun District Council.

 

            Councillor Lury thanked Councillors for their support, and he paid tribute to his predecessor, Councillor Stanley, for being Leader of the Council for the past year. Councillor Lury confirmed that he also wished to recognise the contributions of both Karl Roberts and Philippa Dart who had excelled in their roles of as Joint Interim Chief Executives. Councillor Lury was delighted to formally confirm that Dawn Hudd had accepted the position of Chief Executive Officer and would be commencing her employment with Arun on 29 July 2024.

 

            Councillor Lury stated that he wished to concentrate on two issues which he saw as being vitally important. These were tone and culture. He also highlighted that at a time when local government was underfunded and that as the Council and identified savings that needed to be made, he was hopeful that the Council would be able to explore ways to increase its income.

 

            Councillor Lury then formally proposed that Councillor Nash be appointed as Deputy Leader of the Council, and this was seconded by Councillor Huntley.

 

            The Council

 

                        RESOLVED

 

That Councillor Nash be appointed as Deputy Leader of Arun District Council.

11.

Review of Entitlement of Political Groups - Councillors Seats on Committees - Appointments to Committees pdf icon PDF 328 KB

Following consultation with Group Leaders, the Council is asked to make appointments to its Service Committees, Regulatory Committees, the Standards Committee, and other Working Parties and Panels including the confirmation of the Chair and Vice-Chair where relevant.

 

The Appendix to this report setting out the Committee Memberships for 2024/25 will be circulated separately.

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Before inviting the Leader of the Council to present this report, the Chair referred Councillors to the supplement pack that had been published earlier in the day and sent to all Councillors via email. A hard copy of this supplement pack had also been circulated to the meeting.

 

            The Leader of the Council presented this report and formally proposed the allocation of seats to Committees for 2024/2025.  The proposals were then seconded by Councillor Nash.

 

            In debating the report, the following amendments were proposed:

 

·         That Councillor Lury be replaced by Councillor Stanley as Vice-Chair on the CEO Remuneration Committee;

·         By Councillor Gunner confirming that he wished to fill his vacant seats as set out below:

o   Councillor Bence would replace Councillor Lloyd on the Economy Committee

o   Councillor Alison Cooper would replace Councillor Bence on the Housing & Wellbeing Committee

o   For all remaining Committees, the Conservative memberships would remain as they were for 2023/24.

 

The Council 

 

            RESOLVED

 

That the appointments to Committees, Working Parties and Panels for 2024-2025, together with the confirmation of the Chair and Vice-Chair where relevant , as set out in Appendix 1, circulated separately and as amended at the meeting, be approved.

12.

Representation on Outside Bodies 2024-2025 pdf icon PDF 324 KB

In order to effectively represent the District of Arun, Councillors, need to be aware of matters which impact both Arun, as a District, as well as the organisation itself. There are a number of key external organisations with are independent of the Council to which the Council make appointments in order that it can create and maintain effective partnerships with those organisations and their members.

This report is set out in Appendix 1 [to be circulated separately] and following consultation and agreement with the Group Leaders, the Council’s appointment to Outside Bodies for 2024-2025 are listed which the Council is asked to approve.

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Before inviting the Leader of the Council to present this report, the Chair referred Councillors to the supplement pack that had been published earlier in the day and sent to all Councillors via email. A hard copy of this supplement pack had also been circulated to the meeting.

 

            The Leader of the Council presented this report setting out the proposed nominations to representations to Outside Bodies for 2024/2025.  The proposed nominations were then seconded by Councillor Nash.

 

The Council

 

            RESOLVED

 

That the schedule of Appointments of Representatives to Outside Bodies for 2024/25, be approved.

 

 

13.

Appointment of Councillor Directors of any Council Owned Properties

There are no appointments to confirm to this meeting.

Minutes:

The Chair confirmed that there were no appointments to confirm.

 

 

14.

Appointment of Group Leaders pdf icon PDF 62 KB

To note the appointment of other Group Leaders, which will be circulated separately to the agenda.

Minutes:

Before inviting the Leader of the Council to present this report, the Chair referred Councillors to the supplement pack that had been published earlier in the day and sent to all Councillors via email. A hard copy of the supplement pack had also been circulated to the meeting.

 

In noting the appointment of the other Group Leaders, Councillor Gunner confirmed that he would be Leader of the Opposition and Leader of the Conservative Group and that Councillor Jacky Pendleton would be Deputy Leader of the Conservative Group.