The Chairman welcomed Councillors, Honorary Alderman Squires, representatives of the public, press and officers to the Council Meeting.

The Chairman announced with great sadness that former Councillor Dennis Wilde had passed away on 8 December 2018. He confirmed that Mr Wilde had served the District as a Councillor from May 1999 until May 2015 and had fulfilled the role of Chairman of the Council for the Civic year 2011 to 2012. He had also chaired a variety of Committees and had represented the District Ward of East Preston and Kingston for that time.

Having received a tribute from his fellow Ward Member, Councillor Chapman, the Chairman asked Members to join him in sending the Council’s thoughts to his family and friends during this difficult time.

The Council then stood in silence to his memory.

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

The Chief Executive declared a Personal and Prejudicial Interest in Agenda Item 19 (Chief Executive’s (CEO) Remuneration Committee – 11 December 2018) in relation to Minutes 304 (Chief Executive’s Remuneration for 2018/2019) as this item would be discussing his salary. The Chief Executive confirmed that he would leave the Council Chamber for consideration of this matter.

To receive questions from the public (for a period of up to 15 minutes)

The Chairman confirmed that no questions had been submitted.

To receive questions from Members with pecuniary/prejudicial interests (for a period of up to 15 minutes)

There were no Questions from Members with prejudicial/pecuniary interests.

To consider any petitions received from the public.

No Petitions had been received by the Council.

To approve as a correct record the Minutes of the Meeting of the Council held on 7 November 2018.

The Minutes of the Council Meeting held on 7 November 2018 were approved by the Council as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

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

The Chairman alerted Members to the list of engagements and events that had been attended since the last Meeting of the Council held on 7 November 2018 – these had been emailed to Councillors recently.

The Chairman then announced that he wished to have noted the congratulations of Arun District Council to Mrs Daphne Snowden who had been awarded the Order of the British Empire, OBE, in the recent Queen’s New Year’s Honours List for her services to charity and the community of Littlehampton including fundraising for the Royal British Legion for over 65 years. Mrs Snowden had also held the Order of St John for many years and had also been a charity collector for the RNLI.

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.

There were no items for this meeting.

            The Chairman, Councillor Bower, will present the Minutes from the Special meeting of the Development Control Committee held on 24 October 2018.  These include the Minutes from the Reconvened Special Development Control Committee held on 13 November 2018.

The Chairman, Councillor Bower, presented the Minutes from the meeting of the Special Development Control Committee held on 24 October 2018 and the reconvened meeting on 13 November 2018.

            The Chairman, Councillor Mrs Brown, will present the Minutes from the Cabinet meeting held on 12 November 2018.  There are recommendations at:

o                                                                                             Minute  239 [Budget Monitoring Report to 30 September 2018]  – to view the Officer’s report and Appendix, please click on this link – Report and Appendix

The Chairman, Councillor Mrs Brown, presented the Minutes from the Cabinet Meeting held on 12 November 2018.

Councillor Mrs Brown alerted Members to a recommendation at Minute 239 [Budget Monitoring Report to 30 September 2018] and outlined that this covered performance against the approved budget to the end of September 2018 in relation to the General Fund and Housing Revenue Account (HRA) and Capital. Councillor Mrs Brown explained that financial performance was monitored on a regular basis to ensure that spending was in line with the Council’s Policies and that net expenditure was contained within overall budget limits.

            The variances on budget had been set out in the General Fund summary with this showing a favourable variation against expected spend of £338k. The deterioration from previous months was mainly due to homelessness expenditure on nightly paid accommodation. In order to address projected overspends a supplementary estimate of up to £650k was being requested. Although this was a substantial request, Councillor Mrs Brown informed Members that the establishment savings target which had been set at £450k was for the current year an additional £176k above target. Looking at the HRA, expenditure on supervision and management was currently £139k below expectation.

Councillor Mrs Brown therefore urged Members to support the one recommendation that was before Members to consider. She reconfirmed that Recommendation (2) [relating to the Linear Park] in the Officer’s report had not clearly confirmed that Cabinet was being asked to note the award of the Contract rather than actually awarding it, this was because the decision to take the project forward had already been made by the Council at its meeting held on 10 January 2018. Recommendation 3 in the report [for Cabinet to note the remaining contents of the report in Appendix 1] had also been noted by Cabinet on 10 December 2018. Councillor Mrs Brown then formally proposed the recommendation which was then duly seconded by Councillor Wensley.

The Council

RESOLVED

That a supplementary estimate of up to £650k (which equates to

a Band D equivalent Council Tax of £10.76) for Homelessness be approved.

The Chairman, Councillor Bower, will present the Minutes from the meeting of the Development Control Committee held on 14 November 2018.  There are no recommendations.

The Chairman, Councillor Bower, presented the Minutes from the meeting of the Development Control Committee held on 14 November 2018.

            The Chairman, Councillor Chapman, will present the Minutes from the meeting of the Audit & Governance Committee held on 15 November 2018.  There are recommendations at;

o                                                                                             Minute  263 [Treasury Management – Mid-Year Review – 2018/19]  – to view the Officer’s report, please click on this link – Report

The Chairman, Councillor Chapman, presented the Minutes from the meeting of the Audit and Governance Committee held on 15 November 2018.

Councillor Chapman alerted Members to a series of recommendations at Minute 263 [Treasury Management – Mid-Year Review – 2018/19] and in formally proposing the recommendations commended the Council’s Treasury Management team for the returns achieved in a particularly difficult economic environment. The recommendations were then seconded by Councillor Mrs Oakley.

The Council

RESOLVED – That

(1) the actual prudential and treasury indicators for 2018/2019 contained in the report be approved;

(2) the treasury management report for 2018/2019 be noted; and

(3) the mid-year treasury activity for the period ended 30 September 2018, which has generated interest receipts of £169,920 (0.97%) for the quarter and £364,203.64 (1.18%) for the year to date be noted against a budget of £480,000 (1.14%) for the full year.

The Chairman, Councillor Dingemans, will present the Minutes from the meeting of the Overview Select Committee held on 20 November 2018.  There are no recommendations.

The Chairman, Councillor Dingemans, presented the Minutes from the meeting of the Overview Select Committee held on 20 November 2018.

The Chairman, Councillor Hitchins, will present the Minutes from the meeting of the Environment & Leisure Working Group held on 27 November 2018.  There are no recommendations.

(Prior to the discussion on this item, Councillor Wells declared his Personal

Interest in Minute 27 [Events Policy and Procedure 2018 as Chairman of the

Bognor Regis Business Improvement District (BID).

The Chairman, Councillor Hitchins, presented the Minutes from the meeting of the Environment & Leisure Working Group held on 27 November

2018.

            Councillor Wells then asked a question in relation to Minute 26 [Strategic Vision for the Future of Public Convenience Services in Arun – Update] in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 13.1 by requesting to receive an update on the public convenience programme as it had been outlined at the meeting of the Working Group that it was hoped that Phase 1 and Phase 2 of the works would be fully operational by Christmas. In response, Councillor Hitchins confirmed that although he could not provide Councillor Wells with a response now, he would provide him with a written update following this meeting.

Councillor Oppler also asked a question on the same minute in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 13.1. His question referred to the community toilet scheme in North Street, Wick, and how successful had this been. Councillor Oppler stated that he was asking this question as take up of a similar scheme in Bognor Regis had not been very high. Councillor Hitchins outlined that he believed that the take-up of this scheme had been nil but promised to double check and report back to Councillor Oppler if the outcome proved to be different to the response he had provided.

The Chairman, Councillor Mrs Bower, will present the Minutes from the meeting of the Constitution Working Party held on 28 November 2018.

The Minutes will be circulated separately and any recommendations will be reported at the meeting.

The Chairman, Councillor Mrs Bower, presented the Minutes from the meeting of the Constitution Working Party held on 28 November 2018.

Councillor Mrs Bower referred Members to two recommendations at Minute 18 [Review of the Protocol on the Call-In of Prosecutions – Part 8 (Codes and Protocols) which she formally proposed. The recommendations were then seconded by Councillor Wensley.

The Council

RESOLVED – That

(1) Section 5 (Call-In of Prosecutions) of Part 8 (Codes and

Protocols) be deleted from the Constitution; and

(2) The Group Head of Council Advice & Monitoring Officer be authorised to make any further consequential changes to the Constitution.

The Chairman, Councillor Dingemans, will present the Minutes from the Special Meeting of the Overview Select Committee held on 3 December 2018.  There are no recommendations.

The Chairman presented the Minutes from the Special Meeting of the Overview Select Committee held on 3 December 2018.

            Councillor Oppler outlined that he wished to ask a question in relation to Minute 283 [Leisure Operating Contract – Year Two Report] in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 13.1. Councillor Oppler outlined that his question was about the new Littlehampton Wave Leisure Centre and the question that had been asked at that meeting regarding solar panels and why these had not been installed at the new leisure centre and especially in light of the fact that West Sussex County Council (WSCC) was investing heavily in solar panels for all of its projects due to huge economic benefits. Councillor Oppler outlined that he wanted to know why Freedom Leisure had not followed what appeared to be best practice.

The Cabinet Member for Community Wellbeing, Councillor Clayden, was able to respond. He explained that the new leisure centre had installed a modern air handling system which very successfully allowed hot air to escape without the need to use expensive air conditioning. A combined heat and power unit had been included and was set to save the Council money through its efficiency.

            The Chairman, Councillor Bower, will present the Minutes from the meeting of the Planning Policy Sub-Committee held on 5 December 2018.  There are recommendations at:

o   Minute  4 [Arun Local Development Scheme] – to view the Officer’s report, please click on this link – Report and Appendix

o   Minute 5 [Statement of Community Involvement] – to view the Officer’s report and Appendix, please click on this link - Report and Appendix 1 and Appendix 2

The Chairman, Councillor Bower, presented the Minutes from the meeting of the Planning Policy Sub-Committee held on 5 December 2018.

The Chairman referred Members to the first set of recommendations at Minute 4 [Arun Local Development Scheme] which he formally proposed.

These two recommendations were then seconded by Councillor Charles.

The Council

RESOLVED – That

(1)  the Local Development Scheme 2018/19, as amended and set out at Appendix 1 to the report, be adopted; and

(2)  authority be delegated to the Group Head of Planning, in consultation with the Chairman and the Planning Portfolio Holder, to undertake minor updating and drafting of any amendments required to the Local Development Scheme prior to publication.

Councillor Bower then alerted Members to the next recommendation at Minute 5 [Statement of Community Involvement] and he explained that the Council was obliged to produce details outlining and confirming how it would involve the community in consultation exercises relating to any planning matters over the foreseeable future. Councillor Bower then formally proposed the recommendations which were then seconded by Councillor Charles.

In discussing this item, some clarification was sought in relation to Recommendation (2) in terms of the authority to be delegated to the Group Head of Planning. The recommendation stated that this would be in consultation with the Chairman and the Planning Portfolio Holder to agree. The question asked was whether this meant the Chairman of the Council or the Chairman of the Sub-Committee. Although, Councillor Bower was able to confirm that this was the Chairman of the Sub-Committee, for clarity purposes, it was agreed to slightly amend this recommendation to confirm that this would be the Chairman of the Sub-Committee.

The Council, then

RESOLVED – That

(1)  the Statement of Community Involvement, attached as Appendix 1 to the report, be adopted; and

(2)  authority be delegated to the Group Head of Planning, in consultation with the Chairman of the Sub-Committee and the Planning Portfolio Holder, to agree minor editorial changes prior to publication.

Councillor Oppler then confirmed that he wished to ask some questions in relation to Minute 6 [Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) Evidence Base and Preliminary Draft Charging Schedule] in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 13.1. Councillor Oppler outlined that he had attended the Member Briefing on CIL held on 4 December 2018 but still had a great sense of unease and had difficulty accepting what the Council could decide was an acceptable CIL rate to charge for new development. It was Councillor Oppler’s view that the £15,000 per property charge could be ‘nudged’ up a notch further as the Council should be squeezing as much as it could from developers for reinvestment back into infrastructure for the community. He asked if the Council, under a new administration, would be able to revisit its CIL rates?

Councillor Oppler’s question resulted in several Councillors expressing views on this matter. There was some concern that any increase in this levy would not just affect developers but future homeowners in the District too. Many  ...  view the full minutes text for item 338.

            The Chairman, Councillor Mrs Brown, will present the Minutes from the meeting of Cabinet held on 10 December 2018.  There are recommendations at:

o                                                                                             Minute  295 [Housing & Homelessness Strategy 2019-2021] - to view the Officer’s report and Appendices, please click on this link – Report and Appendix 1 and Appendix 2

o   Minute 299 [Overview Select Committee – 3 December 2018 – Minute 284 – Council Tax Reduction Scheme (Working Age) – to view the Minutes from the meeting of the Special Overview Select Committee held on 3 December 2018 and the Officer’s accompanying report – please click on these links:  Minutes

andReport

Councillor Mrs Brown then alerted Members to the first of a series of recommendations at Minute 295 [Housing & Homelessness Strategy 2019/2021] and she emphasised how important this Strategy was as it covered all of the primary housing functions that the Council had to undertake and how these would be undertaken working with the Council’s partners towards a balanced housing market for the District and ensuring the provision of safe and healthy homes for Arun’s residents. Councillor Mrs Brown stated that the Strategy had four main objectives which were to increase housing supply and improve access to affordable housing; prevent and relieve homelessness; to improve the housing conditions across all tenures; and to create sustainable communities to meet the needs of all residents.

Councillor Mrs Brown then formally proposed the recommendations which were seconded by Councillor Bence.

In debating this item, a question was asked about the Council’s cold weather protocol for rough sleepers and why this had only just been activated when cold weather had been experienced for at least a week – other Councils had put their protocols into force some days ago. Councillor Mrs Brown was also asked what criteria was in place for this and for dealing with the homeless and in attempting to reduce the number of rough sleepers.

Although Councillors spoke in support of the recommendations, some urged the Council to urgently put into place more support for ex-veterans experiencing problems with PTSD and other mental health issues and needing urgent housing support. Councillor Buckland outlined that he had been in liaison with Councillor Mrs Goldsmith as Leader of West Sussex County Council (WSCC) over its decision to cut housing support grant to certain charities and organisations by a sum of £4M and he asked Councillor Mrs Brown, as Leader of this Council, if she and the Cabinet Member for Residential Services could meet with Councillor Mrs Goldsmith to ensure that WSCC would work with its neighbouring Councils to ensure that the right housing support would be provided to former armed service personnel, especially those with PTSD and other similar problems. Councillor Buckland asked if he could receive confirmation that these discussions would take place as ex-veteran rates with these problems were increasing at a rapid rate.

Councillor Chapman spoke in response and in his position as the Council’s appointed Champion on the Armed Forces Community Covenant. He confirmed that on 25 November 2018, a paper had been approved by the House of Commons which was an initiative review of all services involved in supporting veterans. As a result, a Strategy for veterans and a questionnaire had been distributed on 15 December 2018 for all interested parties to take part in and to respond to. Councillor Chapman confirmed that the Council had undertaken a lot of work in giving priority to ex-veterans in terms of housing allocation and that Arun was a leader in this field in terms of dealing with individual cases. He urged Councillor Buckland, in his position as Vice-Chairman of the Littlehampton  ...  view the full minutes text for item 339.

            The Chairman, Councillor Wotherspoon, will present the Minutes from the meeting of the Committee held on 11 December 2018.  There are recommendations at:

o                                                                                             Minute  304 [Chief Executive’s Remuneration For 2018/19]  – to view the Officer’s report, please click on this link – Report and Appendix

(Prior to the consideration of this item, the Chief Executive re-declared his Personal and Prejudicial Interest made at the start of the meeting and left the Council Chamber.)

            In the absence of the Chairman of the Committee (Councillor Wotherspoon), Councillor Chapman presented the Minutes from the meeting of the Chief Executive’s Remuneration Committee held on 11 December 2018.

            Councillor Chapman referred Members to a recommendation at Minute

304 [Chief Executive’s Remuneration for 2018/19] and outlined that this had been based on the outcome of the Chief Executive’s Appraisal Panel held on 19 November 2018. Following this meeting, the Leader of the Council had written to the Chief Executive confirming that the Appraisal Panel had unanimously agreed that his performance over the last year had achieved a final appraisal score of 3 out of 4. This equated to a 2.5% pay award and Councillor Chapman confirmed that he commended this recommendation and so formally proposed it especially as there had been cross-party support for it as the Committee meeting. The recommendation was then seconded by Councillor Clayden.

            In debating this recommendation, Councillor Purchese spoke stating that his Group had spoken on this issue on several past occasions. This was because although he had no issue with the appraisal scoring confirmed by the Appraisal Panel, he did have an issue in terms of how this was then worked into a % pay increase. Councillor Purchese stated that he accepted that the Chief Executive had a personal contract and did not qualify to receive the same pay increases that were awarded to NJC staff which were negotiated nationally. The pay increases staff had received over the last 5 years had barely met or equalled cost of living increases. Over several years the % pay increase awarded to staff had been significantly lower than that paid to the Chief Executive and it was this issue of fairness that he struggled to accept and so on this basis, Councillor Purchese confirmed that he could not vote for the recommendation.

Following some further discussion,

The Council

RESOLVED

That following the Chief Executive’s Appraisal held on 19 November 2018, the level of performance related pay for 2018/19 be 2.5%. with this being paid from 3 October 2018.

(During the course of the debate on this matter, Councillor Purchese declared a Personal Interest in view of his position as Leader of the Liberal Democrats and so a Member of the Chief Executive’s Appraisal Panel.)

            The Chairman, Councillor Bower, will present the Minutes from the meeting of the Development Control Committee held on 12 November 2018. 

The Minutes will be circulated separately and any recommendations will be reported at the meeting.

The Chairman, Councillor Bower, presented the Minutes from the meeting of the Development Control Committee held on 12 December 2018.

            The Vice-Chairman, Councillor Mrs Porter, will present the Minutes from the meeting of the Housing & Customer Services Working Group held on 13 December 2018.

The Minutes will be circulated separately and any recommendations will be reported at the meeting.

The Vice-Chairman, Councillor Mrs Porter, presented the Minutes from the meeting of the Housing & Customer Services Working Group held on 13

December 2018.

            In the absence of the Chairman and Vice-Chairman, Councillor Hitchins, will present the Minutes from the Licensing Committee held on 14 December 2018. 

The Minutes will be circulated separately and any recommendations will be reported at the meeting.

In the absence of the Chairman and Vice-Chairman, Councillor Hitchins presented the Minutes from the meeting of the Licensing Committee held on 14 December 2018.

To consider any Motions submitted in accordance with Council Procedure 14.

No Motions had been submitted for this meeting.

To consider general questions from Members in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 13.3.

The Chairman confirmed that no questions had been received for this meeting.

The Ford Neighbourhood Development Plan Referendum was held on 8 November 2018.

As more than 50% of those voting on the day, voted ‘yes’ then the Council, as the local planning authority, under section 61E(4) of the 1990 Act, needs to bring the plan into force.  This ‘making’ of the plan will give it legal force and it will form part of the statutory Development Plan for that area. 

            This report will be circulated separately.

The Cabinet Member for Planning, Councillor Charles, presented a report which asked the Council to ‘make’ the Ford Neighbourhood Development Plan following the referendum held on 8 November 2018.

Councillor Charles formally proposed the recommendation, which was seconded by Councillor Bower.

Having commended the Planning Policy team for their work in organising the Neighbourhood Plan Referendum, the Council

RESOLVED

That the Council ‘makes’ the Ford Neighbourhood Development Plan and it becomes part of the Development Plan for Arun District Council.

Any changes to Committee Memberships that need noting by the Council will be reported at the meeting.

There were no changes to Committee Memberships reported to this meeting.

The Council is asked to approve any changes to its representation on Outside Bodies.

There were no changes to representation on Outside Bodies reported to this meeting.