Agenda and minutes

(Councillor Edwards arrived at the meeting during this item.)

There were no apologies received.

Members and Officers are invited to make any declaration 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 items 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 interest and/or prejudicial interest

c)             the nature of the interest

Councillor Walsh declared a personal interest in agenda item 7 [Pier Road Proposed Road Closure] as a member of West Sussex County Council.

The Committee will be asked to approve as a correct record the Minutes of the Economy Committee held on 2 February 2023.

The minutes of the previous meeting held on 2 February 2023 were approved by the committee and signed by the Chair.

There were no urgent items for this meeting.

The Committee are required to agree their meeting start times for the remaining meetings of the municpal year 2023/24.

The Chair proposed that the start times for the meeting of the Committee for the remaining year be at 6pm, this was seconded by the Vice Chair.

          The Committee

                     RESOLVED

                     That the start times for 2023/24 be 6pm.

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

The Chair invited questions from members of the public who had submitted their questions in advance of the meeting in accordance with the Council’s Constitution.

(A schedule of the full questions asked and the responses provided can be found on the meeting’s webpage at: Arun District Council)

The Chair then drew Public Question Time to a close.

The report follows a meeting of the Economy Committee in November 2022 at which the following was agreed: The Committee:

·       Supports the principle of permanently closing Pier Road to through-traffic.

·       Authorises officers to engage with West Sussex County Council as Highway Authority in order to appraise the feasibility, process, legal requirements, costs (both capital and revenue), timescales, and necessary agreements to deliver the preferred option of a permanent closure.

·       Authorises officers to explore the opportunity of increasing the length of the proposed closure area to include the area of highway as far north as the Gravy Boat restaurant; and

·       Requests that officers provide a report to a future meeting of the Committee setting out officers’ findings and conclusions in respect of recommendation 2.1.2 and 2.1.3.

Officers have now undertaken the required work and this report provides the Committee with details of that work and a recommended way forward.

Upon invitation from the Chair the Business Development Manager, provided members with a brief overview of the report and for the benefit of new members she outlined the history of the project where she explained that the report before them had arisen from the pandemic when Pier Road had been closed in the summer to allow for safe social distancing. In the second year of the pandemic the council again, closed the road. During both closures the feedback was that many enjoyed the closure and the alternative use of the space the closure provided.

In October 2021 a meeting was held with business owners in Pier Road, where there were mixed feelings on future closures. A report was then brought to the committee in March 2022 where the direction was given that a public consultation regarding future closures should be undertaken. The consultation was undertaken over the summer of 2022 and a further report containing the results of that consultation was brought back to committee in November 2022, where members requested officers to engage with West Sussex County Council (WSCC) to appraise the feasibility, process, legal requirements, costs, timescales and necessary agreements to deliver the preferred option of a permanent closure, and to explore the opportunity of increasing the length of the proposed closure area to include the area of highway as far north as the Gravy Boat restaurant and provide a report to a future meeting of the committee setting out officers findings and conclusions, that report was what member had in front of them at the meeting.

She explained the report contained three schemes for discussion and consideration. It was advised that officers did investigate the option to extend the length of the road closure, however landowners were reluctant to lose their car park, therefore this option was not possible. Meetings were held with highway officers and the schemes had been drawn up under their advice. A meeting was also held with the County Councillor for the area. The required stage 1 safety audit had also been completed and had highlighted an issue with the junction of Pier Road and Clifton Road. Officers were awaiting a swept path analysis, once received that and the road safety audit along with member agreement on their preferred scheme would be included in the councils bid. 

          The Chair invited members to make comments and ask any questions, where concern was raised regarding the timing of the proposed closure versus the current economic climate, and as WSCC would not allow a semi-permanent closure just for the summer months, the potential impact on businesses closing or forced to close should the closure go ahead could result in a significant loss of footfall and trade over the winter months.  It was also stated that when the public consultation was completed in the summer of 2022, the option for a semi-permanent closure was an option for residents to pick, as the council now knows this option would not be possible a new consultation should be undertaken  ...  view the full minutes text for item 57.

This report provides an update to the Economy Committee on the completion of public realm works to Littlehampton Town Centre (phases 2&3). 

(Councillor Walsh redeclared his Personal interest as a member of Littlehampton Town Council (LTC) and WSCC.)

The Chair invited the Group Head of Business and Economy to provide members with an update on the public realm works in Littlehampton Town centre for phases 2 & 3. In 2016 there was extensive public consultation regarding improvements to the town centre which had been set out in 5 phases, it included improvements to paving, lighting, planting and some artwork. The council had been awarded external funds from the Coastal Communities Fund in 2019 £2.54 million, due to the economic challenges, the project had saw a rise in material and construction costs a decision was made that this funding was to be spent on Phase 2 of the project, which was the area Highstreet, Duke Street, St Martins Lane and Clifton Road. The Council then pursued additional external funding through Coast to Capital, Local Growth Fund where it was awarded a further £564,000 for Beach Road and East Street in October 2019 as the full award was not awarded from the bid both, Arun District Council and Littlehampton Town Council contributed a further £200,000 each to complete the delivery for phase 3, the total budget for phases 2 and 3 was £302 million.

As work progressed on the project other opportunities and enhancements were identified, it was requested for further funds from the council to support a ‘dig once’ approach which allowed for funding to place ducting in the ground to allow for the fibre network can then be installed by city fibre in the future. Successful funding from WSCC was also obtained to allow for the continuation of phase 1 of the project. The team were pleased to report that phases 2 and 3 were delivered on time and on budget in March 2023. Moving to the lessons learned throughout the project the officer highlighted that the early engagement of the project management team was key, early ordering of materials to secure best prices and allow for delivery lead in times to fit with scheduled works was a sound way to fix the overall project cost.  The need to understand and identify underground services, through comprehensive surveys completed at the start of the project, however it was found in reality that there were a few surprises that showed up as work was started, this could impact on project delivery timescales along with impacting on the original designs such as the planting of trees that had to be potted, rather than planted into the ground. The teams work on sourcing additional funding to accommodate design changes and increasing costs was particularly important in the delivery of these phases. In summing up the officer confirmed that phases 4 and 5 of the project would be completed, however, was reliant on further external funding. She thanked all the contactors, businesses and traders for their patience whilst the work was being completed and thanked Littlehampton Town Council and WSCC for their financial contributions.

          The Chair then  ...  view the full minutes text for item 58.

The purpose of this report is to explain the current condition of the Bognor Regis Arcade upper floors, the barriers that are preventing its reuse, and seek members consent to refurbish the upper floors into private rented apartments using a potential grant from the Brown Field Land Release Fund and a £7,362,747 investment through the capital programme.

The Regeneration Consultant was invited by the Chair to present the report to members where he explained that the council acquired the arcade in November 2017 for investment and regeneration purposes. Since then, extensive work had been completed to refurbish the ground floor, to get it to the point where it is now fully let. He stated it had now become a vibrant retail, food and beverage experience now. During this time the upper floors have been maintained in waiting as the next project to go ahead. A number of feasibilities had been put together, unfortunately none of which had been deemed as financially viable. At the end of 2022 the potential for funding from the Brown Field Release Land Fund was highlighted and members at its February 2023 meeting agreed to submit a bid. Extensive design, feasibility and costing works had be undertaken which had been included with the report. The reasons rented accommodation was chosen by officers at the preferred option was due to the rental return. He explained that the scheme put together at a total delivery cost of just under £8 million would deliver 35 residential units for rent, it’s considered a prime location for rental accommodation and good links for public transport. In accordance with the decision made in February 2023 a bid had been submitted to the BFRL for the maximum funding available to the council of £628,000. Which if successful would bring the net cost down to £7.3 million, of which would need to be borrowed by the council as an investment to refurbish the building, the cost of that borrowing would be £428,000. This would generate a net rental income from the residential units would be £362,000. Due to the council currently paying business rates on the empty officers on the upper floor at a cost of £29,000 pa. This would mean the net revenue cost to the council of £28,600. He outlined the reasons as to why this would be most financially viable option opposed to just leaving the building in its current state. He also confirmed that work was being completed on the full costing of leaving the building in its current state and this would be reported to members at the Policy and Finance Meeting due to be held on 11 July 2023.

          In summing up he outlined for members that the decision they were being asked to make today were wholly based upon a successful bid application and to explain why members were being asked to make this decision at this stage was due to the 3-week timeframe of acceptance once a successful bid is confirmed. As well as the recommendations requiring approval from Policy and Finance Committee and Full Council, this was the earliest opportunity to ensure the decisions hit each meeting in the correct and most timely manner. He confirmed that One Public Estate have been flexible in a bid to assist the council with its decision-making process by holding back the confirmation of the bid.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 59.

The report sets out the performance of the Key Performance indicators at Quarter 4 and end of year for the period 1 April 2022 to 31 March 2023.

The Chair invited the Group Head of Organisational Excellence to provide members with a brief overview of the report where she stated for newer members that these measures were of operational performance over a 4-year period. and they are measured each year, to all the council to measure each year and between years. She explained that the committee received 2 indicators that report in on a half year basis. She confirmed that the Policy and Finance Committee is responsible for the overall performance of the council and therefore they receive all of the indicators.

          The Chair commented that the reporting on CP42 indicator only highlighted the importance of the decision made by the committee on the last agenda item. He then invited comments from members on the indicators, where the Vice-Chair wanted to address the indicators with a more positive tone, in comparing Littlehampton and Bognor Regis Towns were holding up well as relatively small seaside towns when compared with other areas. There had been a change in retail habits, in that people are being drawn away from town centres and therefore towns centre experiences were now focusing on eateries and smaller independent traders.  He stated that as members we needed to support our towns and the Economy Officer Team.

          It was also commented that having free parking available for town centres was a vital part in helping to keep the footfall coming through the town centres.

          The Committee then noted the report update.

The Council Vision 2022-2026 was approved at Full Councill in March 2022.

To support the Vision, we have a comprehensive set of measurable performance indicators which allow us to identify how well we are delivering across a full range of services.   Two kinds of indicators were agreed at the Policy and Finance Committee on 17 March 2022.  The first of these are the subject of this report, the ’Vision Indicators’ and this is the first annual report on them.   These annual indicators primarily update the progress against strategic milestones. 

(Councillor Walsh declared a personal interest as a West Sussex County Councillor and a member of the Health and Adult Scrutiny Committee (HASC))

The Chair invited the Group Head of Organisational Excellence to provide members with a brief overview of the report where she advised that the council vision for the period 2022 – 2026 had been developed by members and would guide decision making during the 4-year period. She went on to outline the difference between this report and the last, explaining that this report was strategic and had overarching objectives that were grouped by each council vision theme as detailed in the report.

          The Vice-Chair was invited to make comment by the Chair, where he explained there was due to be a meeting of HASC held tomorrow (Wednesday 14 June 2023) where he would be raising concerns at a proposal from the new commissioners to reduce NHS spending over the next 2/3 years by 20-30%. He stated that this would decimate the health service across the district as well as nationally and that investment was needed as a priority.

Councillor Northeast echoed the comments made by councillor Walsh and stated that he felt the commissioners had taken on a new name again and every time this happened the people lose something. He went to on to say he felt the situation was embarrassing and that for every major development planned, developers were putting forward the funds to provide additional NHS services (GPs, dentists etc,), however, the NHS were refusing to staff it.  It was queried if dentist were run by the NHS, and it was confirmed that both GP surgeries and dentist were private companies but funded by the NHS.

          The Committee then noted the annual report.

The report is seeking approval for undertaking business case appraisals to explore the options of developing cafes at Esplanade Theatre and Bognor Regis Promenade ‘Stalls Zone’.

Upon invitation from the Chair the Property, Estates and Facilities Manager, provided members with an overview of the report where he explained the report focused on 2 potential new café restaurant sites along the seafront one in the stalls zone and the other at the Esplanade theatre site. Both were identified by the Economic Committee in July 2021 as corporate priorities. In summing up he confirmed the recommendations before members in the report.

The Chair then invited questions and comments from members where it was asked why only 2 businesses, was there the opportunity for more to be involved? The Group Head of Technical Services advised that the council was taking forward two elements of a previously agreed plan (Bognor Regis delivery plan), there was an opportunity for the third opportunity to be considered by the committee at its meeting in October 2023.

The recommendations were then proposed by Councillor Walsh and seconded by Councillor Stanley.

The Committee

          RESOLVED that;

2.1. approves officers to proceed with undertaking business case appraisals to consider the viability of developing two new cafés at the Esplanade Theatre and Bognor Regis Promenade ‘Stalls Zone’ sites.

2.2.  officers report to Committee on the findings of these business case appraisals once they are completed, with recommendations as to any further action.

2.3. officers report to committee in due course on the redevelopment proposals recently received from the existing Clarence Road Kiosk operator

The Chair confirmed that there were no outside body update reports to be received for this meeting.

The Committee noted the outside body list provided.  

The work programme for the municipal year 2023/24 is attached for members review and comment.

The Chair advised members that there was an extraordinary meeting of the committee planned to take place on Monday 19 June 2023 to discuss the meanwhile use of the Brewers Fayre site.

          It was commented that the work programme was light on items for its February meeting next year and could it be explained why this was. The Chair confirmed that the work programme was an organic document, and it moved along with member suggestions in consultation with officers.

The Committee then noted the committee work programme for 2023/24.

The Committee is asked to consider passing the following resolution: -

          That under Section 100a (4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public and accredited representatives of newspapers be excluded from the meeting for the following item of business on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act by virtue of the paragraph specified against the item.

The recommendation was proposed by Councillor Walsh and seconded by Councillor Stanley.

The Committee

RESOLVED

That under Section 100a (4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public and accredited representatives of newspapers be excluded from the meeting for the following item of business on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act by virtue of the paragraph specified against the item.

The report provides a brief to the committee updating on the current position relating to three premises, as well as presenting options for consideration to the future tenure of the site.

Upon invitation from the Chair the Property, Estates and Facilities Manager, provided members with an overview of the report before them and then took questions from the Committee.

Throughout debate there was support from the committee, some concerns were raised in relation to planning matters when considering if the site were to be sold by the council and then purchased with a planning application attached.  It was also felt that there was an opportunity to gain some revenue for the council, however concerns were raised that there were no other options being presented to members.

The recommendations were proposed by Councillor Needs and seconded by Councillor Stanley.

That Committee

          RESOLVED that;

2.2. Delegated authority be given to the Group Head of Technical Services to accept the offer in principle for Arun District Council to purchase the leasehold interests of Beach Hotel, 2 Waterloo Square, and 4 Waterloo Square for the sum of £1m, negotiating and agreeing all further details with B5 Limited as necessary and executing all formal documentation necessary including applying the Council seal to secure and complete the deal.

2.3. Delegated authority be given to the Group Head of Technical Services to engage an appropriately qualified and experienced agent to market the plots as one lot for back-to-back (or as near as practical) freehold disposal on the open market, to maximise the potential of the plot subject to a renewed planning approval.

2.4.  it delegates to the Group Head of Technical Services in consultation    with the Section 151 Officer to dispose of the freehold interest in Beach Hotel, 2 Waterloo Square, and 4 Waterloo Square for best consideration following an open market campaign.

          The Committee

                     RECOMMEND TO POLICY AND FINANCE COMMITTEE that;

2.5. the Committee make a recommendation to Full Council, to approve borrowing of £1million from the Public Works Loan Board to fund the purchase of the leases, and for this to be added to the capital programme.