Agenda item

The Cabinet may consider items of an urgent nature on functions falling within their responsibilities where special circumstances apply. Where the item relates to a key decision, the agreement of the Chairman of the Overview Select Committee must have been sought on both the subject of the decision and the reasons for the urgency. Such decisions shall not be subject to the call-in procedure as set out in the Scrutiny Procedure Rules at Part 6 of the Council’s Constitution.

Urgent Decision – Proposed Temporary Observation Wheel, Banjo Road, Littlehampton

            The Cabinet

                        RESOLVED

                        That the proposal of the Observation Wheel for temporary location at Banjo Road Car Park, Littlehampton from 22 July 2020 for an operating period of 28 days commencing from 24 July 2020 be endorsed.

Urgent Decision Two – Pavement Licensing

            The Cabinet

                        RESOLVED – That

(1)  The Pavement Licensing Policy be adopted;

(2)  The application fee be set at zero;

(3)  The authority given to the Leader of the Council in this instance be passed onto to the whole of Cabinet so that Cabinet has delegated authority to determine licence revocations proposed by Officers;

(4)   The authority given to the Leader of the Council in this instance is passed onto the whole of Cabinet and the Group Head of Technical Services, allowing the them to revoke pavement licences where the matter is considered urgent; and

(5)  The authority given to the Leader of the Council in this instance be passed onto the whole of Cabinet and the Group Head of Technical Services allowing the determination of applications, place conditions on licences and to serve enforcement notices.

(6)   

The Chairman confirmed that there were three urgent items that needed to be reported. 

The first related to the Residents’ Satisfactory Survey for 2020 and Councillor Dr Walsh confirmed that he felt that it was important to reveal some of the results that had been received.  He explained that a report would be submitted to the Overview Select Committee and Cabinet later in the year, but that he wanted to pass on the headlines in terms of what local residents thought about the area they lived in and the services received from the Council.

Councillor Dr Walsh reported three highlights from the survey as detailed below:

·         Overall satisfaction levels were high with 87% of residents saying that they were either very satisfied or satisfied with their local area, compared to 80% in 2019 and against a score of 81% for the Local Government Association (LGA) survey covering all Councils.

·         Satisfaction with the overall cleanliness of the district was high with 78% of residents either very satisfied or satisfied. Waste collection and recycling scored a satisfaction rate of 91%, against a figure of 85% for 2019.  This saw a significant improvement from previous results.

·         Satisfaction with the Council and its Services showed 77% of residents were either very satisfied or satisfied with the quality of service provided by Arun District Council, significantly up from 66% in 2019 and against the LGA survey with a figure of 70%.

Finally, Councillor Dr Walsh confirmed that whilst the survey also highlighted areas of concern, which would be reviewed by the Council in due course, he was delighted by the overall picture which showed very encouraging improvements over the last year.  He paid tribute to all Council staff who had helped to deliver these outstanding results and in particular, the Council’s refuse operatives who had continued to collect household waste throughout the Covid-19 pandemic so efficiently and with very few missed collections.

The Cabinet then noted the main features reported from the verbal updated provided.

Councillor Dr Walsh then alerted Cabinet to the next urgent matter which related to the Proposed Temporary Observation Wheel at Banjo Road, Littlehampton.

The Cabinet Member for Neighbourhood Services, Councillor Mrs Staniforth introduced this item and she explained that this report proposed that the Council endorsed the temporary location of an ‘observation wheel’ in Littlehampton at the Banjo Road car park in the area of the coach park which was currently underutilised. Councillor Mrs Staniforth outlined that this was an exciting opportunity for the Council as this would provide an enormous boost to the local economy and other tourism businesses that were struggling as a result of Covid-19.  Councillor Mrs Staniforth explained that this was an urgent report as a decision on whether to accept the observation wheel in this location had to be taken today, otherwise there was the threat that the operator would consider other suitable locations outside of the District.

The Group Head of Neighbourhood Services then presented the report and reinforced what Councillor Mrs Staniforth had said in terms of outlining this as a great opportunity for Littlehampton and the District as a whole.  

The Chairman commenced debate by confirming that the report set out the precise location of the wheel and finer details surrounding its operation which if approved tonight would commence on 24 July 2020.  He confirmed that he had liaised with the Directors at Harbour Park who welcomed the wheel as they believed that it would provide a natural synergy between Harbour Park and the Town’s other facilities.

The Chairman then invited questions from Cabinet Members.  Cabinet confirmed its overwhelming support to this new facility stating that it provided something new and exciting for holiday makers, visitors and residents along the seafront.

It was felt that the observation wheel would provide another reason for visitors to come to Littlehampton.  It was also agreed that this provided another positive advert for the area confirming that the District was well and truly open for tourism business.  It was also pleasing to know that the wheel had received full support from other local tourism providers and Littlehampton Town Council.

The Cabinet then invited non-Cabinet Councillors to ask questions.  They too supported the new initiative and the cross-business support this new venture had received. Questions were asked as to why the wheel had not been considered for Bognor Regis.  The Group Head of Neighbourhood Services confirmed that this had been considered as an option but had not been possible to pursue further due to the construction of the promenade, which was not strong enough to support the weight of the wheel.  It was also confirmed that a road closure order would have been necessary to locate the wheel on the promenade in Bognor Regis and this would have not been possible to organise in view of the timescales set by the wheel’s operators.

            Following some further debate, the Cabinet

                        RESOLVED

That the proposal to locate an Observation Wheel for temporary location at Banjo Road car park, Littlehampton from 22 July 2020 for an operating period of 28 days commencing 24 July 2020 be approved.

            The Cabinet then confirmed its decision as per Decision Notice C/004(i)/200720, a copy of which is attached to the signed copy of the minutes.

            The Chairman then alerted Members to the third urgent item regarding Pavement Licensing and the street licensing of tables. This was in line with legislation that was being rushed through Parliament this week making it necessary for local authorities to make urgent preparations to administer and enforce the new pavement licensing regime.  The streamlined licensing regime was intended to support businesses in the hospitality sector to manage social distancing.  The Chairman then invited the Cabinet Member for Technical Services, Councillor Stanley, to introduce the report. 

Councillor Stanley explained that if passed, the Business and Planning Bill proposed to make it easier for businesses serving food and drink such as restaurants, cafes and pubs to seat and serve customers outdoors to assist them in managing social distancing to control the spread of Covid-19. To do this, a set of recommendations were before Cabinet to approve to allow the Council to accept and determine applications.  The Bill had been established allowing such businesses to apply for a temporary pavement licence.  The process in place had been streamlined making it easier for businesses to obtain a licence to place temporary seating areas outside of their premises.   

Councillor Stanley explained that the new temporary pavement regime would be administered by the Council and a Pavement Licensing Policy had been drafted for approval so that as soon as the legislation was passed, the Council would be in a position to assist business with the processes in place.

Councillor Stanley outlined that the Council had worked with other District and Borough Councils to agree a consistent approach and he was pleased to be able to confirm that applicants would not be charged an application fee. He extended his thanks to the Group Head of Technical Services and his team for the speedy amount of work that had been undertaken to ensure that arrangements were in place prior to the Bill’s enactment.

The Group Head of Technical Services presented the highlights of the report confirming that the current situation for businesses was they had to apply for a licence to place furniture and chairs on a pavement, on a highway, to the Highway Authority which was currently West Sussex County Council (WSCC).  This process entailed a 28 days consultation period and in addition businesses needed to apply for planning consent if their application exceeded a certain number of days.  To provide a much needed financial boost to the hospitality economy, the application process would be streamlined with the licensing process being administered by Arun District Council in two tier Districts such as Arun. This new temporary regime would be in place until the end of September 2021 and the Group Head of Technical Services explained that a much shorter consultation period of 7 days would be in place and he outlined the processes in place in terms of how applications would be considered. In order to provide some control over the process, a draft Policy had been prepared setting out how the Council sought to administer the new temporary regime and how issues such as public safety, highway safety and the suitability and accessibility of sites would be considered. He also outlined the consultees that would be involved in the process such as Ward Councillors; Town and Parish Councils; Trade Associations, the Chamber of Commerce and the Business Improvement District as well as emergency services. The enforcement provisions were also clearly outlined.

            The Chairman in inviting debate, confirmed that this had been a very quick response to the Covid-19 emergency and at a time when the gradual easing of lockdown restrictions was in place and at the beginning of the school summer holidays.  He therefore very much welcomed the proposals which would be a boost to local tourism and associated businesses.  These comments were echoed by other Cabinet Members. 

            The Director of Place confirmed that it had just been brought to his attention that due to legislative requirements and as legislation was still passing through Parliament, in order for the recommendations to allow the Council to function and undertake the required work associated with pavement licensing, some amendments to the recommendations would need to be made.  He explained that the authority that was being offered by Parliament through the Bill, had only been granted to the Leaders of Councils.  To make the recommendations workable for the Council, the Leader of the Council would be required to make a clear statement confirming that he was delegating the authority given to him onto Cabinet so that Cabinet could approve the decisions required allowing the functions in operating the pavement licensing to occur when the Business and Planning Bill came into force.  If accepted by the Leader of the Council, he would need to confirm this by making a statement so that the recommendations set out in the report could be amended accordingly.

            Councillor Dr Walsh confirmed that as he whole heartedly supported all the recommendations, he was happy to make such a statement. He then outlined that the delegated authority given to him, as Leader of the Council, under the Business and Planning Bill, be delegated onto the whole of Cabinet and that the recommendations set out in the report be amended accordingly.  

            The Chairman then invited Cabinet comment.  One area of concern was around those businesses who might have already paid a pavement licensing fee to WSCC and whether they would be entitled to some form of refund as a result of the new regime.  The Group Head of Technical Services confirmed that this would be for any such business to raise directly with WSCC.

            The Chairman then raised the issue of non-smokers sitting outside and that they should be able to enjoy outside space in a smoke and vapour free environment.  The Group Head of Technical Services outlined that non-smoking areas would have to be designated.

            Non-Cabinet Councillors present were then invited to ask questions.  They confirmed that they welcomed this Bill passing and hoped that designated non-smoking outside space would be provided.

            The Cabinet

                        RESOLVED – That

(1)          The Pavement Licensing Policy be adopted;

(2)          The application fee be set at zero;

(3)          The authority given to the Leader of the Council in this instance be delegated and granted to the whole of Cabinet once the legislation is enacted and passed to the Group Head of Technical Services in consultation with the Chairman of the Licensing Committee to make any required amendments to the Policy;

(4)          The authority given to the Leader of the Council in this instance be delegated and granted to the whole of Cabinet once the legislation is enacted and passed to the Group Head of Technical Services so that Cabinet has delegated authority to determine licence revocations proposed by Officers;

(5)          The authority given to the Leader of the Council in this instance be delegated onto the whole of Cabinet once the legislation is enacted and passed to the Group Head of Technical Services, to allow the Council to revoke pavement licences where the matter is considered urgent; and

(6)          The authority given to the Leader of the Council in this instance be delegated onto the whole of Cabinet once the legislation is enacted and passed onto the Group Head of Technical Services allowing the determination of applications, place conditions on licences and to serve enforcement notices.