Agenda item

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.

The Chairman announced that there was one urgent matter that needed to be considered by the Council this evening on the HM Treasury Levelling Up Fund.  She confirmed that this report had been emailed to all Councillors earlier that afternoon and had been uploaded to the Council’s Full Council web page as a supplement.

            The Chief Executive was invited to introduce this report.  He firstly apologised for its lateness and explained that the full details had only been received last week setting out how the Council could take this matter forward. It was explained that if the Council decided to bid for this fund, then it needed to move very quickly, hence the urgent nature of the report, as bids needed to be submitted by 18 June 2021. There was no clarity provided at the moment in terms of future bidding round dates only that there would be future rounds but it could be confirmed that Arun District Council fitted within Category 2 of the bidding level and that bids could be successful “if they were of exceptional quality”.

The Leader of the Council then provided further detail to the report and formally proposed its recommendations. Councillor Dr Walsh highlighted that this was a very exciting announcement from the Government made only a few days ago announcing a total fund value of £4.8 billion pounds was to be spent by 2024.  The Council was able to bid up to a maximum level of £20 m for projects in the Arun District.  The Government had made it clear that they wished to target these funds on Council’s that had coastal communities and deprived areas so this could include Bognor Regis and Littlehampton. The timetable in place to undertake this work was extremely tight in that the Council had to submit its bids by 18 June 2021, with the Government announcing the outcome of those bids in the Autumn of this year. The Government had also specified that the bids for projects needed to be well worked up so that they were not new projects or concepts. The expectation was that a mini business case would need to be submitted for each of the projects with the Council being able to bid for up to 3 different projects.

 Councillor Dr Walsh outlined that in order to progress this urgent work, he proposed to set up a Levelling Up Fund Working Party, which would have the necessary political balance, and that the Working Party’s remit would be to advise Officers, very quickly, on the project preferences for bidding, including confirming a priority order. It was hoped that approval would be given to establish this Working Party tonight to allow it to meet very soon with Group Leaders confirming membership. Councillor Dr Walsh therefore urged Councillors to support this proposal as it was very unusual for Councils to be given the opportunity to bid for funding of this size.

Councillor Oppler then seconded the recommendations.

            The Chairman then invited debate.  This commenced with various concerns being raised, mostly in relation to another item on the agenda being Item 14 [Feedback on Presentations Relating to Bognor Regis Regeneration]. It was one Councillors understanding that Group Leaders had met and had agreed that there would be a private briefing for all Councillors to debate the Bognor Regis regeneration proposals with the intention of presenting a way forward. It was now concerning to learn that consideration of Item 14 would be deferred with priority now being given to the Levelling Up Fund work.  Concerns were also raised in terms of the membership size of the Working Party which had been set at 7 Members.  This meant that the Arun Independent Group; the Green Group and the Labour Party would automatically be excluded. There was also concern that the Working Party would not consider new ideas when it was new ideas that were needed.  Views were outlined that the work that would need to be undertaken on the Levelling Up Fund should not be at the detriment of considering the Bognor Regis Regeneration proposals as it could be that those new ideas could form part of the Council’s bid. Points were made over the urgency of this item and the 18 June deadline for submitting a bid. It was felt that this was inaccurate as at Section 6.5 of the prospectus provided, it clearly set out that the 18 June deadline was for the first tranche of bidding.  Section 6.15 of the prospectus provided further guidance on bidding which allowed Councils to submit bids as part of later rounds allowing Councils more time to consider and develop proposals which some Councillors felt that the Council should also consider. There were Councillors who did not want recycled and refreshed old ideas to form the bids put forward by the Council.

            Further debate took place with regard to Agenda Item 14 with very strong views being made that consideration of the Bognor Regis regeneration proposals should not be delayed as this could have implications for those who had submitted bids and questions were asked as to why both projects could not be run together.

Others spoke in full support of the recommendations explaining that the Levelling Up Fund presented a unique opportunity for the Council which could not be missed. This was why a Working Party was being proposed, so that work could commence quickly with a way forward being reported back to either the next meeting of Cabinet or Full Council in May 2021.   Consideration of the regeneration proposals could be deferred until after 18 June 2021 when the work had been completed on the Council’s bid.  The issue of Officer capacity could not be ignored, and the proposals presented a way to work around this to achieve the submission of a bid and to then consider the regeneration proposals.

There were Councillors who spoke in support of undertaking the required work on the Levelling Up Fund but expressed concern over the type of bid(s) that might be submitted.  It was hoped that new, fresh and radical ideas that would support the recovery and regeneration of the District’s Town Centres, especially Littlehampton, would be considered.  To submit plans that were 10-15 years old would not work as such schemes were not relevant to the District’s needs as they stood now, especially following a pandemic and an urgent need to provide attractions that would increase footfall and attract visitors.

Debate returned to the proposed membership of the Working Party and the need to ensure that its membership would consider both sides of the District equally, not favouring one over the other. In view of this, reassurance was requested that membership would consist of Members from Littlehampton and Bognor Regis.

In view of the continued discussion focusing on Agenda Item 14, Councillors asked if it could be confirmed now if this item was going to be deferred or whether they would have the opportunity to take part in debating it.

            Councillor Oppler, as seconder to the recommendations, reminded Councillors that the opportunity to bid for £20m for both principal Towns could not be ignored, especially when this funding was specifically targeted towards Councils that had deprived wards in seaside communities.  Having read the report, so much of the criteria fitted in with what the Council was doing for communities in Bognor Regis and Littlehampton.

            Councillor Dr Walsh, as proposer to the recommendations, provided some further information in response to the concerns that had been raised. He explained that having received the news about the Fund and how Councils could bid, in view of the urgent nature and timescales set, the decision to create a Working Party could have been made as an Executive function of Cabinet. However, he had taken the decision to bring this matter of urgency to Full Council for all Councillors to consider in view of the fact that this opportunity had such major importance for the entire District and needed support from across the Council. It made sense to submit a bid for the first round of funding so that if this did not succeed, then other bids could be made.  In the event that the bid was successful, it would then give the Council more time to complete projects within stipulated deadlines. The engagement of outside consultants would almost certainly be necessary to assist Officer capacity and Councillor Dr Walsh confirmed that the Government was setting up a small sub-fund allowing Councils to bid for support to bid for the grant. Councillor Dr Walsh confirmed that the Working Party would have to have representation from both Bognor Regis and Littlehampton and that there was no reason why a Members’ Seminar on the Bognor Regis presentations could still not take place, as agreed.

Points of Order were then raised whereby Councillors insisted they receive a response confirming whether Agenda Item 14 would be deferred or whether there would be opportunity for Member debate.

Councillor Dr Walsh in response confirmed that the deferral of Agenda Item 14 would be the subject of debate at that agenda item.

Following further debate and Points of Orders raised, further clarification was sought on what the recommendations in the report meant. Councillor Dr Walsh confirmed that the recommendations proposed the establishment of a Working Party that would consider proposals that the Council would put into a bid for the £20m Levelling Up Fund.

Further Points of Order were raised on the recommendations and where the recommendations from the Working Party would be reported to, would this be Cabinet or Full Council?  The Chief Executive explained that it would be one or the other depending upon timescales.  Requests were made for this to be added as a third recommendation. The Chief Executive highlighted that this point was clearly set out in the report.

            The Director of Place then explained various sections from the prospectus in response to earlier questions raised on bidding timelines. 

            A request had been received that the voting on the two recommendations be recorded.  Those voting for were Councillors Mrs Baker, Bennett, Bicknell, Blanchard-Cooper, Bower, Brooks, Ms Caffyn, Mrs Catterson, Charles, Clayden, Mrs Cooper, Cooper, Coster, Mrs Daniells, Dendle, Dixon, Edwards, Elkins, Goodheart, Mrs Gregory, Gunner, Mrs Hamilton, Mrs Haywood, Hughes, Huntley, Jones, Kelly, Lury, Mrs Madeley, Miss Needs, Oppler, Mrs Pendleton, Miss Rhodes, Roberts, Miss Seex, Smith, Mrs Staniforth, Mrs Stainton, Stanley, Tilbrook, Ms Thurston, Dr Walsh, Mrs Warr and Mrs Yeates (45).  No Councillors voted against.  Councillors Chapman, English and Mrs Worne abstained from voting (3).

            The Council

                        RESOLVED – That

(1)          Agreement be given to setting up a Levelling Up Fund Working Party with the necessary political balance; and

(2)          The Working Party’s remit will be to advise Officers on their project preferences for bidding, including the priority order.

            The Chairman then called a short adjournment.