Agenda and draft minutes

Apologies from Councillors Nigel Corston, Carolyn Fuhrmann and Andy McGregor were received by the Chair.

Members and officers must declare any disclosable pecuniary interests in relation to any business on the agenda. Declarations should also be made at any stage such an interest becomes apparent during the meeting.

If in doubt contact the Legal or Democratic Services representative for this meeting.

There were no declarations of pecuniary interests.

To receive any questions from members of the public addressed to Members of the Executive in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 11. There is up to 5 minutes for each question, one supplementary question may be asked arising from the original question.

Questions must relate to any matter the Council has power or which affects the District except no questions may be asked on

a)    A specific planning or licensing application

b)    A specific staffing appointment or appeal or Standards determination

Public question time will last up to 30 minute; questions will be taken in order of receipt. The deadline for submission of questions is 15^th July 2024 at 12 noon.

Questions to be submitted to democratic.services@adur-worthing.gov.uk  

There were no questions from the public.

To approve the minutes of the Annual Council Meeting held on Thursday 23rd May 2024, copies of which have been previously circulated.

Resolved, that the minutes of the meeting held on 23 May 2024 be approved as a correct record and be signed by the Chair.

The Chair informed the Council about a number of meetings and events that she had attended since the Annual Council meeting. These included:-

1.     80th D Day commemoration in Lancing;

2.     Opening of 2nd Lancing Green Dreams;

3.     The Greatest Show - ASNP;

4.     St Alban's Women's Knitting Circle;

5.     Lancing Royal British Legion 100th Anniversary - attended by Cllr Andy Harvey;

6.     Shoreham College Open Day - attended by Cllr Andy Harvey;

7.     Invitation to meet with Lord Lieutenant of West Sussex - Lady Emma Barnard - missed due to illness;

8.     Meeting with the Mayor of Worthing to discuss joint fundraising for our Charities of the Year.

The Leader made the following announcements:-

·       The Adur Homes & Customer Services portfolio was to be renamed The Housing & Citizen Services portfolio to reflect that it covers a wider housing agenda and because citizens have rights, they aren’t simply customers;

·       The Leader attended the launch of Sussex Energy on the 16th July which was an ambitious mission to achieve a zero carbon electricity system by 2040. A situation where Sussex produces as much energy as it uses by reducing demand and increasing supply of zero carbon energy. This was an initiative of the Greater Brighton Economic Board (GBEB); 

·       Following the General Election on the 4th July, Tom Rutland was the new Labour MP for East Worthing and Shoreham, there was a new government and a King’s Speech, all of which had implications for Adur District Council. Among the bills which had the biggest impact on District Councils was English Devolution, Planning & Infrastructure Changes, Renters Rights and Great British Energy.  

The Cabinet Member for Housing & Citizen Services updated the Council on the delivery of new housing through a number of projects including Albion Street, South Street in Lancing and the former garage sites in Mash Barn (Daniel Close and Gravelly Crescent). 

The Cabinet Member for Environment & Leisure highlighted the brilliant achievement of the Council’s Parks and Foreshore Team, that four of Adur’s Green Spaces had been recognised again in this year’s green flag awards. They were Buckingham Park, Lancing Ring, Lancing Manor Park and Shoreham Beach.  

The Leader of the Opposition, Cllr Parkin, advised Council of the following changes to Committee Memberships for the Conservative Group:-

·       Councillor Andy McGregor was appointed to the vacant Conservative seat on the Planning Committee; and

·       Councillor Neil Parkin replaced Councillor Tony Bellasis on the Joint Audit & Governance Committee.

There were no announcements from the Head of Paid Service.

To consider any items the Chair has agreed are urgent.

The Chair advised that there had been no items raised under urgency.

To consider recommendations to the Council, details of which are set out in the attached items as 7A, 7B(i), 7B(ii), 7C(i) and 7C(ii). 

Full reports are available on the website as listed below:

7(A)                 Joint Audit & Governance Committee - 28 May 2024

Joint Audit & Governance Committee Appointments: Parish Councillors

The Chair of the Joint Audit & Governance Committee, Councillor Debs Stainforth, introduced the recommendations from the Committee, which were seconded by Councillor Carol O’Neal and following a vote, were unanimously supported. 

Resolved: that the Council noted 

       i.         the appointment of Cllr Liz Haywood as a Co-Opted Member for Lancing Parish Council on the Joint Audit & Governance Committee for 2024/25;

     ii.         the appointment of Cllr Tim Hicks as a Co-opted Member for Sompting Parish Council on the Joint Audit & Governance Committee for 2024/25.

7B(i)                Joint Overview and Scrutiny Committee - 15 July 2024

New JOSC Work Programme for 2024/25

The Chair of the Joint Overview & Scrutiny Committee, Councillor Joss Loader, introduced the recommendations from the Committee, which were seconded by Councillor Nigel Jenner and following a vote, were unanimously supported. 

Resolved: that the Council approved the JOSC Work Programme for 2024/25.

7B(ii)               Joint Overview and Scrutiny Committee - 15 July 2024

JOSC Annual Report for 2023/24

The Chair of the Joint Overview & Scrutiny Committee, Councillor Joss Loader, introduced the recommendations from the Committee, which were seconded by Councillor Nigel Jenner and following a vote, were unanimously supported. 

Resolved: that the Council approved the Annual Report for 2023/24.

7C(i)                Joint Strategic Committee - 17 July 2024

Financial Performance 2023/24 - Capital and Projects Outturn

The Leader and Chair of the Joint Strategic Committee, Councillor Jeremy Gardner, introduced the recommendations from the Committee meeting, which were seconded by Councillor Lee Cowen and following a vote, were unanimously supported. 

Resolved: that the Council 

a)     Noted the overall capital final outturn for 2023/24. 

b)     Agreed the net carry over of General Fund Capital underspends for Adur District Council as detailed in paragraphs 5.4. 

c)     Approved the financing of the Adur District Council 2023/24 Capital Investment Programme, including the use of capital receipts as set out in paragraphs 5.1, 5.2 and 5.3.

d)     Approved the carry forward of Council underspends to fund an increased contingency as reviewed in 5.6 and summarised in paragraph 5.7.

7C(ii)               Joint Strategic Committee - 17 July 2024

Strategic Property Investment Fund

The Leader introduced the recommendations from the Joint Strategic Committee, which were seconded by Councillor Lee Cowen, debated and following a vote, were unanimously supported. 

Resolved: that the Council agreed to adopt the Commercial Property Investment Strategy for 2024/25. 

To receive a report  from the Leader as item 8. The report contains decisions taken by the Cabinet Members and the Joint Strategic Committee since the last Full Council meeting held on the 28th March 2024.  

There will be up to 15 minutes for Cabinet Members to make any statements on the report. There will also be up to 15 minutes for Cabinet Members to respond to questions on the report. These questions will not be the same as any to be asked under Item 10.

The Leader of the Council presented his report on decisions taken by the Cabinet since the last meeting of the Council, which were detailed in Item 8.

The Leader advised that there was a Joint Strategic Committee meeting held the night before the Council meeting with several items on the agenda which could be found on the Council’s website. However, the minutes detailing the decisions taken by the Joint Strategic Committee on the 17th July 2024 are not due to be published until early the following week. Therefore, he would be reporting those decisions to the next meeting of the Full Council. 

No questions were raised on the remaining decisions set out in the report.

To receive a report from the Assistant Director for People and Change, attached as item 9.

Before the Council was a report by the Assistant Director for People and Change, which was circulated to all members and is attached to the signed copy of these minutes as item 9.

The Leader proposed the recommendation, which was seconded by Councillor Lee Cowen and following a vote, was unanimously supported.

Resolved, that the Council noted and approved the Pay Policy Statement for 2023/24 set out in Appendix 1 of the report.

Members question time will last up to 30 minutes, questions will be taken in order of receipt, in rotation from each political group on the Council. The deadline for submission of questions is 15^th July 2024 at 12 noon. Questions to be submitted to democratic.services@adur-worthing.gov.uk

Questions received can be asked of the following:

a)    The Chair

b)    A Member of the Cabinet

c)    The Chair of any Committee

d)    The Councils representative on any outside body

Questions cannot be asked on the following

a)    A specific planning or licensing application

b)    A specific staffing appointment, appeal or Standards determination

Rotation One

Cllr Parkin asked the following question:

I was interested to read how the Joint aim of Adur and Worthing councils was "TO MAKE THE AREA GREENER AND FAIRER". This is a great sound bite, but what does it mean? What are you going to do? Ìn other words, what is behind the sound bite.

The Leader replied that the earlier announcements from members of the Cabinet contributed to a fairer or a greener Adur on key issues for local people such as housing, energy and the environment. That was just the beginning.

At the Joint Strategic Committee (JSC) meeting held on the 17th July, a report was received regarding the Council’s involvement in the development of the county wide Local Nature Recovery Strategy, and the work underway by Adur Council to take this much further through the creation of an Adur & Worthing Nature Plan.  This would be presented to the JSC in October and would set out further plans to re-nature the area, including the creation of green corridors to allow wildlife to move across the landscape.  The new neighbourhood team would pick up these plans and work with the community to deliver as much renaturing as possible, including in people’s gardens.  The Council was now working with the South Downs National Park Authority to set up systems for biodiversity, net gain payments into local projects and designs for renaturing Pad Farm were progressing.  The Adur River Festival was providing the community with a number of opportunities to engage with the Adur River Recovery Project between June and October.

The JSC had also agreed on a priorities document, the priorities of the two councils. In this were a series of priorities around green, active travel, a fair deal for local traders, delivering affordable homes and on homelessness.

In relation to fairer, the continued work on Proactive would ensure both councils continued to focus on identifying and supporting people who were experiencing vulnerability to help maximise their income and access help.  It also meant working with partners including the NHS and community partners to address inequalities and improve health and wellbeing, including the work of the Council’s social prescribing team and it’s Wellbeing Programme.  Importantly, the Council was developing a new Housing Strategy and working with its partners, would develop a stronger approach to preventing homelessness and the essential work of improving Adur Homes after years of underinvestment. That was giving tenants a fair deal.

Cllr Shinn asked the following question:

When in opposition, you shared our frustration about the lack of progress in achieving the aims and intentions of our Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plan (LCWIP).

Could you please outline how your new administration intends to make progress in pursuing and implementing the plan?

The Leader replied that a meeting was due to be held with West Sussex County Council (WSCC) on the 19th July to determine the level of activity in Adur regarding cycling and walking. Whilst the Council was approaching this as a partnership,  ...  view the full minutes text for item C/22/24-25