Agenda and minutes

The Mayor announced that an apology for absence had been received from Councillor Steve Wills.

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.

Councillor Edward Crouch declared a pecuniary interest in item 7A(ii) as a Director of Worthing Homes. 

To approve the minutes of the Council Meeting held on Tuesday 22 February 2022, copies of which have been previously circulated. 

A copy is available to view at

https://democracy.adur-worthing.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=158&MId=1625&Ver=4

Resolved that the minutes of the meeting held on 22 February 2022 be approved as a correct record and that they be signed by the Mayor.

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 Borough, except no questions may be asked in relation to

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 minutes; questions will be taken in the order of receipt.

The deadline for submission of questions is Friday 1 April 2022 at 12 noon. Questions to be submitted to democratic.services@adur-worthing.gov.uk   

The Mayor announced that there were 4 registered questions and 1 question from a member of the public in the gallery.

1)     Submitted Question from Mr Phil Abbott, a Worthing Resident

A blot on the Worthing landscape - Dumped, long term, short term parking of caravans, converted lorries, camper and commercial vehicles along West Parade is impacting on local residents, tourism and the wider Worthing economy.

What are you proposing to do about the situation?

The Leader replied that West Sussex County Council, as the Highway Authority, was responsible for setting policies that govern on-street parking and enforcement.  Worthing Borough Council carried out parking enforcement within that framework on behalf of the County Council. 

Within that context, Worthing Borough Council can only take enforcement action by issuing penalty charge notices against vehicles that were parked in contravention to existing restrictions.  Enforcement officers regularly patrolled West Parade and took appropriate action where necessary. 

If any vehicle was not parked in contravention, whether commercial or otherwise,the council had no power or jurisdiction to have them removed from the highway. 

Where vehicles appeared to be abandoned on the highway, a report would need to be made through http://www.operationcrackdown.org/  which is a joint initiative between the police and local authorities.

The Leader advised Mr Abbott to raise the issue with his County Councillor, providing examples of similar issues that had been successfully resolved in this way.

2)     Submitted Question from Mr Dan Hermitage, a Worthing Resident

Does the Leader think that Members’ social media activity should be held to the same standards as other public communication methods, for example such as direct speech?

The Leader replied that social media could be a challenging area. It remained in many respects an unregulated (even lawless) arena, with an abundance of those who were all too ‘trigger happy’. Content posted on social media had the potential to reach a wider audience than ever before, rather than being confined to the locality in which the content originated. This meant that content could have a much more significant impact, with a degree of permanence.

It was becoming increasingly common for standards complaints to be made on the basis of comments councillors had made on social media. Section 27(1) of the Localism Act 2011 placed a positive duty on councils to promote and maintain high standards of conduct of members and officers, and so this council sought to do so wherever its members used social media.

Mr Hermitage asked a supplementary question regarding Cllr Cochran’s suspension from the Conservative Party in relation to his social media activity and whether the Leader thought it acceptable that internal Conservative enquiries into this activity were still outstanding, leaving the town with an independent councillor who had demonstrated prejudicial views on his social media channels.  

The Leader replied that the question was factually inaccurate and the statements made were defamatory, therefore, he could not comment on them any further.

3)     Submitted Question from Ms Pauline Fraser, a Worthing Resident

During the pandemic,  ...  view the full minutes text for item C/81/21-22

The Mayor made the following announcements.

Since the last meeting of Full Council, the Mayor had attended a number of Civic Events including:-

·       A Worthing Rotary Dinner for their 100 year celebrations;

·       The launch of the 2rd Goring Scouts new Squirrels group for youngsters aged 4 to 6;

·       The Spiking awareness campaign;

·       The National Tremor Foundation’s Stall in town which was discussing and highlighting the effects of living with this condition; and

·       The planting of two trees; 1 in Brooklands Park for the Covid Memorial and the second in Beach House Park as part of the Queens Green Canopy to mark the Queen's Platinum Jubilee.

The Mayor highlighted a number of upcoming charity events, including:-

·       On Wednesday 13th, Thursday 14th and Tuesday 19th April from 2.00 to 3.30pm we are offering the opportunity to come and meet the Mayor for a cuppa at the Town Hall; this will also include a short tour of the Parlour and the Council Chamber.

·       On Thursday 12th May the Worthing Society is giving a talk about Jane Austin at the Pizza Express in Warwick Street.

·       There will also be a cheese and wine evening at TS Vanguard.

Finally, the Mayor congratulated Worthing Football Club on their success so far this season (they were 1 win away from winning promotion to the national league south). On behalf of the Council, the Mayor wished the team good luck in their remaining fixture.

The Leader made an announcement in regards to the lodging of an appeal in relation to Chatsmore Farm, Goring Gap, advising that the Council was on schedule to do that. The Leader paid tribute to all the people that came along to protest against the decision taken by the planning inspector and wished to place on record his thanks to two of the students from St Oscar Romero High School, Chloe and Elliott, for the contribution they had made to that campaign.     

The Executive Member for Resources announced the opening of a new facility in Montague Street by ‘AudioActive’, a charity focusing on working with young people through the medium of music. The patron of the charity was Rory Graham, known as Rag and Bone Man, a hugely successful recording artist. Rory had been instrumental with the scheme in Worthing. The premises will feature a coffee shop, record store, music studios and performance areas. Free music sessions will be available for young people together with interventions to improve mental health.    

To consider any items the Mayor has agreed are urgent.

There were no urgent items raised under the urgency provisions.

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

Full reports are available on the website as listed below:-

Council had, before it, recommendations from the Joint Strategic Committee, the Joint Overview & Scrutiny Committee and the Joint Governance Committee.

Extracts of these minutes had been circulated as items 7A (i) and (ii), 7B and 7C (i) and (ii).

Item 7A(i)                    Joint Strategic Committee - 16 March 2022

Renewal of the Adur & Worthing Wellbeing Partnership

The Leader introduced the recommendation to the Council informing Members that the proposed new commissioning arrangements for Adur & Worthing Wellbeing, from April 2022, were for a period of five years. A funding allocation had been proposed for the 2022-2023 financial year which had been signed off at WSCC Full Council in February 2022. Indicative funding for each subsequent financial year would be agreed by December, annually.

The proposal was seconded by Councillor Robert Smytherman, debated and unanimously supported.

Resolved,

That the Council agreed to amend the revenue budget accordingly. The indicative amount for 2022-2023 was £513,973.  

* Councillor Crouch left the meeting during consideration of item 7A(ii).

Item 7A(ii)                   Joint Strategic Committee - 16 March 2022

Pathways to Affordable Homes - Delivery Plans

The Leader introduced the recommendation advising that the report had followed the publication of the Adur and Worthing Housing Strategy for 2020-2023 and ‘Delivering Pathways to Affordable Homes’ documents. It outlined how Adur and Worthing intended to meet the commitments set out in Delivering Pathways to Affordable Homes.

The delivery plans provided details of how delivery programmes and teams could be structured as well as a detailed delivery structure providing an overview of work streams and timescales for completion.

The proposal was seconded by Councillor Heather Mercer, debated and following a vote (For 18, Against 0, Abstentions 17) it was

Resolved,

That the Council agreed to adopt the Delivery Plans set out in Appendix A as part of the Housing Strategy for 2020-2023.

Item 7B                       Joint Overview & Scrutiny Committee - 17 March 2022

JOSC Work Programme setting 2022/23

Prior to consideration of the item, the Council wished to place on record it’s thanks to Cllr Smytherman, for all his work on the Joint Overview & Scrutiny Committee.

The Chairman of the Joint Overview & Scrutiny Committee proposed the recommendation which was seconded by Councillor Richard Nowak, debated and following a vote (For 18, Against 0, Abstentions 18) it was

Resolved,

That the Council approved the amended draft JOSC Work Programme for 2022/23.

Item 7C(i)                    Joint Governance Committee - 22 March 2022

Proposed revisions to Contract Standing Orders

The Chairman of the Joint Governance Committee proposed the recommendation which was seconded by Councillor Robert Smytherman, debated and unanimously supported.

Resolved,

That the Council approved the amendments to the Joint Contract Standing Orders.

Item 7C(ii)                   Joint Governance Committee - 22 March 2022

Scheme of Allowances for Worthing Borough Council in 2022/23

The Chairman of the Joint Governance Committee proposed the recommendation which was seconded by Councillor Robert Smytherman, debated and unanimously supported.

Resolved,

The Council approved  ...  view the full minutes text for item C/84/21-22

To receive a report from the Leader as item 8. The report contains decisions taken by the Executive, Executive Members and the Joint Strategic Committee since the last Council meeting. 

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

(Note: Papers relating to items under 7 and 8 have been previously circulated and can be viewed on the Council’s website)

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

There were no questions raised in relation to the decisions reported. 

To receive nominations for the appointment of Deputy Mayor for 2022/23 who will be Mayor from May 2023.

Councillor Beccy Cooper proposed Councillor Martin McCabe as Deputy Mayor for 2022/23, to become Mayor in 2023/24. 

Councillor Daniel Humphreys seconded the proposal.

There were no other nominations.

On a vote (For 36, Against 0, Abstentions 0)

Resolved,

That Councillor Martin McCabe be the nominated Deputy Mayor for 2022/23 to serve as Mayor from the Annual Meeting of the Council in 2023.

Members’ question time will last up to 30 minutes, with questions being taken in the order of receipt and in rotation from each political group on the Council. The deadline for submission of questions is Friday 1 April at 12 noon.

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

Questions can be asked of the following:

a)     The Mayor

b)     A Member of the Executive

c)     The Chairman of any Committee

d)     The Council’s representative on any outside body

Questions cannot be asked in relation to the following:

a)     A specific planning or licensing application

b)     A specific staffing appointment, appeal or Standards determination

The Mayor announced that the Proper Officer had not received any questions from Members in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 12.

To consider a Motion on Notice, submitted by the Proper Officer on behalf of Councillor Vicki Wells, detailed as item 11.

Before the Council was a motion proposed by Councillor Vicki Wells and seconded by Councillor Martin McCabe.

Resolved,

In accordance with the Constitution, the Motion was noted and immediately referred to the Joint Strategic Committee.