Agenda and minutes

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 Ed Crouch declared an interest in item 7 as a Non-executive Director for Worthing Homes.

Councillor Neil Parkin declared an interest in item 5 as an army veteran.

To approve the minutes of the Joint Strategic Committee meeting held on 7 October 2021, copies of which have been previously circulated.

Resolved that the minutes from the Joint Strategic Committee meeting held on 7 October 2021, were approved as an accurate record and signed by the Chairman.

To receive any questions from members of the public.

Questions should be submitted by noon on Friday 5 November 2021 to Democratic Services, democratic.services@adur-worthing.gov.uk   

 (Note: Public Question Time will operate for a maximum of 30 minutes)

There were no questions from the public.

To consider any items the Chairman of the meeting considers to be urgent.

There were no items raised under urgency provisions.

To consider a report from the Chief Executive, a copy is attached as item 5.

Before the Committee was a report by the Chief Executive, copies of which had been circulated to all Members and a copy of which is attached to the signed copy of these minutes as Item 5.

Adur & Worthing Councils were committed to supporting the armed forces and as part of this commitment had been signatories to the Armed Forces Community Covenant since 2013.  The Covenant aimed to ensure that members of the armed forces community received the support and access to public services they required.

Adur & Worthing Councils had, as part of this work, developed a range of new commitments and actions to uphold the principles of the Covenant by:

·       Recognising the sacrifices made by the armed forces community

·       Encouraging support for the armed forces community

·       Promoting understanding and awareness amongst the public

·       Encouraging activities to help the community integrate into local life

·       Supporting veterans and service families in employment with the Councils.

The recommendations as set out in the report were unanimously supported.

Decision

The Joint Strategic Committee noted and approved the work being undertaken to uphold the principles of the Armed Forces Community Covenant.

Call In:

The call-in deadline for the decision will be 5.00pm on 19 November 2021.

To consider a report from the Director for Digital, Sustainability and Resources, a copy is attached as item 6.

Before the Committee was a report by the Director for Digital, Sustainability and Resources copies of which had been circulated to all Members and a copy of which is attached to the signed copy of these minutes as Item 6.

West Sussex County Council had agency agreements with Adur District Council and Worthing Borough Council (who acted as agents) for the provision of on-street civil parking enforcement in the council areas.  The agreement was due for renewal on 1st April 2022.

Adur District Council and Worthing Borough Council had a joint contract with NSL Services for the provision of decriminalised traffic and parking enforcement services and controlled parking zone management in the council areas.  The agreement expired on the 31st March 2022 and a procurement exercise was required in order to procure services to commence 1st April 2022.

By agreeing to enter the new contract with West Sussex County Council and procure enforcement services for 5 years (with the option to extend for a further 2 years) the Councils were ensuring a level of influence over on-street arrangements, and involving West Sussex County Council in discussions about positively impacting on the regeneration of the town centre.

The report sought approval for the following:

·       To enter into a new Agency Agreement to start 1st April 2022 with West Sussex County Council and to act as their parking enforcement agents in relation to Civil Parking Enforcement;

·       To procure services for Civil Parking Enforcement; and

·       To delegate authority to the Director for Digital, Sustainability and Resources to award the contract to the most economically advantageous supplier and for the contract to start 1st April 2022 for 5 years with the option to extend for a further 2 years.

A member queried whether the contract would be able to address the issue of parking on grass verges. It was noted that the Councils had no legal power to do so at the current time, however, the LGA were lobbying the government to provide that power.  

Questions were received from Members in relation to the renewal date of the agency agreement with West Sussex County Council, break clause conditions in the contract with NSL and the cost allocation between Adur and Worthing Councils. Officers confirmed that the renewal date was April 2022, that there were relevant break clauses in the contract and that the cost allocation was attributable to the difference in parking controls across Adur and Worthing.

The recommendations as set out in the report were proposed by Councillor Kevin Boram, seconded by Councillor Ed Crouch and unanimously supported by the Committee.

Decision  

The Joint Strategic Committee:

1.     authorised Adur District Council and Worthing Borough Council entering into a new agency agreement with West Sussex County Council, on the terms set out in this Agreement, for the delivery by the Councils of  Civil Parking Enforcement services for West Sussex County Council,  to commence 1st April 2022;

2.     authorised officers to procure services for a Civil Parking Enforcement Supplier to carry out those Services;  ...  view the full minutes text for item JSC/53/21-22

To consider a report from the Director for the Economy, a copy is attached as item 7.

Before the Committee was a report by the Director for the Economy, copies of which had been circulated to all Members and a copy of which is attached to the signed copy of these minutes as Item 7.

This report seeks to transfer s106 contributions received from the Bayside development to the Capital Programme specifically to deliver affordable housing in the Borough.  This funding has to be used towards the delivery of affordable housing under the terms of the legal agreement but this can include the direct delivery of emergency or temporary accommodation or payment to a Registered Provider to deliver additional affordable housing.

A number of options for the use of this funding are being investigated by your Officers and it is recommended that the drawdown of the funding for specific schemes be delegated to the Executive Member for Housing.

It was noted that the figure quoted in paragraph 2.1 of the report, £1,765,800, had been increased through indexing and should be £1,948,268.

Members discussed the take up of properties in developments such as Bayside by registered social landlords (RSLs) and the high service charges associated with seafront developments. It was noted that the Councils claimed money back from developers in circumstances where properties were not taken up by RSLs which would be invested in the provision of affordable housing in Worthing. 

The recommendations, as amended, were supported by the Committee.

Decision

The Joint Strategic Committee approved a budget virement of £1,948,268 funded from the s106 monies from the Bayside development to the Worthing Borough Council Capital Programme to increase the budget for the delivery of affordable housing under the portfolios for the Executive Member for Customer Services.

Call In:

The call-in deadline for decision will be 5.00pm on 19 November 2021.

To consider a report from the Interim Director for Communities, a copy is attached as item 8.

Before the Committee was a report by the Interim Director for Communities, copies of which had been circulated to all Members and a copy of which is attached to the signed copy of these minutes as Item 8.

The report set out a motion referred from the meeting of Worthing Borough Council on the 19th October 2021.

Members of the Joint Strategic committee were asked to consider and determine the Motion.

Members could either support the motion and ask for further work to be carried out in this regard, or, members could reject the motion. 

Councillor Margaret Howard attended the meeting to present her motion to the Committee.

Members debated the motion and it was proposed by Councillor Daniel Humphreys and seconded by Councillor Kevin Jenkins, that the motion be rejected on the basis that the matter had changed since the submission of the motion and that the consistency of the message was maintained through working with the LGA to put forward such matters. The proposal to reject the motion was supported by the Committee.

Decision

The Joint Strategic Committee rejected the motion.              

Call In:

The call-in deadline for decision will be 5.00pm on 19 November 2021.

To consider a report from the Director for the Economy, a copy is attached as item 9.

Before the Committee was a report by the Director for the Economy, copies of which had been circulated to all Members and a copy of which is attached to the signed copy of these minutes as Item 7.

The purpose of the report was to recommend a way forward for utilising a grant received from Sport England for the reopening of Adur’s leisure facilities.

The recommendations, as set out in the report, were proposed by Councillor Emma Evans, seconded by Councillor Angus Dunn and supported by the Committee.

Decision

The Joint Strategic Committee

       i.         note the progress in reopening the Adur facilities following the ending of restrictions; and

     ii.         approved the proposed reopening payment of £104,000 funded from the grant received from Sport England.

Call In:

The call-in deadline for decision will be 5.00pm on 19 November 2021.

To consider a report from the Interim Director for Communities, a copy is attached as item 10.

Before the Committee was a report by the Interim Director for Communities, copies of which had been circulated to all Members and a copy of which is attached to the signed copy of these minutes as Item 8.

The report set out a motion referred from the meeting of Adur District Council on the 28th October 2021.

Members of the Joint Strategic committee were asked to consider and determine the Motion.

Members could either support the motion and ask for further work to be carried out in this regard, or, members could reject the motion. 

Councillor Robina Baine attended the meeting to present the motion to the Committee.

During consideration of the motion, Members raised a number of issues including net zero targets for the District, the importance of Local Partnerships, the leading role Shoreham Port and Ricardo’s were playing with hydrogen fuel and the lobbying of farmers.

It was proposed by Councillor Angus Dunn and seconded by Councillor Carson Albury that the motion be supported. This proposal was supported by the Committee.

Decision

That the Joint Strategic Committee supported the motion.

Call In:

The call-in deadline for decision will be 5.00pm on 19 November 2021.

To consider a report from the Interim Director for Communities, a copy is attached as item 11.

Before the Committee was a report by the Interim Director for Communities, copies of which had been circulated to all Members and a copy of which is attached to the signed copy of these minutes as Item 8.

The report set out a motion referred from the meeting of Adur District Council on the 28th October 2021.

Members of the Joint Strategic committee were asked to consider and determine the Motion.

Members could either support the motion and ask for further work to be carried out in this regard, or, members could reject the motion. 

Councillor Lee Cowen attended the meeting to present his motion to the Committee.

Members debated the motion and it was proposed by Councillor Angus Dunn and seconded by Councillor Kevin Boram, that the motion be rejected on the basis that events had overtaken the motion. The proposal to reject the motion was supported by the Committee.

Decision

The Joint Strategic Committee rejected the motion.                          

Call In:

The call-in deadline for decision will be 5.00pm on 19 November 2021.

To consider a report from the Interim Director for Communities, a copy is attached as item 12.

Before the Committee was a report by the Interim Director for Communities, copies of which had been circulated to all Members and a copy of which is attached to the signed copy of these minutes as Item 8.

The report set out a motion referred from the meeting of Adur District Council on the 28th October 2021.

Members of the Joint Strategic committee were asked to consider and determine the Motion.

Members could either support the motion and ask for further work to be carried out in this regard, or, members could reject the motion. 

Councillor Jeremy Gardner attended the meeting to present the motion to the Committee.

Members debated the motion, noting that JOSC had summoned a representative from Southern Water to attend the JOSC meeting in January 2022 and that Southern Water had appointed a new Chief Executive since the spills who had met with the Executive Member for Health & Wellbeing and the MP. The company was highly regulated by Ofwat and investment in infrastructure would be necessary to deal with changes to weather patterns delivering heavier rainfall and additional development.

Members expressed support for the sentiment of the motion but could not support the actions outlined within it.

It was proposed by Councillor Kevin Boram and seconded by Councillor Angus Dunn that the motion be rejected. The proposal was supported by the Committee.

Decision

The Joint Strategic Committee rejected the motion.                          

Call In:

The call-in deadline for decision will be 5.00pm on 19 November 2021.