Agenda and draft 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.

There were no declarations of interest made

Councillor Nigel Sweet substituted for Councillor Nigel Jenner

Councillor Andy McGregor substituted for Councillor Emma Evans

Councillor Dan Humphreys substituted for Councillor Heather Mercer

To approve the minutes of the Joint Overview and Scrutiny Committee meeting of held on 27 February 2025, copies of which have been previously circulated.

The minutes of the meeting of the 27 February 2025 were approved as a correct record and be signed by the Chairman 

So as to provide the best opportunity for the Committee to provide the public with the fullest answer, questions from the public should be submitted by 12.00 noon on Wednesday 26th March 2025.

Where relevant notice of a question has not been given, the person presiding may either choose to give a response at the meeting or respond by undertaking to provide a written response within three working days.

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

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

A resident asked, “With the mass of Hemiko disruption to the town centre which is overseen by this council, seeing some businesses report losses of up to 50% in trading figures, reduced number of people parking, reduced footfall into shops on top of a massive increase in costs to businesses coming in next month we need a council that supports businesses by not increasing prices to park in the town centre. 

I have sat in several meetings this year with different councilors and have also attended several of these types of meetings. At each turn the council are telling us kind words about how they want to support the town centres small businesses and allow us to thrive, however your actions suggest that indeed these are just words. Your push to remove ANPR technology, your push to bring in some of the most expensive tables and chairs licensing in the county, your push to allow Hemiko to run riot across the town centre and now your push to increase parking prices shows that you are indeed not a council that supports business. With this in mind will the committee join me in asking the council to suspend parking increases and allow our town centre to recover from this anti business onslaught from Worthing borough council?”

Members were informed that the Joint Overview and Scrutiny Committee did not have the powers to reverse any executive decision. During the course of the meeting, the committee would listen to all the evidence carefully before coming to a determination as outlined in the procedure rules at Appendix 1 of the agenda. If the committee decided to refer the decision back to the decision-maker, this would include setting out the nature of its concerns.

Members were also informed that council was not anti-business with Members directed to Full Council responses of similar questions. That the Cabinet Member appreciated the time taken by the public to meet with both councillors and officers and assured that they were certainly being listened to.  They understood the pressures some businesses were facing and especially those close to the roadworks in Guildbourne where people come through the centre to get to the town centre shops.  In relation to car parks, following issues raised by businesses and the technology being reviewed by this committee, the implementation of the new technology was delayed till January in 2 car parks, officers had offered to support and the BID manager has successfully negotiated free parking vouchers with West Sussex County Council, and facilitated Hemiko support for more free parking until July. The Cabinet Member wanted to continue the discussion with local businesses so they could work together.  

A resident asked, “Can the councilors and officers tell me why i can park at the following, well maintained, and much nicer town centre car parks for the following fees for 3 hours Horsham swan walk £4, Chichester cattle market £3.30, Crawley county mall £3.70, Eastbourne beacon centre £4.20, Guildford town centre multi storey £3.30, Gunwharf quays  ...  view the full minutes text for item JOSC/67/24-25

Councillors who are not members of this committee can ask questions under CPR 12  Questions should be relevant to the committee where the question is being asked and also relevant to an item on the agenda. Please contact Democratic Services for more information

Members question time is 30 minutes and questions should be submitted no later than 12.00 noon Wednesday 26th March 2025.

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

(Note: Members’ Question Time will operate for a maximum of 30 minutes.)

There were no questions from Members

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

There were no urgent items

To consider a report from the director of Sustainability and Resources attached as item 7.

To consider a report from the director of Sustainability and Resources, a copy of which had been circulated to all members, a copy of which is attached to the signed copy of these minutes as item 7.

The lead Call-In Member outlined the main reasons for the Call-In of the decision, highlighting the ambiguities around the tariff increases outlined in the report. They also highlighted the comparison data provided that looked at other car parks in the county and contrasted it with their own research.

The Worthing Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Regeneration addressed the ambiguities and stated they were aware of them and had previously spoken to the officer regarding that issue before making their decision. They highlighted the comparisons between car parks around the county, taking into account position relative to the town centres.

The Adur Cabinet Member for Regeneration and Strategic Planning reiterated their decision to abstain from the decision as it was predominantly a Worthing matter.

The Assistant Director of Operations and Sustainability stated the report should have been clearer in reference to the 10% increase noted in the decision report and gave some detail on the methodology of how the tariffs were set, including comparisons to other car parks.

The committee asked the Call-In Members, the Cabinet Members and officers about comparisons with other areas, research into visitor attitude and behaviour, consideration of the report, how frequently parking charges were reviewed, public transport and what factors were taken into account when looking at footfall.

Members were informed of numerous different comparisons with car parks in other areas, their locations, tariffs etc as well as the strengths and weaknesses of methods of how the data was examined. The modelling carried out was based on data available but understanding what brought people to Worthing and what prevented them, which would be a wider discussion on more than just parking, would be a valuable piece of work. Members were informed that the Cabinet Member did consult with the officer regarding the inconsistent areas of the report and they felt fully informed and confident in their decision making. Members were also told that data on parking would be examined monthly, that while public transport played an important role, the Council did not want to discourage drivers from visiting Worthing and that while the data was not currently available, the national picture showed a decrease in footfall on high streets.

The Worthing Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Regeneration then summarised their position, highlighting the precarious condition of Worthing Borough Councils’ finances, the identified and understood ambiguities in the report and that they were fully aware of the context and meaning of the decision taken.

The Call-In Members then summarised their position, highlighting the issues with the original report and the impact on local businesses.

The committee debated opposing viewpoints on the impact that the rise in tariffs may have on users and their own comparisons of other car parks across the region. The points made by the officers,  ...  view the full minutes text for item JOSC/70/24-25