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.

There were no declarations of interest.

To approve the minutes of the Adur Joint Strategic Sub Committee meeting held on 27 September 2023, copies of which have previously been circulated.

The minutes of the Adur Joint Strategic Sub-Committee meeting held on 27 September 2023 were agreed as a correct record.

To receive any questions from members of the public.

Questions should be submitted by noon on Thursday 2 November 2023 to Democratic Services via 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.

Pre-submitted Members questions are pursuant to rule 12 of the Council & Committee Procedure Rules. 

Questions should be submitted by noon on Thursday 2 November 2023 to Democratic Services via democratic.services@adur-worthing.gov.uk   

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

There were no pre-submitted questions from Members.

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

There were no urgent items raised.

To consider a report from the Director for Place, a copy is attached as item 6.

Before the Committee was a report by the Director for Place, 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.

In June 2022, Members of JSC approved the redevelopment of the South Street car park site, Lancing into seven Council owned houses for people in Emergency and/ or Temporary Accommodation (EA/TA). A budget of £2.336m was approved from the Council’s EA/TA budget to facilitate the delivery of the project from Planning stage right through to the completion of construction.

The self-referral by Adur Homes to the Regulator had led to a suspension of the Homes England subsidies which would normally be available for EA/TA projects of this kind (i.e. circa £60k per unit, or £420k for the entire scheme). This had led to a shortfall in the approved budget of approximately £350k. Consequently, officers were recommending the use of Right To Buy Receipts to plug this gap in funding. It was proposed that the shortfall be vired from the budget of £2.250M currently allocated to the Southwick Estate Acquisition Programme.

Delivery of new EA/TA supported the Council’s cost-saving ambitions. The project needed clarity on the budget position to enable the Main Works Contract to be awarded. There were also certain deadlines associated with the council’s recent successful bid for Brownfield Land Release Funding (BLRF) from the OPE of £115,874 which were also dependent on the scheme proceeding as programmed.

Decision

That the Joint Strategic Sub-Committee

1)    noted the report and the progress which had been made in the delivery of the project; and

2)    approved the virement of £350k of Right to Buy receipts from the Southwick Estate Acquisition Programme budget to the South Street housing project budget.

Call-in

The call-in deadline for the decisions will be 5.00pm on Friday 17th November 2023.

To consider a report by the Director for Place, copy attached as item 7.

Before the Committee was a report by the Director for Place, 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 report before members sought a decision to proceed with public engagement, assembling a design team and submission of a planning application for a replacement Sports Pavilion (Clubhouse), Public WCs including Changing Places WC facility. Members were asked to provide delegated authority to Officers, with a view to obtaining best value and shaping the eventual design through consultation, continuing member engagement and expertise of the design team.

The report set out the options and the total costs with a recommendation to proceed with design of the scheme. The eventual redevelopment of the Pavilion would be the subject of a further paper.

Decision

That the Adur Joint Strategic Sub-Committee:-

1)    Approved the spend of up to £150,000 from the approved capital budget for the design, consultation, and development of a pre-planning scheme and application for a replacement Pavilion, public toilets and a sports facility at Buckingham Park, Shoreham-by-Sea;

2)    Noted that in consultation with Members, the Director for Place will enter into all necessary contracts to progress the scheme up to RIBA Stage 3 ensuring that best value for money is obtained following a competitive process and limited to the approved budget at 2.1 above; and

3)    Noted that the report before members supported and informed the technical design process and that a further report would be brought back to the Committee consulting on design details and ongoing budget requirements, seeking authority from Members to progress the scheme if deemed appropriate.

Call-in

The call-in deadline for the decisions will be 5.00pm on 17 November 2023.

To consider a report from the Director for Sustainability and Resources, a copy is attached as item 8.

Before the Committee was a report by the Director for 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 8.

Adur & Worthing Councils declared a Climate Emergency in July 2019. As part of the declaration, Members committed to work towards becoming carbon neutral by 2030. The report presented the fourth annual update on progress towards the target.

Since the previous report, the council had completed a number of decarbonisation projects that had significantly decreased gas consumption across the councils' property portfolio. As a result, reported emissions for 2022-23 decreased by 12.4% when compared to the previous year.

An update on current carbon reduction projects was presented at Section 4 of the report. A Fleet Strategy and Estate Carbon Management Plan were in development and would be presented to the Committee for adoption in 2024.

Decision

That the Adur Joint Strategic Sub-Committee:-

1)    Noted the Councils' current carbon emissions and carbon reduction work programme;

2)    Noted that further funding bids may be made, in consultation with the relevant Cabinet Member, and that if required further reports would brief members on the outcome of the bidding process.

Call-in

The call-in deadline for the decisions will be 5.00pm on 17 November 2023.

To consider a report by the Director for Sustainability and Resources, copy attached as item 9.

Before the Committee was a report by the Director for 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 9

Councillor Andy McGregor attended the meeting to present the motion.

The report before members set out a motion, as amended and referred from the meeting of Adur District Council on the 19th October 2023. The report recommended that Members could either support the motion and ask for further work to be carried out in this regard, or, Members could reject the motion.

During debate, Members expressed support for the motion whilst acknowledging that it would be important to differentiate between District / County /Partners responsibilities.

Decision

The Adur Joint Strategic Sub-Committee accepted the motion and requested a Report from Officers to explore the available options as well as setting out the resource implications arising from the Motion.

Call-in

The call-in deadline for the decision will be 5.00pm on Friday 17 November 2023.

To consider a report by the Director for Sustainability and Resources, copy attached as item 10.

Before the Committee was a report by the Director for 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 10.

Councillor Jeremy Gardner attended the meeting to present the motion.

The report before members set out a motion referred from the meeting of Adur District Council on the 19th October 2023. The report recommended that Members could either support the motion and ask for further work to be carried out in this regard, or, members could reject the motion.

Members of the Sub-Committee expressed their support for the motion.

Decision

The Adur Joint Strategic Sub-Committee accepted the motion and requested a Report from Officers to explore the available options as well as setting out the resource implications arising from the Motion.

Call-in

The call-in deadline for the decision will be 5.00pm on Friday 17 November 2023.