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.

To approve the minutes of the Adur Joint Strategic Sub Committee meeting held on 1 February 2024, copies of which have previously been circulated.

The minutes of the Adur Joint Strategic Sub-Committee meeting held on 1 February 2024 were agreed as a correct record.

To receive any questions from members of the public.

Questions should be submitted by noon on Thursday 7 March 2024 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.

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

Questions should be submitted by noon on Thursday 7 March 2024 to  Democratic Services, 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.

The Chairman announced that he would be taking agenda item 9 as the next item

To consider a report by the Director for Housing and Communities, copy attached as item 9

Before the Committee was a report by the Director for Housing and 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 9.

Following a recent Motion presented to this council about ESTEEM and the Old School House, officers committed to bringing back a report to Members of the sub-committee. The report therefore set out the options available to support ESTEEM and the motion for them to occupy the Old School House.

The Old School House was a repurposed residential property. The building was currently occupied by ESTEEM, a local youth organisation wanting to make the building their permanent home.

The report provided the necessary background information for Members, and asked Members to delegate work to officers to progress the options so that a considered decision on the future of the Old School House building can be made.

Members supported the approach taken by Officers, investigating restrictions of the Community Asset  and asked for option 3 to be progressed

Decision

1.    That the options appraisal that has been carried out be noted and that it be agreed that officers work up the next steps and progress Option 3, as the preferred route

2.    That the progression of this work be delegated to the Assistant Director for Regenerative Development in consultation with the Leader

3.    That in the short term it be agreed to enter into a fixed term lease with ESTEEM for their current occupation of The Old School House, while the council reviews available options under the Community Asset Transfer process.

4.    That a Community Asset Transfer Policy be developed for future disposals of Community Assets both in terms of sale and lease

Call-in

The call-in deadline for the decisions will be 5.00pm on Thursday 21 March 2024

To consider a report by the Director for Housing and Communities, copy attached as item 6

Before the Committee was a report by the Director for Housing and 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 6.

The report before Members provided a progress overview of the Housing Improvement Plan to both the Adur Joint Strategic Sub-Committee and the Joint Audit and Governance Committee, following the self-referral to the Regulator for Social Housing earlier this year.

Previous reports had detailed the rationale for the self-referral, the response from the Regulator, and the scope of the work planned to address these issues in Adur Homes.

The report set out a summary of the work underway, the progress being made to improve performance and meet the required standards, and the issues that remain. The purpose and focus of all of this work was about delivering the Council’s mission to ensure that everyone had a safe, secure and sustainable home.

The report provided an update on the progress being made on the outstanding Audit Actions, which had been integrated into the Improvement Plan.

Decision

1.    that the good progress being made to ensure that Adur Homes becomes fully compliant with regulatory standards and the wider programme of transformation to create safe, secure and sustainable homes for our residents be noted.

2.    that the interim policies previously agreed by this committee for 2024/5 be extended. The polices are listed in 1.19 and will be reviewed during 2024/25.

3.    that the progress being made with regard to the progress being made on complaints and that the wider changes around complaints policy is being reported to the Joint Audit and Governance Committee be noted

Call-in

The call-in deadline for the decisions will be 5.00pm on Thursday 21 March 2024

To consider a report by the Director for Sustainability and Resources, copy attached as item 7

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 7.

The report updated the Sub-Committee on the progress made on the delivery of the 2023/24 Capital Investment Programme for Adur District Council. The programme includes schemes which support the delivery of services by the Joint Services Committee

Decision

1.    That the reprofiling of the Adur District capital schemes as advised in paragraph 6.1 and appendix 2 be noted

2.    That the changes to the current schemes as set out in section 6.2 report be approved.

Call-in

The call-in deadline for the decisions will be 5.00pm on Thursday 21 March 2024

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

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 8.

The strategic objective of the report before Members was to highlight the Council’s support for a project to provide a community football hub to promote health, wellbeing and education in the area; and to maximise the prospect of securing Football Foundation funding to help ensure this vital project could happen.

The report sought authority to bid in partnership with the Russell Martin Foundation and to enter into a Football Foundation funding agreement for the redevelopment of Southwick Football Club.

The report set out the contractual arrangements and financial commitments of the Council and seeks appropriate authorisation from members of the Sub-Committee to ensure the project can be delivered.

Members supported the approach taken and looked forward to working with the Russell Martin foundation

Decision

1.    That the Council be authorised (if required) to enter into the Football Foundation Grant Funding Agreement jointly with the Russell Martin Foundation to receive and allocate any funding from the Football Foundation under the terms of the grant for the purpose of delivering a new development and football pitch at the Southwick Football Club site to be operated by the Russell Martin Foundation under a lease arrangement as a community football hub to promote health, wellbeing and education in the area;

2.    That the Director for Place or Assistant Director for Regenerative Development, may exercise delegated authority to enter into a build contract on behalf of the Council (providing always that the build contract is within available budget) to secure the development referred to in 1 above, following the outcome of a compliant procurement exercise;

3.    That it be noted that the Director for Place or Assistant Director for Regenerative Development will ensure that the Lease or other contractual arrangements requires the Russell Martin Foundation to create a sinking fund for ongoing repair and maintenance of the development and football pitch and ensures a commitment to the Council for the Foundations' ongoing compliance with the terms of the Grant Funding agreement with the Football Foundation.

4.    That it be noted that the Football Foundation grant funding terms and conditions may require the Council to agree a restriction on the title to the property to protect the Football Foundation's investment over the term of the grant funding agreement.

5.    That it be noted that the financial implications in this report and authorise the sum of £300,000 from the 2024/25 capital programme to be allocated to works and for this budget to be used to meet the Council’s contribution to the match funding required for the project. 2.6. To delegate to the Director for Place or the Assistant Director for Regenerative Development, the authority to procure and deliver the required outcomes as set out in this report within approved budgets

Call-in

The call-in deadline for the decisions will be 5.00pm  ...  view the full minutes text for item JSS-C(A)/65/23-24