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 Worthing Joint Strategic Sub-Committee meeting held on 14 March 2024, copies of which have been previously circulated.

Resolved: that the minutes from the Worthing Joint Strategic Sub-Committee meeting held on 14 March 2024, be 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 Thursday 6 June 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 6 June 2024 to Democratic Services, democratic.services@adur-worthing.gov.uk  

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

A Member asked the following question: Can the Leader please advise what work has been done to source an alternative Mayoral gown.

Response: The Deputy Leader responded on behalf of the Leader

We are committed to finding an alternative Mayoral robe for the Mayor to wear. Officers have done some research and found some quotes for an alternative gown. However In addition to this, the Council has approached Northbrook College to explore whether we can work with students in terms of a design and we’ll be meeting soon to discuss how this could work. Officers are currently awaiting information from a few of these providers and a public report setting out various options for consideration will be published once we’ve explored all options.

A Member asked the following question: The Leader has previously indicated in her social media comments that incursions of unlawful encampments by various groups on Council land would be facilitated with access to waste services and toilets and has asked that the settled community show tolerance alongside this.

Given the regularity of incursions on the Goring Greenswards, do you still stand by this approach?

Response: The Deputy Leader responded on behalf of the Leader

As you are aware officers from the Borough Council work closely with WSCC and Sussex Police to deal with each arrival of the travelling community on a case by case basis. 

WBC does provide basic facilities, including access to bins and toilets, to travellers who arrived on Goring Gap - this is to balance the provision of basic facilities for the travellers and to help the processing of waste on sites such as Goring Gap and thereby reducing the impact on settled communities, whilst legal processes are being processed.

However, I can reassure you that as a Council we are committed to finding alternative solutions to see what can be done in the longer term working with all the stakeholders involved, including the Friends, Families and Travellers.

A Member asked the following question: What plans do you have for 2024/25 to support businesses in Worthing?

Response: The Cabinet Member for Regeneration responded

The Council, in partnership with Adur District,  has just launched a Business Support Programme running until December 2025. The launch took place on Monday 20th May and was attended by a good number of businesses. The programme is split into two parts:

1.    Consultancy support - covering the areas of start up support, innovation, leadership and management and sustainability. The Councils ran an open tender process and have recruited FreedomWorks, University of Brighton and Clean Growth UK to deliver the support. Events will take place over the course of 24/25 with businesses able to take advantage of 1-2-1 support.

2.    Grants - aligned to the former, a number of grants will be available to businesses as part of the programme of support. Again, these grants will be available through the different themes as above.

The Business Support Programme has a total value of £500k and is funded by the  ...  view the full minutes text for item JSS-C(W)/4/24-25

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

There were no urgent items

Agenda Item deferred

This item was deferred

To consider a report by the Director for Sustanability 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 6.

Members were informed of the Grant Funding Agreement and any implications and / or restrictions that needed to be highlighted, the outcomes and outputs required through delivery and the funding available to be drawn down. The impact of the project was demonstrated and how this would affect the cultural and creative sector, wider community and Worthing Borough Council both in terms of reach and sustainability of the service provision.

Members supported the recommendations within the report and marked the importance of Colonnade house to the cultural and creative sector.

Decision

1.     That it be agreed that WBC take on the project management and delivery responsibility of the accessibility and sustainability work at Colonnade House, supported by Arts Council England (ACE) (through external funding) and to enter into a Grant Agreement with ACE.

2.     That it be noted that WBC will be required to commit to a contribution of £46K, in match funding, towards the scheme which will require an agreement to commit and delegated authority to spend as the project progresses.

3.     That authority be delegated to the Assistant Director for Place and Economy, in consultation with the Executive Member for Culture and Leisure, the authority to approve and award contracts for the various elements of the capital work. This will be subject to the development of a procurement strategy, the outcome of a compliant procurement process and the award being within the available budget.

4.     That the creation of a budget of £508k  be approved within the capital programme, primarily funded by Arts Council England as part of the Capital Improvement Programme Round 2 Fund.

Call-in

The call-in deadline for the decisions will be 5.00pm on 21 June 2024.