Agenda item

Members question time will last up to 30 minutes, with questions being taken in the order of receipt and in rotation from each political group on the Council. The deadline for submission of questions is Friday 14 February 2020 at 12 noon. Questions to be submitted to democratic.services@adur-worthing.gov.uk

 

Questions can be asked of the following:

a) The Mayor

b) A Member of the Executive

c) The Chairman of any Committee

d) The Council’s representative on any outside body

 

Questions cannot be asked in relation to the following:

a) A specific planning or licensing application

b) A specific staffing appointment, appeal or Standards determination

The Mayor announced that the Proper Officer had received 6 questions from Members in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 12. She advised that one supplementary question could be asked which must arise out of the original question, or, the reply. 

 

Questions would be asked in rotation of the Groups represented in the Chamber and there were 30 minutes allowed for questions with 2 rotations of speakers possible. At the end of 30 minutes the Mayor explained that she would extend the time to conclude the current rotation of questions.

 

The Mayor announced that the following Councillors had submitted questions:

 

Councillors Martin McCabe, Sally Smith, Bob Smytherman, Carl Walker and Mark Withers.

 

The order would be

 

First rotation:  Councillors Sally Smith, Bob Smytherman and Mark Withers.

Second rotation: Councillors Carl Walker, Martin McCabe and Mark Withers.

 

First rotation:

 

Question from Councillor Sally Smith to the Executive Member for Digital & Environmental Services

 

The removal of mature shrubs from the south end of Beach House Park has horrified park users who previously enjoyed an effective screen from the noise and pollution generated by traffic in Brighton Rd. Could the Executive member for the Environment please explain the rationale for the removal of shrubs without consultation, especially in view of the Council's declared carbon-neutral target?

 

The Executive Member for Digital & Environmental Services replied that a consultation had been carried out regarding the removal of the shrubs as well as some wider works and the future plans for the park.

 

The Council had engaged key stakeholder groups, including the bowling clubs, the café, creative waves and the resident gardeners. A community event also took place at the Community Centre in East Worthing on the 15th January to communicate the logic behind the proposals and to gather views.

While the Council had considered all of the views presented, it wasn’t possible to create solutions that represent the range of views in the context of our wider approach to managing our parks and open spaces.The Parks team have made the best use of the information gathered during the consultation with our professional knowledge to identify the best course of action.

The Council managed the parks in a way that maintained aesthetics whilst also safeguarding the health of flora and fauna. The planting and maintenance plans for the park had accounted for wildlife corridors and the filling of habitat space.  To a lesser extent we also take into account complaints of Anti-Social Behaviour in the area.

In the case of Beach House Park, we had the opportunity to remodel the planting in a way that would:

increase biodiversity,

allow for better management of the area, and

reduce Anti-Social Behaviour that had been consistently under-reported in the area.

The Council believed that once these areas became established there would be a net gain for all involved.

Clearly there are some residents that had differing views on the management of the park's planting. The Council would welcome the opportunity to create a Friends Group for the Park that enabled wider engagement. Until now there has been limited appetite for this.  We would hope that in future this will begin to materialise to ensure that the best interests of all stakeholders are met.

 

Councillor Smith asked why no other measures had been adopted to discourage anti-social behaviour. 

 

The Executive Member for Digital & Environmental Services replied that the Council had been working with partners. There were objections from neighbours regarding lighting, although he acknowledged that a balance needed to be struck.  

 

Question from Councillor Bob Smytherman to the Leader

 

As the leader will be aware Worthing was the home of Bowls for 40 years until 2013 when the English Bowls Association (EBA) decided to relocate to Lemington having negotiated a new 10-year deal with Warwick District Council. Can the Leader say what discussions have been held with the EBA and /or Warwick DC to discuss the future arrangements from 2023 and can the leader assure the Chamber that visually-impaired Bowls England (VIBE) will be able to continue to hold their annual event in Worthing following the success of the World Championship held in 2013.

 

The Leader replied that a meeting had been held on the 6 February. It was noted that the EBA favoured a central location and that things had been going well where they were but he would be happy to have a conversation.     

 

Councillor Smytherman asked ‘can we ensure that EBA Members get a vote regarding their preferred location post 2023’,as his supplementary question.  

 

The Leader replied that the Council could ask but could not ensure. 

 

Question from Councillor Mark Withers to the Leader

 

Given the increase in population in recent years in the Northbrook Ward particularly due to two significant housing developments are there any plans to increase the number of ward councillors to three?

 

The Leader replied that there were no current plans to change the number of ward councillors in any of the wards of the Council.      

 

Second Rotation

 

Question from Councillor Carl Walker to the Executive Member for Customer Services

 

Allocations of funds to assist the Rough Sleeping Initiative is obviously very welcome. However, rough sleeping counts for only a fraction of all homelessness figures. Can the Executive member for Customer Services give an estimated figure of how many people from Worthing are currently homeless or insecurely housed, for example in hostel accommodation or Bed and Breakfast?

 

The Executive Member for Customer Services replied that the Council knew that the number of people insecurely housed was higher than those sleeping on our streets, however, the Council only held data regarding those who come to our attention. 

 

As of 13 February, the Council was working with 195 households in Worthing who were currently working with, but had yet to make a decision on their homelessness application. These were households that were either threatened with homelessness or already homeless.

130 households were currently in temporary accommodation provided by the Council. Of those, 68 were households with children or were pregnant, and 62 were single homeless people.

Of the 62 single homeless people, 41 had been known to the multi-agency Rough Sleepers Team (RST) or had been identified as being at risk of rough sleeping.

These cases were actively reviewed by the RST to support those individuals into supported accommodation or other longer term accommodation and prevent the risk of them having to sleep on our streets.

 

Question from Martin McCabe to the Executive Member for Health & Wellbeing

 

Does the Executive Member share our disappointment at Tesco's recent actions at the Durrington site,  where the Salvation Army Trading Company are now preferred as the single recycling partner for textile recycling for the store and will she personally intervene to allow ALL the credits to be spent on local community grass roots causes provided by the Worthing Community Chest?

 

The Executive Member for Health & Wellbeing replied that SatCo had been awarded the Tesco’s national tender to exclusively collect textiles and address fly tipping for all its stores, including Durrington. Some income from SatCo would be passed on to the national Salvation Army.

 

Following a meeting with the Salvation Army Trading Company (SatCo) and Worthing Community Chest, the Council had learned that Tesco was considering having a regional charity partner who would receive local proceeds.

Council Officers were now liaising with Tesco to recommend that this continued to be Community Chest. 

Until this was decided, Community Chest bins would remain at the Tesco Durrington store. 

 

Question from Councillor Mark Withers to the Executive Member for Regeneration

 

Given concerns about car parking and with all the new smart technology is there scope for exploring more imagination in car parking charges as part of a holistic approach to encourage more people to visit and shop in Worthing e.g. more adjustment of prices to fluctuating demand at different times of year/seasons/days e.g dropping rates extremely low with slack demand?

 

The Executive Member for Regeneration replied that the occupancy of MSCPs was relatively high, 78% on average. The Council regularly reviewed its parking charges, and while value for money was a major consideration, it was also balanced with other priorities such as minimising congestion and encouraging the use of sustainable transport. We have no evidence that current charges were discouraging visitors to the town.

 

Charges were already variable depending on location, length of stay, time of day and day of the week. For example:

parking in our multi-storey car parks for £1 for the first hour Monday to Saturday rising to £4.30 for four hours,

and on Sunday for £1 an hour with a maximum charge of £3,

on Saturdays visitors can park in the civic centre car park for £1/hour up to four hours, and

the Council also offered discounted parking for people working in the town. 

The Council continued to focus on improving the offer in the town centre to attract more visitors, including their experience at our car parks and were investing in technology:

we offer ticketless auto-billing for regular car park users, and

we are currently trialling a barcode system where traders cover the cost of parking, and offer customers discounted or free parking, for example when a customer spends over a certain amount. 

The Council was also working on plans to refurbish Buckingham Road and High Street car parks, with work on Buckingham Road due to start later this year. 

Those works would significantly improve the experience for people using those sites and include a review  of payment technology to ensure it best met our future requirements and improved the customers experience.

Councillor Withers asked whether a park and ride scheme had been considered, as his supplementary question.  

 

The Executive Member for Regeneration replied that it was something being looked at by WSCC, but the logistics suggested it was not viable.