Agenda, decisions and minutes

To approve as correct the minutes of the meeting of the Council held on 4^th  September 2019.

(Note: If any Member wishes to propose an amendment to the minutes they should submit this in writing to committeeservices@horsham.gov.uk at least 24 hours before the meeting.  Where applicable, the audio recording of the meeting will be checked to ensure the accuracy of the proposed amendment.)

The minutes of the meeting of the Council held on 4^th September 2019 were approved as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

To receive any declarations of interest from Members.

Councillors Nigel Jupp, Liz Kitchen and Christian Mitchell declared personal and prejudicial interests in the item on the former Novartis site, Parsonage Road, Horsham as they were Members of West Sussex County Council (the applicant) (Minute No. ….. below refers).

To receive any announcements from the Chairman of the Council, the Leader, Members of the Cabinet or the Chief Executive.

The Chairman thanked all those Members who attended the Civic Service held on the 6th October in St Mary’s Church.  She went on to thank the Reverend Loveless for leading prayers at Council.  Reverend Loveless would be moving to a new parish in Rustington shortly.

The Deputy Leader offered his congratulations to Councillor Paul Marshall on his nomination as Leader of West Sussex County Council.

The Cabinet Member for Environment, Recycling and Waste advised Members that West Sussex County Council had introduced residents checks at Household Recycling Centres in the County.  He had expressed concern regarding the situation to the Director of Environment and Public Protection at West Sussex County Council as there were concerns that it would increase queuing, especially at the Hop Oast Site. He had raised the issue as there were many residents who thought that the centre was controlled by Horsham District Council, rather than West Sussex County Council.  He went on to say that any measure that made the deposit of waste more difficult would increase the risk of fly tipping, which would impact on Horsham District Council.

The Cabinet Member for Horsham Town Centre reported that on the 10 November there would be a Remembrance Service in Carfax.

To receive questions from the public under Rules 4a.2(f) and 4a.8-18

No questions relevant to the business of the meeting had been received.

To receive the recommendation from the meeting of Cabinet held on 26^th September 2019 to enable the  development of the café and bar offer in order to further improve customer service and increase net return whilst reducing the cost of running The Capitol. (The report of the Cabinet Member for Leisure and Culture to Cabinet is online here)

RESOLVED

i)       That the café and bar at The Capitol be managed directly in-house.

Reasons for Recommendations

i)       To enable the development of the café and bar offer in order to further improve customer service and increase net return thus reducing the overall cost of running The Capitol.

The Deputy Leader provided a report on operation of the café and bar at the Capitol. The Cabinet Member reported that on 31 March 2019 the contract for the operation of the cafe and bar at The Capitol had ended. As previous tender exercises had resulted in few applications, it was proposed to trial managing the service in-house. The trial began on 1 April, 2019. Over the eight years of the most recent external contract, the average net income per annum had been £24,000. The expected net income from the direct management was £72,000. An increase of almost £50,000. So far, the new direct management had delivered £16,100 net income which was in line with projections. The recommendation was seconded by Councillor Roger Noel.

RESOLVED

i)       That the café and bar at The Capitol be managed directly in-house.

To receive the recommendation of the following Committee and, if approved, to adopt the recommendations contained therein:

Audit Committee – 11 July 2019 – one recommendation in respect of the treasury activity and prudential indicators for 2018/19 – Minute No. AAG/13 (The report of the Director of Corporate Resources to the Audit Committee is online here

RESOLVED

That:

i)   an increase from £1m to £1.5m in the limit on lending to subsidiary companies in the 2019/20 Investment Strategy be approved; and;

ii)  a £0.5m limit on shareholding in its subsidiary companies in the        2019/20 Investment Strategy

Reasons for Recommendations

i)             The annual treasury report is a requirement of the Council’s reporting procedures.

ii)            This report also covers the actual Prudential Indicators for 2018/19 in accordance with the requirements of the relevant CIPFA Codes of Practice.

iii)          Changes to the limits in the 2019/20 Investment Strategy are required to enable the housing companies agreed by Cabinet on 21 March 2019 to commence operations

The Chairman of the Audit Committee reported that as at 31 March 2019, the Council’s external debt was £4m and investments totalled £36.1m including call accounts and Money Market Funds. During 2018/19, the Council’s cash balances had been invested in accordance with the Council’s treasury management strategy. Interest of £0.887m had been earned on investments, an average return of 2.1%.

In reply to a question from a Member regarding the raising of the Public Work Loans Board increase in lending rates by 1%, the Director of Corporate Resources said that the council had no debt at the moment, so was unaffected by this change.  Financial activity had shifted toward inter authority loans, as the rates were more favourable.  The recommendation was seconded by Councillor John Blackall.

RESOLVED

That:

i)   an increase from £1m to £1.5m in the limit on lending to subsidiary companies in the 2019/20 Investment Strategy be approved; and;

ii)  a £0.5m limit on shareholding in its subsidiary companies in the        2019/20 Investment Strategy

To receive reports from representatives on outside bodies

A Member said that Horsham in Bloom was helping to create and support many of the environmental support groups in the town. A new committee and logo for the organisation had been created.  She hoped that the new committee would be well supported by the council.

To receive a report from the Director of Place.

RESOLVED

That

i)          The application for approval to the Head of Development, subject to completion of a legal agreement and appropriate conditions be approved.

ii)         In the event that the legal agreement was not completed within three months of the decision of the Council, or other later date as agreed by the Head of Development, the Director of Place be authorised to refuse permission on the grounds of failure to secure the Obligations necessary to make the development acceptable in planning terms.

Reasons for Recommendation

i)          It was recommended that the application be delegated for approval as the proposal would bring forward the development of a strategic site allocated for mixed use within the Horsham District Planning Framework.  The proposal would provide much needed high quality employment space as well as an appropriate residential area.  The proposal utilises a brownfield site in a central and sustainable location, resulting in the regeneration of this strategic town centre site. 

ii)         It was recommended to delegate to the Head of Development in order that the detail and clauses of the necessary Legal Agreement could be finalised and all necessary conditions imposed. 

iii)        It is recommended that the legal agreement be completed within three months of the decision of the Council, or other later date as agreed by the Head of Development.  If not agreed, the Director of Place was authorised to refuse permission on the grounds of failure to secure the Obligations necessary to make the development acceptable in planning terms.  This would allow the Director of Place the ability to refuse the proposal if it was considered that there had been unreasonable and prolonged delays in the completion of the agreement. It would also allow the Director of Place to extend this period if matters were progressing well, but further time was needed.

Councillors Nigel Jupp, Liz Kitchen and Christian Mitchell declared personal and prejudicial interests in the item on the former Novartis site, Parsonage Road, Horsham as they were Members of West Sussex County Council and withdrew from the meeting for the item.

The Principal Planning Officer reported that an outline application had been submitted for the erection of up to 300 dwellings, including the conversion of existing offices buildings up to 25,000sqm of employment floorspace and provision of 618sqm of flexible commercial/community space within the ground floor of a converted building. The scheme included improvements to existing pedestrian and vehicular accesses from Parsonage Road and Wimblehurst Road, together with associated parking and landscaping.

This application had been deferred from the Council meeting on the 4^th September 2019 to allow Peter Brett Associates (PBA) to comment on the Road Safety Audit (RSA).  To provide confirmation on parking and clarification of Sussex Police comments.  Two additional letters of objection had been received, including a further letter from the Wimblehurst Residents Association which was forwarded to all Members.  These comments had been taken into consideration.

The Officer went on to say that PBA had assessed the Road Safety Audit and identified areas of the RSA that required review and amendment in order to be fully GG119 compliant.  The applicant had submitted an updated RSA and PBA had commented that the RSA had now addressed their comments.  In assessing the RSA, PBA had undertaken a site visit and had considered the comments and concerns of local residents including the Wimblehurst Road Residents Group. Based on all available information PBA have advised that it was unlikely that the development would cause an unacceptable impact on highway safety.

He went on to say that parking details were outlined in detail in the report, and up to 308 spaces are proposed for residential uses and up to 872 spaces are proposed for the employment uses.  This met the parking provision for new developments under West Sussex County Council guidance. Condition 10 of the recommendation required the submission of a parking strategy prior to the commencement of works.  The purpose of the strategy was to agree how parking would be provided for the residential and commercial areas.   This would allow some flexibility in how parking was allocated, including opportunities to use the employment parking as overspill for the residential units in evenings and at weekends.

At the previous Council meeting, clarification had been sought as to what was classed as ‘severe’ in highway safety terms.  This related to paragraph 109 of the NPPF. PBA have commented that there was no definitive answer to this question.  Since the launch of the NPPF in 2012, what could be classed as ‘severe’ in highway terms had caused substantial uncertainty.   Based on appeal decisions provided by PBA, it was clear that there were no trends as to what constituted ‘severe’.  What was also clear was that the term ‘severe’ set a high bar for intervention via the planning system in traffic  ...  view the full minutes text for item CO/45

To receive a report by the Leader of the Council.

RESOLVED

That the consultation response to be submitted to Highways England by 24 October 2019 be approved, subject to the removal of the line on page 2: ‘Grey (Option 5BV1) and Amber (Option 4/5AV2) would also provide a beneficial outcome.’

Reasons for Recommendation

i)          To take account of the issues raised in the Highways England consultation and to enable the Council to be fully transparent in our response to the proposed options.

The Deputy Leader reported that in August 2017, Highways England had published a consultation paper with six potential options for a new road bypass on the A27 around Arundel. In May 2018, Highways England published their Preferred Route Announcement, known as Option 5AV3.  This new road layout would not be located in Horsham District, but it was believed that any change to this part of the A27 would have a big impact on reducing the high number of vehicles that currently use routes through Horsham District. It would accordingly improve the poor air quality villages such as Storrington and Cowfold, where there was declared Air Quality Management Areas.

Horsham District Council was a statutory consultee and the report set out the proposed response to this consultation. It was proposed that the Council favoured the ‘Magenta option’ as this should achieve significant reductions in traffic flows and consequent enhancements to air quality in Horsham District, minimising the impact on the South Downs National Park ancient woodland, and minimising likely environmental impacts.  He went on to say that the original letter had been amended in order to remove the references to the grey and amber options, and a revised version had been circulated for consideration and approval.   The amendment was seconded by Councillor Peter Burgess.

A Member stated that the works were part of a strategic road system undertaken by Highways England, and should be regarded as such. 

A Member stated that she supported the reasons behind the council’s response regarding the use of roads through villages and the serious congestion that resulted.  Of the options, the Magenta option had significant environmental impact, massive cost and would incur significant objection and delay.  She said that there were other options available, which included the Arundel Alternative, which would have less environmental impact and cost as it used the existing road in a way that kept the traffic flowing.  A dual carriageway was not required in this location. 

A Member stated that work undertaken by the Storrington Air Quality Control Group to ban lorries from the centre of the village had made little difference to the air quality there, as there were inherent difficulties in enforcing restrictions on heavy lorries.  It was therefore important to be clear about the Council’s recommendation on this matter.  He supported the amended motion put forward by the Deputy Leader.

A Member pointed out that there had been a number of studies across Europe and the United States that showed that increasing the size of the roads was not an answer to congestion, as the traffic numbers merely grew to fill the available space.

A Member spoke in support of the amendment and pointed out that additional traffic was caused by the necessity to build houses in the district.  He supported providing signs to separate cyclists and pedestrians.

Having been moved and seconded, the amendment was put. The amendment was therefore declared as CARRIED.

Councillor Fletcher stated that during a climate emergency it was inappropriate to build an enormously  ...  view the full minutes text for item CO/46

To receive questions from Members under Rules 4a.20(b)-25

No questions had been received.

To consider matters certified by the Chairman as urgent

There was no urgent business.