Agenda and minutes

To approve as correct the minutes of the meeting of the Council held on 7 September

(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 7 September were approved as a correct record and signed by the Vice Chairman.

To receive any declarations of interest from Members

Item 13(a) Cost of Living Support:  Councillor Tony Bevis declared a personal interest because he is a volunteer at the Citizens Advice.  

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

Councillor Ian Stannard, Vice Chairman of the Council, opened the meeting by welcoming everyone to Chanctonbury Community Leisure Centre, and thanked the centre’s staff for hosting this meeting.

The Vice Chairman paid tribute to Her Majesty the Queen Elizabeth II, who had visited Horsham twice during her reign, in 1978 and 2003, and led the Council in a minute’s silence in honour of her memory. 

He then paid tribute to Geoff Lawes, a past-Councillor who had recently passed away at the age of 92.  He had first been elected Ward Member for Billingshurst in 1995 and served the community until standing down in 2007.  After tributes were paid, Councillor Stannard led a minute’s silence in honour of his memory.

Councillor Lynn Lambert, Cabinet Member for Planning & Development, congratulated the Head of Development & Building Control and the Building Control Team for doing so well at the LABC Building Excellence Awards 2022 regional finals. They won Best Partnership, with a local Storrington-based business, Best Residential & Small Commercial Designer for a scheme in Henfield and Public Service Superstar.  They go forward to the national awards in January.  The Cabinet Member also announced that the Planning Applications Team had been ranked 37^th out of 330 Local Planning Authorities across the country.  She thanked the teams for their hard work and commitment in providing high quality services.

Councillor James Wright, Cabinet Member for Environment & Rural Affairs, announced that the Council’s carbon emissions had reduced by 46% from the base-line set in 2019.  This was largely due to the adoption of HVO fuel for the Council’s fleet and also a number of measures taken internally.  The ambition was to reduce by a further 25% in the next three years. The Cabinet Member stated these figures were a testament to the work of the Environment Team. 

Councillor Toni Bradnum, Cabinet Member for Recycling & Waste, made four announcements:

·         The current recycling rate for the district was 53%, which put HDC 50^th out of 338 local authorities.  However, there was still many recyclable items going into general waste bins, and more needed to be done to raise awareness.  

·         The Cabinet Member had discussed the rate of fines for littering with her Policy Development Advisory Group and a proposal to increase fines would be brought to Council in due course. 

·         The purchase of two new electric street sweepers had been approved and should be operating in the town centre early next year.

·         The purchase of four electric vans for Zonal Managers to use had been approved.  Zonal Managers currently use their own vehicles and the new vehicles will reduce mileage claims by £10,000 a year and reduce carbon emissions.

Councillor Roger Noel, Cabinet Member for Leisure & Culture, made two announcements:

·         The Council were working with Horsham and Crawley Samaritans and the Friends of Horsham Park on a project called Bulbs for Lives.  Volunteers were sought to plant 6,221 crocuses and 6,221 narcissi over the weekend of 23/24 October.  The flowers were to help remember the 6,221  ...  view the full minutes text for item CO/36

To receive questions from the public under Rules 4a.2(f) and 4j1.1 – 4j1.12

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

To receive and, if approved, adopt the recommendations from the meeting of Cabinet held on 29 September 2022:

(a)   Update on the Council's financial position in 2022/23 and Medium-Term Financial Strategy update 2023/24 to 2026/27 (report of the Cabinet Member for Finance & Parking is available at: Agenda item 6 )

(b)   Housing Register and Nominations Policy revisions (report of the Cabinet Member for Housing & Public Protection is available at: Agenda item 9 )

(c)   Use of 'A' Boards and other Advertising Structures on the Highway - Policy, Guidelines and Enforcement Procedure (The 'A' Boards Policy) (report of the Cabinet Member for Horsham Town is available at: Agenda item 11 )

(d)   Facilitating Appropriate Development and Biodiversity & Green Infrastructure Planning Guidance documents (report of the Cabinet Member for Planning & Development is available at: Agenda item 14 )

Update on the Council's financial position in 2022/23 and Medium-Term Financial Strategy update 2023/24 to 2026/27

Councillor Tony Hogben, Cabinet Member for Finance & Parking, introduced the report on the Council’s financial position and how the Medium-Term Financial Planning scenarios and assumptions had changed since the budget was set in February 2022.  The level of uncertainty had increased due to a number of factors including inflation, interest rates, world events, the payment settlement, uncertainty on government funding, and how food waste collections would be funded. 

Action would be required to prevent a deficit of approximately £1m per year in future years.  The Cabinet Member stated that it was not practicable to reduce staffing numbers further and there would therefore be an emphasis on increasing income and revenue.  Measures would include: an increase in council tax of £5 per band D equivalent household next Financial Year; a modest increase in the charge for garden waste collection; and an increase in fees and charges of approximately 6%.

Council was asked to note the update.  Council was also asked to approve the updated list of rates of hire for community venues, which now included Blackbridge Community Centre following its refurbishment.  The proposal was seconded by Councillor Toni Bradnum.

Councillor Martin Boffey, Shadow Cabinet Member for Finance, requested that the fees and charges for the hire of community spaces in the district listed in paragraph 3.22 of the Cabinet report be reviewed. The Cabinet Member assured Councillor Boffey that the matter was in hand and if he had concerns about long-term hire to refer the matter to the Head of Property & Facilities who had some flexibility and discretion on this matter under delegated authority. 

RESOLVED

(i)      To note the Council’s financial position in 2022/23 and the medium term.

(ii)    To approve the updated list of fees and charges in paragraph 3.22 of the Cabinet report.

REASON

(i)      The Council needs to acknowledge the effects that high levels of inflation will have on its financial position both in the short and medium-term. This has moved the council from what has been a long-term healthy financial position to one with predicted deficits unless action is taken on fees and charges. Given the level of uncertainty in the projections, the economy and proposed Government action, the report does not recommend direct action to reduce expenditure at this stage.

(ii)     To ensure these fees and charges are approved by full Council as per the Constitution.

Housing Register and Nominations Policy revisions

Councillor Tricia Youtan, Cabinet Member for Housing & Public Protection, reminded Members of the five overall objectives of the Housing and Homelessness Strategy, which was adopted by Council in October 2021. The objectives had been identified to assist in tackling the challenges surrounding housing and homelessness in the district. 

Following a review with staff and stakeholders, a number of changes relating to Objective 4 (‘to provide and maintain an accessible and fair Housing Register’) had been proposed. The Cabinet Member thanked members of her Policy  ...  view the full minutes text for item CO/38

To consider the report of the Head of HR and OD

Councillor Chowen introduced the report and recommended that Council appoint Dominic Bradley to the post of the Director of Resources and to the statutory position of Chief Finance Officer.  Dominic had successfully held the positions on an interim basis for the last six months.  Councillor Martin Boffey, Leader of the Opposition, seconded the proposal.

RESOLVED

(i)      To note the Employment Committee nomination of Dominic Bradley as the Director of Resources and s.151 Officer;

(ii)      To agree the appointment of Dominic Bradley to the position of Director of Resources with effect from 20 October 2022, at a starting salary of £94,270 p.a. up to £101,269 (subject to national cost of living awards);

(iii)     To agree the designation of Dominic Bradley as Chief Finance Officer, s.151 Officer, of Horsham District Council with effect from 20 October 2022.

REASON

(i)      To comply with the legal requirements set out above, to appoint a person responsible for the Council’s financial affairs (“s.151 Officer”).

(ii)      To appoint to the vacant Director of Resources position.

To receive reports from representatives on outside bodies

There were none to report.

To receive questions from Members under Rules 4a.8(b) – 4a.13

(a)   Councillor Mike Croker asked the following question:

“I note that the Environment Agency considers that neither the Adur, nor the Arun, river catchments merit a 'good' Ecological Status, with some tributaries, such as Boldings Brook and Lockbridge, being rated as 'poor'.  Does the Cabinet Member consider that Horsham District Council, as Local Planning Authority, should be more pro-active in requiring water treatment companies to explain just how they intend to cater for the increased sewage and wastewater arising from any significant new housing developments, rather than just relying on a simple 'we can provide foul sewage disposal to service the proposed development' statement?  The latter clearly is lacking 'without adding to existing river pollution.’”

Councillor Lynn Lambert, Cabinet Member for Planning & Development, replied:  

“I agree it is extremely disappointing that the ecological status of the rivers in our district have been rated so low.  However, in my opinion this is not through a lack of action on the Council’s part.  As part of the work undertaken for the Local Plan Review, we asked both Southern Water and Thames Water about the likely impacts of development on their plans on water quality, and what if any mitigation is needed to ensure that water quality is not adversely affected.  Any advice we receive is reflected in the Council’s Draft Infrastructure Delivery Plan.  This is a ‘live’ document and is updated accordingly. This work also draws on wider evidence available regarding water quality, and in particular that provided by the Environment Agency.

In addition, officers have also been pro-actively involved in the development of Southern Water’s Drainage and Wastewater Management Plan. In our response to their September consultation we questioned whether their pollution reduction targets were sufficiently challenging and whether they go far enough and fast enough in delivering environmental benefits. We have requested that they, Southern Water, give more consideration to setting and delivering more ambitious targets and do so more quickly.

Ultimately however, Horsham District Council does not have any statutory power in regulating discharges of wastewater treatment into rivers.  This is the responsibility of the Environment Agency. They set the discharge limits and they are the regulatory body.   As part of the Council’s work on Water Neutrality, officers have  challenged the Environment Agency together with OFWAT as to whether their regulatory regime is sufficiently effective and we are challenging them to do better in the future.” 

Councillor Mike Croker stated that his initial question had been promoted by the work of the River Trust that made data relating to untreated water discharges easily accessible to the public.  This data included nearly 2,200 hours of untreated water discharge along the Adur from the six outlets between Bramber and Partridge Green in 2021. He expressed his disappointment at this, given the work being done by the Wilder Horsham Programme and the recently announced Adur River Restoration Project.  He asked the supplementary question:

“Given the data before us it would seem prudent to reduce discharges, at least at  ...  view the full minutes text for item CO/41

To consider matters certified by the Chairman as urgent

The following item was submitted under the Special Urgency rules set out in 4g. 22 of the Constitution.

To consider the report of the Leader of the Council

Councillor Chowen, Leader of the Council, introduced the report, which proposed a number of measures to help support those affected by the cost of living crisis. The proposals had been developed following discussions with Age UK, Citizens Advice and Horsham Matters.  The £250,000 cost would be funded from the community fund reserve, spread over a two-year period. 

The Leader stated that this was made possible by the Council’s prudent approach in recent years, and would be in addition to the £300,000 already committed by the Council to invest in schemes and organisations that support residents struggling with cost of living issues. The proposal was seconded by Councillor Tricia Youtan, Cabinet Member for Housing & Public Protection.

After debate, the Council unanimously agreed to the proposal and it was

RESOLVED

(i)      To enter a partnership agreement with Citizens Advice to provide two new advisors to support residents through the cost of living crisis, costing approximately £160,000 over a two year fixed period.

(ii)      To fund the Low Income Family Tracker for a two year period costing approximately £40,000 in total.

(iii)     To provide an additional £25,000 one-off funding to Horsham Matters to support the Foodbank provision in 2022/23.

(iv)     To agree to a new corporate project to create an accessible directory of services.

(v)     To create a flexible fund of £25,000 to support in year interventions identified through partnership work with community groups and voluntary sector organisations. Use of this fund will be subject to approval by Director of Communities in consultation with Cabinet Member for Finance & Parking and the Cabinet Member for Community Matters.

REASON

It is considered that these proposals will have a significant and valuable impact on Horsham District residents who are being affected by the increases in the cost of living. Making the decision at this meeting will allow support to start to be provided immediately. Full Council must approve budgetary changes.