Agenda and minutes

To approve as correct the minutes of the meeting of the Council held on 7^th September 2016

The minutes of the meeting of the Council held on 7^th September 2016 were approved as correct records and signed by the Chairman.

To receive any declarations of interest from Members

There were no declarations of interest.

To receive a presentation from representatives of the Horsham Young Persons’ Council (HYPER)

The Chairman welcomed the representatives from the Horsham Young Persons’ Council (HYPER) and invited them to give their presentation.

The representatives of HYPER provided Members with an overview of what HYPER does and how they operate.

Members praised HYPER for their work and what they represent.

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

The Chairman thanked the Chief Executive for raising £2300 for the Chairman’s Charitable Trust Fund.

The Cabinet Member for Housing and Public Protection announced that HDC’s Environmental Health Department had been invited to the International Regulatory Conference, and took a moment to praise the work of the officers.

To receive questions from the public under Rule 2.1 (e)

No questions had been received.

To receive questions from Members under Rule 10.2 (Questions by Members on notice)

Councillor Andrew Baldwin asked the following question:

Following confirmation that Britanniacrest Recycling Limited intends to submit to West Sussex County Council a planning application for an energy from waste mass burning incinerator in North Horsham will the Cabinet Member Continue this Council’s past policy of actively promoting recycling to avoid the need for a waste incinerator? Furthermore, will he use his Cabinet office to strongly lobby West Sussex County Council against any proposal for an incinerator and in so doing hold seminars and meetings with Members, Officers and relevant Parish Councils as part of such a strategy?

Councillor Ray Dawe, Leader of the Council replied as follows:

Thank you for the question and the opportunity to clarify the role of the Council in this process.  West Sussex County Council is the planning authority for minerals and waste planning applications.  We understand that they have been approached by a commercial waste company to develop a facility to sort, separate, and treat waste from commercial, industrial and/or municipal sources and therefore this is not related to household recycling.  The proposal is at the former Wealden brickworks site which is allocated for a waste management facility in the West Sussex local plan.  The Council will be a consulted on any planning application but the decision will be made by West Sussex County Council.  However, please be reassured that any planning application will be required to demonstrate how the environmental requirements have been fully met and this will include traffic impact, landscape impact, air quality, noise, etc.

I can confirm that the Council will continue to actively promote recycling. We are already very active in this area, and continue to achieve the highest recycling rate across West Sussex authorities.

To receive the minutes of the following Committees and, if approved, to adopt any recommendations contained therein:

The following minutes were received:

Standards Committee – 14^th September 2016

CenSus Joint Committee – 23^rd September 2016

Personnel Committee – 28^th September 2016

(agenda online at AAG_Agenda )

The minutes of the Accounts, Audit and Governance Committee meeting held on 13^th September 2016 were received.

Councillor Stuart Ritchie, the Vice-Chairman of the Committee, moved the recommendation contained in Minute No. AAG/23.

Revision of the 2016/17 Treasury Management Strategy

            RESOLVED

That the 2016/17 Treasury Management Strategy be amended with an increase in the limit on long term investments from £8,000,000 to £12,000,000 and an increase in the limit on pooled funds other than Money Market Funds from £5,000,000 to £10,000,000.

REASON

(i)         The annual treasury report is a requirement of the Council’s reporting procedures. The report also covers the actual Prudential Indicators for 2015/16 in accordance with the requirements of the relevant CIPFA Codes of Practice.

(ii)        External economic developments together with an increase in the monies needing to be invested necessitate a revision to the current strategy.

(agenda online at: Standards_Agenda )

(agenda online at: CenSus_Agenda )

(agenda online at: Personnel_Agenda )

To receive the minutes of the meeting of the Overview & Scrutiny Committee held on 26th September 2016

(agenda online at Overview_&_Scrutiny_Agenda )

The minutes of the meetings of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee held on 26th September 2016 were received.

Councillor Costin reported that the Horsham in Bloom’s Schools competition 2016 results were available on the Horsham in Bloom Website.

To consider matters certified by the Chairman as urgent

There was no urgent business.