Agenda item

To receive the minutes of the Task and Finish Group on Public Health and the Minutes of the Task and Finish Group on Off Street Parking

The Chairman of the Task and Finish Group on Off Street Parking updated the Committee on the Group’s work.  An Area Highways Manager from West Sussex County Council had attended the group’s meeting on 16^th December 2019 and two senior officers from West Sussex County Council had attended a meeting on 20^th January 2020.  These officers were a County Highways (Development Management) Team Manager and a Principal Planner in the Transport Planning & Policy Team.  There had been a discussion with these officers about the rationale behind the County Council’s planning matrix which determined the number of off road car parking spaces required for a development.  The members of the Task and Finish group felt the numbers allowed by the planning matrix were inadequate and that ward members needed to be more involved in decisions about parking spaces as they knew the area.  They proposed to develop their own parking matrix whereby a one bedroom place would be allocated 2 parking spaces, a two bedroom place 2 spaces, a three bedroom place 3 spaces and a 4 bedroom place also 3 spaces.  The task and finish group would propose to use County as consultants regarding parking matters so that they were not challenged on appeal against planning decisions.  The next meeting of the task and finish group was scheduled for 10^th February 2020 and at that meeting the group would put together a recommendation for the Overview and Scrutiny Committee that Horsham District Council should develop its own planning matrix.

The Chairman of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee wanted assurance that the task and finish group had gone into thorough consultation with the West Sussex County Council officers regarding whether they had statutory responsibilities and he was assured that there had been discussions and the situation was open to interpretation.  It was stated that having West Sussex County Council Highways as a consultee with a no objection position would protect Horsham District Council legally from planning appeals.  Arun District Council and Crawley Borough Council had done this whilst having their own SPD planning matrices.

There was a further discussion around whether the work on the new planning matrix would feed into the Local Plan consultation.  The Chairman of the Task and Finish Group said he was happy for it to do so.

The Chairman of the Task and Finish Group on Public Health reported that the last meeting of the group had been on 19^th November and the Cabinet Member for Community and Wellbeing had attended.  The CCG would not attend any meetings of the group despite repeated invitations to several different individuals.  The Chairman of the Task and Finish Group on Public Health felt that Overview and Scrutiny was meant to review and Scrutinise the performance of other public bodies in the area as set out in the Council’s Constitution.

The Chairman of Overview and Scrutiny suggested sending a copy of the minutes of the Task and Finish Group to Horsham’s MP Jeremy Quinn.

The members of Overview and Scrutiny asked the reasons the CCG had given for non-attendance and were told that they were purdah, that the CCG representatives were too busy and that a phone conversation was offered instead.

The Chairman of the Task and Finish Group on Public Health also reported that Democratic Services at Horsham Council had received an email from Democratic Services at West Sussex County Council saying that Horsham should not be scrutinising health.  The Chairman of the Task and Finish Group felt West Sussex covered a very large area whilst Horsham Council’s Task and Finish Group was focusing on a much smaller area of Horsham District.

            RESOLVED

To send a copy of the Task and Finish Group Meeting on public health to the MP Jeremy Quinn.