Agenda and minutes

The election will be followed by the Chairman’s declaration of acceptance of office.

The 2017 Annual Council meeting was opened by the Chief Executive Mrs Shepherd. She greeted everyone present and explained that it was her responsibility to preside until the election of the chairman had been accomplished. She explained the emergency evacuation procedure.

Mrs Shepherd invited nominations for election of the Chairman of the Council for the 2017-2018 Chichester District Council (CDC) administrative year. 

Mr Dignum proposed Mrs Hamilton. He commended her diligent fulfilment of the role and duties of Chairman during her first term of office in 2016-2017. She had presided at the Council meetings and had represented CDC at many events and functions.

Mr Dignum’s proposal was duly seconded by Mrs Lintill.

No other nominations were received.

Mrs Shepherd requested members to vote on the aforementioned proposal.   

Decision

Members voted in favour of the proposal with no votes against and one abstention.

RESOLVED

That Mrs Hamilton be elected the Chairman of the Council for the 2017-2018 CDC administrative year.

Mrs Hamilton then took the Chairman’s seat at the head table. She read, signed and dated the declaration of her acceptance of office in the prescribed form.  

The appointment will be followed by the Vice-Chairman’s declaration of acceptance of office.

Mrs Hamilton invited nominations for appointment of the Vice-Chairman of the Council for the 2017-2018 CDC administrative year.  

Mr Dignum proposed Mrs Graves. He said that she had supported Mrs Hamilton throughout the past Council year and had attended a variety of events and functions on behalf of CDC. 

Mr Dignum’s proposal was duly seconded by Mrs Lintill.

No other nominations were received.

Mrs Hamilton requested members to vote on the aforementioned proposal.

Decision

Members voted in favour of the proposal with no votes against and one abstention.

RESOLVED

That Mrs Graves be appointed the Vice-Chairman of the Council for the 2017-2018 CDC administrative year.

Mrs Graves then took the Vice-Chairman’s seat at the head table. She read out, signed and dated the declaration of her acceptance of office in the prescribed form.

The Council will be asked to approve as a correct record the minutes of its meeting held on Tuesday 7 March 2017 a copy of which is circulated with this agenda.

The Annual Council received the minutes of the Council meeting on Tuesday 7 March 2017, which had been circulated with the agenda (copy attached to the official minutes).

There were no proposed changes to the minutes.

Decision

The Annual Council voted unanimously on a show of hands to approve the aforementioned minutes without making any amendments.

RESOLVED

That the minutes of the Council’s meeting on Tuesday 7 March 2017 be approved without amendment.

Mrs Hamilton then duly signed and dated the final (sixteenth) page of the official version of the aforesaid minutes as a correct record.

The Chairman will announce any late items which are to be considered at agenda item 15 (a) or (b).

There were no urgent items for consideration under agenda item 15 (a) or (b) (Late Items).

Members and officers are requested to make any declarations of disclosable pecuniary, personal and/or prejudicial interests they might have in respect of matters on the agenda for this meeting.

The following declarations of interests were made in respect of agenda item 8 (Joint Chichester Harbour Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty Supplementary Planning Document):

·       Mr Barrett declared a personal interest as a CDC appointed member of the Chichester Harbour Conservancy.

·       Mr Connor declared a personal interest as a CDC appointed member of the Chichester Harbour Conservancy.

·       Mrs Plant declared a personal interest as a CDC appointed deputy member of the Chichester Harbour Conservancy.

The following declaration of interest was made insofar as it was relevant to do so having regard to the agenda items for this meeting:

·       Mr Dunn declared a personal interest as a CDC appointed member of the South Downs National Park Authority.

The chairman will make any specific announcements.

Apologies for absence will be received at this point.   

Mrs Hamilton made the following announcements or remarks:

(1)  Apologies for absence had been received from Mr Budge, Mrs Hardwick, Mr Page and Mrs Tassell.

[Note There was one other absentee: Mr Macey]

(2)  In welcoming everyone to this Annual Council meeting she expressed gratitude to members for re-electing her as the Chairman and re-appointing Mrs Graves as the Vice-Chairman.

(3)  During the previous 12 months she and Mrs Graves had represented CDC by attending many events and functions within Chichester District. A list of her own engagements would be e-mailed to all members after the end of this meeting.

(4)  Four CDC by-elections had taken place on Thursday 4 May 2017 and the new members were: Mr A Collins (Bosham Ward), Mr K Martin (East Wittering Ward), Mr C Page (North Mundham Ward) and Mr P Wilding (Plaistow Ward). She congratulated them on their success and on behalf of all CDC members welcomed them to the local authority.  Mr Page was unable to attend this meeting and so she asked the other three new members to stand up and be identified to their colleagues.

(5)  There was also on Thursday 4 May 2017 the four-yearly West Sussex County Council (WSCC) election and three CDC members were now also WSCC members: Mrs Duncton (Petworth Division) and Mr Oakley (Chichester East Division) had been re-elected and Mrs Purnell (Selsey Division) had been elected for the first time. On behalf of all CDC members she congratulated them on their success.

(6)  In what was believed to be an unprecedented occasion for CDC, two of its members were standing as parliamentary candidates for the Chichester constituency in the general election to be held on Thursday 8 June 2017: Mr Brown (Liberal Democrat) and Mrs Keegan (Conservative). She conveyed her best wishes to both of them.

(7)  On Friday 28 April 2017 many members visited by invitation the South Downs Planetarium, located behind the Chichester High School in Kingsham Road. The Planetarium, which was very well regarded and was in contact with similar organisations around the world and trained many of the world’s navies, was in the midst of the city and run by volunteers on a shoestring budget. All the presentations were tailored to the group visiting and surely all those who attended that afternoon would thoroughly recommend a visit.

(8)  As stated on the front of the agenda for this meeting, there would be a special meeting of the Council on Monday 19 June 2017 at 14:00. It would be preceded by a meeting of the Cabinet at 10:00 that day; that meeting was itself to have been a special meeting but this would now be the Cabinet’s ordinary monthly meeting as a decision had been taken earlier in the day to cancel the ordinary meeting scheduled for Tuesday 6 June 2017 for a lack of sufficient business to transact.

In accordance with Chichester District Council’s scheme of public question and with reference to standing order 6 in Part 4 A and section 5.6 in Part 5 of the Chichester District Council Constitution, consideration will be given at this point in the meeting to questions which have been submitted by members of the public in writing by 12:00 on the previous working day. The total time allocated for public question time is 15 minutes but this is subject to the chairman’s discretion to extend that period for each member of the public (five minutes) or the total time for public questions (15 minutes).

No public questions had been submitted for this meeting.

[Note Minute paras 209 to 218 below summarise the consideration of and conclusion to agenda items 8 to 17 inclusive but for full details (excluding exempt agenda item 17) please refer to the audio recording facility via this link:

http://chichester.moderngov.co.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=132&MId=735&Ver=4 ]

The agenda report for this item is at pages 18 to 20 of the agenda papers for the Cabinet’s meeting on 9 May 2017 the two appendices are available to view online only although one hard copy of each has been placed in the Members Room at East Pallant House.

RECOMMENDATION TO THE COUNCIL

That the Council:

(1)  Adopts the Joint Chichester Harbour Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty Supplementary Planning Document (set out in appendix 1 to the agenda report) and

(2)  Approves the proposed responses to representations received (set out in appendix 2 to the agenda report).

The Annual Council considered the recommendation to the Council made by the Cabinet at its meeting on Tuesday 9 May 2017 set out on the face of the agenda (copy attached to the official minutes), the details in respect of which were contained in pages 18 to 20 of the agenda report for that meeting and also in the two appendices which had published online only (although some hard copies were available for inspection at this meeting). 

Mrs Taylor (the Cabinet Member for Planning Services) formally moved the recommendations of the Cabinet and this was seconded by Mr Dignum (Leader of the Council). 

Mrs Taylor presented the report. She emphasised the immense importance and value of Chichester Harbour as one of Chichester District’s greatest assets. The protection and maintenance of the AONB (designated in 1964) was the responsibility of CDC, Havant Borough Council and the Chichester Harbour Conservancy. The AONB was the subject of specific policies in the two councils’ respective local plans: Policy 43 (Chichester Harbour Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB)) in the Chichester Local Plan: Key Policies 2014-2029. Any future development should be guided by the four principles to protect, conserve and enhance natural beauty and wildlife set out in para 2.1 of the section 2 of the Joint Chichester Harbour Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty Draft Supplementary Planning Document (SPD) in appendix 1. Section 3 of the report set out the timeline for the preparation of the more comprehensive SPD, which would replace and possess greater evidential weight than the 2007 Design Guidelines for new dwellings and extensions (Chichester Harbour Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Appendix 1 contained the SPD; appendix 2 set out the consultation representations received and CDC’s responses thereto. If adopted the SPD would be a material consideration in the determination of planning applications and appeals and section 4 of the report stated what outcomes its adoption would achieve. 

Where required, responses were given by Mrs Taylor and Mr Carvell to questions and comments by members on points of detail. Matters covered included the effect of recreation and disturbance mitigation measures, the weight to be attached to the SPD and the post-consultation amendment made to para 13.1 of the draft SPD so that it now stated that where there was proposed a substantial increase in the development of a property ‘there should be no more than a 50% increase above the original footprint or a 25% increase above the existing silhouette (on any elevation visible from the wider landscape)’ [emphasis supplied] (page 121 in appendix 2 to the report).  

Decision

At the end of the discussion the Annual Council voted with respect to the recommendations made by the Cabinet and on a show of hands it was unanimously in favour of making the resolutions set out below.

RESOLVED

(1)  That the Joint Chichester Harbour Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty Supplementary Planning Document (as set out in appendix 1 to the agenda report) be adopted.

(2)  That the proposed responses to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 209.

The Council is asked to consider the agenda report and to make the following resolution:

That the review of political balance arrangements set out in the report be approved and that tables 1, 2 and 3 therein be applied in making appointments to committees.

The Annual Council considered the agenda report (copy attached to the official minutes).

Mrs Shepherd presented the report and drew members’ attention to the tables in paras 4.1, 4.3, 4.5, 4.6 and 4.7 (erroneously cited as 1.7), the figures in which she explained. 

Members’ questions were invited. Mr Brown expressed concern about the self-evident disparity between the term ‘political balance’ and the 85.41% proportion of committee seats awarded to the Conservatives, which was not an allocation that reflected the voting pattern among the Chichester District electorate.  Mrs Shepherd said that the allocation was strictly governed by the relevant regulations (para 4.2 of the report). Mr Brown’s point could more properly be raised during questions to the executive.

Mrs Hamilton proposed that the recommendation in para 2.1 of the report be approved by the Annual Council meeting. Her proposal was seconded by Mrs Graves.       

Decision

The Annual Council voted unanimously on a show of hands in favour of making the resolution set out below.

RESOLVED

That the review of political balance arrangements in the report be approved and that tables 1, 2 and 3 in the report be applied in making appointments to committees.

The Council is requested to consider the agenda report (which will be circulated subsequent to the despatch of the agenda once the details of proposed members, chairmen and vice-chairmen have been received) and to make the following resolution:

That the members be appointed to serve on committees for 2017-2018 including their chairmen and vice-chairmen as set out in the appendix to the report, subject to decisions on the previous agenda item regarding political balance arrangements and subject to the nominations proposed by party group leaders.

The Annual Council considered the agenda report and its appendix, which were originally circulated in an agenda supplement and then following revision of the appendix in an amended supplement to the agenda (copies attached to the official minutes).

Mrs Hamilton introduced the report and then enquired whether there were any proposed changes to the list of committee memberships set out in the revised version of the appendix to the report. There was none.  

There was no discussion of this item.

Mrs Hamilton proposed that the recommendation in para 2.1 of the report be approved by the Annual Council meeting.        

Decision

The Annual Council voted unanimously on a show of hands in favour of making the resolution set out below.

RESOLVED

That members be appointed to serve on committees for 2017-2018 with their chairmen and vice-chairman as set out in the revised version of the appendix to the agenda report.  

The Council is requested to consider the agenda report (which will be circulated subsequent to the despatch of the agenda once the details of proposed members have been received) and to make the following resolution:

That the members be appointed to serve on external organisations for 2017-2018 and longer term appointments/nominations as set out in the tables in the report.

The Annual Council considered the agenda report which was circulated in an agenda supplement (copies attached to the official minutes).

Mrs Hamilton referred to the report and asked if there were any proposed changes to named appointments to the list of 11 external organisations in para 3.2. There was none.  

There was no discussion of this item.

Mrs Hamilton proposed that the recommendation in para 2.1 of the report be approved by the Annual Council meeting.        

Decision

The Annual Council voted unanimously on a show of hands in favour of making the resolution set out below.

RESOLVED

That members be appointed to serve on external organisations for 2017-2018 and in certain cases for a longer term as set out in the tables in the agenda report.  

The Council is requested to consider the agenda report and formally to note the taking of the urgent decision taken by the Leader of the Council as set out more fully below that the planning fees charged by Chichester District Council should be increased by 20% with effect from July 2017.

The Background to and the Nature of the Decision

The Department of Communities and Local Government wrote to local authorities earlier this year offering the option to raise planning fees by 20% with effect from July 2017, provided that any additional money raised would be used to fund the planning service. If a council wished to embrace this opportunity, its section 151 officer was required to sign a statement confirming that (1) the money would be used solely for the planning service, (2) the council had determined to increase the fees by 20% and (3) budget figures were provided to demonstrate that the money was being reinvested in the planning service.

Ideally, had officers been aware of the detail of this in time for the Council meeting on 7 March 2017 it could have been dealt with then as a late item and the 2017-2018 budget  could have been amended. The additional revenue to be generated is likely to be in the region of £120,000 for the period July 2017 to March 2018.

The government issued a housing white paper with a commitment to allow local authorities to increase planning fees as stated by 20% from July 2017. The implementation of such a measure would require secondary legislation. As a result of the general election and the fact that Parliament has now been prorogued, a decision on whether or not to pass such legislation will now be one for the new Parliament

The Constitutional Requirement to Report this Urgent Decision

The making of urgent budget or policy framework decisions is required to be the subject of a full report to be submitted to the next available Council meeting explaining the decision, the reasons for it and why the decision was treated as a matter of urgency. The requirement is set out in para 4 of section 4.3 (Budget and Policy Framework Procedure Rules) in Part 4 (Rules of Procedure) of Chichester District Council’s Constitution as follows:

‘4. Urgent budget or policy framework decisions

(a)      The Cabinet, a committee of the Cabinet, an individual member of the

Cabinet or staff, area committees or joint arrangements discharging

executive functions may take a decision which is contrary to the Council’s

policy framework or contrary to or not wholly in accordance with the budget

approved by full Council if the decision is a matter of urgency. However, the

decision may only be taken:

i) if it is not practical to convene a quorate meeting of the full Council;

and

ii) if the chairman of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee agrees that

the decision is a matter of urgency.

The reasons why it is not practical to convene a quorate meeting of full

Council  ...  view the full agenda text for item 213.

The Annual Council received and considered the statement of position set out in the text in the agenda itself (copy attached to the official minutes).

Mrs Hamilton referred to the detailed text on the fourth and fifth pages of the agenda front sheets and pointed out that as stated therein members were requested only to note that an urgent decision had previously been made about the subject matter of this item.

Mrs Hamilton invited members to ask any questions by way of clarification.

Members asked questions and made comments on points of detail to which Mrs Taylor (the Cabinet Member for Planning Services), Mr Dignum (the Leader of the Council), Mrs Shepherd and Mr Carvell responded as appropriate. Matters covered included:

(1)  Whether the South Downs National Park Authority (SDNPA) might decide to increase its planning fees and if so whether any element thereof would be given to CDC. Any increase would be received by the SDNPA. A new agency agreement between CDC and the SDNPA was currently being negotiated and its terms would be submitted to the Cabinet and the Council in due course.

(2)  Whether the increase would apply to pre-application enquiries and how any increase might be used. It would not apply to such enquiries and details of the Development Management (DM) budgets were published on CDC’s web-site. The current budgets for DM and planning enforcement revealed that income did not by some way cover the cost of the service and so the increases were justified; a profit would not and indeed it could not be made. Increases in planning fees were made on the user pays principle.  

(3)  The details of the proposed increases would be set out in secondary legislation and were awaited from the Department for Communities and Local Government. This was subject to the outcome of the general election and members would be kept informed.

(4)  Planning fees were set by regulations and there was no discretion vested in local planning authorities to vary the level of fees charged depending on the nature of the proposed development eg lower fees could not be levied in the case of, say, affordable or community-led housing.

Mrs Hamilton asked the Annual Council formally to note the urgent decision taken by the Leader of the Council as set out on the face of the agenda.

Decision

The Annual Council voted on a show of hands in favour of making the resolution set out below with one vote against and no abstentions.

RESOLVED

That the Annual Council notes the urgent decision made by the Leader of the Council that the planning fees charged by CDC should be increased by 20% with effect from July 2017.   

The Council is requested to consider the agenda report and its confidential Part II appendix (the latter has been circulated to members and relevant officers only and is printed on salmon paper) and to note the making of the urgent decision set out therein.

The Annual Council received and considered the agenda report and (which was circulated only to members and relevant officers) its confidential Part II appendix (copy of the report attached to the official minutes).

Mrs Hamilton referred to the report and pointed out that, as stated on the face of the agenda, members were requested only to note that an urgent decision had previously been made about the subject matter of the report.

There was no discussion about this matter.

Mrs Hamilton asked the Annual Council formally to note the urgent decision set out in para 2.1 of the report.

Decision

The Annual Council voted unanimously on a show of hands in favour of making the resolution set out below.

RESOLVED

That the Annual Council notes the urgent decision made by the Cabinet Member for Community Services to maintain the Citizens Advice Bureau’s concessionary rent level for 5-6 Theatre Lane Chichester for a four-month period from April 2017 to July 2017. 

[Note This item is allocated a maximum duration of 40 minutes]

Mrs Hamilton invited members to indicate if they wished to ask questions of the Cabinet and the names of those so desiring were noted. She reminded members that a maximum of 40 minutes was allocated for this item.  

The questions asked and the responses given were as follows:

Question by Mrs Apel: Closure of The Chichester Foyer

Mrs Apel asked Mr Dignum (the Leader of the Council) about several aspects to this issue. She wished to know (a) when he had first known about the closure of The Chichester Foyer in Velyn Avenue in the city; (b) whether he knew which officers had been aware of the closure plan; (c) what would be happening to the vulnerable young people and young asylum seekers who were currently being accommodated and supported there; (d) what would be the position of those in need of accommodation of the kind provided by The Foyer in the future; and (e) whether the cut-backs to benefits for 18-21 year olds had been one of the main factors in the closure decision. She pointed out that these young people were some of the most vulnerable and The Foyer provided not only a roof over their heads but a range of advice and assistance. It was unfortunate that this category of vulnerable people was now seriously at risk and that this decision could well mean an increase in rough sleeping on the streets with all the associated dangers such a lifestyle posed.

Response by Mr Dignum, Mrs Lintill and Mrs Shepherd  

Mr Dignum said that he had possessed no advance knowledge of the closure. There were clearly detailed questions which CDC officers would wish to ask to ascertain how to assist those affected.

Mrs Lintill (the Deputy Leader and the Cabinet Member for Community Services) added that CDC had become aware only very late in the day of the closure decision. Meetings would be taking place at the end of this week with West Sussex County Council (WSCC) and other agencies and partners. Mrs Apel’s concern was shared by the Cabinet and further information would be shared once it became available.

Mrs Shepherd (Chief Executive) explained that The Foyer was run by a charity which had decided for whatever reason no longer to operate in the city. The decision had surprised CDC and WSCC, which respectively had housing and social care responsibilities. The two councils were concerned about this outcome and would be monitoring the situation very carefully. 

Supplementary Question by Mrs Apel: Financial Factor in the Closure of The Chichester Foyer

Mrs Apel asked whether the benefits cut-backs to 18 to 21 year olds had played a part in the closure decision.

Response by Mrs Shepherd 

Mrs Shepherd (Chief Executive) said that she understood that it was a personal decision by the charity no longer to engage in that type of work. Welfare reforms had had an impact. CDC would continue to support the work with the most vulnerable clients.

Question by Mr Brown: Infrastructure Funding  ...  view the full minutes text for item 215.

To consider any late items as follows:

(a)        Items added to the agenda papers and made available for public inspection.

(b)        Items which the chairman has agreed should be taken as matters of urgency by reason of special circumstances to be reported at the meeting.

As announced by the Chairman of the Council at agenda item 4 (Urgent Items) (see minute 205 above) there were no late items for consideration at this meeting.

The Council is asked to consider in respect of the following itemwhether the public, including the press, should be excluded from the meeting on the grounds of exemption under Parts I to 7 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972, as indicated against the item and because, in all the circumstances of the case, the public interest in maintaining the exemption of that information outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information. The reports dealt with under this part of the agenda are attached for members of the Council and relevant officers only and are printed on salmon paper.

At the conclusion of the business in Part I of the agenda Mrs Hamilton stated that in order to consider agenda item 17 (Investment Opportunity) a resolution was required to be made for the meeting to move into Part II with the exclusion of the press and the public. She invited the making of a proposal which had to be duly seconded for that purpose.

A proposal to move into Part II was made by Mrs Lintill (the Deputy Leader of the Council) and was seconded by Mr Dignum (the Leader of the Council).

Decision

It was unanimously supported by a vote on a show of hands that the following resolution, having been duly proposed and seconded, should be passed to exclude the press and the public from the meeting during the consideration of agenda item 17 (Investment Opportunity).

RESOLVED

That the public and press be excluded from the consideration of the report and its appendix for agenda item 17 (Investment Opportunity) on the grounds that it is likely that there would be in respect of that item a disclosure to the public of ‘exempt information’ of the description specified in Paragraph 3 (information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person (including the authority holding that information)) of Part I of Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act 1972 and because in all the circumstances of the case the public interest in maintaining the exemption of that information outweighs the public interest in disclosing that information.  

The confidential agenda report for this Part II item is at pages 40 to 72 of the agenda papers for the Cabinet’s meeting on 9 May 2017.

Subject to the decision made by the Cabinet at its meeting on 9 May 2017, it is anticipated that the Annual Council meeting will be asked to consider the following:

RECOMMENDATION TO THE COUNCIL

That the Council approves the release of the sum and from the funds as stated in the agenda report to make the subject acquisition.

The Annual Council received and considered the confidential Part II report and its two appendices which were circulated to CDC members and relevant officers only.

Mrs Keegan (the Cabinet Member for Commercial Services) formally moved the recommendations of the Cabinet and this was seconded by Mr Dignum (the Leader of the Council). 

Mrs Keegan presented the report.

During the ensuing debate Mrs Keegan, Mr Over and Mr Ward responded to members’ questions and comments on points of detail.

Decision

The Annual Council voted on a show of hands in favour of the recommendation below, with one vote against and three abstentions.   

RESOLVED

That the release of the sum and from the funds as stated in the agenda report to make the subject acquisition be approved.