Agenda and minutes

The Council is requested to approve as a correct record the minutes of the Special Full Council held on 24 January 2023 and the Full Council meeting held on 31 January 2023.

In relation to the Special Full Council meeting on 24 January 2023 Cllr Brown proposed the following amendments which were seconded by Cllr Moss.

Page 6, third paragraph:

Cllr Brown drew attention to the Wildlife Corridor running through site A8. He raised concerns that shrinking the Wildlife Corridor would conflict with the environmental evidence, thereby creating risk at examination. He suggested passivhaus and Fabric First could and ought to have been incentivised more. He explained that accommodating greater density of housing on sites could maximise green space retained for people and nature...

Page 9, second paragraph:

Cllr Brown explained that his priority is the ability to plan. i.e. Any additional housing should be planned. He referred members to the conclusion reached by the examiner for the Southbourne Neighbourhood Plan: that because an out of date Local Plan did not make specific provision for more housing the community should not be allowed to plan new development - but at the same time there was no mechanism to prevent unplanned housing over and above the allocation in the out of date Local Plan being approved.

RESOLVED

That the minutes of the Special Full Council meeting held on 24 January 2023 (subject to the amendments above) be approved as a correct record.

RESOLVED

That the minutes of the Full Council meeting held on 31 January 2023 be approved and signed as a correct record.

The Chair will announce any urgent items which due to special circumstances are to be dealt with under Late Items.

There were no urgent items.

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

 Cllr Sharp declared a personal interest in respect of agenda items 8, 9 and 10 as a member of West Sussex County Council. 

Cllr Oakley requested clarification from the Monitoring Officer regarding whether he would have an interest in the Compulsory Purchase Order item if there is a link to County Highways land. Mr Bennett clarified that neither Compulsory Purchase Order related to land owned by West Sussex County Council so there was no requirement to declare an interest on that basis.

Apologies for absence will be notified at this point.

The Chair will make any specific announcements.

 As this was the last Full Council meeting of the administration Cllr Hamilton thanked all members for their contributions over the last four years.

Cllr Hamilton explained that Agenda Item 16 was no longer required as it had been concluded by the resolutions made at the Special Budget Full Council meeting held on 7 March 2023.

Apologies for absence were received from Cllr Bell, Cllr Evans, Cllr Fowler, Cllr Hobbs, Cllr O’Kelly, Cllr Lishman and Cllr Palmer.

Cllr Hamilton then invited Cllr McAra to speak about the Midhurst fire at the Angel Inn in North Street. Cllr McAra wished to thank everyone for their help in coming together to support the residents of Midhurst following the fire. He also passed on thanks on behalf of Cllr Fowler who was unable to be at the meeting. He noted with thanks the response of the District and Town Council. He also announced that the Council would be providing free parking in Midhurst into April as businesses in the town remained opened.

In accordance with Chichester District Council’s scheme for public question time the Council will receive any questions which have been submitted by members of the public in writing by noon two working days before the meeting. Each questioner will be given up to three minutes to ask their question. The total time allocated for public question time is 15 minutes subject to the Chair’s discretion to extend that period.

The following public question and answers were read:

Question from David Williams:

The process of getting to this point has been long and contentious. I’ll start with a bit of history.An earlier owner of the site made a Statuary Declaration to the Land Registry in January 2010 claiming he had a Right of Way to use the track to Crooked Lane. Back in 2010 CDC was going to purchase the site and an agreement was drawn up, interestingly, the CDC Executive Board had identified lack of ownership of the track as a risk Once this Declaration was seen by the public it’s accuracy was challenged, resulting in the Land Registry removing this claimed Right of Way from the title deeds in October 2012 CDC’s agreement to purchase was terminated April 2013 So at the time Hyde purchased the Land in Jan 2014 it was well known that the vendor was not able to grant any ROW over the track. Hyde would have purchased the land knowing full well that it did not include the access track and there was no ROW to use the track.Under 2012 version of National Planning Policy Framework ( NPPF) para 173 sites should be deliverable. Most would consider a site without an access as not deliverable. At the original planning hearing this rule was ignored, problems with the track were classified as a “private legal matter” then 3 yrs later when it is obviously not deliverable and the planning approval was about to run out CDC agreed to amend the wording of conditions to allow a material start. Issues with the track were now classified as “a complex civil matter” still no mention that the site might need a CPO. Is it the proper use of a CPO to get Hyde out of a poor decision that they took to purchase a site without an access. Without an access a site is not deliverable, and why your all here today. Nobody in CDC or Hyde wants to back down. The amount of time and money spent on this project has got to make a mockery of any cost normally associated with delivering social housing. And talking of money the fact that Hyde has guaranteed to underwrite costs associated with a CPO, ignores the fact that Hyde is in receipt of taxpayers money by way of Housing benefit, so while the potentially large cost of a CPO might not appear on CDC’s budget the taxpayer will still pay.

My question is this,

Is it right and proper for the Council to use CPO powers to overcome the problem Hyde gave itself by making a poor commercial decision to purchase a development site without control over the access particularly as during the planning stage it was regarded as a private legal matter?

Answer from Cllr Sutton:

Please be assured that the Council does not take decisions to recommend or authorise a compulsory purchase order lightly. Decisions are made within very clearly defined legislation and  ...  view the full minutes text for item 221.

The Council is requested to consider the report and its appendix which can be found on pages 117 to 120 of the 7 February 2023 Cabinet agenda and make the following resolution:

That the capital funding of £210,000 for Changing Places facilities is accepted and that Officers continue to progress the projects for delivery of the schemes across the district.

Cllr Dignum moved the recommendation which was seconded by Cllr Lintill.

Cllr Dignum introduced the item.

In a vote the following resolution was agreed:

That the capital funding of £210,000 for Changing Places facilities is accepted and that Officers continue to progress the projects for delivery of the schemes across the district.

The Council is requested to consider the report and its appendix which can be found on pages 33 to 50 of the 7 March 2023 Cabinet agenda and make the following resolution:

That the Council be recommended to publish the Senior Staff Pay Policy Statement 2023-2024.

Cllr Wilding moved the recommendation which was seconded by Cllr Lintill.

Cllr Wilding introduced the item.

In a vote the following resolution was agreed:

That the Council be recommended to publish the Senior Staff Pay Policy Statement 2023-2024.

The Council is requested to consider the report and its appendices attached to this agenda pack (please note a number of appendices are Part II for members and senior officers only). 

Following consideration of this report at its meeting on 7 March 2023 Cabinet made the recommendations to Council as follows:

3.1   Council authorises the use of Compulsory Purchase powers as set out in Section 226(1)(a) of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 and the Acquisition of Land Act 1981 to compulsorily acquire the Order Land identified within Appendix 1, and in particular that the Council makes the Order.

3.2   The Director of Housing and Communities is authorised, following consultation with the Cabinet Member for Housing, Communications, Licensing and Events, to:

a.    settle the final form and content of the Order and all associated documentation and take all action needed to pursue the Order and secure its confirmation.

b.    negotiate, agree terms and enter into agreements with interested parties including agreements for the withdrawal of objections or undertakings not to enforce the Order on specific terms including where appropriate removing land or rights from the Order or to request the modification of the Order by the Secretary of State;

c.    implement the Order powers following confirmation of the Order and so acquire title to and/or take possession of the Order Land.

Cllr Sutton moved the recommendation which was seconded by Cllr Lintill.

Cllr Sutton introduced the item. Members were referred to the A3 colour sheet on their desks which was a copy of page 45 enlarged. Mrs Rudziak wished to clarify that at the Cabinet meeting on 7 March 2023 it had been stated that the Planning Committee had been on a site visit to the site in question. The site visit was proposed but not agreed and therefore any member site visits were not arranged for the Committee by the council. She apologised for any confusion this had caused. Mr Bennett then reminded members that the report was being heard in public but there were part II papers covering some elements which if members wished to discuss would require the meeting to go into Part II. He suggested that if members wished to speak on the Part II papers and remain in public session they refrain from referring to specific people and names. He added that the advice of the Monitoring Officer carried weight. He then confirmed the decision members were facing was not a planning application as this had already been agreed but instead the need to meet two tests. The first whether the proposed Compulsory Purchase Order (CPO) can facilitate the authorised planned development. The second whether the CPO can improve the economic, environmental and/or social wellbeing of the area.

Mr Bennett then referred to a minor amendment which Cllr Moss would be putting to the Council. He confirmed that adding reference to ‘ the School Streets Project’ would be a minor amendment if accepted by the Chair.

Cllr Moss confirmed that he wished to propose the following minor amendment:

To amend the resolution to add 3.3 to read:

For West Sussex County Council to implement the Safer School Streets project at Birdham School.

The minor amendment was seconded by Cllr Brisbane.

Cllr Sutton raised a point of order that he had not had sight of the amendment. Mr Ward clarified that under the council’s Motion’s Procedure section two allows eight motion types without notice. The eighth example is a minor amendment. He confirmed his advice to the Chair that this could be classed as a minor amendment, but the final decision on this is the Chairman’s. Cllr Hamilton accepted the amendment as a minor amendment and invited members to comment on the minor amendment first.

Cllr Moss explained that he had visited the site and looked at the access in detail particularly at school times. He had noted the traffic challenges and concerns of those living close by and/or requiring access.

Cllr Apel also noted her concern relating to the traffic at the site.

Cllr Sutton gave his support to the minor amendment.

Cllr Barrett gave his support to the minor amendment noting the limited parking.

Cllr Sharp gave her support to the minor amendment suggesting a number of alternative methods of travelling to school such as walking buses and school streets.

Cllr Purnell requested the addition  ...  view the full minutes text for item 224.

The Council is requested to consider the report and its appendices which can be found in the agenda pack for the 20 March 2023 Special Cabinet agenda and make the following resolutions:

That following consideration of this report:

(1)  the Council authorises the use of Compulsory Purchase powers as set out in Section 226(1)(a) of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 to compulsorily acquire the Order Land identified within Appendix C, and in particular that the Council makes the Order;

(2)  the Director of Planning and the Environment be authorised, following consultation with the Cabinet Member for Planning Services, to:

a.    settle the final form and content of the Order and all associated documentation and take all action needed to pursue the Order and secure its confirmation;

b.    negotiate, agree terms and enter into agreements with interested parties including agreements for the withdrawal of objections or undertakings not to enforce the Order on specific terms including where appropriate removing land or rights from the Order or to request the modification of the Order by the Secretary of State; and

c.    implement the Order powers following confirmation of the Order and so acquire title to and/or take possession of the Order Land.

Cllr Sutton moved the recommendation which was seconded by Cllr Lintill.

Cllr Sutton introduced the item. Members were referred to the A3 colour sheet on their desks which was a copy of page 45 enlarged.

Cllr Oakley spoke in support of provision of new housing including affordable housing. He requested clarification on the inclusion of areas 7, 8 and 9. He also requested an undertaking for representatives from the council to meet with the residents of Saxon Meadow to consider their concerns. He also asked the Cabinet Member for Planning Cllr Taylor to agree to include the local ward members in future consultation as stated in the original resolution 2.

Mr Whitty in relation to page 45 of report explained that the land indicated in purple relates to CPO1. The two parcels of land indicated in green are 19D which is National Highways non adopted land and 19E which is Heaver interest. The remaining land indicated in pink (plots 19A, 19C, 19F) is adopted highway.. Plots 19C, 19D and 19E are to be included as part of the Compulsory Purchase Order (CPO) or will be transferred by negotiation to the council as part of the process. In response to Cllr Oakley’s request to meet residents of Saxon Meadow Mr Whitty explained that either the council or specialist CPO advisers would be able to do so.

The Council’s consultant Peter Home then provided further clarification relating to the plots of land in the proposal.

In response to Cllr Oakley’s request Cllr Taylor agreed that whilst she is Cabinet Member for Planning she would undertake to include ward members in the consultation process.

Cllr Bowden requested clarification of the small pink corner on the A3 version of page 45 provided to members. Mr Whitty clarified that it was part of the CPO.

Cllr Plowman then spoke in favour of the CPO.

In a vote the following resolutions were agreed:

That following consideration of this report:

(1)  the Council authorises the use of Compulsory Purchase powers as set out in Section 226(1)(a) of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 to compulsorily acquire the Order Land identified within Appendix C, and in particular that the Council makes the Order;

(2)  the Director of Planning and the Environment be authorised, following consultation with the Cabinet Member for Planning Services, to:

a.    settle the final form and content of the Order and all associated documentation and take all action needed to pursue the Order and secure its confirmation;

b.    negotiate, agree terms and enter into agreements with interested parties including agreements for the withdrawal of objections or undertakings not to enforce the Order on specific terms including where appropriate removing land or rights from the Order or to request the modification of the Order by the Secretary of State; and

c.    implement the Order powers following confirmation of the Order and so acquire title to and/or take possession of the Order Land.

Having complied with the Motions Procedure as set out in the council’s Constitution the motion attached will be proposed by Cllr Taylor and if duly seconded it will then be discussed at this meeting.

Cllr Taylor proposed her Motion which was seconded by Cllr Lintill. She then outlined her Motion as follows:

In recognition of the fact that District Councils and Borough Councils are considered best placed to meet the needs of their own residents, this Council resolves to write to its two MPs, to urge the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, that:

1.    District and Borough Councils should be empowered to :

i)               Set fees and charges to meet the needs of their residents, and which cover the actual costs of delivering the services, for example, but not exclusively, planning fees, and

ii)              To increase charges on second and holiday homes.

2.    The bureaucracy required of local government when  applying for government funding should be significantly reduced , to enable officers to concentrate on meeting the needs of their communities.

3.    Realistic funding to cover the costs should  be provided to local government, when required to enact central government legislation.

The Chair then invited Cllr Bowden to speak on his amendment. He proposed his amendment which was seconded by Cllr Brown. The amendment was as follows:

This Council welcomes the Budget Announcement of more devolution of powers to two Metro-Mayor Councils and, in recognition of the fact that District Councils and Borough Councils are considered best placed to meet the needs of their own residents, this Council resolves to write to its two MPs, to urge the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities to take the next logical step and provide that:

1.    District and Borough Councils should be empowered to :

i)               To set fees and charges which meet the needs of their residents , and which cover the actual costs of delivering the services, for example, but not exclusively, planning fees, and

ii)              To increase charges on second and holiday homes.

iii)            To devolve more power and responsibilities to Parish Councils

2.    The continual drip-feed of designated funds for which local councils have to apply and compete should be aggregated into the annual settlement and distributed on a per capita basis, to eliminate the costly bureaucracy required of local government when  applying for government funding, to enable officers to concentrate on meeting the needs of their communities, and locally-elected Councillors to allocate direct to local need.

3.    Realistic funding to cover the costs should  be provided to local government, when required to enact central government legislation.

Cllr Plowman then spoked in favour of the amendment noting a wish to see more delegated authority.

Cllr Purnell asked members whether parishes had been consulted on whether they would wish to receive greater powers and whether costs such as planning appeals would be met by parishes if those powers were given. She aired caution on the provision of individual councillor budgets.

Cllr Moss in response to Cllr Purnell explained that there are parishes who have welcomed the idea of greater delegated powers. With regard to individual councillor budgets he noted that many councils operate this system  ...  view the full minutes text for item 226.

Members are invited to ask a question of a member of the Executive (maximum of 30 minutes duration).

The following Questions to the Executive were asked with responses that followed:

Cllr Oakley asked the council’s current position with regard to installing new litter and dog waste bins in response to Parish Council requests. Cllr Plant explained that the council has found it difficult to support additional dog waste bins as collection rounds are at capacity and as such has instead adopted an approach of encouraging waste to be taken home.

Cllr Apel asked a question on behalf of Cllr Evans. The question was with regard to the Local Plan consultation period not being long enough. She explained that residents in the Loxwood ward are largely unhappy with the Local Plan and do not feel there was enough opportunity to reply. She asked if there is any scope to extend the consultation period. Cllr Taylor explained that the consultation period was eight weeks and the process is set by central Government. Mr Frost added that the website provided details for residents to contact the Planning Policy team if they had an issue with submitting their comments. He added that there were around 1500 representations.

Cllr Plowman in relation to Southern Gateway explained that virtually all the reports and discussion on the Southern Gateway had been in Part 2 Confidential. He noted that he understood that Part 2 information remains confidential until released in Part 1 or Press releases and there is no time limit. He questioned whether much of that information over time is now no longer confidential or even at the time could have been in the public domain. He raised concerns that it had meant answering simple questions from members of the public had been difficult and led to speculation. He asked if he could be informed of the consultant fees and costs that had been incurred to date on the Southern Gateway excluding LEP and other grants. He requested the answer be provided in Part I.  

Cllr Dignum responded. He explained that excluding LEP and other grants, Chichester District Council had approved a budget for £75,000 to support the delivery of the project . Of this £5,600 has been spent leaving £69,400 available within the budget . This expenditure has been related to  communications, the production of website design material and photography , printing , travel costs and room hire. All expenditure relating to consultant fees, valuations,  land transactions , site investigation work, architect drawings including civil engineering drawings ,  structural surveys, legal fees, traffic safety audits, data collection and modelling has been allocated to  the £5 million  Coast to Capital Local Enterprise Partnership grant and One Public Estate grants. All reports to Cabinet and Council are assessedto establish if they can be in the first instance a Part I report, however, if it is evident that it is likely that there would be a disclosure to the public of ‘exempt information’ as set out in  Part I of Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act 1972, the reports are taken in Part Two.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 227.

To consider any late items as follows:

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

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

There were no late items.

Cllr Sutton noted thanks to the members who would not be standing for election for their services to the council over the last four years.

Cllr Timothy Johnson noted thanks to Cllr Hamilton for her role as Chair of the Council, Cllr Lintill for her role as Leader of the Council and Cllr Moss for his role as Leader of the Opposition.

The Council is asked to consider in respect of agenda item 8, agenda item 9, agenda items 14, 15 and 16 whether 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 senior officers only (salmon paper).

Cllr Hamilton then read the Part II resolution in relation to agenda items 14 and 15 which was proposed by Cllr Lintill and seconded by Cllr Taylor.

The Council then voted to go into part II.

RESOLVED

That with regard to agenda items 14 and 15 the public including the press should be excluded from the meeting on the grounds of exemption in Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act 1972 namely Paragraph 3 (Information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person (including the authority holding that information)) 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 Council is requested to consider the report and its appendix which can be found on pages 183 to 189 of the 7 March 2023 Cabinet agenda and make the resolution as set out in section 2.1 of the report.

Cllr Dignum moved the recommendation which was seconded by Cllr Lintill.

Cllr Dignum introduced the item.

Questions and comments were received from Cllr’s Apel, Sharp and Oakley. Cllr Dignum and Mrs Hotchkiss provided responses.

In a vote the following resolution was agreed:

That terms be agreed for a lease of premises at Willow Park, as set out in Appendix 1 (exempt).

The Council is requested to consider the report and its appendix which can be found on pages 191 to 197 of the 7 March 2023 Cabinet agenda and make the resolution as set out in section 2.1 of the report.

Cllr Dignum moved the recommendation which was seconded by Cllr Lintill.

Cllr Dignum introduced the item.

Comments were received from Cllr’s Moss and Plowman. Cllr Dignum responded.

In a vote the following resolution was agreed:

That the rental terms be agreed for a lease of premises at Woodruff Centre, as set out in Appendix 1 (exempt).

The Council is requested to consider the report which can be found on pages 179 to 181 of the 7 March 2023 Cabinet agenda and make the resolutions as set out in sections 2.1 and 2.2 of the report as amended.

Cllr Hamilton explained that Agenda Item 16 was no longer required as it had been concluded by the resolutions made at Special Budget Full Council meeting held on 7 March 2023.