Agenda and minutes

This will be followed by the declaration of acceptance of office.

Cllr Apel opened the meeting and then sought nominations for the Chair of the Council for the ensuing year.

Cllr Vivian proposed Cllr Apel which was seconded by Cllr Newbery.

There were no further nominations.

In a vote Cllr Apel was duly elected as Chair of the Council.

Cllr Apel signed and read the declaration of office.

This will be followed by the declaration of acceptance of office.

Cllr Apel sought nominations for Vice-Chair of the Council for the ensuing year.

Cllr Newbery proposed Cllr Cross which was seconded by Cllr O’Kelly.

There were no further nominations.

In a vote Cllr Cross was duly elected as Vice-Chair of the Council.

Cllr Cross signed and read the declaration of office.

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.

Apologies for absence will be notified at this point.

The Chair will make any specific announcements.

Apologies for absence were received from Cllr Bangert, Cllr Chilton, Cllr Corfield and Cllr Sharp.

Cllr Apel congratulated Cllr Cross on his new marriage.

Cllr Apel reminded members that the meeting is webcast live. She requested that members put their phones on silent.

Cllr Apel drew attention to her first Chairs charity event which would be a Wine Tasting on 14 June 2024.

Cllr Apel welcomed Cllr Brisbane to make a short statement about the submission of the Local Plan. Cllr Brisbane confirmed that the Chichester Local Plan 2021-2039 together with proposed modifications was submitted for public examination on Friday 3 May 2024. He drew attention to the content of the Plan. He explained the extra work required on the Transport Policy. He asked all members to thank the Planning Policy team for all their hard work.

The council had received a letter from the Station Manager at Chichester Fire Station to say thank for the work that the council provided towards the fire training exercise at Chichester Cathedral. Cllr Apel read the letter to members in full.

Cllr Apel then explained that she had requested a beacon on the Trundle on 6 June 2024 to commemorate D-Day and invited members to join her there.

Cllr Apel then spoke about the importance of council scrutiny in light of current news articles related to contaminated blood.

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.

There were no public questions.

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.

The following declarations were made:

10. Adoption of the Chichester Harbour Management Plan 2024-2025.

Donna Johnson, Other Registerable Interests (ORI), Cllr Donna Johnson declared an other registerable interest in agenda item 10 as one of West Sussex County Council's representatives on Chichester Harbour Conservancy.

10. Adoption of the Chichester Harbour Management Plan 2024-2025.

Iain Ballantyne, Other Registerable Interests (ORI), Cllr Ballantyne declared an other registerable interest in agenda item 10 as an appointed representative on Chichester Harbour Conservancy.

10. Adoption of the Chichester Harbour Management Plan 2024-2025.

Oona Hickson, Other Registerable Interests (ORI), Cllr Hickson declared an other registerable interest in agenda item 10 as an appointed reserve representative on Chichester Harbour Conservancy.

10. Adoption of the Chichester Harbour Management Plan 2024-2025.

Richard Bates, Other Registerable Interests (ORI), Cllr Bates declared an other registerable interest in agenda item 10 as an appointed reserve representative on Chichester Harbour Conservancy.

10. Adoption of the Chichester Harbour Management Plan 2024-2025.

Stephen Johnson, Other Registerable Interests (ORI), Cllr Stephen Johnson declared an other registerable interest in agenda item 10 as an appointed representative on Chichester Harbour Conservancy.

12. Designated Protected Areas - Policy for applying for a Waiver.

Jonathan Brown, Other Registerable Interests (ORI), Cllr Brown declared an other registerable interest in relation to agenda item 12 as an owner of a shared ownership property. He explained that he had taken advice from the Monitoring Officer that the item does not directly relate to his financial interest or wellbeing so it is a voluntary disclosure retaining the right to speak.

The Council is requested to approve as a correct record the minutes of the meeting held on 19 March 2024.

In a vote the minutes of 19 March 2024 were approved.

RESOLVED

That the minutes of the Full Council meeting held on 19 March 2024 be approved and signed as a correct record.

The Council is requested to consider the report and its appendix and make the following resolution:

That the Council agrees the Committee memberships as set out in the appendix to the report.

Cllr Moss proposed the recommendation which was seconded by Cllr Brown. Cllr Moss then outlined the report. He wished to thank all members who had sat on Committees for the last year. He also wished to thank Cllr Corfield for chairing the Standards Committee and welcomed Cllr Vivian as the new Chair. He drew attention to the tabled update.

In a vote the following recommendation was agreed:

RESOLVED

That the Council agrees the Committee memberships as set out in the appendix to the report as amended.

Committee Appointments 2024-2025

Alcohol and Entertainment Licensing Committee and General Licensing Committee

Membership = 10 (7 Lib Dem, 2 Green and Local Alliance, 1 Conservative)

Appeals Committee

Membership = 5 (plus 2 substitutes) (5 Liberal Democrat, 1 Green and Local Alliance, 1 Conservative)

Corporate Governance and Audit Committee

Membership = 8 (6 Liberal Democrat, 1 Green and Local Alliance, 1 Conservative)

Executive Directors Disciplinary Committee

Membership = 5 (3 Liberal Democrat, 1 Green and Local Alliance, 1 Conservative)

Investigation and Disciplinary Committee

Membership = 5 (plus 2 substitutes) (3 Liberal Democrat, 1 Green and Local Alliance, 1 Conservative)

Overview and Scrutiny Committee

Membership = 11 (7 Liberal Democrat, 2 Green and Local Alliance, 2 Conservative)

Note – amended from statutory entitlement by 1 from Liberal Democrats to Conservative

Planning Committee

Membership = 13 (8 Liberal Democrat, 2 Green and Local Alliance, 3 Conservative)

Note – amended from statutory entitlement by 1 from Liberal Democrats to Conservative

The Council is requested to consider the report and its appendix and make the following resolutions:

1.    That the Council agrees the appointments to the external bodies for 2024 – 2025 as set out in the appendix to this report.

2.    That the Council authorise the Monitoring Officer in consultation with the Leader to transfer appointments to the same appointee Member where the name of the external body changes.

Cllr Moss proposed the recommendations which were seconded by Cllr Brown. He drew attention to the tabled update.

Mr Bennett noted that the second recommendation allows for himself and the Leader to make incidental changes to avoid unnecessary reports back to Full Council.

In a vote the following resolutions were agreed:

1.   That the Council agrees the appointments to the external bodies for 2024 – 2025 as set out in the appendix to this report as amended.

2.   That the Council authorise the Monitoring Officer in consultation with the Leader to transfer appointments to the same appointee Member where the name of the external body changes.

List of External Bodies Appointments 2024-2025

Members are requested to consider the report and appendix as set out on pages 11-116 of the agenda pack for the 16 April 2024 Cabinet and make the following resolution:

That Council agree that the Chichester Harbour Management Plan 2024-2025 is adopted.

Cllr Brown proposed the recommendation which was seconded by Cllr Moss.Cllr Brown then presented the item.

Cllr Tim Johnson asked whether the impact of housing development is being kept under review particularly following extreme natural events and locally after the storms on East Head. He also asked if all parishes have up to date neighbourhood plans and if not what steps are being taken. Mr Frost noted the questions and agreed to provide a response relating to the neighbourhood plan numbers outside of the meeting. With regard to development impacts he reminded members that the Local Plan had been submitted and therefore it was not for discussion during this agenda item. Any update to members would be provided separately.

Cllr Ballantyne noted regarding water quality in the Chichester Harbour area that the objectives of the Harbour Conservancy are to plan and adapt to coastal change for a range of future climate scenarios. They are considering a shift away from building concrete defences to redeveloping of the saltmarsh. The aim being to increase the number of species that survive in the Harbour area.

In a vote the following resolution was agreed:

That Council agree that the Chichester Harbour Management Plan 2024 2025 is adopted.

Members are requested to consider the report and appendix as set out on pages 13-24 of the agenda pack for the 14 May 2024 Cabinet and make the following resolution based on the recommendation listed:

That Council agrees that funding for the Arun and Rother Rivers Trust’s (ARRT) Chalk Stream Resilience project of £180,000 (£60,000 per year for three years) is allocated from General Fund Reserves.

Please note the resolution is correct at the time of going to print but may be subject to change at the Cabinet meeting on 14 May 2024.

Cllr Brown proposed the recommendation which was seconded by Cllr Moss.Cllr Brown then presented the item.

Cllr Cross requested advice from the Monitoring Officer. He asked whether the recommendation needed to be amended for clarity as the Trust is changing its name. Mr Bennett explained that it would be better to leave to officers to follow up outside of the meeting.

Cllr Briscoe wished to support the recommendation. He noted it would not force Southern Water or the Environment Agency to change their approach. He spoke about the amount of water being drawn from the River Ems each day and drew attention to the need for Biodiversity. He asked given the condition of the River Ems and the River Lavant in particularly in the summer what tangible outcomes can be expected from the funding. He also asked what the funding could do to help towards the issue of extraction and how it could help hold the External Bodies to account for unsustainable extraction and pollution. Cllr Brown explained that many of the answers will come out of the memorandum of agreement (MoA) between the Council and the ARRT which will follow the report. He clarified that the MoA will not over right national law but by raising the profile of rivers it will be likely to speed up the work.

Cllr Tim Johnson noted that the funding will equate towards two posts. He asked for clarification of what would happen if additional funding cannot be sought elsewhere and whether it would mean a return to the Council for more funds. Cllr Brown explained that he did not anticipate that being a problem. He clarified that the ARRT will need to raise some of the money from other sources.

Cllr Potter raised concerns relating to the River Lavant. He questioned why engagement with Southern Water had not been mentioned in the Cabinet report. He explained that at a recent event he had attended Southern Water had explained that they hope to commence work in 2025 but that could slip to 2026 dependent on funding. He then raised concerns over value for money. Cllr Brown responded. He confirmed that Southern Water have an obligation to mitigate some of the damage caused in the River Lavant. He explained that by creating a plan and having officer capacity to bid for the money it keeps Southern Waters attention.

Cllr Burkhart gave her support to the project. She wished to understand how the council could tighten the aims and scrutinise the achievements over the coming years. She raised concerns that the project would raise profile and awareness more than progress. She requested that it be brought back to Overview and Scrutiny Committee in the next two years. Cllr Brown responded. He confirmed that there will be regular updates to the Environment Panel. He explained that the purpose of the project is not to fund a communications campaign but to use the officers appointed to work with the community to gather data that can be  ...  view the full minutes text for item 123.

Members are requested to consider the report and appendix as set out on pages 25-36 of the agenda pack for the 14 May 2024 Cabinet and make the following resolutions based on the recommendations listed:

1. That Council approve the introduction of a policy for determining applications to Homes England seeking a waiver in designated protected areas (dpa), as attached at appendix 1.

2. That Council approve that delegated authority be granted to the Divisional Manager for Housing, Revenues and Benefits to make minor changes to the policy and as set out in section 5 of the policy.

Please note the resolutions are correct at the time of going to print but may be subject to change at the Cabinet meeting on 14 May 2024.

Cllr Betts proposed the recommendations which were seconded by Cllr Moss.Cllr Betts then presented the item. He wished to thank Ms Williams (who was present) and housing officers for their work on the project. Cllr Betts then explained that the term ‘staircasing’ had been defined in the Policy.

Cllr Chant thanked Cllr Moss and Cllr Betts for listening to their comments. Cllr Chant noted that the Local Plan had been submitted. Cllr Chant asked with regard to the shared ownership allocations around Fishbourne, Fernhurst and Donnington why the decision had been made without a cap on stock and whether there is a minimum number of shared ownership required. Cllr Chant asked what will happen for those looking to buy homes in the future if properties are staircased. Cllr Betts responded. He explained that there are co-owners of properties who aspire to 100% ownership. He sought to reassure members that officers will consider on a case by case basis. He clarified that he had requested how many homes had been taken up to 100% which is 10%. Ms Williams then explained that when she came to review each of the parishes she looked at what the council has and what it will have coming forward. There are designated rural areas and they are not all designated protected areas such as Fishbourne. She has also tried to research the number of owners who staircase up to 100%. The 10% figure comes from the 2018 survey. More recently the figure is likely to be between 2% and 3%. She explained that the decrease is due to those paying rent and a mortgage not always being able to save to buy more shares as well, particularly as the property is valued on the current market value and it was unlikely that all shared owners would staircase out.

Cllr Brown referred to his earlier declaration. He spoke from experience of someone living in shared ownership. He shared his own story of how he had had to wait to afford to buy locally. He explained that shared ownership is designed for those who can afford mortgages but do not have a deposit. He noted that for shared ownership you do not have to move if you do not want to. The cap is an attempt to reconcile to preserve access to more affordable housing in those areas that it is needed. He explained that shared ownership can be part of the solution to create mixed communities.

Cllr Hickson noted that it is a response to an imperfect situation and as market prices increase it will be harder to staircase up.

Cllr Chant referred to the orange section of the appendix relating to Chidham, Hambrook and Loxwood. Cllr Chant asked what the minimum affordable housing stock is for the next two to three years. Ms Williams explained that the stock coming forward cannot be predicted. She outlined other options such as shared equity where a provider of shared ownership cannot be found for stock. She explained  ...  view the full minutes text for item 124.

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.

The Council is asked to consider 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).

Please note there are no restricted items scheduled to be considered at this meeting.

There was no requirement to exclude the press and public.