Agenda, decisions and minutes

The Chairman will make any specific announcements for this meeting and advise of any late items which due to special circumstances will be given urgent consideration under Late Items.

Mrs Lintill welcomed all those present to the virtual meeting and reminded members that they should use the raise hand function to indicate their wish to speak.

Mrs Lintill explained that there would be one late item relating to a further urgent decision notice to note and then recommend to Council to note.

(Please note the full audio recording of the meeting is available to listen to online: https://chichester.moderngov.co.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=135&MId=1174)

The Cabinet is requested to approve as a correct record the minutes of its meeting on Tuesday 3 March 2020.

RESOLVED

That the minutes of the meeting held on 3 March 2020 be approved.

(Mrs Lintill explained that she would sign the hard copy once meetings return to East Pallant House).

Members 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.

There were no declarations of interest.

In accordance with Chichester District Council’s scheme for public question time as amended by Full Council on 24 September 2019 the Cabinet will receive any questions which have been submitted by members of the public in writing by noon two working days before the meeting.  

Mr Hibberd joined the meeting to ask the following question:

The Centre for Disease Control has stated that the Coronavirus pandemic that we are currently witnessing is likely to have been passed from animals to humans. In the past we have also seen similar zoonotic diseases like SARS, MERS, swine flu, bird flu and mad cow disease cause similar outbreaks. These zoonotic diseases have all been caused by our exploitation of animals and our obsession with treating nature with utter contempt. Is Covid-19 going to be our wake up call and the last pandemic that we will see in our lifetimes or will it be the warm up for bigger pandemics to come? I ask the cabinet what will they do to prevent further zoonotic pandemics? Will they immediately start transitioning our animal agriculture sector to plant-based agriculture, rewilding and other greener businesses? Or will it continue the business as usual approach and continue exposing its citizens to further risks of pandemics by promoting and funding animal agriculture and the exploitation of the natural world?

Mrs Plant provided the following response:

Thank you for your question. The first point to make is that the District Council has no statutory remit or power to influence farming and agricultural practices in this country and is therefore unable to comment in detail on the matters you have raised.  

Trading Standards at West Sussex County Council work and support farms and agricultural businesses and are responsible for the enforcement of farming regulations relating to agriculture and the keeping of livestock.  This covers, animal disease, farm animal welfare, movement of animals, animal feed and food hygiene at primary producers.

We believe that good hygiene practices are in place in the livestock industry and all persons working with livestock take all possible precautions to ensure that animal disease is not spread from farm to farm.  The Animal and Plant Health Agency are responsible for managing biosecurity procedures to prevent the spread of farmed diseases.

There are also various bodies, including DEFRA and the National Disease Control Centre that control animal disease including exotic animal diseases, which are those not normally found in the UK, such as zoonoses.

The Council does however support rewilding and this is shown by various actions in the Councils Biodiversity Action Plan and the Climate Change Action Plan.  Officers are working with landowners around the district, including farmers, to improve wildlife connectivity, to develop strategic wildlife corridors, support the NFU and other land owners rewilding projects and look for opportunities for greener business’.

The Cabinet is requested to note the Urgent Decision made during the current Pandemic and recommend the decision also be noted at the next Full Council meeting.

*RECOMMENDATION TO COUNCIL

That Cabinet notes and recommends that Council notes the Urgent Decision Notice.

The Cabinet made the following resolution and recommendation:

RESOLVED

That the urgent decision notice be noted.

RECOMMENDATION TO COUNCIL

That Council notes the Urgent Decision Notice.

The Cabinet is requested to note the Urgent Decision made during the current Pandemic and recommend the decision also be noted at the next Full Council meeting.

*RECOMMENDATION TO COUNCIL

That Cabinet notes and recommends that Council notes the Urgent Decision Notice.

The Cabinet made the following resolution and recommendation:

RESOLVED

That the urgent decision notice be noted.

RECOMMENDATION TO COUNCIL

That Council notes the Urgent Decision Notice.

The Cabinet is requested to note the Urgent Decision made during the current Pandemic and recommend the decision also be noted at the next Full Council meeting.

*RECOMMENDATION TO COUNCIL

That Cabinet notes and recommends that Council notes the Urgent Decision Notice.

The Cabinet made the following resolution and recommendation:

RESOLVED

That the urgent decision notice be noted.

RECOMMENDATION TO COUNCIL

That Council notes the Urgent Decision Notice.

The Cabinet is requested to note the Urgent Decision made during the current Pandemic and recommend the decision also be noted at the next Full Council meeting.

*RECOMMENDATION TO COUNCIL

That Cabinet notes and recommends that Council notes the Urgent Decision Notice.

The Cabinet made the following resolution and recommendation:

RESOLVED

That the urgent decision notice be noted.

RECOMMENDATION TO COUNCIL

That Council notes the Urgent Decision Notice.

The Cabinet is requested to note the Urgent Decision made during the current Pandemic and recommend the decision also be noted at the next Full Council meeting.

*RECOMMENDATION TO COUNCIL

That Cabinet notes and recommends that Council notes the Urgent Decision Notice.

The Cabinet made the following resolution and recommendation:

RESOLVED

That the urgent decision notice be noted.

RECOMMENDATION TO COUNCIL

That Council notes the Urgent Decision Notice.

The Cabinet is requested to note the Urgent Decision made during the current Pandemic and recommend the decision also be noted at the next Full Council meeting.

*RECOMMENDATION TO COUNCIL

That Cabinet notes and recommends that Council notes the Urgent Decision Notice.

The Cabinet made the following resolution and recommendation:

RESOLVED

That the urgent decision notice be noted.

RECOMMENDATION TO COUNCIL

That Council notes the Urgent Decision Notice.

The Cabinet is requested to make the following Panel appointment changes:

1.    That Cllr Carol Purnell replaces Cllr Janet Duncton on the Development Plan and Infrastructure Panel.

2.    That Cllr Norma Graves replaces Cllr Alan Sutton on the Grants and Concessions Panel.

RESOLVED

1.    That Cllr Carol Purnell replaces Cllr Janet Duncton on the Development Plan and Infrastructure Panel.

2.    That Cllr Norma Graves replaces Cllr Alan Sutton on the Grants and Concessions Panel.

The Cabinet made the following resolution:

RESOLVED

1.    That Cllr Carol Purnell replaces Cllr Janet Duncton on the Development Plan and Infrastructure Panel.

2.    That Cllr Norma Graves replaces Cllr Alan Sutton on the Grants and Concessions Panel.

The Cabinet is requested to consider the agenda report and its appendix and make the following resolution as set out below:

That the Cabinet approves the release of £41,000 from reserves for the implementation of a new mobile waste bin cleaning service for businesses and residents including the purchase of a new vehicle based bin cleaning machine and vehicle.

RESOLVED

That the release of £41,000 from reserves for the implementation of a new mobile waste bin cleaning service for businesses and residents including the purchase of a new vehicle based bin cleaning machine and vehicle be approved.

Mrs Plant introduced the report and Mrs Huggett was present.

Members gave their support to the proposal and commented on how it would bring in revenue for the council.

Mrs Huggett responded to members questions. She explained that the unit charge for cleaning bins would be roughly £10 for a commercial bin and £4.50 for a residential bin however, packages would be available. She then clarified that the scheme would require a minimum 12 week lead in period in order to procure the required vehicle. It is therefore anticipated that subject to any changes resulting from the current pandemic the scheme would commence from September 2020.

The Cabinet then made the following resolution:

RESOLVED

That the release of £41,000 from reserves for the implementation of a new mobile waste bin cleaning service for businesses and residents including the purchase of a new vehicle based bin cleaning machine and vehicle be approved.

The Cabinet is requested to consider the agenda report and its appendix and make the following resolutions as set out below:

1.    That Cabinet notes and comments on the Council’s response to Covid19 (C19) emergency to date.

2.    That Cabinet notes that a report on the financial implications of C19 on the Council’s finances will be prepared for consideration by Corporate Governance and Audit Committee, Cabinet and Council.

3.    That Cabinet notes that a Recovery Framework Document will be developed for consideration by Overview and Scrutiny Committee, Cabinet and Council.

RESOLVED

1.    That the Council’s response to Covid19 (C19) emergency to date be noted.

2.    That Cabinet notes that a report on the financial implications of C19 on the Council’s finances should be prepared for consideration by Corporate Governance and Audit Committee, Cabinet and Council.

3.    That Cabinet notes that a Recovery Framework Document should be developed for consideration by Overview and Scrutiny Committee, Cabinet and Council.

Mrs Lintill wished to thank Mrs Shepherd and the whole Chichester District Council team for their hard work during the pandemic. She drew attention to the council being referred to by Central Government as number one in the country for ensuring the despatch of business grants.

Mrs Lintill then invited Mrs Shepherd to introduce the report. Mrs Shepherd also thanked all the staff for their hard work with particular reference to the critical services and the staff who had willingly been redeployed to those areas.

Each member of the Senior Leadership Team then took it in turn to outline the work of their service teams. Each gave thanks to their staff for their hard work during the pandemic.

The Senior Leadership Team then responded to members questions. Mr Frost confirmed that he was not aware of any negative impact on the communication between Planning Policy officers and third parties as a result of the pandemic. Mr Ward confirmed that a small tax relief is available for staff working from home with a link to the HMRC website provided on the Staff Intranet as staff are required to apply directly. He explained that the amount was approximately £1.20 per week. Mr Ward explained that the Governments Fair Funding review had been delayed again but as part of that review it would consider the current council tax capping scheme.

Mrs Lintill then invited Cllr Sharp to ask a question.

Cllr Sharp asked how the council would set about planning for a better for the recovery of the high street and work out how to make sure the pavements, the streets and car parks and Eastgate Square in particular are re-invented so that people can cross the road safely

Mr Bell responded as follows:

As discussion now turns to recovery with a gradual increase in retail being relaxed from lock down over the next  few weeks/months (depending on sector) , we have established an officer group at CDC to start to work up some immediate, short term and longer term actions to support our high street in the City and the Towns. This group will be led by Property and Growth and will be supported by Economic Development, Place, Licencing and Events, Planning, Communications and Environmental Health. As part of the work in developing an action recovery plan the group will also be considering the advice from the High Street Task force ten point check list planning for recovery as follows:

1.    Common plan for public space

Bringing together all of those responsible for the management of publicly accessible space to work on a common plan for managing social distancing and movement through the area following government guidance. – The officers have already been in contact with The BID to ascertain their recovery plans and have contacted WSCC Officers to ask for their lead officer regarding the public highway.

 2.    Enhanced cleaning and sanitising

Plan for enhanced cleaning and sanitising to ensure the risks of the virus spreading are reduced. This may include  ...  view the full minutes text for item 140.

The Cabinet is requested to consider the agenda report and its appendix and make the following resolution as set out below:

That Cabinet approves the communication and stakeholder engagement structure and governance arrangements for the Southern Gateway project in appendix one.

RESOLVED

That the communication and stakeholder engagement structure and governance arrangements for the Southern Gateway project in appendix one be approved.

Mr Bell introduced the report. Mrs Lintill added that there will be member workshops, all members are also invited to the Community Stakeholder Group and the Overview and Scrutiny Committee will review the project at key milestones.

The Cabinet then made the following resolution:

RESOLVED

That the communication and stakeholder engagement structure and governance arrangements for the Southern Gateway project in appendix one be approved.

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.

*RECOMMENDATION TO COUNCIL

That Cabinet notes and recommends that Council notes the Urgent Decision Notice.

The Cabinet made the following recommendation and resolution:

RECOMMENDATION TO COUNCIL

That Cabinet notes and recommends that Council notes the Urgent Decision Notice. The Cabinet made the following resolution and recommendation:

RESOLVED

That the urgent decision notice be noted.

RECOMMENDATION TO COUNCIL

That Council notes the Urgent Decision Notice.

There are no restricted items for consideration at this meeting.

There were no part II items.