Agenda and minutes

The minutes of the meeting held on 16 November 2016 were presented and the Mayor was authorised to sign them as a correct record.

1.        The Mayor welcomed Councillor Paul Metcalfe who was recently elected to the Council following the Sovereign Ward By-Election.

2.        The Mayor has had a busy few months.  Some of the engagements that the Mayor has recently attended include:

3.        Flag for the Wish Tower Flag Raising Event – This took place at the Wish Tower on 19^th November following a community project to design a new flag.  The flag will fly whenever the Wish Tower is open to the public.

4.        Society of Eastbourne Artists Exhibition – During the weekend of 26^th and 27^th November the Society of Eastbourne Artists held an Exhibition and Sale of Paintings at the Town Hall.  The Mayor’s Charities benefited from the exhibition sales and also raised funds at the refreshments stall during the weekend.

5.        Metro Bank Opening – The Mayor was pleased to open the 46^th branch of Metro Bank in the newly extended Arndale Centre on Friday 2^nd December.

6.        Pantomime Civic Night – On 15^th December the Mayor and other members of the Council attended the Civic Night of the Pantomime at the Devonshire Park Theatre.  This winter’s pantomime was Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. 

7.        Christmas Day – On Christmas Day the Mayor attended the Rotary Club Alone at Christmas event at Our Lady of Ransom Parish Hall and enjoyed chatting with those who would otherwise be spending the day on their own. She then visited the Accident and Emergency department at Eastbourne DGH, the Police Station at Hammonds Drive and the Fire Station to thank those who were spending their Christmas Day working for Eastbourne’s emergency services.

8.        Sport Eastbourne Open Day – The Mayor was pleased to learn about the different activities on offer at Hampden Park Sports Centre during her visit to the Sport Eastbourne Open Day on Saturday 7^th January.

9.        Mayor’s Charity Quiz Night – The first Mayor’s Charity Quiz Night of the new year took place at the Town Hall on Friday 20^th January.  Once again the event was very well attended and raised over £500 for the Mayor’s Charities.  The winning team was ‘Straight Outta Trumpton’.

10.     Beachy Head Marathon Cheque Presentation – On 24^th January the Mayor attended the Beachy Head Marathon Cheque Presentation at the International Lawns Tennis Centre.  The Mayor thanked the volunteers for their involvement in the event and presented them with cheques totalling £7700.00.

11.     Launch of Eastbourne Volunteers – A new Eastbourne Volunteers project was launched on 28^th January and the Mayor was pleased to open their Hub in the Labyrinth.  At the same time a new community newspaper for Eastbourne was also launched called ‘The Eastbourne Volunteer’.

12.     Launch of Seaside Community Hub – On 17^th February the Mayor was very happy to attend the launch of the new Seaside Community Hub.  The Hub was set up by Sue Morris and Helen McCabe as a large community space in Seaside to stop  ...  view the full minutes text for item 52.

No apologies received.

Declarations of disclosable pecuniary interests (DPIs) by members as required under Section 31 of the Localism Act and of other interests as required by the Code of Conduct (please see note at end of agenda).

No declarations were made.

This election was called following the resignation of former Councillor Ray Blakebrough who resigned on 6 October 2016.  The results of the election were as follows:

The number of rejected ballot papers was as follows:-

Councillor Metcalfe’s term of office  will expire on the 4th day after the ordinary day of election (i.e. the first Thursday in May) in the year 2019. 

The Council received the report of the Returning Officer on the outcome of the by-election for the Sovereign ward held on 24 November 2016. The by-election had followed the resignation of Raymond Blakebrough on 6 October 2016.  Councillor Paul Metcalfe had been elected and he was welcomed by Councillors Tutt and Freeebody on behalf of the Council. 

Report of Councillor Mattock on behalf of the Cabinet. 

Please note that the Local Authorities (Standing Orders) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2014 require named votes to be taken and recorded when setting the annual budget and council tax, this to include substantive motions and any amendments.

This matter was reported and proposed by Councillor Mattock on behalf of the Cabinet and seconded by Councillor Tutt.  The Council considered the reports to Cabinet, as included in the draft budget book and also the Cabinet minutes and resolutions from the meeting held on 8 February 2017. The budget proposals were also reported to Scrutiny Committee on 30 January 2017 where no comments or proposals for change were made.

The Council expressed its thanks and appreciation to all officers and in particular the work undertaken by the Chief Finance Officer and his team in the preparation of the draft budget.

Resolved: (By 17 votes to 8 with 2 abstentions) That approval be given to the following:

1.        The recommendations as detailed in the reports from the Deputy Chief Executive (and Chief Finance Officer) to Cabinet on 8 February 2017:

(i)          The General Fund net expenditure for 2017/18 of £14,533,700 and the growth and savings proposals.

(ii)         The charge for council tax for Eastbourne Borough Council Band D change to £232.92; an increase of 1.93%.

(iii)       Housing Revenue Account (HRA) income and expenditure proposals, including revised HRA budget for 2016/17 and the budget for 2017/18, rents and service charges, arrangements for finalising Eastbourne Homes’ management fee and annual plan.

(iv)       General Fund capital programme as set out in the report of the Chief Finance Officer.

(v)        The Treasury Management Strategy and Prudential Indicators.

2.        That consequent upon a General Fund budget of £14,533,700 and other matters, the basic amount (Band D) of Council Tax for the Borough Council's functions will be £232.92 calculated as follows:

The statutory resolutions relating to this matter are given at paragraphs 3 and 4 below.

3.        That it be noted that at its meeting on 13 December 2016 the Cabinet (in exercise of powers delegated to them by the Council) delegated the final determination of the Council Tax Base to the Chief Finance Officer. This has been set at an amount of 33,923.7 Band ‘D’ equivalent properties for the year 2017/18 (Item T in the formula in section 31B of the Local Government Finance Act 1992, as amended).

4.        Calculate that the Council Tax requirement for the Council’s own purposes for 2017/18 as £7,901,500.

5.        That the following amounts be now calculated by the Council for the year 2017/18 in accordance with Sections 31 to 36 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992, as amended:

Report of Councillor Gill Mattock on behalf of the Cabinet.

This matter was reported and proposed by Councillor Mattock on behalf of the Cabinet and seconded by Councillor Tutt.

Resolved: (By 17 votes to 9 with 1 abstention) That the treasury management strategy and annual investment strategy; the methodology for calculating the minimum revenue provision; the prudential and treasury indicators and the specified and non-specified investment categories, as set out in the report to Cabinet on 8 February 2017, be approved.

Report of Councillor Steve Wallis on behalf of the Cabinet.

This matter was reported and proposed by Councillor Wallis on behalf of the Cabinet and seconded by Councillor Tutt.

Resolved: (By 18 votes to 8) (1) That the tourist accommodation retention supplementary planning document be adopted.

(2) That the assessment of financial viability of tourist accommodation supplementary planning guidance, as set out in appendix 5 to the report to cabinet be revoked.

(3) That any minor or technical adjustments found necessary in the tourist accommodation retention SPD be delegated to the Director of Regeneration and Planning in consultation with the lead cabinet member.

(4) That the terms of reference for a tourist accommodation consultative group, as set out in appendix 3 to the report to cabinet be approved.

Report of Councillor Steve Wallis on behalf of the Cabinet.

This matter was reported and proposed by Councillor Wallis on behalf of the Cabinet and seconded by Councillor Jenkins.

Members conveyed their thanks to the Planning Policy Officer for his work on the report.

Resolved: (Unanimously) (1) That the local development scheme for 2017-2020 as set out in appendix 1 to the report to Cabinet on 8 February 2017 be adopted.

(2) That any minor or technical adjustments to the Local Development Scheme be delegated to the Director of Regeneration and Planning in consultation with the lead cabinet member.

Report of Councillor Troy Tester on behalf of the Cabinet.

This matter was reported and proposed by Councillor Tester on behalf of the Cabinet and seconded by Councillor Freebody.

Resolved: (Unanimously) That the revised change management policy be approved. 

Motion submitted by Councillor Tutt:-

The Council welcomes the Government’s announcement that it has signed up to the internationally recognised International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) guidelines on anti-Semitism. The Council recognises the importance of understanding and supporting all endeavours to shape and advance Holocaust education and remembrance, to understand how anti-Semitism manifests itself and pledging support to combat those behaviours.   To this aim the Council will adopt and apply the IRHA’s definition of anti-Semitism as follows:

“Anti-Semitism is a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews. Rhetorical and physical manifestations of anti-Semitism are directed toward Jewish or non-Jewish individuals and/or their property, toward Jewish community institutions and religious facilities.”

The following motion was proposed by Councillor Tutt and seconded by Councillor Freebody:

The Council welcomes the Government’s announcement that it has signed up to the internationally recognised International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) guidelines on anti-Semitism. The Council recognises the importance of understanding and supporting all endeavours to shape and advance Holocaust education and remembrance, to understand how anti-Semitism manifests itself and pledging support to combat those behaviours.   To this aim the Council will adopt and apply the IRHA’s definition of anti-Semitism as follows:

“Anti-Semitism is a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews. Rhetorical and physical manifestations of anti-Semitism are directed toward Jewish or non-Jewish individuals and/or their property, toward Jewish community institutions and religious facilities.”

Dorit Oliver-Wolff addressed the Council on the motion.

Resolved: (Unanimously) That this motion be approved.

Motion submitted by Councillor Taylor:-

“The Conservative group call upon Eastbourne Borough Council to hold a referendum on the proposed sale of the Downland Farms, and let local people decide."

The following motion was proposed by Councillor Taylor and seconded by Councillor Belsey:

“The Conservative group call upon Eastbourne Borough Council to hold a referendum on the proposed sale of the Downland Farms, and let local people decide."

The following amendment was proposed by Councillor Ungar and seconded by Councillor Dow:

That the following alternative proposal wording replaces the wording of the original motion:

“The Council endorses the ongoing consultation process on the proposal to sell the working farms freeholds. It notes that the consultation has been made available online and to every household in the town via the Eastbourne Review.

It also recognises the associated opinion poll in the Review giving all residents of Eastbourne an opportunity to consider this proposal and alternative measures made necessary in the light of financial pressures imposed by reduction in Government grant.”

Simon Boyle, John Boyle, Dennis Scard, Caroline Tradewell, Sally Boys, Penny Shearer and Catherine Tonge addressed the Council on the motion.

Resolved: (By 17 votes to 9 with 1 abstention) That the amended motion be approved.

Named voting record for the above resolution.

For: Councillors Bannister, Choudhury, Coles, Dow, Holt, Mattock, Miah, Murray, Robinson, Rodohan, Sabri, Shuttleworth, Swansborough, Tester, Tutt, Ungar and Wallis.

Against: Councillors Ballard, Belsey, di Cara, Freebody, Jenkins, Murdoch, Metcalfe, Smart and Taylor.

Abstentions: The Mayor.

(See note at item 11 above).  A list of items raised by members (if any) will be circulated prior to the start of the meeting.

The following are appended to this agenda:-

The minutes of the following Council bodies were submitted to this meeting.

No items for discussion were raised on the above minutes.  Further to Council procedure rule 14.3 it was:

Resolved: That the minutes of the above Council bodies be accepted.