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Lewes and Eastbourne
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Agenda and minutes

Contact: Scrutiny Officer 

Items
No. Item

1.

Apologies for absence

Minutes:

There were none.

2.

Election of the Chair for this Scrutiny Task Group

Minutes:

It was resolved that Councillor Metcalfe be elected Chair of the Sovereign Centre task group.

3.

Declarations of interests

Declarations of interests by members as required under Section 31 of the Localism Act and of other interests as required by the Code of Conduct and regulation 12(2)(d) of the 2012 Access to Information Regulations.

Minutes:

There were none.

4.

Task Group Membership

Minutes:

It was resolved that Councillors Metcalfe, Belsey, Rodohan and Murray form the Sovereign Centre Task Group membership.

 

5.

Urgent items of business

The Chair to notify the Scrutiny Committee of any items of urgent business to be added to the agenda.

 

Minutes:

There were none.

6.

Sovereign Centre Scrutiny Task Group - Preliminary Meeting pdf icon PDF 69 KB

Report of the Scrutiny Officer.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Committee noted the report of the Scrutiny Officer which outlined that the purpose of the preliminary meeting was to finalise the scope and terms of reference for a Scrutiny Review regarding the options for the current Sovereign Centre site.

 

The terms of reference of the Scrutiny Sovereign Centre task group would be;

  • To understand the planning policy considerations of the Sovereign Centre site;
  • To consider options for the site, as presented by officers and;
  • To recommend a preferred option for the site to the Cabinet on 20 March 2019.

 

The task group anticipated meeting three times. At the task group’s final meeting, a report written by the Senior Planning Officer outlining the findings and recommendations of the scrutiny topic would be presented to members for feedback and amendments. This feedback would inform the final report, which would be presented to the Scrutiny Committee meeting at its meeting on 4 February 2019, and then to the Cabinet on 20 March 2019.

 

Despite doubts regarding the value of the task group when the current Sovereign Centre could still be renovated, members understood that this review assumes the demolition of the existing Sovereign Centre, which would then provide an opportunity for alternative future uses of this key site on the seafront.

The committee were advised of the importance of market research being undertaken in order to ascertain what the market would like to see on the site, as well as what developers thought was financially and commercially viable for the site.

When discussing development considerations, members noted the importance of considering the heights, scales, forms and designs of the surrounding buildings. Members suggested that at the next meeting, the Senior Planning Officer provide maps of the area to assist with this.

Members expressed disappointment that, despite being invited and confirming attendance, no member of the Estates Team was present to contribute towards the finalising of the terms of reference for the task group.

Resolved:

1)    That the timescale and terms of reference for the Scrutiny Sovereign Centre Task Group Panel be agreed;

2)    That the Estates Team be invited to the next meeting of the task group; and

3)    That the Senior Planning Officer liaises with relevant officers to begin planning how the task group’s market research will be undertaken.

Reason:

To comply with Scrutiny Procedure Rule 23.1, that the task group hold a preliminary meeting where it sets its terms of reference, and a timescale for reporting back to the Scrutiny Committee.