Agenda and minutes

The Chairman advised that this meeting was being held remotely in accordance with published government regulations and invited all Councillors to introduce themselves for those watching or listening.

At the invitation of the Chair, members then held a short period of silence to remember those who had lost loved ones during the coronavirus pandemic.

There were no apologies for absence.

Councillors are asked to declare any personal interests related to matters on the agenda, the nature of any interest and whether the interest is prejudicial under the terms of the Members’ Code of Conduct.

There were no declarations of interest made in relation to the items on the agenda.

Two nominations have been received for the office of Chair of the Council as follows:

Councillor Adrian Ross

Councillor Ian White

These nominations will be voted upon.  Following the election of the Chair of the Council, the person elected shall make a Declaration of Acceptance of Office.

The Chair advised that two nominations had been received for Chair of the Council by the deadline:

Councillor Adrian Ross proposed by Councillor Gauntlett and seconded by Councillor Christine Robinson.

Councillor Ian White proposed by Councillor Jim Lord and seconded by Councillor Phil Boorman.

Councillor Gauntlet thanked all those who had supported him during his three years as the Chair of the Council and spoke in support of the nomination of Councillor Ross.  Councillor Jim Lord then spoke in support of the nomination of Councillor White.

The nominations were then put to the vote, with 21 votes for Councillor Ross and 19 votes for Councillor White, with one abstention.

RESOLVED – That Councillor Ross be elected as Chair of the Council for the municipal year 2020/21.

Councillor Ross then read out his acceptance of office and took the chair. 

Councillor Ross paid tribute to the outgoing Chair of the Council, Councillor Gauntlett, and thanked him for his exemplary service over the last three years, and for his personal support and encouragement during the last year.  Gifts of thanks from the Council would be sent to both Councillor Gauntlett and his consort. 

The newly elected Chair advised that his theme of office would be ‘A green recovery, environmental action and fair society’.  He invited Councillors to advise him, after the meeting, of any charities, organisations or individuals in the area who were working towards these goals and to who he might be able to provide support as part of his new role.

Two nominations have been received for the office of Vice-Chair of the Council as follows:

Councillor Christine Brett

Councillor Sam Adeniji 

These nominations will be voted upon.  Following the appointment of Vice-Chair of the Council, the person appointed shall make a Declaration of Acceptance of Office.

The Chair advised that two nominations had been received for Vice-Chair of the Council by the deadline:

Councillor Christine Brett proposed by Councillor Manley and seconded by Councillor O’Keeffe.

            Councillor Sam Adeniji proposed by Councillor Liz Boorman and seconded by Councillor Peterson.

Councillor Manley spoke in support of the nomination of Councillor Brett and Councillor Liz Boorman spoke in support of the nomination of Councillor Adeniji.

The nominations were then put to the vote, and there were 21 votes for Councillor Brett and 19 votes for Councillor Adeniji, with one abstention.

RESOLVED – That Councillor Brett be appointed as Vice-Chair of the Council for the municipal year 2020/21.

Councillor Brett then read out her acceptance of office. 

(Note – during the discussion of this item there was a five minute adjournment at 18.40 due to need to address a connectivity issue on the remote meeting).

To confirm and sign the minutes of the meeting of the Council dated 24 February 2020.

RESOLVED – To approve the minutes of the meeting on 24 February 2020 subject to a correction to Minute 55, to include the missing name of Councillor von Kurthy in the list of voters on page 3 against the amendment 2 and in the list of voters on page 4 in favour of the substantive motion, so that it accorded with the 20 votes recorded.  It was noted that this correction made no difference to the outcome of the vote.

To receive any announcements from the Chair of the Council, Members of the Cabinet or the Chief Executive. A list of the Chair of the Council's engagements since the previous meeting is enclosed.

The Chair advised that a list of Councillor Gauntlett’s engagements as Chair of the Council since the last meeting of the Council were set out in the agenda pack and these were noted.

There were no other announcements.

Items not on the agenda which the Chair of the meeting is of the opinion should be considered as a matter of urgency by reason of special circumstances as defined in Section 100B(4)(b) of the Local Government Act 1972.

There were no urgent items.

The election of Leader of the Council has been triggered as Councillor Nicholson has formally notified the Chief Executive that she will resign as Leader of the Council with effect from 4 pm on 20 July 2020.

To receive nominations and vote thereon.

The election of Leader of the Council had been triggered by Councillor Nicholson notifying to the Chief Executive her resignation as Leader of the Council with effect from 4 pm on 20 July 2020.  The Chair advised that there had been two nominations for the position of Leader.

Councillor MacCleary, proposed by Councillor Nicholson and seconded by Councillor Collier.

Councillor Linington, proposed by Councillor Miller and seconded by Councillor Burman.

Councillor Nicholson spoke to her nomination of Councillor MacCleary. She thanked Members and Officers for their assistance during the last year and advised that she looked forward to continuing to support the work of the co-operative alliance administration under the leadership of Councillor MacCleary.

Councillor Miller spoke to his nomination for Councillor Linington, highlighting her experience in the role of leader, and the qualities and experience she would bring to the role.

The nominations were then put to the vote, with 21 votes for Councillor MacCleary and 19 votes for Councillor Linington, with one abstention.

RESOLVED – That Councillor MacCleary be appointed as the Leader of the Council. 

To receive the report of the Assistant Director of Legal and Democratic Services.

The Leader of the Council, Councillor MacCleary, thanked members for his appointment and thanked Councillor Nicholson for her work over the last year and spoke of his plans for the coming year. He advised that he would continue to hold the ‘Regeneration and Prosperity’ portfolio.  He confirmed that the following Councillors would be appointed as Cabinet Members, and would continue to hold their previous portfolios:

The Chair of the Council drew the Councillors’ attention to the list of nominations for members and chairs of committees and other council bodies set out in Appendices 1 and 2 of the report of the Assistant Director – Legal and Democratic Services.

The recommendations were proposed by Councillor Nicholson and seconded by Councillor Linington and were put to the Council and agreed.

RESOLVED –

1)    To approve the appointments of members to Committees and Other Bodies and as Chairs and Vice-Chairs as set out in Appendix 1 to the report;

2)    To approve the appointment of members to serve on outside bodies and joint bodies, as set out in Appendix 2 to the report.

3)    To appoint all members of the Council to the ‘approved list’ of members appointed as substitute members in accordance with Council’s Rules of Procedure, except where prohibited by those rules, such as for the Licensing Committee; and

4)    To note the Leader of the Council’s appointments to Cabinet, the individual areas of responsibility advised at the meeting (and set out above).

To consider the report of the Deputy Chief Executive and Director of Regeneration and Planning.  This was referred from Cabinet via a delegated decision of the Leader of the Council on 2 April 2020.

The Council received the report of the Director of Regeneration and Planning, which was referred from Cabinet via a delegated decision of the Leader of the Council on 2 April 2020. 

The recommendations were moved by Councillor O’Brien and seconded by Councillor Linington.

Councillor O’Brien drew attention to proposed changes to the statement of community involvement, including the temporary changes made to take into account of the impact of the coronavirus.  She advised that if the restrictions continued long term it might be necessary to bring a further version back to members.  In response to a question, she confirmed that determination of planning applications was taking place with all the normal resident consultations in place.

The recommendations set out in the report were put to the Council and agreed.

RESOLVED –

1)    That the Statement of Community Involvement as set out in Appendix 1 be adopted by Full Council for that part of Lewes District outside of the South Downs National Park;

2)    That the Adoption Statement and the Statement of Consultation be published;

3)    That any minor or technical adjustments found necessary in the Revised Statement of Community Involvement be delegated to the Director of Regeneration and Planning to be made in consultation with the Cabinet Portfolio Holder;

4)    That the previous Statement of Community Involvement (adopted by Lewes District Council on 20 July 2011) is revoked;

5)    That the approach to temporarily updating the Statement of Community Involvement in view of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic at paragraph 2.6 of the agenda report be noted and agreed; and

6)    The Director of Regeneration and Planning be authorised to make the two factual amendments to the Statement of Community Involvement outlined in paragraph 3.2 and 3.3 of the agenda report prior to publication.

To receive the recommendation from the meeting of the Cabinet held on 9 July 2020.

The Council received the referral from the meeting of Cabinet held on 9 July 2020, recommending the approval of the Revised Local Development Scheme.

The recommendations were moved by Councillor O’Brien and seconded by Councillor Linington.

Councillor O’Brien advised that this document set out the timetable for development of planning policy including the new Local Plan. She highlighted that it might be necessary to bring another version back to members in due to course to take account of the ongoing coronavirus situation and anticipated changes in the legislative framework.  It was recognised that members had the opportunity to contribute to this work stream via the Local Plan Steering Group, and, in response to a question, Councillor O’Brien agreed to explore with Officers the request for an independent group representative to be added to the Group.

The recommendations set out in the report were put to the Council and agreed.

RESOLVED –

1.    To approve the Revised Local Development Scheme for the part of Lewes District outside of the South Downs National Park with effect from 20 July 2020;

2.    That the Revised Local Development Scheme be published; and

3.    To revoke the previous Local Development Scheme (approved by Lewes District Council on 26 November 2018).

The calendar of meetings for July 2020 to May 2021 is attached for ratification. 

The Chair invited the Council to ratify the calendar of meetings included in the agenda.

RESOLVED – To approve the Calendar of Meetings for July 2020 to May 2021.

The next meeting of Full Council is scheduled to take place on 17 September 2020.

It was noted that the next meeting of Full Council was scheduled to take place on 17 September 2020.