Agenda and minutes

To confirm and sign the minutes of the meeting of the Council dated 25 September 2023.

RESOLVED – That the minutes of the meeting held on 25 September 2023 were approved and signed as a correct record.

The Council held a minutes silence at the start of the meeting for the tragic conflict that was taking place in Gaza and Israel and for the loss of life on both sides.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Brett, Coupland, Davies, Gallagher, von Kurthy and Robinson.

Disclosure by councillors of personal interests in matters on the agenda, the nature of any interest and whether the councillor regards the interest as prejudicial under the terms of the Code of Conduct.

There were no declarations of interests on this item.

To receive any announcements from the Chair of the Council, Leader 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 will be circulated.

The Chair drew attention of the Council to the list of his engagements since the last Council meeting.  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 was no urgent items.

To deal with questions which members of the public may wish to put to members of the Cabinet in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 11 (if any).

There were no questions from members of the public.

To receive petitions from councillors or members of the public in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 13 (if any).

There were no petitions to be presented to the Council.

In accordance with Scrutiny Procedure Rule 17, to receive details of any urgent decisions taken by the Cabinet or Cabinet members since the previous meeting.

There were no urgent decisions by the Cabinet to be reported.

The Monitoring Officer (MO) received several complaints regarding the conduct of Councillor Sean Macleod, following a social media post in March 2023.

The MO dealt with the complaints under the Council’s arrangements for alleged failures to comply with the Code of Conduct.  A thorough investigation took place, including interviews with key individuals.  In reaching his conclusion, the MO consulted with the Council’s Independent Person, Neal Robinson.

Councillor Macleod has accepted the conclusion of the Monitoring Officer in full regarding this matter and will issue a verbal apology at the meeting.

The Chair advised that following completion of a Code of Conduct investigation in relation to a social media post made in March 2023, Councillor Macleod had accepted in full the conclusions of an investigation and the decision of the Monitoring Officer on the matter and would issue an apology at this meeting, but that this was not a matter for debate by Full council.

Councillor Macleod read out a statement, apologising for his actions and any hurt or distress caused by them, and confirmed that he had undertaken training.

(Councillor Macleod left the meeting at the end of this agenda item).

Report of the Monitoring Officer and Legal Officer.

Considered and Referred by Audit and Governance Committee on 4 September 2023, and Cabinet on 4 November 2023.

Councillor Collier moved and Councillor Gauntlett seconded the recommendations of the report of the Monitoring Officer on updating and aligning the Scheme of Delegations to Officers.

In moving the report, Councillor Collier extended his thanks to the Councillors who had considered the revised scheme as part of the Constitution Working Group and the Audit and Governance Committee, and in particular to Oliver Dixon (Lawyer and Data Protection Officer) for his work on the scheme.

The recommendations were put to a vote and carried unanimously.

RESOLVED –

(1) To consider the draft updated and aligned Scheme at report Appendix 1 and approve all council delegations; and

(2) To note Cabinet’s approval of all executive delegations.

Report of Councillor O’Connor on behalf of Cabinet held on 9 November 2023.

Councillor Collier moved and Councillor Keenan seconded the recommendations of the Cabinet of 9 November, subject to an amendment to Policy E3: Newhaven Port, as set out in an agenda supplement, to go out to consultation.

The Council debated the matter.  It was recognised that there were some difficult decisions to make, and some of the options that were technically feasible may not make sense or be viable for local communities, and as part of the consultation it was important for the Council to hear from as many people as possible, from residents, local organisations and from businesses.  Councillor O’Connor thanked the Planning Policy Team for its work on the documents to date.

The recommendations were put to a vote and carried unanimously.

RESOLVED:

(1) To approve the Local Plan Regulation 18: Towards a spatial strategy and policies directions document, as set out in report Appendix 1 (as amended by the agenda supplement in relation to Policy E3), together with the supporting documents for public consultation in accordance with the regulations and the Local Development Scheme; and

(2) To agree delegated authority to the Director of Regeneration and Planning, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Planning and Infrastructure to make any minor changes to the appearance, format and text of the Local Plan and supporting documents in the interests

Report of Councillor Nicholson on behalf of Cabinet held on 9 November 2023.

Councillor Nicholson moved and Councillor Stewart-Roberts (as Armed Forces Champion) seconded the recommendations of the Cabinet held of 9 November 2023 in relation to disregarding, in the assessment of Housing Benefit, War Pension and Armed Forces Compensation income above the statutory disregard.

It was recognised that this was a practice that had already been in place for the Council, but had not been set out in policy, and this formalisation was welcomed.

The recommendations were put to a vote and carried unanimously.

RESOLVED:  To agree the disregarding in full of War Pensions income and the Armed Forces Compensation income in the assessment of Housing Benefit.

Report of the Head of Elections and Local Land Charges.

Councillor Collier moved and Councillor MacCleary seconded the recommendations of the Head of Elections and Local Land Charges to approve the arrangements in respect of polling districts and polling places in the District of Lewes.

It was recognised that this was part of a regularly review of polling arrangements.  Councillor Collier in moving the report extended his thanks to Tracey Pannett (Head of Elections and Local Land Charges) and her team for carrying out the consultation.

The recommendations were put to a vote and carried unanimously.

RESOLVED:

(1) That the Acting Returning Officer’s proposals as set out in the report be approved; and

(2) That the Head of Elections and Local Land Charges, on behalf of the Returning Officer and Electoral Registration Officer, be authorised to implement the Council’s decisions in respect of the review.

To consider the notice of motion submitted by Councillor Francomb.

Councillor Francomb moved and Councillor Fabry seconded a motion as set out on the agenda, ‘Motion for the Ocean’.

It was highlighted that the motion was the fifth in a series of water quality motions passed by Lewes District Council, and this was based on the LGA model coastal special interest group for a holistic approach to ocean recovery.  It was noted that there were fourteen and a half km of coastline in the district and approximately half of the residents of Lewes District lived in coastal town areas, but that it had an impact the quality of life of all residents.

The motion was debated and received support from across the Council.  It was hoped that a methodology could be found to measure the impact of the actions contained in the recommendations.

The motion was put to a vote and approved unanimously.

RESOLVED –

That this Council declares an urgent need for Ocean Recovery and pledges to:

1.    To ensure that key strategies, including the Council’s Climate and Nature Strategy, puts ocean-based and nature-based solutions at the heart of a carbon neutral and climate resilient future.

2.    Ensure that local planningseeks to support ocean recovery by focusing on green and blue infrastructure for nature recovery across the local plan area, working with partners including East Sussex County Council and Sussex Wildlife Trust.

3.    Work with partners to deliver increased sustainability in marine industries and develop a sustainable and equitable ‘blue economy’ that delivers ocean recovery and local prosperity, including East Sussex County Council, Sussex Bay, The Living Coast, the local fishing industry, the Reimagining Newhaven Board overseeing the ‘Capturing the value of the catch’ project, Sussex IFCA and the Marine Management Organisation.

4.    Work with Sussex College group to continue to build on its work embedding sustainable marine and maritime training at the heart of training provision as well as with technical / apprenticeship training providers where appropriate and increase understanding in the role our oceans and rivers can play in sequestering carbon.

5.    Promote opportunities to grow ocean literacy and marine citizenship in our district, including via our website and social media, and seek to promote sustainable and equitable access to the sea for all residents.

6.    That the Leader writes to the Government asking it to seek to put the ocean into net recovery by 2030 by:

a)   Ensuring Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authorities have the resources they need to effectively research and monitor our growing number of marine protected areas, and to set and enforce appropriate fishing levels that support local economies and deliver environmental sustainability.

b)   Working with coastal, estuarine and maritime communities to co-develop marine policy to ensure it delivers equitable and sustainable outcomes in local placemaking.

c)   Appointing a dedicated Minister for the Coast.

d) Embedding ‘ocean and civic literacy’ into the national curriculum.

e)   Stopping plastic pollution at source by strengthening the regulations around single-use plastics and set standards for microfibre-catching filters to ensure that all new  ...  view the full minutes text for item 59a

To consider the notice of motion submitted by Councillor Hoareau.

Councillor Hoareau moved and Councillor Bristow seconded a motion as set out on the agenda against Puppy Farms.

It was advised that the motion had the support of Raystede Centre for Animal Welfare in Ringmer, who would welcome working with the Council, and from Dr Marc Abraham, the vet who spearheaded the Lucy’s Law campaign, banning the third-party sale of puppies in the first 6 months of their life.  Councillor Hoareau and Councillor Bristow read out comments from Dr Abraham and from the Reystede Centre. 

The motion was debated and received support from across the Council.  It was recognised that puppy farms were often connected to serious crime networks, and that there was illegal trade involving other animals, such as kittens.

The motion was put to a vote and approved unanimously.

RESOLVED:

1.    To publish an up to date list of locally licensed dog breeders on its website so local residents who wish to buy a puppy are signposted to reputable breeders;

2.    To publish a list of DEFRA-registered local animal rescue and rehoming centres so that prospective adopters are signposted to reputable rehoming centres in the District;

3.    To promote publicity campaigns to raise awareness of illegal puppy breeding and signs to look for when buying a puppy that suggest it might come from a puppy farm, and how to report suspicious activity, and promote guidance on how to buy a puppy responsibly; and

4.    To request the Leader to write to the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs calling for the Kept Animals Bill to be revived to make it more difficult for puppy farmers and smugglers to operate.

To deal with written questions which councillors may wish to put to the Chair of the Council, a Lead Councillor on the Cabinet or the Chair of any committee or sub-committee in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 12 (if any).

No written questions from Councillors had been received.

To deal with questions (if any) which councillors may wish to put to the Leader of the Council. It will be at the Leader’s discretion to re-direct questions to relevant Members of the Cabinet. A councillor wishing to raise a question must notify the Chair of the Council of the text of the question prior to the commencement of the meeting. (NB This item is limited to a maximum of 5 questions, with no more than 1 question being asked per councillor. If a question requires a detailed or technical response, the Leader may decide that a written response is more appropriate).

There were no questions to the Leader.

To deal with ward issues which councillors wish to raise (if any).

No ward issues had been raised.

To receive any reports from the Council's representatives who serve on outside bodies in respect of meetings they have attended.

The following reports had been received on outside bodies set out in the agenda and were noted:

·         Wave Leisure Trust – Councillor O’Connor

·         Lewes Citizens Advice Bureau – Councillor Makepeace

·         Greater Brighton Economic Board – Councillor Nicholson

·         Team East Sussex (TES) – Councillor Nicholson

·         Newhaven Town Deal Board – Councillors Nicholson and Robinson

·         South Downs National Park Authority and Armed Forces Champion -Councillor Stewart-Roberts

·         Water Champion – Councillor O’Brien,

·         Upper Ouse Flood Protection and Water Retention Works Working Group – Councillor O’Brien

·         Lewes District Food Partnership Steering Group and Food Summit – Councillor O’Brien

·         Ouse Valley Climate Action Delivery Board – Councillor O’Brien

The Chair advised that an updated report would be circulated after the meeting (this would include an update from Councillor Denis on South East Councils).

The next meeting is scheduled for 19 February 2024 at 6 pm.

It was confirmed that the next meeting of the Full Council was scheduled for 19 February 2024 at 6 pm.