Lewes District and Eastbourne Borough Councils' logo

Lewes and Eastbourne
Councils

Agenda, decisions and minutes

Venue: Court Room at Eastbourne Town Hall, Grove Road, BN21 4UG

Contact: Committee Services on 01323 415021 

Items
No. Item

21.

Minutes of the meeting held on 9 July 2019 pdf icon PDF 128 KB

Minutes:

The minutes of the meeting held on 9 July 2019 were submitted and approved and the Chair was authorised to sign them as a correct record.

22.

Apologies for absence

Minutes:

None were reported.

23.

Declaration of members' interests

Minutes:

None were declared.

24.

Corporate performance - quarter 1 2019/20 pdf icon PDF 81 KB

Part A - Corporate Performance

Report of Director of Regeneration and Planning

Lead Cabinet member: Councillor Colin Swansborough

 

Part B - Financial Performance

Report of Chief Finance Officer

Lead Cabinet member: Councillor Stephen Holt

Additional documents:

Decision:

(Key decision)

 

(1) To note the achievements and progress against Corporate Plan priorities for 2019-20, as set out in Part A of this report.

 

(2) To agree the General Fund, HRA and Collection Fund financial performance for the quarter, as set out in part B of the report.

 

(3) To approve the amended capital programme as set out in appendix 4 of the report.

Minutes:

The Cabinet considered the report of the Director of Regeneration and Planning and Chief Finance Officer updating them on the Council’s performance against Corporate Plan priority actions, performance indicators and targets for quarter 1 for the year 2019-20.

 

Cabinet were notified of the comments from Scrutiny Committee at its meeting on 2 September 2019 in relation to the key performance indicator for ‘Increase the percentage of calls to the contact centre answered within 60 seconds’. Any adverse changes of more than 5% would now be included in the narrative for future reports.

 

Part B of the report detailed the Council’s financial performance for the same quarter. The Chief Finance Officer clarified that the Housing Revenue Account variance figure at 2.1 of the report was £45,000.

 

Visiting members, Councillors Ansell, Di Cara and Smart addressed the Cabinet on this item.

 

Resolved (Key decision)

 

(1) To note the achievements and progress against Corporate Plan priorities for 2019-20, as set out in Part A of the report.

 

(2) To agree the General Fund, HRA and Collection Fund financial performance for the quarter, as set out in part B of the report.

 

(3) To approve the amended capital programme as set out at appendix 4 to the report.

 

Reason for decisions:

 

To enable Cabinet members to consider specific aspects of the Council’s progress and performance.

25.

Climate emergency resolution pdf icon PDF 92 KB

Report of Director of Regeneration and Planning

Lead Cabinet member: Councillor Jonathan Dow

Decision:

(Key decision):

 

That £36k per annum be approved towards the cost of a dedicated post, shared with Lewes District Council, to develop and support the delivery of a Climate Change Strategy.

Minutes:

The Cabinet considered the report of the Director of Regeneration and Planning seeking agreement to the next steps of action following the declaration of a climate emergency by Full Council in July 2019.

 

Councillor Dow reported that as part of the next steps, a Climate Change Strategic Panel would be established, comprising five councillors (three from the administration and two from the opposition), to oversee the strategy’s development and make recommendations regarding carbon reduction and climate adaptation.

 

The report detailed that a launch event would be arranged to bring together interested parties and raise the profile of the work being undertaken. It would aim to gain more commitment and support from partners and would provide a forum for view to be shared about priorities for action.

 

Councillor Dow was the lead member on this issue and given the scale and volume of work to be undertaken, part of his current portfolio, covering other topics would be transferred to Councillor Swansborough. Updated portfolio statements would be published to due course.

 

Visiting member, Councillor Ansell addressed the Cabinet on this item.

 

Resolved (Key decision):

 

That £36k per annum be approved towards the cost of a dedicated post, shared with Lewes District Council, to develop and support the delivery of a Climate Change Strategy.

 

Reason for decision:

 

Following the declaration of a climate emergency and a commitment by the Council to work in close partnership with local groups and stakeholders to deliver a carbon neutral town by 2030, this report seeks Cabinet’s allocation of funds to enable the progression of the commitments made.

26.

Pesticide policy and pollinator strategy pdf icon PDF 87 KB

Report of Director of Service Delivery

Lead Cabinet member: Councillor Jonathan Dow

Additional documents:

Decision:

(Key decision):

 

(1) To approve the Pesticide Policy for adoption.

 

(2) To approve the Pollinator Strategy for adoption.

Minutes:

The Cabinet considered the report of the Director of Service Delivery regarding the introduction of a Pesticide Policy and Pollinator Strategy.

 

Resolved (Key decision):

 

(1) To approve the Pesticide Policy for adoption.

 

(2) To approve the Pollinator Strategy for adoption.

 

Reason for decisions:

 

To provide a framework and action plans for Eastbourne Borough Council in its approach to land management.

27.

Access Audit pdf icon PDF 73 KB

Report of Director of Regeneration and Planning

Lead Cabinet member: Councillor Rebecca Whippy

 

Decision:

(Non-key decision):

 

(1) To approve plans for an Access Audit.

 

(2) To approve the establishment of an Access Accreditation Scheme for Eastbourne.

Minutes:

The Cabinet considered the report of the Director of Regeneration and Planning seeking their approval of plans for an access to be undertaken and for an access accreditation scheme to be set up.

 

An initial programme would cover audits of a range of council owned buildings and facilities over a four year period.

 

Under the new accreditation scheme, businesses wishing to participate would initially submit an online form about accessible design features of their premises, provision of staff disability training and policies that make their organisation accessible to disabled people.

 

Resolved (Non-key decision):

 

(1) To approve plans for an Access Audit.

 

(2) To approve the establishment of an Access Accreditation Scheme for Eastbourne.

 

Reason for decisions:

An access audit and accreditation scheme would enable the council to determine the current levels of accessibility for disabled people of public buildings and services in the Borough. As well as raising the profile of access issues the audit could also act as a catalyst for driving improvements in accessibility.

28.

Sovereign Energy Centre pdf icon PDF 64 KB

Report of Director of Regeneration and Planning

Lead Cabinet member: Councillor Jonathan Dow

Decision:

(Key decision):

 

To agree a budget of up to £115k to carry out additional feasibility and design work for a stand alone energy centre at the Sovereign Centre site; this could potentially provide low carbon heat sourced from the embedded energy in the nearby sewer network. If viable, a decision to invest will be considered at the February 2020 Cabinet.

Minutes:

The Cabinet considered the report of the Director of Regeneration and Planning seeking approval to progress a renewable energy centre at the Sovereign Centre site.

 

Resolved (Key decision):

 

To agree a budget of up to £115k to carry out additional feasibility and design work for a stand alone energy centre at the Sovereign Centre site; this could potentially provide low carbon heat sourced from the embedded energy in the nearby sewer network. If viable, a decision to invest would be considered at the February 2020 Cabinet.

 

Reason for decision:

 

To invest in solutions that will reduce the town’s overall carbon footprint whilst also enabling an income generation.

29.

Housing delivery update: Bedfordwell Road pdf icon PDF 83 KB

Report of Director of Regeneration and Planning

Lead Cabinet member: Councillor Alan Shuttleworth

 

(This report contains an exempt appendix. Any discussion of this must take place at item 14 following exclusion of the public.)

Decision:

(Key decision):

 

(1) To delegate authority to the Director of Regeneration & Planning in consultation with the Portfolio holder for Housing and the Chief Finance Officer to move the development of the Bedfordwell Road scheme through to Stage 2 of the Clear Sustainable Futures (CSF) process to allow the Council to fully understand the financial and delivery options for the site.

 

(2) To delegate authority to the Chief Finance Officer in consultation with the Council Leader to release £1.218m from the existing scheme capital allocation to meet the costs of progressing the development of the scheme through to Stage 2 with CSF.

 

(3) To bring a further report back to Cabinet once the Council has reached Stage 2 and are in a position to report comprehensively on the financial viability of the scheme and to determine the best way of proceeding for tax efficiency purposes and agree a budget in the Housing Revenue Account and/or General Fund.

Minutes:

The Cabinet considered the report of the Director of Regeneration and Planning setting out options for delivery of new homes and community facilities at Bedfordwell Road.

 

Resolved (Key decision):

 

(1) To delegate authority to the Director of Regeneration & Planning in consultation with the Portfolio holder for Housing and the Chief Finance Officer to move the development of the Bedfordwell Road scheme through to Stage 2 of the Clear Sustainable Futures (CSF) process to allow the Council to fully understand the financial and delivery options for the site.

 

(2) To delegate authority to the Chief Finance Officer in consultation with the Council Leader to release £1.218m from the existing scheme capital allocation to meet the costs of progressing the development of the scheme through to Stage 2 with CSF.

 

(3) To bring a further report back to Cabinet once the Council had reached Stage 2 and are in a position to report comprehensively on the financial viability of the scheme and to determine the best way of proceeding for tax efficiency purposes and agree a budget in the Housing Revenue Account and/or General Fund.

 

Reason for decisions:

 

To enable the next stages of procurement required to allow the construction works to deliver new homes and facilities for the town.

30.

Exclusion of the public

The Chief Executive considers that discussion of the following items is likely to disclose exempt information as defined in Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972 and may therefore need to take place in private session. The exempt information reasons are shown beneath the items listed below. Furthermore, in relation to paragraph 10 of Schedule 12A, it is considered that the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information. (The requisite notices having been given under regulation 5 of the Local Authorities (Executive Arrangements) (Meetings and Access to Information) (England) Regulations 2012.)

 

(Note: Exempt papers are printed on pink paper).

Minutes:

Resolved:

 

That the public be excluded from the remainder of the meeting as otherwise there was a likelihood of disclosure to them of exempt information as defined in schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972. The relevant paragraph of schedule 12A and a description of the exempt information was shown below. (The requisite notice having been given under regulation 5 of the Local Authorities (Executive Arrangements) (Meetings and Access to Information) (England) Regulations 2012.)

31.

Housing delivery update: Bedfordwell Road - Exempt appendix 1

Report of Director of Regeneration and Planning

Lead Cabinet member: Councillor Alan Shuttleworth

 

Exempt information reason 3 - information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person (including the authority holding that information).

Minutes:

The Cabinet considered the exempt appendix in relation to agenda item 12 (Housing delivery update: Bedfordwell Road).

 

Visiting member, Councillor Smart addressed the Cabinet on this item.

 

Resolved (Non-key decision):

 

That the exempt appendix be noted.

 

Reason for decision:

 

As detailed in minute 32.