Skip to content Skip to left sidebar Skip to footer

Minutes – Full Council – 30 April 2025

The agenda and papers for this meeting are available here: Full Council – 30 April 2025 – agenda and papers

The minutes of this meeting are presented below.

You can also download a PDF copy of the minutes here: Minutes – Full Council – 30 April 2025

Papers received after publication of the agenda for circulation with the minutes (PDF download only):

MEETING OF COUNCIL

Minutes

Date: 30 April 2025

Time: 6.00pm – 6.41pm

Location: The Assembly Room – The Council House • North Street • CHICHESTER • West Sussex • PO19 1LQ (NOTE: the meeting was moved due to heat issues in the Council Chamber)

PRESENT: The Mayor, Councillor Quail (SQ), the Deputy Mayor, Councillor Loxton (SL), Councillors Apel (CA), Corfield (MC), C Gershater (CG), J Gershater (JG), Knight (SK), Kondabeka (JK), McHale (SM), Miall (RMi), Squire (KS), and Vivian (JV).

ALSO IN ATTENDANCE: Town Clerk (TC), Deputy Town Clerk (DTC), Council Services and Support Manager (CSSM), West Sussex County Councillors Oakley and Sharp, Chichester District Councillor Brown.

112. APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE

Apologies were noted from Councillors Butler, Chant, Moore, Pramas and Scicluna.

113. DISPENSATION REQUESTS

No requests had been received.

114. DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST BY MEMBERS OF THE CITY COUNCIL IN MATTERS ARISING ON THE AGENDA FOR THIS MEETING

No declarations were made.

115. MAYOR’S ANNOUNCEMENTS

The Mayor reminded Councillors that Mayor’s Evensong would be taking place at the Cathedral at 5.30pm on Tuesday 6 May 2025.

Members were advised that the Dean and Chapter were unable to host refreshments after Evensong so the Mayor extended an invitation to Councillors to a small reception to be held in the Chamber following the service.

116. PUBLIC QUESTIONS

No questions from members of the public had been received.

117. MINUTES OF COUNCIL

Council APPROVED the minutes of the Meeting of Council held on 19 February 2025. Council further APPROVED the minutes of the Extra Ordinary Meeting of Council held on 2 April 2025.

118. UPDATES ON ITEMS FROM THE LAST MEETING NOT COVERED BY THIS AGENDA

a) Minutes 92 and 98 – Members were advised that the Equalities and Diversity trainer had offered additional catch up sessions for Members rather than sending the slides so that context for the material could be provided.

The proposed dates were given as 10 or 17 May 2025 in the mornings.

b) Minute 97 – Draft Terms of Reference for the Devolution Working Group to be issued and the first meeting arranged.
TC advised that this would be completed by 9 May 2025.

c) Minute 98 – Details of available training courses to be distributed to Councillors.

TC advised that this had been completed.

119. MINUTES OF COMMITTEES

a) Planning and Conservation Committee

Council noted the receipt of the minutes of the Planning and Conservation Committee meetings held on 27 February 2025 and 27 March 2025.

b) Community Affairs Committee

Council noted the receipt of the minutes of the Community Affairs Committee meetings held on 3 March 2025 and 7 April 2025.

c) Finance Committee

RMi summarised some of the Finance Committee’s discussions, including a closer review of the Council House running costs and the suggestions that grants be sought for maintenance work on the building and registering it as a potential filming location.

Members were reminded that the current Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) funds that the City Council had received had been largely committed to projects that were being developed.

Council was advised that, in future, the management of the Risk Assessment and Risk Management Plan be divided up between the Standing Committees as the Finance Committee felt that the document was too large to be properly managed by a single committee.

Members then considered the recommendations to Council made at the Finance Committee meeting.

i) Minute 111 refers – review of City Council risk assessment statements and confirmation of arrangements for insurance cover in respect of all insured risks.

RESOLVED to accept the recommendation that the Risk Action Plan be adopted and signed by the Mayor, as Chair of Council, and the Responsible Finance Officer.

ii) Minute 113 refers – City Council Standing Orders review

RESOLVED to accept the recommendation that City Council Standing Orders, as revised April 2025, be adopted subject to the removal of SO25, which referred to Lead Councillors.

RMi also gave an update on the projects currently in progress through the Business Plan Sub-Committee including the community space in the south of the city, the e-signs trial project, dark spaces lighting project and a revisit of the 20MPH speed limit for the City.

Council noted the minutes of the Business Plan Sub-Committee meeting (25 March 2025), the Personnel Sub-Committee (20 March 2025) and Property Sub-Committee (25 March 2025).

120. ANNUAL REVIEW OF CITY COUNCIL POLICIES AS PER STANDING ORDERS

Council noted that the new Standing Orders had been adopted earlier in the meeting (minute 119(c)ii).

Council also noted the review of the Financial Regulations by the Finance Committee and RESOLVED to adopt them as presented.

121. LOCAL GOVERNMENT DEVOLUTION IN ENGLAND

TC advised Members that a range of options for the structures being proposed as part of Local Government Devolution/Reorganisation, but that no final preferred solution had been selected at this stage.

Chichester District Councillor Brown informed Members that a plan had been submitted that day proposing that Crawley, Reigate and Bansted form a unitary authority that would potentially either come under the Surrey Mayoral authority or would straddle two Mayoral Authorities.

RMi reported that a meeting had taken place with Jess Brown-Fuller, MP for Chichester, at which the need for sustainable finance and transfer of assets had been discussed.

122. ANNUAL PARISH MEETING

A detailed discussion took place that considered things that had gone well and things that could be changed for future meetings.

Members agreed that:

  • Attendance at the event had been good and a significant improvement on previous meetings of this type.
  • Community engagement had been good
  • Open questions had mostly not related to City Council matters
  • The focus had been diluted between the three councils and should be more tightly focussed in the future
  • Timings needed reviewing
  • Presentations could be shorter

Councillors thanked the Council’s Communications and Civic Support Officer for their work in promoting the event, which resulted in a well-attended meeting.

CA left the meeting at 18:36

123. REPORTS RECEIVED

Councillors noted that reports had been received from West Sussex County and Chichester District Councillor Sarah Sharp and that they would be circulated with the minutes of the meeting.

CG provided an update from a recent meeting of the Goodwood Motor Circuit Advisory Committee and reported that a visit for Councillors to find out more about the Circuit’s operations was being planned.

124. QUESTIONS

No questions had been received.

125. ITEMS FOR INCLUSION ON THE NEXT AGENDA

  • Local Government Devolution/Reorganisation

126. COMMON SEAL

RESOLVED that the Common Seal be affixed to any documents necessary to give effect to the resolutions passed at this meeting.

The meeting closed at 6.41pm

DATE OF NEXT MEETINGS:

  • Annual Meeting of Council – Wednesday 14 May 2025 at 6.00pm
  • Ordinary Meeting of Council – Wednesday 25 June 2025 – time to be confirmed

ACTIONS ARISING FROM THIS MEETING

Minute ref.ActionAssigned to:
118cCouncillors to be emailed regarding additional Diversity and Equality training sessions and asked to express a preferenceCouncil Services and Support Manager.
Skip to content