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Minutes – Business Plan Sub-Committee – 25 March 2025

The agenda and papers for this meeting are available here: Business Plan Sub-Committee – 25 March 2025 – agenda and papers

The minutes of this meeting are presented below.

You can also download a PDF copy of the minutes here: Minutes – Business Plan Sub-Committee – 25 March 2025

BUSINESS PLAN SUB-COMMITTEE

Minutes

Date: Tuesday 25 March 2025

Time: 9.00am to 10.43am

Location: Council Chamber, The Council House • North Street • Chichester • West Sussex • PO19 1LQ

PRESENT: Councillors Loxton (SL), Miall (RMi), Quail (SQ) C. Gershater (CG)

ALSO IN ATTENDANCE: Councillor McHale (SMH), Town Clerk (TC), Deputy Town Clerk (DTC), Project Manager (PM), Communications, Civic and Council Support Officer (CCCSO).

55. APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE

Apologies were noted from Councillors Chant, Kondabeka, Knight, Squire.

56. DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST BY MEMBERS OF THE SUB-COMMITTEE IN MATTERS ON THE AGENDA FOR THIS MEETING

No new declarations were made.

57. MINUTES OF THE BUSINESS PLAN SUB-COMMITTEE MEETING HELD ON 14 JANUARY 2025

The sub-committee APPROVED the minutes of the Business Plan Sub-Committee meeting held on 4 February 2025 which were duly signed as a correct record of the meeting.

58. UPDATES ON ACTIONS ARISING FROM THE LAST MEETING

a. Minute 50 refers – Obtain costs for a trial of three e-ink waysigns, finished in black if possible

To be discussed under private agenda item 13.

b. Minute 50 refers – Speak to Chichester BID and key members regarding the proposed What’s On guide for views on usage.

To be discussed under agenda item 5.

c. Minute 50 refers – Consider recommendations for the length of the trial, methods for measuring its success and the review process.

To be discussed under agenda item 5.

d. Minute 51 refers – Update community space questionnaire

To be discussed under agenda item 6.

e. Minute 52 refers – Update project management framework

To be discussed under agenda item 7.

59. UPDATE ON CITY COUNCIL BUSINESS PLAN PROGRESS TO DATE

20mph Zone Around City Centre:

  • TC is to prepare a short paper for the Council, detailing the requirements to move forward with the 20mph zone initiative. The Council will then decide how to proceed.
  • The Communities Officer will contact residents’ associations to gauge interest in the 20mph zones and include this information in the briefing paper for the Council.

Advertising for The Nest Project:

  • Councillors expressed concern over the lack of mention of Chichester City Council in the advertising for The Nest Project. The TC will speak to the Chichester Festival Theatre to update their signage to reflect the involvement of the City Council.

Library of Things:

  • Transition Chichester is pursuing the Library of Things initiative, presenting an opportunity to share resources and support their efforts. The current plan is to monitor the proposed Chichester Community Development Trust initiative at Graylingwell Chapel.
  • There may also be potential to collaborate with the Chichester Community Development Trust on their plans for the Pavilion in Priory Park to deliver this initiative. The Sub Committee agreed to monitor ongoing projects to avoid duplication of resources.

60. COMMUNITY SPACE IN THE SOUTH OF THE CITY

PM summarised the responses from the consultation, which is available on the City Council website. The response deadline has been extended to allow more feedback to be gathered, the current data suggests a preference for a community space in the Whyke and Kingsham areas. This could be the result of a disproportionate response rate from residents in these areas. PM will explore this and whether willingness to travel differs across the ward. SL has requested raw data to map locations against residents’ willingness to walk to a centre.

61. PROJECT MANAGEMENT FRAMEWORK

PM explained that he had updated the proposed framework document to incorporate more flexibility in the approach, depending on the complexity and scale of the proposed project. Consideration is needed for appropriate thresholds for budget, staff time, impact, and other factors to determine which elements of the framework are required. Framework templates are being developed to underpin the day-to-day management and running of individual projects, which will be shared with Councillors as needed.

The Sub-Committee requested that the parent committee reporting lines be added to the Project Initiation Document, ensuring that every project has final ownership by one of the three standing committees: Finance, Planning, or Community Affairs. Additionally, it was requested that the funding source be added to the Project Initiation Document, specifying whether it is Community Infrastructure Levy, Earmarked Reserves, or another source.

62. STREETLIGHTING PROJECT

Two pilot projects are ready to proceed. The Litten Gardens lighting scheme is currently being delayed by the Chichester District Council Estates team, as we are awaiting the issuance of a license. This delay means the project will not be able to utilise the underspent UK Shared Prosperity Fund monies at Chichester District Council before the end of the month. The Oxmarket installation is also ready to go but utilise the UK Shared Prosperity Fund monies, as it was included in the same quotation and contract as the Litten Gardens installation and might therefore need to revert to Community Infrastructure Levy funding. A new quote in being sought to deliver the project separately to the Litten Garden work.

The sub-committee requested that the Project Management Framework documents be completed retrospectively for the Streetlighting project.

63. PERFORMANCE STAGE PROJECT

The Sub-Committee reviewed the Project Initiation Document for the community stage proposal. It was agreed that the project should be seen as comprising two phases. There was a strong case for replacing the stage in the Assembly Room and that used for Remembrance Sunday (together Phase 1). But the Sub-Committee felt that significant further work would be needed to articulate and justify purchasing a larger stage for use by arts groups (Phase 2). Specifically, inter alia:

a) How much demand would there be for a “bare stage” without a sound system?
b) Who would bear insurance costs?
c) Is it practical to envisage Chichester City Council staff erecting and dismantling staging, often “out of hours”; what costs would be incurred if it was practical; and who would bear those costs?

The sub-committee agreed that the paper for Finance should recommend going ahead with Phase 1 with further work to be undertaken on Phase 2 if the Project Sponsor believes the issues identified above are capable of resolution.

64. ITEMS FOR THE NEXT AGENDA

  • Updates on projects that are live.

65. DATE OF NEXT ORDINARY MEETING

DATE OF THE NEXT ORDINARY MEETING: Wednesday 28 May 2025 at 10am

66. PUBLIC BODIES (ADMISSION TO MEETINGS) ACT 1960

The sub-committee RESOLVED that the public and press be excluded from this meeting for Agenda Item 13 due to the confidential nature of the business to be transacted, namely commercial arrangements with third parties.

67. WAYFINDING AND SIGNAGE IN CHICHESTER

The sub-committee considered the proposal for the trial system on three screens across the City. It was noted that there would be no monetisation for advertising at this during the trail period. The sub-committee queried how information, such as the “What’s On” section, would be updated. PM explained that this information would be automatically loaded from a City Council user platform.

The annual subscription cost was discussed, and PM confirmed that the ongoing annual subscription cost for the trial scheme would be £1,081 per year. The trial cost would be £13,499. If the scheme is rolled out across the entire City, the cost would range from £40,000 to £60,000, depending on the number of units deployed.

The sub-committee also inquired about ongoing maintenance and cleaning. PM advised that these tasks would be incorporated into the existing inspection regime. RFO informed the sub-committee about the ongoing issues regarding the confirmation of ownership of the fingerposts, which has not yet been resolved. Currently, the fingerposts cannot be insured as ownership of the assets cannot be proven.

Lead-in times suggest that installation would occur mid August at the latest, although it may be sooner. The sub-committee discussed how to judge the success of the project and what criteria would constitute success. PM will incorporate the suggested metrics into the paper for the Finance Committee.

The meeting closed at 10.43am.

ACTIONS ARISING FROM THIS MEETING

Minute ref.ActionAssigned to
59Prepare a report on 20mph zones in the City for Councillors.Town Clerk
59Contact residents’ associations for interest in 20mph zones in the City Centre.Communities Officer
59Contact Chichester Festival Theatre about Nest Signage.Town Clerk
60Present report on the findings from the Community Space in the South of City consultation.Project Manager
61Update the Project Management Framework using comments from Sub-Committee.Project Manager
62Split Street Lighting Projects, to allow one to be processed.Project Manager
63Split Performance Stage Project, so that upgrades can be made for The Council House.Project Manager
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