Minutes – Community Affairs Committee – 7 April 2025
The agenda and papers for this meeting are available here: Agenda and papers – Community Affairs Committee – 7 April 2025
The minutes of this meeting are presented below.
You can also download a PDF copy of the minutes here: Minutes – Community Affairs Committee – 7 April 2025
COMMUNITY AFFAIRS COMMITTEE
Minutes
Date: Monday 7 April 2025
Time: 5.30pm – 6.48pm
Location: The Council Chamber – The Council House • North Street • CHICHESTER • West Sussex • PO19 1LQ
PRESENT: Councillors Apel (CA/Chair), Chant (RC), J Gershater (JG), Kondabeka (JK)
ALSO IN ATTENDANCE: Councillors Butler (AB) and Scicluna (AS), The Town Clerk (TC), Deputy Town Clerk (DTC), Council Services and Support Manager (CSSM), West Sussex County Councillor Oakley
96. APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE
Committee NOTED apologies from Councillor Knight.
Councillor Moore was absent.
97. DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST BY MEMBERS OF THE COMMITTEE IN MATTERS ON THE AGENDA FOR THIS MEETING
RC declared an interest in the variation of the Kitchen Sink grant conditions due to their involvement in that organisation.
98. MINUTES OF THE COMMUNITY AFFAIRS COMMITTEE MEETING HELD ON 3 MARCH 2025
The Committee APPROVED and the Chair signed as a correct record the minutes of the ordinary committee meeting held on the 3 March 2025.
99. PUBLIC QUESTIONS
None were received.
100. POLICING AND SECURITY IN THE CITY
1) The Committee NOTED receipt of the Chichester BID Ambassadors report
2) The Committee considered the request for additional funds to increase the number of BID ambassador shifts from 3 to 5 per week.
Members were advised that funds were required to meet the 50/50 contribution agreement in place between Chichester BID and the City Council.
The DTC advised that the City Council’s current contribution to the cost of the service was £18.5K per year and that the proposed additional patrols would increase our contribution to £27.5K per year, or an additional £9k per year.
DTC advised that, in the short term, this could be funded from the carried forward underspend in the Public Realm budget, largely accumulated when the City Ranger service was suspended in 2023. Members were further advised that this increased amount could be incorporated in to the revenue budget for future years.
The Committee RESOLVED to allocate an additional £9K from the public realm budget to fund the increase in City Ambassador patrols for 2025/26.
The Committee REQUESTED that in future years the Council be consulted about proposed changes to the service.
AGREED that an invitation be extended to the new Community Warden to meet the Committee at the June meeting.
3) The committee raised a number of concerns regarding anti-social behaviour in the City and highlighted the well known trouble spots and discussed the benefits of a Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO) in making enforcement easier.
The Committee AGREED to support the PSPO and further REQUESTED that Brewery Field be added in to the proposed PSPO area following recent incidents, including vandalism to goalposts and moving of furniture.
4) The Committee considered the request from WSCC for permission to remove the benches around Eastgate Square to temporarily to disrupt the street drinking and OBJECTED to proposal to remove them.
They requested that the effectiveness of the PSPO be monitored before consideration is given to removal of the benches.
101. COMMUNITY ASSET REGISTER
The Committee APPROVED the nomination of the following North Ward venues for inclusion on the Community Asset Register.
- Chichester University Showroom and Student Union
- Graylingwell Community Chapel
- St Michael’s Hall
- St. Paul’s Church Hall
Members also asked that the Chichester University Chapel be added to the list for the north ward venues for inclusion on the register.
102. UPDATES ON ACTIONS FROM PREVIOUS MEETING
Members noted the completed actions as listed on the agenda.
103. STATUTORY POLICY REVIEW
The Committee NOTED the charges for use of the Cemetery and that City residents currently received a 50% discount on the cost of a plot or interment in exchange for the City Council contributing towards 50% of the running costs.
Members NOTED that, in the previous year, the cost to the City Council had been £27,000 for 16 city residents burials and 9 interments.
The Committee was advised that the current Memorandum of Understanding regarding the cemetery charges was due to expire in 2028. They were further advised that, by this time, significant parts of the ongoing local government reorganisation were expected to be in place which would likely affect the management arrangements of the cemetery.
AGREED to defer the discussion until closer to the expiry of the agreement and until the local government reorganisation was further developed.
104. WEST SUSSEX JOINT LOCAL HEALTH AND WELLBEING STRATEGY 2025-2030
The Committee considered the West Sussex Joint Local Health and Wellbeing Strategy 2025-2030 and AGREED not to submit a corporate response, but individual Councillors were encouraged to respond.
105. UPDATE AND REPRINT OF STREET NAMES BOOK
The Committee considered updating and reprint the Street Name book and AGREED that copyright of the book be transferred to Anne Scicluna and David Wilson to pursue publishing of a new edition.
AGREED that the involvement of City Council Officers would be limited to providing a basic list of street names that had been approved since the publication of the last edition in 2020.
Further AGREED that the CSSM would obtain a quote for a limited print run of the 2020 edition of the book so that viability of printing and selling this while the new edition was compiled, could be assessed.
106. ST. JOHN’S TRUST (OUTSIDE BODY)
The Committee RESOLVED to appoint Councillor Kondabeka to replace Councillor Scicluna from 31st May 2025.
107. 2025 CHARITY CYCLE RIDE FOR STONEPILLOW
The Chair deferred the item discussing the Charity Cycle ride in aid of Stonepillow until the June Committee meeting.
108. FESTIVAL OF CHICHESTER REPORT 2024-25
The Committee NOTED the receipt of the report from Festival of Chichester marking the first year of grant funding with Chichester and that the Festival are hugely grateful of the City Council’s support and participation in the festival.
109. CIO UPDATE
RC provided an update on proposals to create a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) to formalise the work and future direction of the Arts Forum.
They advised that the intention was to create an independent organisation to help support arts organisations in the city through, among other things, a CIO’s ability to access external grant funding.
The Committee NOTED the update.
110. MURRAY STATUE
The Committee RECOMMENDED to the Property Sub-Committee that a Working Group comprised of members of Community Affairs Committee and the Property Sub-Committee be formed to prepare a report on future options for the Murray Statue beyond May 2026, when the renewed planning permission was due to expire.
Members nominated from the Community Affairs Committee: RC, AS
111. PUBLIC SECTOR BODIES (ADMISSION TO MEETINGS ACT) 1960
The Committee RESOLVED that the public and press be excluded from this meeting for agenda items 17 and 18 due to the confidential nature of the business to be transacted namely financial and business affairs of third parties.
112. VARIATION OF TERMS KITCHEN SINK PRODUCTIONS CIC
RC answered questions from the Committee regarding the Kitchen Sink Productions request to vary the terms of the grant that had been previously awarded.
Further to their declared interest they then left the meeting to allow the Committee to make its decision.
The Committee considered the request and RESOLVED to agree the variation to the terms of their grant funding from Kitchen Sink Productions, subject to a report on progress being provided to the September committee.
RC rejoined the meeting.
113. CONSIDERATION OF GRANT APPLICATIONS
The Committee considered the grant applications and RESOLVED the following awards:
| Organisation | Amount requested | Grant approved | Comments |
| Community Fundraisers Chichester | £3,000 | £3,000 | |
| Friends of St Anthony’s School, Chichester | £1,000 | £0 | |
| International Relations (Four Cities Working Group) | £500 | £0 | Money to be allocated from the existing International Relations budget rather than the grants budget. |
| Matt Black Barn CIC | £3,000 | £1,500 | |
| West Sussex County Scout Council | £1,500 | £1,500 | |
| The Really Regenerative Centre CIC | £2,495 | £2,495 | Payment of grant subject to match funding from the National Lottery and Joseph Rowntree Foundation being secured. |
The committee REQUESTED that the grant terms and conditions be reviewed to consider if items need to be changed regarding applications from schools and affiliated groups.
114. ITEMS FOR THE NEXT AGENDA
- Cemetery charges
- 2025 Charity Cycle ride for Stonepillow
- CIO Update
- Murray Statue
- Review of grant terms and conditions to consider possible changes regarding applications from schools and affiliated groups.
115. DATE OF NEXT MEETING
DATE OF NEXT ORDINARY MEETING: WEDNESDAY 4 JUNE 2025 AT 5.30PM (note change of day)
The meeting closed at 6.48pm
ACTIONS ARISING FROM THIS MEETING
| Minute ref. | Agreed action | Assigned for action to |
| 99(2) | Invite new City Centre Warden to meet the Committee at the next meeting | Town Clerk |
| 100 | Add the Chichester University Chapel to the list for the north ward venues for inclusion on the register. | Council Services Support Manager to pass request to the Communities Officer. |
| 104 | Obtain quotes from the University of Chichester Print Shop for printing additional copes of the street name book. | Council Services Support Manager |
| 104 | Provide a list of street names that have been approved since publication of the last edition of the street name book in 2020 | Council Services Support Manager |
| 104 | Issue formal notice transferring copyright for future editions of the street naming book to Anne Scicluna and David Wilson | Town Clerk/Council Services Support Manager |
| 112 | Allocate funds from the International Relations budget in the City Council’s revenue budget to the Four Cities Working Group | Deputy Town Clerk |
| 112 | Advise grant applicants of Committee decisions and any special conditions attached to those decisions. | Deputy Town Clerk |
| 112 | Add review of grant terms and conditions to consider possible changes regarding applications from schools and affiliated groups. | Town Clerk/Council Services Support Manager |