Minutes – Full Council – 28 February 2024

The agenda and papers for this meeting are available here: Full Council – 28 February 2024 – 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 – 28 February 2024

MEETING OF COUNCIL

Minutes

Date: 28 February 2024

Time: 7.00pm – 9.32pm

Location: The Council Chamber – The Council House • North Street • CHICHESTER • West Sussex • PO19 1LQ

PRESENT: The Mayor, Councillor C Gershater and Councillors Apel, Butler, Chant, J Gershater, Knight, Kondabeka, Loxton, McHale, Miall, Moore, Pramas, Quail, Scicluna, Squire and Vivian

ALSO IN ATTENDANCE: Town Clerk, Deputy Town Clerk, Communities Officer, Mayor’s Chaplain, West Sussex County Councillor Simon Oakley, Chichester District Councillor Jonathan Brown

79. APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE

RESOLVED to receive and approve apologies and reasons for absence from the meeting from Cllrs Hitchman and Corfield.

80. DISPENSATION REQUESTS

No requests were received.

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

Cllr Kondabeka declared an interest in the agenda Item “Big Hoose” project.

The Mayor moved to bring the following item up the agenda:

82. CHICHESTER COMMUNITY “BIG HOOSE” PROJECT

Mr Richard Plowman from Second Chance Chichester gave a presentation on his proposal for the development of a multi-bank community hub to support residents in crisis by providing a facility that could meet all their basic needs in one place. Mr Plowman also advised that the Second Chance charity was at risk of closing at the end of March if more funding is not raised.
Councillors then asked Mr Plowman for clarification on the robustness of the business plan and how far advanced the negotiations were with partner organisations.

Mr Plowman advised that the plan at this stage was to seek funding for a feasibility study to develop a sustainable business plan, which would include development of the final partnership consortium. Negotiations with CDC as landowners were proving difficult, as they are not open to supporting charities in meeting their space requirements.

Whilst recognising that the proposal for a hub was a good idea and met an identified community need, Councillors expressed concerns that the amount of work needed to develop the project was too great to be delivered quickly and that it needed further development of the business case before any funding could be committed.

Following a question from Councillors, Mr Plowman confirmed that to date Second Chance Chichester have raised and spent £30K over 12 months and in this time they have supported 50 individuals to access an average of over £1,000 worth of goods each.

The Council thanked Mr Plowman for his time.

83. MINUTES OF COUNCIL

RESOLVED to approve and adopt the minutes of the Meeting of the City Council held on 20 December 2023

84. UPDATES ON ACTIONS FROM THE PREVIOUS MINUTES NOT COVERED ELSEWHERE ON THE AGENDA

a) Minute 65 – Mayor to write to West Sussex County Council regarding the issues of flooding of the highways in Chichester

Members noted a response that had been received from West Sussex County Council.

b) Minutes 67a and 67b – Correction of personal pronouns

Members noted that the personal pronouns had been corrected as requested.

c) Minute 67(b)i – Preserving Priory Park Motte

Cllr Scicluna advised that the group are still waiting to set a suitable meeting date with all the relevant parties.

d) Minute 67(c)ii – Portico Feasibility Study Working Group

The Clerk had emailed Councillors requesting that any interested in joining the group advise her so that she can arrange a meeting.

e) Minute 67(c)iii – Application for planning consent for solar panel upgrades

The Clerk advised that the Property Maintenance Manager and Planning Adviser are currently working on a number of planning and listed building consent applications, which will be submitted shortly.

f) Minute 67(c)iv – Replacement of Old Courtroom rooflight

The Clerk advised that this project is also covered under the various planning applications and listed building consents that are currently in progress.

g) Minute 68 – Call a meeting of the Working Group to investigate City Council support for the wider charity and voluntary sector.

The Clerk advised that the Group had met and elected Cllr Kondabeka as their Chair.

Cllr Kondabeka then provided an update on their work, including a recommendation that if Council decide to proceed with providing a Community Advice Worker this would best be progressed by commissioning a worker via the Citizens Advice Bureau. The group also wish to send a survey to community groups to better understand their needs and requirements.

h) Minute 70 – set up self-service printing station for Councillors.

Councillors noted that the facility was now in place.

85. MAYOR’S ANNOUNCEMENTS

The Mayor advised Councillors that the twinning associations were working on creating a European Corner at the Gala on 29th June.

The Mayor advised he is visiting Chartres between 2/5/23 and 6/5/24 as a part of the 65th anniversary of the twinning charter celebrations. The Mayor had requested suggestions from the Oxmarket for a gift/artwork from a local artist to be presented from the City of Chichester. Councillors requested clarification on how this item would be funded and the costs involved.

The Mayor advised he is meeting James Palmer Bullock on 6/3/24 to discuss the continuing development of the Chamber of Culture concept. Cllr Chant reminded Councillors they were invited to attend the regular arts forum events that the City Council organise in the Council Chamber which already provide a regular meeting and networking space for local arts groups.

86. PUBLIC QUESTIONS

No questions were received.

87. MINUTES OF COMMITTEES

a) Planning and Conservation Committee

Councillor Butler, Chairman of the Committee, moved that the minutes of the Planning and Conservation Committee meetings held on 1 February 2024 be approved and adopted.

Council RESOLVED to approve and adopt the minutes.

b) Finance Committee

Councillor Scicluna, Chairman of the Committee, moved that the minutes of the Finance Committee meeting held on 6 February 2024 be approved and adopted.

Council RESOLVED to approve and adopt the minutes which included the following recommendations:

• Old Courtroom Rooflight Replacement: that an order be placed with Stella Rooflight for the replacement of the Old Courtroom rooflight in the amount of £25,960 plus VAT to be paid from the Energy Efficiency allocation within the City Council’s CIL funds.
• Secondary Double Glazing: That an order be placed with Storm Glazing (option 2 – K Glass) for the installation of secondary glazing in the Council House in the amount of £38,465 to be paid from the Energy Efficiency allocation within the City Council’s CIL funds.
• Council House Car Park: That the Council House car park project proceed as described at a cost of £2,081.70 ex VAT to be paid from the Council House Reserve.
• Air Conditioning Unit: That an order be placed with Saunders Specialist Services in the amount of £21,468.18 exc VAT to be paid from the Energy Efficiency allocation from the City Council’s CIL funds.
• Gents Toilet Cistern Filler Timers: To proceed with the project as outlined at a cost of £630.42 exc VAT, paid from the Council House Reserve with the work being completed in house.
• Rear Yard Gate Replacement: The project should proceed urgently due to the safety and fire regulations compliance nature of the works.
• Council House Heating and Ventilation: That the TRVs be replaced and the back-office heating and ventilation system be reinstated at a cost of £3,756.40 exc. VAT to be paid from the Council House Reserve.
• St James Allotment Site Entrance Track: That the stabilisation works be undertaken in house at a cost in materials of £676.71 exc. VAT payable from the Allotments budget.
• City Centre Floral Planting: to accept the tender for £22,605 for hanging baskets, planters and the two central Cathedral beds and. In addition to RECOMMEND to full Council that all six Cathedral beds be included in the scheme with the project costs to be funded from CIL receipts

c) Property Sub-committee

Members NOTED the minutes of the Property Sub-Committee meeting held on 4 January 2024.

88. COMMITTEE AND COUNCIL TERMS OF REFERENCE AND DELEGATION OF AUTHORITY

Councillors considered the recommendations of the Terms of Reference and Scheme of Delegation Working Group meetings held on 11 January and 2 February 2024.

Councillor Pramas requested that the following wording be added to the terms of reference of all committees and sub committees:

The recommendations and decisions made at the [insert name] Committee/Sub Committee shall give due and proactive regard to actions which:

• Address or support Chichester City Council’s response to the climate emergency (declared in 2019).
• Support, improve and nurture the inclusivity of Chichester for all residents and visitors, and address inequalities
• Support the delivery of the vision and activities outlined in the Chichester City Council Business Plan

Council RESOLVED to accept the proposed amendments to the Terms or Reference for all Committees and Sub-Committees.

Councillors then considered a proposal to adopt the proposed Terms or Reference and scheme of delegation, subject to the agreed amendments being made.

Council RESOLVED to adopt the proposed Terms of Reference and Scheme of Delegation subject to the agreed amendments being made.

89. CHICHESTER CITY COUNCIL GRANTS

Council considered the recommendations of the Grants Funding Criteria Working Group.

Cllr Scicluna requested that the terms and conditions be updated to clarify that free use applications would only apply within the Council offices regular opening hours.

Council RESOLVED to adopt the draft Grant funding policies subject to a clarification being added to the terms and conditions that Free Use applied only during normal Council House opening hours.

Cllr Chant proposed an amendment to the grants policy to incorporate feedback from local voluntary groups about the need to support more collaborative working:

Large Grants
9) The Council will consider partnership or consortia-based funding bids from multiple organisations. In these instances, the total funding applied for may be aggregated across all organisations – so for example a partnership of three organisations could apply for £15,000 of funding per year (3 x £5,000) for up to four years. In these circumstances, the partnership will have to provide evidence of effective governance arrangements and nominate a lead partner to hold the funds.

Community Grants:
9) The Council will consider partnership or consortia-based funding bids from multiple organisations. In these instances, the total funding applied for may be aggregated across all organisations applying – so for example a partnership of three organisations could apply for up to £9,000 of funding (3 x £3,000). In these circumstances, the partnership will have to provide evidence of effective governance arrangements and nominate a lead partner to hold the funds.

Council RESOLVED to adopt the proposed amendment.

90. CITY COUNCIL PLAN

Council considered the results of the survey feedback. The Council noted the most popular and least popular items and requested that the Business Plan Working Group reconvene to consider the results and prepare a report on recommended actions.

Cllr Chant proposed that a working group be formed to review the civic and ceremonial functions of the City to report to the Community Affairs Committee, the first meeting of the working group to take place in the new Council year.

Council RESOLVED that the working group be formed to look review and audit Council Civic and Ceremonial functions in more detail.

Council discussed the portico enclosure proposal and RESOLVED that at present it was not a priority and would not be progressed at this time.

91. CHICHESTER DISTRICT COUNCIL INFRASTRUCTURE BUSINESS PLAN (IBP)

The Deputy Clerk advised that the CDC Infrastructure Plan needed to be updated with any additional City Council Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) projects by the end of March. The Clerk further clarified that including a project on the IBP did not mean that the City Council had to progress it, it just ensured that any potential uses for CIL funds were captured.

Council RESOLVED that all items incorporated into the final Council Business Plan should be added to the CDC Infrastructure Business Plan (IBP) and that any new projects adopted by Council during the year should be added to the next update of the IBP.

92. CALENDAR OF MEETINGS 2024-2025

Council reviewed the proposed meeting calendar.

Council RESOLVED to adopt the calendar as presented.

93. CHICHESTER CITY COUNCIL PRESS AND MEDIA POLICY

The Council considered the draft media and social media policies but did not feel they were able to make a decision on their adoption at this time. The Clerk advised that in line with Council Standing Orders, an annual review of the policies must be completed each year. It was therefore an audit requirement that must be completed by the end of March.

Council RESOLVED to defer adopting the policies until a special Council meeting to be called in March.

94. REVIEW OF VARIABLE DIRECT DEBITS, STANDING ORDERS AND ONLINE BANKING ARRANGEMENTS

The Deputy Town Clerk advised that a bi-annual review of direct debits, bank standing order payments and online banking arrangements was an audit requirement.

Council RESOLVED to approve the list of direct debits and bank standing order payments and to continue with the current online banking arrangements.

95. RISK MANAGEMENT ACTION PLAN

The Deputy Town Clerk advised that annual review of risks was an audit requirement and advised that the Finance Committee had reviewed the Risk Management Action Plan at and that no items had been flagged for action (6 February 2024, minute 84 refers).

Council NOTED that the ongoing risk review processes were satisfactory and had been adequately assessed and that there were no outstanding risk management actions.

96. REPORTS FROM REPRESENTATIVES ON OUTSIDE BODIES

No written reports had been received.

97. WARD REPORTS FROM CHICHESTER CITY COUNCILLORS

Council noted a written report had been received from Councillor Chant after the meeting agenda and papers had been issued and would be circulated with the meeting minutes.

No other reports had been received.

98. REPORTS FROM CHICHESTER DISTRICT AND WEST SUSSEX COUNTY COUNCIL’S WARD MEMBERS

Council noted that written reports had been received from WSCC Councillors Joy and Oakley after the meeting agenda and papers had been issued and would be circulated with the meeting minutes.

Council noted that no written reports had been received from CDC Councillors. Cllr Brown advised that he would prepare a report for circulation with the meeting minutes.

99. ITEMS FOR INCLUSION ON THE AGENDA FOR THE SPECIAL MEETING OF COUNCIL TO BE HELD IN MARCH

• Adoption of press and media and social media policies

ITEMS FOR INCLUSION ON THE AGENDA OFR THE NEXT ORDINARY MEETING

• Neighbourhood Plan
• Equality Diversity and Inclusion Training for all Councillors and staff

100. COMMON SEAL

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

DATE OF SPECIAL MEETING OF COUNCIL: Thursday 28 March 2024 at 5.30pm (or directly following the Planning Committee meeting if it has not finished by this time)

DATE OF NEXT ORDINARY MEETING: Wednesday 24 April 2024 at 7.00pm

The meeting closed at 9.32pm

ACTIONS ARISING FROM THIS MEETING

Minute ref.	Agreed action	Assigned for action to
85	To advise of costs of gift for Chartres visit once Oxmarket have advised of a suitable artwork	Mayor
88	To update the Terms of Reference of the Committees and Sub-committees and Scheme of delegation to incorporate the agreed amendments.	Clerk
89	To update the Grant Funding policy, guidelines and terms and conditions to make clear that free use if only available during regular Council House opening hours.	Clerk
89	To update the Grant Funding policy, guidelines and terms and conditions to incorporate aggregated partnership and consortia based bids.	Clerk
90	To convene a meeting of the Business Plan Working Group to prepare a final report and recommendations based on the consultation results.	Clerk
90	To establish a working group to review and audit Civic and Ceremonial Functions and make recommendations on their delivery.	Community Affairs Committee
90	To dissolve the Portico Working Group until such time as the project is reconsidered for progression.	Property Sub- Committee
91	To add all projects incorporated into the final Council Plan on to the CDC IBP.	Deputy Clerk
92	To call a special meeting of the Council on 28th March 2024 to adopt the Press & Media and Social Media Policies.	Clerk