Minutes – Full Council (Special meeting) – 31 July 2023

The agenda and papers for this meeting are available here: Full Council (Special Meeting) – 31 July 2023 – 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 (Special meeting) – 31 July 2023

SPECIAL MEETING OF COUNCIL

Minutes

Date: 31 July 2023

Time: 7.00pm – 8.05pm

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

PRESENT: The Mayor, Councillor C Gershater, the Deputy Mayor, Councillor Corfield and Councillors Apel, Butler, Chant, J Gershater, Hitchman, Knight, Kondabeka, Loxton, McHale, Pramas, Quail, Scicluna and Squire

ALSO IN ATTENDANCE: Deputy Town Clerk, Council Services and Support Manager

IN ATTENDANCE VIA ZOOM: Councillor Vivian, Town Clerk

32. APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE

RESOLVED to receive and approve apologies and reasons for absence from the meeting from Councillor Vivian, who attended by Zoom, and Councillor Miall.

Councillor Moore was absent from the meeting.

33. DISPENSATION REQUESTS AND DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

Councillors were advised that dispensation requests had been received as follows:

• Councillor Apel – as a Member of Chichester District Council: any matters relating to the business of the District Council for the period 2023-2027.
• Councillor Quail – as a Member of Chichester District Council: any matters relating to the business of the District Council for the period 2023-2027.

RESOLVED to approve the dispensation requests as listed.

No further declarations of interest were received.

34. CHICHESTER CITY COUNCIL BUSINESS PLAN

The Mayor introduced the item and summarised the current position regarding the City Council’s business plan.

The Town Clerk summarised her report that had been circulated with the agenda and strongly recommended to Councillors that the establishment of a Business Plan Working Group would be the best way forward at this stage as it allowed a greater degree of flexibility of working than a formal Committee.

She also advised that this would not preclude the dissolving of the Working Group by the Council at a later date to allow for the creation of an oversight Committee as deemed appropriate.

After a short discussion, it was RESOLVED that a Business Plan Oversight Working Group be created.

Nominations for membership of the Working Group were sought and it was RESOLVED that the initial membership of the Business Plan Oversight Working Group would be Councillors Corfield, C Gershater, Knight, Kondabeka, McHale, Miall, Squire and Vivian.

35. PUBLIC BODIES (ADMISSION TO MEETINGS) ACT 1960

RESOLVED that the public and press be excluded from the meeting for agenda items 5 and 6 due to the nature of the business to be transacted, namely confidential personnel and business matters.

36. PERSONNEL SUB-COMMITTEE MEETING HELD ON WEDNESDAY 26 JULY 2023

Councillor McHale, as Chairman of the Sub-Committee, reminded Members that, previously, the Personnel Sub-Committee had deferred three items from its meeting held on 27 June 2023 for further discussion at the meeting held on 26 July 2023.

Councillors discussed the revised Town Clerk report and agreed recommendations that had been issued after the Personnel Sub-Committee meeting held on 26 July 2023, namely:

1) Adoption of the proposed new staffing structure.

4) Acting Property Manager to be returned to the role of Property Maintenance Officer with acting up salary to be protected until 10 October 2023.

7) Recruitment to begin immediately for the post of Property Maintenance Manager with the currently Acting Property Manager being encrouaged to apply.

After a short discussion it was RESOLVED to accept the revised recommendations as given above.

37. SPECIAL MEETING OF THE PLANNING AND CONSERVATION COMMITTEE HELD ON THURSDAY 27 JULY 2023

Councillor Butler, as Chairman of the Planning and Conservation Committee, updated Members on the discussions that had taken place at the Special Meeting of the Committee that had been held on 27 July 2023.

She then advised Councillors that the Committee had made a recommendation to Council as follows (minute 39 refers):

RECOMMENDED to the Special Meeting of the City Council on Monday 31 July 2023 to proceed, in line with the City Council’s Financial Regulations, with issuing the draft project brief and to call for tenders via the Government’s Contracts Finder service for a planning consultant to assist with the preparation of the Neighbourhood Plan.

Members discussed the recommendation.

In response to concerns expressed during the discussion, the Town Clerk and Deputy Town Clerk assured Councillors that the final decision regarding which tender to recommend to the Finance Committee would rest with Councillors with Officers providing support as appropriate.

Members agreed with the Town Clerk’s suggestion that the Chichester Neighbourhood Plan Steering Group should contribute to the content of the tender document.

Further to a request from the Town Clerk Members AGREED that she should write to the Steering Group reminding them of their responsibilities under the City Council’s Code of Conduct.

DATE OF NEXT ORDINARY MEETING: Wednesday 27 September 2023 at 7.00pm

The meeting closed at 8.05pm