Minutes – Property Sub-Committee – 27 May 2025

The agenda and papers for this meeting are available here: Property Sub-Committee – 27 May 2025 – agenda and papers

The minutes of this meeting are presented below.

You can also download a PDF copy of the minutes here: Minutes – Property Sub-Committee – 27 May 2025

PROPERTY SUB-COMMITTEE

Minutes

Date: Tuesday 27 May 2025

Time: 11.00am to 12.25pm

Location: The Council Chamber, The Council House, North Street, Chichester. PO19 1LQ

PRESENT: Councillors Butler (AB), Loxton (SL), Miall (RMi) and Quail (SQ)

ALSO IN ATTENDANCE: Councillor Chant (RC), Town Clerk (TC), Deputy Town Clerk (DTC), Property Maintenance Manager (PMM)

1. APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE

Members noted apologies from Councillor Scicluna.

Councillor Apel was absent.

2. DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST BY MEMBERS OF THE COMMITTEE IN MATTERS ON THE AGENDA FOR THIS MEETING

No declarations were made.

3. MINUTES OF THE PROPERTY SUB-COMMITTEE MEETING HELD ON 25 MARCH 2025

The Sub-Committee approved and signed as a correct record the minutes of the Property Sub-Committee meeting held on 25 March 2025.

4. UPDATES ON ACTIONS ARISING FROM THE LAST MEETING

The sub-committee noted the updates as follows:

a. Minute 50c refers – Kitchen upgrade

Press release publicising the upgraded kitchens once the works have been completed.

PMM and Communications and Civic Support Officer (CCSO) tasked to send the draft press release to Sub-Committee members by the end of week beginning 2 June 2025.

b. Minute 51 refers – Community orchards

Press release about the new community orchards be sent out.

PMM and CSSO tasked to send the draft press release to Sub-Committee members by the end of week beginning 9 June 2025.

c. Minute 51 refers – Replacement flooring

Commence replacement of the flooring on the back stair, main corridor and Lion Street corridor

Nominated contractor has failed to communicate so an alternative is being sought.

d. Minute 51 refers – Allotment running costs

Assessment of the allotment running costs and charges be undertaken to inform planning for fee increases for 2026.

PMM to prepare a report for the next meeting of the Sub-Committee

e. Minute 51 refers – Preferred supplier list

Seek advice from internal auditor and Chichester District Council (CDC) finance manager on appropriate processes to establish a framework.

TC and DTC seeking further advice.

5. PROPERTY MAINTENANCE MANAGER’S REPORT

The Sub-Committee discussed the Property Maintenance Manager’s report that had been circulated with the agenda.

a. Town Clerk’s office – damp issues – Members were advised that Listed Building Consent (LBC) was still being awaited from Chichester District Council for the heating and air conditioning works in the Clerk’s office. The PMM reported that, in terms of dealing with the damp issues in this office, some minor works had been undertaken but that any further rectification was on hold pending the air conditioning to see if that helped resolve the problem.

b. Repairs to roof barriers – The Sub-Committee was also advised that LBC was being awaited for the repairs to the roof barriers. The PMM informed Members that advice on the need for Planning Permission for this project was also being awaited but that the White Company had agreed to the works on the party wall.

c. Roman Amphitheatre allotments fencing – Members discussed the issue of the fence line to the eastern end of the Roman Amphitheatre allotment site and were informed that historical land usage issues needing resolving before the fencing could be installed.

The Sub-Committee were advised that legal advice may need to be sought to confirm whether any rights to access had been established by the affected properties.

Further to concerns raised and comments about whether it would be easier just to let the land go to the property owners; Member REQUESTED that an options report be prepared and brought back to the next meeting of the Sub-Committee.

d. Water Fountain in the portico – Members were advised that siting a drinking water fountain in the Council House portico would likely be problematic at this time.

Members REQUESTED that the TC contact the Cathedral about possible alternative locations for a water fountain and also to further consider other locations in the city – e.g. public parks and open spaces.

e. Relocation of EV charger – Members were reminded that this had been highlighted in the fire safety inspection report and needed to be completed as soon as possible.

f. Finance Manager’s office – heating and air conditioning – Members noted the reasons for this project and AGREED that the works should proceed, funded from the Council House Reserve.

The Sub-Committee discussed how much work was currently being undertaken on the Council House and queried whether it was the result of historic underspending.

They were advised that the building had been neglected for a number of years and that there were still areas that needed further attention (e.g. the public toilet doors).

The PMM reported that the energy efficiency measure that had been implemented were helping to reduce ongoing overheads but that other areas of the building were suffering from a lack of sufficient investment in to the building’s fabric.

Members REQUESTED that a Special Meeting of the Property Sub-Committee be called to look at what works had been completed to date, and at what cost, and what still needed to be done in the future.

6. INFORMATION TO NOTE

a. Allotments – Sub-Committee REQUESTED that the traffic light colours included on the allotment condition notices be adjusted due to concerns about the current formatting being too aggressive.

Members queried the reasons behind the high number of uncultivated plot notices and allotment tenant evictions. The PMM advised that a number of new tenants had quickly realised that they did not have the time to devote to their plots which then created work for the Property Maintenance Team in clearing the land ready for the next tenants.

b. Room bookings – Sub-Committee discussed the utilisation of the room in the Council House and the level of bookings.

REQUESTED that, going forward, the report gave year-on-year comparisons of bookings to provide historical context of how the bookings were performing over time.

Councillors further REQUESTED that the report be reformatted to include more information about the bookings times and financial information.

7. ITEMS FOR INCLUSION ON THE NEXT AGENDA

• Allotment running costs
• Roman Amphitheatre allotment fencing and land access rights report
• Water fountain
• Update on Council House maintenance projects and costs from Special Meeting of the Sub-Committee.
• Room bookings reformatted report.

8. DATE OF NEXT ORDINARY MEETING

Tuesday 26 August 2025 at 11.00am

The meeting closed at 12.25pm

ACTIONS ARISING FROM THIS MEETING

Minute ref.	Agreed action	Assigned for action to
4a	Press release regarding upgraded kitchens to be released by Friday 6 June 2025.	PMM/CSSO
4b	Press release regarding community orchards to be released by Friday 13 June 2025.	PMM/CSSO
4d	Report to be prepared regarding allotment running costs for review at the next meeting of the Sub-Committee.	PMM
5c	Options report to be prepared for the next Sub-Committee meeting regarding the historical land usage on the eastern boundary of the Roman Amphitheatre allotments site prior to installation of the new fencing.	TC/PMM
5d	Contact to be made with the Cathedral regarding possible locations for a drinking water fountain. Also, consideration/identification of location in parks and open spaces to be discussed.	TC/PMM
5	Report to be compiled on Council House projects and costs incurred and projected works and future costs.	PMM
5	Special Meeting of the Property Sub-Committee to be called to discuss the PMM’s Council House report.	TC
6a	Traffic light colours included on the allotment condition notices to be adjusted due to concerns about the current formatting being too aggressive.	PMM
6b	Reformat the rooms utilisation report to include historical information and more detailed statistics about booking times and financial information	PMM