Democracy in Crawley

How decisions are made and who represents you

Agenda and minutes

Venue: Ashurst Main Hall - The Charis Centre. View directions

Contact: Democratic Services  Email: democratic.services@crawley.gov.uk

Items
No. Item

1.

Minute Silence and Tributes to Councillor Geraint Thomas

Minutes:

The Full Council observed a minute’s silence in memory of Councillor Geraint Thomas who had sadly and suddenly passed away.

 

The Mayor then invited representatives from each party to pay tribute to Councillor Thomas. Councillors Lamb, R Burgess, P Smith, A Belben, Hart, Sudan, Rana, Lunnon, Guidera and the Mayor on behalf of the Council paid their respects with heartfelt and touching tributes.

 

 

2.

Disclosures of Interest pdf icon PDF 124 KB

In accordance with the Council's Code of Conduct, Councillors of the Council are reminded that it is a requirement to declare interests where appropriate.

 

Minutes:

The disclosures of interests made by Councillors were set out in Appendix A to the minutes.

Appendix A: Disclosures of Interest pdf icon PDF 128 KB

3.

Communications

To receive and consider any announcementsor communications.

Minutes:

The Mayor reported to the Full Council that he had recently attended the St Catherine’s Hospice Tree of Light service at K2 Crawley on Sunday 8 December.  It had been a moving service of remembrance at which the Mayor had paid his respects to Councillor Geraint Thomas.

4.

Public Question Time

To answerpublicquestionsunder Council Procedure Rule10.The questionsmust be on matterswhich are relevanttothe functionsofthe Council, andshould not includestatements.

 

One supplementaryquestionfrom thequestioner will be allowed.

 

Up to 30 minutesisallocatedto PublicQuestionTime.

 

Minutes:

Questions asked in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 9 were as follows:

 

Questioner’s Name

Name of Councillor Responding

 

 

Mr Symonds (Ifield)

 

In light of Homes England’s monstrous SA101 development plan for the ancient parish of Ifield confusingly called the ‘West of Ifield Plan’, could the new Cabinet Member for Environmental Services and Sustainability investigate whether or not the developers are in breach of policies CH9, ENV2 and ENV3 of the Crawley Local Plan?  Specifically relating to the rural fringe and buffer zone around the local green space of Ifield Brook Meadows and the local nature reserve of Willoughby Fields.

 

 

Supplementary Question

 

Is the Council aware of any relevant supplementary planning documents in preparation which might affect the Homes England SA101 Plan for the West of Ifield?

 

 

Councillor P C Smith

(Cabinet Member for Planning and Economic Development)

 

Thank you for your question.  A full written response will be provided in due course.  The details of your question are difficult to answer as we have not yet received any application from Homes England.  Based on the vague information we do have, we expect the application in the first quarter of 2020.  The majority of the site will be in Horsham and subject to Horsham District Council’s planning policies.  If there is any element that falls within the Crawley borough, this will be subject to the existing Crawley Local Plan until a revised version is adopted next year.  The Ifield Brook Meadows area will have public protection as a Local Green Space, as put forward by Councillor Geraint Thomas in the Local Plan Working Group, which is now embedded in the Local Plan.  After discussion with the Director of Homes England I can confirm that area is protected up to the Crawley boundary.  Willoughby Fields is also subject to these protections but they are not quite as strong.  We have supplementary planning documents in the public realm on our website and if an applicant comes to the Crawley area these documents will be applied.  Some of these are due to be updated towards the end of 2020 after the adoption of the revised Local Plan.

 

 

Mr Khan (Bewbush)

 

 

 

In line with the Constitution, the Mayor rejected the question as it related directly to an individual’s case.

 

Mr Khan was then removed from the Council chamber due to disruptive behaviour.

 

 

Mr Skudder (Langley Green)

 

After a chat with the traders at the market, they haven’t heard anything about future plans.  I wonder if the Council is able to share any details of when the market will relocate from the current location by the bus station and if all the current traders will be relocated or if there are any other changes in the pipeline.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Councillor P C Smith

(Cabinet Member for Planning and Economic Development)

 

Thank you for your question.  In 2014 when we took control of the Council there had been an attempt made to move the market from the old High Street to Queens Square – there was an  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

5.

Minutes pdf icon PDF 610 KB

To approve as a correct recordthe minutesofthe meetingof the Full Council held on 16 October 2019.

Minutes:

The minutes of the meeting of the Full Council held on 16 October 2019 were approved as a correct record and signed by the Mayor.

 

 

 

6.

Items for Debate (Reserved Items) pdf icon PDF 100 KB

Prior to the introduction ofthe Minutesofthe Cabinet, Overviewand Scrutiny CommissionandCommittees (ascontained in the BookofMinutes), Memberswill be given the opportunity to indicate on which items they wish tospeak.

 

TheseReservedItemswill then bethe onlymattersto bethe subject ofa debate.

 

Minutes:

Councillors indicated that they wished to speak on a number of items as set out in the following table:

 

Page no.

Committee/

Minute no.

 

(and the Group reserving the item for Debate)

Subject

 

(Decisions previously taken under delegated powers, reserved for debate only)

 

Subject

 

(Recommendation to Full Council, reserved for debate)

 

p. 56

Cabinet

27 November 2019,

(Minute 6)

 

Conservative Group

 

Budget Strategy 2020/21 – 2024/25

 

(Recommendation 1)

p. 58

Cabinet

27 November 2019,

(Minute 7)

 

Conservative Group

 

Treasury Management Mid-Year Review  2019/2020

 

(Recommendation 2)

p. 61

Cabinet

27 November 2019,

(Minute 11)

 

Conservative Group

 

Submission Crawley Local Plan

 

(Recommendation 6)

 

 

 

7.

Minutes of the Cabinet, Overview and Scrutiny Commission and Committees pdf icon PDF 175 KB

1)            Toreceive theminutes ofthe meetings ofthe Cabinet,Overviewand Scrutiny Commission and Committees, as listed on page 21, and set out in the appendices to this item.

 

2)            Toadopt any of therecommendationsto Full Council,which have notbeenreservedfor debate and as listed on page 21, and set out in the appendices to this item.

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

1) Moved by Councillor Malik (as the Deputy Mayor):-

 

RESOLVED

 

That the following reportsbe received:

·         Planning Committee – 21 October 2019

·         Overview and Scrutiny Commission – 4 November 2019

·         Licensing Committee – 11 November 2019

·         Planning Committee – 18 November 2019

·         Overview and Scrutiny Commission – 25 November 2019

·         Cabinet – 27 November 2019.

 

 

2) That the recommendations contained inthe reports on thefollowing matters, which had not been reserved for debate, be adopted:-

 

 

Review of the Statement of Licensing Policy Gambling Act 2005 (2020 – 2022) – Cabinet – 27 November 2019 (Recommendation 3)

 

The Full Council consideredreport HCS/018of the Head of Community Services which had previously been considered by the Cabinet on 27 November 2019 and the Overview and Scrutiny Commission on 25 November 2019.

 

RESOLVED

 

That Full Council approves and adopts the proposed revised Statement of Licensing Policy Gambling Act 2005 (2020-2022) set out in Appendix A of report HCS/018.

 

 

 

Homelessness Review and Homelessness Strategy (2019 – 2024) – Cabinet – 27 November 2019 (Recommendation 4)

 

The Full Council consideredreport SHAP/76of the Head of Strategic Housing which had previously been considered by the Cabinet on 27 November 2019 and the Overview and Scrutiny Commission on 25 November 2019.

 

RESOLVED

 

That Full Council be recommended to approve the Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Strategy 2019 – 2024 (Appendix A to report SHAP/76) for adoption and subsequent publication.

 

 

 

Tenancy Strategy (2019 – 2024) – Cabinet – 27 November 2019 (Recommendation 5)

 

The Full Council consideredreport SHAP/77 of the Head of Strategic Housing which had been previously considered by the Cabinet on 27 November 2019 and the Overview and Scrutiny Commission on 25 November 2019.

 

RESOLVED

 

That Full Council be recommended to request Full Council to approve the Tenancy Strategy 2019 – 2024 (Appendix A of report SHAP/77) for adoption and subsequent publication.

 

 

 

Extending Gigabit Ultrafast Public Fibre Connectivity – Cabinet – 27 November 2019 (Recommendation 7)

 

The Full Council consideredreport DAT/02 of the Head of Digital and Transformation which had been previously considered by Cabinet on 27 November 2019.

 

RESOLVED

 

That Full Council be recommended to approve a supplementary capital estimate up to a maximum of £2.7m in 2021/22.

 

 

8.

Budget Strategy 2020/21 - 2024/25 - Cabinet - 27 November 2019 - (Recommendation 1)

Minutes:

The Full Council considered report FIN/483 of the Head of Corporate Finance which had been previously considered by the Cabinet on 27 November 2019 and Overview and Scrutiny Commission on 25 November 2019. Councillor Lamb, as the Leader of the Council, presented the report and recommendations, which set out the projected financial position for 2020/21 to 2024/25 for the General Fund and the underlying assumptions, including working towards a balanced budget over a three year period.

The report also set the policy framework for the budget process, recognising that there were a range of options for capital investment, income generation, savings and Council Tax levels; none of which can be considered in isolation.

 

Councillor Crow moved the proposed Conservative amendment to the Cabinet recommendation, which was seconded by Councillor Guidera. The amendment proposed kept the original recommendation unchanged but added an additional section namely:

 

(h) - Undertake a review of the Council's neighbourhood parade rents policy taking into account and balancing the requirements to:

 

(i)      Support a mixed range of trades to meet local needs

(ii)      Ensure a sustainable and viable business presence

(iii)     Recognise the importance of the neighbourhood parades as community assets

(iv)    Maintain a revenue stream to support the provision of council services

 

Councillors Lanzer, Lunnon, Sudan, McCarthy, McAleney, B Burgess, Jones, T Belben, Irvine, Burrett, Millar-Smith and P C Smith all spoke during a lengthy debate on both the recommendation and the proposed amendment.

 

Councillor Lamb used his right to reply to speak at the end of the debate and in doing so moved the recommendation which was formally seconded by Councillor P C Smith.

 

The Mayor then called for a recorded vote on the proposed Conservative amendment, following a request during the debate:

 

Voting in Favour: A Belben, T G Belben, B J Burgess, R G Burgess, R D Burrett,

D Crow, C R Eade, F Guidera, K L Jaggard, R A Lanzer, K McCarthy, J Millar-Smith, M Mwagale, D M Peck, A Pendlington, J Purdy (16)

 

Voting Against: M L Ayling, R S Fiveash, M Flack, J Hart, I T Irvine, G S Jhans, M G Jones, P K Lamb, T Lunnon, S Malik, T McAleney, C J Mullins, T Rana, R Sharma, B A Smith P C Smith, and K Sudan (17)

 

Abstentions: None. (0)

 

The Mayor declared that the Conservative Amendment had fallen – votes in favour 16, and 17 votes against with no votes of abstentions.

 

The Mayor then called for the vote on the substantive Recommendation (Budget Strategy 2020/21 – 2024/25), which was carried.

 

 

RESOLVED

 

That Full Council approves the Budget Strategy 2020/21 to 2024/25 and 

 

a)      notes, for the purpose of projections, the current budget surplus of £489,200 for 2020/21, on the basis of a Council tax increase of 2% which is £4.08 on a Band D in property 2020/21. This surplus is due in the main due to the extension of the four year financial settlement and the delay  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

9.

Treasury Management Mid-Year Review 2019/2020 - Cabinet - 27 November 2019 - (Recommendation 2)

Minutes:

The Full Council considered report FIN/484 of the Head of Corporate Finance which had been previously considered by the Cabinet on 27 November 2019 and Overview and Scrutiny Commission on 25 November 2019. Councillor Lamb, as the Leader of the Council, presented the report and recommendations.

 

Councillors Crow, Lanzer, Lunnon, Purdy, Ayling, Jaggard and McAleney also spoke on the item.  The discussion focused on the proposed change to the Council’s Ethical Investment Policy, regarding companies that generate more than 10% of their revenue from the extraction of fossil fuels.

 

Councillor Lamb moved the recommendation which was seconded by Councillor P C Smith.

 

The recommendation was carried by 17 votes in favour and 16 votes against with no abstentions.

 

 

RESOLVED

 

That Full Council be recommended to the approval of an amendment to the Ethical Investment Policy within the Council’s Annual Investment Strategy (see section 5.3 of report FIN/484).

 

 

10.

Submission Crawley Local Plan 2020 - 2035 - Cabinet - 27 November 2019 - (Recommendation 6)

Minutes:

The Full Council considered report PES/336 of the Head of Economy and Planning which had been previously considered by the Cabinet on 27 November 2019 and Overview and Scrutiny Commission on 25 November 2019. Councillor P C Smith, the Cabinet Member for Planning and Economic Development, presented report PES/336 of the Head of Economy and Planning which set out the proposed submission of Crawley Local Plan 2020 2035 and its supporting documents, for public consultation and submission to the Secretary of State for Independent Examination.

 

Councillors Jaggard, McCarthy, Purdy, and Irvine also spoke on the item and the recommendation. Councillor P C Smith used his right to reply to speak at the end of the debate.

 

Councillor Lamb moved the recommendation which was seconded by Councillor P C Smith.

 

 

RESOLVED

 

That Full Council:

 

a)           approves the submission draft Local Plan and Local Plan Map for Publication consultation (a statutory six-week period of public consultation).

 

b)           approves the submission draft Local Plan for Submission to the Secretary of State for Examination by an independent Planning Inspector, subject to amendments deemed necessary following consultation and updated evidence for the purposes of clarity.

 

c)           notes that the final Local Plan will be brought back to Full Council following its independent examination for adoption.

 

 

11.

Notice of Motion 1 - Fireworks pdf icon PDF 285 KB

To consider, in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 13, the following Notice of Motion to be moved by Councillor Guidera and seconded by Councillor Crow.

Minutes:

The Council considered the Notice of Motion 1 ‘Fireworks’ as set out in the Full Council’s agenda. The Motion was moved and presented by Councillor Guidera and seconded and supported by Councillor Crow.

 

During the debate Councillors Lamb, R Burgess, Mullins, P C Smith, Irvine, Rana, Jhans and Sharma all spoke in support of the Notice of Motion. Councillor Guidera used his right to reply to speak at the end of the debate.

 

The Mayor then called for a vote on the Notice of Motion, which was carried unanimously.

 

 

RESOLVED

 

That the Council:

 

·                requires all public firework displays within the local authority boundaries to be advertised in advance of the event, allowing residents to take precautions for their animals and vulnerable people

 

·                actively promotes a public awareness campaign about the impact of fireworks on animal welfare and vulnerable people – including the precautions that can be taken to mitigate risks

 

·                will write to the UK Government urging them to introduce legislation to limit the maximum noise level of fireworks to 90dB for those sold to the public for private displays

 

·                encourages local suppliers of fireworks to stock ‘quieter’ fireworks for public display.

 

 

12.

Councillors' Written Questions pdf icon PDF 295 KB

To answer Councillors’ writtenquestionsunder Council Procedure Rule 11.3.

 

Minutes:

Councillors’ written questions, together with the answers, were published in advance of the start of the meeting with the Council’s Supplementary Agenda under item 10.

 

Questions were as follows:-

 

Questioner:               Councillor Jaggard

Addressed to:           Leader of the Council

Subjects(s):               Civil Enforcement Officers’ patrols at Crawley’s schools

 

 

Questioner:               Councillor A Belben

Addressed to:           Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Planning and Economic Development

Subjects(s):               Local Planning Authority decisions and appeal statistics

 

 

Questioner:               Councillor Crow

Addressed to:           Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Planning and Economic Development

Subjects(s):               Public consultation of the Three Bridges Station Forecourt Scheme

 

 

Questioner:               Councillor Crow

Addressed to:           Leader of the Council

Subjects(s):               Rent reviews of neighbourhood parade shop tenants

 

 

13.

Announcements by Cabinet Members

Anopportunityfor CabinetMembersto report verbally (ifnecessary)on issuesrelating totheirPortfolio not covered elsewhere on the agenda.

 

Minutes:

Cabinet Member

Announcement

 

Councillor Mullins

(Cabinet Member for Wellbeing)

 

I’d encourage Councillors to visit Tilgate Park to see the wonderful winter displays up there where the ice rink has been re-sited.  There’s been good footfall and it’s been very successful and I want to congratulate the officers involved in putting it all together.

 

 

 

14.

Questions to Cabinet Members

To answer questionsto CabinetMembersunder Council Procedure Rule 11.2.

 

Up to 15 minutesisallocatedfor questionsto CabinetMember

Minutes:

Name ofCouncillor askingQuestion

Name ofCabinet Member Responding

 

Councillor Crow to the Leader of the Council

 

Regarding the written question (item 10 of the supplementary agenda) on rent reviews – I requested statistics for ‘each individual neighbourhood parade in Crawley’.  Why have I been provided with overall statistics for the town and not those broken down by parades?

 

I would also like to know why the total number of shops in these statistics adds up to 80, not the total 144 shops we have across all the parades.  Surely all 144 shops have either been recently reviewed or are due a review.

 

Finally, the answers to parts 1, 2 and 3 of the question show we are behind on the rent reviews.  If only two reviews have been done this year and there are two outstanding from last year, does this not imply we need a different approach in the future?

 

 

Councillor Lamb (Leader of the Council)

 

The question I received discussed ‘rent renewals’ and most of what is taking place are lease renewals which do not fall under Council revenue.  This is why the total number of shops doesn’t add up to 144.

 

I will attain the figures per neighbourhood parade and provide you with these.

 

 

 

 

Councillor Eade to the Cabinet Member for Housing

 

I have received a number of reports of Crawley Homes vans being parked on grass verges.  What does the Cabinet Member intend to do about this?

 

 

 

 

Councillor Irvine (Cabinet Member for Housing)

 

Thank you for bringing this to my attention.  I will raise it with the Head of Crawley Homes.

 

Councillor T Belben to theLeader of the Council

 

Would the Leader agree that the ability to organise e-petitions in today’s multimedia world is important as they are one of the most direct ways that residents can come together to raise their concerns to the council?  Why was the e-petitions scheme not operational and inaccessible to our residents for several weeks?  It is currently only working in a beta form.

 

 

Councillor Lamb (Leader of the Council)

 

IT systems require occasional improvement which sometimes leads to them being down.  We will be able to receive any petition with identifiable names and addresses that are able to be checked against the electoral register, such as those via change.org.

 

 

Councillor Millar-Smith to theLeader of the Council

 

Thank you for the answer to Councillor Jaggard’s written question (item 10 of the supplementary agenda).  This issue is important to a lot of people in Maidenbower.  Regarding point two – the dates of the patrols – the context is important here so further information on patrols in the summer and dates of these would be helpful, as would information on penalty notices.  Also information on the areas being patrolled would help us understand the big picture.

 

 

Councillor Lamb (Leader of the Council)

 

I am unaware of the specifics but I can investigate and if the information is available,  ...  view the full minutes text for item 14.

15.

Questions to Committee Chairs

To answer questionsto Committee Chairs.

 

Up to 15 minutesisallocatedfor questionsto CommitteeChairs.

 

Minutes:

Name ofCouncillor askingQuestion

Name ofCommittee Chair Responding

 

Councillor Burrett to the Chair of the Overview and Scrutiny Commission

 

In regard to the Overview and Scrutiny Commission (OSC) meeting on 25 November 2019, there were a number of large items on the agenda and I attended to hear the debate.  As you will see from the minutes, the meeting finished in just under an hour.  There were not a great deal of questions on some of the items and I was surprised at how the meeting panned out.  In light of this, does the Chair feel the OSC is fulfilling its full remit or could it be more detailed in some of its questioning?

 

 

Councillor Rana– (Chair of the Overview and Scrutiny Commission)

 

I too was surprised at the duration of the meeting.  Councillors agreed beforehand that each item will be timed at 30 minutes due to the large agenda.  There were few questions but the questions that were asked were answered quickly and accurately.  We attained everything we wanted to know and it was a successful meeting, and I’d like to thank the Democratic Services Officer (HG) for their support in running the meeting.