Agenda and minutes

To receive and consider any announcementsor communications.

The Mayor welcomed Councillor Mwagale to the Council following her election to the Council in September and hopes she enjoys her time as a Councillor for Tilgate.

The Mayor provided the Full Council with a brief update on some of the Mayoral events he had attended, including the Fire and Safety Service Open Day, the Irish Festival which was also attended by the Irish Ambassador, the St Catherine’s Annual Boat Race and the WIKF Global Cup Karate Federations World Championships at K2 Crawley. There had also been the trip to Dorsten as part of the town twinning event.

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.

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

The Mayorwill present each of the following Councillorwith a badge commemorating their long service asa MemberofCrawley Borough Council:-

The Mayor presented the following Members with a badge commemorating their long service as a Member of Crawley Borough Council and thanked them for their long and dedicated service with this Authority:-

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.

Questions asked in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 10 were as follows:

To approve as a correct recordthe minutesofthe meetingof the Full Council held on 17 July 2019.

The minutes of the meeting of the Full Council held on 17 July 2019 were approved as a correct record and signed by the Mayor, subject to the follow amendment to minute 10 – Metro Bank, 25-29 Queens Square, Northgate, Crawley – Planning Committee, 4 June 2019. That the following line be added to the last line of the second paragraph:

Councillor Pickett in his response on this item commented that Councillor Crow made reference to a ‘common sense approach’ which was not a planning consideration and as such that was not and should not be a consideration by the Planning Committee when deciding upon the Metro Bank’s planning application or any application.

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.

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

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.

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

RESOLVED

·                Planning Committee – 22 July 2019

·                Audit Committee – 23 July 2019

·                Planning Committee – 27 August 2019

·                Overview and Scrutiny Commission – 3 September 2019

·                Cabinet – 4 September 2019

·                Licensing Committee – 9 September 2019

·                Overview and Scrutiny Commission – 23 September 2019

·                Planning Committee – 24 September 2019

·                Cabinet – 25 September 2019

·                Audit Committee – 30 September 2019

Councillors Malik and Rana left the Chamber in advance of the debate on the next item.

Councillor Lanzer stated the rationale for bringing this item forward was that, whilst he had not attended the Committee meeting, he supported the sentiment of Recommendation 3 - namely the continuation of officers using their professional judgement when investigating complaints and undertaking enforcement relating to taxi drivers. He acknowledged that officers should continue to use their knowledge of the trade (both from a professional and cultural standpoint), taking into account the needs of customers and public safety, along with any evidence when investigating complaints to ensure a fair decision occurs.

Councillors Crow, Ascough, Lamb, Millar-Smith and Sharma all spoke during this wide-ranging discussion that included the importance of public safety and customer service, along with the need for cultural tolerance within Crawley’s diverse society both by the drivers and in regard to them also.

Councillor Jones ended the debate in commenting that he, like Councillor Lanzer, felt that the Taxi Licencing Team were very good at ensuring that Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Drivers provided a high standard of service to residents and, if there were problems, the Team would investigate them fully, fairly and ensure that public safety was always at the forefront of its considerations. 

Councillors Malik and Rana returned to the Chamber at the conclusion of the debate.

Councillor Crow stated the rationale for bringing this item forward for debate. It related to the Leader’s response to a question raised during Cabinet’s Public Question Time on the proposed major development West of Ifield (WOI). The minute read that the ‘Council does not support the application’ over the WOI development. Councillor Crow queried how and when this decision was taken, as it was news to him and to the Conservative Group that this was the Council’s view.

Councillors McCarthy, Thomas, Burrett, Lanzer, Millar-Smith and P. Smith all spoke on this item.

Councillor Lamb in concluding the debate commented that as the development was outside of the Borough boundaries, the Council would not be making any significant decisions on the proposed WOI development. However, he and a number of Cabinet Members had some initial discussions with the developer Homes England and had made it clear that the Council would not be supporting the development if it was of detriment to our residents.  Based on the information currently available, it would be detrimental because of the seeming lack of clear road infrastructure to the proposed sites, which meant that construction traffic would mainly travel via Rusper Road, causing significant traffic issues in Ifield and across the town. Councillor Lamb reminded the Council that he had the executive delegated power to provide views and steers on the Council’s behalf. In relation to the public question, the response made the Council’s position intentionally clear as it was contrary to what had been stated in the Homes England press release which implied that Crawley Borough Council was fully behind the scheme.

The Full Council considered report FIN/478 of the Head of Corporate Finance which had been previously considered by the Cabinet on 25 September 2019 and Overview and Scrutiny Commission on 23 September 2019. Councillor Lamb, as the Leader of the Council, presented the report and recommendations, which were based on national legislative changes that now gave billing authorities the ability to amend Council Tax premiums for properties that have been empty for a minimum of two years. It was explained that the recommendations were set in order to incentivise the occupation of empty homes – increasing the number of properties available to residents.

Councillor Millar-Smith also spoke on the item and the recommendation.

Councillor Lamb moved the recommendation which was seconded by Councillor Irvine.

RESOLVED

That Full Council approves:

a)            the Council Tax Empty Homes Premium from 1st April 2020 of 100% in respect of properties empty for between 2 and 5 years, and 200% in respect of properties empty for 5 years or more.

b)            the Council Tax Empty Homes Premium from 1st April 2021 of 100% in respect of properties empty for between 2 and 5 years, 200% in respect of properties empty for between 5 and 10 years, and 300% in respect of properties empty for 10 years or more.

c)            the removal of the premium on a property when it is ‘actively marketed’ if it meets the premium criteria rules.

The Full Council considered report CH/186 of the Head of Crawley Homes, which had been previously considered by the Cabinet on 25 September 2019 and Overview and Scrutiny Commission on 23 September 2019. Councillor Irvine as the Cabinet Member for Housing presented the report and recommendation, noting that, following the introduction of Universal Credit, there had been an increased workload for Crawley Homes Housing Officers, and that there was a necessity for further posts to be created in order to provide efficient collection of rent.

Councillor Lamb moved the recommendation which was seconded by Councillor Irvine.

RESOLVED

That Full Council approves the additional budget of £265,500 per annum for the additional posts required in the 2019/20 budget (pro rata), and additional one off setting up costs as outlined in report CH/186.

To answer Councillors’ writtenquestionsunder Council Procedure Rule 11.3.

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 Lanzer

Addressed to:                Leader of the Council

Subject(s):                     Occupational Sick Pay for Crawley Homes' Contractor

Questioner:                   Councillor Crow

Addressed to:                Leader of the Council

Subject(s):                    The proposed policy of a ‘4-day working week’ (32 hour maximum working week)

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

To answer questionsto CabinetMembersunder Council Procedure Rule 11.2.

Up to 15 minutesisallocatedfor questionsto CabinetMember

To answer questionsto Committee Chairs.

Up to 15 minutesisallocatedfor questionsto CommitteeChairs.

There were no questions asked to Committee Chairs.