Agenda and minutes

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

No disclosures of interests were made.

At its meeting on 10 June 2024, following consideration of report LDS/213 by the Head of Governance, People & Performance, the Governance Committee resolved that the Mayor be recommended to convene an Extraordinary Meeting ofthe Full Councilon 12 July 2024 toconfer upona numberof nominees as detailed below the title of Honorary Freeman/Freewoman and Honorary Alderman/Alderwoman.  Report LDS/213 set out the criteria for nominations of those honorary titles.

Admissionof Richard David Burrett asan Honorary Freeman of the Borough of Crawley

It will bemoved byCouncillor Duncan Crow and secondedby Councillor Bob Lanzer:

That,in pursuanceof Section249 ofthe LocalGovernment Act1972, the Council do admit RICHARD DAVID BURRETT to be an Honorary Freeman of the Borough of Crawley, the most honourable distinction which is the privilege of the Council to bestow in appreciation and acknowledgement of the eminent services rendered by him to the Borough as a Councillor from 1992 to 2023, West Sussex County Councillor from 2009 until the present day, Non-Executive Director and Chair of the Audit Committee throughout the existence of the Crawley Primary Care Trust from 2002 to 2006, Governor of Bewbush Middle School/Bewbush Primary School from 1996 to 2012 and Chair of the Governing Body from 2004 to 2012, Governor of Thomas Bennett Community College from 1997 to 2018 and Vice-Chair of the Governing Body from 2000 to 2012 and again from  2014 to 2017, Member of Crawley Crime Prevention Panel from 1986 to 2003 and Chairman from 1996 to 1999 and again from 2001 to 2003, Trustee of Crawley Open House from 1996 until the present day and Vice-Chair of the Trustees from 2003 to 2014 and Trustee of the Gatwick Airport Community Trust from 2013 until the present day and as an expression of the high esteem in which he is held by the Mayor, the Council and the people of the Town.

Upon the foregoing motion being submitted to the meeting and duly carried, Richard Burrettwill signthe Rollof Honorary Freemanand hissignature willbe attested by the Mayor and the Chief Executive.

The Mayor will thereupon present to Richard Burrett a badge and a scroll recording hisadmission asan Honorary Freeman of theBorough of Crawley, andhe will have the opportunity to address the Full Council.

Admissionof Colin Christopher Lloyd as an Honorary Freeman and Honorary Alderman of the Borough of Crawley

It will bemoved byCouncillor Michael Jones and secondedby Councillor Nick Hilton:

That,in pursuanceof Section249 ofthe LocalGovernment Act1972, theCouncil doadmit COLIN CHRISTOPHER LLOYDto be an Honorary Freeman and Honorary Alderman of the Borough of Crawley, the most honourable distinctions which it is the privilege of the Council to bestow in appreciation and acknowledgement of the eminent services rendered by him to the Borough Council as a Councillor from Councillor from 1990 until 2008 and from 2010 until 2016, as a West  ...  view the full agenda text for item 2.

It was moved by Councillor Crow, seconded by Councillor Lanzer

RESOLVED UNANIMOUSLY

That, in pursuance of Section 249 of the Local Government Act 1972, the Council do admit Richard David Burrett to be an Honorary Freeman of the Borough of Crawley, most honourable distinction which is the privilege of the Council to bestow in appreciation and acknowledgement of the eminent services rendered by him to the Borough as a Councillor from 1992 to 2023, West Sussex County Councillor from 2009 until the present day, Non-Executive Director and Chair of the Audit Committee throughout the existence of the Crawley Primary Care Trust from 2002 to 2006, Governor of Bewbush Middle School/Bewbush Primary School from 1996 to 2012 and Chair of the Governing Body from 2004 to 2012, Governor of Thomas Bennett Community College from 1997 to 2018 and Vice-Chair of the Governing Body from 2000 to 2012 and again from  2014 to 2017, Member of Crawley Crime Prevention Panel from 1986 to 2003 and Chairman from 1996 to 1999 and again from 2001 to 2003, Trustee of Crawley Open House from 1996 until the present day and Vice-Chair of the Trustees from 2003 to 2014 and Trustee of the Gatwick Airport Community Trust from 2013 until the present day and as an expression of the high esteem in which he is held by the Mayor, the Council and the people of the Town.

As well as Councillors Crow and Lanzer, Councillor Chris Mullins also paid tribute to Richard Burrett.

With the motion having been duly carried, Richard Burrett thereupon signed the Rolls of Honorary Freeman, with his signature being attested by the Mayor and Chief Executive.

On behalf of the Council and the people of Crawley, the Mayor then conveyed her congratulations to Richard Burrett, and presented him with a badge and scroll recoding his admission as an Honorary Freeman.  Richard was also presented with his gift as a former Councillor.

Richard Burrett then addressed the Council and assembled guests, expressing his thanks for being honoured in this way. A copy of his speech can be found below:

Thank you very much, Madam Mayor. I mean, this is this is an amazing honour. It's brilliant. I mean I'm not lost for words because I've got a few things I want to say but it is brilliant and I want to thank everybody here for their support both over the years and also tonight with this honour, and I will say particular thank you to Hayley for all the support she's given in organising this event over the last few months and before anybody asks, when they see what was listed in the booklet the citation, and so on, and the scroll, she did send it to me to proofread beforehand because she knew otherwise I'd find something in it that wasn't right! 

I really appreciate the comments made by my colleagues Councillors Crow, Lanzer and Mullins. And I had to laugh at Chris's comment about things coming back in the future  ...  view the full minutes text for item 2.

It was moved by Councillor Jones and seconded by Councillor Hilton

RESOLVED UNANIMOUSLY

That, in pursuance of Section 249 of the Local Government Act 1972, the Council do admit

Colin Christopher Lloyd to be an Honorary Freeman and Honorary Alderman of the Borough of Crawley, the most honourable distinctions which it is the privilege of the Council to bestow in appreciation and acknowledgement of the eminent services rendered by him to the Borough Council as a Councillor from Councillor from 1990 until 2008 and from 2010 until 2016, as a West Sussex County Councillor from 2001 until 2005 and a Governor for many years at both Desmond Anderson Primary School and Thomas Bennett Community College and as an expression of the high esteem in which he is held by the Mayor, the Council and the people of the Town.

As well as Councillors Jones and Hilton, Councillor Crow also paid tribute to Colin Lloyd.

With the motion having been duly carried, Colin Lloyd thereupon signed the rolls of Honorary Freeman and Honorary Alterman, with his signatures being attested by the Mayor and Chief Executive.

On behalf of the Council and the people of Crawley. The Mayor then conveyed her congratulations to Colin Lloyd and presented to him a badge and scroll recording his admission as an Honorary Freeman and Honorary Alderman.

Colin Lloyd then addressed the Council and then assembled guest and expressed his thanks for being honoured ins this way. A copy of his speech can be found below:

Yes, thank you. Madam Mayor, councillors and guests. It is so nice to be here with friends and family for this lovely occasion at the town hall. Actually, you've made a few changes around here in the last few years. It felt like a bit like coming into a new building and I hardly knew the place.

I am delighted to receive this special recognition from Crawley Borough Council for my service as a councillor. Thank you very much indeed. It's a great, great honour. Thank you. And I'd especially like to thank Councillors Jones, Hilton and Crow for their kind remarks tonight I was very moved. Thank you very much.

I've got many fond memories of my time here and going back as far as working pretty closely with three of the giants of local government in Crawley, that's Alf Pegler, Bert Crane and Tony Edwards. As well as obviously with former colleagues here tonight Richard, Brenda, and Brian and other councillors, present and former councillors. Great memories of working with them. And It's also so rewarding to have such regular contact with residents in Tilgate that’s been mentioned tonight, and it is unusual for me to go to Tilgate, I don't live very far away from Tilgate now, but not see people I know and have a chat with and also in the wider community of Crawley as well. You know it's great to have those connections going back for years, many of them. And also is a  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3.

It was moved by Councillor Chris Mullins and seconded by Councillor Lunnon

RESOLVED UNANIMOUSLY

That, in pursuance of Section 249 of the Local Government Act 1972, the Council do admit BRIAN JAMES QUINN to be an Honorary Freeman and Honorary Alderman of the Borough of Crawley, the most honourable distinctions which it is the privilege of the Council to bestow in appreciation and acknowledgement of the eminent services rendered by him to the Borough Council as a from 1998 until 2019, as Mayor of the Borough in 2003/04 and 2017/18 and a West Sussex County Councillor from 2013 until the present day, past Committee Member and Chairman of Broadfield Pages Community Centre, School Governor at Seymour School from 2004 to 2013, Trustee at Crawley Museum from 2008 to 2013, Chairman of the Sarah Robinson Education Foundation from 2011 until the present day, President of Crawley Judo Club from 2008 to 2019, Chairman of Crawley & District Royal British Legion member since 1968 and Chairman for 2011/2012 and as an expression of the high esteem in which he is held by the Mayor, the Council and the people of the Town.

As well as Councillor Chris Mullins and Councillor Lunnon, Councillors Lanzer, Burgess and Rana also paid tribute to Brian Quinn.

With the motion having been duly carried, Brian Quinn thereupon signed the Rolls of Honorary Freeman and Honorary Alderman, with his signatures being attested by the Mayor and the Chief Executive.

On behalf of the Council and the people of Crawley, the Mayor then conveyed her congratulations to Brian Quinn, and presented to him a badge and a scroll recording his admission as an Honorary Freeman and Honorary Alderman.

Brian Quinn then addressed the Council and the assembled guests and expressed his thanks for being honoured in this way. A copy of his speech can be found below:

Good evening your worshipful the Mayor of Crawley, Chief Exec, Leader, distinguished guests, friends and family and obviously a special good evening to our honourable MP for Crawley, Peter Lamb. Thank you. And very nice here tonight to see the Chair of West Sussex attending here tonight. Thank you, Pieter, for coming it’s very kind of you.

Well, I was going to say I stand here tonight, very humble, very humble indeed and very proud. Let's start with the humble, as Chris Mullins said, where I come from in Ireland it is a small village in the Midlands where I grew up until about 20 years of age, it didn't even have a pub in the village. Chris, there be no good to you, would it? No good at all, because there was my local school and the Catholic Church. But there was a lot of happy memories there and I do return to Ireland quite often, as this is where I feel proud.

When I arrived in this great town as a 20-year-old, never did I think that would be a Crawley borough councillor for over 20 years, let alone to be  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

It was moved by Councillor Lamb and seconded by Councillor Sue Mullins

RESOLVED UNANIMOUSLY

That, in pursuance of Section 249 of the Local Government Act 1972, the Council do admit BRENDA ANN SMITH to be an Honorary Alderwoman and Honorary Freewoman of the Borough of Crawley, the most honourable distinctions which it is the privilege of the Council to bestow in appreciation and acknowledgement of the eminent services rendered by her to the Borough Council as a Councillor from 1978 to 1984, 1988 to 1992 & 1996 to 2022 and as Mayor of the Borough in 1990/91 and 2014/15, as a West Sussex County Councillor from 2009 to 2021. Member for many years of Crawley & Dorsten Town Twinning Association and Chairman from 2017-2018, Crawley Dementia Ambassador, Founder of the Langley Green Forum, Campaigner for the building of the Mother and Baby Room situated on The Boulevard, Crawley, School Governor at Langley Green Infants & Junior School and Holy Trinity Church of England Secondary School for many years and as an expression of the high esteem in which he is held by the Mayor, the Council and the people of the Town.

As well as Councillor Lamb and Councillor Sue Mullins, Councillors Lanzer and Adeniyi also paid tribute to Brenda Smith.

With the motion having been duly carried, Brenda Smith thereupon signed the Rolls of Honorary Freewoman and Honorary Alderwoman, with her signatures being attested by the Mayor and the Chief Executive.

On behalf of the Council and the people of Crawley, the Mayor then conveyed her congratulations to Brenda Smith, and presented to her a badge and a scroll recording her admission as an Honorary Freewoman and Honorary Alderwoman.

Brenda Smith then addressed the Council and the assembled guests and expressed her thanks for being honoured in this way. A copy of her speech can be found below:

Thank you so much. I had absolutely no idea that I was going to get involved in the meeting tonight. I'm very, very honoured and I have to say and some of you will be surprised but really overwhelmed. I've been a member of the Council in Crawley for 36 years, over 39 year period, and although I've been off the Council now for about 2 years I still keep in touch with newspapers and via colleagues as to what's going on here and I believe I always will. It's been such a huge part of my life.

Of course, several of you have mentioned my late husband, Jim, who I met on the Council coming here as a single woman and Jim was on the council and we ended up getting married in committee room C, which was a bit of a novelty. The funny thing was that in committee room C, those of you who have been members over there, they have absolutely lovely polished tables and all through my wedding, all I could think about was that there was a coffee stain on the on the table and they needed to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.