Agenda, decisions 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.

To approve as a correct record the minutes of the Cabinet held on 2 February 2022.

The minutes of the meeting of the Cabinet held on 2 February 2022 were approved as a correct record and signed by the Leader.

To answer any questions asked by the public which are relevant to the functions of the Cabinet.

Public Question Time will be concluded by the Chair when all questions have been answered or on the expiry of a period of 15 minutes, whichever is the earlier.

There were no questions from the public.

The Monitoring Officer will report on any responses to representations received in relation to why item(s) 14 & 15: Crawley Towns Fund Project Business Cases and Metcalf Way Depot and Workshop – Redevelopment should not be held in Part B Business – (Closed to the Public).

It was reported that no representations had been received in respect of agenda items 14 or 15: Crawley Towns Fund – Project Business Cases or Metcalf Depot and Workshop – Redevelopment respectively.

To consider any matters referred to the Cabinet (whether by a scrutiny committee or by the Council) and those for reconsideration in accordance with the provisions contained in the Scrutiny Procedure Rules, the Budget Procedure Rules and the Policy Framework Procedure Rules set out in Part 4 of the Council’s Constitution.

It was confirmed that no matters had been referred to the Cabinet for further consideration.

The Leader’s Portfolio

To consider report CEX/57 of the Chief Executive, which was referred to the meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Commission on 14 March 2022.

Rule 16.4 (Special Urgency Notice) of the Access to Information Procedure Rules will be applied and a decision will be taken by the Cabinet on this matter at its meeting on 16 March 2022.

The reason that it will be necessary to publish the report later than the 5 clear days required is following a request from the Unison Union, who need to finalise their consultation with their Branch Executive members. As this is a staff related matter and to assist with Unison coming to an agreed position on the Essential User Car Allowance Scheme a request for the additional time was agreed by the Chief Executive, who felt it was important that their views be included in the final report for Cabinet’s consideration.

If the decision was delayed further, this would take us into the next municipal year, creating further uncertainty to the staff affected.

The Leader of the Council as the Chair of Cabinet, and the Chair of the Overview and Scrutiny Commission have been consulted and have confirmed their support for the use of the urgency being acceptable.

This report will be included in a supplementary agenda.

The Leader of the Council informed the Cabinet that the report on the “Proposed Changes to the Essential Car User Allowance Scheme” would no longer be considered as an item for business at the meeting.  Unfortunately, a collective agreement with the Unison union could not be reached and the report had been deferred.

Planning and Economic Development Portfolio

To consider report PES/397 of the Head of Economy and Planning, which was referred to the meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Commission held on 14 March 2022.

RESOLVED

That the Cabinet

a)            approves the updated Town Centre Regeneration Programme (Appendix A) prior to aperiod ofstakeholder consultationas setout in section7.1 ofreport PES/397.

b)            delegates authority to the Head of Economy & Planning in consultation with theCabinet Memberfor Planning& EconomicDevelopment toapprove thefinal version of the Town Centre Regeneration Programme, noting and considering anyresponses or representations received following the period of stakeholderconsultation andundertaking minor modifications,if required.

Reasons for the Recommendations

To update the TCRP prior to a period of targeted consultation with stakeholders, partners and businesses.

The Cabinet Member for Planning and Economic Development presented report PES/397 of the Head of Economy and Planning.  The Town Centre Regeneration Programme (TCRP) was first published in February 2016, updated in 2018 and significant progress has been made since then in terms of programme delivery. The report presented a summary of that progress and sought approval of a revised, updated version of the TCRP. 

Councillor T Belben presented the Overview and Scrutiny Commission’s comments on the report to the Cabinet following consideration of the matter at its meeting on 14 March 2022, which included:

·       Recognition that the Town Centre Regeneration Programme included a number of partner organisations whose contributions had been significant in delivering successful outcomes of the Crawley Growth Programme and Town Centre Regeneration Programme.

·       With more residential accommodation, it was important to review the demand of other provision within the area such as GP surgeries or dental practices and amenities including improved public toilet provision.

Councillors Irvine and Lamb spoke as part of the discussion on the report. 

RESOLVED

That the Cabinet

a)              approves the updated Town Centre Regeneration Programme (Appendix A) prior to a  periodof stakeholderconsultation asset outin section 7.1of reportPES/397.

b)              delegates authority to the Head of Economy & Planning in consultation with theCabinet Memberfor Planning& EconomicDevelopment toapprove thefinal version of the Town Centre Regeneration Programme, noting and considering any     responses or representations received following the period of stakeholderconsultation andundertaking minor modifications,if required.

Reasons for the Recommendations

To update the TCRP prior to a period of targeted consultation with stakeholders, partners and businesses.

Planning and Economic Development Portfolio

To consider report PES/388 of the Head of Economy and Planning.

RESOLVED

That the Cabinet

a)         endorses the Annual Review findings in this report, the CIL funds received to date and the overall anticipated CIL contributions, to be received by 2036/37.

b)         approves the proposed CIL strategic infrastructure spend priorities to end March 2025 (Section 7.4 of report PES/388), (unchanged from last year’s review).

c)         approves that the Infrastructure Business Plan (Appendix A of report PES/388), including the funding programme, will continue to be reviewed on an annual basis to take into account any changes in strategic infrastructure priorities and fluctuations in CIL receipts compared to the forecast. The next review is proposed to take place in March 2023

d)         agrees to continue the Crowdfund Crawley project for a further year with the administration costs associated with the site being paid for from the CIL contributions.

e)         agrees to increase the funding allocated to the Crowdfund Crawley project for 2022-23 to £50,000 of CIL monies.

Reasons for the Recommendations

To provide clarity on the way forward for Crawley’s Infrastructure Business Plan and the priority schemes for the CIL Strategic Infrastructure strand spend.

To ensure best practice for the ongoing distribution of the Neighbourhood Improvement Strand CIL monies, in line with government regulations. The “Crowdfund Crawley” initiative will be reviewed over 2022/23 to assess the impact that Covid and reduction of additional funding sources has on the use of the site.

The Cabinet Member for Planning and Economic Development presented report PES/388 of the Head of Economy and Planning.  The report provided Cabinet with an update on the collection and administration of Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) monies. It was explained that the as of January 2022 the Council had collected £2,017,565.75 in CIL contributions. It was noted that the proposed CIL strategic infrastructure spend priorities to the end of March 2025, was set out in section 7 of the report. The report also provided the Cabinet with an update on the fourth year of the pilot scheme for crowdfunding - Crowdfund Crawley.

RESOLVED

That the Cabinet

a)              endorses the Annual Review findings in this report, the CIL funds received to date and the overall anticipated CIL contributions, to be received by 2036/37.

b)              approves the proposed CIL strategic infrastructure spend priorities to end March 2025 (Section 7.4 of report PES/388), (unchanged from last year’s review).

c)              approves that the Infrastructure Business Plan (Appendix A of report PES/388), including the funding programme, will continue to be reviewed on an annual basis to take into account any changes in strategic infrastructure priorities and fluctuations in CIL receipts compared to the forecast. The next review is proposed to take place in March 2023.

d)              agrees to continue the Crowdfund Crawley project for a further year with the administration costs associated with the site being paid for from the CIL contributions.

e)              agrees to increase the funding allocated to the Crowdfund Crawley project for 2022-23 to £50,000 of CIL monies.

Reasons for the Recommendations

To provide clarity on the way forward for Crawley’s Infrastructure Business Plan and the priority schemes for the CIL Strategic Infrastructure strand spend.

To ensure best practice for the ongoing distribution of the Neighbourhood Improvement Strand CIL monies, in line with government regulations. The “Crowdfund Crawley” initiative will be reviewed over 2022/23 to assess the impact that Covid and reduction of additional funding sources has on the use of the site.

Wellbeing Portfolio

To consider report HPS/30 of the Head of Major Projects and Commercial Services.

RESOLVED

That the Cabinet approves the extension of the contract variation with Everyone Active under the terms set out in Section 5 of report HPS/30.

Reasons for the Recommendations

The recommendation facilitates the continued re-opening of the leisure centres providing the opportunity to grow customer base and membership numbers while adhering to the Government’s Procurement Policy Note 02/20 (Supplier Relief Due to Coronavirus).

The Leader of the Council presented report HPS/30 of the Head of Major Projects and Commercial Services.  The report sought approval to extend the Leisure Contract Variation Order to cover the period 1 April 2022 – 30 September 2022.

RESOLVED

That the Cabinet approves the extension of the contract variation with Everyone Active under the terms set out in Section 5 of report HPS/30.

Reasons for the Recommendations

The recommendation facilitates the continued re-opening of the leisure centres providing the opportunity to grow customer base and membership numbers while adhering to the Government’s Procurement Policy Note 02/20 (Supplier Relief Due to Coronavirus).

Environmental Services and Sustainability Portfolio

To consider report HCS/39 of the Head of Community Services.

RESOLVED

That the Cabinet

a)            approves in principle the negotiation and securement of the continuation of the Agency Agreement between West Sussex County Council and Crawley Borough Council in relation to Civil Parking Enforcement (CPE) for a further 3 years from April 2022 to April 2025.

b)            delegates the completion of all negotiations and relevant legal documentation to the Head of Community Services in consultation with the Head of Legal, Governance and HR, and appropriate Cabinet Member.

Reasons for the Recommendations

To enable the continuation of on-street parking enforcement to be carried out by Crawley Borough Council on behalf on West Sussex County Council within the borough.

Failure to renew the agency agreement would mean that the Council would be unable to carry out civil enforcement on behalf of WSCC in Crawley.

The Cabinet Member for Environmental Services and Sustainability presented report HCS/39 of the Head of Community Services.  The report sought approval for the renewal of the West Sussex County Council and Crawley Borough Council Agency Agreement in relation to Civil Parking Enforcement (CPE). The current 5 year agency agreement would expires on 31 March 2022, and West Sussex County Council had proposed that the agreement be extend for a further three years.

RESOLVED

That the Cabinet

a)             approves in principle the negotiation and securement of the continuation of the Agency Agreement between West Sussex County Council and Crawley Borough Council in relation to Civil Parking Enforcement (CPE) for a further 3 years from April 2022 to April 2025.

b)             delegates the completion of all negotiations and relevant legal documentation to the Head of Community Services in consultation with the Head of Legal, Governance and HR, and appropriate Cabinet Member.

Reasons for the Recommendations

To enable the continuation of on-street parking enforcement to be carried out by Crawley Borough Council on behalf on West Sussex County Council within the borough.

Failure to renew the agency agreement would mean that the Council would be unable to carry out civil enforcement on behalf of WSCC in Crawley.

The Committee is asked to consider passing the following resolution:-

That under Section 100A (4) of the Local Government Act 1972 the public be excluded from the meeting for the following item of business on the grounds that it involves the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act by virtue of the paragraphs specified against the item.

RESOLVED

That in accordance with Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public be excluded from the meeting for the following items of business on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act by virtue of the paragraph specified against the items.

Planning and Economic Development Portfolio

Exempt Paragraph 3

Information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person (including the authority holding that information)

To consider report PES/399 of the Head of Economy and Planning, which was referred to the meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Commission on 14 March 2022.

Exempt Paragraph 3

Information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person (including the authority holding that information)

RESOLVED

That the Cabinet

a)            approves in principle the Towns Fund projects listed in section 1.1 above for which the business cases for each project are summarised in Appendix A of report PES/399, subject to the completion of due diligence checks on the full business cases by officers to the satisfaction of the Council’s S151 Officer.

b)            delegates authority to the Head of Economy and Planning and the Head of Corporate Finance in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Planning and Economic Development to:

I)     assess the full technical business cases for each project and make any technical modifications required to their wording and content, and

II)    produce summary versions of the business cases and to submit those summary versions to the government for review

Full Council is recommended to agree to :

a)            add the following new capital schemes to the capital programme and the respective capital allocations to each project as set out below, worth a total of £18.1m, subject to a viable business case and to the receipt of the Towns Fund government funding.

·         1B – “Invest in Skills for Crawley”  - Skills training facilities - £4.4m

·         1C – Green Tech Business Grants / Business Premises green retrofit - £2m

·         2A – Crawley Bus Station Transformation - £2m

·         2B – Town Centre-Manor Royal-Gatwick cycle route - £2m

·         3A – Manor Royal “Gigabit” connectivity / business park - £1.95m

·         4A – Crawley Town Centre Cultural Quarter design - £250,000

·         4B – Manor Royal Business Environment Improvements £1.5m

·         4C – “Green Retrofit” decarbonisation of homes in Crawley - £4m

c)            allocate up to £500,000 of Towns Fund revenue funding to the following Towns Fund projects, subject to a viable business case and to the receipt of the government funding.

·               1B – “Invest in Skills for Crawley”  - Skills training facilities - £100,000

·               1D – Commercial Eastern Gateway design - £150,000

·               3A – Manor Royal “Gigabit” connectivity / business park - £50,000

·               4A – Crawley Town Centre Cultural Quarter design - £200,000

Reasons for the Recommendations

To enable the Council to finalise and confirm approval of the business cases for a total of £18.6 million of Towns Fund monies to be allocated to the nine projects listed above.

Full Council approval of the projects will enable submission of summary versions of the business cases to the government for ratification by their deadline of 24^th April.

To enable the allocation of £18.1 million of Towns Fund monies to the CBC capital programme, subject to:

·                Full Council approval

·                The viability of each of the individual project business cases satisfying the Council’s S151 Officer

·                Confirmation of the funding from the government

To enable the allocation of up to £500,000 of revenue finances from the Towns Fund, subject to the requirements as set out above in section 3.3.

Exempt Part B - By Virtue of Paragraph 3

Information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person (including the authority holding that information)

The Cabinet Member for Planning and Economic Development presented report PES/399of the Head of Economy and Planning.  The report sought approval of the business cases for various Town Fund projects as set out in the Crawley Town Investment Plan Heads of Terms (confirmed by the Government in July 2021).

Councillor T Belben presented the Overview and Scrutiny Commission’s comments on the report to the Cabinet following consideration of the matter at its meeting on 14 March 2022, which included the acknowledgement that the substantial Towns Fund monies awarded to the Council to deliver the Town Investment Plan included a number of transformative regeneration schemes, including those with a specific focus in the town that would unlock jobs as there was a need for a range of skills and technology.  The business cases enabled the Council and partners to deliver on opportunities, aspirations, future and investment and would boost economic activity within the town.

RESOLVED

That the Cabinet

a)             approves in principle the Towns Fund projects listed in section 1.1 of report PES/399 for which the business cases for each project are summarised in Appendix A of report PES/399, subject to the completion of due diligence checks on the full business cases by officers to the satisfaction of the Council’s S151 Officer.

b)             delegates authority to the Head of Economy and Planning and the Head of Corporate Finance in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Planning and Economic Development to:

I)        assess the full technical business cases for each project and make any technical modifications required to their wording and content, and

II)      produce summary versions of the business cases and to submit those summary versions to the government for review

The Full Council is recommended to agree to:

a)              add the following new capital schemes to the capital programme and the respective capital allocations to each project as set out below, worth a total of £18.1m, subject to a viable business case and to the receipt of the Towns Fund government funding.

·         1B – “Invest in Skills for Crawley” - Skills training facilities - £4.4m

·         1C – Green Tech Business Grants / Business Premises green retrofit - £2m

·         2A – Crawley Bus Station Transformation - £2m

·         2B – Town Centre-Manor Royal-Gatwick cycle route - £2m

·         3A – Manor Royal “Gigabit” connectivity / business park - £1.95m

·         4A – Crawley Town Centre Cultural Quarter design - £250,000

·         4B – Manor Royal Business Environment Improvements £1.5m

·         4C – “Green Retrofit” decarbonisation of homes in Crawley - £4m

b)              allocate up to £500,000 of Towns Fund revenue funding to the following Towns Fund projects, subject to a viable business case and to the receipt of the government funding.

·         1B – “Invest in Skills for Crawley” - Skills training facilities - £100,000

·         1D – Commercial Eastern Gateway design - £150,000

·         3A – Manor Royal “Gigabit”  ...  view the full minutes text for item 12.

The Leader’s Portfolio

Exempt Part B - By Virtue of Paragraph 3

Information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person (including the authority holding that information)

To consider report HPS/31 of the Head of Major Projects and Commercial Services, which was referred to the meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Commission on 14 March 2022.

Exempt Part B - By Virtue of Paragraph 3

Information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person (including the authority holding that information)

RESOLVED

That the Cabinet

a)            endorses the redevelopment of the Metcalf Way Depot site, acknowledging that further funding is required to progress this scheme as highlighted in section 7 of report HPS/31 

b)            approves the principle of the relocation of the neighbourhood services activities from Metcalf Way to a number of local neighbourhood sites as set out in section 4 of this report.

c)            delegates to the Deputy Chief Executive authority to enter into a lease for alternative premises for the waste and recycling service, vehicle workshop and some residual neighbourhood services activities, (if required).

d)            approves that a further report be brought back to the Cabinet late in 2022 with recommendations regarding the preferred option to redevelop the Metcalf Way site, is likely to include a request for a supplementary capital estimate to proceed with construction.

Full Council is recommended to approve:

a)            the increase the capital programme by £995,000 funded from the capital programme reserve to fund the next stage of the scheme. In so doing, support the endorsement of the redevelopment of the Metcalf Way Depot.

b)            that £300,000 be transferred from the General Fund Reserve to the Transformation and Project Delivery reserve and the rental in the short term is funded from this reserve.

Reasons for the Recommendations

The Metcalf Way Depot is currently under-utilised and Neighbourhood Services intend to continue the move to a more dispersed model of smaller neighbourhood patch depots. The recommendations will support the move to more localised depots and facilitate redevelopment of the Metcalf Way site. The scheme will make productive use of this Council site and provide a long term revenue stream for the Council. 

Exempt Part B - By Virtue of Paragraph 3

Information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person (including the authority holding that information)

The Leader of the Council presented report HPS/31.  The report sought agreement for progressing the redevelopment of the depot and workshop at Metcalf Way, project analysis and feasibility, together with the finances required.

Councillor T Belben presented the Overview and Scrutiny Commission’s comments on the report to the Cabinet following consideration of the matter at its meeting on 14 March 2022, which included:

·       Acknowledgement that the option proposed enabled the Council to deliver on opportunities, whilst protecting, consolidating, and enhancing the development of a key site.

·       Recognition that the Metcalf Way Depot was currently under-utilised, and Neighbourhood Services intended to continue the move to a more dispersed model of smaller neighbourhood patch depots. The recommendations supported the move to more localised depots and facilitated redevelopment of the Metcalf Way site.

Councillors Irvine and Smith spoke as part of the discussion on the report. 

RESOLVED

That the Cabinet

a)              endorses the redevelopment of the Metcalf Way Depot site, acknowledging that further funding is required to progress this scheme as highlighted in section 7 of report HPS/31. 

b)              approves the principle of the relocation of the neighbourhood services activities from Metcalf Way to a number of local neighbourhood sites as set out in section 4 of report HPS/31.

c)              delegates to the Deputy Chief Executive authority to enter into a lease for alternative premises for the waste and recycling service, vehicle workshop and some residual neighbourhood services activities (if required).

d)              approves that a further report be brought back to the Cabinet late in 2022 with recommendations regarding the preferred option to redevelop the Metcalf Way site, is likely to include a request for a supplementary capital estimate to proceed with construction.

The Full Council is recommended to approve:

a)              the increase the capital programme by £995,000 funded from the capital programme reserve to fund the next stage of the scheme. In so doing, support the endorsement of the redevelopment of the Metcalf Way Depot.

b)              that £300,000 be transferred from the General Fund Reserve to the Transformation and Project Delivery reserve and the rental in the short term is funded from this reserve.

Reasons for the Recommendations

The Metcalf Way Depot is currently under-utilised and Neighbourhood Services intend to continue the move to a more dispersed model of smaller neighbourhood patch depots. The recommendations will support the move to more localised depots and facilitate redevelopment of the Metcalf Way site. The scheme will make productive use of this Council site and provide a long term revenue stream for the Council.