Democracy in Crawley

How decisions are made and who represents you

Agenda

Items
No. Item

1.

Delegated Planning Decisions pdf icon PDF 30 KB

Delegated planning decisions for the week beginning 13 July 2020 are attached.  Contact for enquiries: Jean McPherson, Group Manager: Development Management on jean.mcpherson@crawley.gov.uk.

2.

Temporary Traffic Regulation Order: West Green Drive pdf icon PDF 61 KB

Information relating to a Temporary Traffic Regulation Order in respect of West Green Drive is attached.

3.

Temporary Traffic Regulation Order: Faraday Road pdf icon PDF 76 KB

A Temporary Traffic Regulation Order in respect of Faraday Road is attached.

4.

Tilgate Nature Centre Re-Opening and Entry Fees pdf icon PDF 217 KB

Information is attached in relation to the re-opening of Tilgate Nature Centre and the Centre’s entry fees.

5.

K2 Crawley and Bewbush Centre Re-opening

K2 Crawley and the Bewbush Centre, which are managed by sports and leisure operator Everyone Active in partnership with Crawley Borough Council, will reopen their doors on Saturday (25 July).

 

The swimming pool facilities at K2 Crawley will be opening shortly after, and customers will be notified as soon as a date is finalised.

 

The Government update on 9 July confirmed leisure centres are now safe to reopen facilities from 25 July, with strict operational measures in place. Everyone Active procedures will ensure social distancing is managed throughout the centres and regular cleaning is maintained. Full detail of the operator’s measures can be found here.

6.

Fire at Household Waste Recycling Site

Due to a fire at the County Council’s Household Waste Recycling Site in Crawley on Friday the facility is closed until further notice.

 

Customers are asked to use the alternative nearest sites at East Grinstead, Burgess Hill or Horsham.

 

Further updates can be found at http://www.recycleforwestsussex.org/recycling-sites/crawley/

7.

Town Hall Re-opening pdf icon PDF 163 KB

The Town Hall will reopen for a limited, appointment-only service from today (Wednesday 22 July).

 

During lockdown we have been able to effectively deliver services and we will continue to encourage customers to do so away from the Town Hall wherever possible.

 

Customers will be able to pre-book appointments to pay in cash if they’re unable to pay via our other channels, drop off or collect an item or to use a self-service terminal. Appointments to access other services aren’t currently available but this is being kept under review.

 

Several changes have been made to the ground floor of the building and how the council operates to ensure the safety of staff, customers and members. These include:

1.     Customers will have to sanitise their hands on entering and exiting the building

2.     Staff will sanitise surfaces after every appointment

3.     Staff will wear a face mask and visor, plus gloves when handling documents

4.     A one-way system will be in place to ensure social distancing

5.     Customers who arrive early will have to wait outside the building

6.     The front doors will be closed and manually opened by a Customer Service Advisor to people with booked appointments.

 

A fuller briefing on the Covid secure reopening of the Town Hall is attached. Please also take a moment to read the members’ do’s and don’ts document before you next enter the Town Hall.

 

Staff and members are asked to enter and leave the Town Hall via the car park on floor 1, 2 or 3 (or car park levels 4,6 or 8) between 10am and 4pm to avoid too many people in the foyer.

 

Please ensure your ID card is visible when entering and leaving the Town Hall so you clearly identify yourselves to Contact Centre staff.

8.

Covid -19 Inequalities Task Force

The COVID-19 death rate has been higher in Crawley than other areas of West Sussex.  It is crucial that we understand and address the socio economic and health inequalities that may have contributed to this in order that we better protect and support our communities more effectively moving forward. 

 

Community Services, working with Public Health have set up a dedicated task force comprising of members of the voluntary, community and statutory sectors to look into Covid 19 inequalities. The group will look to provide a coordinated response and start to address some of the underlying issues moving forward by;

·       Identifying the key data and evidence for Crawley to input into the development of the Health Joint Strategic Needs Assessment

·       Gaining insight into the impact and experiences of COVID 19 on individuals from BAME communities through supporting research which Citizens Advice West Sussex is leading on

·       Develop a Community Ambassadors group comprising of key community representatives who are able to work with statutory partners to share information within their communities and discuss community issues in a timely manner.  

 

To date we have:

·       Met with representatives from organisations from the statutory and voluntary sectors to analyse current data for our communities, identify gaps in data and develop appropriate work streams moving forward.

·       Met with community leaders to share information around ‘Keeping safe, getting tested and contact tracing,’ and to discuss how best to share messages within our communities and identify challenges which people might face in following public health advice.

·       Developed a number of Crawley specific communication materials have been developed and community members are now working with WSCC Communications Team to develop videos to give out key messages.

·       Shared information with faith group representatives regarding acts of worship and the relevant guidance to support this activity.

9.

Adventure Play Service and Childcare Provision

It is important to acknowledge the role that access to high quality play and childcare provision have in contributing to the wellbeing of our children and also in supporting parents / carers to work through the school holidays. The Government gave permission for holiday clubs and out of school settings for children to open at the end of the school summer term in July, where a safe environment could be constructed and in the context of specific guidelines. To date, the 4 adventure playground sites in Crawley have remained closed

 

It has since been agreed that the four adventure playground sites closed will remain closed for general public ‘open access’ and unsupervised play until the usual scheduled closure in November 2020.

The childcare strand of this service will not operate during the school summer holidays or October half term.

 

CBC’s consideration and application of the guidance / risk assessment

 

The current guidelines produced by both Play England and the National Youth Agency (NYA), advise organisations to re-start face-to-face activities only when ready and confident to do so safely.

 

When Risk Assessing the Adventure Playgrounds Open Access and childcare strands, this has been completed in consultation with an experienced group of officers. We have taken into consideration the guidance and agreed upon the ‘reasonably practicable’ measures.

 

The guidance requires that we consider measures in relation to Social Distancing, Cleaning and Hygiene, permitted group sizes and staffing and a number of additional suggestions are provided in relation to minimising the transmission risk in general indoor and outdoor activities and on equipment and contact surfaces.

 

Our Risk Assessment covered all sites taking into account all common related risks however we have addressed any site specific factors in an extended schedule to that risk assessment. Creasys Drive cannot open in any capacity because of the risks associated with the wooden play structures. Waterlea also requires the removal of some key wooden structures and will need to be fully assessed before being available.

 

Following the completion of our risk assessment we have set out below the activity that we will deliver in the interim:

 

·       Have a community presence in high footfall and hot spot areas to provide positive engagement with children and young people and reassurance to residents. This includes supporting the re-opening of unsupervised play areas to reinforce messaging about safe use of these spaces.

·       Work with partner  agencies to provide a safe, bookable activity programme, that is predicated on small groups, short durations, and that will be subject to test and trace requirements

       Provide staff with the appropriate levels of PPE to operate safely

       Provide access to facilities to other childcare providers already operating from Cherry Lane APG during school holidays.

10.

Press Releases

Press releases are available at www.crawley.gov.uk/news