Agenda item

Name of Councillor asking Question

Name of Cabinet Member Responding

Councillor Jaggard to the Cabinet Member for Planning and Economic Development

Supplementary question to written question –

I’m delighted that the structural integrity of our car parks is being taken seriously and that further reports and surveys will be undertaken following the advice from the Institute of Structural Engineers. My follow-on question relates to the impact of vibrations on the town hall car park structure from both the current district heat network boiler and from any expansion in phase 2. I know there are dampeners on the boiler which reduce vibrations and I know from the people living in Geraint Thomas House that they’re unhappy about the perception of vibrations.  Have these vibrations been monitored or considered when assessing the Town Hall car park and if not, could they be considered during the inspections that take place?

Councillor Jones, Leader of the Council –

Thank you for your question Councillor Jaggard. The structural integrity of our buildings is always taken seriously. Until this question was raised I was not aware of vibrations in relation to Geraint Thomas House, but I will ask the officers to look into this further and a response will be supplied in due course.

Councillor Piggott to the Cabinet Member for Leisure & Wellbeing

Supplementary question to written question –

Table 1 in the answer provided helpfully breaks down the ‘pay and play’ tickets and the season tickets sold.  Please can you kindly provide more information as to how these relate to column 1?  

Councillor Chris Mullins, Cabinet Member for Leisure & Wellbeing

Thank you for your question. We have only been going since 23 May, so the data shows some good attendance and very little rejection.  The objective in working with the Lawn Tennis Association was to improve the tennis courts and improve attendance for the people of Crawley and as you can see there is no historic data, but we will be able to come back in a few months’ time with some further figures as a comparison. I think we should also thank Ifield Tennis Club who have also upgraded their facilities, and along with this project it increases tennis access for the community.

Councillor Crow to the Cabinet Member for Planning and Economic Development

Supplementary question to written question –

Thank you for the response to the question. It would appear we had two summers in which they were working; 2018 and 2019 but unfortunately as the answer mentions due to works completion they won’t be working until late September, and this will be four summers where the town has not had the fountains. I accept there was Covid in 2020 and 2021 but it is disappointing they will not be working this summer, but it would be beneficial if the Cabinet Member could express an apology for the failure for the delay and please could we understand the reasons for the delay and where the liability rests? 

Councillor Nawaz, Cabinet Member for Planning and Economic Development

There has been a technical fault which has occurred which has unfortunately caused the delay. We are working to resolve the issue and the fountains should be back on this September, although hopefully sooner. We are looking at options with regards to liability after the works are complete.

Councillor Pritchard to the Cabinet Member for Public Protection

During the week, I noticed the Mayor and the Cabinet Member for Public Protection shared a helpful post about the national ‘Ask for Angela’ campaign, which is a great scheme for women to escape situations where they find themselves vulnerable on nights out. Please can I ask the Cabinet Member if all bar staff in Crawley are trained on how to deal with women who ‘Ask for Angela’ and ask whether there is a corresponding system for men and if staff are training in this?

Councillor Y Khan, Cabinet Member for Public Protection

Yes, all bar staff are aware of ‘Operation Angela’ and for men it’s ‘Operation Andy’. I am pleased to say we are developing and promoting another scheme where we will be helping the licensed premises with regards to instances of spiking and the use of bottle stoppers.

Councillor McCarthy to the Cabinet Member for Housing

Following on from residents’ complaints from Forge Wood, when are the shops going to be built?  When is the community centre going to be released to the community management group, so they can start sub-letting and generate some income?

Also, as developers have consistently missed their trigger points and are dragging their heels, how are we going to get some traction on this matter?

Councillor Irvine, Cabinet Member for Housing

Thank you for your question. I’m not sure it fully falls within my portfolio, but I’ll find out more as it’s important to the local residents and get back to you.

Councillor Russell to the Cabinet Member for Leisure & Wellbeing

What adjustments were made to the Wakehams Green play area following consultation and what other such developments are in the pipeline? 

Councillor C Mullins, Cabinet Member for Leisure & Wellbeing

Thank you for the question. We are about to start the development of Wakehams Green play area following the consultation so the views and wishes of the community have been taken into account.  All of the recent refurbished ones that have been designed in the town have been undertaken with public consultation.  We have a priority list of sites based on immediate need and we have budget until 2024.

Councillor Belben to the Cabinet Member for Resources

Please can you kindly inform councillors how many leases have been signed and will be taken up in the next 3-6 months and what rent free periods have been given to secure businesses for the town hall?

Supplementary question –

What would you say would be acceptable in terms of occupation for the town hall floors going forward?

Councillor Jones, Leader of the Council

It is difficult for us to talk in too much detail about the potential interest in the town hall floors. However I did announce last week we have our first tenant, and the first half floor six has been leased. Our agents are actively showing interested parties and companies around.

In the Medium Term Financial Strategy, the Council would be meeting its target if we filled a floor a year.

Councillor Jhans to the Leader of the Council

Many of you know I commute to work, and I see first hand how important our local rail ticket offices are for many people. Whilst I use an app on my phone not everyone can do this or use the ticket machines. Please can I ask the Leader to please write to the Secretary of State for Transport and ask him to abandon the plan being undertaken to close the railway ticket offices at Three Bridges, Crawley and Ifield.

Councillor Jones, Leader of the Council

I support everyone who is protesting about these closures and agree that these closures should not go ahead, and I am more than ready to write to the Secretary of State for Transport to ask him to abandon these plans and I will do so later this week. The one place you could always rely on and find someone on the station in the past was to go to the ticket office and whilst I’m sure there will some reassurance it won’t transpire.

Councillor Hellier to the Cabinet Member for Planning and Economic Development

In relation to Three Bridges station forecourt improvements, please can you give us an idea of the timeline of the start of this project but also what exactly is going to be in place to manage the disruption.  There are currently cones in the middle of the forecourt which stops people turning, there is a large volume of traffic building up and there is already a lot of disruption. I would like to know what we have in place as a Council.

Councillor Nawaz, Cabinet Member for Planning and Economic Development

We will be working with Highway Services very closely on this project and we are talking to rail companies at the moment to agree details with them.  I will get more accurate timelines from the officers and pass those on. 

Councillor Lunnon to the Cabinet Member for Leisure & Wellbeing

Paddle ball is a developing sport around the county. Do you think we will be able to bring it to Crawley in the future?

Councillor C Mullins, Cabinet Member for Leisure & Wellbeing

It has come about recently and there are a couple of companies that are interested. I like developing new sports and it is healthy activity for the community.

Councillor Lamb to the Cabinet Member for Housing

Alongside Councillors Jhans and Raja I have been campaigning for some time to secure improvements to the garden area at Carey House for the elderly residents. I was wondering if the Cabinet Member for Housing could update us as to what is happening to that particular project?

Councillor Irvine, Cabinet Member for Housing

Yesterday I was invited to an event at Carey House which is one of the flagship sheltered schemes and I was shown around what had been completed by the social value work with Wates. As a result of this we’re getting two new flats, from what was originally an old garage.    In addition to this, there is now a garden. Labour, materials and commitment had been provided by Wates, and they had also made other donations too. These are good examples of public sector and private sector working together to improve the lives of the local community.