Minutes:
Deputy Leader
The Deputy Leader noted that the Council continues to renew leases at the Orchards Shopping Centre, noting that such assets are important both to provide income to the Council and jobs for local residents.
Cabinet Member for Economic Growth
The Cabinet Member thanked the Economic Development and Revenues and Benefits team for their continued work to process claims for grants to support the local economy, and he noted that the Council has published it’s Economic Recovery Plan. He was pleased to note that footfall in towns and villages is increasing and thanked Members for their efforts in promoting the message to shop locally. He urged residents to plan journeys to avoid peak shopping times and confirmed that this was a reason for the offer of free parking after 3pm on Saturday, to spread out the peak shopping time.
Cabinet Member for Customer Services
The Cabinet Member confirmed that the first phase of the Council’s own grants has now closed and funds should be with applicants before Christmas. The Tier 2 grants (national and discretionary) are live and will be processed quickly. She confirmed that a proposed outreach with the Department for Work and Pensions is going live in January in Burgess Hill and Bentswood Ward and the Council is looking to work with the Job Centre to develop a kickstart programme for under 25’s. She also confirmed that the Council is working with Citizens Advice to work alongside local minority communities to improve access to support, information and services.
With regards to the Full Fibre programme, the Cabinet Member confirmed that it has now reached 20km, with plans to fit cables early in January.
Cabinet Member for Environment and Service Delivery
The Cabinet Member noted that the first round of Waste and Electrical Items recycling has been completed. Residents have been informed that this will continue with each black bin collection. He acknowledged a Member’s concerns regarding the use of plastic bags for the items but noted that this remains the most suitable way to collect the items. A Member raised a query on the capacity of the vehicles verses the amount of recycling collected. The Cabinet Member confirmed that West Sussex County Council (WSCC) have provided an agreement in principle to support the Council’s recycling redesign and it is hoped that the Council will bring forward a proposal for food waste collection across the District in 2021.
With regard to Leisure Centres, he noted that the outturn in September resulted in less cost to the Council than anticipated. With the lockdown in November, costs will be higher, but overall the cost for a three month period will be lower than anticipated. The three month review of Places Leisure has been extended by a month to take into consideration the lockdown period. The Government has also recently announced a £100m fund for support in this area which the Council aims to bid for.
Cabinet Member for Community
The Cabinet Member noted that there were a large number of initiatives that he could have reported on over past months but due to other matters being the focus of Council meetings it has not been possible to do so. He encouraged Members to consider how to serve residents better by interacting on a productive basis in meetings going forward.
He noted that Covid infection rates can rise quickly and thanked residents for their work to keep safe, reiterating the need to follow the Government’s message of ‘Hands, Face, Space’.
Cabinet Member for Housing and Planning
The Cabinet Member confirmed that at the end of November, 160 units of affordable housing have been delivered. He also confirmed that Turning Tides have been given a double decker bus which is being repurposed to offer a hub service for rough sleepers in Mid Sussex and Horsham. It will be in Burgess Hill, East Grinstead and Haywards Heath one day per week, with ad hoc visits to Hassocks and Crawley Down.
In response to a Members question on the local development scheme which was published this week, the Cabinet Member noted that it was not possible to confirm a date that a CIL strategy will be available, as it depends on dates put forward Government, which keep changing.
The Chairman took Members to a vote on whether to extend the meeting past 9pm. Members voted 19 in favour and 26 against so it was confirmed that the meeting would close at 9pm.