Agenda item

Report of Cabinet Members, including questions pursuant to Council Procedure Rule 10.1.

Minutes:

The Deputy Leader noted that the Burgess Hill Place and Connectivity programme was proceeding at pace, as is the Northern Arc development. Homes England submitted a planning application regarding S106 obligations on 14 January and published a community newsletter detailing 4 items of note. This includes work commencing between Freeks Lane and Isaac Lane to reduce traffic in Maple Drive, the widening of Isaacs Lane, the forthcoming appointment of a contractor for the school and the fact that that the affordable housing numbers will be above target.

 

Regarding the Place and Connectivity Programme the Deputy Leader highlighted progression with connections in the Sheddingdean area. More consultation is required for the sustainable transport network across Burgess Hill but the Full Fibre work is progressing well in that area. The Council is awaiting an update from New River Retail on how they will progress in Burgess Hill and the Deputy Leader noted a delay to the work to demolish the library as more asbestos has been found in a recent survey. The delay is estimated to be around 4 weeks, and this will not affect other workstreams in the Burgess Hill Growth Area.

 

In response to Member’s questions, the Deputy Leader acknowledged the unfortunate timing clash with the Council meeting and the Northern Arc briefing and agreed that if enough Members express an interest, she will arrange for a separate briefing to be provided.  In reference to the greenways between Burgess Hill and Haywards Heath, 9 routes were under consideration but one has been unfortunately discounted due to prohibitive costs and a lack of support from East Sussex County Council on maintenance.

 

Cabinet Member for Economic Growth

 

The Cabinet Member provided an update from a recent meeting of GATCOM, noting that their headcount is reduced from around 3,300 a year ago to 1,800 with only 600 needed to service current operations. As the South Terminal remains closed it has been offered along with car parks and staff, to Central Government as a vaccination centre and they are already in discussions with the NHS.   Work to the rail station continue and platforms should open in May 22 with the project completed in 2023. In response to a Member’s question on the night flights consultation he confirmed that the Council will be providing a response, and he acknowledged a Member’s comment about the timing of bringing the reserve runway into action at a time when the airport was so quiet.

 

Regarding the Council’s parking department, he has approved a decision to replace three out of five of the parking enforcement vehicles with electric models, and a 4th will follow when its lease contract ends in 2022.  Whilst the cost of leasing is considerably higher, it is estimated that when fuel costs etc are taken into consideration there may be a small saving of around £500 per vehicle per annum.  He noted that parking income and town centre footfall remains affected by the current lockdown but that larger villages continue to thrive.

 

Regarding economic development the Cabinet Member noted that the partnership with the three business associations continues to be dynamic and productive as evidenced by the increase in applications for the Micro Business Grants. This partly reflects the current times but also shows the Council’s effective reach into the business community. He noted that work on the Haywards Heath prospective Business Improvement District has been temporarily halted until the lockdown has eased and permits proper engagement with business owners. Separately, a survey of 2,000 businesses has proceeded and officers will be assessing the responses from the start of February.

 

 

Cabinet Member for Customer Services

 

The Cabinet Member noted that the Council has been working to issue over £48m grants in this financial year.  The website has been updated to make it easy for businesses to establish which grants they can apply for and she urged Members to encourage businesses to apply for the January 2021 grants as the take-up has been relatively low so far.

 

She noted the Customer Service team continue to assist a high number of residents and people can make an appointment to visit the Council Offices in a safe manner if they wish to. A new telephony system has also enabled queries to be managed effectively by staff working remotely.

 

The Cabinet Member also noted that the Full Fibre programme is on target with over 40km dug and ducting commencing, with an aim to be completed by June.

 

 

Cabinet Member for Environment and Service Delivery

 

The Cabinet Member thanked Council Staff and SERCO for their hard work in ensuring waste collections continued over Christmas and during the pandemic.

He noted that the electrical items recycling has had a larger take-up than expected and acknowledged some Member’s concerns that the containers fill up before collecting the last items from the end of streets. The container size is at the maximum possible, but he agreed to investigate what else can be done to assist. He noted that the amount of recycling was measured and agreed to provide further information on what work is being done to ensure that these items do not end up in landfill.  He also noted that demand remains high for garden waste collection and there are enough spaces available if residents would like to subscribe.

 

The Cabinet Member noted that the Leisure Centres remain closed and the financial performance of Places Leisure is closely monitored. The Council has applied for the National Leisure Recovery Fund and should know by the end February if the bid is successful. Groundwork continues on walking and cycling plans for East Grinstead, Haywards Heath and the connectivity programme in Burgess Hill.

 

Cabinet Member for Community

 

The Cabinet Member noted that the Mid Sussex Partnership Board recently met and provided an update on the meeting content. The Early Intervention Family Support project has worked with caseloads of 12 vulnerable families and in most cases a positive outcome was achieved. The West Sussex County Council Cabinet Member for Children and Young People has proposed the redesign of the early help programme to provide a targeted offer to children. This focusses on the reduction of expenditure on buildings (often utilised by other services), to provide the funds more directly to people. He acknowledged Member’s concerns about closing centres and the difficulties that could be faced by people trying to access services when they do not have adequate transport. He also acknowledged a Member’s comment that buildings can be equally important to mental health as people like a space to meet and socialise. He noted that this proposal will go to consultation.  The intention is to better target the children’s budget and this improvement of services has been endorsed by the Commissioner and experts working with West Sussex County Council as it will bring the County Council in line with other similar and successful providers.   Any queries from concerned residents should be directed to their County Councillor.

 

A briefing paper on Covid’s impacts on young people and presentations by Haywards Heath College, the YMCA, Sussex Oakleaf and a new youth mentoring programme called Mentivity to be launched by Mid Sussex District Council was also discussed at the meeting.

 

In reference to his portfolio, the Cabinet Member noted that half term approaches and Officers are working on providing activities for young people including a ‘Get Active’ trail in St John’s park, Victoria Park and Mount Noddy park. There will also be short dance videos available online concluding with a performance at the end of the week.

 

In response to questions from members, the Cabinet Member acknowledged that the pandemic has forced businesses and organisations to look at alternative ways provide services, citing the change to children’ services as a potential way to bring services directly to people. He also noted that outdoor exercise is critically important to mental health and endorsed the Mid Sussex Marathon.

 

 

Cabinet Member for Housing, Planning and Economic Growth

 

The Cabinet Member noted that the Site Allocations DPD was submitted to the Planning Inspectorate on 16 December and the Council is awaiting hearing dates which are anticipated for late March. The Inspector is confirmed as Mr Luke Flemming and further correspondence is expected from him in coming weeks. On 8 January 2021 the Council called for sites again as part of the review of the District Plan in 2023. The call is open until midnight on 19 February 2021. Landowner, developers and site promoters are invited to put forward sites to be considered through the forthcoming updates to the strategic housing and economic land availability assessment (SHELAA). The SHELAA will be a crucial part of the evidence base for the District Plan Review. He also noted that the Haywards Heath Masterplan has been reviewed by the Scrutiny Committee and will be presented to Council in March 2021.

 

He confirmed that the current total of affordable housing delivered is 183 units and the right-to-build task force is looking at opportunities for new forms of housing delivery including self, community build and community land trusts. He confirmed that the Council will support any Community Land Trust applications, the purpose of which is to provide social housing in perpetuity. A Community Land Trust is currently active in Slaugham.

 

He also confirmed that the Severe Weather Emergency Protocol (SWEP) has been triggered, to help homeless people off the streets and all except one have been assisted.