Minutes:
The Leader welcomed the unanimous agreement of Code of Conduct. He also confirmed that the Deputy Leader has stood down from the Cabinet this week, and thanked her for her work and commitment, noting that she continues to serve as a Councillor for Bolney Ward.
The Leader acknowledged that the Council is mandated to undertake a 5-year District Plan review and the results have been published. He thanked the Scrutiny Committee for agreeing to pause the review whilst he writes to the Secretary of State to ask that housing targets to be reset to a level more consistent with the District’s environmental and infrastructure constraints. He noted that the timescales are hard to quantify. In response to a question around infrastructure concerns he noted that this will be addressed as part of consultations. In response to questions around the Planning System he confirmed that it is not a barrier to delivering new homes. The key is to ensure that the decisions are right for the District in terms of the need for new homes and the environmental and infrastructure challenges. In response to a Member’s question he also acknowledged the ongoing Gatwick consultation which may have a bearing on future planning decisions.
Regarding unbuilt homes, he noted that the Council continues to work with developers to ensure they progress agreed applications and in terms of empty houses, the Council takes action to charge higher rates of Council tax to bring them back to use, and removed the Council Tax discount on second homes. A Member asked for confirmation on how many empty homes in the district have been charged double taxation on, how many Care Quality Commission empty bedrooms rooms are there in this District and how many second homes there are in the district. The Leader invited her to email the questions for a written response.
He thanked residents and groups who took part in the independent consultation on the future of Clair Hall where there was a clear majority of 95% who support change on the site. A £100k budget has been agreed for independent advisors to provide an evidenced based proposal for a fit-for-purpose modern community provision to secure the future of the site for years to come. Discussion was held on the provision of community and arts buildings and funding across the District and the Leader noted that the Council has a good track record of supporting community provision across the District, citing a number of buildings due to be provided in Burgess Hill. With regards to the provision at Clair Hall, it is a site that the Council is responsible for and the approach is to find the best solution to benefit the local community and District as a whole.
In terms of projects in the new calendar year, work will progress on the food waste trial, full fibre infrastructure, Clair Hall and improvements to flagship parks and open spaces as well as day-to-day services. Work also continues to monitor the Council’s financial position and this will be discussed at the next Council meeting. As part of the Platinum Jubilee celebrations, he confirmed that the Council will be acting to support residents in their wish to pay tribute by offering grants to local communities. The Council is also participating in the Queens Green Canopy initiative.