Minutes:
The following question was received from Ms Wilcock
Please clarify how the Agents appointed in relation to Clair Hall are to be paid.
The BOP stated this would be a percentage of the capital receipt received by the Council. The Council has repeatedly said that Clair Hall would be leased and not sold or disposed of. A capital receipt is the funds received on the disposal of a fixed asset, and recorded on the balance sheet, whereas rental income from a lease is recorded in income accounts. So if Clair Hall is leased how does a capital receipt arise, and thus how are the Agents to be paid?
The following response was provided by the Leader:
Thank you for your question. As you know the Cabinet in October agreed to continue our ambition to seek an investment partner and cultural anchor tenant for a modern fit for purpose venue on the Clair Hall site.
Currently, officers are working to commission a specialist broker/agent to develop proposals on how to take two agreed models to the market in order to improve the chances of successful delivery of this project.
The question of how an agent will be paid for such work is premature and will clearly be subject to the proper procurement process. The commissioning work will be reported back to the Cabinet in the New Year.
I can confirm that the strategic success criteria agreed in July included the commitment that the Council will not sell the site and that remains the case.
Ms Wilcock asked a supplementary question noting that it appeared to be a question of semantics. She stated that ‘selling is disposing and if you are proposing to receive a capital receipt from selling off Clair Hall, that is a disposal and you are misleading the public by referring to it as leasing. A long lease for a premium is a disposal.’
The Leader responded, rejecting the characterisation of the Council’s work or intentions, stating that it is untrue. No decision has been made other than to take forward 2 options – to seek an investment partner and cultural anchor tenant and to take that to market. The commissioning of the agent is still to be done and we haven’t gone to market so to infer that an outcome has been agreed is incorrect.
The following question was received from Ms Weinstein
The Mid Sussex Climate Coalition welcomes the commitment of Council to set net zero targets. Many national governments, including our own, have had net zero targets in place for several years but the UN has been warning us that the limited action being taken to reach those targets means that the planet will warm to a very dangerous level of above 1.5 degrees before 2030. We would therefore ask the Council why they are not following the example of other local authorities such as Worthing and setting targets for 2030 to ensure that the necessary action is taken urgently.
The following response was provided by the Cabinet Member for Economic Growth and Net Zero
The Council agrees that action plans are an important tool in the delivery of evidence-based net zero targets. That is why this Council recently adopted its Sustainable Economy Strategy and why it has committed to the preparation of a net zero carbon programme to meet the targets we are recommending this evening.
The net zero targets proposed tonight are based on significant evidence prepared by industry experts.
You will note that we are proposing to set a more challenging target for emissions in our direct control as we can actively influence the achievement of this target. However, it is more difficult to set realistic and achievable targets in respect to the emissions the Council cannot directly control. In this case we are heavily reliant on the implementation of national legislation and policy to secure reductions in carbon emissions (for example ensuring our energy suppliers are carbon zero). Therefore, we consider it responsible to align our target to the national target. Currently the national target is to achieve net-zero in the UK by 2050.
You are correct that Councils have adopted different net zero targets - unfortunately not all of them are evidenced based and in my view may not be deliverable.
Although Adur & Worthing Councils have pledged to be carbon neutral for the emissions, they control by 2030 their net zero target for the district and borough is in fact 2045. Without national policy and legislation in place it is difficult to see how this will be achieved. I believe our work has enabled the Council to agree an evidenced and pragmatic target which is aligned to national expectations.
Ms Weinstein asked a supplementary question noting that there are 2-fold issues, that of National Government and the difficulties faced by the local community, businesses, and residents. She asked ‘What is this council doing to implore National Government to get on and provide the leadership that you require to do what you need to do and are you working together with the local community as the last time I was here you were looking forward to working with local green and environmental groups to get us all meeting those targets. How is that going?’
The Cabinet Member responded by stating he is confident that National Government are fully aware and has heard from our MP in discussions with other countries around the world, that they are very admiring of our position. He is confident that the expectations of this Council are aligned with the Government. They have committed a huge number of resources and in many ways are globally leading on the industries and all the technology that is required. In terms of the second part of the question this will be addressed later in the meeting. If the targets are agreed, then the next part is to set out the action plan and the next step is to convince and help the community in doing what they can to help us achieve our net zero targets.