Agenda and minutes

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Items
No. Item

56.

Minutes

To sign the Minutes of the meeting of the Council held on 2nd December 2021.

Supporting documents:

Minutes:

RESOLVED that the Minutes of the meeting of Council held on 10th February 2022 be approved as a correct record and signed.

57.

Apologies for absence

To receive any apologies for absence.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Ritter and Sachdeva.

58.

Declarations of interest

To receive any declarations of interest.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

There were none.

59.

Urgent business

To consider any urgent business.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

There was none.

60.

Public questions

To consider any questions received from members of the public under Council Procedure Rule 13.

Supporting documents:

Minutes:

Joanna Barnett asked a question about ecology surveys at the Horley Business Park site. A response was given by Councillor Tim Archer, Executive Member for Investment and Companies, in accordance with Council procedure rule 2.14.

Note: For more information on responses to Council questions, please see this page on the Council’s website:

https://reigate-banstead.moderngov.co.uk/ecCatDisplay.aspx?sch=doc&cat=13260

61.

Questions by Members

To consider any questions received from Members of the Council under Council Procedure Rule 14.

Supporting documents:

Minutes:

11 questions on notice were asked, and responses given, in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 2.15 as follows:

Question by

To be answered by

Subject

Cllr Torra, on behalf of Cllr Ritter

Cllr Ashford, Executive Member for Community Partnerships

Community Development Support

Cllr Booton

Cllr Lewanski, Executive Member for Corporate Policy and Resources

Benchmarking to support the Council’s Sustainability Strategy

Cllr Chandler

Cllr Neame, Executive Member for Housing and Support

Update on the Afghan resettlement programme

Cllr Essex

Cllr Bramhall, Executive Member for Neighbourhood Services

Energy efficiency ratings and penalties

Cllr Cooper

Cllr Bramhall, Executive Member for Neighbourhood Services

Publication of grass-cutting schedules

Cllr Sinden

Cllr Bramhall, Executive Member for Neighbourhood Services

Electric taxis and private hire vehicles and provision of charging points

Cllr Philpott

Cllr Bramhall, Executive Member for Neighbourhood Services

Recycling pizza boxes

Cllr Ashford

Cllr Biggs, Executive Member for Planning Policy & Place Delivery

Flooding management in planning applications

Cllr McKenna

Cllr Biggs, Executive Member for Planning Policy & Place Delivery

Affordable housing in planning policy

Cllr Torra

Cllr Biggs, Executive Member for Planning Policy & Place Delivery

Affordable housing targets

Cllr Turner

Cllr Biggs, Executive Member for Planning Policy & Place Delivery

Water run-off from properties with impermeable driveways

 

Note: For more information on responses to Council questions, please see this page on the Council’s website:

https://reigatebanstead.moderngov.co.uk/ecCatDisplay.aspx?sch=doc&cat=13264.

62.

Recommendations

To receive and consider the recommendations of the Council’s Executive, committees and sub-committees, including:

Executive meeting held on 27th January 2022:

·         Minute 61 – Budget & Capital Programme 2022/23.

·         Minute 62 – Council Tax setting 2022/23.

·         Minute 63 – Calendar of Meetings for 2022/23.

Executive meeting held on 16th December 2021:

·         Minute 52 - Treasury Management Mid-Year Report 2021/22.

Supporting documents:

Minutes:

The Council received recommendations arising from the Executive meetings held on 16 December 2021 and 27 January 2022, relating to:

(i)            Treasury Management Mid-Year Report 2021/22 (Minute ref. 52);

(ii)          Budget and Capital Programme 2022/23 (Minute ref. 61);

(iii)         Council Tax setting 2022/23 (Minute ref. 62); and,

(iv)         Calendar of Meetings for 2022/23 (Minute ref. 63).

The Mayor advised that debate would be guided by the procedure note circulated in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 2.8.4.

 

Minute 61, Budget and Capital Programme 2022/23

The Leader of the Council, Councillor Brunt, moved the recommendations and in doing so commended the work of the officers and Members who contributed to it, including the Overview and Scrutiny Committee and Budget Scrutiny Panel.

The Deputy Leader & Executive Member for Finance and Governance, Councillor Schofield, seconded the original recommendations, and reserved the right to speak.

Councillor Chandler proposed, and Councillor Essex seconded, an amendment to recommendations 2, 4 and 5. The amendments sought growth in the revenue budget to deliver:

·         The Council’s Environmental Sustainability Strategy;

·         Enhanced Community Development support;

·         Accelerate the roll-out of recycling services to all properties;

·         Initiatives on empty homes and fuel poverty;

·         Enhanced green spaces and town centre management;

·         Increased budget allowance for vacant posts across the Council.

Members’ discussion of the amendment included the following considerations:

·         Funding from the Corporate Plan Delivery Fund (CPDF) was not considered to be financially sustainable after 3 years. In addition, the purpose of the CPDF was to fund current projects rather than growth.

·         The ambitions of the amendment were to deliver improved support and services for businesses and residents in the context of rising fuel prices and inflation, climate change, and a reduction in community development support.

·         The use of the Council’s reserves would not be financially sustainable, as a significant proportion was already allotted for delivering affordable housing and as a contingency for responding to crises such as the COVID pandemic.

·         Funding salary budget growth would therefore eventually lead to cuts in other services, in view of a significant reduction in income streams such as parking income.

The Mayor called upon the Head of Paid Service to conduct a recorded vote in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 2.21.3. On the amendment to the recommendations of Minute 61 (Budget and Capital Programme 2022/23) as within the addendum voting was recorded as follows:

For: Councillors Chandler, Essex, McKenna and Sinden.

Against: Councillors Absalom, Adamson, Archer, Ashford, Baker, Biggs, Blacker, Bramhall, Brunt, Buttironi, Cooper, Feeney, Harp, Harper, Harrison, Hudson, Humphreys, Kelly, A. King, J. King, Lewanski, Lynch, Michalowski, Moses, Neame, Parnall, Schofield, Stevens, Tary, Turner, Walsh, and Whinney.

Abstain: Councillors Bray, Elbourne, Kulka, and Philpott.

The Mayor declared the amendment lost. Accordingly, the original recommendations, as moved, were discussed, and remarks thereon included:

·         The budget was considered to be financially credible, however whilst the Council had been prudent in maintaining strong reserves to date, the budget recommendations would eat away at those reserves to the extent of 1.8m and the budget gap was  ...  view the full minutes text for item 62.

63.

Pay Policy Statement 2022/23

To approve the Pay Policy Statement 2022/23.

Supporting documents:

Minutes:

The Head of Paid Service presented the report on the adoption of the Pay Policy Statement for 2022/23 in accordance with the requirements of the Localism Act 2011.

The report set out the relevant statutory powers, the issues for the Council to consider, and the associated legal and financial implications.

The Employment Committee considered the report at its meeting on 25 January 2022 and made observations under Minute 34. In doing so, the Employment Committee endorsed the Pay Policy Statement 2022/23.

The recommendation set out in the report was moved by Councillor Lewanski, as Chair of the Employment Committee, and seconded by Councillor Brunt, who endorsed the Council’s commitment to supporting the real living wage.

RESOLVED that the Pay Policy Statement for 2022/23 be approved.

64.

Statements

To receive any statement from the Leader of the Council, Members of the Executive, Chairmen of Committees or the Head of Paid Service.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Council received two statements from Executive Members about the Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plan, and Social Housing Decarbonisation Funding.

Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plan

Councillor Biggs, Executive Member for Planning Policy and Place Delivery, made a statement about the Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plan.

Encouraging communities to adopt more active lifestyles had become a major public health initiative in recent years to help tackle both physical and mental health issues, reducing short car journeys and the associated carbon emissions.

Development of improved cycling and walking infrastructure was considered key to delivering those ambitions. New guidance from the Department for Transport sought lane separation on safety grounds and user attractiveness.

The purpose of the Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plans (LCWIPs) was to identify routes for future investment. Once the routes had been identified in the LCWIP, individual schemes would then be moved into stage 2 where detailed designs were prepared in collaboration with local communities and other transport users. The designs would then form part of future funding submissions with implementation taking place in stage 3.

Since autumn 2020 the Council had been working with Surrey County Council and Sustrans, a walking and cycling charity, on a new generation of Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plans. The LCWIP for Reigate and Banstead was the first in the programme.

The project followed national guidance and included 2 periods of stakeholder engagement. The engagement sessions had been informed by local communities, representatives from the cycling and walking communities, transport operators, borough and county members and officers from both authorities.

Using a combination of national cycling and walking tools and local knowledge, a long list of walking and cycling routes was identified. From this a short list of 5 cycling routes and 3 walking routes were prioritised where the most additional benefits were identified. This work was scrutinised by Sustrans to ensure deliverability. Routes not prioritised could still be delivered in the longer term.

Matthew Furniss, the Surrey County Council Cabinet Member for Transport and Infrastructure, was expected to sign off the plan and be countersigned by the Council. Cllr Biggs formally endorsed the LCWIP on behalf of the Executive and thanked everybody who had contributed to it.

Social Housing Decarbonisation Funding

Councillor Brunt, Leader of the Council, made a statement about Social Housing Decarbonisation Funding.

The Department of Business Energy and Industrial Strategy had recently offered the Council £1.7m of social housing decarbonisation funding, as a result of a consortium bid with its partners Raven Housing Trust and Surrey Heath Borough Council.

The funding would enable Raven Housing Trust to improve the efficiencies of 94 affordable homes across the borough, leading to reduced fuel bills for some of our most vulnerable residents whilst reducing their overall carbon emissions.

This demonstrated how the Council was proactively working with partners to secure external funding to meet the challenges of both climate change and fuel poverty.

65.

Leader's announcements

To receive any announcements by the Leader of the Council.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Leader of the Council confirmed that Councillor Absalom would be the Deputy Mayor-elect for the 2022/23 municipal year and in doing so commended her work as the Mayor during the 2020/21 municipal year.

66.

Mayor's announcements

To receive any announcements from the Mayor.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Holocaust Memorial Day

To commemorate 2022 Holocaust Memorial Day, the Mayor’s Chaplain, Des Williamson led a small service in Reigate Castle Grounds, where candles were lit in remembrance of those murdered in the Holocaust and in subsequent genocides in Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia and Darfur.

Fairtrade Event

As part of the national Fairtrade Fortnight campaign, the Fairtrade Trail was planned to take place in Reigate Town Centre on Saturday 26th February from 10am to 12 noon.

Thank You events

The Mayor had hosted a number of thank you events, including two events for litter picking groups, an event for ‘Level Up Redhill Reigate Banstead’, a voluntary organisation which refurbished donated laptops for disadvantaged children.

The Mayor gave an update on upcoming thank you events for the St John’s Ambulance, The Allegra Band, Walton & Tadworth Residents Association, Harlequin Volunteers, the Run Reigate team, Furnistore, Reigate & Redhill Covid19 Mutual Aid and the RBBC Volunteer Befrienders team.

High Sheriff visit 

The Surrey High Sheriff, Dr Julie Llewelyn, was expected to visit the borough on Monday 7th March for a tour of the Merstham Hub, the YMCA’s pre-school, the Beacon School, Epsom Primary school, and meeting volunteers from the MYTI sports club.

Commonwealth Day

To mark this year’s Commonwealth Day the Commonwealth flag would fly at the town hall on Monday 14th March.

Arthur Edwards Talk

To celebrate Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee, Arthur Edwards, royal photographer at The Sun newspaper since 1977 was scheduled to speak at the Harlequin Theatre, about his career on Friday 11th March.

YMCA Sleep Easy

On the 11th March a YMCA Sleep Easy event at the Town Hall car park was planned to support young people facing homelessness.

Age Concern Quiz Night

A quiz night in aid of Age Concern Banstead was planned for Saturday 23rd April.

Queen’s Jubilee Beacon Lighting

The Council was planning to commemorate Her Majesty’s Platinum Jubilee by taking part in a National Beacon Lighting event with a beacon lighting service in Reigate’s Priory Park on Thursday 2nd June.