Democracy in Crawley
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Council Meeting 25 July 2007 I Crawley Borough Council Minutes of Council 25 July 2007 at 7.30 p.m. Present : Councillor S A Blake (Mayor) Councillor Dr. H S Bloom (Deputy Mayor) Councillors B K Blake, N Boxall, B M Brockwell, K Brockwell, A G Brown, B J Burgess, R G Burgess, R D Burrett, C A Cheshire, A C W Crane, D G Crow, C L Denman, J I Denman, C R Eade, M T Head, R J Hull, S J Joyce, D P Kavanagh, R A Lanzer, C C Lloyd, B MeCrow, J Mortimer, D W Murdoch, B J Quinn, A J E Quirk, C J Redmayne, D J Shreeves, J A Singh, B A Smith, J G Smith and L A Walker. Also in Attendance: Mr A Earl – Independent Member (Chair of Standards Committee) Officers Present: John Burke Head of Finance Jim Redwood Director of Environment and Housing John Thraves Director of Community Services Pat Tinsley Head of Democratic Services Roger Brownings Democratic Services Officer 23. Minutes The minutes of the meeting of the Council held on 25 May and 27 June 2007 were approved as a correct record and signed by the Mayor. 24. Public Question Time Questions asked in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 9 were as follows:- Mr Ian Irvine referred to the motion recently proposed to the meeting of the Adur District Council by Councillor Eade, calling for that Authority to adopt prayer prior to each of its full Council meetings in the future, and asked why Councillor Eade was not to put a similar motion to that evening’s meeting of the Crawley Borough Council. 1 In response to this issue, Councillor Lanzer indicated that whilst no such move was to be made at this Council meeting, this was a possible option for consideration in the future. In this connection, and with regard to Mr Irvine’s comments relating to Councillor Eade’s dual membership of two authorities, the Mayor referred to the similar principle of County Councillors and their representation of residents at different Authorities. In response to Mr Irvine’s comments that Councillor Eade should had been given the opportunity to answer his questions herself, the Mayor referred Mr Irvine to procedural rules within the Council’s Constitution and usual practices, whilst acknowledging Mr Irvine’s suggestion that the rules and procedures for public question time should be made more readily available to people in the public gallery. Mr Baylis, in questioning the Council’s commitment to the local streetscene raised a number of associated concerns, including those in relation to litter on public footpaths in the area of Stagelands, Langley Green, which he suggested had not been swept for some time. In response, and whilst acknowledging comments on the responsibilities of Council staff towards the streetscene objectives, Councillor B K Blake reiterated that increasing work was being undertaken by the Council - including that in partnership with residents, to ensure that the town was a cleaner, greener and more environmentally friendly place to live. Mr Baylis was asked to leave further details of concerns he had, which the Council would then look into. Councillor Brenda Smith had been aware for sometime of Mr Baylis’ keen interest in local streetscene issues and was proposing to make him a streetscene champion for the Langley Green area. Mr Irvine referred to reports which suggested that the Snell Hatch Cemetery would be full in five years time, and asked what plans were in place to make further cemetery provision available for the future. In response, Councillor B K Blake indicated that investigations were ongoing to find more available cemetery space, whilst Councillor C L Denman commented that as part of that investigation the Local Development Framework Working Group would be looking at alternative sites, and that this matter would be generally addressed through the Council’s planning processes. Mr Baylis suggested that the Council should get in touch with West Sussex County Council in relation to clearing litter etc from local highways, and in this connection referred to a tree branch that had dropped and needed to be cleared in Ifield Avenue. He also complained of vermin in road side ditches along Crawley Avenue, and that those ditches were also in need of litter clearance. In response, Councillor B K Blake indicated that the clearance of highways and ditches was a split responsibility, with work being done by this Authority on an agency basis on behalf of the County Council. Councillor Blake emphasised that ditches and highway areas were cleared on a regular basis, and that should Mr Baylis leave details of his concerns, the matters identified would be addressed by the Borough Council’s Amenity Services. 25. Communications Apologies for Absence Councillors Burke, Millar-Smith, G K Seekings and L A Seekings. 2 Council Meeting 25 July 2007 26. Members’ Disclosure of Interests The disclosures of interests made by Members were set out in Appendix A to the minutes. 27. Presentation of Gifts to Former Members The Mayor presented a gift to each of the following former Members of the Council who had recently ceased to hold office, to commemorate their service to the Council:- Ben Clay Ian Irvine With regard to Sam Cleeve, she had informed the Head of Democratic Services that unfortunately she would be unable to attend this meeting, and under the circumstances arrangements were being made to send her gift to her. Arrangements would also be made with Daryl English to receive her gift. Mike Weatherley had also indicated that he would be unable to attend this meeting, and arrangements were being made for his presentation to take place at the Extraordinary Meeting of the Council on 27 September 2007. 28. Presentation of Long Service Badges The Mayor presented Councillor Burrett with a badge commemorating his 15 years long service and thanked him for his long and dedicated service with this Authority. Councillor G K Seekings was due to receive a badge at this meeting to commemorate his 20 years long service. However, he had informed the Head of Democratic Services that unfortunately, he would be unable to attend the meeting, and arrangements were being made for this presentation to be made at the September Extraordinary Meeting of the Council. 29. Members’ Written Questions Questions asked in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 10.3, together with the answers, were tabled as follows:- Questioner - Councillor A C W Crane Addressed to - Executive Member for Housing Subject - Sale of Council Houses Questioner - Councillor A C W Crane Addressed to - Executive Member for Housing. Subject - Total dwelling stock Questioner - Councillor A C W Crane. Addressed to - Chair of the Development Control Committee. 3 Council Meeting 25 July 2007 Subject - Planning consents for residential development. Questioner - Councillor A C W Crane. Addressed to - Executive Member for Environmental Services. Subject - Refurbishment of West Green Shopping Parade. 30. Reports by Executive Members Councillor Lanzer (the Chair of the Executive) gave a brief report on the Government’s recent announcement on its proposals to transfer by 2010 the strategic housing function and planning function from SEERA (South East England Regional Assembly) to SEEDA (South East England Development Agency). Councillor Lanzer emphasised that with SEERA being a democratically elected organisation and SEEDA being totally unelected, there would be a reduction in democratic accountability, and he hoped that other Members shared his concerns relating to this matter. Councillor Burrett (the Executive Member for Continuous Improvement and Development) confirmed that performance statistics in relation to the Council’s Contact Centre were continuing to improve, and in June of this year the Centre had met all its performance targets for the first time. However, it was acknowledged that there was no room for complacency, and the challenge was to continue to meet this outstanding level of performance on an ongoing basis. Councillor Burrett asked to place on record his thanks and congratulations to all staff involved in the Service’s continuing improvement. Councillor Burrett was also pleased to confirm that the Council had recently been formally awarded with the British Safety Council Five Star Award. The Award was only given to organisations that could demonstrate excellent safety management practices combined with a culture involving all staff. The Council was the first authority to achieve this international standard for the whole organisation, and Councillor Burrett expressed his congratulations to all staff involved, including Bernard Angus (the former Health, Safety and Occupational Health Advisor) for their extensive commitment in achieving this significant award. Other Members of the Council conveyed their own congratulations in terms of both this achievement and that regarding the success of the Contact Centre. Councillor Quirk (Executive Member Community Engagement) referred to the consultation event to be held this September in the Queens Square and County Mall, where the people of Crawley would be given the opportunity to meet representatives of the Council to raise issues around the Council’s performance and value for money. Members were encouraged to do all they could to attend this event, as well as undertake enhanced consultation initiatives within their own wards, to further encourage the vital and ongoing engagement with residents, for which funds were available to help meet objectives. Councillor C L Denman (Executive Member for Planning and Economic Development) conveyed her congratulations to staff in the Council’s Planning Division on achieving a planning delivery grant totalling £270,000 (received in two tranches), and for the part played by staff in that Division in relation to the challenging North East Sector legal appeal, which the Council had recently won. 31. Questions to Executive Members 4 Council Meeting 25 July 2007 Questions asked pursuant to Council Procedure Rule 10.1 were as follows:- (i) Question by Councillor Cheshire to Councillor B J Burgess (as the Executive Member for Housing).