(Public Pack)SUPPLEMENTARY APPENDICES Agenda Supplement
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Public Document Pack JOHN WARD East Pallant House Head of Finance and Governance Services 1 East Pallant Chichester Contact: Philip Coleman, Member Services Manager West Sussex Tel: 01243 534655 Email: [email protected] PO19 1TY Tel: 01243 785166 www.chichester.gov.uk A meeting of Cabinet will be held in Committee Room 1 - East Pallant House on Tuesday 8 September 2015 at 9.30 am MEMBERS: Mr A Dignum (Chairman), Mrs E Lintill (Vice-Chairman), Mr R Barrow, Mr B Finch, Mrs P Hardwick, Mrs G Keegan and Mrs S Taylor SUPPLEMENTARY APPENDICES 5 Chichester District Council Annual Report 2014-2015 (Pages 1 - 39) Appendix – Annual report. 6 Approval of the Council's Infrastructure Business Plan for consultation with the City, Town and Parish Councils and key Infrastructure Delivery Commissioners (Pages 40 - 258) Appendix – Draft Infrastructure Business Plan 2016/2021 7 Upgrade of Heating and Ventilation Systems, South Wing, East Pallant House, Chichester. (Pages 259 - 269) Appendix – Project Initiation Document – Upgrading of Heating and Ventilation Systems in the South Wing East Pallant House, Chichester 8 Safeguarding Policy (Pages 270 - 296) Appendix – Safeguarding Policy 9 Chichester City … Preparing a Vision for the City (Pages 297 - 316) Appendix – Project Initiation Document – ‘Chichester City … Preparing a Vision for the City’ 10 Southbourne Parish Neighbourhood Plan (Pages 317 - 326) Appendix – Southbourne Parish Neighbourhood Plan Decision Statement Appendix to Item 5 Chichester District Council Annual Report 2014-2015 Page 1 Chichester District Council Annual Report 2014-2015 Contents page Introduction...……………………………………………………………………. 3 About Us...………………………………………………………………………. 5 Commercial Services……………...…………………………………………… 7 Housing and Planning...……………………………………………………...... 16 Environment …………….……………………………………..……………….. 21 Community Services....…………………………………………………..……. 26 Finance and Governance……………………………………………………... 31 Support Services……………………………………………………………….. 36 2 Page 2 Introduction Welcome to Chichester District Council’s Annual Report 2014/15. This report is a summary of the key achievements and progress that the Council has made over the previous year, it is not intended to describe our day to day functions, details of these can be found on Council website. In May 2015, alongside the General Election, the District Council Election was also held. As with the General Election, the Conservatives won the District and continue to enjoy a large majority. The Council’s previous Leader, Heather Caird, stood down at the election and I would like to thank her for the excellent job she had done in leading the Council over the last term. I was elected Leader at the annual council meeting in June and a new Cabinet was appointed at the same meeting (please note for the purpose of this report, the Cabinet Portfolios effective from May 2015 have been used). I intend to continue to provide strong leadership for the authority and its community. Our job is to ensure that we remain a well-run council, providing high quality services to the community efficiently, while keeping the District’s share of Council Tax as low as possible. The 2014/15 year was another busy year for the council. We have completed several major projects and initiatives while continuing the delivery of a wide range of important services to our community. We were delighted that our Local Plan was found to be sound in a thorough examination process by the Planning Inspectorate. The plan is the result of several years’ intensive work and it provides a framework to ensure that development within the district is done in a planned, coherent way. It will enable us to resist harmful development and protect our beautiful environment. Our Plan establishes a framework that will help to create jobs, homes, services and facilities of the right type, in the right place and at the right time, to benefit both present and future generations. We are extremely grateful for the involvement of the public and partners in the complex process of developing the plan which has involved many rounds of consultation. This year we managed the procurement and build of a nine pitch Gypsy and Traveller Transit Site on our land at Westhampnett. The facility is now operational and being run by West Sussex County Council. It provides an alternative stopping place which will allow police to move gypsies and travellers on from unauthorised encampments more quickly to more suitable accommodation, so reducing the disruption to local communities. From November 17th we abolished admission charges to the Novium Museum for normal standing exhibitions. This has resulted in a substantial increase in visitor numbers and made it more accessible to residents and those from further afield. We continue to reserve the government grant that rewards the council for the numbers of homes built in the area (the New Homes Bonus) for the benefit of the community. 3 Page 3 In particular we have continued to use New Homes Bonus monies to fund the popular scheme for parishes receiving new homes. These parishes can bid for grants for useful community projects. In 2014-15 grants totalling £280,000 were awarded to the parishes for local projects that were shown to meet a community need, to provide a community benefit, and to receive community support We have made excellent progress this year with our affordable homes target, delivering 277 affordable homes and negotiating another 164 affordable home sites for the future with developers. The state-of-the-art community and leisure centre at Midhurst celebrated its first birthday in March. More than 140,000 people have walked through the centre’s doors since it opened to the public one year ago. Whilst we continue to face tough financial pressure on our budgets, we have protected frontline services as much as possible through greater efficiency, careful financial planning and a proactive approach to managing our estates. We have invested some of our reserves in retail and commercial property with the twin goal of benefiting the local economy and generating additional income for the council. These investments reduce the need either to cut our services or to levy major increases in our share of Council Tax. Our communities will continue to be at the heart of everything we do. We will aim to be as efficient as possible and use our resources wisely, providing core services in the most effective way possible. We will continue to ensure our District remains an attractive place to live, work and visit. Tony Dignum Leader, Chichester District Council 4 Page 4 About Us District Profile As the largest district in West Sussex, Chichester District is a unique area, boasting a historic city, glorious countryside and the beautiful south coast. It has a population of 114,500 and covers over 300 square miles, stretching from Selsey in the south to Lynchmere in the north. Chichester District Council is involved with the majority of day to day services and activities that residents come into contact with – from emptying the bins, to dealing with planning applications. Its main office is based in the centre of Chichester and it also provides area offices in Selsey and at the new Grange centre in Midhurst. There are 67 parishes in the District and 48 elected members of the Council. The political makeup of the Council is: Conservative: 42 Independent: 3 Liberal Democrat: 3 The next scheduled elections for Chichester District Council will be in May 2019. How We Make Decisions Council All councillors from across the District shall normally meet six times a year to decide the Council’s overall policies and to set the budget. These meetings are open to the public and additional meetings can be held if needed. Cabinet The Cabinet meets on a monthly basis and involves seven of our leading councillors making key decisions on the plans, strategies and budget which are then approved by the Council. The current Cabinet is: Cllr Tony Dignum – Leader of the Council Cllr Eileen Lintill – Deputy Leader of the Council and Cabinet Member for Community Services Cllr Roger Barrow – Cabinet Member for Environment Cllr Bruce Finch – Cabinet Member for Support Services Cllr Philippa Hardwick – Cabinet Member for Finance and Governance Cllr Gillian Keegan – Cabinet Member for Commercial Services Cllr Susan Taylor – Cabinet Member for Housing and Planning The Chairman and Vice-Chairman of the Council are: Cllr Nick Thomas – Chairman Cllr Elizabeth Hamilton – Vice-Chairman 5 Page 5 Overview and Scrutiny The Overview and Scrutiny Committee holds the decision-makers to account. This can involve questioning councillors, council employees and representatives of other organisations in relation to key decisions, reports or policies. The committee then makes recommendations to Cabinet based on their findings. The committee also has an important role in looking at the wider delivery of all public services in the District. We also have a Corporate Governance and Audit Committee; a Planning Committee; a Licensing and Enforcement Committee; and a Standards Committee. Officer Support Diane Shepherd, our Chief Executive, leads the Senior Leadership Team which includes two Executive Directors, Steve Carvell and Paul Over and the Head of Finance and Governance Services, John Ward. The Senior Leadership Team, along with our Heads of Service, support councillors while also managing the Council’s day to day services. Chichester in Partnership Chichester in Partnership consists of public, private, voluntary and community organisations who all want to work together to plan for the future of the District. Over the past year they have worked on a variety of projects, including helping to get people back into work. Further detail on these projects is highlighted within this report. Performance Management We have been recognised as a top performing council because we provide quality services, while offering value for money. In order to achieve this, we closely monitor our progress throughout the year to make sure that we deliver what we have said we will. Our Corporate Plan sets out our key priorities and objectives and the projects to achieve these are set out in our service plans which are reviewed annually.