Agenda and minutes

To confirm the Minutes of the Council meeting held on 5 December 2017 and of the Extraordinary Meeting held on 19 December 2017 (herewith).

The Minutes of the Meeting of the Council held on 5 December 2017 and of the Extraordinary Meeting held on 19 December 2017 were confirmed and signed.

The Mayor to report apologies for absence.

Apologies for absence were received from Cllrs Carole Cockburn, Jim Edwards, John Gray, Peter Martin, Kika Mirylees, Stefan Reynolds, Stewart and Jeanette Stennett, John Ward, Ross Welland and John Williamson.

To receive from Members, declarations of interest in relation to any items included on the agenda for this meeting in accordance with the Waverley Code of Local Government Conduct.

There were no interests declared under this heading.

The Mayor thanked all councillors who had taken part in the joint bowling evening with the Mayor of Guildford.  The event raised £2,400 for the two mayoral charities.

To answer the following questions from members of the public, received in accordance with Procedure Rule 10:-

i.          from Daniel Kuszel of Godalming

            Why has it taken this council over 2 years and counting to simply remove the private and large commercial waste bins located within the conservation area of Crown Court?

The following question was received from Mr Daniel Kuszel of Godalming in accordance with Procedure Rule 10:

            “Why has it taken this Council over 2 years and counting to simply remove the private and large commercial waste bins located within the conservation area of Crown Court?”

The following response was provided:-

“Whilst the presence of waste bins in conservation areas can detract from the appearance of the area and is something the council continually works to minimise, the solution is never as simple as just removing the bins.  In such densely occupied areas, residents and businesses often struggle to find space to store rubbish and recycling and the council has to work with them to try to find mutually acceptable solutions which minimise the impact of the area but enable them to store refuse and recycling securely so that it does not become strewn throughout the area and become an even greater environmental issue.   

Councils can use powers to enforce keeping areas clear of waste storage containers.  Currently, the applicable powers are Public Spaces Protection Orders and Community Protection Notices as part of the Antisocial Behaviour Crime and Policing Act 2014.  Both powers require there to be a persistent and detrimental effect on the quality of life of those in the locality by the behaviour or activity and that the activity is unreasonable. Evidence of the activity needs to be provided, including evidence of how this is negatively impacting individuals and the community. Both powers can be appealed so the Council has to demonstrate the above and also demonstrate that any action taken is reasonable and proportionate to the issue. Officers have been working with Portfolio Holders for several years to find acceptable and workable solutions.

In 2014, the Portfolio Holder for Environmental Services at the time, Cllr Thornton, requested that officers investigated wheelie bin storage in public areas within Godalming and whether this could be reduced. Officers approached local businesses directly to ascertain ownership and were successful in reducing the number of bins present in areas with frequent public use by approximately half in 2014. Following the exercise, Cllr Thornton and the community were positive in his feedback for what had been achieved.

In 2016, Waverley undertook public consultation with a view to restricting the presentation times of commercial waste in high street areas. This primarily followed interest from Farnham Town Council. The consultation received limited feedback and highlighted that there were specific localised areas of concern, as opposed to a broader problem. Further work then took place with Farnham Town Council to identify where focus could be made and work to reduce commercial storage in public areas of Godalming was also continued.

In relation to the Crown Court area specifically, a recent inspection confirmed that there were 3 commercial bins. One was stored adjacent to a business on land leased from Waverley Borough Council and 2 were stored under cover of buildings at the margin of the pedestrian area. All 3 bins were typically stored tidily, locked and  ...  view the full minutes text for item 52/17

Due to the public interest in this item, the Mayor agreed to re-order the agenda to take the minutes of the Special Executive meeting held earlier in the evening at this point (formerly agenda item 10b).

It was moved by the Chairman of the Committee and duly seconded that the minutes of the Special Executive meeting held on 20 February 2018 be approved and adopted.

i.          Waverley Borough Local Plan Part I: Adoption (Minute No. 109)

Following lengthy discussion on this item, the Leader moved that in accordance with Procedure Rule 17.4, the voting on this item should be by roll-call and recorded in the minutes.  She was supported by more than 5 others present at the meeting, including Cllrs Andrew Bolton, Mike Band, Mary Foryszewski, Ged Hall and Jerry Hyman.

The voting was recorded as follows:-

Voting for (41)

Cllrs Brian Adams, Mike Band, Andrew Bolton, Maurice Byham, , Patricia Ellis, David Else, Jenny Else, Mary Foryszewski, John Fraser, Pat Frost, Michael Goodridge, Tony Gordon-Smith, Ged Hall, Jill Hargreaves, Val Henry, Christiaan Hesse, Mike Hodge, Nicholas Holder, David Hunter, Simon Inchbald, Peter Isherwood, Anna James, Carole King, Robert Knowles, Denise Le Gal, Denis Leigh, Tom Martin, Stephen Mulliner, Nabeel Nasir, Libby Piper, Julia Potts, Sam Pritchard, Wyatt Ramsdale, David Round, Richard Seaborne, Chris Storey, Liz Townsend, Bob Upton, Liz Wheatley and Nick Williams.

Voting against (1)

            Cllr Jerry Hyman

Abstentions (3)

Cllrs Kevin Deanus, Paul Follows and Andy MacLeod.

RESOLVED  that the Minutes of the Special Executive held on 20 February 2018 be approved and the recommendations contained therein adopted.

To receive the reports of the Executive in respect of the 2018/2019 budget:-

The Leader delivered a Budget Statement to the Council, a copy of which is attached as Annexe 1 to these minutes, following which the Portfolio Holder for Finance presented the reports at Agenda Item 8a-8c.  Cllr Jerry Hyman delivered a budget speech on behalf of the Leader of the Farnham Residents’ Group.

The Local Authorities (Standing Orders) (England) Regulations 2014 make it mandatory for Councils to conduct a recorded vote at budget-setting Council meetings.  With the agreement of the Council, a recorded vote was taken on all three budget reports (Agenda Item 8a – recommendations 1-11, Agenda Item 8b – recommendations 1-9 and Agenda Item 8c – recommendations 1.1-1.3), with a unanimous (nem com) vote in favour of the whole budget.  The voting was as follows:-

Voting for (44)

Cllrs Brian Adams, Mike Band, Andrew Bolton, Maurice Byham, Kevin Deanus, Patricia Ellis, David Else, Jenny Else, Paul Follows, Mary Foryszewski, John Fraser, Pat Frost, Michael Goodridge, Tony Gordon-Smith, Ged Hall, Jill Hargreaves, Val Henry, Christiaan Hesse, Mike Hodge, Nicholas Holder, David Hunter, Jerry Hyman, Simon Inchbald, Peter Isherwood, Anna James, Carole King, Robert Knowles, Denise Le Gal, Denis Leigh, Andy MacLeod, Tom Martin, Stephen Mulliner, Nabeel Nasir, Libby Piper, Julia Potts, Sam Pritchard, Wyatt Ramsdale, David Round, Richard Seaborne, Chris Storey, Liz Townsend, Bob Upton, Liz Wheatley and Nick Williams.

Voting against (0)

Abstentions (0)

RESOLVED  that the reports of the Executive at Agenda Item 8a (General Fund Budget 2018/19) and 8b (Housing Revenue Account Business Plan, Revenue Budget and Capital Programme 2018/19 be approved and the recommendations contained therein adopted.

Council Tax Setting 2018/2019(Agenda Item 8c)

RESOLVED  that

1.1       The following amounts have been calculated for the Council for 2018/2019 in accordance with Sections 31 to 36 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992:

            (a)          £73,515,712           being the aggregate of the amounts that the Council estimates for the items set out in Section 31A 2(a) to (f) of the Act taking into account all precepts issued to it by Parish Councils;

(b)         £60,792,455            being the aggregate of the amounts which the Council estimates for the items set out in Section 31A (3) (a) to (d) of the Act;

           (c)          £12,723,257            being the amount by which the aggregate at (a) above exceeds the aggregate at (b) above, calculated by the Council, in accordance with Section 31A (4) of the Act, as its counciltax requirement for the year;

            (d)          £234.79                   being the amount at (c) divided by 54,191.0, calculated by the Council in accordance with Section 31B (1) of the Act and rounded for administrative purposes, as the basic amount of its Council Tax for the year;

            (e)          £3,129,287.12        being the aggregate amount of all special items referred to in Section 34 (1) of the Act;

(f)          £177.04                    being the amount at (d) above less the result given by dividing the amount at (e) above by 54,191.0 calculated by the Council in accordance with the Section 34 (2) of the Act and rounded for administrative purposes,  ...  view the full minutes text for item 54/17

The report of the Independent Remuneration Panel into Members’ Allowances is attached for consideration by the Council.

Recommendation

It is recommended that the Council accepts the report of the Independent Remuneration Panel.

RESOLVED  that the report of the Independent Remuneration Panel be adopted.

To receive the minutes of the meetings of the Executive (coloured grey):-

It was moved by the Chairman of the Executive, duly seconded and

RESOLVED  that the Minutes of the Meeting of the Executive held on 6 February 2018 be approved and the recommendations contained therein adopted.

To receive the minutes of the meetings of the Licensing and Regulatory Committee (attached – coloured bright green) held on:

19 DECEMBER 2017 (Agenda Item 11a)

It was moved by the Chairman of the Committee, duly seconded and

RESOLVED  that the Minutes of the Meeting of the Licensing and Regulatory Committee held on 19 December 2017 be approved.

15 JANUARY 2018 (Agenda Item 11b)

It was moved by the Chairman of the Committee, duly seconded and

RESOLVED  that the Minutes of the Meeting of the Licensing and Regulatory Committee held on 19 December 2017 be approved and the recommendations contained therein adopted.

To receive the minutes of the meeting of the Standards Panel held on 29 January 2018 (attached – coloured buff).

It was moved by the Chairman of the Panel, duly seconded and

RESOLVED  that the Minutes of the Meeting of the Standards Panel held on 29 January 2018 be approved and the recommendations contained therein adopted.

To note the following changes to the membership of the Executive and Committees which have been agreed with relevant Group Leaders and the Chief Executive under the Council’s Scheme of Delegation:-

Executive

The Leader has revised the membership of her Executive reducing the number to 9 Portfolio Holders, and making minor adjustments to portfolio responsibilities – the new details of which are circulated To Follow – for information.

Customer Service and Value for Money Overview and Scrutiny Committee

Following the resignation of Cllrs Jeanette and Stewart Stennett from this Committee, Cllrs Brian Adams and David Round have been appointed to fill the vacancies.

Community Wellbeing Overview and Scrutiny Committee

Following the resignation of Cllr Simon Thornton from the Council, Cllr David Else has been appointed to fill the vacancy on this Committee.

Farnham Residents’ Group Leader

Cllr Williamson has handed over responsibility as Group Leader of the Farnham Residents to Cllr John Ward which includes the following positions on Committees:-

Standards Panel

Emergency Advisory Group.

Recommendation

It is recommended that the membership changes be noted.

RESOLVED  that the changes to Committee memberships in accordance with the Scheme of Delegation and as set out in the agenda papers, be noted.