Agenda and minutes

To receive the following motion as submitted by Cllr Simon Inchbald in accordance with Procedure Rule 12.1:

“It is proposed that Waverley Borough Council welcomes the return of the HMS Hambledon memorial plaque and records its thanks to the Parish Council and British Legion in Hambledon (Hampshire) for facilitating this; and also to Miss Jane Woolley of Hambledon (Surrey) for her part in securing its return.”

The Mayor, Cllr Simon Inchbald, welcomed Members and guests to the Annual Meeting of the Council.

The Mayor then put forward the following Motion, which had been submitted in accordance with Procedure Rule 12.1:

“It is proposed that Waverley Borough Council welcomes the return of the HMS Hambledon memorial plaque and records its thanks to the Parish Council and British Legion in Hambledon (Hampshire) for facilitating this; and also to Miss Jane Woolley of Hambledon (Surrey) for her part in securing its return.”

The Motion was seconded by Cllr Julia Potts, and agreed unanimously by the Council.

The Mayor further advised that a painting of HMS Hambledon owned by Godalming Museum was currently being restored, and the Museum had agreed that on the return of the painting it would be loaned to the Council so that it could be displayed alongside the memorial plaque.

On behalf of Waverley Borough Council, the Mayor sent congratulations and best wishes to HRH Prince Harry and Miss Meghan Markle on the occasion of their forthcoming wedding.

To elect the Mayor for the ensuing Council year 2018/19.

The Mayor invited nominations for the election of Mayor for the Council year 2018/19.

It was proposed by Cllr Julia Potts and seconded by Cllr Peter Martin that Cllr Denise Le Gal be elected for the ensuing year. There being no other nominations, it was

RESOLVED that Cllr Denise Le Gal be elected Mayor for the Council year 2018/19.

Having been invested with the Mayoral Robes and Chain of Office, Cllr Denise Le Gal made the Statutory Declaration of Acceptance of Office and took the chair for the remainder of the Council meeting.

The Mayor thanked her proposer and seconder for their kind comments of support and said how honoured she was to have been elected Mayor of Waverley.

The Mayor to report apologies for absence.

Apologies for absence were received from Cllrs John Fraser, Pat Frost, Jill Hargreaves, Stephen Hill, Robert Knowles, Denis Leigh, Stefan Reynolds, Jeanette Stennett, and Stewart Stennett.

To appoint the Deputy Mayor for the ensuing Council year 2018/19.

The Mayor invited nominations for the appointment of Deputy Mayor for the Council year 2018/19.

It was proposed by Cllr Kevin Deanus and seconded by Cllr David Hunter that Cllr Mary Foryszewski be appointed Deputy Mayor for the ensuing year. There being no other nominations, it was

RESOLVED that Cllr Mary Foryszewski be appointed Deputy Mayor for the year 2018/19.

Cllr Mary Foryszewski made the Statutory Declaration of Acceptance of Office and thanked those who had elected her as Deputy Mayor, and her family for their support. It was an honour and a privilege to be Deputy Mayor and she felt very humbled by the experience, but was looking forward to the coming year immensely.

Cllr Carole King proposed a vote of thanks to the retiring Mayor, Cllr Simon Inchbald.

Cllr King said that it had been a pleasure to propose Cllr Inchbald as Mayor 12 months ago, and a pleasure to now propose the vote of thanks to him as retiring Mayor. Together with his wife, Rosie, they had done a huge amount over the last year and represented the Borough at many and varied events, and she was sure that they would take away many happy memories of their year in office.

Cllr King concluded that as Mayor, Cllr Inchbald had been an excellent ambassador for Waverley; she commended him for his commitment, versatility and sense of humour, and a job very well done.

Cllr Libby Piper seconded the proposed vote of thanks.

Cllr Hyman passed on the thanks of the Farnham Residents Group to the retiring Mayor, and also congratulations to the new Mayor and Deputy Mayor.

Cllr Inchbald responded by thanking Cllr King for her kind words, and all councillors for choosing him to be their Mayor for the last year. It had been a great honour, thoroughly enjoyable, and sometimes tiring! It had been a good year: the Civic Service had been a highlight (one of the best in Surrey, he thought) and he and Rosie had had a very enjoyable trip to Germany to visit Waverley’s twin town. There had been many events – visits to school, care homes, fayres and fetes, receptions and lunches, Christmas carols and lunches, concerts and cadets!

Cllr Inchbald thanked members again, and expressed his very best wishes to the Mayor for the year ahead.

To confirm the Minutes of the Council meeting held on 24 April 2018 (herewith).

The Minutes of the meeting of the Council held on 24 April 2018 were confirmed and signed.

The Mayor announced that the date of the Civic Service was Sunday 9 September 2018, at 4pm at St Andrew’s Church, Farnham.

The Mayor announced that her official charity would be ABF The Soldier’s Charity (formerly the Army Benevolent Fund) and she looked forward to supporting them throughout her Mayoral year and in this centenary of the Great War. The Surrey Branch of the ABF was based in Farnham, and the Regional Fundraiser was Canon Peter Bruinvels who was well known to many Waverley councillors.

Finally, the Mayor drew Councillors’ attention to a special event in Milford on Friday 7 September 2018, when a memorial would be unveiled to the Canadian soldiers who were based at the temporary army camp set up on Witley Common during both the First and Second World Wars. Invitations would be sent to Councillors in a month or two.

The Leader of the Council appoints members of the Executive for the forthcoming Council year. The Executive comprises the Leader and Deputy Leader of the Council and up to eight other members of the majority political group.

The allocation of Executive Portfolios for 2018/19 as notified by the Leader are attached.

Recommendation

The Council is invited to note the appointment of the Members of the Executive for 2018/19, as attached.

The Leader of the Council introduced the members of the Executive for 2018/19 and their Portfolio Holder responsibilities as set out at Agenda Item 10.

Council RESOLVED to note the members of the Executive for 2018/19 and their Portfolio Holder responsibilities, as follows:

Cllr Julia Potts (Leader)                      Chairman

Cllr Ged Hall (Deputy Leader)            Vice-Chairman – Finance & Communications

Cllr Chris Storey                                 Planning – Operational & Policy

Cllr Jim Edwards                                Economic & Community Development

Cllr Kevin Deanus                               Community Services

Cllr Andrew Bolton                              Environment

Cllr Jenny Else                                    Health, Wellbeing & Culture

Cllr Carole King                                   Housing

Cllr Tom Martin                                   Customer & Corporate Services

The Local Government and Housing Act 1989 requires local authorities, where Members are divided into political groups, to review periodically the representation of the political groups on their Committees and Sub-Committees to ensure that seats are allocated in the same proportion as that in which the council as a whole is divided.

The Council is required to confirm the proportional allocation of seats on the principal Committees and to agree the constitution of the Committees as set out in the attached annexes (to follow).

Recommendations

The Council is recommended to:

1.         NOTE the proportional allocation of seats on the principal Committees        and the Area Planning Committees;

2.         AGREE the nominations to the Principal Committees and Area Planning       Committees for the 2018/19 year received from the political groups, as        detailed in Annexe 2;

3.         NOTE that nominations will be reviewed in light of following the by-  election on 24 May 2018 and agreed at the July 2018 Council meeting;             and

4.         AGREE the nominations to the Standards Panel, Appeals Panel,         Emergency Advisory Group, Investment Advisory Board and Surrey    County Council Local Committee as detailed in Annexe 2.

Members of the Licensing and Regulatory Committee (as set out in Annexe 2) are recommended to:

5.         AGREE the Licensing (General Purposes) and Licensing Act Sub-     Committees be constituted as indicated in Annexe 3.

The Leader of the Council moved the adoption of the recommendations in the report at Agenda Item 11 relating to the nominations for appointments to Committees for the 2018/19 Council year.

The Deputy Leader seconded the proposal, and Council

RESOLVED to:

1.         NOTE the proportional allocation of seats on the principal Committees and the Area Planning Committees;

2.         AGREE the nominations to the Principal Committees and Area Planning Committees for the 2018/19 year received from the political groups, as detailed in Annexe 2;

3.         NOTE that nominations would be reviewed following the by-election on 24 May 2018 and agreed at the July 2018 Council meeting; and

4.         AGREE the nominations to the Standards Panel, Appeals Panel, Emergency Advisory Group, Investment Advisory Board and Surrey County Council Local Committee as detailed in Annexe 2.

Members of the Licensing and Regulatory Committee (as set out in Annexe 2) RESOLVED to:

5.         AGREE the Licensing (General Purposes) and Licensing Act Sub-Committees be constituted as indicated in Annexe 3.

To make a temporary change in the parking tariff for Riverside 2 and 3 car parks, following the closure of Dogflud Car Park from 28 May 2018, to facilitate the progress of the Brightwells scheme and reduce the impact on traffic in Farnham.  

Recommendation

To amend the tariffs in Riverside 2 and 3 car parks to those proposed in this report.

The Leader of the Council outlined to the Council the intention to implement the planned closure of Dogflud Car Park in Farnham from 28 May 2018 to enable progress of the Brightwells Regeneration scheme. Alternative parking was available at Riverside 2 and 3 car parks.

An amendment to the charging structure in Riverside 2 and 3 car parks was proposed to maintain customer satisfaction and balance the demand for both short and long stay parking for shoppers, workers and visitors. For each hourly charging period, the new temporary charges for Riverside 2 and 3 car parks had been set at the lower of the current charges in Dogflud and Riverside 2 and 3. No increases were proposed in any of the temporary charges.

The Leader proposed an amendment to the recommendation in the agenda report, to clarify the intention to amend temporarily the tariffs in Riverside 2 and 3 car parks to those proposed in the report, for the duration of the time that Dogflud car park is closed.

The Deputy Leader seconded the proposed amendment to the recommendation, and this was unanimously agreed.

The Council

RESOLVED to amend temporarily the tariffs in Riverside 2 and 3 car parks to those proposed in the report, for the duration of the time that Dogflud car park was closed.

Recommendation

To agree a further supplementary estimate of £100,000 to cover any costs to the Council in relation to the JR claim submitted by the Protect Our Waverley Campaign Ltd on the Secretary of State’s decision to grant planning permission to the Dunsfold Park planning application, where Waverley Borough Council is an interested party. 

The Leader moved a proposal that the Council agree a further supplementary estimate of £100,000 to cover any costs to the Council in relation to the JR claim submitted by Protect Our Waverley Campaign Ltd on the Secretary of State’s decision to grant planning permission to the Dunsfold Park planning application, in which Waverley Borough Council was named as an interested party.

The Deputy Leader seconded the proposal.

In response to questions, the Leader responded that the Council had taken counsel’s advice and were confident that Waverley had a good case and could be confident on all aspects of defending the claim. The Council had adopted Local Plan Part 1 including all the Main Modifications, and it was important that the Council defended the Plan in its entirety.

Council RESOLVED to agree a further supplementary estimate of £100,000 to cover any costs to the Council in relation to the JR claim submitted by Protect Our Waverley Campaign Ltd on the Secretary of State’s decision to grant planning permission to the Dunsfold Park planning application, in which Waverley Borough Council was named as an interested party.