Agenda and minutes

62.1    The Mayor, Cllr Penny Marriott, welcomed Members and members of the public to the Council meeting, and introduced the Officers present: the Chief Executive, Tom Horwood; Strategic Directors, Graeme Clark and Annie Righton; Head of Policy & Governance, Robin Taylor; Head of Finance and Property, Peter Vickers; and Borough Solicitor, Daniel Bainbridge.

62.2    The Mayor reminded Members of the protocols for Zoom meetings, and confirmed that she was waiving Council Procedure Rule 21.1, the requirement for Members to stand to speak.

The Mayor to report apologies for absence.

Apologies for absence were received from Cllrs Joan Heagin, Chris Howard and George Wilson.

To confirm the Minutes of the Council meeting held on 20 October 2020 (herewith).

64.1    The Minutes of the Meeting of the Council held on 20 October 2021 were confirmed. The Mayor would sign these at a later date.

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.

66.1     The Mayor reflected on the difficult year that everyone had had, and looked forward to the positive news of vaccinations starting in the New Year. The Covid-19 restrictions had limited events in person, but the Mayor had enjoyed joining various community groups and events online, and keeping in touch with council staff and Members in the same way. She was incredibly proud of how everyone had pulled together and adapted to new ways of working.

66.2     Whilst Remembrance Sunday events had not been able to go ahead quite the same as normal, the Mayor had been able to take part in a Covid-safe ceremony at Hale Church in Farnham for a limited number of local service organisations and veterans, which was recorded and streamed on YouTube in order that the community could join in with the commemoration from their homes. They Mayor had also represented Waverley at an on-line Remembrance Friday event arranged by the Pan-African Ahmadiyya Muslim  Association UK.

67.1    The Leader opened his announcements by noting the sudden increase in Covid-19 infection rates in the south-east, and the emergency decision to move London into Tier 3 restrictions. The Leader was continuing to lobby for Waverley to be considered separately to the rest of Surrey, given that the borough consistently had had the lowest infection rates in Surrey. The council would continue to do everything it could to support businesses and residents, and he encouraged everyone to continue to be vigilant in their behaviour to reduce the spread of Covid.

67.2    The council remained concerned about the uncertainty of Brexit arrangements and their impact. The Surrey County Council bid to become a single Surrey unitary had also been extremely unsettling and wasted considerable time and effort. The report commissioned by the eleven Surrey districts and boroughs would be published shortly, and would encourage all to explore ways to work more loosely together. Waverley had already begun discussions with Guildford to see if there were opportunities to achieve economies of scale and improve services.

            The Leader then invited Executive Portfolio Holders to give brief updates on current issues:

67.3    Cllr Steve Williams, Portfolio Holder for Environment and Sustainability

·         Work had progressed on the Carbon Neutrality Action Plan, that had now been approved by the Executive. It incorporated a range of areas including organisational emissions, active travel and air quality, and the development of the green economy in Waverley.

67.4    Cllr Anne-Marie Rosoman, Portfolio Holder for Housing and Community Safety:

·         The Borough Commander, Inspector Sam Adcock, had been meeting regularly with Community Safety Officers and there were now Neighbourhood Specialist Officers in Waverley’s four major towns in addition to two youth engagement officers and a number of PCSOs.

·         Work would begin shortly on the new Housing Strategy, and discussions were beginning about Waverley’s involvement in the affordable housing provision at Dunsfold Park.

·         The Homelessness Team continued to support a number  of families in finding emergency accommodation and then moving on, and funding had been secured for two one-bed modular housing units which would now go through the planning process.

·         The Housing Operations Team continued their engagement with residents and tenants during the pandemic, and in the last quarter the number of repairs completed had gone up and the number of void properties had gone down. Rent arrears had also declined and were within the budgeted margins.

67.5    Cllr Andy MacLeod, Portfolio Holder for Planning Policy and Brightwells:

·           There were two public consultations underway, one for the Chiddingfold Neighbourhood Plan, which closed on 11 January 2021; and one for the Local Plan Part 2, which would close on 29 January 2021. Details of both were on the Waverley website.

·           Work was starting on a climate change sustainability supplementary planning document. This would follow a formal process including public consultation, and the council was exploring options for capitalising on similar work that Guildford Borough Council had done in this area.

·           With regards to the Brightwells Yard development, Crest Nicholson were still expressing  ...  view the full minutes text for item CNL67/20

To respond to questions from members of the public, received in accordance with Procedure Rule 10.

The deadline for receipt of questions is 5pm on Tuesday 8 December 2020.

There were no questions from members of the public.

To respond to any questions received from Members of the Council in accordance with Procedure Rule 11.2.

The deadline for receipt of questions is 5pm on Tuesday 8 December 2020.

There were no questions from Members.

To receive any motions submitted in accordance with Procedure Rule 12.1.

The deadline for receipt of motions was 5pm on Thursday 3 December 2020. No Motions have been received.

There had been no Motions on notice submitted.

To receive the Minutes of the Executive meetings held on 3 November, 20 November, and 1 December 2020, and to consider the recommendations set out within.

There are three Part I matters for Council consideration, set out in the following agenda items.

9.1      EXE59/20      Update to General Fund Medium Term Financial Plan 2021/22-2024/25

9.2      EXE60/20      Revised Corporate Strategy 2020-2025

9.4      EXE61/20      Property Matter (Exempt)

There shall be no debate on any item contained in Part II of the Minutes but Members may give notice in writing, by email, or by phone, by noon on the day of the meeting of a statement or question, and give details of any question (PR14.14).

71.1     It was moved by the Leader, duly seconded and RESOLVED that the Minutes of the Executive meetings held on 3 November, 20 November, and 1 December 2020 be received and noted.

71.2     There were three Part I matters, for Council consideration, from the meeting on 1 December 2020.

The Executive RECOMMEND that Council:

1.         Approve the updated forecast and assumptions in the latest Medium Term Financial Plan and request that a full review of the Plan is brought to Council in February 2021 alongside the draft 2021/21 Budget report; and

2.         Agree that capital receipts are applied to fund business transformation and efficiency projects as allowed under the statutory provisions.

72.1    Cllr Mark Merryweather, Portfolio Holder for Finance, Assets and Commercial Services, presented the update to the General Fund Medium Term Financial Plan (MTFP), which reflected a longer-term assessment of the impact of the Covid pandemic on the Council’s financial resilience. The revised MTFP showed an increase of £7.9m in the projected net budget shortfall for the four year medium term, which was now estimated to comprise a £17.1m gross shortfall against which only £9.1m of compensating measures had currently been identified. A range of measures had been identified for consideration as part of the 2021/22 and subsequent year’s budget setting, including car park charges, other charges, property income, and council tax increases.

72.2    During the debate Councillors noted the high level of uncertainty with regard to the assumptions going forward, the lack of fairness in the business rates funding regime, and uncertainty about government Covid-related support payments. Cllr Merryweather invited the Conservative Group to join the Administration in lobbying the government for a fairer distribution of Business Rates.

72.3    The Leader thanked Members for their overall support for the direction of travel on the MTFP and requested a recorded vote on the recommendations, which was supported by Cllrs Follows, Goodridge, Davidson, Townsend and Palmer.

72.4    Council RESOLVED to:

1.    Approve the updated forecast and assumptions in the latest Medium Term Financial Plan and request that a full review of the Plan is brought to Council in February 2021 alongside the draft 2021/21 Budget report; and

2.    Agree that capital receipts are applied to fund business transformation and efficiency projects as allowed under the statutory provisions.

For  50

Cllrs Brian Adams, Christine Baker, David Beaman, Roger Blishen, Peter Clark, Carole Cockburn, Richard Cole, Steve Cosser, Martin D’Arcy, Jerome Davidson, Kevin Deanus, Sally Dickson, Brian Edmonds, Patricia Ellis, David Else, Jenny Else, Paul Follows, Mary Foryszewski, Maxine Gale, Michael Goodridge, John Gray, Michaela Gray, Val Henry, George Hesse, Dan Hunt, Jerry Hyman, Peter Isherwood, Jacquie Keen, Robert Knowles, Anna James, Andy MacLeod, Penny Marriott, Peter Marriott, Michaela Martin, Peter Martin, Mark Merryweather, Kika Mirylees, John Neale, Peter Nicholson, Nick Palmer, Julia Potts, Ruth Reed, Paul Rivers, Penny Rivers, John Robini, Anne-Marie Rosoman, Richard Seaborne, Liz Townsend, John Ward, Steve Williams

Abstentions  2

Cllrs Simon Dear, Trevor Sadler

Against  0

The Executive RECOMMEND the Corporate Strategy, set out at Annexe 1, to Council for adoption.

73.1    The Leader, Cllr John Ward, opened the presentation of the revised Corporate Strategy by highlighting a minor amendment to the text, to show that the Local Plan Part 2 was now expected to the delivered by February 2022, due to delays in the process as a result of Covid. This amendment was agreed without debate, by general assent.

73.2    The Leader reminded councillors of the extensive consultation that had been done on the revised strategy, including councillor workshops, and discussion at all four overview and scrutiny committees. The feedback received had been considered carefully and the document had been completely reformatted in response to comments made. The strategy reflected the prevailing uncertainty around the ongoing impacts of Covid, of Brexit, and inadequate government funding. It also reaffirmed the council’s commitment to open participative government, building a strong and resilient economy by supporting local businesses and attracting new ventures to the borough, addressing the climate emergency, providing good quality affordable housing, and supporting the local community through the Covid pandemic.

73.3    The revised strategy was endorsed by Cllr Follows. Cllr Foryszewski expressed some disappointment that there was not a more substantive commitment to taking action supporting mental health issues including suicide prevention. Cllr Hyman expressed his support for the strategy, but stressed the need to deliver against it.

73.4    In conclusion, the Leader thanked councillors for their comments and gave an assurance that mental health issues would be considered within the scope of Waverley health and wellbeing agenda. He commended the revised Corporate Strategy to Council, with the minor amendment previously agreed, and asked for a recorded vote which was supported by Cllrs Follows, Gale, MacLeod, Clark, and Davidson.

73.5    Council RESOLVED to adopt the revised Corporate Strategy 2020-2025 (as amended).

For  34

Cllrs Christine Baker, David Beaman, Roger Blishen, Peter Clark, Richard Cole, Martin D’Arcy, Jerome Davidson, Sally Dickson, Brian Edmonds, Paul Follows, Mary Foryszewski, Maxine Gale, Michaela Gray, George Hesse, Dan Hunt, Jerry Hyman, Jacquie Keen, Andy MacLeod, Penny Marriott, Peter Marriott, Michaela Martin, Mark Merryweather, Kika Mirylees, John Neale, Peter Nicholson, Nick Palmer, Ruth Reed, Paul Rivers, Penny Rivers, John Robini, Anne-Marie Rosoman, Liz Townsend, John Ward, Steve Williams

Abstentions  19

Cllrs Brian Adams, Carole Cockburn, Steve Cosser, Kevin Deanus, Simon Dear, Patricia Ellis, David Else, Jenny Else, Michael Goodridge, John Gray, Val Henry, Peter Isherwood, Robert Knowles, Anna James, Peter Martin, Stephen Mulliner, Julia Potts, Trevor Sadler, Richard Seaborne

Against  0

To consider the following motion, to be moved by the Mayor:

That, pursuant to Procedure Rule 20 and in accordance with Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the press and public be excluded from the meeting during consideration of any matter on this agenda on the grounds that it is likely, in view of the nature of the business to be transacted or the nature of the proceedings, that if members of the public were present during the item(s), there would be disclosure to them of exempt information (as defined by Section 100I of the Act) of the description specified Paragraph 5 of the revised Part I of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972 (to be identified at the meeting):

Information in respect of which a claim to legal professional privilege could be maintained in legal proceedings.

74.1    At 8.26pm, on the advice of the Leader, the Mayor moved the recommendation that, pursuant to Procedure Rule 20 and in accordance with Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the press and public be excluded from the meeting during consideration of the following Property matter on the grounds that it was likely, in view of the nature of the business to be transacted or the nature of the proceedings, that if members of the public were present during the item, there would be disclosure to them of exempt information (as defined by Section 100I of the Act) of the description specified Paragraph 5 of the revised Part I of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972, namely: Information in respect of which a claim to legal professional privilege could be maintained in legal proceedings.

74.2    Cllrs Potts, Cosser and Mulliner expressed the concerns of the Conservative Group that not all of the matters to be debated with regard to the Property Matter were subject to the exemption and that it lacked transparency to move into Exempt session for the entire debate.

74.3    In response, Cllr Follows and Cllr Rosoman highlighted that Waverley and the other part in the Property Matter were subject to a confidentiality agreement which both parties had signed, and there was a risk of a breach if discussion in open session strayed into matters covered by that agreement. This was endorsed by the Borough Solicitor.

74.4    At the request of the Leader, and supported by Cllrs Goodridge, Cosser, Potts, Mulliner, and John Gray, a recorded vote was taken on the recommendation to move into exempt session.

74.5    At 8.58, the Council RESOLVED to move into Exempt session for to consider the following Property Matter, by 34 votes in favour and 19 votes against.

For  34

Cllrs Christine Baker, David Beaman, Roger Blishen, Peter Clark, Richard Cole, Martin D’Arcy, Jerome Davidson, Sally Dickson, Brian Edmonds, Paul Follows, Mary Foryszewski, Maxine Gale, Michaela Gray, George Hesse, Dan Hunt, Jerry Hyman, Jacquie Keen, Andy MacLeod, Penny Marriott, Peter Marriott, Michaela Martin, Mark Merryweather, Kika Mirylees, John Neale, Peter Nicholson, Nick Palmer, Ruth Reed, Paul Rivers, Penny Rivers, John Robini, Anne-Marie Rosoman, Liz Townsend, John Ward, Steve Williams

Abstentions  0

Against  19

Cllrs Brian Adams, Carole Cockburn, Steve Cosser, Kevin Deanus, Simon Dear, Patricia Ellis, David Else, Jenny Else, Michael Goodridge, John Gray, Val Henry, Peter Isherwood, Robert Knowles, Anna James, Peter Martin, Stephen Mulliner, Julia Potts, Trevor Sadler, Richard Seaborne

The Executive RECOMMEND that Council approve the recommendation as set out in the Exempt report.

75.1     At 8.58pm, the Council moved into Exempt session to consider the recommendations set out in the Exempt report.

75.2     At 9.50pm, in accordance with Procedure Rule 9, Council RESOLVED to continue the meeting until the conclusion of its consideration of the items on the agenda.

75.3     At 10.18pm, the Council returned to Open session and the Mayor moved the recommendations set out in the Exempt report (as amended in the Exempt session), which the Council RESOLVED to agree, with all in favour except Cllr Brian Edmonds who abstained.

76.1     The Mayor invited the following councillors who had registered to speak on Part II matters to make their statement:

76.2     With regard to EXE53/20, Property Acquisition, Cllr Hyman asked if the price paid for the property could be made public. The Leader responded that the price would be made public at the appropriate time

76.3.1 With regard to EXE62/20, Carbon Neutrality Action Plan, Cllr Seaborne asked the Portfolio Holder:

·         When the annual report is submitted in October next year will it contain a CO₂ reduction trajectory that is based on what can actually be delivered by the plan rather than what we would like the plan to deliver?

·         Will the 2021 annual report attempt to set out what can realistically be achieved in terms of emissions reduction from our council house stock and spell out the level of government support required to make significant inroads on this item? and,

·         Will he consider bringing the report to full council this time next year? We have, after all declared an emergency. It seems to me that the management of emergencies is something that all councillors should have the opportunity to comment on.

76.3.2Cllr Steve Williams, Portfolio Holder for Environment and Sustainability, thanked Cllr Seaborne for his comments and questions, and looked forward to further cross-party working on the carbon neutrality action plan going forward. The Sustainability Team had been under-resourced for the scale of the task at hand, but capacity was now being built although the Covid pandemic had resulted in a delay in bringing forward the Action Plan for approval.

76.3.3In response to Cllr Seaborne’s questions, Cllr Williams responded that the council would be engaging with technical experts to help build on the more technical and financial detail of the action plan and this would be done early next year; secondly, the action plan stated as one of its high level targets “we will produce an asset management strategy which will present a decarbonisation path for our existing housing stock by November 2021” and work had already begun to improve data on housing stock and enable the development of an asset management strategy that aimed to decarbonize Waverley's housing stock; and thirdly, the progress update would be presented to full council next year.

76.4    With regard to EXE62/20, Carbon Neutrality Action Plan, Cllr Mulliner suggested that the action plan needed to show a clear subdivision between those projects to be funded from Waverley’s own resources and those which needed government help, and this to be reflected in the sections of the action plan that set out actions for the council and those for the borough as a whole. Cllr Mulliner also noted that his understanding of the costs of retrofitting housing to be carbon neutral meant the bill for Waverley’s council housing stock could be in the region of £300m which would clearly need external funding.

To receive the Minutes of the Licensing & Regulatory Committee meeting held on 9 November 2020.

There are no Part I Matters for Council decision.

There shall be no debate on any item contained in Part II of the Minutes but Members may give notice in writing, by email, or by phone, by noon on the day of the meeting of a statement or question, and give details of any question (PR14.14).

77.1    It was moved by Cllr Robert Knowles, the Chairman of the Committee, duly seconded and  RESOLVED that the Minutes of the Licensing and Regulatory Committee held on 9 November 2020 received and noted.

77.2    Whilst there were no Part I matters for Council decision, the Chairman reported on two matter that the Committee has been considering. The first was the review of the Council’s Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Licensing Policy. The Committee first considered revisions to the Policy back in January 2020, and approved a draft revised policy for consultation which responded to recommendations from the Department of Transport on a safer system of taxi and private hire vehicle licensing, as well as other changes to update conditions of licensing. Whilst the consultation did take place, consideration of the feedback was overtaken by Covid, and the review of the Policy was put on hold temporarily. Officers had now revisited the proposed revisions, and the Committee had approved an updated draft Policy for consultation, that reflected the new Statutory Taxi and Private Hire Vehicle Standards, introduced an age policy for licensed vehicles that would help transition the taxi fleet to Ultra Low Emission Vehicles, and updates other conditions of licensing.

77.3    The Licensing & Regulatory Committee had a Special meeting last week, to progress the Street Trading review. A number of Members and Town and Parish councils responded to the informal consultation, with general support for an approach by which all streets, and public open areas next to streets, would be designated as Consent Streets with the exception of those already designated as Prohibited Streets which will remain as such. This would give the Council much greater control  over street trading, and in particular traders serving takeaway food from mobile vans which have the potential to cause disruption and nuisance to residents. There was a detailed legal process to be followed in order to designate streets as Consent Streets, and the Licensing & Regulatory Committee last week approved the draft revised Street Trading Policy, and the formal notices which needed to be published relating to the intention to pass a resolution on Street Trading and the Designation of Consent and Prohibited Streets.

To receive the Minutes of the Audit Committee meetings held on 9 November 2020 and 30 November 2020.

There are no Part I Matters for Council decision.

There shall be no debate on any item contained in Part II of the Minutes but Members may give notice in writing, by email, or by phone, by noon on the day of the meeting of a statement or question, and give details of any question (PR14.14).

78.1    It was moved by Cllr Peter Marriott, the Chairman of the Committee, duly seconded and RESOLVED that the Minutes of the Meetings of the Audit Committee held on 9 November and 30 November 2020 be received and noted.

78.2    The Chairman noted that this had been a very challenging year in which to prepare the annual accounts, due to Covid restrictions impacting on the way in which the audit had to be completed, and also the effect of legislative changes requiring a different approach by the auditors on certain aspects of the reporting. The accounts were finalised and agreed by 30 November 2020, and the Chairman thanked Graeme Clark and his Finance Team for their work in meeting the government’s deadline, especially when over half of the councils in the country had not.

78.3    Cllr Jerry Hyman had submitted the following question in relation to the minutes of the Audit Committee meeting held on 14 September 2020:

AUD 30/20 (Minute)under which I wish to ask the following:

In respect of how the Habitats legislation must be interpreted, the 2019 National Planning Policy Guidance summarises the People Over Wind Ruling stating, 

“… it would appear that off-site Suitable Alternative Natural Greenspaces may be considered as a mitigation measure under People over Wind as their primary purpose is to draw recreational pressure away from sites and so prevent an adverse effect from occurring. In these cases the competent authority must now assess the robustness of mitigation measures through an appropriate assessment.” [Paragraph: 006, Reference ID: 65-006-20190722; Revision date: 22 07 2019]. The Ruling states that where measures intended to mitigate or avoid possible impacts on a SPA are proposed, an Appropriate Assessment must be carried out containing, 

“a full and precise analysis of the measures capable of avoiding or reducing any significant effects on the site concerned” (para 36) and which  

“may not have lacunae and must contain complete, precise and definitive findings and conclusions capable of removing all reasonable scientific doubt as to the effects of the proposed works on the protected site concerned” (para 38). 

Madam Mayor, please will you confirm that those are facts, and that to present them as merely my own opinion would be incorrect and unfair?

78.4    The Mayor thanked Cllr Hyman for his comments and question, and advised him that the minutes of committee meetings are approved at subsequent meetings of that committee. During that item of a committee’s agenda, there is the opportunity to query, expand upon or debate the minutes. The purpose of this item at the Full Council meeting was for the Council to receive the minutes, rather than get into a further debate on the published record of a particular committee’s meeting.

It is recommended that Council agrees the proportional allocation of seats on the Principal Committees and SCC Local Committee in accordance with the political proportionality of the Council as detailed in Annexe 1.

79.1    The Mayor introduced the report setting out the revised political proportionality of the council and allocation of committee seats and moved the recommendation that it be agreed, which was duly seconded.

79.2    Council RESOLVED to agree the proportional allocation to seats on the Principal Committees and SCC Local Committee in accordance with the political proportionality of the Council, with all in favour except Cllr Hyman who abstained.