Minutes:
51.1 The Leader reminded Members that Cllr David Beaman had recently stood down from the Executive, and he reiterated his thanks to Cllr David Beaman for his hard work as an member of the Executive since the elections in May 2019. Cllr Beaman had been replaced on the Executive by Cllr Michaela Martin, who had taken over the same portfolio as previously held by Cllr Beaman.
51.2 With regard to Covid, the Leader was concerned that Waverley could be following Elmbridge and moving into the Tier 2 category of restrictions. It was not clear what the escalation triggers were, or the critical thresholds, and officers were trying to find out more information about how these decisions were made, and by whom.
51.3 With regard to local government reorganisation, the government’s recent announcement that Surrey was not one of the three counties invited to put forward proposal had removed some of the urgency from the preparatory work. However, it appeared that Surrey would be in the second was of invitations and whilst the timing of this was unknown, it was understood that Surrey County Council was continuing to develop its proposal for a single Surrey Unitary. All the Surrey Districts and Boroughs had opposed this option, and work was continuing with KPMG to produce evidence to support alternative unitary proposals at the appropriate time, and opportunities for closer working between councils.
51.4 Whilst the council’s consultation response on the Planning White Paper Planning for the Future was still being finalised, Jeremy Hunt had been fully briefed on the council’s concerns which he had fully taken on board.
The Leader then invited the Executive Portfolio Holders to give brief updates on current issue:
51.5 Cllr Mark Merryweather, Portfolio Holder for Finance, Assets and Commercial Services:
· When Council last met, in August, it had agreed a contingency revised General Fund budget to address the £6.6m gap arising due to Covid. Whilst the position regarding government funding was clearer now than in August, it seemed likely that only around 50% of the council’s Covid costs and losses would be covered by grants.
51.6 Cllr Steve Williams, Portfolio Holder for Environment and Sustainability:
· The Climate Emergency Action Plan remained on track to come to Overview & Scrutiny in November, and Executive on 1 December. The public consultation had closed at the weekend and generated a very good response that was very supportive of the council’s direction of travel on climate change.
51.7 Cllr Anne-Marie Rosoman, Portfolio Holder for Housing and Community Safety:
· Inspector Sam Adcock had now taken up her new post as Waverley Borough Commander, and would be attending the meeting of the Safer Waverley Partnership Executive later in the week.
· Despite the Covid pandemic, the development of Site A on Ockford Ridge had been completed and Cllr Rosoman had visited some of the finished properties. Tenants who had already moved in were really happy with their new homes and the last handover was scheduled for early November.
· Housing Officers continued to provide outstanding support to tenants, as did the Tenants Panel who had recently held their AGM via Zoom. Cllr Rosoman thanked the Tenants Panel members for their hard work and commitment to working with the council to help tenants.
51.8 Cllr Andy MacLeod, Portfolio Holder for Planning Policy and Brightwells:
· Cllr MacLeod encouraged Members to attend the briefing on Thursday on the Planning for the Future White Paper.
· Brightwells Yard was still on track for the commercial part of the scheme to open in July 2021, which would be followed by the residential units, and finally the replacement of the temporary access by a new footbridge, by 2023.
51.9 Cllr Nick Palmer, Portfolio Holder for Operational and Enforcement Services:
· A number of the Chambers of Commerce and retailers had requested free parking during December to help encourage customers to the High Street. There would be a financial impact for the council, and there was also some reluctance to encourage large numbers of people to the high streets that might prevent social distancing; so options were still being explored to find a solution.
51.10 Cllr Liz Townsend, Portfolio Holder for Economic Development, Leisure and Dunsfold Park:
· Eight of Waverley’s parks and green spaces had once again been recognised with a Green Flag Award, and Cllr Townsend thanked the Parks and Countryside Team, as well as the volunteers and contractors at Continental, for all their hard work.
· Farnham Park had received a coveted Green Heritage Site accreditation for the management of its historic features; and the Phillips Memorial Park had received a Gold Award for the 7th year running in the Large Park Category of South East in Bloom. Congratulations were also due to Cranleigh in Bloom, who got a Gold Award; and Farnham Town Council who won four Golds and a Silver Gilt award, as well as Outstanding in the Community Gardening Award with Space2Grow. These were all magnificent achievements in very difficult circumstances.
· The Economic Development Team was continuing to support the local businesses, working with the Chambers of Commerce and helping to disseminate information via the business newsletter.
· At Frensham, the efforts to bring stakeholders together over the summer had paid dividends, with a coordinated approach to address antisocial behaviour and nuisance parking; and 2km of double yellow lines had been installed, which would help provide a long term traffic management solution for residents.
· The Dunsfold Park Advisory Group had had its first meeting, and this would be a very important group going forward in the delivery of the new settlement, focussing on planning and design features, infrastructure delivery and housing delivery.
51.11 Cllr Michaela Martin, Portfolio Holder for Culture, Heath and Wellbeing:
· The Farnham Maltings had been awarded a £165,000 emergency support grant for culture.
51.12 Cllr Peter Clark, Portfolio Holder for Business Transformation, IT and Customer Service:
· The Facilities Team had been responding to changing guidance on Covid to ensure that The Burys was safe for staff returning to the offices to work.
· The Burys was now a base for over 40 response officers from Surrey Police, and they also rented almost 20 car parking spaces from the council. They had asked to increase their office area and options were being considered to accommodate this request.
· The Customer Service Centre went live at the beginning of October, and this would provide tremendous benefits in enabling the council to build up a detailed picture of customer enquiries and to coordinate responses better.
51.13 Cllr Paul Follows, Deputy Leader:
· The Communications Team continued to do outstanding work in keeping residents informed and update on changes to Covid guidance, and answering many questions.
· There had been a meeting with Cllr Robini, County Cllr Nikki Barton and Natural England regarding LPP2, which had been productive and useful.