Chief Executive for Arun — latest news / also 6 motions at full Council on Wednesday on key local issues
by Jan Cosgrove, Editor
The full Council of Arun Council this Wednesday (6pm, view on link below) will decide how to approach the gap left by the resignation of current Chief Executive Nigel Lynn whose last day of service will be 16th October.
This comes in the wake of lack of information which several Councillors, including the Chairman, Jim Brooks, Leader of the Opposition, James Walsh and three other Councillors, including a Tory, expressed to me within the pasr couple of days. Dr Walsh told me on Monday that in common with group leaders, had heard only the bare bones, that recruitment agencies were being spoken to.
I wrote to Shaun Gunner, Leader of the Council “I have already asked twice for contact on the above. At least 4 Councillors have expressed concern that they know nothing at this time, and one has told me s/he believes this issue is currently confined to Chairmen of Committees etc.
I am asking what progress has been made, when Mr Lynn will vacate his position, and what options are being considered at this time. Also, given no party has a majority, what consultation has there been with the other Group Leaders and any non-aligned Cllrs, also with the Chairman of the Council?”
I received his reply this morning (Tues): “Those councillors should speak to their group leaders. They should also consider that only a committee has the authority to do anything and review the urgent item at full council on Wednesday.
SHAUN GUNNER
Leader of the Council and Conservative Group”
The Tory Cllr with whom I spoke was unaware of the situation ….. He was concerned that a small group within the Conservatives, possibly Chairs of Committees, had been consulting with Cllr Gunner but not with the whole group. If so, that would cut across the fact that no single party has a majority at Arun and make nonsense of Shaun Gunner’s espousal of a unity administration in recent months before he became Leader of the Council.
The item on Wednesday and as the report submitted shows, it is recommended that a panel is set up to consider what to do, and that could include not making a full appointment but an interim arrangement instead. As this paper has pointed already, these are uncertain and changing times for local government, our recent Poll showed a majority of the sample supporting change which would remove Arun as the our District authority.
Report to Council on issue:
The debate can be viewed:
Motions to be debated on Wednesday
The following 6 Motions have been submitted in accordance with Council Procedure 15.1 and 15.2:
MOTION 1
Proposer: Councillor Stanley
Seconder: Councillor Bennett
This Council requests an officer report be produced exploring how we can further enhance our performance regarding Empty Homes, with an aim to bring even more of them back into use.
This report should include but not exclusively contain:-
1. Council tax charged on Empty Homes with a view to exploring a potential sliding scale increase over time. A similar system is currently being used in Brighton and Hove.
2. Council tax charged on Holiday Homes with a view to encourage owners to utilitise their properties on at least an annual basis.
3. A review of the incentives and services we (could) offer property owners to increase engagement with our Empty Homes Team and support tenant management issues and misconceptions.
4. A review of how we promote our Empty Homes service and how we communicate success stories.
This Council acknowledges the potential financial impact of this work (both costs and income streams) well as the potential impact on officer resource and requests this information is included in the report.
Finally this Council requests a letter is sent to the relevant minister and local members of parliament requesting consideration is given to including Empty Homes that are brought back into use into the Housing Delivery targets for Local Authorities, and an option to co-sign this letter be given to all District Council Groups Leaders.
MOTION 2
Proposer: Councillor Edwards
Seconder: Councillor Gunner
Motion about Southern Water
We are unfortunately hearing about the continuous discharges of untreated sewage in the sea which has directly affected our residents’ opportunity to use the bathing waters, as well as affecting the wildlife in our harbours and waterways.
This is not just an issue for the Arun District either, it is affecting the coastline from Kent to Portsmouth. Residents along the coast are being constantly subjected to incidents where raw sewage is simply pumped directly into the sea.
Arun District Council believes that the health of residents is of the utmost importance, and this situation therefore must not be allowed to continue. It will also potentially affect our local economy if people are unable to use the seaside because of unsafe bathing water.
This Council urges Arun District Council to condemn this disgraceful practice in the strongest possible terms and calls upon Southern Water and Mr Andrew Griffith, MP and The Rt Hon Nick Gibb, MP to meet together with Arun District Council to agree specific timed commitments for ceasing the practice of discharging untreated sewage into our safe water system.
MOTION 3
Proposer: Councillor Dixon
Seconder: Councillor Thurston
The Coastal Plain in the Arun District is low lying and flat — making it vulnerable to the risks arising from climate change, particularly rising sea levels. This land was under the sea once (as evidenced by the district’s raised beaches), and, if recent climate change forecasts are to be believed, it can be again.
There are already thousands of existing homes on the Coastal Plain. Also, the Council is compelled by government policy to build a further 20,000 new homes.
Normally, in districts at risk of flooding, it is possible to build on higher ground but in the Arun district our higher ground is National Park, where there is a presumption against development, and so we are prevented from doing this. New homes can only be built on the Coastal Plain.
On the 5 December 2019, the Prime Minister said:
“We’ve got to stop building on flood plains. We’ve got to stop building on areas which are vulnerable to flooding.”
And
“The other thing we’ve got to do, we’ve got to put in long-term flood defences …
This Council supports these aims, as expressed by the Prime Minister.
The Council therefore calls on the government to recognise the flood risks to the Coastal Plain arising from climate change, by commissioning a full and comprehensive risk assessment for the Coastal Plain, utilising the most up to date and credible scientific data available, in order to identify what mitigation measures will be required to protect new and existing communities.
The Council instructs the Chief Executive to write to the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government to request a meeting to discuss this.
MOTION 3
Proposer: Councillor Dixon
Seconder: Councillor Stanley
I wish to submit the following motion to rescind for September’s Full Council, as a motion to rescind requires the support of at least 14 Councillors to be placed on the agenda I can confirm the following Councillors support both of these motions.
Councillors Batley, Bennett, Blanchard-Cooper, Gregory, Jones, Lury, Needs, Oppler, Purchese, Smith, Stanley, Tilbrook, Walsh, Warr, Worne, Yeates, Coster, Dixon, Hamilton, Haywood, Huntley, Catterson and Thurston.
In line with Council Procedure Rule 19.1 this is a motion to rescind a decision. I move that the decision at minute 176 of the Economic Committee Meeting of the 26 July 2021 be rescinded.
This being
1) Officers to immediately re-market the London Road Lorry Coach Park (Bognor Regis) for sale, and to report back a marketing and level of interest update to the next meeting of the Economic Committee.
2) When re-marketing, Officers are to advise interested parties that the Council would prefer a developer to retain 100 public car parking spaces, re-provide public toilets, and facilitate a quality entrance route to Hotham Park.
3) The land area under consideration incorporates the adjoining car park. In marketing the site, Officers will use an agent, and the terms of sale will be as before, with no end use defined.
4) Officers are given authority to exceed their £100,000 delegated authority in respect of a fee which could become payable to an agent
MOTION 4
Proposer: Councillor Bennett
Seconder: Councillor Haywood
I wish to submit the following motion to rescind for September’s Full Council, as a motion to rescind requires the support of at least 14 Councillors to be placed on the agenda I can confirm the following Councillors support both of these motions.
Councillors Batley, Bennett, Blanchard-Cooper, Gregory, Jones, Lury, Needs, Oppler, Purchese, Smith, Stanley, Tilbrook, Walsh, Warr, Worne, Yeates, Coster, Dixon, Hamilton, Haywood, Huntley, Catterson and Thurston.
In line with Council Procedure Rule 19.1 this is a motion to rescind a decision. I move that the decision at minute 200 of the Audit & Governance Committee Meeting of the 29 July 2021 be rescinded.
This being that the Committee’s start times for meetings for 2021/22 be 10.00 am
MOTION 5
Proposer: Councillor Thurston
Seconder: Councillor Walsh
Introduction
Whilst recognising the good intentions of the Council as expressed in the Energy Efficiency strategy 2020–25, for measures such as improved insulation and energy saving measures, this Council believes that action now needs to be stepped up if we are to meet our carbon reduction targets. We recognise two major difficulties: a high level of fuel poverty in the district; and the need to understand the new and emerging technologies required to address the carbon reduction targets. However, Arun District has declared a Climate Emergency and aims to be a carbon neutral authority by 2030. That is only eight years away.
In the last few years, Arun District Council has connected 200 council homes to the gas network, and in 2020, around 80 properties had gas boilers installed under the Safe and Warm Home grants scheme. And a few weeks ago, a special meeting of the Wellbeing and Residential committee was called at very short notice to authorise a communal heating gas boiler serving 70 homes to be replaced at Bersted Green Court. This boiler was known to be reaching the end of its life and its replacement had been planned.
Gas is a fossil fuel and causes high levels of carbon dioxide emissions. As we know, the government will be phasing out the use of gas for new housing in the next few years. It is still legally possible to carry on replacing boilers until around 2030 if they are assumed to last for up to twenty years; this would tie in with the government’s target of reaching carbon neutral by 2050. However, at Arun we have set a higher target and so this does not set a good precedent. In fact, this decision alone will surely prevent us being a carbon neutral council by 2030 as we intended.
Motion
This Council requires that carbon neutral alternatives are found to replace heating systems in Council owned properties, rather than replacing gas boilers with new gas boilers. There are systems available and research for alternatives to suit a variety of properties should start now, so that Arun District Council is never again in the position of having to renew a gas boiler.
MOTION 6
Proposer: Councillor Walsh
Seconder: Councillor Stanley
This Council notes with great concern that Southern Water has been fined £90m for sustained sewage discharges into seawater and water courses in our region, after earlier repeated offences. It also notes that Macquarie, a company with a history of asset stripping and profit taking, have taken a majority stake in the company.
It RESOLVES to request the Chief Executive and Group Head of Planning write to them asking what plans and timescales they have to:
a) Cease such illegal discharges causing risk to public and environmental health
b) Separate rainwater drainage from sewage networks
c) Accommodate all the proposed new house building with main sewer connection before a) and
If no satisfactory answers are received, it further RESOLVES to request the DCHLG to drastically reduce the Arun Local Plan housing delivery targets until safe sewage disposal and reasonable rainwater excess drainage can be achieved.
