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Agenda and minutes
Venue: Muriel Matters House, Breeds Place, Hastings, East Sussex, TN34 3UY
Contact: Coral Harding on 01424 451764 email charding@hastings.gov.uk
Items No. Item Apologies for Absence
Minutes:
Apologies for absence were noted for Councillors Charman and Forward.
To approve as a correct record the minutes of the last meeting
Minutes:
RESOLVEDthat the minutes of the Full Council meeting held on 19th December 2018 be approved and signed by the Mayor as a correct record of the proceedings.
Declarations of Interest
Minutes:
The following Councillors declared an interest in the minutes:
Councillors
Committee
Minutes
Interest
Lee
Cabinet, 4th February 2019
148 (E) – Commercial Property Purchases
Prejudicial – Knows the proposed developers
S Beaney
Cabinet, 4th February 2019
148 (E) – Commercial Property Purchases
Prejudicial – Involved with Hastings older women community
housing
Rankin
Cabinet, 4th February 2019
148 (E) – Commercial Property Purchases
Personal – works in the property sector
Announcements from the Mayor and Leader
Minutes:
There were no announcements made by the Mayor or the Leader.
Questions (if any) from:
a) Members of the public under Rule 11
b) Councillors under Rule 12
Minutes:
43(a). MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC UNDER RULE 11
A written question was received from Mr Ian Sier regarding funding for sustainable transport infrastructure and the setting up of a local task group to work with other agencies on this issue. Councillor Chowney replied to the question. Copies of the question and response were circulated to Councillors and members of the public.
Mr Sier asked a supplementary question inquiring if alternative resources, such as the EU Desti-Smart funding, could be allocated to support a small task group. Councillor Chowney replied that the Council does not currently have the resources to do this but would explore the possibility of alternative funding.
A written question was received from Mr Mat McDonnell regarding air pollution. Councillor Chowney replied to the question. Copies of the question and response were circulated to Councillors and members of the public.
In a supplementary question Mr McDonnell asked if the Council could monitor local air pollution. Councillor Chowney replied that this is a statutory duty of the Council and figures can be supplied to the questioner and members of the Council.
A written question was received from Mr Ken Davies regarding the Hastings and St Leonards Climate Change Strategy and Action Plan. Councillor Chowney replied and copies of the question and response were circulated to Councillors and members of the public.
In a supplementary question Mr Davies asked what Hastings Borough Council will do to pressure East Sussex County Council, and local businesses, to support rapid decarbonisation. Councillor Chowney responded that he will be looking to setup a working group to report back to the Council on action being taken on decarbonisation.
A written question was received from Mr Tony Palin regarding the repealing of bye-laws on proposed cycling routes. Councillor Chowney replied and copies of the question and response were circulated to Councillors and members of the public.
A written question was received from Ms Julia Hilton regarding Hastings and St Leonards share of the carbon budget. Councillor Chowney replied and copies of the question and response were circulated to Councillors and members of the public.
In a supplementary question Ms Hilton asked if the Council will bring a report back to Full Council in 6 months to provide an update on action being taken to reduce carbon emissions and what resources the Council will allocate to this task. Councillor Chowney responded the Council can only use the resources of the committee and scrutiny process and this is why a scrutiny working group has been suggested. There are no funds available to allocate officers and staff.
43(b). COUNCILLORS UNDER RULE 12
Questions to the Leader, Deputy Leader and other Lead Members were asked and answered in accordance with Rule 12.1 as follows:
Questioner
Subject
Reply given by
Councillor Lee
Jerwood gallery - Could you provide an update on the Council’s mediation role and what is happening at the Jerwood gallery?
Councillor Chowney replied that negotiations with the Jerwood gallery are ongoing.
Councillor Chowney
Councillor Patmore
Corporate peer ... view the full minutes text for item 43.
Motion (Rule 14)
Councillor Chowney to propose, seconded by Councillor Evans that:
“On the 8th of October 2018 the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) warned that “rapid, far-reaching, and unprecedented changes in all aspects of society” will be required in order to limit global temperature to 1.5C above pre-industrial level and that we have only 12 years in which we can realistically accomplish this. Even half a degree above that will significantly worsen the risks of drought, floods, mass extinctions of animal species, and extreme heat and poverty for hundreds of millions of people.
Within the current financial and regulatory framework, addressing this is primarily a matter for governments – local authorities have limited influence over the development of the local economy, transport, and human behaviour. Councils need significantly increased powers to make real change locally, and significantly greater intervention by central government to reduce climate change and reduce dependency on fossil carbon.
Nevertheless, there are actions the council can take, to limit our own use of fossil carbon and encourage others to do the same, although this is limited by available resources and the scale of government cuts the council is having to cope with. Hastings Council takes this matter so seriously that we’re committed to taking a lead on this and set a target for Hastings to become carbon neutral.
To this end, we will:
- Establish an ongoing Climate Change working group (as a panel of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee), which will scrutinise the council’s policies and actions to make sure they take into account the climate change impact of everything we do;
- Develop a procurement policy that reduces our carbon emissions, procuring locally where possible, prioritising goods and services that are less dependent on fossil carbon, and prioritising companies who are taking steps to reduce their impact on climate change;
- Use whatever powers and influence we have, taking advantage of any new powers as they are made available to us by central government, to aim to make Hastings carbon neutral by 2030, or by 2050 at the latest, aiming for the borough to become energy self-sufficient through local sustainable energy generation, and call on East Sussex County Council to adopt a parallel commitment for Hastings;
- Press ahead with a programme of sustainable energy generation on council-owned and other land and buildings, investigating every viable council-owned site, as well as other sites, aiming towards supplying 30% of the town’s electricity by 2030;
- Use the current review of the Local Plan to introduce policy requirements that new buildings should meet the most rigorous possible energy efficiency standards (for example, the ‘Passivhaus’ standards), include electric vehicle charging points in new housing and commercial developments, minimise the impacts of climate change (for example, by making sure contribution to flooding is minimised) and include solar arrays or other sustainable energy generation wherever possible;
- Ensure council land is maintained in a way that maximises species diversity and mitigates species extinction;
- Encourage existing supermarkets to install EV charging points, lobby ESCC ... view the full agenda text for item 44.
Minutes:
Councillor Chowney proposed a motion, as set out in the resolution below, which was seconded by Councillor Evans.
Councillor Lee proposed an amendment to the motion seconded by Councillor Rankin, as follows:
“We will measure the carbon reducing impact of planting trees on Council land and where appropriate plant trees or managed hay meadows to increase carbon sequestration as set out in the Royal Society greenhouse gas removal report of October 2018.
Where planting trees is the most effective carbon reduction method we will prioritise tree planting over renewable energy installation and we call on East Sussex County Council to implement this policy on a wider scale”
The amendment was rejected by Councillor Chowney, as the proposer of the original motion.The Mayor suspended rule 16.6b of Council procedure rules, allowing the proposed amendment to be debated at the same time as the main motion. Seconded by Councillor Rankin.
Councillors debated the motion and the proposed amendment. In response the Leader of the Council thanked all the contributors to the debate.
A vote took place on the amendment proposed by Councillor Lee. The proposed amendment was lost by 22 votes against to 8 for, with no abstentions.
RESOLVED (unanimously) that the Council do accept the motion as set out below:“On the 8th of October 2018 the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) warned that “rapid, far-reaching, and unprecedented changes in all aspects of society” will be required in order to limit global temperature to 1.5C above pre-industrial level and that we have only 12 years in which we can realistically accomplish this. Even half a degree above that will significantly worsen the risks of drought, floods, mass extinctions of animal species, and extreme heat and poverty for hundreds of millions of people.
Within the current financial and regulatory framework, addressing this is primarily a matter for governments – local authorities have limited influence over the development of the local economy, transport, and human behaviour. Councils need significantly increased powers to make real change locally, and significantly greater intervention by central government to reduce climate change and reduce dependency on fossil carbon.
Nevertheless, there are actions the council can take, to limit our own use of fossil carbon and encourage others to do the same, although this is limited by available resources and the scale of government cuts the council is having to cope with. Hastings Council takes this matter so seriously that we’re committed to taking a lead on this and set a target for Hastings to become carbon neutral.
To this end, we will:
· Establish an ongoing Climate Change working group (as a panel of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee), which will scrutinise the council’s policies and actions to make sure they take into account the climate change impact of everything we do;
· Develop a procurement policy that reduces our carbon emissions, procuring locally where possible, prioritising goods and services that are less dependent on fossil carbon, and prioritising companies who are taking steps to reduce their ... view the full minutes text for item 44.
Membership of Committees
To give effect to any request received from a political group for a change in their representation on committee(s).
Minutes:
There were no proposed amendments to the membership of any committees.
Reports of Committees PDF 1 MB
a) To resolve that the public be excluded from the meeting during the discussion of any items considered while the public were excluded by the relevant committee because it is likely that if members of the public were present there would be disclosure to them of exempt information as defined in the respective paragraphs of Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act 1972 referred to in the minutes of the relevant committee.
b) To receive and consider the recommendations and any decisions of the following committees.
(Table Goes Here)
Notes:1. The Mayor will call over the minutes and members will rise and indicate those items which they wish to have discussed.
2. No discussion shall take place at this stage upon part II minutes covered by the resolution 9a) above. Any such discussion shall be deferred to item X on the agenda.
Minutes:
The Mayor having called over the minutes set out in the agenda, the under mentioned minutes were reserved for discussion.
Meeting
Minute
Councillor
Cabinet, 7th January 2019
128 – Ground Mounted Solar
Patmore
Cabinet, 7th January 2019
129 – Treasury Management Mid-Year Report 2018-19
Rankin
Cabinet, 7th January 2019
135.1 – Business Rate Pilot – 75% Retention
Lee
Cabinet, 4th February 2019
139 – Flexible Homelessness Grant
Levane
Cabinet, 4th February 2019
140 (C) – Amendments to the Council’s Constitution
Lee
Cabinet, 4th February 2019
141 – Delivering Efficient Sustainable Mobility, Accessibility and Responsible Travel (DESTI-SMART)
Davies
Cabinet, 4th February 2019
144 – Site at West Marina
Beaver
Cabinet, 4th February 2019
146 – Approval of the Pay Policy Statement for 2019/20
Sabetian
Cabinet, 4th February 2019
148 (E) - Commercial Property Purchases
Lee
Minute 130 of Cabinet on 7th January 2019, Council Tax Reduction Scheme 2019/20, was a matter on which the Council was required to make a decision. Under rule 13.3, the minutes were approved without being called for discussion.Minute 140 of Cabinet on 4th February 2019, Amendments to the Council’s Constitution, was a matter on which the Council was required to make a decision.
The recommendations were proposed by Councillor Rogers, seconded by Councillor Lee and agreed unanimously.Minute 143 of Cabinet on 4th February 2019, High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) Management Plan, was a matter on which the Council was required to make a decision. Under rule 13.3, the minutes were approved without being called for discussion.
Minute 146 of Cabinet on 4th February 2019, Approval of the Pay Policy Statement was a matter on which the Council was required to make a decision. The recommendations were proposed by Councillor Rogers, seconded by Councillor Lee and agreed unanimously.
Councillors debated minutes 128, 129 and 135.1 of Cabinet on 7th January 2019 and minutes 139, 141, 144 and 148 of Cabinet on 4th February 2019. These matters did not require approval of Full Council.
Councillors S Beaney and Lee, having declared a prejudicial interest in minute 144 of Cabinet on 4th February 2019, Site at West Marina, left the Council Chamber during debate on this item.
Minute number 148 of Cabinet on 4th February 2019 was an exempt item. When debate moved to this item Councillor Roberts proposed a motion for the exclusion of the public from the meeting, seconded by Councillor Beaver.
RESOLVED that the public be excluded from the meeting during the consideration of minute 148 of the Cabinet meeting held on 4th February, Commercial Property Purchases, because it is likely that if members of the public were present there would be disclosure to them of exempt information as defined in the paragraphs of Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act 1972 referred to in the relevant report.
No motions for reference to Overview and Scrutiny Committee or reference back to Cabinet were ... view the full minutes text for item 46.
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