Agenda, decisions and minutes

14.1 The Chairman welcomed members of the public to the meeting and asked Committee Member and Officers to introduce themselves.

Members and officers must declare any pecuniary or personal interest in any business on the agenda. They should also make declarations at any stage such an interest becomes apparent during the meeting. Consideration should be given to leaving the meeting if the nature of the interest warrants it. If in doubt contact Democratic Services before the meeting.

15.1 There were no Declarations of Interest from members present.

To confirm the minutes of the meeting of the Joint Western Arun Area Committee held on 13 June 2018 (cream paper).

16.1 The Minutes of the last meeting of the Joint Western Arun Area Committee held on 13 June 2018 were approved as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

Items not on the agenda, which the Chairman of the meeting is of the opinion, should be considered as a matter of urgency by reason of special circumstances.

17.1 There were none.

The Committee will consider brief updates on statements of progress made on issues raised at previous meetings which are pertinent to the area.

18.1 The Committee noted the progress statement.

The Committee will receive a presentation from the Communications Lead for Economy, Infrastructure & Environment on the Your Energy Sussex, a local energy supplier.

19.1 The presentation was deferred to the next meeting.

The Committee will receive a presentation from Senior Advisor for Sustainability on the local Refill Scheme, offering water refill points for residents.

20.1 The Committee received a presentation from Catherine Cannon, Team Leader for Sustainability, on the West Sussex Refill Scheme.

20.2 The presentation included details on the following:

·         The aims of the scheme were to promote healthy living of residents by promoting more water drinking and reducing pollution through the re-use of water bottles.

·         The scheme looked to have water refill points across the County in community building and private businesses.

·         The project could potentially have a positive impact on the economy by increasing footfall for Local Businesses.

20.3 The Committee were asked to support the project by promoting it in local communities. The Committee gave thanks for the presentation.

Members of the Public have the oppurtuinty to ask questions of their elected representatives.

The Committee would encourage members of the public to submit their questions at least 3 days in advance of the meeting to allow for more substantive answers to be given. Please contact Jack Caine on 0330 222 8941 or via email at Jack.Caine@Westsussex.gov.uk

21.1 The Chairman invited Members of the public to ask questions on matters that did not appear on the Agenda. In response to the questions the following was advised:

22.2 JWAC could be used as a forum for all tiers of government to work together to provide services for young people including youth clubs and youth projects. It was advised that the Integrated Prevention and Earliest Help (IPEH) team could be invited to a future meeting of JWAAC to provide information on services available to residents.

22.3 A resident asked if a manhole cover in Old Rectory Road could be repaired as it had been damaged for a lengthy period of time. Ben Whiffin advised he would investigate whose responsibility the man hole cover was and respond accordingly.

22.4 A concerned resident advised that there was no street lighting on footpaths in Old Rectory Gardens, which was causing a potential danger to local residents. It was asked if something could be done to rectify this. Jackie Follis, head of Policy Arun District Council, advised she would investigate and provide a written response to the resident directly.

22.5 A resident of Bersted Park and Willows Edge raised concerns over issues of dangerous parking on the main road in the area. It was advised that this was an ongoing issue and requested that a TRO be investigate to alleviated the potential danger to the area. The Highways Manager advised that the road in question was at the time an unadopted highway. It was also advised that in order to meet the national standard the road needed recovery works. Once this had been completed a TRO including Double Yellow Lines could be implemented.

A local Sussex Police representative will be in attendance to update Members on Community Policing issues and answer questions.

Latest crime statistics are to follow Details of reported crime can be found at: https://www.police.uk/

22.1 The Chairman invited acting Inspector Danny West to the meeting who provided an update on neighbourhood policing in the JWAAC area. The Committee were invited to raise comments, concerns and questions. Following these the following was advised:

22.2 There had been an increase recruitment for the Prevention team across West Sussex, allowing for better public service delivery with more work being completed.

22.3 Chichester Custody Centre would be closing, however a review of the impact showed that this would cause very limited impact to service provision in the locality.

22.4 Due to increase in service levels a total of 26 interventions had taken place in the JWAC area over a period of 16 days in December.

22.5 The following were known issues in the area with key focus from the service provider:
         

·         County wide drug dealing and ‘cuckooing’

·         Anti-social behaviour in town centre

·         Aggressive begging in town centres.

22.6 The crime statistics provided to the committee showed several general trends including:

·         Overall reduction in anti social behaviour

·         Reduction in domestic burglary

·         Reduction in grand theft auto

·         Overall increase in violent crime, potentially related to an increase in the reporting of domestic violence/abuse.

22.7 In response to questions raised by members of the committee the following was advised:

·         Increases in car theft to localities was not directly explainable, however this could be linked to valuable items being left on display.

·         An increase in domestic abuse/violence statistics is believed to be because reporting is higher, not because there are more incidents

Report by the Director of Law and Assurance.

The report summarises Community Initiative Funding Applications submitted via the West Sussex Crowd. The Committee is invite to consider the applications and pledge funding as appropriate.

Following consideration of the report it was

RESOLVED that the County Councillors of the Committee allocated Community Initiative Funding as follows:

263/JWAAC – Sussex Cubs for Young People Ltd, CREATE a positive future in Bognor, up to £3,000 – Towards the cost of youth work training courses for adult volunteers.

And

Deferred the following application as it had not begun fundraising and the Committee Members required more information regarding the project prior to making a decision:

262/JWAAC – HFT Sussex: Inclusive Music festival.

The call in deadline is the 8^th November.

23.1 The Committee considered a report by the Director of Law and Assurance which sought a decision from the County Council Members of the Committee on applications received under the Community Initiative Funding Scheme.

23.2 The Committee discussed each project separately on its respective merits for which funding was sought. The committee indicative support or otherwise for each application.

23.3 It was RESOLVED that the County Councillors of the Committee allocated Community Initiative Funding as follows:

263/JWAAC – Sussex Cubs for Young People Ltd, CREATE a positive future in Bognor, up to £3,000 – Towards the cost of youth work training courses for adult volunteers.

And

Deferred the following application as it had not begun fundraising and the Committee Members required more information regarding the project prior to making a decision:

262/JWAAC – HFT Sussex: Inclusive Music festival.

The Committee is asked to note the Minutes of the last meeting of the Highways and Transport Sub-Group and Consider any Recommendations. Recommendtions attached – notes to follow.

24.1 The Chairman referred Members to the Minutes of the last meeting of the Highways and Transport subgroup (copy attached to signed minutes).

24.2 The Committee were asked to note the recommendations included in the Minutes, including a recommendation on Prioritisation of Traffic Regulation Orders and Felpham, Summerly Lane Mini Roundabout and consider these recommendations under the appropriate agenda item.

24.3 The Committee noted the minutes.

The Committee is asked to note the update.

25.1 The Committee considered a written report from the Director of Highways and Transport and were asked to note the update included.

25.2 The Committee thanked officers for the informative update and were happy to note the content.

Report by Executive Director Economy, Infrastructure & Environment.

The County Council Members of the Committee are asked to consider the TROs and prioritise the top two for progression.

Following consideration of the report it was RESOLVED that the County Council Members of the Joint Western Arun Area Committee agreed to progress the highest two approved Traffic Regulation Orders: Nyewood Lane, Bognor Regis and Elmer Road, Middleton-on-Sea, which should be completed as a priority.

The call in deadline is the 8^th November.

26.1 The Committee considered the written report from the Director of Highways and Transport and Head of Highways Operations and the Traffic Regulation Orders set out in appendix A of the report.

26.2 In response to questions from the Committee the Highways Manager gave background as to how each Traffic Regulation Order was scored and how points were accredited. 

26.2 it was RESOLVED that the County Council Members of the Joint Western Arun Area Committee agreed to progress the highest two approved Traffic Regulation Orders which should be completed as a priority:

·         Nyewood Lane, Bognor Regis and

·         Elmer Road, Middleton-on-Sea,

Report by Executive Director Economy, Infrastructure & Environment.

The Committee are asked to consider the report and recommendation.

RESOLVED that the County Council Members of the Committee, having considered the reposes to the formal consultation on the Felpham, Summerley Lane Roundabout Traffic Regulation Order, authorise the Director of Law and Assurance to make the order as advertised and the Director of Highways and Transport to install the scheme.

The call in deadline is the 8^th November.

27.1 The Committee considered a written report from the Executive Director Economy, Infrastructure & Environment and Director of Highways & Transport, and the recommendation to approve the scheme.

27.2 The Committee also considered the recommendation from the Highways and Transport Subgroup to endorse the scheme.

27.3 In response to questions from Members it was advised that, if approved, the project would be implemented as early as the 2019 Financial Year.

27.4 Some concern was raised over the necessity of the Traffic Regulation Order, however the majority of Members were in favour of the scheme in the interest of safety of the local residents and road users.

27.5 It was therefore RESOLVED that the County Council Members of the Committee, having considered the responses to the formal consultation on the Felpham, Summerley Lane Roundabout Traffic Regulation Order, authorise the Director of Law and Assurance to make the order as advertised and the Director of Highways and Transport to install the scheme.

The Committee is asked to note the vacancies set out in the report.

28.1 The Committee noted the vacancies for Local Authority School Governors as set out in appendix B of the report.

Parish and Town Councillors are invited to raise items for consideration by the Committee.

29.1 The Chairman invited Members of the Parish and Town Councils to ask questions of Officers Present.

29.2 In response to questions it was advised that the building and installation of new pedestrian pavements could be achieved through the use of Section 106 funding and could be implemented as part of Planning Conditions associated with new developments.

Members of the Committee are invited to propose agenda items for future meetings.

30.1 The Chairman reminded Members of the Committee to forward any items for future meetings to Democratic Services if they wished for them to be discussed.

The next meeting of the Committee will take place on 6^th February 2019 at 7pm at The Regis School, Bognor. Members wishing to place an item on the agenda please notify Jack Caine on 033 02 228941 via email: jack.caine@Westsussex.gov.uk.

31.1 The Chairman confirmed that the next meeting of the Committee was scheduled for the 6 February 2019 at 7pm at the Regis School in Bognor Regis.