Agenda and minutes

Venue: Longley Room, Crawley Library, Southgate Avenue, Crawley, RH10 6HG

Contact: Adam Chisnall on 033022 28314  Email:  adam.chisnall@westsussex.gov.uk

Items
No. Item

1.

Welcome and Introductions

Members of the Crawley County Local Committee are Richard Burrett, Duncan Crow, Michael Jones, Bob Lanzer, Sue Mullins, Chris Oxlade, Charles Petts, Brian Quinn, and Brenda Smith.

 

Minutes:

1.1        Adam Chisnall opened the meeting and the Members and Officers introduced themselves.

2.

Election of Chairman and Vice Chairman

The Committee is asked to elect a Chairman and Vice Chairman for the Crawley County Local Committee for the 2018/19 municipal year.

Minutes:

2.1        Resolved – That:

 

      Mrs Smith is elected as Chairman of the Crawley County Local Committee for the 2018/19 municipal year.

 

      Mr Burrett is elected as Vice-Chairman of the Crawley County Local Committee for the 2018/19 municipal year.

 

2.2        TheChairman informed the public of literature in the room for the County Council’s ‘What Matters To You’ Survey and information for the ‘Be Scam Aware’ campaign.

3.

Declarations of Interest

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.

Minutes:

3.1        Mr Quinn declared a personal interest as a Trustee of the Crawley Town Community Foundation in relation to the discussion on Community Initiative Funding.

 

3.2        Mrs Mullins declared a personal interest as a member of the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award County Committee in relation to the discussion on Community Initiative Funding.

4.

Minutes pdf icon PDF 67 KB

To confirm the minutes of the meeting of the Committee held on 28 February 2018 (cream paper).

Minutes:

4.1        Resolved – that the minutes of the meeting held on 28 February 2018 be approved as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

5.

Urgent Matters

Items not on the agenda that the Chairman of the meeting is of the opinion should be considered as a matter of urgency because of special circumstances.

Minutes:

5.1     The Committee agreed the inclusion of a new Community Initiative Fund application that had been received after the dispatch of papers for the meeting:

 

·         231/C – Walking For Wellbeing.

6.

Progress Statement pdf icon PDF 40 KB

The document contains brief updates on statements of progress made on issues raised at previous meetings.  The Committee is asked to note the report.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

6.1        The Committee considered the progress report on matters arising from previous meetings (copy appended to the signed minutes).

 

6.2        Brian Lambarth introduced the report and explained the process for progressing the Community Highway Schemes.

 

6.3        The Committee queried the progress of the Green Lane TRO. Brian Lambarth confirmed this would come to the next Committee meeting for consideration.

 

6.4        The Chairman asked the public if they had any questions.

 

·         A resident queried the lack of consultation for Traffic Regulation Orders (TROs) and said that small advertisements in the newspaper were not sufficient.  The resident raised concerns over a developer parking TRO for Ravens Court in Langley Green. Brian Lambarth explained that the scheme was part of a development and that the statutory consultation process had been adhered to.  Brian Lambarth resolved to monitor the impact of the TRO.

7.

Crime pdf icon PDF 5 MB

The Committee to receive a presentation on crime (including serious and organised crime) for the Crawley area, and to learn about the multi-agency initiatives that are being undertaken with regard to the vulnerabilities for Crawley/ the town.

Minutes:

7.1        The Committee welcomed Guy Pace, Lead Professional - Community Safety, and Chief Inspector Rosie Ross, Crawley and Mid Sussex District Police Commander, who gave a presentation on Vulnerable Individuals and Hidden Crime (copy appended to the signed minutes).

 

7.2        It was reported that Crawley and Mid Sussex Division had set up a crime group to focus on serious and organised crime.

 

7.3        The presentation highlighted the community role in reporting crime.  Suspicious behaviour such as multiple visitors at different times of the day should be reported to the police for investigation.

 

7.4        The public were asked what they felt the barriers to crime reporting were; answers included believing others would report crime, that the Police should be doing this, concern at being a ‘nosy neighbour’, reporting something in error, impact on the children and families involved.  The responses were welcomed and the public were encouraged to trust their instincts and be curious of odd behaviour.  Dialling 101 was recommended to raise concerns.  999 should always be utilised to report a crime in progress.

 

7.5        Rosie Ross explained the need for the Police to prioritise their focus for serious crime and vulnerable individuals. 

 

7.6        Rosie Ross reported that she met with Community Forums to build links with the public to understand how the Police could support communities.

 

7.7        Members explained that residents often contacted them with low level crime issues and sought guidance on how best to direct these issues. Rosie Ross explained that the local contact addresses were not for reporting crimes, but for informing of issues.  There was also a mechanism for local Members to contact the Police about issues.  It was agreed that up-to-date contact details for key officers of Crawley Police would be circulated to Members after the meeting.

 

7.8        The Committee welcomed the presentation and thanked the presenters for their attendance at the Committee.

8.

Thomas Bennett Community College

Minutes:

8.1        The Chairman noted the public concern about Thomas Bennett Community College (TBCC) and had therefore agreed to take any questions from the public on the current situation with the school at that point in the agenda.

 

8.2        A resident raised concerns on the rise of home schooling, safeguarding issues, PFI issues, Pupil Premium usage, impact on Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) and the loss of teaching staff.

 

8.3        Mr Burrett explained that school funding was a general concern and that lobbying of the Government was happening on this.  Local Authorities had no control and little influence over Academies and so parents were encouraged to take issues up with the school’s Head.

 

8.4        The Committee commented that the impact of failing Academies could put pressure on Local Authority maintained schools to take extra students.

 

8.5        Deborah Myers, Director of Education and Skills, explained that if TBCC had been a Local Authority maintained school, she would have been involved a long time ago and expressed the difficulty with the lack of influence over Academies.  As soon as issues were realised with TBCC, Deborah Myers had written to the Regional Schools Commissioner (RSC) as she had a duty of care for all children in the County. 

 

8.6        Interventions had taken place to ensure designated teachers remained in post.  Local schools had also been contacted to ensure that the post 16 provision demand would be met.

 

8.7        Deborah Myers reported that there were no safeguarding concerns at TBCC.

 

8.8        Deborah Myers explained that she had tried to discuss renegotiation of the PFI with the RSC, but had been unsuccessful.  Reassurance was given that the PFI contract did cover all premises costs and other areas such as maintenance for the school.  It was explained how pupil numbers impacted the budget, which was making TBCC’s share of the contract seem more expensive in relation to the other two schools which were also subject to the PFI contract.  Deborah Myers explained that from a financial point of view, a healthy budget position for a school should look to assign 80% of expenditure towards staff costs.

 

8.9        Concerns were raised by all that academisation was a one way street and that there should be provision for Academies to return to the Local Authority.  Support was required to ensure that TBCC provision was not lost.

 

8.10     The Committee and the public thanked Deborah Myers for her attendance.

9.

Growth Update pdf icon PDF 2 MB

The committee will receive a presentation giving an update on growth projects.

Minutes:

9.1        The Committee welcomed Marie Ovenden, Growth Programme Delivery Manager, who gave a presentation on the Crawley Growth Programme (copy appended to the signed minutes).

 

9.2        Marie Ovenden explained that the County Council and Borough Council had worked together on the £60m Growth Programme, which included an award of £14.6m from the Local Enterprise Partnership.  This investment would support growth in jobs and homes in Crawley.

 

9.3        The Committee made comments including those that follow.

 

·         Queried if the proposals included bespoke concrete bus lanes. Marie Ovenden confirmed that the proposals would incorporate universal bus lanes.

·         Requested an update on the plans for step free access at Crawley train Station.  - Marie Ovenden explained that officers were aware of the need to link this and would ensure an oversight of this project to improve access at the Station.

 

9.4        The public made comments including those that follow.

 

·         Queried the lack of bus timetable information on Turners Hill Road, Worth. Marie Ovenden resolved to look into this and provide an update in the Progress Statement for the next meeting.

·         Raised the importance of greenery within the projects. Marie Ovenden explained that key areas such as Manor Royal had protected greenery to maintain their trees. 

·         The public were encouraged to visit the Growth Plan website and provide feedback on the designs.

 

9.5        The Committee thanked Marie Ovenden for the presentation.

10.

Crawley Community Initiative Funding (C01(18/19)) pdf icon PDF 71 KB

Report by the Director of Law and Assurance.

 

The report summarises the Community Initiative Funding applications received via The West Sussex Crowd.  The Committee is invited to consider the applications and pledge funding if appropriate.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

10.1     The Committee considered a report by the Director of Law and Assurance (copy appended to the signed minutes), which detailed applications for Community Initiative Funding. The Committee debated the respective merits of the projects for which funding was sought.

 

10.2     The Chairman informed the Committee that application 217/C - Rape Crisis Surrey and Sussex, Support for Survivors, was withdrawn by the applicant after the papers had been dispatched.

 

10.3     Resolved – that the following pledges were approved:-

 

213/C - Caroline Haslett Memorial Project, up to £400, towards a consultation for a memorial project.

 

·         214/C - Crawley Town Community Foundation, Move the Goalposts, up to £400, towards equipment costs for the project. 

 

·         215/C - Crawley Open Duke of Edinburgh Centre, up to £3000, towards a new mini bus.  This pledge was subject to the project receiving verification from Locality and beginning the active fundraising stage within the financial year.

 

·         216/C - Crawley Young Persons’ Council, Multi-Cultural Crawley, up to £700, towards an event to bring together the different cultures and ethnic groups within Crawley and celebrate their individuality with food, performances and activities.  This pledge was subject to the project receiving verification from Locality and beginning the active fundraising stage within the financial year.

 

·         230/C – Wheelchair Swing and Hoist-Assisted Toilet for Maidenbower Park Community Club, up to £4000, towards the cost of a wheelchair accessible swing.

 

 

The following application was declined:-

 

·         231/C – Walking For Wellbeing, towards park buggy walks.  The Committee declined the application as the total project costs were for staffing which is ineligible for Community Initiative Funding.  The Committee welcomed a future application in a format it could support.

11.

Nominations for Local Authority Governors to Maintained Schools and Academy Governing Bodies (C02(18/19)) pdf icon PDF 48 KB

Report by the Director of Education and Skills.

 

The Committee is asked to approve the nomination of an Authority School Governor as set out in the report.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

11.1   The Committee considered a report by the Director of Education and Skills (copy appended to the signed minutes).

 

11.2   Resolved – that the Committee approves the following nomination for appointment under the 2012 Regulations:

 

·         Mrs Angela Parkinson to the Maidenbower Junior School, Crawley, for a four year term.

12.

Talk With Us Open Forum

To invite questions from the public present at the meeting on subjects other than those on the agenda.  The Committee would encourage members of the public with more complex issues to submit their question before the meeting to allow a substantive answer to be given.

Minutes:

12.1     The Chairman introduced the item and advised that the open forum was an opportunity for comments and questions to be raised on items not already on the agenda, and over which the County Council has jurisdiction. The following issues were raised and responses made.

 

·         A resident welcomed the progress on resurfacing in Mitchells Road and Haslett Avenue and requested an update on North Road.  - Brian Lambarth resolved to speak with the resident.

·         A resident raised a concern on lack of Police in the area on Halloween and a hope for improved support this year.

·         A resident requested an update on the Road Space Audit.  - Mr Lanzer resolved to send details to the resident.

·         A resident highlighted the upcoming expiry of the 40 year agreement with Gatwick Airport Limited not to build a second runway.  – Mr Lanzer reported that the agreement expired on 12 August 2019 and that Gatwick Airport Limited was under no commitment to renew the agreement with the County Council.

13.

Date of Next Meeting

The next meeting of the Committee will take place at 7.00 pm on Thursday 15 November 2018 in The Longley Room, Crawley Library, Southgate Avenue, Crawley, RH10 6HG.

 

Members wishing to place an item on the agenda should notify Adam Chisnall via email: adam.chisnall@westsussex.gov.uk or phone on 033022 28314.

Minutes:

13.1          The Committee noted that its next scheduled meeting would take place on 15 November 2018 in The Longley Room, Crawley Library, Southgate Avenue, Crawley, RH10 6HG.