Agenda, decisions and minutes

The Committee will make the following appointments for the municipal year 19/20:

1.   Chairman for the Worthing County Local Committee

2.   Vice Chairman and Chairman for the CIF sub-group

3.   Membership (x3) to the Cif subgroup.

1.1        RESOLVED that the following appointments be made for the year 2019/20:

1.2        Paul High as Chairman for Worthing CLC

1.3        Elizabeth Sparkes as Vice Chairman and Chairman of the Cif Subgroup

1.4        Paul High and Steve Waight to the Cif subgroup.

The Members of Worthing County Local Committee (CLC) are Mr Noel Atkins, Mr Michael Cloake, Mr Paul High, Mr Sean McDonald, Mr Roger Oakley, Mr Bob Smytherman, Mrs Elizabeth Sparkes, Mr Bryan Turner and Mr Steve Waight

2.1 The Chairman welcomed members of the public to the meeting and asked the Committee Members to introduce themselves.

2.2 Apologies for absence were received from Cllr Mrs Elizabeth Sparkes.

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.

3.1 Bryan Turner declared a personal interest in respect to item 10 as he was a Member of the Worthing Rotary Club who were an applicant to the Community Initiative Fund.

The confirm the minutes of the meeting of the Committee held on 25 February 2019 (cream paper).

4.1 RESOLVED that the Minutes of the previous meeting on the 25 February 2019n be approved as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

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.

5.1 There were none.

The Growth Programme Delivery Manager will provide a presentation on the Worthing Public Realm.

6.1 The Chairman invited the Growth Programme Delivery Manager to address the committee and provide and update on the Worthing Public realm work, including information on progress on work completed to date.

6.2 The Committee received a presentation on completed and planned work, including information on the Capital Growth Programme, key areas of focus and progress of planned work, with particular focus on Portland Road and South Street.

6.3 In response to questions from the Committee Members it was advised that:

·       Worthing Borough Council had contributed significant funding to the project

·       Further works would be supported by the use of CIL, as more developers were attracted to the project.

·       Public transport was key to ensuring the area remained sustainable.

6.4 The Chairman thanked officers for the informative update.  

7.1 The Committee received a written update on the Worthing Area STP Feasibility Study. The Chairman invited the Area Highways Manager to provide a verbal update on the report.

7.2 Members enquired on the validity and applicability of the outcomes of the study. It was advised that introducing additional bus lanes and parking restrictions could cause unnecessary congestion within the town centre which was to be avoided.

7.3 The Members thanked officers for the update,

The Chairman has invited the Lead Manager for the Library Service and the Cabinet Members for Stronger, Safer Communities to attend the meeting to provide an update on the progress of the Community Hubs project.

8.1 The Committee received a presentation on the Community Hubs project work and progress to date.  It was advised that the Cabinet Member for Safer, Stronger Communities endorsed the project and that Worthing Community hub would act as pilot for the whole scheme.

8.2 Information was provided to the committee members on how they could support the project. It was advised that the project sought to meet the emerging needs to the local demographic by providing work stations, power points and better suited working areas within community hubs.

8.3 The Committee thanked officers for the update.

The Committee are asked to note the attached decision report taken by the Cabinet Member for Safer, Stronger Communities to introduce the CIF Microfund.

9.1 The Committee received an update on the decision taken by the Cabinet Members for Safer Stronger Communities regarding the in-year decrease of the Community Initiative Fund and the introduction of the Microfund for smaller projects within the community.

9.2 The Committee noted and endorsed the decision.

Report by the Director of Law and Assurance.

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

At its meeting on 8 July 2019 the Worthing County Local Committee considered the Community Initiative Funding applications to the Microfund and those received via the West Sussex Crowd, as set out in Appendix A.

RESOLVED that the following grants from the Microfund be approved:

·       387/W – Action Painting Workshops Arts House CIC - £490.91 – Towards purchasing art materials and a mobile paint dryer for use by visitors to the community arts studio.

·       388/W – Worthing Community Board Games - £750 – towards start-up funding covering board game purchases, publicity costs and volunteer expenses.

And the following pledges be approved:

·       358/W We Are Food Pioneers - £1,000 – towards marketing materials and delivering ‘meet the bees’ sessions in schools.

·       364/W Creative Waves Community Arts - £1,000 – towards wellbeing workshop room hire and publicity costs.

·       354/W Worthing Rotary Club - £1,000 – towards the cost of hiring a circus tent and marquee stage for this year’s two-day August bank holiday event, subject to the project being fully verified and begins fundraising in the financial year.

·       368/W Adur and Worthing Poverty Truth Commission, Hear My Story - £1,000 – towards building resilient, trust-based relations between civic leaders / decision-makers, and local people directly experiencing poverty.

The following pitch was deferred:

·       344/W – Freedom Power Chairs, Disabled Visitor Facilities.  Members agreed to consider a pledge once they could see the level of community support through pledges from the public.  It was agreed this could be done via an urgent action decision prior to the next CLC meeting.

The following pitches were refused:

·       374/W Songs alive. Members agreed there was not enough background information to make an informed decision and the project had only 11 days left to fundraise so was very unlikely to be successful. The Committee advised the project manager that the project was more suited to applying to the Microfund. The project manager agreed to complete an application.

·       343/W Daisy Chain Project, Drop -ins. The project manager advised the Committee that funding for the project had been acquired through other means and the committee therefore agreed not to contribute a pledge.

The call in deadline is 16 July 2019.

10.1 The Worthing County Local Committee considered the Community Initiative Funding applications to the Microfund and those received via the West Sussex Crowd, as set out in Appendix A.

10.2 The Committee considered each application on its merits and the benefits each would have to the local communities they supported. It was therefore

RESOLVED that the following grants from the microfund be approved:

·       387/W – Action Painting Workshops Arts House CIC - £490.91 – Towards purchasing art materials and a mobile paint dryer for use by visitors to the community arts studio.

·       388/W – Worthing Community Board Games - £750 – towards start-up funding covering board game purchases, publicity costs and volunteer expenses.

And the following pledges be approved:

·       358/W We Are Food Pioneers - £1,000 – towards marketing materials and delivering ‘meet the bees’ sessions in schools.

·       364/W Creative Waves Community Arts - £1,000 – towards wellbeing workshop room hire and publicity costs.

·       354/W Worthing Rotary Club - £1,000 – towards the cost of hiring a circus tent and marquee stage for this year’s two-day August bank holiday event, subject to the project being fully verified and begins fundraising in the financial year.

·       368/W Adur and Worthing Poverty Truth Commission, Hear My Story - £1,000 – towards building resilient, trust-based relations between civic leaders / decision-makers, and local people directly experiencing poverty.

The following pitch was deferred:

·       344/W – Freedom Power Chairs, Disabled Visitor Facilities.  Members agreed to consider a pledge once they could see the level of community support through pledges from the public.  It was agreed this could be done via an urgent action decision prior to the next CLC meeting.

The following pitches were refused:

·       374/W Songs alive. Members agreed there was not enough background information to make an informed decision and the project had only 11 days left to fundraise so was very unlikely to be successful. The Committee advised the project manager that the project was more suited to applying to the Microfund. The project manager agreed to complete an application.

·       343/W Daisy Chain Project, Drop -ins. The project manager advised the Committee that funding for the project had been acquired through other means and the committee therefore agreed not to contribute a pledge.

The call in deadline is 16 July 2019.

The CLC Review Working Group has requested feedback from each CLC on ways of working and best practice with the opportunity to suggest changes to how the CLCs operates.

Members are invited to express their opinions on CLCs which will be reported back to the Review Working Group for consideration with their recommendations to the Governance Committee in late 2019 on potential changes to the CLCs

11.1 The Committee agreed not to discuss the potential outcome of the upcoming CLC review and wait until the recommendations had been finalised from the working group.

Members of the Committee are asked to raise relevant issues of local significance for discussion and possible future agenda items. Members of the public are also asked to raise questions and are encouraged to submit more complex issues prior to the meeting to allow substantive answers to be provided.

12.1 The Chairman invited questions from members of the public on matters not appearing on the agenda.

12.2 A Member of the public sought clarification over the City Fibre Contract and asked if a letter had been sent to the relevant Cabinet Member regarding the responsibilities included in the contract. It was advised needed to be followed up to ask if a letter was sent to City Fibre

12.3 In response to a question regarding busses servicing South Street in Worthing it was advised that there were negotiations going on with the bus company, and related to confidential information that can’t be discussed in an open meeting.

12.4 The Car park situated outside the new Worthing Community Hub was a Worthing Borough Council car park and not the responsibility of the County.

12.5 It was asked if the weed killers used by the Council were toxic to wildlife. The Highways manager advised that it was not toxic as it’s very diluted, however this takes longer for weeds to be affected. Members of the public were reminded to report any high growing grass verges to the County Council through the Love West Sussex App.

There are no appointments to be made by the Committee, however a vacancy list has been attached for noting. 

13.1 The Committee noted the vacancy list set out in the agenda.

The next meeting of the Committee will take place on 25 November 2019 at a venue to be confirmed.  Members wishing to place an item on the agenda please notify Jack Caine via email: jack.caine@westsussex.gov.uk or on 033 022 28941

14.1 It was confirmed that the next meeting was scheduled for the 25 November 2019 at 7pm at a venue to be confirmed.