Agenda, decisions and minutes

There were no apologies for absence.

In accordance with the local Code of Conduct, a councillor is required to disclose at the meeting any disclosable pecuniary interest (DPI) that they may have in respect of any matter for consideration on this agenda.  Any councillor with a DPI must notparticipate in any discussion or vote regarding that matter and they must also withdraw from the meeting immediately before consideration of the matter.

If that DPI has not been registered, the councillor must notify the Monitoring Officer of the details of the DPI within 28 days of the date of the meeting.

Councillors are further invited to disclose any non-pecuniary interest which may be relevant to any matter on this agenda, in the interests of transparency, and to confirm that it will not affect their objectivity in relation to that matter.

There were no disclosures of interest.

To confirm the minutes of the meeting of the Executive held on [date].

The minutes of the meeting held 25 August 2022 were confirmed as a correct record. The Chairman signed the minutes.

The minutes of the meeting held on 25 August 2022 were confirmed as a correct record. The Chairman signed the minutes.

The Leader thanked everybody that helped organise and attend the events of the past 10 days as we mourned the passing of H M Queen Elizabeth II and mark the accession of King Charles III, with particular thanks to the Mayor, Kate Foxton, and the Civic team.

The Leader reminded councillors that the Household Support Fund was still open for applications until 30 September 2022.  Residents could submit one application per household and a maximum grant of up to £300 pounds per household was available.  Priority would be given to those with high needs such as households with children and pensioners.  More information and how to apply could be found on the Council’s website.

The Leader also reminded councillors that the deadline for applications to the next round of crowdfunding under Crowdfund Guildford was 28 September 2022.  Most recently, this source of funding had been used to fund repairs to the war memorial in Merrow which hopefully should be completed in time for Remembrance Sunday.

The Leader noted that the Council would be promoting its second Car Free Day on Sunday 25 September from 10am to 4.30pm

Finally, the Leader commented that the Guildford Design Award exhibition scheduled to take place at the Guildhall had to be cancelled following the death of H M Queen Elizabeth II.  The travelling exhibition of awards was now moving around the borough’s villages on various dates in September and October.

This report is to follow.

Decision:

(1)        To endorse the Stage 2 Shaping Guildford’s Future report and approve proceeding to Stage 3.

(2)        To approve the transfer of £3.070 million from the provisional to the approved capital programme to enable the Council to deliver Stage 3 of the programme.

(3)        To authorise the Joint Strategic Director of Place, in consultation with the Lead Councillor for Regeneration, to finalise Heads of Terms, Memorandums of Understanding, Terms of Reference, negotiate, sign and complete legal agreements relating to the Shaping Guildford’s Future programme.

(4)        To authorise the Joint Strategic Director of Place, in Consultation with the Lead Councillor for Regeneration, to enter into contracts and legal agreements connected with the Shaping Guildford’s Future project as may be necessary at reasonable costs within the approved budget.

(5)        To authorise the Joint Strategic Director of Place, in consultation with the Lead Councillor for Regeneration, to review all governance arrangements in relation to the Shaping Guildford’s Future programme.

Reason(s):

·       To support the delivery of the Council’s Corporate Plan (2021-2025) priorities, by delivering a proactive strategy to address the economic and physical constraints facing the town.

·       To ensure that governance arrangements around the Shaping Guildford’s Future programme remain fit for purpose

Other options considered and rejected by the Executive:

OPTION 1: To not endorse the programme and cease work, thereby delaying the delivery of a strategy to support the economic regeneration of Guildford town centre which requires flooding remediation currently blighting major sites. However, it is likely that without such a strategy, sites will remain undeveloped, or development will come forward in an uncoordinated manner and fail to address the substantial existing constraints; and deliver the overarching objectives and greater benefits achievable through a masterplan approach. If the project is abandoned, there would be £2.1m “sunk costs” to be written off.

OPTION 2: To commit the secured SCC grant funding to progress with the Environment Agency Flood Alleviation Scheme feasibility work only. However, without the progression of the wider masterplan work, sites will remain undeveloped, and it would be challenging for the Council to apply for additional grant funding to complement EA funding to support the delivery of the FAS. The broader development potential associated with the flood alleviation work would also not be realised.

Details of any conflict of interest declared by the Leader or lead councillors and any dispensation granted:

None.

The Leader of the Council preferred to take the report as the first substantive item of business and referred the Executive to the Supplementary Information Sheet which confirmed that proposed decisions in the report to proceed to Stage 3, the transfer of £3.070 million from the provisional to the approved capital programme to enable the Council to deliver Stage 3 of the programme, together with the accompanying delegated authority were, appropriately and lawfully, decisions for the Executive, not full Council, to take.

Appendix 6 to the report (Stage 3 – Deliverables) which had been marked “to follow” in the report had been published the day before the meeting.  A copy of Appendix 6 was attached to this Supplementary Information Sheet. 

Before this matter was considered, a presentation was made to the Executive delivered by the Lead Councillor for Regeneration, Councillor John Rigg; the Joint Strategic Director of Place, Dawn Hudd; the Regeneration Lead Officer, Michael Lee-Dixon; along with private sector partners Andreas Markides and David Leonard Architects.  A copy of the presentation had been circulated to all councillors earlier in the day.

The meeting heard from the Lead Councillor for Regeneration that the Shaping Guildford’s Future (SGF) project was an holistic initiative designed to address the key challenges facing the town centre in terms of housing need, areas of flood risk, traffic congestion and opportunities for commercial growth. Over the past three years the Council had undertaken work to develop the masterplan including consultation with the community and stakeholders with the aim of reinvigorating the town by ‘opening up’ the riverside; improving alternative, sustainable and affordable transportation, as well as making the centre a more attractive place to live, work and visit. The masterplan included several separate workstreams that needed to be developed in a simultaneous and complementary way.

It was noted that, during recent years, major commercial partners had withdrawn from Guildford and in some circumstances had left buildings that were owned by the Council itself, such as Liongate. Guildford was described as not currently competitive enough to neither retain nor attract new business due to a combination of a lack of appropriate housing and commercial space. There was a lack of starter homes, bedsits, studios and 1 and 2-bedroom affordable homes. The masterplan could deliver up to 2,600 such homes within a 15-minute walk to the town centre with all its amenities and no need for car ownership in contrast to other greenbelt developments.

The masterplan strategy had identified four ‘zones’ in the town centre which might be delivered separately to one another as opportunities arose and with differing development timescales over a five to twenty-year period. It was noted that the masterplan could deliver the holistic benefit to the town that ad-hoc development could not. The Council itself owned much of the freehold land within the zoned areas but would work with partners to deliver its objectives. The Lead Councillor for Regeneration stressed that the Council had a duty to protect the greenbelt areas of the borough  ...  view the full minutes text for item EX34

The intention of the report was to collate and track progress of all recommendations made by the Overview and Scrutiny Committee to the Executive throughout the year, and to log the Executive decisions on the submitted matters.

The Executive noted the report and that there had been no updates since the previous meeting.

The intention of the report was to collate and track progress of all recommendations made by the Overview and Scrutiny Committee to the Executive throughout the year, and to log the Executive decisions on the submitted matters.

The Executive noted the report and that there had been no updates since the previous meeting.

Decision:

That the revised Regulatory Enforcement Policy, as set out in Appendix 1 to the report submitted to the Executive, be adopted.

Reason(s):

The policy provides a clear framework for the way the Council undertakes its regulatory functions and is in line with The Legislative and Regulatory Reform Act 2006 which advocates that enforcement should be carried out in a transparent, accountable, proportionate and consistent manner that is targeted only where action is needed

Other options considered and rejected by the Executive:

·         To amend the revised policy

·         To reject the revised policy; and retain the policy agreed in 2018.

Details of any conflict of interest declared by the Leader or lead councillors and any dispensation granted:

None.

The Executive considered a report detailing the review of the Corporate Enforcement Policy that was originally implemented in 2018. It was good practice for the Council to review and update the Policy periodically.

The main proposed change to the policy was reflected in Section 6 of the report which introduced a graduated enforcement approach to Public Space Protection Orders (PSPO).

The draft policy at Appendix 1 to the report had been out to public consultation during April 2022 for 3 weeks. The outcomes of the consultation were set out in Appendix 3 for the Executive’s consideration.  Having considered the report, the Executive

RESOLVED:

That the revised Regulatory Enforcement Policy, as set out in Appendix 1 to the report submitted to the Executive, be adopted.

Reason(s):

The policy provided a clear framework for the way the Council undertook its regulatory functions and was in line with The Legislative and Regulatory Reform Act 2006 which advocated that enforcement should be carried out in a transparent, accountable, proportionate and consistent manner that was targeted only where action was needed.

Decision:

(1)      To endorse the Experience Guildford BID Business Plan 2023-28, as set out in Appendix 2 to the report submitted to the Executive .

(2)      To use the Council’s 27 votes to vote in favour of the proposal to renew the experience Guildford Business Improvement District (BID) for Guildford town centre for 2023-2028.

(3)      To delegate the decision to vote in the BID ballot to the Leader of the Council.

(4)      To note the Council’s business rates levy of £38,289 per annum for 2023-28, to be accommodated within the existing overall budget.

Reason(s):

To secure the long-term economic prosperity of the Town Centre and to continue the effective management partnership developed over the previous 10 years.

Other options considered and rejected by the Executive:

To vote against the renewal of the BID.

Details of any conflict of interest declared by the Leader or lead councillors and any dispensation granted:

None.

A Business Improvement District (BID) was a defined area in which a levy was charged on all business rate payers in addition to the business rates bill. This levy was used to develop projects which would benefit businesses in the local area. The BID proposer in Guildford was Experience Guildford. Experience Guildford was required to develop a proposal and submit this to the Council, along with a business plan. The proposal set out the services to be provided and the size and scope of the BID. It also set out who was liable for the levy, the amount of levy to be collected and how it was calculated.

Experience Guildford was first successfully voted in by ballot in October 2012 and with strong support the BID was renewed at ballot again in 2017. The current term would come to an end on 31 January 2023, at which time all activities would cease if not renewed.

The next BID renewal ballot would take place in October 2022.  Guildford Borough Council had 27 properties subject to business rates in the BID area and therefore had 27 votes in the ballot. The BID levy of 1%, would raise up to £600,000 per annum.  The report before the Executive sought support to cast the Council’s votes in favour of the BID renewal.

The Lead Councillor for Economy introduced the report and praised the Experience Guildford team for their work especially during and following the pandemic, and if successful, looked forward to working together again. The Executive agreed with the Lead Councillor’s recommendations and consequently,

RESOLVED:

(1)       To endorse the Experience Guildford BID Business Plan 2023-28, as set out in Appendix 2 to the report submitted to the Executive.

(2)       To use the Council’s 27 votes to vote in favour of the proposal to renew the experience Guildford Business Improvement District (BID) for Guildford town centre for 2023-2028.

(3)       To delegate the decision to vote in the BID ballot to the Leader of the Council.

(4)       To note the Council’s business rates levy of £38,289 per annum for 2023-28, to be accommodated within the existing overall budget.

Reason(s):

To secure the long-term economic prosperity of the Town Centre and to continue the effective management partnership developed over the previous 10 years.

This report is to follow.

Decision:

(1)        To note the emerging position against the 2022/23 budget and the impact on the Council’s finances in future years.

(2)        To approve the high-level action plan set out in the report and to identify any further measures that should be taken.

(3)        To instruct officers to undertake a comprehensive mid-year review of the 2022/23 budget and to present this, and a revised Medium Term Financial Plan, to Council at its meeting on 6 December 2022.

Reason(s):

To ensure councillors are aware of the emerging  budget pressures.

Other options considered and rejected by the Executive:

None

Details of any conflict of interest declared by the Leader or lead councillors and any dispensation granted:

None.

The Executive considered a high-level summary report that set out the emerging financial position against the approved 2022/23 budget and highlighted pressures on the Medium-Term Financial Plan (MTFP). Several factors had affected the Council’s budget since it was approved in February 2022, most of which had an adverse impact. The financial outturn in 2021/22 on the general fund and HRA was positive overall, however, there were some concerning cost pressures and income shortfalls that were likely to continue into future years. This, coupled with the significant inflationary pressure experienced since April, presented a very challenging position for the Council.

The Lead Councillor for Resources introduced the report which was described as a ‘work in progress’. Officers were projecting a net overspend on the general fund revenue account of £3.1 million. A significant proportion related to inflationary and cost of living pressures, most of which was utilities costs. Reports that the National Insurance increases had been withdrawn by Government was welcomed, although detail about any specific support for councils was still awaited.

The report also noted that officers were investigating a potential discrepancy in the staff cost budget which appeared to have originated during the transition period of phase 2 of the Future Guildford programme. This could materially impact both the general fund and the HRA in 2022/23 and future years.   

A more detailed financial monitoring report would be considered by the Corporate Governance and Standards Committee on 29 September and comments arising would help inform the mid-year review of the MTFP. A similar exercise was required in 2021/22 and was successful as the overall position at year end was £138,000 under budget.

Consequently, the Executive

RESOLVED:

(1)        To note the emerging position against the 2022/23 budget and the impact on the Council’s finances in future years.

(2)        To approve the high-level action plan set out in the report and to identify any further measures that should be taken.

(3)        To instruct officers to undertake a comprehensive mid-year review of the 2022/23 budget and to present this, and a revised Medium Term Financial Plan, to Council at its meeting on 6 December 2022.

Reason(s):

To ensure councillors are aware of the emerging budget pressures.

Decision:

That the Executive recommends to Council (11 October 2022):

(1)        That the Council agrees to establish jointly with Waverley Borough Council a Joint Independent Remuneration Panel to conduct a review and make recommendations to each council on their respective scheme of allowances for councillors in 2023.

(2)        That the draft terms of reference of the Joint Independent Remuneration Panel, attached as Appendix 1 to the report submitted to the Executive, be approved.

(3)        That, subject to confirmation of their continued eligibility for appointment, Vivienne Cameron, Dennis Frost, and Gordon Manickam be appointed to the Joint Independent Remuneration Panel for a period of up to four years commencing with the 2023-24 municipal year.

(4)        That the Joint Executive Head of Legal and Democratic Services be authorised to advertise for candidates from the general public and a wide range of organisations, including the local business community and voluntary organisations, for the appointment of up to two other members of the Joint Independent Remuneration Panel to serve for a period of up to four years commencing with the 2023-24 municipal year, and together with the Leaders and Deputy Leaders of both councils to shortlist, interview, and recommend for selection up to two nominees for appointment to the Joint Independent Remuneration Panel.

(5)        That the nominees for appointment to the Joint Independent Remuneration Panel referred to in paragraph (4) above be subject to formal approval by the Council at its full council meeting in February 2023.

(6)       That the honorarium to be paid to each Panel member be set at £1,500, the cost of which shall be divided equally between the two councils.

(7)        That the proposed timetable for appointment of the Joint Independent Remuneration Panel and review of Guildford’s allowances set out in paragraph 4.13 of the report, be approved.

(8)       That provision be made in the 2023-24 revenue budget of £6,200 for the review of councillors’ allowances.

(9)       That the Joint Monitoring Officer be authorised to make all arrangements for the establishment and appointment of future independent remuneration panels, including approval of terms of reference, honoraria for panel members, and timetables for appointment and reviews of allowances.

Reason:

To comply with the requirements of The Local Authorities (Members’ Allowances) (England) Regulations 2003.

Other options considered and rejected by the Executive:

None

Details of any conflict of interest declared by the Leader or lead councillors and any dispensation granted:

None.

The Council was required to conduct the next review of councillors’ allowances in 2023 following the local elections.  Under The Local Authorities (Members’ Allowances) (England) Regulations 2003 the Council must appoint an independent remuneration panel to make recommendations as to the type and level of allowances to be included in the next scheme of allowances for councillors.  The Council had a duty to have regard to the panel’s recommendations.

Waverley Borough Council was also committed to conduct a review of allowances for its councillors following next year’s local elections.

The Executive considered a report setting out a proposal to establish a joint independent remuneration panel, and sought approval of its proposed terms of reference, a process for the recruitment of members to the Joint Independent Remuneration Panel (including the suggested re-appointment of three persons who had served previously on the independent remuneration panels for both Guildford and Waverley), level of honorarium to be paid to each panel member, and a proposed timetable for the appointment process and for the review itself next year. 

It was noted that Waverley Borough Council had delegated authority to its Monitoring Officer to establish an Independent Remuneration Panel.  Waverley’s Monitoring Officer would be invited to agree the process for the appointment of a Joint Independent Remuneration Panel as described in the report.  The Executive

RESOLVED:

To recommend to Council (11 October 2022):

(1)        That the Council agrees to establish jointly with Waverley Borough Council a Joint Independent Remuneration Panel to conduct a review and make recommendations to each council on their respective scheme of allowances for councillors in 2023.

(2)        That the draft terms of reference of the Joint Independent Remuneration Panel, attached as Appendix 1 to the report submitted to the Executive, be approved.

(3)        That, subject to confirmation of their continued eligibility for appointment, Vivienne Cameron, Dennis Frost, and Gordon Manickam be appointed to the Joint Independent Remuneration Panel for a period of up to four years commencing with the 2023-24 municipal year.

(4)        That the Joint Executive Head of Legal and Democratic Services be authorised to advertise for candidates from the general public and a wide range of organisations, including the local business community and voluntary organisations, for the appointment of up to two other members of the Joint Independent Remuneration Panel to serve for a period of up to four years commencing with the 2023-24 municipal year, and together with the Leaders and Deputy Leaders of both councils to shortlist, interview, and recommend for selection up to two nominees for appointment to the Joint Independent Remuneration Panel.

(5)        That the nominees for appointment to the Joint Independent Remuneration Panel referred to in paragraph (4) above be subject to formal approval by the Council at its full council meeting in February 2023.

(6)       That the honorarium to be paid to each Panel member be set at £1,500, the cost of which shall be divided equally between the two councils.

(7)        That the proposed timetable for appointment of the Joint Independent Remuneration Panel  ...  view the full minutes text for item EX39

Decision:

That the Executive recommends to Council (11 October 2022):

That the proposed timetable of Council and Committee meetings for the 2023-24 municipal year, as set out in Appendix 1 to the report submitted to the Executive, be adopted.

Reason:

To assist with the preparation of individual committee work programmes.

Other options considered and rejected by the Executive:

None

Details of any conflict of interest declared by the Leader or lead councillors and any dispensation granted:

None.

The Executive considered the proposed timetable of meetings for the municipal year 2023-24. The dates had been shared with Waverley Borough Council to ensure there were no conflicts.  Accordingly, the Executive

RESOLVED:

To recommend to Council (11 October 2022):

That the proposed timetable of Council and Committee meetings for the 2023-24 municipal year, as set out in Appendix 1 to the report submitted to the Executive, be adopted.

Reason:

To assist with the preparation of individual committee work programmes.