Agenda, decisions and minutes

Apologies were received from the Leader of the Council, Councillor Julia McShane.

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 not participate 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 declarations of interest.

To confirm the minutes of the meeting of the Executive held on 23 November 2023.

The minutes of the meeting held on 23 November 2023 were confirmed as correct. The Chairman signed the minutes.

The minutes of the meeting held on 23 November 2023 were confirmed as a correct record. The Chairman signed the minutes.

The Deputy Leader noted that yesterday the council published its draft financial budget for 2024 to 2025. It proposed a balanced budget for the next financial year and provided an update on the Medium-Term Financial Plan position up to April 2027. All indications were that the council will not need to issue a section 114 notice. The draft budget would be reviewed at the following meetings:

·      the Joint Executive Advisory Board on 11 January 2024;

·      the Corporate Governance and Standards Committee on 18 January 2024;

·      the Executive on 25 January 2024; and to be finally approved by

·      Full Council on 7 February 2024

Gratitude was expressed to the finance team for all their hard work towards addressing the council’s financial situation. It was noted that work would continue to ensure the council’s future financial position remained stable.

The council was currently operating 22 bring sites of various sizes and locations across the borough. These were locations where residents could take unwanted textiles, shoes, bottles, and cardboard for recycling. These sites were introduced before good kerbside recycling services were established. As the council now had a much better recycling service - where all the items that residents can take to a bring site could be collected through the usual kerbside recycling collection – the decision had been taken to close them. The bring sites would be closing the week commencing 22 January 2024. It was noted that the sites at Station Parade, East Horsley and Portsmouth Road, Guildford would be converted to recycling points for nearby flats. The council was in the process of letting local communities know about this change (following its approval at Executive on 23 November 2023) in a number of ways:

·      signage on the bring sites themselves.

·      emails to the landowners affected by this change to our service.

·      information on our website containing more detailed guidance as to how to dispose of household rubbish

·      social media posts to keep our residents fully informed about the services available through their kerbside collection.

Further updates would be provided in the regular fortnightly councillor update.

Schools and parish councils could now create projects with Crowdfund Guildford. There was still up to £5,000 funding available for community projects in the Autumn round. The deadline to create a project was 31 January 2024

Suitable projects attracting support were those that:

·      supported those in need.

·      improved rural areas.

·      enhanced green spaces.

·      promoted wildlife and nature.

·      enhanced wellbeing

Any community group or person with an idea was encouraged to connect with Crowdfund Guildford, where they could support ongoing projects and bring their own to life. Crowdfund Guildford website.Crowdfund Guildford was supported by UK Share Prosperity Fund.

Clean Air Night was happening for the first time on Wednesday, 24 January 2024. The council was participating in the Clean Air Night campaign in alliance with Global Action Plan. It was noted that new evidence had discovered that wood burning damaged health and the planet. Clean Air Night was a chance to learn more and  ...  view the full minutes text for item EX44

Decision:

That, in line with the Land and Property Disposal Policy, the Executive authorises The Joint Executive Head, Assets and Property to negotiate terms for a disposal at best consideration and to subsequently enter into all relevant legal documentation required to complete the transaction of the Council owned land comprising Land West of Winds Ridge, Send Hill in return for a capital receipt.

Reason(s):

1.      To facilitate the building of new homes in compliance with the local plan designation.

2.      To generate Income (a capital receipt) and reduce revenue costs.

Other options considered and rejected by the Executive:

1.      Do nothing – We can retain the land, keep it as amenity land and protect the biodiversity of the site. The council will continue to have revenue costs associated with maintenance and security. There is a risk of possible future claims if the made ground is disturbed. In addition, the council would have to comply with the Occupiers Liability Act 1984 for members of the public using the land.

2.      Pursue a joint development – This option has already been reviewed by senior officers and rejected due to a lack of in-house resources available and costs that the council would need to bear for remediation. The site is also not considered suitable for development by the HRA. The Council’s future development options will be extremely limited due to access issues.

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

None.

The Executive considered a report recommending that the council-owned land known as Send Hill Disused Sandpit, be disposed of at best consideration. The land was an old landfill site that was surplus amenity and was used for the purposes of public recreation. It was identified in the Local Plan as development land for housing. The site was not considered appropriate for development by the council’s Housing Revenue Account due to remediation costs and resource implications.

The Lead Councillor for Finance and Property introduced the report and advised that Executive authority was required for the disposal to proceed due to the size of the site and the anticipated value of the sale. It was noted that the matter had been before the Executive on a previous occasion when authority was given to undertake a contaminated land survey.

The Executive noted that the public comments set out in the report were generally opposed to the sale of the land. Public feedback questioned if the land would be suitable for development, suggested a potential impact for wildlife and that it was valued as a recreational area for local dog walkers.  The Executive observed that any loss of amenity would be a matter for the Planning Committee and planning policy should any future application be submitted. A Right of Way immediately behind the site was noted and that public accessibility could be a consideration for any future planning application. It was commented that the Send Neighbourhood Plan had not, apparently, sought to designate the site as Green Space.

Whilst there was sympathy for those local residents opposing the sale, the site had been removed from the Green Belt and been listed for development in the Local Plan. The capital receipt received from the sale would be positively utilised by the council to protect and deliver services. Consequently, the Executive,

RESOLVED:

That, in line with the Land and Property Disposal Policy, the Joint Executive Head, Assets and Property be authorised to negotiate terms for a disposal at best consideration and to subsequently enter into all relevant legal documentation required to complete the transaction of the Council owned land comprising Land West of Winds Ridge, Send Hill in return for a capital receipt.

Reasons:

1.        To facilitate the building of new homes in compliance with the local plan designation.

2.        To generate income (a capital receipt) and reduce revenue costs.