Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from The Mayor, Councillor Dennis Booth, and Councillors Tim Anderson, Colin Cross, Andrew Gomm, David Goodwin, Diana Jones, and Tony Rooth, and also from Honorary Aldermen Catherine Cobley, Sarah Creedy, Jayne Marks, Tony Phillips, Lynda Strudwick and Jenny Wicks.

To receive and note any disclosable pecuniary interests from councillors. 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 disclosures of interest.

To receive any communications or announcements from the Mayor.

There were no communications from the Mayor.

To receive any communications or announcements from the Leader of the Council.

The Leader reported on the following matters to the Council:

(a)   Crowdfund Guildford project deadline:  the deadline to create a project was Wednesday 29 March.  The Council had increased its maximum pledge to £10,000 for this funding round, and we were looking for projects that would help the community.  Councillors were asked to raise awareness of the project within their local communities.

(b)   Coronation pages live on website: Plans for the Coronation weekend and how residents could get involved were now live on the Council’s website.  The pages covered information about the Coronation, how to host a Coronation event, activities across the Borough, how to get involved and a link to the official Coronation toolkit.

(c)   Last week of Matisse exhibition: the Matisse exhibition at Guildford House Gallery would run until 25 March 2023. The exhibition showcased 35 posthumous prints of the cut-outs produced by Henri Matisse in the last four years of his life, including many of his iconic images, such as The Snail and the Blue Nudes.

(d)   Voter ID roadshow: The Communications team and staff from Electoral Services had been out in the borough talking to residents about Voter ID.  The purpose of the campaign was to make sure residents know that they would need photo ID to vote at a polling station on 4 May 2023. The latest Voter ID roadshow had been held earlier in the day at The Hive. The Council would be announcing more road show dates around the borough very soon.  In addition, the Council had arranged for the delivery of a leaflet on Voter ID, produced by the Electoral Commission, to every household in the borough, and a further leaflet, produced by the Council, would be included in council tax bills.  The Leader also referred to the cards that had been placed on each desk in the Council Chamber, for every councillor, which included on one side a QR code that linked to further information on the Electoral Commission’s website and, on the other, examples of valid photo ID.

In response to an enquiry as to whether the roadshow would include destinations outside of the town area, the Leader confirmed that plans to visit some of the parished areas were in hand and councillors would be informed when these would be taking place.

In response to a question as to whether it would be possible for the Communications Teams to produce the card as a J-peg image so that it could be shared by councillors on social media, and also whether councillors could include them on their email signatures, the Leader indicated that these suggestions would be taken up with the Communications team. 

To receive questions or statements from the public in relation only to the business for which this extraordinary meeting has been called.

Sue Wyeth-Price, on behalf of Ash Green Residents Association, addressed the Council in respect of Agenda Item 7: Ash Road Bridge Scheme update and Budget Approval, and made the following points:

·       Councillors were reminded that this project would cost at least £44m and would in debt all residents of the borough for decades, spread pollution over a wide area, and not deliver benefits. 

·       £9m had been spent to date, with no discernible progress made

·       The Council had neither a construction contract, nor a contract with landowners in place, so did not know what the actual cost of the project would be.

·       Uncertainty over possible contributions from Surrey County Council, Network Rail, and developers

·       The Council hoped that the road bridge would improve safety, but the safety problems were with pedestrians, not cars.

·       The bridge would not prevent rat-running or alleviate existing bottlenecks.

·       No consideration had been given to alternative traffic solutions.

·       Residents had not actually been asked whether they wanted the bridge.

To hear questions from councillors of which due notice has been given in relation only to the business for which this extraordinary meeting has been called.

There were no questions, on notice, from councillors.

A recorded vote was requested in respect of the motion to approve the budget and funding strategy for the Ash Road Bridge project, which was supported by four other councillors in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 19 (d).

The Council considered an update report on progress with the Ash Road Bridge Scheme, which included a reappraisal of the budget and funding in respect of the project.  Councillors noted that the project comprised a long-term infrastructure solution to the current and future issues posed by the Ash level crossing, including increased usage associated with housing growth in the Ash and Tongham area and greater barrier downtime resulting from enhanced rail use of the North Downs Line.

The Scheme was being delivered in two Stages. Stage 1 was the delivery of the road bridge over the railway line (and closure of the level crossing to motorised vehicles), and Stage 2 the delivery of the footbridge in the vicinity of Ash level crossing, to enable Ash level crossing to be closed permanently to all users.

The Council had approved the Scheme in April 2021, with a budget of £33.8 million for Stage 1 (road bridge) and £5.02 million for Stage 2 (footbridge) and funding from Homes England of £23.9 million.  Due to challenging economic and market conditions the budget for Stage 1 (road bridge) had increased. Although, the Ash Road Bridge would bring substantial improvements to the local community and economy, the Executive was concerned about how the ongoing annual costs would be met. In noting the progress of this project since it was initially commissioned in 2015 and the benefits it would bring, the Executive had requested that further discussions be held with Surrey County Council as the transport and highways authority, Network Rail and Homes England on the ongoing impact of the costs of the bridge to local public services.

The report had set out, in the exempt appendices, the new budget and funding strategy for Stage 1 (road bridge) of the Scheme. The report noted that the final details of this could be subject to change following ongoing evaluation of the tenders received from the contractors in late January 2023 and their final offer in March 2023, including the impact on the Medium-Term Financial Plan.  The report had also set out the funding strategy for Stage 2 of the Scheme (the footbridge).

The Council was informed that the approved budget for the Scheme was £38.91 million, being £33.89 million for the road bridge (Stage 1) and £5.02 million for the footbridge (Stage 2) (excluding borrowing costs.) The road bridge budget was slightly higher than that which had been approved by the Council in April 2021 (£38.79million) as the budget had subsequently combined with a separate approved budget for land acquisition costs for the Ash Road Bridge Scheme equivalent to £0.12 million. The revised budget was £44.5 million, being £44.0 million for the road bridge and £0.5 million for the footbridge (excluding borrowing costs.) The increase to the budget  ...  view the full minutes text for item CO143

Under Section 8(2) of the Representation of the People Act 1983, the Council must appoint an Officer to the position of Electoral Registration Officer (ERO). This position is responsible for maintaining the Electoral Register for the area. The Chief Executive is the appointed ERO for Guildford Borough Council

Under Section 52(2) of the 1983 Act, the Council may approve the appointment of Deputy EROs to perform and exercise any of the duties and powers of the ERO.

Due to recent changes in electoral legislation being likely to increase demand for urgent decisions by the ERO, it will be necessary to appoint Deputy EROs to assist with the effective discharge of duties to deliver the forthcoming local elections, and subsequent elections. In order to provide maximum flexibility in respect of such appointments, and to avoid the necessity of bringing further reports to Council whenever such appointments are required, the Council is requested to delegate authority to appoint Deputy Electoral Registration Officers to the Electoral Registration Officer. This delegation mirrors that in respect of the Chief Executive’s role as Returning Officer in that he may appoint Deputies as required.

RECOMMENDATION:

That the Council delegates authority to the Electoral Registration Officer to appoint Deputy Electoral Registration Officers, subject to such appointees holding satisfactory qualifications and experience as required.

The Council noted that, under Section 8(2) of the Representation of the People Act 1983, the Council must appoint an Officer to the position of Electoral Registration Officer (ERO). This position was responsible for maintaining the Electoral Register for the area.

The Chief Executive was the appointed ERO for Guildford Borough Council. Under Section 52(2) of the 1983 Act, the Council may approve the appointment of Deputy EROs to perform and exercise any of the duties and powers of the ERO. Due to recent changes in electoral legislation being likely to increase demand for urgent decisions by the ERO, it would be necessary to appoint Deputy EROs to assist with the effective discharge of duties to deliver the forthcoming local elections, and subsequent elections.

In order to provide maximum flexibility in respect of such appointments, and to avoid the necessity of bringing further reports to Council whenever such appointments were required, the Council was requested to delegate authority to appoint Deputy Electoral Registration Officers to the Electoral Registration Officer. This delegation mirrored that in respect of the Chief Executive’s role as Returning Officer in that he may appoint Deputies as required.

Upon the motion of the Lead Councillor for Planning Development, Legal and Democratic Services, Councillor Tom Hunt, seconded by the Leader of the Council, Councillor Julia McShane, the Council

RESOLVED: That the Council delegates authority to the Electoral Registration Officer to appoint Deputy Electoral Registration Officers, subject to such appointees holding satisfactory qualifications and experience as required.

Reason:

In order to provide maximum flexibility in respect of such appointments for the purpose of discharging new requirements following changes in electoral law, and to avoid the necessity of bringing further reports to Council whenever such appointments are required.

To order the Common Seal to be affixed to any document to give effect to any decision taken by the Council at this meeting.

The Council

RESOLVED: That the Common Seal of the Council be affixed to any documents to give effect to any decisions taken by the Council at this meeting.