To receive any communications or announcements from the Leader of the Council.
Minutes:
Termination of Housing Maintenance Contracts
The Leader reminded the Council that, at the last meeting, a new procedure was agreed in connection with reporting matters where key decisions had to be taken under the special urgency provisions set out in Access to Information Procedure Rule 16. Whereas these used to be reported to the Council annually in the Overview and Scrutiny Committee Annual Report, details of those decisions were now reported to Council by the Leader at the next ordinary meeting of the Council.
In early November, the special urgency provisions had to be used to enable an urgent decision to be taken by the Strategic Director Community Wellbeing to terminate two housing maintenance contracts as a result of the housing investigation which had flagged that they had been significantly overspent. Although, the Public Contract Regulations 2015 provided for modifications of contracts without the need for a new procurement in certain circumstances, none of those provision applied to these particular contracts, and it was therefore necessary for them to be terminated both in accordance with the Regulations and to protect the Council's position. Given the value of the contracts, the decision to terminate had been a key decision, notice of which should have been published on the Forward Plan at least 28 days prior to the decision being made.
However, action needed to be taken with immediate effect, so the urgency provisions were utilised which involved obtaining the consent of the Chairman of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee before the decision was taken.
Memorial Christmas
Trees
The bereavement service now had its memorial Christmas trees at the
crematorium until 6 January for any bereaved families that would
like to place a tag on a tree.
Guildford Design Awards
2023
The Leader was very pleased to report that the Council had won two
awards at this year’s Guildford Design Awards, one for Walnut
Bridge and another for the Guildhall restoration. These awards recognised and rewarded excellence
in architecture, urban design, planning and public art across the
borough.
Housing Update
The Council had recently held two drop-in sessions for housing
tenants, one in Ripley and one at The Hive, which had been led by
the Executive Head of Community Services, Sam Hutchison.
If anyone was unable to attend these sessions, any thoughts, ideas, concerns or questions could still be sent to the Tenant Engagement Panel: Chair.TEG@hotmail.com
Review of Local Plan
On 4 December 2023, the Joint Executive Advisory Board had
discussed what a review of the Local Plan (Strategy and Sites) 2019
would cover, which had to be undertaken at least every five
years.
A report to Full Council on the matter was scheduled for February 2024. If Full Council agreed to update the Local Plan, a timetable, budget, and actions would be prepared before proceeding. The existing Local Plan would remain in place whilst this process was ongoing.
Guildford Lido
update
Works were
continuing by Freedom Leisure’s appointed contractors to
investigate and resolve the leaks. Updates on progress
with the works would be posted on
Freedom Leisure’s
websiteand social
media channels.
North Street update
The Leader informed the Council that the Section 106 Agreement
associated with the St Edward Homes' plans for the mixed-use
redevelopment of North Street had been completed and the planning
permission approved by the Planning Committee in October 2023 had
been issued on 4 December 2023.
As a result, the planning appeal of the application refused in January 2023 (22/P/01336) had now been formally withdrawn and the public inquiry scheduled to start on 7 December 2023 had been cancelled.
In response to a question, the Leader agreed that the entire planning team, and particularly the Executive Head of Planning, deserved this Council's and the community's thanks in helping to avoid the potential cost of an appeal.