There were no apologies for absence at this meeting.

·           Councillor Ayling

Development Control Committee – 4^th November 2020

Minute 538 (20/01309/FUL - Development Land Underwood Square), Minute 539 (20/01324/FUL - Development Land Underwood Square) and Minute 542 (19/00207/BRCN-B - Britannia Public House, Eastern Esplanade) – Non-Pecuniary Interest: The architect is known to them.

Minute 542 (19/00207/BRCN-B - Britannia Public House, Eastern Esplanade) – Non-Pecuniary Interest: Has been in contact with the applicant regarding this matter;

Policy and Resources Scrutiny Committee – 26^th November 2020

Minutes 588 and 590 (Roots Hall and Fossetts Farm) – Non-pecuniary interest: Has been involved in meetings with local residents with regard to the development at Fossetts Farm;

·           Councillor Beck

Development Control Committee – 4^th November 2020

Minute 538 (20/01309/FUL - Development Land Underwood Square), Minute 539 (20/01324/FUL - Development Land Underwood Square) and Minute 542 (19/00207/BRCN-B - Britannia Public House, Eastern Esplanade) – Non-Pecuniary Interest: The architect is known to them.

Minute 537 (20/01294/FUL - 271 Southbourne Grove, Westcliff-on-Sea) – Non-Pecuniary Interest: Has been in contact with the neighbour regarding the application;

Minute 538 (20/01309/FUL - Development Land Underwood Square) – A close friend lives near the application site;

Minute 542 (19/00207/BRCN-B - Britannia Public House, Eastern Esplanade) – Disqualifying Non-Pecuniary Interest: Many seafront traders are good friends with him;

Special Place Scrutiny Committee – 8^th December 2020

Minutes 611 and 613 (Porters Place Southend on Sea LLP: Business

Plan) – Non-pecuniary interests: Member of Development Control Committee and has been involved with the Community Steering Committee in respect of the Better Queensway scheme and has attended several Q&A sessions with Queensway residents;

·           Councillor Borton;

Development Control Committee – 4^th November 2020

Minute 538 (20/01309/FUL - Development Land Underwood Square), Minute 539 (20/01324/FUL - Development Land Underwood Square) and Minute 542 (19/00207/BRCN-B - Britannia Public House, Eastern Esplanade) – Non-Pecuniary Interest: The architect is known to them.

·           Councillor  Boyd

People Scrutiny Committee – 24^th November 2020

Minute 582 (In-depth Scrutiny Project 2019/20) – Non-pecuniary interest: family member works in a care home setting;

Special People Scrutiny Committee – 7^th December 2020

Minute 607 (Outcomes of the informal consultation Stage One of a potential amalgamation of Chalkwell Hall Infants School and Chalkwell Hall Junior School) – Non-pecuniary interest: Is known to one of the individuals that have submitted a public question for the meeting and has connections with a former governor of Chalkwell Hall Infants School;

·           Councillor Buck

Cabinet Committee – 2^nd November 2020

Minute 504 (Eastern Avenue Safety Scheme) – Non-pecuniary interest: The Notice of Motion to Council was signed by the Councillors in the Conservative Group;

Development Control Committee – 4^th November 2020

Minute 538 (20/01309/FUL - Development Land Underwood Square), Minute 539 (20/01324/FUL - Development Land Underwood Square) and Minute 542 (19/00207/BRCN-B - Britannia Public House, Eastern Esplanade) – Non-Pecuniary Interest: The architect is known to them.

·           Councillor Chalk

Development Control Committee – 4^th November 2020

Minute 538 (20/01309/FUL - Development Land Underwood Square), Minute 539 (20/01324/FUL - Development Land Underwood  ...  view the full minutes text for item 615.

Brian Houssart and Mike Dolby – Minutes silence

The Council remained silent for one minute as a mark of respect to former Southend-on-Sea Borough Councillors, Mr Brian Houssart and Mr Mike Dolby, who sadly passed away recently.

Youth Council

The Worshipful the Mayor welcomed the Youth Mayor, Madi Faulkner-Hatt and Deputy Youth Mayor, Nizle Biju to the meeting and on behalf of the Council congratulated them on their appointments.

The Youth Mayor and Deputy Youth Mayor addressed the Council and spoke about their plans for their term of office.

Presentation of Yule Log

Councillor Aylen had presented the Worshipful the Mayor with the Yule Log which was delivered by the Council’s Parks team to Porters.

The relevant Cabinet Members responded to written questions received from the public.

The relevant Cabinet Members responded to written questions received from Councillors.

Minutes attached

Resolved:-

That the Minutes of the Meeting held on Thursday, 29^th October 2020, be confirmed as a correct record and signed.

Minutes attached

Resolved:

That the minutes of this meeting, be noted.

Minutes attached

Resolved:

That the minutes of this meeting, be noted.

Minutes attached

Resolved:

That the minutes of this meeting, be noted.

Minutes attached

Resolved:

That the minutes of this meeting, be noted and the recommendations contained in Minutes 512 (Resourcing Better Outcomes – Period 6) and 518 (Southend Pier), be approved.

Minutes attached

Resolved:

That the minutes of this meeting, be noted.

Minutes attached

Resolved:

That the minutes of this meeting, be noted and the recommendations contained in Minute 546 (Refresh of Protocol on Councillor/Officer Relations) be approved, subject to the refinements made at Policy and Resources Scrutiny Committee on 26^th November 2020 as set out in Minute 631 below.

Minutes attached

Resolved:

That the minutes of this meeting, be noted.

Minutes attached

Resolved:

That the minutes of this meeting and the recommendations contained in Minute 559 (Report to the Trustees of the Beecroft Trust), be noted.  See Minute 628 below for the Council’s formal decision as sole Trustee of the Beecroft Trust.

Minutes attached

During consideration of Minute 566 (Beecroft Council Options) the Leader agreed to provide all Councillors with further details about why the scheme for artist studios was unviable.

During consideration of Minute 567 (Hamlet Court Road Conservation Designation) the Cabinet Member for Environment and Planning confirmed that the consultation would relate to the whole of Hamlet Court Road.

During consideration of Minute 567 (Hamlet Court Road Conservation Designation) a motion was moved and seconded to refer the matter back to Cabinet.

The motion for reference back was not carried.

Resolved:

1. That the minutes of this meeting, be noted, including the extended consultation area in Minute 567 (Hamlet Court Road Conservation Designation).

Beecroft Trust Matters:

2. That the Council acting as the sole Trustee of the Beecroft Trust approves the recommendations contained in Minute 571 (Report to the Trustees of the Beecroft Trust), as set out below:

“1. That it be noted that the scheme to provide affordable artist studios in the Former Gallery was unachievable and unviable.

2. That the Council as Trustee of the Beecroft Art Trust be recommended to sell the Former Gallery and the Council should be offered first refusal to purchase at full market value, subject to charity law requirements.

3. That the Council as Trustee of the Beecroft Art Trust be recommended to retain the Beecroft art collection in the former library building on an ad hoc basis, pending a more permanent solution which should be possible once the proceeds of sale from the Former Gallery have been received.

4. That the Council as Trustee agrees that all reasonable and proper costs expended by the Council on behalf of the Trust, associated with the sale of the Former Gallery and the acquisition of an alternative property, will be met from the proceeds of sale of the Former Gallery, subject to the Charity Commission’s consent.

5. That the Council as Trustee seeks to amend the Commission Scheme dated 18th February 1980 to remove the Former Gallery from the Commission Scheme and ensure the Trust continues to adhere to the Objects of the Trust.”

Minutes attached

Resolved:

That the minutes of this meeting, be noted.

Minutes attached

Resolved:

That the minutes of this meeting, be noted.

Minutes attached

During consideration of Minute 588 (Roots Hall/Fossetts Farm) the Leader agreed to provide all Councillors with further details about the company referred to in the report.

Resolved:

1. That the minutes of this meeting, be noted and the recommendations contained Minute 591 (Resourcing Better Outcomes - Financial Performance Report - Period 6), be approved.

2. That the recommendations contained in Minute 587 (Refresh of Protocol on Councillor/Officer Relations) as set out below and that Part 5(d) of the Constitution be amended accordingly:

“1. That the report be noted and that the following recommendations of the Standards Committee to the full Council arising from its meeting held on 11 November 2020 (Minute 546 refers), be endorsed:

1. That the new Protocol on Councillor/Officer Relations set out at Appendix 1 and the associated Action Plan to support implementation at Appendix 2 to the submitted report be referred to the Policy and Resources Scrutiny Committee on 26th November 2020, prior to consideration of the new Protocol at Council on 10th December 2020, with the following amendment to Section 9.1 of the Protocol:

·         To change the wording ‘enquiries’ to ‘queries’ and add the contact email address for the relevant team.

2. That the approach described in section 6 of the submitted report, be adopted and the Committee uses its role to champion the actions and key messages in order to promote this work, subject to an adjustment of the action proposed in the final bullet point of section 6.3 of the report so that it reads:

‘Political groups and Leaders to explore ways to support Officers and Councillors in resolving low level inappropriate and unprofessional behaviour, before it escalates to a formal complaint.”

3. That the words ‘or officer’ be inserted after the words ‘the Councillor’ in the third bullet point of Section 10.1.5 (Relations with the Media) of the new Protocol.

2. That the Standards Committee be requested to consider the addition of references to appropriate appeals procedures in Section 12.2 (Submitting a formal complaint alleging a breach of this Protocol) of the new Protocol.”

Minutes (to follow)

Resolved:

That the minutes of this meeting, be noted.

Minutes attached

Resolved:

That the minutes of this meeting, be noted.

Minutes (to follow)

During consideration of Minute 634 (Porters Place LLP) the Leader agreed that there will be an inquiry into the decision made to bring the road up to grade with a focus on the Cabinet decision of early 2019.

During consideration of Minute 611 (Porters Place LLP Business Plan) a motion to refer the matter back to Cabinet was proposed and seconded.

The motion to refer the matter back was not carried.

Resolved:

That the minutes of this meeting, be noted.

Notice of Motion attached

Resolved:

That in accordance with Standing Order 8.4 the following Notice of Motion, be referred to the Cabinet:

‘FOOD JUSTICE CHAMPION MOTION

Trussell Trust research shows that three million children are at risk of hunger during the school holidays. Here in Southend, we know that our foodbanks issue thousands of emergency food packages every year and 1 in 5 children l

live in poverty.

Foodbank use has dramatically increased, and the Independent Food Aid Network recorded a 59% increase in demand for emergency food support between February and March.

The government has also committed to the UN Sustainable Development Goals, which have an international and domestic commitment to ending hunger by 2030.

This council believes:

No-one in Southend or the UK should go hungry, not least children. Food justice is about taking action on the causes of hunger such as affordability and availability of good nutritious food.

Local councils and communities played a key role during the COVID-19 pandemic and continue to do so and that should be recognised.

The council resolves to:

Appoint a food justice champion, who will lead on tackling food poverty locally and support / set up a food partnership to bring together partners to develop a good action plan to address the causes of food poverty.’

Proposed: Cllr Daniel Cowan

Seconded: Cllr Matt Dent

Report of the Executive Director (Finance and Resources) attached

The Council considered a report of the Executive Director (Finance and Resources) presenting the Local Council Tax Support Scheme for 2021/22.

Resolved:

That the current Local Council Tax Support Scheme 2019/20 be readopted for 2021/22.

Report of the Executive Director (Finance and Resources) (to follow)

The Council considered a report of the Executive Director (Finance and Resources) setting out the Trust matters relating to Roots Hall and Fossetts Farm.

During consideration of this matter the Mayor drew Councillors attention to an email from the Executive Director (Legal and Democratic Services) dated the 10^th December 2020 relating to the duties of Councillors when dealing with Trust matters.  In answer to a question the Executive Director agreed to arrange a further briefing on this same matter, if required. 

During consideration of Minute 637 (Roots Hall and Fossetts Farm Trust Matters) and in accordance with Standing Order 1.7, the hour of 10.00pm having been reached the Council resolved to continue for one further hour until 11.00pm.

Resolved:

1. That, in the Council’s capacity as the Trustee, the Cabinet Report and associated minutes of Cabinet and Policy and Resources Scrutiny Committee, be noted.

2. That, in the Council’s capacity as the Trustee, the following decisions, subject to any Consent or Order of the Charity Commission in respect of each Trust (as may be required), be approved:

(a) On behalf of the Jones Memorial Recreation Ground Trust, the grant of an easement along the northern section of the Jones Memorial Recreation Ground on the terms, and as shown on the plan set out at section 3 of the submitted report and note that the existing car park serving the recreation ground will be replaced on like terms.

(b) On behalf of the Victory Sports Ground Trust, the appropriation and/or sale of a small section of land adjacent to Sutton Road/Eastern Avenue roundabout to public highway use to enable the road capacity to be increased on the terms, and as shown on the plan set out at section 4 of the report.

(c) On behalf of the Youth Commemoration Ground Trust, grant a shared use agreement with the Loxford Trust to ensure that the land can be used to support the physical education needs of local school children and in turn to enable the release of the former Cecil Jones Junior School playing field land for development (if required and subject also to the Secretary of State’s Consent), on the terms set out in section 5 of this report.

Resolved:

That the minor change to the membership of the Fostering Panel to replace Councillor Jones with Councillor Mitchell, be noted.

The Mayor informed Councillors that the last Council meeting of the current Municipal Year scheduled for 25^th March 2021 now falls within the pre-election purdah period as the Notices of Election for both the Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner and the Local Elections will be published on 19^th March 2021.

Resolved:

That the last Council meeting of the current municipal year be rearranged for 18^th March 2021.