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Apologies were received from Cllrs Hirst, McLaren, Fryd, S Cloke and Mrs Pearson.

No declarations of interest were made at this stage.

The Mayor is already 10 weeks into my official Mayoral year and has undertaken 16 engagements.  

She was lucky enough to visit 2 of my chosen charities, St Francis Hospice and Hopefield Animal Sanctuary and to hear about the great work they do and hope that she can raise as much money for my charities this year as possible.

She has also been fortunate enough to raise the flag for Armed Forces Day and also NHS & Key Worker Day where she was proud to be standing side by side to her NHS frontline work colleagues Janine Bermudez and Linette Mukandatsama as well as members of Brentwood Fire Station.  It was great honour to recognise all the work from so many NHS and key workers over the past 18 months.  

Her upcoming Civic Service at Brentwood Cathedral takes place on 2nd August and she will be welcoming fellow Mayors and Chairman across Essex, representatives of local organisations and residents of Brentwood.

The Mayor has confirmed a Charity Quiz Night, 2 Golf Days – Autumn of this year and Spring of next year and lots more exciting events.  She was thankful for your support of these events and hope to see many of you there. 

The Mayor has lots more exciting engagements coming and cannot wait to meet lots of people across the Borough in the coming months. 

Lastly, the Mayor looks forward to presenting an Honorary Title and Civic Awards for 2019 and 2020 to those deserving winners here in the Chamber in September. 

The minutes of the Ordinary Council meeting held on 24^th February 2021 were APPROVED as true record.

The minutes of the Ordinary Council meeting held on 10^th March 2021 were APPROVED as true record.

The minutes of the Annual Council meeting held on 19^th May 2021 were APPROVED as true record, subject to an amended to the minutes to reflect an all member attendance in light of the Covid restrictions. This was agreed by Group Leader prior to the Annual Council meeting.

Four questions have been received.

Kathryn Coffin has submitted two questions. 

1. Many Brentwood residents who have spent more time at home than normal

during the last year will have realised how much waste they generate and made an effort to recycle more. What is the council doing to increase the types of items that can be included in the kerbside recycling collections, e.g. Tetrapaks, tissuepaper and carrier bags?

While Tetrapaks can currently be taken to a recycling centre, this is not an option for residents without cars. Has the council given any thought to providing recycling bins for other lightweight items in a town centre location, or at supermarkets, if a kerbside collection is not possible?

Cllr Hossack responded as follows:

The recycling we collect is somewhat determined by the volatility of the end markets.  Whilst it is important to reuse and recycle products, this is not always possible. The items listed are not sought after by many of the material recycling facilities and processors and not by the one we currently use. 

‘Food and drink cartons’ are a composite of paper, aluminium and plastic, as such, they are problematic to recycle and there is only one processor, in Halifax, that we are aware of. Also, for plastic carrier bags there are limited end markets and contamination levels are high.

We now provide two containers for ‘food and drink cartons’ at our depot’s recycling site and the material recycling facility will advise on the acceptance of plastic carrier bags when end markets improve. It should be noted that sales of single use carrier bags have dropped by 95%, in the main supermarkets, since the introduction of the charge in October 2015.  Making the collection of such items easier is against present direction and thinking, and will not challenge society to think and act differently for the better of the environment.

Regards the suggestion of introducing recycling bins elsewhere; this would be a retrograde step as in previous years we had up to nine recycling sites, but unfortunately, they were abused and misused for many years by householders depositing unwanted waste. 

2. Please could the council explain why it is not maintaining the green at the

junction of Wharf Road and Rollason Way, given that the council adopted this

land a couple of years ago? The grass has not been cut this year and is now

waist height.

The green is an important resource for flat residents on Rollason Way, who are currently unable to make use of it due to its poorly-maintained state. In addition, the overgrown state of the green presents a fire risk and is preventing residents from being able to properly clean up their dog mess. I understand that councillors have been requesting action from the council on this for two years now. I have tried contacting the council online and been told it is 'already reported/in progress', but the grass has still not been cut.

Cllr Hossack responded as follows:

The green at the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 89.

No notices of Memorials or Petitions have been received.

In accordance with the Council’s Constitution a brief written report by each committee Chair covering their area of responsibility was provided for Members’ information at each Ordinary Council meeting.

One written question has been received from Cllr Dr Barrett, as follows:

“Has the council had any engagement with highways England about the proposed community woodland at Hole Farm Warley - what are the plans for Brentwood Borough Council involvement and input”?

Cllr Hossack responded as Leader of the Council.

The council is already undertaking work to reduce its carbon footprint and influence that of others in the borough, including businesses and residents.  As such, the Council is presently recruiting a Climate & Sustainability Officer who will work towards producing a ‘Green’ strategy.  This strategy will include recommendations to reduce our carbon footprint, offset our carbon production and increase sustainability within the borough.  Therefore, rather than make declarations at this stage, the Council is focused on delivering projects in the short term and seeking to develop a longer term strategy.  This strategy will set out clear targets and the methods this authority will follow in order to deliver against local, national and worldwide climate objectives.

In addition, Brentwood as a member of Scope are already working with all other Essex councils, including County and share initiatives and expertise to reduce its carbon footprint and thus contribute to reducing global warming to less than 1.5°C %.

 Following changes to our procurement rules, we already ensure products and services consider the environmental impact of their provision as part of the overall scoring when considering tenders.  The Council will continue to develop other strategies, policies and action plans that encourage carbon reduction and carbon offset schemes.  As well as sitting on already mentioned we already sit on SCOPE, we are part of the Essex Councils Environmental Group and work with the Forestry Commission and Thames Chase to reduce our impact on the environment and reduce the amount of carbon in the borough through woodland planting.

The Council will continue to work towards zero carbon output as part of the forthcoming strategy later this year.

Two written question has been received from Cllr S Cloke as follows:

Question 1

“Residents of Brentwood that use communal waste facilities. e.g. those living in blocks of flats, do not all have access to locally positioned glass recycling bins. The expectation of Brentwood Council is that these residents, who are more likely not to have access to cars to transport bulk waste, must take their glass to a Recycling Centre or a supermarket or simply send it to landfill in black sacks. This results in wasted opportunities for recycling of glass as well as contamination of other recycling bins when residents dispose of their glass in bags or bins that are not designed for this type of recycling. When will the council provide glass recycling facilities equally to all residents by supplying communal glass recycling bins to all of those who live in accommodation with communal waste collection?

Cllr Hossack  ...  view the full minutes text for item 91.

To consider the sharing of the Chief Executive between Brentwood Borough Council and Rochford District Council for an initial 6-month period. To consider the proposed terms of reference; terms and conditions, governance arrangements and timeline for that role in determining a business case for the ongoing sharing of a Chief Executive and further shared services.

Cllr Hossack MOVED and Cllr Parker SECONDED the recommendations in the report.

After a full discussion, a recorded vote was requested by Cllrs Aspinell, Naylor, Mrs Davies, Haigh, Kendall, Laplain and Mynott.

A recorded vote was taken in accordance with Procedure Rule 9.5 and

members voted as follows:

FOR: Cllrs Barber, Bridge, J Cloke, Mrs Gelderbloem, Heard, Mrs Hones, Hossack, Jakobsson, Nolan, Parker, Poppy, Mrs Pound, Reed, Russell, Miss Sanders, Tanner, Mrs Tierney, White and Wiles (19)

AGAINST: Cllrs Aspinell, Barrett, Dr Barrett, Cuthbert, Mrs Davies, Ms Fulcher, Haigh, Kendall, Laplain  Lewis, Mynott and Naylor (12)

ABSTAIN: (0)

(Cllr Mrs Wagland was present for part of this item, therefore she did not take part in the vote).

The Motion was CARRIED and it was RESOLVED to:

R1      Delegate to the Corporate Director of Law and Governance and Corporate Director of Finance and Resources, in consultation with the Leader of the council, to engage with Rochford Council and enter into an agreement to establish a Joint Chief Executive and Head of Paid Service for Brentwood Borough Council and Rochford District Council for an initial 6 months period starting from the 1st August 2021.

R2      Delegate to the Chief Executive/Head of Paid Service and the Strategic Directors of each Council to undertake the creation of a feasibility study to explore further shared and partnership opportunities with Rochford District Council, in consultation with the Leader and Deputy (nominee) of each Council. A further report to be bought to both Council’s by the end of 2021. 

R3      Allocate a maximum of £20,000, from reserves, to assist in providing 50% of the additional resources required to undertake the feasibility study and provide additional programme resources. (Rochford District Council intends, subject to their Council agreement, to commit £20,000 of resources to undertake this work).

R4      That the Monitoring Officer be given delegated authority to make any required changes to the Constitution resulting from the decision in R1.

R5      That any designated Head of Paid Service is the proper officer under s270(3) Local Government Act 1972.

The report provided an update on developments in relation to the Association of South Essex Local Authorities (ASELA) and to formally agree to become a member of a joint committee of constituent members to oversee ASELA and provide enhanced transparency and accountability in the new delivery stage of its work programme.

Cllr Hossack MOVED and Cllr Parker SECONDED the recommendations in the report.

After a full discussion, a recorded vote was requested by Cllrs Aspinell, Naylor, Mrs Davies, Haigh, Kendall, Laplain and Mynott.

A recorded vote was taken in accordance with Procedure Rule 9.5 and

members voted as follows:

FOR: Cllrs Barber, Bridge, Barrett, Dr Barrett, J Cloke, Mrs Gelderbloem, Heard, Mrs Hones, Hossack, Jakobsson, Nolan, Parker, Poppy, Mrs Pound, Reed, Russell, Miss Sanders, Tanner, Mrs Tierney, Mrs Wagland, White and Wiles (22)

AGAINST: Cllrs Aspinell, Cuthbert, Mrs Davies, Ms Fulcher, Haigh, Kendall, Laplain, Lewis, Mynott and Naylor (10)

ABSTAIN: (0)

The Motion was CARRIED and it was RESOLVED to:-

R1.      Note the updates provided in this report.

R2.      Agree that Brentwood Borough Council becomes a member of the Association of South Essex Local Authorities (ASELA) Joint Committee in accordance with Section 101 of the Local Government Act 1972, to oversee ASELA and provide enhanced transparency and accountability in the new delivery stage of its work programmes.

R3.      Approve the governance arrangements of the Joint Committee as set out in Appendix A, and the related Joint Committee Agreement and Terms of Reference.

R4.      Appoint the Leader of the Council to represent the Council on the Joint Committee.

R5.      Appoint a deputy representative to substitute for the Leader of the Council, in line with the Part 4 of the Council’s Constitution.

R6.      Give delegated authority to the Monitoring Officer to make changes to the Constitution that result from the decisions made in R2 and R3 above.

Reasons for Recommendation

To provide ASELA with the governance arrangements required to enable delivery of the Growth and Recovery Prospectus and ten delivery programmes and for Brentwood and its residents to be a direct and indirect beneficiary of the work.

(The meeting was adjourned at 21:14 and recommenced at 21.28)

Following a change to the Council’s Constitution on 25 January 2017.  Councillors are now appointed to a number of outside organisations by Ordinary Council. Many of the outside organisations support and advance the broad objectives of the Authority. Representations come about either through the Authority initiating the appointment, or an organisation requesting a representative being nominated or a Charity Commission rule that a Council representative is appointed.

Following consideration of the list of nominations and to ensure effective use of Councillors resource and support for outside organisations it is considered appropriate to categorise the list in the following:

· Statutory Representatives

· Trustee

· Council has interest whether financially or otherwise

· Others – point of contact

Where a Councillor is required to be a point of contact it is considered appropriate for the outside organisation and the Councillor to make contact and discuss the best approach.

The list of nominations for representatives/point of contact on outside organisations is presented at the Ordinary Council meeting each year for Members’ approval (Appendix A of the report).

In January 2021, Council’s approved an amendment to Chapter 4, Paragraph 27 of the constitution to state:

27. Outside Bodies

27.1 Any person appointed by the Council to serve as our representative to an outside body shall be appointed until they resign, are dismissed or their successor is appointed. Members shall cease to hold appointments on the fourth day after the ordinary day of election unless they are re-elected as a Borough Member at the Election.

(a) The Council should not appoint where there is a conflict of office or interest

(b) The Council should not appoint where the appointment holds a risk that insolvency of the body would render the appointee debarred from office i.e. where the appointment is an effective directorship listed at Companies House.

27.2 The Chief Executive will:

(a) in consultation with the appropriate Group Leaders, revise as necessary appointments to outside bodies arising as a result of a vacancy or otherwise;

(b) in consultation with the Leader of the Council and the Group Leaders, agree the allocation of appointments to any new outside bodies or organisations.

(c) ensure that the body meets the criteria for an appointee

27.3 The Appointee will:

(a) ensure a good flow of communication between the outside body and the council. This will include non-confidential matters that the appointee may consider to be of interest or significance to either party.

(b) upon request of the Chief Executive, provide an update on any disclosable matters pertaining to the outside body.

(c) be prepared to provide a brief report to the Audit & Scrutiny committee when requested to do so under the work programme.

Cllr Hossack MOVED and Cllr Parker SECONDED recommendation R1 subject to two amendments Cllr Russell to replace Cllr Cloke on Roth Town Twinning and Cllr Russell replacing McLaren on Tenant’s Talkback and R3 within the report.

After a full discussion, Cllr Aspinell MOVED and Cllr Lewis SECONDED recommendations R1 and R2 within the report.  This was not accepted by  ...  view the full minutes text for item 94.

Report to follow

Five Notices of Motion have been submitted in accordance with Rule 3 in Part 4.1 of the Constitution - Council Procedure Rules and are listed in order of the date received.

Motion 1 Received 02/062021 @ 14:08

Proposer Cllr Dr T Barrett                       Seconder Cllr G Barrett

That the Council notes that:

(1)       humans have already caused irreversible climate change, the impacts of which are being felt around the world. Global temperatures have already increased by 1 degree Celsius from pre-industrial levels. Atmospheric CO2 levels are above 400 parts per million (ppm). This far exceeds the 350-ppm deemed to be a safe level for humanity;

(2)       in order to reduce the chance of runaway Global Warming and limit the effects of Climate Breakdown, it is imperative that we as a species reduce our CO2eq (carbon equivalent) emissions from their current 6.5 tonnes per person per year to less than 2 tonnes as soon as possible;

(3)       individuals cannot be expected to make this reduction on their own. Society needs to change its laws, taxation, infrastructure, etc., to make low carbon living easier and the new norm;

(4)       carbon emissions result from both production and consumption;

(5)       unfortunately, the world is on track to overshoot the Paris Agreement’s 1.5°C limit before 2050;

(6)       the IPCC’s Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5°C, published in the autumn of 2018, describes the enormous harm that a 2°C rise is likely to cause compared to a 1.5°C rise, and told us that limiting Global Warming to 1.5°C may still be possible with ambitious action from national and sub-national authorities, civil society, the private sector, and local communities;

(7)       Councils and Parliaments around the world are responding by declaring a ‘Climate Emergency’ and committing resources to address this emergency;

That the Council believes that:

(8)       all governments (national, regional and local) have a duty to limit the negative impacts of Climate Breakdown, and local governments should be proactive to change their policies. It is important for the residents of Brentwood Borough Council and the UK that local authorities commit to carbon neutrality as quickly as possible;

(9)       the consequences of global temperature rising above 1.5°C are so severe that preventing this from happening must be humanity’s priority;

(10)     bold climate action can deliver economic benefits in terms of new jobs, economic savings and market opportunities (as well as improved well-being for people worldwide);

and That the Council resolves to:

(11)     declare a ‘Climate Emergency’;

(12)     pledge to do everything within the Council's power to make Brentwood Borough Council area carbon neutral by 2030;

(13)     seek the provision to provide the powers and resources to make the 2030 target possible;

(14)     work with other authorities (both within the UK and internationally) to determine and implement best practice methods to limit Global Warming to less than 1.5°C;

(15)     continue to work with partners across the borough and region to deliver this new goal through all relevant strategies and plans;

Cllr Dr T Barrett presented his motion and ask  ...  view the full minutes text for item 95.

An item of business may only be considered where the Chair is of the opinion that, by reason of special circumstances, which shall be specified in the Minutes, the item should be considered as a matter of urgency.

There were no items of urgent business and the meeting concluded at 22.16.