Live broadcast to start at 7pm and avaliable for repeat viewing.

Apologies were received from Cllrs Barrett, Dr Barrett, Fryd, Fulcher, Gelderbloem, Lewis, McLaren and Pearson. 

There were no declarations of interest at this stage.

The Mayor payed tribute to long serving Council officer Darren Laver who sadly passed away.  Deepest condolences went out to Bradley (Darren’s son), Dean (Darren’s Brother), both of whom worked with Darren at the Depot, and to his family, friends and colleagues at the council that have worked with him for over 35 years.

A minutes silence was observed by all.

Since the last Ordinary Council meeting just 5 weeks ago, I have undertaken a further 17 engagements.  I enjoyed attending Brentwood school Annual Speech Day and Prizegiving, especially being able to return as Mayor instead of student. 

It was great to be invited to the Rotary of Brentwood Presidents Handover Dinner where Rose Bolton became the First Lady President in 90 years of the clubs history. 

I was also able to meet a number of fellow Mayors and Chairmans across the County at the high Sheriffs Garden party and the Essex County Council Chairman’s Annual Reception.   

My upcoming Civic Service at Brentwood Cathedral takes place on 6^th September where I hope you will join me to welcome fellow Mayors and Chairman across Essex, representatives of local organisations and residents of Brentwood.

The Ordinary Council meeting held on 22^nd June 2022 were APPROVED as a true record. The minutes contain a summary of the meeting, to view the full meeting, please visit https://youtu.be/vhcRpH_NK4A

At the time of publication, no public questions had been received. 

No public questions were received.

No memorials or petitions were received.

Policy, Resources & Economic Development Committee Chairs report – to follow

Cllr Aspinall informed Members and Officers that former Councillor Karen Chilvers had recently suffered a stroke.  The Mayor wished her well on behalf of the Members and Officers of Brentwood Borough Council. 

Members can ask up to two questions to two different Chairs.

Any Member may ask a Chair a written or oral question on any matter in relation to which the Council has powers or duties or which affects the Council’s area and which falls within the area of responsibility of the Chair’s committee.

The period allowed for written and oral questions and answers will not exceed 60 minutes without leave of the Mayor.

There is no PRED Chairs report this evening, however the minutes of the PRED Committee meeting on 13^th July have been published.

One written question was received from Cllr Mynott.  The question and response were tabled on the night and is appended to the minutes. 

Cllr Mynott asked a follow up question on this:

Approved Document O in the UK building regulations which came into effect on 15^th June covers overheating in residential building and applies to all residential institutional dwellings.  Further to this any future development requires planning consent - does approved document O only apply to those applications that require planning consent or does it apply to all residential dwellings including those which have been created without planning consent by permitted development process. 

The Chair of Planning & Licensing would need to refer to officers and come back to Cllr Mynott. 

Cllr Laplain put a question to the Chair of Community, Enforcement & Environment Committee:

At a recent Committee meeting, I asked about tree planting and the success rate of that.  I just want to reiterate that question – in previous reports you have reported upon the tree planting schemes we have got going on across the Borough, my concern is how successful that tree planting scheme has been.  From my own views, walking through St Faiths, I have seen a number of those trees have failed to grow to fruition so how successful have those programmes been?  Also, how does this match to the attrition rate of trees going for the Borough.  The programme plans for the planting of 20,000 trees and how that matches with the trees taken down for plantations, development etc.  Although the information may not be available now, if this can be incorporated into future reports. 

Cllr Russell, Chair of Community, Enforcement & Environment Committee responded:

100,000 trees are going to be planted in Hutton and the success rate of those is yet to be determined.  I can get the rest of the figures back to you in due course. 

Cllr Kendall put a question to the Chair of Housing Committee:

At the recent Housing Committee meeting, the Lib Dem members asked for the decision to turn Ingleton House into affordable housing on hold whilst discussions could take place with NHS service providers whether they would build a new medical centre on the site.  I was told at that  ...  view the full minutes text for item 132.

Two 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 on 6^th July 2022 @ 19:10

Mover:  Cllr Russell                   Seconder: Cllr Hossack

This council acknowledges the efforts of the Highway Authority to promote active travel, in particular the proposals for schools streets in the Shenfield Road area.

We note the findings of the active travel consultation published Sept 21 that reported; traffic congestion, air pollution, and road safety as being the top of residents’ concerns.

However, we note also the potential for conflict in the proposals being brought forward in ATF2, whereby efforts to reduce pollution through the introduction of cycle lanes, are expected to increase town centre congestion, particularly at Wilsons corner.

Whilst we welcome ambition to promote healthier travel alternatives, we look to the Highway Authority to do so in a way that does not cause increased town centre congestion which will have an adverse effect not only on health but also is potentially damaging to our economy and environment.

We call upon this council to arrange a meeting with key stakeholders in order to explore other options at the earliest opportunity.

Following a full discussion, a vote on the motion was taken by a show of hands and the motion was RESOLVED UNANIMOUSLY.  

Motion 2 – Received on 6^th July 2022 @ 19:10

Mover:  Cllr White            Seconder: Cllr Poppy

This council recognises the impact of the cost of living crisis on many residents and groups in Brentwood. Whilst we acknowledge that we already have community funds in place, we believe there could be further opportunities to enhance these.

Therefore, we request that officers explore a mechanism whereby those who wish to, may contribute to a community fund designed to support community initiatives and groups, with proposals to be brought back to CEE Cttee later this year.

Following a full discussion, a vote on the motion was taken by a show of hands and the motion was CARRIED. 

The Committee in Public Life published a report into standards in public life in 2019. The Local Government Association revised and produced a Model Code of Conduct along with Guidance.

Article 12 of the Constitution details how the changes to the Constitution can be adopted by Ordinary Council, reports must be approved by Full Council after changes have been considered by an appropriate member body detailed in Article 12 paragraph 12.1(a).

The Report and its appendices annexed at appendix A to this report were taken to Audit and Scrutiny on the 5 July 2022, where it was unanimously voted to adopt the Model Code of Conduct.

Cllr Hossack MOVED and Cllr Tanner SECONDED that the recommendations within the report. A vote was taken by a show of hands and was RESOLVED UNANIMOUSLY.

Members are asked to:

Adopt the recommendations of Audit and Scrutiny of the 5 July 2022 to adopt the Model Code of Conduct from the 5 July 2022 and to give delegated authority to the Monitoring Officer to make the necessary changes to Part 5 of the Constitution.

Reasons for Recommendation

To ensure consistency in application of standards.

The Council incorporated a wholly owned Company Seven Arches Investment Limited (SAIL) in 2019 and appointed two officers as Directors.

Due to the forthcoming resignation of one Director the appointment of a replacement will need to be ratified by the shareholders as set out in the shareholders agreement.

Cllr Hossack MOVED and Cllr Poppy SECONDED that the recommendations within the report. A vote was taken by a show of hands and was RESOLVED UNANIMOUSLY.

Members are asked to:

R1. To agree to the appointment of the Director of Policy and Delivery, Greg Campbell, as a Director of Seven Arches Investment Limited from 1st August 2022.

R2. Remove Phoebe Barnes as Director of Seven Arches Investment Limited following receipt of her resignation.

Reasons for Recommendation

To comply with the provisions of the shareholders agreement between SAIL and the Council.

This report will follow in a supplementary agenda. 

The Council must appoint a Monitoring Officer under s5 Local Government and Housing Act 1989. Ms Amanda Julian, who currently undertakes the role is retiring from the Council on the 31 July 2022. Therefore, the Council needs to appoint one of its officers as the Monitoring Officer in the interim while the process to recruit a replacement is undertaken.

Subject to the appointment of a permanent Monitoring Officer it is recommended that Steve Summers acts as the statutory position of Interim Monitoring Officer.

Cllr Hossack and Cllr Aspinall thanked Amanda Julian for the hard work undertaken for the Council.  They thanked her for her pivotal role on major projects and wished her well for her upcoming retirement. 

Cllr Hossack MOVED and Cllr Poppy SECONDED that the recommendations within the report. A vote was taken by a show of hands and was RESOLVED UNANIMOUSLY.

Members are asked to:

Confirm the appointment of Steve Summers as Interim Monitoring Officer with effect from the 1 August 2022 until the appointment of a permanent Monitoring Officer.

Reasons for Recommendation

The Council is required by Section 5 of the Local Government and Housing Act 1989 to designate one of its officers as its Monitoring Officer, to discharge statutory responsibilities relating to the Council’s Constitution and arrangements for effective governance. The appointment must be approved by full Council.

This item will follow in a supplementary agenda.

To confirm the appointment of joint Strategic Directors for the Council and Rochford District Council.

At an Extraordinary meeting on 26 January 2022 (the “January Meeting”) the Council resolved to agree the Strategic Partnership between the Council and Rochford District Council (RDC) and appointed Jonathan Stephenson as the Joint Chief Executive for both Councils and the Council’s Head of Paid Service with effect from 1 February 2022.

In addition, Council delegated authority to the Joint Chief Executive to undertake a restructure of Tier 2 of the councils in consultation with the Leader of each Council.

The Mayor confirmed the correct wording for the R1 should read:

To appoint the Strategic Directors for the Council and Rochford District Council as set out in the Confidential Appendix A.

Cllr Hossack MOVED and Cllr Poppy SECONDED that the recommendations within the report. A vote was taken by a show of hands and was RESOLVED UNANIMOUSLY.

Members are asked to:

R1 To appoint the Strategic Directors for the Council and Rochford District Council as set out in the Confidential Appendix A.

R2 That the Monitoring Officer be given delegated authority in consultation with the Constitution Working Group, to make any required changes to the Constitution to give effect to the recommendations in this report.

Reasons for Recommendation

The Partnership will identify further opportunities for beneficial shared service arrangements with other local authorities. In addition, the Partnership’s strategic priorities of:

•         Deliver financially sustainable, high-quality services that are valued by our community;

•         Lead the way to improve our environment by acting locally, contributing globally;

•         Provide high quality, sustainable housing to meet the needs of our community;

•         Improve the quality of life, health and wellbeing of our residents; and

•         Create opportunities for economic growth and improved connectivity in which businesses can flourish;

broadly reflect the Council’s priorities of :

• Growing the economy;

• Protecting the environment;

• Developing communities;

• Improving housing; and

• Delivering an effective and efficient council.

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.

The meeting concluded at 20:40