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

Apologies were received from Cllr Francois, Gelderbloem, Mynott and Cllr Wiles.

Declarations of Interests were received from:

Cllr White in relation to Motion 2 as it concerns to his employer. 

Cllr Hirst in relation to appointment of the PFCC panel. 

“In the three months since we last met in this chamber, there have been some sad losses to this Borough, and I start my announcements this evening by paying tribute to two memorable people within our Borough.

We learnt of the passing of former Councillor John Newberry.  John was a Brentwood Borough Councillor for Brentwood West, elected with myself and Cllr Francois, back in 2014 and served until 2018. A former police officer, he had a kind and caring approach to his work as a councillor and was well-liked and respected by all who served with him.

Then we have the loss of John Wyndham. He was not only the Founder of the Brentwood Imperial Youth Band, but also a Freeman of this Borough a role that he was appointed to by this Council in 2015 as a testament to his dedication to this community. 

He was an inspiration to so many in Brentwood, a dedicated servant of our borough and always great company. He will be missed not just by everyone involved in Brentwood Imperial Youth Band, but anyone who has ever experienced their amazing contributions to us all.

As a testament to the contribution of these two great servants of Brentwood, instead of a minutes silence this evening, I would like to ask all present to pay tribute to these men with a minutes applause.

It is now four months since I was formally elected as Mayor and I have been delighted to meet so many of the Community and beyond. With many engagements and experiences since our last Ordinary Council meeting in June, it has been an exciting time. I would like to thank the Deputy Mayor for also attending a number of engagements on my behalf also during this time.    

Of note, I had an amazing experience spending time with both of our Town Twinning Organisations when during the Summer.  I visited Roth in Germany and Montbazon in France. I was honoured to represent the Borough as first citizen during these visits and participate in some insightful, interesting and occasionally challenging activities.  I would like to thank my respective hosts Thomas and Gertraud, and Eric, Sophie, Max and Pauline, for the kindness and all of the citizens of our twinned communities for the warm welcome I received. A special thanks as well to the officials at Roth and Sylvie, the Mayor of Montbazon.

It was a pleasure to attend Brentwood Town FC, see their fantastic FA Cup Preliminary Round victory and understand their community impact. It was also a notable experience to meet members of Brentwood Rugby Club for the opening match of their season (again a victory for Brentwood), and see first-hand their ethos and impact – I am also pleased to be wearing their club tie today.

I was honoured to join Deputy Lord Lieutenant Professor Michael Almond, Major Bold of the USAF, West Horndon Parish Council, and the wider Brentwood community to remember the loss of two American aircrews whose planes crashed  ...  view the full minutes text for item 192.

The minutes of the Ordinary Council held on the 21^st June 2023 were approved as a true record. The minutes contain a summary of the meeting, to view the full meeting, please visit Ordinary Council - YouTube

In accordance with the Council’s Constitution, a member of the public resident within the Borough may ask a maximum of two questions relating to the business of the Council providing notice has been received by 10.00am two working days before the relevant meeting.

As Mrs Gearon-Simm and Mrs Smith were not present, the Mayor asked the questions on their behalf. 

Mrs Jan Gearon-Simm has submitted two questions:

1.    As responsible landlords, Brentwood Borough Council (BBC) will know how many and how habitable the properties they rent to Brentwood residents ae. When I was a private landlord from 2004 to 2016, it was my responsibility to ensure that my property was in good condition and habitable. However, the only privately owned properties, which are legally required to be registered with BBC are Housing of Multiple Occupancy (HMOs) and they are, of course, liable to a list of regulations. Does BBC know how many privately owned rental properties there are in Brentwood?

Cllr Dr Barrett responded as followed:

Brentwood’s Private Sector Housing Policy was last reviewed in 2011, in line with our responsibilities as a strategic housing authority. This policy does not establish a framework to register private rental properties beyond HMOs, nor mandate any data collection on their number.

However, in July of this year, I requested that the officers commence a review of this policy as soon as possible that would address this, and a new policy approach presented to the Housing, Health and Community Committee for adoption at the earliest possible opportunity. This will also consider the possibility of introducing selective licensing for private landlords, as allowed under the Housing Act 2004.

We are developing a dedicated online report form for private rented sector housing complaints, which can be established ahead of this policy review.

For final clarity on your question, according to 2021 Census data there are approximately 16% of households are part of the private rented sector in the Borough, and there had been a greater percentage increase in this type of household since the last census compared to the rest of England.

2.    Housing is a human need and “market forces” do not necessarily prevail in all areas of life. In order to encourage home ownership, there is a part rent/buy scheme. When tenants of council properties leave their home those properties remain in Council ownership. If those tenants, who have engaged in a part rent/buy contract, choose to leave their homes, they are given back the amount of money they have saved during their tenancy. Such council-owned properties can then be rented to other tenants. Will Brentwood Borough Council instigate the part rent/buy scheme for council properties?

Cllr Dr Barrett responded as followed:

The Council is currently considering all form of tenure in relation to its new build schemes including Shared Ownership, however each scheme and property tenure will be considered and decided based on the financial viability of the site.

However, any scheme is not legally able to operate in the way you described.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 194.

No memorials or petitions were received.

Report to follow.

Cllr Bridge requested that the full minutes for this item were recorded.   

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.

Two written questions were received from Cllr White.  His first question was as follows:

To the Chair of Finance, Assets, Investments and Recovery Committee:

In the last complete financial period for which figures are available, what was the average weekly income collected from parking changes collected at Coptfold Road Car Park?

Response from Cllr Kendall, Chair of Finance, Assets, Investments and Recovery Committee:

The average weekly income received in years 2022/23 for the Multi Story Car Park is as followed:

Season tickets - £1,654.67

Parking Income - £2,399.34

Total = £4,054.01

Councillor White had a supplementary question:

There have been a number of complaints from residents or observations from residents that the charging machines haven't been working at Coptfold Road Car Park certainly since the 14th of September, I know one of my colleagues has got photographic evidence that there was a sign up saying we couldn't collect the money.  Does the Chair know on how many days in the last three months we've not been collecting that money and how much that has cost the Council and what are we

doing about it. 

Response from Cllr Kendall, Chair of Finance, Assets, Investments and Recovery Committee:

We aware of it um we had some problems from about the beginning of September  which I highlighted and we were hoping these were going to be short-term issues.  There are some operational issues there with the ticket machines which are

being resolved.  Unfortunately it's not quite as simple as we'd have hoped.  When the contract was signed, it was signed a few years ago there are various contracts maintenance agreements service agreements that were signed up to and we've had to obviously work through what we can get done.  I  would say in terms of cost, I'm happy to be corrected but I'd have thought somewhere between £10-14K could be the potential loss at this moment in time, that's the situation we're in but action is being taken has been taken over this last few weeks.  It's not been quite as simple as hopeful. 

Miss branes added, we have been aware that there are issues with the system at the Multi Storey Car Park.  We are working with the engineers to get the system back up and running and get it online.  The car park is a pay on foot car park therefore we cannot take payment at the moment because of tickets not being produced.  What we are doing is working with the engineers, following that if  ...  view the full minutes text for item 196.

The report sets out the outcomes of the examination of the council’s Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) and sought to formally approve and publish the Council’s CIL Charging Schedule, in accordance with Regulation 25 of the CIL Regulations 2010 (as amended). The report advised that, subject to council adoption on 27 September 2023, the Brentwood CIL Charging Schedule will take effect on the 15 January 2024. This date is informed by an ongoing programme of work to set up all necessary guidance, administrative and financial systems and processes for CIL implementation.

The report summarised the preparation process that has been required to produce the CIL Charging Schedule and the stages of consultation and formal examination that have been involved. The report sets out how formal adoption by the council is now required in order to commence and implement CIL.

Once CIL is brought into effect, the Council will become a ‘CIL Charging Authority’ and ‘CIL Collecting Authority’. Moving forward it will be important for Members to approve the governance arrangements for the prioritisation and spending of CIL receipts. This report provided Members with an update as to the consideration of governance arrangements and a commitment for this to be the subject of a future committee report within the next 12 months.

Cllr M Cuthbert MOVED and Cllr Aspinell SECONDED the recommendations in the report. A vote was taken and it was RESOLVED UNANIMOUSLY

R1. Adopt the Community Infrastructure Levy Charging Schedule (Appendix A), with an implementation date of 15 January 2024.

R2. Adopt the Instalment Policy (Appendix B), with an implementation date of 15 January 2024.

R3. Delegate authority to the Director of Place, in consultation with the Chief Executive and Leader of the Council, any necessary further minor editorial changes to the Charging Schedule or Instalment Policy and a change to the implementation date if necessary.

R4. Approve that governance options and arrangements for the priorities and spending of CIL receipts be brought to committee in the next 12 months.

Following a motion at Ordinary Council on 21 June 2023, which stated:-

“The Council notes:

• ‘Chairs Reports and Questions’ at Ordinary Council should provide democratic accountability of its leadership.

• Recently, Leaders have chaired PRED committees, allowing a very broad range of questions to be put to them. This may not be the case when a Leader chairs a Policy Committee with a more focused remit, or none at all.

 • This motion therefore calls for immediate amendment to Procedural Rule 7.2 that limits the scope of questions to (and omits specific inclusion of) the Council Leader.

This council resolves to:-

1. Require the council’s leader to be fully involved in chairs questions sessions across all areas of Council activity to promote public trust, encourage robust discussions, and enable greater scrutiny of actions and policies;

2. Introduce with immediate effect changes to fully include the Council Leader in Ordinary Council’s ‘Chairs Report and Questions’ session (to be renamed Leaders and Chairs’ Report and Questions) to cover “all areas of Council responsibility within the council’s area”;

3. Request the monitoring officer, in liaison with the Constitution Working Group, to bring forward to the next Ordinary Council the necessary changes Procedural Rule 7 (Chair Report and Questions) to give effect to this change.”

Under chapter 4, 8.3.7 (a) (i) The motion was referred to an appropriate body (CWG) for consideration with a report being brought back to the next meeting of Council.

Cllr Laplain MOVED and Cllr White SECONDED the recommendations in the report. A vote was taken and it was RESOLVED UNANIMOUSLY       

R1 To adopt the Leader’s Report under the chapter 4 paragraph 7, 1-3 to form part of the Chair’s Reports and Questions within the Constitution.

R2 The Monitoring Officer to make the change required to the Constitution with immediate effect.

The Council wished to recognise those who merit the highest awards that the Council can bestow on a person or organisation.

Members spoke in support and endorsed the nominations before them. 

Cllr Barrett MOVED and Cllr Haigh SECONDED the recommendations in the report. A vote was taken and it was RESOLVED UNANIMOUSLY

R1. That, in pursuance of section 249(1) of the Local Government Act 1972 and in recognition of the Council being of the opinion that eminent services have been rendered to the Council by former Councillors Tony Sleep, Roger Keeble, Pauline Myers and Jean McGinley, that the Council confers them with the title of Honorary Alderman/Alderwoman.

R2. That the presentation of these honorary titles will take place at the Civic Dinner on 5 April 2024.

(Cllr Hirst declared an interest and left the Chamber and did not vote on this item due to his role as Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner.)

Following the appointments to Outside Organisation at Ordinary Council on 21 June 2023.

Essex Police & Fire Panel had asked that the Council nominate a substitute to attend meetings in replace of the nominated representative, when necessary, as a statutory requirement. No other requests for substitutes for any of the other outside organisations have been made.

An annual Outside Organisation review had been undertaken to ensure effective partnership working wherever appropriate to help deliver the Council’s objectives and to ensure that the Council’s time is spent productively and effectively and forms part of the Scrutiny Work Programme.

Cllr Aspinell MOVED and Cllr Laplain SECONDED the recommendations in the report. A vote was taken and it was RESOLVED UNANIMOUSLY

R1 That the substitute appointment on the Essex Police & Fire Panel in Appendix A be approved.

Any one or more Members of the Council may, by notice received by the Monitoring Officer no later than 10.00 am eleven working days before the day of the Council meeting, require the Council to consider a motion about a matter relating to which the Council has powers or duties or which affects the Council’s area. A notice of motion may be accompanied by a statement of not more than 200 words setting out the reason for the proposed motion.

The Monitoring Officer shall include all notices of motion and accompanying statements in the agenda for the next relevant meeting of Council in the order received.

Three Notices of Motion has 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 16th August 2023 @ 14:54

Mover: Cllr Dr Barrett                   Seconder: Cllr Aspinell

(Cllr Aspinell declared an interest as an Essex County Councillor)

Statement:

Brentwood High Street was redeveloped into its current form over a decade ago, at a cost of over fourteen million pounds, and considerable negative impact on local businesses during the implementation of the works.

Currently large areas of paving slabs on the High Street are broken, dislodged sunken or move. The Road condition also suffers from major dips and sunken sections.

Brentwood Access Group has consistently raised concerns over the state of the High Street and its impact on local residents. Residents, businesses and Councillors have also raised numerous issues regarding the state of repair of the High Street both directly and indirectly with appropriate stakeholders.

Motion:

This Council believes:

- Brentwood residents and businesses deserve a High Street environment that is in good order and a beacon for the Borough.

- The current state of Brentwood High Street is unacceptable and is causing a direct negative impact on both resident enjoyment and economic development of our main retail area.

The Council resolves:

- To demand Essex County Council, as the Highway Authority, acts on their responsibility to maintain Brentwood High Street to a good standard.

- That it will request Essex County Council completes a full audit of the high street and within three months produce a schedule of repairs to be made publicly available.

- That Brentwood Borough Council will provide all appropriate assistance necessary to deliver this audit and any repairs programme.

- That we will work with SEPP on any element that requires changes to parking, waiting areas or enforcement activity to assist in this programme of repairs.

An AMENDMENT to the motion was MOVED by Councillor White and SECONDED by Councillor Hirst:

- To work with all relevant bodies such as Essex County Council, Brentwood Bid, SEPP, bus companies, retailers and our own environment and enforcement teams to improve Brentwood High Street.

- To demandwork with Essex County Council, as the Highway Authority, to ensure it acts on its their responsibility to maintain Brentwood High Street to a good standard.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 201.

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 business to discuss.

The meeting concluded at 10.15pm.