Minutes 5th September 2022

East Sussex Association of Local Councils Limited 

Minutes of the virtual Board Meeting held via Zoom on 

Monday 5^th September 2022 at 3pm 

1. 
   Apologies for absence

Apologies were received from Mike Garner, Philip Allard, Ruth O’Keeffe, Johnny Denis and Lord Ampthill. 

• Minutes of the previous meeting

The minutes from the meeting held on the 11^th July 2022 were approved as a true and accurate record of the meeting.

• Financial update

Councillor Stevens reported that at the end of August the current account balance was £93,670. All income and expenses for the first five months of the year were as anticipated, however administrative costs were slightly less than expected as this had previously been an estimated figure for the 2022/23 budget.

The subscriptions had all been paid with the exception of one Parish Meeting and one Parish Council. The balance of the monies to NALC would be issued this month once the final invoice had been received.

Councillor Stevens also advised that we were still awaiting the outcome of the pay settlement for staff. All three Unions had balloted members and a response was expected in October.

He reported that the paperwork to open the CCLA account was in progress and lastly, the issue with NatWest bank had been resolved in the sense that the unpaid item fees they charged had been refunded.

• NALC update

Councillor Stevens stated that remote meetings and standards were still being pushed; Parish Meetings were being reviewed and NALC was awaiting the finance team to approve the appointment of a new firm to create a new website which would include access to an app. NALC was reviewing how it provided financial advice to queries from Parish Councils. He reported there was still a big push on the Civility & Respect situation and briefed the Board on the pledge which parishes can sign up to. There was relevant training on the topic which was booking up fast and appeared to be reaching people who had not attended previous training which was good news.

• CEO update

The CEO spoke of resilience plans designed to overcome critical situations in the immediate aftermath of a problem. Dee Thornton had created templates for parish councils to use and she was in the process of working with a few pilot councils in East and West Sussex. She briefed the Board on her work by way of a presentation which was subsequently shared with the Board. This included the relevant legislation, potential risks and hazards and how a parish council could implement their own Resilience Plan. The CEO advised that Dee’s details would be made available to Councils wishing to utilise her expertise.

With regards to a Rother planning matter, Councillor Barnes advised that ten parish councils and a couple of voluntary organisations were very worried by the current situation. There were two distinct issues: the process by which the decision was reached and the substance of the issue. The planning application was granted on the basis of an outstanding building in an isolated location in the countryside. He stated it was granted under NPPF para 80(e) and what was approved was a kit form house. Parish councils were concerned of the possibility of these being replicated across the High Weald. The matter was being looked into to see what could be done but essentially, the precedent needed to be removed. Councillor Barnes said that other parishes should be alerted to what was happening and ESALC and NALC should take an interest. The CEO advised that Steve Tilbury, a planning advisor, had already commented on the planning matter. Councillor Young added that the application was recommended to be refused by the Rother officers and there was no guidance as to why this recommendation was ignored. It was also pointed out that the applicant was the lead member for planning on Rother District Council as well as Chairman of the Parish Council.

The CEO moved on to advise the Board that the Marquess of Abergavenny had agreed to take on the Presidency of ESALC which they were delighted to learn.

In terms of recruitment, the CEO reported that a few clerk vacancies for Clerks had arisen within East Sussex.

The CEO advised the Board that Bexhill Town Council was facing some issues and he briefed the Board on the problems at hand. Two police focus groups in Bexhill would take place to help with some of the external local issues.

The CEO spoke of Parish Meetings who represent communities with less than 150 electors. Colleagues in County Associations and some NALC representatives would like to see them either abolished or subsumed into the nearest adjoining Parish Council. The residents of the Parish Meeting areas were often not very well served in terms of representation and what could be achieved as they did not have all of the same powers as Parish Councils.

• Police Update

• Rural speed limits and Quiet Lanes

The CEO advised that Surrey County Council was looking to introduce Quiet Lanes in certain areas to which the Police had said this would only work if motorists complied as it could not be enforced in the middle of nowhere. Councillor Barnes reported that the precedent in Ashdown Forest was that the speed limit was not 40mph. He said that East Sussex County Council should look at the possibility of making a 40mph limit on all unclassified roads. 

• Flooding update

Dr MacGillivray circulated a report ahead of the meeting following previous meetings with Nick Claxon and Rupert Clubb. Dr MacGillivray briefed the Board on the contents of the report; a copy of this can be provided upon request. It was agreed that details of the next flooding webinar as well as his report should be shared with member councils.

• District Associations

The Chairman advised that LDALC had its AGM scheduled for next week so he would report on its content at the next meeting. Councillor Stevens said that the WDALC AGM took place in July which mainly consisted of the re-election of members. Councillor Lucy Buck spoke about the Good Company People which puts people in contact with one another. Lastly, the working group about the overdevelopment in Wealden had now come back under the umbrella of the Wealden District Association. Regarding RALC, Councillor Young advised he had been elected Chairman of RALC and he had an upcoming meeting with Keith Johnson and would report back at the next meeting.

1. ESALC AGM & Conference

The Board was asked to consider if the AGM and Conference should remain remote or be in-person this year. Uckfield Town Council had offered its large hall for £24.25 per hour and it was agreed to hold the event here. Regarding potential themes, speeding and rural roads, resilience, Warm Hubs and encouraging young people to stand for election were discussed as suitable themes. It was agreed that the AGM and Conference would take place on Wednesday 30^th November at 1pm to include tea and coffee. The Chairman confirmed 21^st October as a cut-off date for suggested themes to be discussed on the day as well as to confirm numbers of those attending the event. Lastly, the CEO suggested that certain organisations (e.g. playground equipment companies and insurance companies we work with) could attend and have a table-top ahead of the AGM.

Any other matters raised by the Board

Councillor Young reminded the Board that three ESALC representatives could attend the NALC AGM in October. It was agreed that Emily would contact the three representatives (Chair, Vice Chair and NALC representative) to confirm their availability and would then advise NALC accordingly.

1. Date of next meeting

It was agreed that the next meeting would be the AGM which had been scheduled for 30^th November at 1pm at Uckfield Town Hall.          The meeting closed at 4.40pm.