Agenda item - Procedural Business

(a)  Declaration of Substitutes: Where Councillors are unable to attend a meeting, a substitute Member from the same Political Group may attend, speak and vote in their place for that meeting.

(b)  Declarations of Interest or Lobbying

(a)      Disclosable pecuniary interests;

(b)      Any other interests required to be registered under the local code;

(c)      Any other general interest as a result of which a decision on the matter might reasonably be regarded as affecting you or a partner more than a majority of other people or businesses in the ward/s affected by the decision.

In each case, you need to declare

(i)        the item on the agenda the interest relates to;

(ii)      the nature of the interest; and

(iii)     whether it is a disclosable pecuniary interest or some other interest.

If unsure, Members should seek advice from the committee lawyer or administrator preferably before the meeting.

      (d)       All Members present to declare any instances of lobbying they have encountered regarding items on the agenda.

(c)  Exclusion of Press and Public: To consider whether, in view of the nature of the business to be transacted, or the nature of the proceedings, the press and public should be excluded from the meeting when any of the following items are under consideration.

NOTE:  Any item appearing in Part 2 of the Agenda states in its heading the category under which the information disclosed in the report is exempt from disclosure and therefore not available to the public.

A list and description of the exempt categories is available for public inspection at Brighton and Hove Town Halls.

1a          Declarations of substitutes

1.1         There were none, however apologies had been received from Councillors Bennett and Ikpin-Leissner.

1b          Declarations of interests

1.2         Councillor O’Quinn referred to application A, BH2017/03566, Brighton, Hove and Sussex Sixth Form College 215 Dyke Road, Hove. Her letter of objection submitted prior to her appointment to the Committee was appended to the Committee report and Councillor O’Quinn stated that it was her intention to speak in her capacity as a neighbouring Ward Councillor after which she would withdraw from the meeting and take no part in the debate or decision making process.

1.3         Councillor Morgan also made reference to application A, BH2017/03566, Brighton, Hove and Sussex Sixth Form College 215 Dyke Road, Hove explaining that in his previous capacity as Leader of the Council he had been signatory to a letter to the Secretary of State for Environment in response to objections received from Wealden District Council expressing this council’s view that their objections had taken too narrow a view on the relevant legislation. The comments made did not relate to the detail of the application, he remained of a neutral mind and would therefore remain present and take part in the discussion and decision making process.

1.4         Councillor Cattell, the Chair stated that she had received e mail correspondence in respect of several applications before the Committee that day but had not responded in respect of any of them and remained of a neutral mind.

1.5         Councillor Mac Cafferty referred to applications D & E, BH2018/00469 and BH2018/01123, Hove Central Library, 182-186 Church Road, Hove stating that he had attended a public meeting in respect of these applications on 31 May 2018 and at that meeting he had asked questions of the applicant. He had however, expressed no view in respect of either application, remained of a neutral mind and would therefore remain present and take part in the discussion and decision making process in respect of both applications.

1.6         Councillor Morgan also referred to applications D & E BH20018/00469 and BH2018/01123, Hove Central Library, 182-186 Church Road, Hove. Councillor Morgan explained that in his past capacity as Leader of the Council and Chair of the Economic Development and Culture Committee he had been at the forefront of a political debate on the future of the Library and had supported a move to another site and disposal of the building in that capacity. He not no predisposition however, in respect of either of the applications before Committee that day and remained of a neutral mind and intended to remain present at the meeting during the debate and decision making.

1c          Exclusion of the press and public

1.7         In accordance with Section 100A of the Local Government Act 1972 (“the Act”), the Planning Committee considered whether the public should be excluded from the meeting during consideration of any item of business on the grounds that it is likely in view of the business to be transacted or the nature of the proceedings, that if members of the public were present during it, there would be disclosure to them of confidential information as defined in Section 100A (3) of the Act.

1.8         RESOLVED - That the public are not excluded from any item of business on the agenda.

1d          Use of mobile phones and tablets

1.9         The Chair requested Members ensure that their mobile phones were switched off, and where Members were using tablets to access agenda papers electronically ensure that these were switched to ‘aeroplane mode’.