Apologies were received from Councillors Blackmore and Hastie.

Councillor Brindle was present as substitute for Councillor Blackmore.

Councillor Joy was present as substitute for Councillor Hastie.

There were no urgent items.

There were no visiting members.

There were no disclosures by Members and Officers.

There were no disclosures of lobbying.

RESOLVED: That all items be taken in public as proposed.

RESOLVED: That the Minutes of the Meeting held on 20 December 2022 be approved as a correct record and signed.

There were no petitions.

There were no questions from Local Residents.

There were no questions from Members to the Chairman.

Note: Councillors Brice and Cannon joined the meeting at 6.33 p.m. and 6.34 p.m. respectively. There were no disclosures of interest or lobbying.

The Democratic Services Officer stated that work was ongoing to produce the scope for the shared Night-Time economy review, which had been due to commence from February 2023. The Committee were asked to delay the review to post-May 2023, to ensure that the relevant information was available when it began.

The Committee felt that the review should be delayed to ensure that the most up to date information was provided at the review’s commencement instead of having to review the scope later on.

RESOLVED: That the amended work programme be agreed.

The Democratic Services Officer introduced the report and referenced point 2.5 of the report, which outlined the meetings held so far by the Water Management Cycle Working Group (the Group). The Group’s final report would be presented to the Committee before the end of the Municipal Year.

In response to questions, the Democratic Services Officer confirmed that the Environment Agency had not responded to a further invitation to partake in the review, and that the minutes of the group’s meeting held on the 7 February 2023 would be available later in the week.

The group members present highlighted the engagement had with other stakeholders, including Southeast and Southern Water, and felt that a further attempt should be made to contact the Environment Agency. National Highways would also be invited to contribute, possibly through written evidence. The importance of continuing to apply pressure to the relevant organisations, particularly the water companies, to improve the water cycle’s management, was highlighted.

In relation to joint working, the Chairman outlined their attendance at a Planning and Infrastructure Policy Advisory Committee, to comment on the Water Supply Consultations on the group’s behalf; the comments made were taken on board by the Committee.

The Democratic Services Officer was thanked for their work in supporting the group.

RESOLVED: That the report be noted.

6.30 p.m. to 6.47 p.m.