This meeting of the Full Council will receive reports on the business of six of the Council's committees since its last meeting on 17 October 2024. It will also receive the minutes of a special meeting of the Investment Sub Committee that was held on 8 November 2024.

The most significant item on the agenda for the public is likely to be the potential decision about whether to approve a change to the name of one of the Council's wards.

Lingfield, Crowhurst & Tandridge

A report will be made to this meeting by the Strategy & Resources Committee about whether to change the name of the Lingfield & Crowhurst ward to Lingfield, Crowhurst & Tandridge. If the Full Council approves the recommendation, the change will not take effect until the Local Government Boundary Commission for England has approved the change.

Future Tandridge Programme

The meeting will receive an update on the progress of the Future Tandridge Programme, the Council's plan to find £4m of savings over 4 years. The plan has been discussed in several committees recently, and this update brings together the work that has been done since the last meeting of the Full Council.

It includes a draft budget for 2025/26 that forecasts an underspend of £165k against the Council's overall revenue budget of £12.799m, with no need to use the Council's General Fund Reserve.

The Council's Medium Term Financial Strategy (MTFS), which sets out the Council's financial plans until 2028/29, will also be discussed. The MTFS assumes that the Council's share of business rates will reduce in 2026/27 based on the expectation of Government funding reform.

The report will also provide an update on the progress of the Council's MyAccount system.

Anti-Social Behaviour

The meeting will receive a report from the Community Services Committee that contains its new Anti-Social Behaviour Policy. The policy has been developed in consultation with an independent specialist, and will form the basis of the Council's work to reduce anti-social behaviour in the district.

Once the new policy is in place, the Council will be able to publish statistics about the number and types of anti-social behaviour incidents in the district.

Housing Decarbonisation Strategy

The meeting will discuss the draft Housing Decarbonisation Strategy for 2024 to 2035, which aims to make the Council's housing stock more energy efficient.

The strategy sets out plans to:

• Achieve an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) level C rating on all Council owned Houses by 2035.
• Investigate the reliability and effectiveness of clean heating solutions, such as air source heat pumps, while adopting a fabric first approach to retrofitting the housing stock.

In their report, officers acknowledge that this strategy does not take the Council to the government target of net zero for 2050. This is because of the estimated £200m cost of bringing all of the Council's housing stock up to the required standard, and because of the uncertain reliability of clean heating solutions.

Investment Property

This meeting will receive an update on the Council's investment properties, including those owned by its subsidiary company, Gryllus Property Limited.

The report includes the news that:

• A lease renewal has been agreed with Cook at 80-84 Station Road East in Oxted.
• The agreement for lease with JD Sports at 30-32 Week Street in Maidstone has been completed, with handover expected soon.
• The Council is in the process of agreeing terms on a new lease with McDonalds in Quadrant House in Caterham.
• The Council is considering its options for the future of Castlefield House in Reigate, which is let until 2029.

Pavement Licence fees

The Community Services Committee will report on the decision that it made under delegated powers on 9 October 2024 to set the cost of a pavement licence at £500, with renewals costing £350. These new charges will be introduced on 1 January 2025, and until then the current cost of £200 for a two-year licence will remain in place.

Standing Orders

This meeting will discuss a proposal to make a change to the Council's Standing Orders. Standing Order 18 governs Committee and Sub-Committee Business, and the proposed change relates to the process for adding reports to Committee agendas. The change would mean that:

• A member of the Council's Management Team would be required to sponsor each report.
• Reports would have to be shared with the Chair and Vice-Chair of the Committee it is being presented to before it can be added to the agenda.
• The Leader and Deputy Leader of the Council would also have to be consulted on each report.

The change is intended to formalise the Council’s internal Committee report writing processes.

Committees

The meeting will receive reports from the following Council committees:

• Community Services Committee
• Planning Committee
• Housing Committee
• Planning Policy Committee
• Strategy & Resources Committee
• Audit & Scrutiny Committee
• Licensing Committee

The meeting will also discuss several other matters arising from these reports.