Worthing Borough Council leader says financial challenges are not 'going away anytime soon'

After being elected unanimously as Dr Beccy Cooper’s replacement in July, councillor Cox said she would lead with ‘determination’ but that the council was facing an ‘unprecedented’ financial situation, and that it would need to find ‘creative’ and ‘value-for-money’ solutions to keep the council’s books balanced in the coming years.

In September, Adur and Worthing Councils said that – by ‘finding ways of reducing costs and increasing income’ since July – officers have been able to ‘trim almost £250,000’ from next year’s current shortfall for Adur District Council and more than £430,000 from that of Worthing Borough Council.

However, there is a long way to go.

“Being in the cabinet, I’ve been aware of the financial pressures,” councillor Cox told the Worthing Herald.

"All councils are working on unsustainable models with limited funding from central government.

“There are really high demands on housing: temporary and emergency accommodation. It is going to cost us an extra £1.5m this year for the council to support people who are presenting as homeless.

“It isn’t going away anytime soon. There are all the bills and pressures on the finances so we are trying to be creative. One of the first things we’ve been looking at is for local government to be considered in the budget and public sector reform.

“All councils are in the same boat. We are looking at the organisation of the council and seeing how we can do things differently.

"There are a few different strands of our financial strategy for the year ahead, with an asset review.

"We will look at how we release them to businesses and community groups and looking at how we generate income to sustain finances and keep services going. That’s been the focus so far.”

The councillor, who represents Castle ward, recently signed a letter to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government – alongside the leaders of every other local authority in West Sussex and Brighton.

This letter called for a ‘devolution deal for Sussex as a whole’ – to request new powers and more funds from central government.

“We are keen to look at a wider footprint,” councillor Cox explained.

"We think Sussex would be a good opportunity as a footprint to look for the government to look at us as a potential for devolution.

"It will be interesting to see what happens next and we are waiting to hear from the government.

"All councils have shared challenges, aims and ambitions. This will means local leaders can make decisions about communities and have better funding given to us directly.”

The elephant in the room is, of course, the news that the Conservatives have taken another Worthing Borough Council seat following a second by-election win in three weeks.

The Heene ward by-election was called after former councillor Richard Mulholland stepped down in August.

The by-election, on Thursday, October 10, saw Conservative candidate Luke Houghton, 25, beat Labour’s Anthony Squires, 56, by fewer than 40 votes.

“It’s disappointing for us to lose seats,” councillor Cox said, in response to this news.

"We haven’t lost seats like this for a while so it is disappointing but we’re just going to focus now.

"There are 18 months until the next borough elections so we will focus on the work we are doing and just plan ahead.”

Among the key areas Labour is focusing on is housing.

A national newspaper reported in July that the worst performing councils for meeting housing targets are in the South East of England.

This came after Chancellor Rachel Reeves promised to get 'Britain building again' by imposing high targets and overhauling the planning system.

“We know housing targets are high,” councillor Cox said.

"At the moment, it’s difficult. We are geographically constrained here with the sea and the downs.

"We are trying to use as many brownfield sites as possible with developments coming through at Teville Gate and Union Place.”

The rearranged Chatsmore Farm public inquiry has come to an end and the planning inspector is ‘now considering all of the evidence she has received’, the council said on October 4.

Persimmon Homes is continuing to push for permission to build 475 properties on the green gap between Worthing and Ferring despite the company losing a series of court challenges.

The council said: “There is no set timeframe for the inspector to make her decision but because of the amount of information she needs to consider, we don’t expect her to publish that decision in the next few weeks.”

Councillor Cox added: “We are really hopeful the planning inspector sees why we need to retain the green space.

"We’ve got that designated in our local plan. We hope they stick to it and see why we’ve allocated it a green space. Hopefully we find out in six to ten weeks.”

The Worthing Borough Council leader will answer residents' questions in a social media Q&A in November.

Following on from a series of online Q&A events that started last year, councillor Cox will be going live on the council’s Facebook page on Wednesday, November 6 at 7pm to answer questions.

Ahead of the event, you can submit questions by commenting on this Facebook post or send the council a direct message.

Visit https://www.facebook.com/events/1600023734262845/ to watch and ask questions live.

The council added: “A recording will also be available to watch on our Facebook page for anyone not able to watch on the night.

“Residents without access to digital services or social media can get involved in future conversations by attending and asking questions at public council and committee meetings, taking part in consultations or by contacting their councillor.”

Visit https://www.adur-worthing.gov.uk/get-involved/ to find out more.