Agenda and minutes

It was proposed by Councillor Jan Mason, seconded by Councillor Clive Woodbridge and resolved by the Council:

That Councillor Lucie McIntyre be elected Mayor for the Municipal Year 2026/27.

a)             Vote of Thanks to the retiring Mayor

b)             Presentation of badge to the retiring Mayor

c)             Retiring Mayor’s retiring address

The retiring Mayor will vacate the Chair and, with the consent of the Council, will leave the Hall with the Dias Party and the Deputy  Mayor elect.

On returning to the Hall, the newly elected Mayor will take the Chair.

d)             Declaration of Acceptance of Office by the newly elected Mayor and Deputy Mayor.

It was proposed by Councillor Alex Coley, seconded by Councillor Alison Kelly and resolved by the Council:

That Councillor Julie Morris be elected Deputy Mayor for the Municipal Year 2026/27.

It was proposed by Councillor Neil Dallen that a vote of thanks be recorded to the Outgoing Mayor, Councillor Robert Leach. Accordingly, it was resolved:

That the Council place on record its high appreciation of the excellent and devoted service rendered by Councillor Robert Leach during his term of office as Mayor.

The Chief Executive, on behalf of Members of the Council, presented a Badge of Office to Councillor Robert Leach in recognition of his services to the Office of Mayor. The gifts were acknowledged by Councillor Leach who spoke of his privilege and pleasure to have been Mayor of the Borough, thanking all who had helped him during his term of office.

(The retiring Mayor, Councillor Robert Leach, thereupon vacated the Chair and the newly elected Mayor, Councillor Lucie McIntyre, took the Chair)

Councillor Lucie McIntyre and Councillor Julie Morris made and subscribed the Declaration of Acceptance of Office as Mayor and Deputy Mayor respectively.

The Mayor spoke in acknowledgement of her election, announcing that she had selected the following organisations to help as her chosen charities:

·                     Epsom and Ewell Phab 

·                     Sunnybank Trust 

·                     Girlguiding UK, with a focus on improvements at Little Acres campsite, including enhancing accessibility to the campfire circle

To receive declarations of any Disclosable Pecuniary Interests or other registrable or non-registrable interests from Members in respect of any item to be considered at the meeting.

No declarations of interest were made by Councillors regarding items on the agenda.

To confirm the Minutes of the Meeting of the Council held on 12 March 2026.

The Minutes of the Meeting of the Council held on 12 March 2026 were agreed as a true record and the Mayor was authorised to sign them.

To appoint the Leader of the Council.

It was proposed by Councillor Liz Frost, seconded by Councillor Christine Cleveland that Councillor Hannah Dalton be appointed the Leader of the Council for 2026-2027. It was proposed by Councillor Kate Chinn, seconded by Councillor Kim Spickett that Councillor Alex Coley be appointed the Leader of the Council for 2026-2027.

There being two nominations, the Mayor requested the Council to vote on each nomination separately. The results of the votes were as follows:

Councillor Hannah Dalton: 15 votes for. Councillor Alex Coley: 14 votes for.

Accordingly, the Council resolved:

(1)           That Councillor Hannah Dalton be appointed the Leader of the Council to hold office until 31 March 2027.

The purpose of this report is to seek the Council’s approval of the Constitution.

The Council received a report seeking approval of the Constitution.

Following consideration, it was resolved with 15 votes for, 9 against and 1 abstention to:

(1)           Approve the Constitution of Epsom and Ewell Borough Council.

To note the allocation of seats on Committees and Advisory Panels, approve the appointments to Committees and Advisory Panels, the appointments of Chairs and Vice Chairs and arrangements for substitutes.

The Council considered a report seeking approval to the allocation of seats on Committees and Advisory Panels; the appointments to Committees and Advisory Panels, the appointment of Chairs and Vice-Chairs and arrangements for substitutes for the 2026/27 Municipal Year. The report also sought approval to establish an Officer/Member working group for this municipal year in advance of the first meeting of the parent Committee.

Following consideration, it was resolved with 24 votes for and 2 abstentions that the Council:

(1)           Noted the allocation of seats based on political balance and proportionality;

(2)           Allocated seats on the Committees, Advisory Panels and Working Groups in accordance with the wishes of the political groups set out in Appendix 1 to the report and detailed below;

(3)           Appointed Chairs and Vice Chairs in light of the nominations received as set out in Appendix 1 to the report and set out below.

(4)           Appointed all members of the Council as substitutes for their political group members on all committees, where the appointed political group member is unable to attend a meeting.

(5)           Established the following Officer/Member Working Group for this municipal year, appointing the nominated Members as set out within Appendix 1 to the report:

·                a CIL Working Group, to take forward the work of the Strategy and Resources Committee

Audit and Scrutiny Committee (8) Steve Bridger (Chair), Phil Neale (Vice Chair),  Chris Ames, Christine Cleveland, Tony Froud,James Lawrence, Darren Talbot Steven McCormick.

Community and Wellbeing Committee (8) Clive Woodbridge (Chair), Kim Spickett (Vice Chair), Bernice Froud, Christine Howells, Graham Jones, Rachel King, Bernie Muir, Chris Watson.

Environment (8) Liz Frost (Chair), Alan Williamson (Vice Chair), Arthur Abdulin, Steve Bridger, Christine Cleveland, Rob Geleit, Steven McCormick, Julie Morris.

Crime and Disorder (6) Alan Williamson (Chair), Tony Froud, Julian Freeman, Graham Jones, Shanice Goldman, Humphrey Reynolds.

Licensing and Planning Policy Committee (10) Peter O’Donovan (Chair), Neil Dallen (Vice Chair), Steve Bridger, Julian Freeman, Rob Geleit, James Lawrence, Phil Neale, Kieran Persand, Humphrey Reynolds, Clive Woodbridge.

Planning Committee (10) Clive Woodbridge (Chair), Phil Neale (Vice Chair), Neil Dallen, Alison Kelly, James Lawrence, Robert Leach, Jan Mason, Keiran Persand, Humphrey Reynolds, Chris Watson.

Strategy and Resources Committee (8) Neil Dallen (Chair), Hannah Dalton (Vice Chair), John Beckett, Alex Coley, Kate Chinn, Shanice Goldman, Robert Leach, Humphrey Reynolds.

Shareholder Sub-Committee (5)To be appointed by the Strategy and Resources Committee.

Standards and Constitution Committee (6) John Beckett (Chair), Rachel King, (Vice Chair), Chris Ames, Julian Freeman, Graham Jones

Alan Williamson.

Financial Strategy Advisory Group (6) Neil Dallen (Chair), Kate Chinn, Alex Coley, Liz Frost, Peter O’Donovan, Clive Woodbridge.

Health Liaison Panel (7) Christine Cleveland (Chair), Liz Frost, Bernice Froud, Alison Kelly, Julie Morris, Bernie Muir, Kim Spickett.

Human Resources Panel (7) Phil Neale (Chair), Hannah Dalton, Bernice Froud, Julie Morris, Bernie Muir, Kim Spickett, Chris Watson.

Nonsuch Park Joint Management Committee (3) John Beckett, Christine Howells, Tony Froud.

Surrey Police and Crime Panel (1) Chair of Crime and Disorder Committee.

Community Infrastructure Levy Member Working  ...  view the full minutes text for item 10.

This report seeks appointments to representation on external bodies.

The Council received a report seeking appointments to representation on external bodies.

Following consideration, it was resolved with 24 votes for and 5 abstentions that the Council:

(1)           Appointed representatives to the external bodies and inter authority partnerships listed in Appendix 1 to the report and set out below;

(2)           Appointed the Member Champions listed in Appendix 1 to the report and set out below;

(3)           Noted the Officer/Member Working Groups appointed by Committees.

To approve a programme of ordinary meetings of the Council for the year.

The Council received a report requesting it to approve a programme of ordinary meetings of the Council for the year.

Following consideration, it was resolved unanimously:

(1)           That the Council approved the programme of ordinary meetings for the year.