Issue - meetings

Officer briefing note attached.

The Chairman reported receipt of the above mentioned motion from Councillors Terry Chivers and Ernie Clark. Accordingly, Councillor Steve Oldrieve, in the absence of Councillor Chivers, moved the following motion which was duly seconded by Councillor Ernie Clark:

Council RESOLVES to ask cabinet to:

1.    Develop a robust strategy to make Wiltshire a ‘single-use-plastic-free’ authority by the end of 2017 and encourage the County’s institutions, businesses and citizens to adopt similar measures

2.    End the sale and provision of SUP products such as bottles, cups, cutlery and drinking straws in council buildings where possible;

3.    Encourage traders in Wiltshire to sell re-usable containers and invite customers to bring their own, with the aim of phasing out single-use plastic containers and cutlery on markets stalls by the end of 2017

4.    Investigate the possibility of requiring pop-up food and drink vendors at large council events to avoid SUP’s as a condition of their contract; and work with tenants in commercial properties owned by Wiltshire Council to encourage the phasing out of SUP cups, bottles, cutlery and straws

Facts about plastic:

·         Over the last ten years we have produced more plastic owned by Wiltshire Council to encourage the phasing out of SUP cups, bottles, cutlery and straws

·         50% of the plastic we use, we use just once and throw away

·         Billions of pounds of plastic can be found in swirling convergences in the oceans making up about 40% of the world’s ocean surfaces

·         The great pacific garbage patch is located in the North Pacific Gyre off the coast of California and is the largest ocean garbage site in the world. This floating mass of plastic is twice the size of Texas, with plastic pieces outnumbering sea life six to one.

·         One million sea birds and 100,000 marine mammals are killed annually from plastic in our oceans

·         Chemical added to plastics are absorbed by human bodies. Some of these compounds have been found to alter hormones or have other potential human health effects.”

The Chairman proposed, seconded by his Vice-Chairman, that the matter be referred to the Overview &  Scrutiny Management Committee.

Having been put to the vote, the motion was CARRIED.

Resolved:     That Motion No. 40 – Reducing Single Use Plastic be referred to the

                      Overview and Scrutiny Management Committee.

To consider the attached motion and officer response.

The Chairman reported receipt of the above mentioned motion from Councillors Terry Chivers and Jeff Osborn. Accordingly, Councillor Terry Chivers moved the following motion which was duly seconded by Councillor Jeff Osborn:

‘In the event of any legal agreement, being changed after planning permission on major planning applications has been granted; this should only be done in full consultation with the local Town or Parish Councils’

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In moving his motion, Councillor Terry Chivers made reference to a specific issue in his division where the local parish council had not been made aware of, in his view, a significant change in a s106 legal agreement. He was seeking to ensure that local councils would be informed of any major changes rather than each time a minor change was made.

The Chairman invited Councillor Toby Sturgis, Cabinet Member for Planning, to respond to the motion. Councillor Sturgis stated that he would be happy to accept the motion with some amendments to make it clear that the process would be to inform local councils, rather than to open the matter up for full consultation. Councillor Chivers and Councillor Osborn stated that they accepted this amendment.

The Chairman then proposed, subsequently seconded by Councillor Bucknell, that the motion be debated at the meeting and on being put to the vote, it was

Resolved: 

That the motion be debated.

The Chairman invited the Group Leaders to comment before opening the matter up for wider debate.

The Baroness Scott of Bybrook, OBE, thanked Councillor Chivers for bringing this issue to the meeting for debate and asked that officers liaise with Councillor Sturgis on investigating the specific case raised.

Councillor Glenis Ansell highlighted a concern that some developers may make promises for community facilities in the full knowledge that this may not be deliverable.

Councillor Ernie Clark stated that it was important to provide information to local councils once amendments to agreements were proposed rather than after they had been agreed.

Councillor Ricky Rogers stated that he supported the amendment.

Councillor Russell Hawker made reference to a specific case in his division and emphasised the importance of wider communication with the public.

Councillor Jon Hubbard asked how it was intended to differentiate between major and minor changes to agreements and suggested that the matter should be subject to further discussion outside of the meeting.

Councillor Fred Westmoreland asked whether significant changes to legal agreements should not be referred back to the relevant planning committee.

Councillor Toby Sturgis stated that he would prefer the opportunity to discuss with officers how best to adjust the current process to take account of the issues raised during the debate.

Councillor Tony Trotman argued that often such agreements were best left to the officers to negotiate details and questioned how major changes would be defined.

The Baroness Scott of Bybrook, OBE, considered the debate a useful one and that officers present would take on board the views expressed.

Following a request from the Chairman, Councillor Terry Chivers and  ...  view the full minutes text for item 14