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Agenda and minutes

Venue: Kennet Room- County Hall, Bythesea Road, Trowbridge, BA14 8JQ.

Contact: Edmund Blick 

Items
No. Item

65.

Apologies

To receive any apologies or substitutions for the meeting.

Minutes:

Apologies were received from Chairman Cllr Bridget Wayman who was substituted by Cllr Philip Whalley.

 

Apologies were also received from Cllr Rosemary Brown who was substituted by Cllr Trevor Carbin.

 

Further apologies were also received from Cllr Mike Hewitt and Cllr Jacqui Lay.

66.

Minutes of the Previous Meeting

To approve and sign the minutes of the Environment Select Committee meeting held on Tuesday 25 October 2016.

Supporting documents:

Minutes:

The minutes from the last meeting of Tuesday 25th October 2016 were presented to the committee for consideration and they were agreed as a true and accurate account.

 

Resolved

 

Minutes were signed by the Vice Chairman Cllr Peter Edge.

67.

Declarations of Interest

To receive any declarations of disclosable interests or dispensations granted by the Standards Committee.

 

Minutes:

There were no declarations of interest.

68.

Chairman's Announcements

To receive any announcements through the Chair.

Minutes:

The Chairman informed the committee of the adoption of the Supplementary Planning Document 'Waste storage and collection: guidance for developers' was considered at the 15th November Cabinet meeting. Further questions on the document were asked to be directed towards the relevant officers.

 

69.

Public Participation

The Council welcomes contributions from members of the public.

 

Statements

If you would like to make a statement at this meeting on any item on this agenda, please register to do so at least 10 minutes prior to the meeting. Up to 3 speakers are permitted to speak for up to 3 minutes each on any agenda item. Please contact the officer named on the front of the agenda for any further clarification.

 

Questions

To receive any questions from members of the public or members of the Council received in accordance with the constitution.

 

Those wishing to ask questions are required to give notice of any such questions in writing to the officer named on the front of this agenda no later than 5pm on Tuesday 6th December 2016 in order to be guaranteed of a written response. In order to receive a verbal response questions must be submitted no later than 5pm on Thursday 8th December 2016. Please contact the officer named on the front of this agenda for further advice. Questions may be asked without notice if the Chairman decides that the matter is urgent.

 

Details of any questions received will be circulated to Committee members prior to the meeting and made available at the meeting and on the Council’s website.

Minutes:

There were no public speakers.

70.

Progress on Social Housing Developments

The Committee will be provided with a progress report on the council house building programme.

 

In September 2015 the Cabinet Capital Assets Committee approved a programme of new council house building funded with a combination of Housing Revenue Account (HRA) reserves and borrowing with other sources of capital including Right to Buy (RTB) receipts, commuted sum funding from planning gain and grant funding secured by bidding to the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA).

 

The delivery of new affordable council homes across Wiltshire including homes for older people and adapted homes aims to meet a number of the council’s priorities, objectives and outcomes outlined in the council’s business plan.

 

The Committee is asked to note the update report.

Supporting documents:

Minutes:

The Committee was provided with a progress report on the council house building programme.

 

In September 2015, the Cabinet Capital Assets Committee approved a programme of new council house building funded with a combination of Housing Revenue Account (HRA) reserves and borrowing with other sources of capital including Right to Buy (RTB) receipts, commuted sum funding from planning gain and grant funding secured by bidding to the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA).

 

The delivery of new affordable council homes across Wiltshire, including homes for older people and adapted homes, aims to meet a number of the council’s priorities, objectives and outcomes outlined in the council’s business plan.

 

The Committee was asked to note the update report.

 

Cllr Richard Clewer gave a verbal update on the programme. It was stated that it was proceeding on track, despite the usual setbacks expected in planning. It was also mentioned that the new Housing and Planning Act 2016 was close to being enacted and, whilst they would proceed with current strategy, they had to be open to the changes, to be brought about by the new legislation.

 

The Chairman invited technical questions on the report.

 

During questioning, it was clarified by that the strategy sought to respond to need where possible and gave the example of the ongoing development of social housing bungalows in Devises. It was also clarified that all major Housing Associations would be taking part in the Right to Buy Schemes.

 

A question was asked about pledges to cut social housing rental costs of 1% for 3 years. It was confirmed that this was still the policy for Wiltshire Council but that the new Housing Bill could change that.

 

Councillors then discussed the application of shared equity to social housing. It was noted that it has become increasingly popular and could become almost 30% of all social housing.

 

Resolved

 

To note the progress report on social housing developments.

 

71.

Housing Strategy – Final Draft

The Committee will be provided with a copy of the final Housing Strategy in preparation for it going to formal consultation.

 

The strategy has been developed in partnership with key stakeholders including Housing Associations, landlords, developers and tenants, as well as elected members, and has been approved by Cabinet Liaison to commence formal consultation.

 

The strategy sets out a joint vision for Wiltshire whereby everyone in Wiltshire should be able to live in a decent and safe home they can afford.

 

The Committee is asked to review and comment upon the 5 year Housing Strategy that sets the priorities and strategic direction for Housing for the next 5 years.

Supporting documents:

Minutes:

The Committee was provided with a copy of the final Housing Strategy in preparation for it going to formal consultation.

 

The strategy has been developed in partnership with key stakeholders including Housing Associations, landlords, developers and tenants, as well as elected members, and has been approved by Cabinet Liaison to commence formal consultation.

 

The strategy sets out a joint vision for Wiltshire whereby everyone in Wiltshire should be able to live in a decent and safe home they can afford.

 

The Committee  was asked to review and comment upon the 5 year Housing Strategy that sets the priorities and strategic direction for Housing for the next 5 years.

 

The report was introduced by Cllr Richard Clewer. He explained that it was a Housing Partnership Strategy and that it had 4 main aims of facilitating housing need, making best use of existing house stock, meeting accommodation needs and taking a lead in housing provision. He then referred to committee to the details of the report.

 

The Chairman invited technical questions about the strategy.

 

It was asked what was being done to address homelessness. Cllr Clewer explained that work was being done under the housing strategy along with other bodies to offer support. The committee discussed some of the issues regarding homelessness and barriers in offering them support.

 

Plans to introduce increased charges for those families in social housing owning over £31,000 were queried. Cllr Clewer said the exact details of the plan were not known at this time and that members would have to wait for the final draft of the Housing Bill for answers.

 

Technical questions were also asked about some of the definitions and percentages listed in the report. Cllr Clewer pointed out that the strategy was going to public consultation and that more of the details would become known at that time.

 

A further question was raised as to the numbers of empty homes versus those on the waiting list for affordable housing. The Housing Officer explained that Wiltshire Council did all they could to promote effective use of properties and that compared to the rest of the country, the percentages of empty homes was comparatively low.

 

Finally, there was some criticism of the selling off of Council owned housing, as after questioning Cllr Clewer revealed that “not enough” is made in selling a council home to build another one.

 

Resolved

 

To note the final draft of the Wiltshire Council Housing Strategy 2017-2022 along with comments from the committee raised during discussion.

 

To investigate the establishment of a Re-Commissioning of Housing Service Support Contracts rapid scrutiny exercise to look at the approach to procuring new services.

 

72.

Parking Services Update

The Committee will receive a report which updates members on the actions taken since the Car Parking Strategy Review in March 2015, including the following:

 

·       Details the full implementation of charges that were approved;

·       Updates on the types of asset transfers that have occurred to local communities and the next steps;

·       The position on the introduction of new technologies;

·       The predicted income shortfall following the proposed charges;

 

The Committee is asked to note and comment on the actions to date following the Parking Review and makes any comments on the proposed approach.

Supporting documents:

Minutes:

The Committee received a report updating members on the actions taken since the Car Parking Strategy Review in March 2015. This included details on the full implementation of charges that were approved, updates on the types of asset transfers that have occurred to local communities, the introduction of new technologies, and the predicted income shortfall following the proposed charges.

 

The Committee was asked to note and comment on the actions to date following the Parking Review and make any comments on the proposed approach.

 

Cllr Philip Whitehead introduced the report and explained that the Parking Review had reduced charges across the county. He observed that this meant that Wiltshire had gone 6-7 years without increased charges, in contrast to the rest of the country.

 

Cllr Whitehead spoke of identified parking issues and strategies in Chippenham. He informed the committee that there was a shortage of parking in Chippenham and that this was creating issues for the shopping centres. He explained that he had been asked to reduce charges but determined that would further exacerbate the problem, with workers taking up spaces rather than shoppers. He spoke of some initiatives being looked into such as Free parking days and other incentives. He praised the “Free after 3 pm” policy in Salisbury, stating that it had benefited the shops, and said that it was being considered for other areas.

 

Cllr Whitehead then sought to inform members on the plans for the introductions of new technologies. He said that he was in re-negotiations for cashless payments, via mobile phones, after explaining that excessive charges had been incurred by customers. He said that he was looking for an arrangement whereby there were no such charges on “mobile” payments. He addressed concerns that some members of the community, such as those who were vulnerable, disabled or elderly, may not be able or willing to use the cashless system. He said that they would seek to trial cashless payments in smaller car parks near to larger car parks, still operating a cash payment system, in case they are unable to pay via phone. He said that it was part of a long term strategy with the ultimate aim of making savings and efficiency.

 

Cllr Whitehead also informed members that the cash machines in car parks were going to need updating due to the pound coin being changed in 2017. This, he said, was to reduce fraud but it would be at a considerable cost to the Parking budget in the short term.

 

The chairman invited technical questions on the Parking Review.

 

Questions were asked regarding the application of paperless tickets to residential permits. Cllr Whitehead explained that it was similar to paperless tax disks and presented no issue being electronically managed.

 

A question was asked about maintenance of car parks and whether regular works would be done by Wiltshire Council. Cllr Whitehead replied by saying “there is only one budget” and that with a reduced budget they were limited on what they could do. He did,  ...  view the full minutes text for item 72.

73.

Playing Pitch Strategy Update

A Wiltshire Council Playing Pitch Strategy is currently being developed to support the Wiltshire Core Strategy and the need for a single Wiltshire-wide open spaces standard.

 

The formation of Wiltshire Council as a Unitary Authority highlighted a lack of consistency between the former districts’ playing pitch strategies, policies and underlying evidence bases covering different parts of Wiltshire, several of which date back to the early 2000’s.

 

The Committee  will be informed of the progress of the draft Wiltshire Playing Pitch Strategy; and is asked to comment on the draft strategy and endorsement of its production.

Supporting documents:

Minutes:

A Wiltshire Council Playing Pitch Strategy is currently being developed to support the Wiltshire Core Strategy and the need for a single Wiltshire-wide open spaces standard.

 

Cllr Jerry Kunkler presented to the draft Wiltshire Playing Pitch Strategy to the committee and invited them to comment and give its endorsement to the draft.

 

Questions were asked as to why certain, less well known sports, such as touch rugby and walking football had not been included in the strategy. The Strategy Officers explained that no- contact sports, such as those listed, were included in the strategy but did not feature in the formal statistics because they are generally non-competitive sports.

 

It was also noted by committee members that some playing pitches and clubs had been missed out, specifically, Wilton Playing Pitch. The Officers noted these points and said that they would look at including Wilton Playing Pitch and any others brought to their attention.

 

A technical question was asked on the application of the strategy to when Councils are looking at applications for other leisure schemes and use of open spaces, for example development or Performing Art Centres. The Officers explained that the strategy gives guidance for applications of that nature and it gives a baseline for looking at the needs of a particular community. The Officers assured members that there was a steering group, with dedicated staff, looking into community leisure needs and they could be contacted with any specific issues or questions.

 

After further questions, it was made clear that Wiltshire Council were willing to do all that they could to support sport and would work with any club that was willing and able to build their resources.

 

 

Resolved

 

To endorse the draft Wiltshire Playing Pitch Strategy with comments made.

 

For the Environment Select Committee to receive annual updates on the development of the Wiltshire Playing Pitch Strategy.

 

 

74.

Task Group Update

To receive verbal and written updates from Environment Select Committee Task Group activities.

 

Supporting documents:

Minutes:

Councillors from the task group were in attendance and stated that there was no formal update from the group, as it was still under consideration and work was being done to progress the priorities of the group.

 

Resolved

 

To note the task group update.

 

75.

Forward Work Programme

To note and receive updates on the progress of items from the Overview and Scrutiny Forward Work Programme. A copy is attached for reference.  

 

 

Supporting documents:

Minutes:

Members noted the Forward Working Plan in the reports but there were no updates forthcoming.

 

Resolved

 

To note the forward work programme.

 

76.

Date of Next Meeting

To confirm the date of the next scheduled meeting as Tuesday 22 February 2016.

Minutes:

The date of the next meeting was agreed as Wednesday 22nd February 2016.

77.

Urgent Items

Any other items of business which the Chairman agrees to consider as a matter of urgency.

Minutes:

There were no urgent items.