Agenda and minutes

To receive any apologies or substitutions for the meeting.

Apologies for absence were received from Cllr Nick Murry, substituted by Cllr George Jeans, and Cllr Derek Brown.

To approve and sign the minutes of the Environment Select Committee meeting held on 19 September 2017.

Resolved

To approve, for signing by the Chair, the minutes of the meeting held on the 19 September 2017 as a correct record.

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

There were no declarations of interest.

To receive any announcements through the Chairman.

The Chairman explained that announcements on the progress of activities for the committee would be considered under the “Forward Work Programme” item.

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 14 November 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 16 November. 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.

The Chairman explained that rules of public participation and invited the members of the South West Wiltshire Green Party to make representations and ask supplementary questions should they wish to.

The original questions and answers are attached for ease of reference.

In response to the supplementary questions at the meeting the following information was provided by the Cabinet Member for Highways, Transport and Waste and the Director for Waste ?Environment:

1.    The outcome of the consultation would be publicly available and an electronic version would be provided to Mr Jarvis;

2.    The figures for the feasibility study for food waste management had been updated; this would be reviewed should this be recognised as a priority area for the council;

3.    The Cabinet Member would review whether the council tax bill itemised waste collection and processing costs;

4.    Waste collection and management contracts have flexibility clauses to allow for changes;

5.    With regards to reprocessing capacity locally Wiltshire Council was engaging with central government, DEFRA and the Environment Agency as this was a national issue affecting the industry overall;

6.    With regards to the Advanced Thermal Treatment plant it would be the responsibility of the Environment Agency to apply conditions and monitor emissions to ensure the adequacy of measures put in place to protect human health and the environment.

This report will follow as a supplement to the agenda.

The Chair of the Task Group introduced the final report of the task group and recognised that there had been progress and that some recommendations within the report had already been implemented or superseded by changes throughout the lifetime of the task group.

The committee’s attention was drawn to the fact that the council was, mostly, listed as average in the National Highways and Transport (NHT) Annual Report (2017). It was pointed out that there was often little correlation between the actual state of highways and the outcomes of satisfaction surveys; this had been recognised by NHT and further work was being undertaken to gain more from satisfaction surveys.

During the ensuing debate the committee was informed, by the Ringway representative, of a survey on the Parish Stewards scheme which had been circulated to all town and parish councils.

Resolved

1.    To invite a NHT representative to attend a future meeting of the committee to provide further information on the significance of the results for Wiltshire.

2.    To circulate the outcome of the Parish Steward satisfaction survey to all councillors, so that they could monitor the situation in their area.

3.    To endorse the report of the Task Group and refer it to the Cabinet Member for Highways, Transport and Waste for response at the Committee’s next meeting.

The Council applies the principles of asset management to the maintenance of the highway network. This involves developing lifecycle plans to demonstrate how funding and performance requirements are achieved through appropriate intervention and investment strategies, with the objective of minimising expenditure while providing the required performance.

Asset Management has been widely accepted by Central and Local Government as a means to deliver a more efficient and effective approach to the management of highway infrastructure assets, through longer term planning and ensuring that standards are defined and achievable for available budgets.

Wiltshire Council recognises the importance of adopting such an approach for its most valuable asset, and has developed and published a Highway Asset Management Strategy. This demonstrates Wiltshire Council’s commitment to ensuring the public can safely use the highway and contributes to the achievement of its corporate goals.

The Committee will receive a presentation on the following: detail on the procurement process for the Highways Infrastructure Asset Management System; how the new system will inform the capital programme; the IT support required to progress this project.

The committee received a presentation from Paul Bromley, Highways Asset Manager, on the proposed updated Highways Infrastructure Asset Management System.

The committee was informed of the procurement process undertaken and given a brief overview of the technology that would be available.

There were many benefits highlighted including the system enabling the council to set its own threshold for intervention, the ability to precisely identify the areas with poor skid resistance, efficiency through mobile working and avoidance of duplication.

During the ensuing debate it was clarified that the data gathered through the system would inform maintenance programmes as well as future inspection programmes and that there were on-going discussion with the IT service to ensure that there would be adequate internal support for mobile working.

Resolved

1.    To thank the officer for the comprehensive presentation.

2.      To support the work that the Highways Service is undertaking to procure an updated Highways Infrastructure Asset Management System.

The ‘Local Highways Investment Fund 2014 – 2020’ is addressing the longstanding under investment in highways maintenance, which has been a problem nationally for many years. The significant investment of £21 million annually in recent years by Wiltshire Council has already seen a substantial improvement in the condition of the county’s road network, with a significant number of roads treated.

Good progress has been made on reducing the road maintenance backlog in recent years, but other highway assets, including street lighting, safety fences, road signs, footways and traffic signals will need investment to keep them safe in the future and to avoid expensive unplanned emergency repairs.

Budgets and funding for highway maintenance have not yet been agreed for 2018/19. The Committee will consider a report on this item and the funding proposed for 2018/19.

The Cabinet Member for Highways, Transport and Waste introduced the report and highlighted some key areas, including that 17% of roads had been resurfaced, the reduced backlog of maintenance, and the additional funding to area boards for footways to be repaired.

Topics highlighted during the ensuing debate included:

·         Recognising that the highways investment fund had been a success and that the challenge would now be to prioritise resources to ensure that the rest of the programme could be delivered;

·         That unclassified roads represented around 50% of the network in Wiltshire and maintenance of these had started being addressed in recent years;

·         That overrunning verges had been identified as an area for work and that lists of schemes had been established to be undertaken, subject to funding.

Resolved

1.    To endorse that good progress had been made regarding implementing the ‘Local Highways Investment Fund 2014 – 2020’.

2.    To support the statement that there had been a substantial improvement in the condition of Wiltshire’s roads in recent years, but further investment was still required.

3.    To note the provisional highway maintenance scheme lists for 2018/19, which had been prepared for each of the Area Boards, and accept that these would have to be finalised when budgets are agreed.

4.    To recognise that a further £4,861,000 would be required to bring the funding up to the £21,000,000 annual investment (as envisaged in the original Local Highways Investment Fund 2014 – 2020 report), assuming the Department for Transport funding was at the anticipated levels.

Faced with increasing demands for services against its limited resources, the Council reviewed discretionary expenditure in the passenger transport service. The main aim of the passenger transport service is to provide transport for education, access to rural areas that are not served by the commercial bus network, and access to employment.

Extensive stakeholder and public consultation was undertaken from mid-2015 to April 2016; to help determine the impact of any reduction to Wiltshire Council supported bus services, particularly on individuals. The results of this consultation were reported to Cabinet on 14 June 2016.

At 19 September 2017 ESC, the Committee received the Public Transport Review Task Group's final report and agreed to receive an update in 12 months regarding the implementation of the bus service changes, following the consultation results where Cabinet resolved to reduce £500,000 from the public transport budget.

The Cabinet Member for Highways, Transport and Waste introduced the report.

Topics highlighted during the ensuing debate included:

·         That there was no statutory requirement to provide post-16 education transport;

·         That the additional cost incurred by passenger transport on detours due to closed roads was comparatively minimal;

·         There were still recognised areas for improvement for efficiency for the non-urgent patient transport (NEPTS) and SEND and social care transport.

Resolved

1.    To endorse how the £500,000 worth of savings to the Passenger Transport Budget, as asked by Cabinet in October 2016, had been achieved

2.    To support further work being undertaken on the integration of NEPTS and SEND and social care transport

3.    To receive an update on progress in the autumn 2018 on the work being undertaken on the integration of NEPTS and SEND and social care transport.

This report will follow as a supplement to the agenda.

The Director Highways ? Transport introduced the Executive Response to the final report of the Public Transport Review task group and pointed out that the three recommendations of the task group had been accepted by the Executive and that two of the three recommendations had been implemented (recommendations 1 and 3).

Resolved

To note the executive response to the Final Report of the Public Transport Review Task Group and that the three recommendations of the task group have been accepted by the Executive.

The local highway network is vital for businesses and communities, and effective maintenance to ensure its availability is essential to the economic development of the county. Wiltshire Council recognises the importance of maintaining and managing its highway network effectively.

The Committee will receive the Annual Report on the Highways service area. The consideration of this report effectively aids the Committee in its role of reviewing the performance of this particular service area.

The Cabinet Member for Highways, Transport and Waste introduced the report and highlighted concern regarding an increase in the number of killed and seriously injured.

Topics highlighted during the ensuing debate included:

·         Current work from Ringway to identify further savings for disposal of waste;

·         That there were constant adjustment of in and out sourcing of resources on a service by service basis. Enough resources had been retained in-house to develop strategies, inform councillors and provide interface with customers;

·         Services would be taken back in-house if identified as a benefit to do so;

·         The Highways Consultancy contracts would be due for renewal in December 2019;

·         Area boards would be provided with lists of footways and would make decision for prioritisation.

Resolved

1.    To endorse the Highways Annual Review of Service (which described the service delivery during 2016/17), and the improvements that had been made following the award of the new highways contract and supplier arrangements.

2.    To note that the new highways contract with Ringway Infrastructure Services started in April 2016 and to support the view that the transition to the new highways contract had gone well; performance during the first year of the contract had been good, and an extension of three months was being awarded in accordance with the condition of contract.

3.    To note that the Highways Consultancy contract with Atkins started in December 2012, and an eighteen month extension to the contract had previously been awarded.

To support the view that performance had continued to be good in the fourth year of the contract, and to support the proposal to award a final six month extension, in accordance with the provisions of the contract.

4.    To receive a further update on the Highways Consultancy contract and the procurement process towards the end of 2018 (the new contract would start in December 2019).

5.    To endorse the Highways Performance Management Framework; which indicated that overall there had been good progress and performance during 2016/17. 

To accept that the increase in the number Killed and Seriously Injured on our roads is a cause for concern, which will require further consideration.

6.    To agree that performance of the service area of ‘Highways’ continues to be reviewed by the Committee on an annual basis, through a Review of Service report.

Following approval by Cabinet at its meeting on 12 September 2017, the public consultation on amendments to the Wiltshire Local Transport Plan Car Parking Strategy commenced on 28 September 2017.

The Environment Select Committee considered a report on the above at their 19 September 2017 meeting; where Members discussed the consultation and the importance of the item returning to Committee, once the outcome of the consultation was known.

The Associate Director, Highways and Transport, felt it would be helpful for the Committee to receive a further briefing note on the item; which would capitalise on detail around the consultation process.

The committee considered the Amendments to the Wiltshire Local Transport Plan (LTP) 2011-2026 - Car Parking Strategy.

The Cabinet Member for Highways, Transport and Waste informed the committee that the decision regarding Option 1 ‘Applying an inflation increase to all parking charges’ would be made prior to Christmas 2017.

Following questions on the harmonisation of parking across the county it was clarified that there had been a two-stages harmonisation process. The first harmonisation followed the classification of urban areas as defined in the Core Strategy developed in 2011. The second harmonisation in 2014-15 was a more detailed analysis of parking demand in local areas and taking into account local crcumstances.

Resolved

1.    To endorse the process of the Public Consultation currently underway for the Car Parking Charges

2.    To await the outcome of the Consultation before considering the Strategy again, at the 16 January 2018 meeting, prior to the Strategy returning to Cabinet on 30 January 2018.

This would exclude Option 1 as a  decision would have already been made and councillors would have to make individual representations on the consultation with regards to Option 1.

Written updates on Environment Select Committee Task Group activity are attached.

The Chair introduced the task group update.

Resolved

1.    To endorse the establishment of the proposed waste contracts task group.

2.    To note the briefing meeting on the ‘Clean Up Wilts’ litter campaign to be held

3.    To support that the item titled ‘Emissions’ remains as a ‘to be confirmed’ item on the Committee’s forward work programme.

Councillors Lay, Jones and Oldrieve (if evening meetings) volunteered for the waste task group.

To note and receive updates on the progress of items on the forward work programme.

Under the revised Overview and Scrutiny (OS) arrangements there is now a single OS work programme controlled by the OS Management Committee, linked to priorities in the Business Plan.

Therefore it should be noted that, whilst any matters added by Members are welcome, they will be referred to the OS Management Committee for approval before formal inclusion in the work programme for the Environment Select Committee.

A copy of the Overview and Scrutiny Forward Work Programme for the Environment Select Committee is attached for reference.

The Senior Scrutiny Officer updated the committee on the current forward work programme as circulated for Management Select Committee, including the outcomes of the meetings between the Chairman, Vice-Chairman and Executive Members.

During the ensuing debate members of the committee mentioned the following areas as potential future work for overview and scrutiny:

·         Development of the Local Plan as part of its review; and as part of this investigating opportunities for energy generation

·         The impact of the government Green Energy Strategy on Wiltshire;

·         Investigating food waste collection options;

·         Devolution and transfer of recreation areas.

It was agreed that the waste items would be considered again following the outcome of the consultation, that the green energy item would be discussed with officers once this area had been allocated to a director and that devolution and asset transfer would be considered should issues become apparent with the upcoming programme of devolution and asset transfer.

The Chair invited the committee to vote on establishing priority for four areas of work:

·         Waste task group;

·         Development of local plan;

·         Development where needed;

·         Release of public land.

Resolved:

1.    To circulate the updated forward work programme to the committee;

2.    To add the following future work for the committee in priority order as follows:

a.    Release of public land;

b.    Development where needed;

c.    Development of local plan;

d.    Waste task group.

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

None.

To confirm the date of the next scheduled meeting as 16 January 2018.

The next scheduled meeting was confirmed as 16 January 2018.