Agenda and minutes

To receive any apologies or substitutions for the meeting.

There were no apologies for absence.

To approve and sign the minutes of the Environment Select Committee meeting held on 21 November 2017.

Resolved:

To confirm the minutes of the meeting held on 21 November 2017.

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.

There were no Chairman’s Announcement.

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 Kieran Elliott, 01225 718504, kieran.elliott@wiltshire.gov.uk 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 Kieran Elliott, 01225 718504, kieran.elliott@wiltshire.gov.uk no later than 5pm on Tuesday 9 January 2018 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 11 January 2018. 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 drew attention to the public questions which were available in the agenda supplement and advised he would allow 15 minutes for questions.

It was noted that some questions required a verbal response due to them not being submitted in time for a written response, the following answers were provided by the Director of Waste and Environment:

·         The council manages waste in accordance with the waste hierarchy where it is technically, economically and environmentally practicable to do so. The range of materials which the council collects at the kerbside for recycling will extend from 30 July 2018 to include plastic pots, tubs and trays and food and drink cartons. However, manufacturers and producers of goods and packaging continue to use materials which cannot be recycled. Residents continue to purchase such goods and packaging and put them out for collection as residual waste which the council has a duty to collect and dispose of. To avoid disposing of such waste to landfill the council will continue to deliver these materials to the Lakeside energy from waste plant or to the mechanical biological treatment plant at Westbury where it is used to produce solid recovered fuel. In accordance with the waste hierarchy it is better to recover value in the form of energy than to landfill this non-recycled waste. In response to a question on energy from waste, 75% of respondents strongly agreed or tended to agree with the council building an energy from waste plant in Wiltshire if it would be financially beneficial.

·         To obtain more information on how residents would like the council to communicate with them about recycling, the following question was included in the Waste and Recycling Survey.

Q5. Which form of communication would most encourage you to recycle more at home? (Up to two options could be chosen).

The most popular options were firstly 'stickers on the bin specifying what can and can't go into them' and secondly 'an information leaflet posted to all households'. These are the two most expensive options of those listed. The council will take these responses into consideration but has to do so in the context of the budget available for communication.

·         Another question which is of relevance to this subject is set out below.

Q23. Would you be interested in becoming a local recycling or composting champion?

Over 10% of respondents said yes, which means there may be 398 residents who would be prepared to communicate with residents in their locality. The council should contact these potential volunteers to identify how they could best distribute information to the public.

·         The full response to Q5 is set out below.

More information available on the council’s website- 555

Regular emails from the council’s waste and recycling team with recycling information and updates- 693

Social media updates from Wiltshire Council regarding recycling information and facts- 451

Stickers on the bin specifying what can and can’t go into them- 1883

An information leaflet posted to all households- 1265

None of these I recycle all  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

At the Environment Select Committee meeting held on 25 October 2016, a report was considered which provided an update of the council’s Joint Municipal Waste Management Strategy 2006-2016. It was discussed at this meeting that a new Strategy would start to be developed in 2017 and that elected members should have a greater role in the early development of the new strategy.

With this in mind, member workshops were scheduled for discussion of key waste management challenges and the future of household waste and recycling services in Wiltshire. A report was presented to the Environment Select Committee on 19 September 2017; this report provided an update on emerging themes arising from the members’ workshops and these themes were used in the development of a questionnaire for public consultation.

The public consultation started on 4 September and ran until 14 November 2017. The following report provides an initial overview of the results of the public consultation and identifies the key themes emerging from these results.

A report was introduced by the Cabinet Member for Highways, Transport and Waste which provided an initial overview of the results of a public consultation on the Council’s proposed Waste Management Strategy. Response rates had been about 4,000 and had included detailed comments. The key themes in the public responses were as follows:

·         Households wanted the Council to help reduce unnecessary waste

·         Some households would travel further to Household Recycling Centres if they had a re-use option

·         Residents wanted to recycle more and would welcome further information

·         Residents supported generating energy from waste.

Tracy Carter, Director for Waste and Environment advised she would bring the Draft Waste Management Strategy to the March meeting of Committee, this report would also consider the implications for waste management of the Government’s 25 Year Environment Plan.

The Committee was pleased with the engagement of residents in the public consultation, however was divided on the benefit of incineration of household waste. Other comments included that HRC’s offering re-use facilities would be welcome however should be an option in every location. Members considered that the council could change the culture on recycling by improving communication and information on how to recycle. Councillors noted the issues around managing food waste however suggested more information about the benefits of different means of food waste management would be a useful addition to future reports. 

The Committee agreed the Council had a duty to consider the long-term implications of waste management and encouraged the service to consider how to engage with residents, particularly school age children about recycling and food waste.  Members also encouraged officers to consider the offer from residents to become Waste Champions and suggested these champions could be used to communicate key messages to the wider community.

Resolved:

To accept the revised timetable for the consideration of a Draft Waste Management Strategy.

To note the overview of the results of the Wiltshire Council Waste and Recycling survey 2017, the key themes emerging and initial proposals of how these will be used to inform and develop a draft strategy.

The Council’s parking services is facing significant operational cost pressures. To address the pressures facing the Council and the parking service, it was considered that a number of charging policies and practices needed to be looked at and possibly reviewed. In light of this, a public consultation exercise was held between 28 September and 23 November 2017.

Following Cabinet’s consideration of the pre-consultation LTP Car Parking Strategy report on 12 September 2017, the Environment Select Committee received the report at its meeting on 19 September 2017; where members were asked to consider the Committee’s role in the process to make any amendments to the Wiltshire LTP Car Parking Strategy.

This reports sets out the results of the consultation and the draft recommended option proposals. The Committee is invited to respond to both of the above, to help inform Cabinet’s consideration of the report on 30 January 2018. 

The Cabinet Member for Highways, Transport and Waste presented a report with the outcomes of the pubic consultation on the Council’s Car Parking Strategy.

Members suggested some of the questions in the survey had been leading and questioned why options suggested by respondents hadn’t been taken forward. In response the Head of Local Highways advised all suggestions had been thoroughly considered, however upon investigation were not cost effective and did not work alongside traffic movements as part of the wider strategy. The Committee expressed support for cashless parking, the Cabinet Member was also supportive of this however explained it was a significant cost to install. Other comments from the Committee included that policies on Resident Parking Zones should be considered in the strategy, and that responses to the survey may have been higher if it had indicated price rises. The impact of the proposals on individual car parks was also discussed.

Resolved:

To note the contents of the report and agrees that members continue to make individual representations to the Cabinet Member, in order to continue to help influence the Cabinet report.

Following the drafting of the Council’s Business Plan 2017-27, the Chairman felt that under the heading ‘Transport and Infrastructure’ - public transport, specifically the provision from rail, ought to be a priority topic of consideration for the Committee. It was seen to be important for the Committee to understand how transport outcomes are being improved for Wiltshire’s residents, through the provision from rail services. The Committee subsequently ratified this addition to the Forward Work Plan (FWP) on 19 September 2017.

The following report details the relationship between the Council and train operating companies and how the Council is working with the rail industry and other associated partners, to help improve transport outcomes for Wiltshire.

The Committee considered the local provision of public transport, with particular reference to rail travel. Officers advised rail provision was currently invested around the largest settlements and busiest commuter routes. The South West network was investing in routes near London and quicker routes through Salisbury and into Devon. In response to questions it was heard that potential station sites should be considered as part of the Core Strategy and that, whilst securing station locations was important, ensuring an operator would stop there was as a challenge as increased stops would increase commuting times. In response to a request, officers advised they would be responding to a survey on working with rail franchises.

The Cabinet member advised she would investigate the possibility of a pedestrian link from Salisbury Station to the Maltings development. Officers acknowledged issues at Tisbury station and advised there were meetings arranged to discuss this imminently, likewise they were in discussions for increased train capacity around Westbury and Bath.

Resolved:

That:

(i)            The Committee supports the content of the report.

(ii)           The Committee endorses the interim strategy, while awaiting the outcome of the SWLEP-sponsored work

(iii)       The Committee requests that the final strategy return to ESC in due course

On 21 November 2017, the Environment Select Committee endorsed the Final Report of the Highways and Streetscene Task Group. The Committee resolved to refer the following Task Group’s recommendations to the relevant Cabinet member for response at the Committee’s next meeting on 16 January 2018.

A report presented the response of the Cabinet Member for Highways, Transport and Waste to the Final Report of the Highways and Street Scene Task Group. It was noted all of the recommendations had been accepted by the Cabinet Member, who advised she would report back on the matter annually.

Resolved:

To note the executive response to the Final Report of the Highways and Street Scene Task Group.

To note the development of the public satisfaction KPIs for street scene will be part of the Highways annual report.

To receive any updates on recent activity for active task groups and from members of the Environment Select Committee who have been appointed as overview and scrutiny representatives on programme boards.

In November 2017 it had been agreed to establish a Waste Task Group, and proposed Terms of Reference were attached to the agenda. The Chairman thanked councillors for expressing their interest in joining this task group and advised any councillors that had not been selected were welcome to attend in an observer capacity.

Resolved:

That the Environment Select Committee endorse:

i)             The membership of the task group, as listed in the report

ii)            The Terms of Reference for the task group, as listed in the report

iii)           That Cllr Oldrieve be listed as an ‘observer’ and not a reserve member, as listed in the report.

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 introduced the Committee’s Forward Plan, highlighting there were many items to be considered and therefore the work would be prioritised. It was noted that a response from the Head of Spatial Planning on the local plan and carbon emissions was to be circulated to members, Cllr Oldrieve requested this matter be further considered at the next meeting.

Members suggested it would also be appropriate for the Committee to consider the Government’s 25 Year Environment Plan and implications for the Council. The Committee also questioned the status of the Council’s Eco Strategy, it was noted there was now not a specific service dedicated to this and that each service was responsible for considering the environmental implications of their service decisions. Officers advised a position statement summarising activity could be brought to the next meeting.

Resolved:

To request a position statement on the Council’s Eco Strategy be provided to the next meeting of the Committee.

To request an item on the Government’s 25 year Environment Plan be provided to a future meeting of the Committee; this would sit with the ‘Emissions’ item

That the Forward Work Plan be updated to reflect the changes detailed above.

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

There were no urgent items.

To confirm the date of the next scheduled meeting as 13 March 2018.

The next meeting was to be held on 13 March 2018 at 10:30am.