Agenda and minutes

Nominations were sought for the position of Chairman for the municipal year 2018/19. Cllr Peter Evans, seconded by Cllr Mike Hewitt, moved that Cllr Matthew Dean be elected as Chairman.

On there being no other nominations, it was

Resolved:

To elect Cllr Matthew Dean as chairman of the Environment Select Committee for the municipal year 2018/19.

The Chairman thanked the Committee for their support in his election and he called for nominations for the position of Vice Chairman.

Cllr Bob Jones MBE was proposed by Cllr Oldrieve, which was seconded by Cllr Cape. There were no other nominations.

Resolved:

Cllr Bob Jones elected as Vice- Chairman of the Environment Select Committee for the municipal year 2018/19.

To receive any apologies or substitutions for the meeting.

Apologies for absence were received from Cllr Tony Jackson.

Cllr Jackson was substituted by Cllr Sue Evans.

To approve and sign the minutes of the Environment Select Committee meeting held on 1^st May 2018.

To confirm the minutes of the meeting held on 1^st May 2018.

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 Chair.

There were no Chairman’s announcements.

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 19^th June 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 21^st June 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 explained the rules of public participation and invited the following to make their statements and ask questions:

i.              Maggy Daniell – A statement about the Waste Management Strategy was read out by the Chairman in the absence of Maggy Daniell.

The Chairman also read out a response from the Director Waste and Environment to the points raised in the statement.

ii.            Colin Gale – A statement read out on behalf of the Pewsey Community Area Partnership, Campaign to Protect Rural England and Pewsey Parish Council, about the Waste Management Strategy and in particular the consultation on the proposed closure of Everleigh Household Recycling centre.

The Chairman thanked Mr Gale for his representations and noted that he would progress his concerns regarding the Council’s consultation process through the appropriate complaints process.

iii.                 Stephen Eades – A statement read out on behalf of Wiltshire Friends of the Earth about the Waste Management Strategy and in particular, a concern at the strategic position of incineration within the strategy.

iv.                 David Levy – A statement read out on behalf of The Air We breathe Network, Westbury, about the Waste Management Strategy, and in particular concerns about incineration and the need to recycle more waste.

At the Environment Select Committee meeting held on 25th 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 19th 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 4th September and ran until 14th November 2017. The report received by the Committee on 16^th January provided an initial overview of the results of the public consultation and identified the key themes emerging from the results.

The Committee to receive the Council's draft 'Waste Management Strategy' ahead of consideration and adoption by Cabinet and Full Council.

The Committee received a presentation and considered a report of the Director for Waste and Environment about the Council’s Waste Management Strategy.

The report set out the Strategy for comment ahead of its reporting to the Cabinet for consideration in advance of adoption by full Council. It provided an overview of the results of the consultation carried out in 2017, including a summary of all the written responses received during the consultation period. The report set out the key themes emerging from the comments, showing how they have influenced the development of the Strategy.

The Director for Waste and Environment explained that a) the Strategy is made up of three individual documents, i) the overarching strategy, ii) an annual performance review and iii) an annual action plan, and the following priorities were identified within the strategy, i) waste prevention, ii) repair and reuse, iii) recycling and composting, iv) energy from waste and v) litter and fly tipping. The Committee noted that the annual action plan set out the details of the actions the Council would take to meet the priorities, taking into account available resources, previous performance and any legislative changes.

The Director for Waste and Environment and Cabinet Member for Highways, Transport and Waste responded to the following issues raised and questions asked:

·         The Household Recycling Centres (HRC’s)increasing their operational hours.

·         Measuring the success of longer opening hours at HRC’s and determining increasing rates of recycling.

·         The future of reusing materials from HRC’s

·         The success of litter picking campaigns.

·         Engagement with voluntary groups through town and parish councils to help with regular litter picking.  

·         Potential for issuing fixed penalty notices to those offenders caught littering.

·         The need to enlarge a number of the HRC’s to accommodate the increasing demands for recycling.

·         Promotion materials about reducing waste.

·         Explanation of zero avoidable household waste.

·         The need to reduce waste and packaging materials related to on-line shopping.

·         The types of waste being received and treated at HRC’s, and how this would evolve over the lifetime of the Strategy.

·         The role of Wiltshire Wildlife Trust in engaging with schools to promoting recycling and waste reduction.

·         Future facility to accommodate and sort co-mingled waste.

·         Changing culture and attitudes towards littering and fly-tipping.

·         Comparing the effectiveness of recycling between segregation at source and mixed recycling.

·         Processing waste locally and the allocation of sites in the county.

·         The dependency on a single supplier  for recycling and energy recovery and the Council’s ability to determine its own strategy and implementation.

·         Concerns regarding the usage of gasification/incineration requiring plastics and food waste to function, rather than radically increasing recycling.

·         The local impacts in terms of health risk and increased congestion on our roads through importing waste from outside the county.

·         The increase in fly-tipping and its impact on the environment.

·         Collecting litter from trunk roads during grass cutting sessions.

·         Comparisons between the volume of waste being delivered to different HRC’s during each trip by visitors.

The Chairman thanked the Cabinet Member for Highways, Transport and Waste and the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 18.

Following a motion put forward by Cllr Mathew and Cllr Oldrieve at 22 May 2018 Full Council, the matter was referred to the Overview and Scrutiny Management Committee (OSMC).

OSMC agreed on 5 June 2018 for the Environment Select Committee to consider the item at their 26 June meeting. A short briefing paper is being prepared to aid the Committee’s discussion. The Briefing paper will be circulated as a supplement to this agenda.

The Committee considered a briefing note from the Head of Highways Asset Management and the Senior Scrutiny Officer about the potential use of plastic in Wiltshire roads.

It was noted that the briefing paper was prepared following a motion put forward at Full Council on 22^nd May 2018 by Cllr Brian Matthew and Cllr Steve Oldrieve, asking Wiltshire Council to undertake a feasibility study into the method of using waste plastics in road repair, resurfacing and road rebuilding programmes. The matter was referred to the Overview and Scrutiny Management Committee on 5^th June 2018, who asked this Committee to consider the proposal using the available evidence.

The report highlighted the process for using plastic within the current bitumen and asphalt mix and highlighted that a number of countries currently used plastic waste in their road maintenance programmes, in addition to a couple of other Local Authorities in England.   

The Senior Scrutiny Officer explained that initial research indicated that using plastic in road repair was feasible and suggested that the committee establishes a Rapid Scrutiny exercise to consider how feasible it would be for Wiltshire Council to use plastic waste, as part of its road maintenance programme.

Resolved:

1.    That a Rapid Scrutiny exercise to consider how feasible it would be for Wiltshire Council to use plastic waste, as part of its road maintenance programme, be agreed.

2.    That the following membership be agreed, as follows:

·         Cllr Brian Matthew

·         Cllr Tony Jackson

·         Cllr Nick Murry; and

·         Cllr Jacqui Lay

At its 22 January 2013 meeting, Cabinet resolved that it approved the setting up of a Management Board for the governance of Council housing; consisting of an equal number of Councillors, tenants and independents, with a recommendation that such a panel should be in place by April 2013. Thus, the Housing Board was established. The Board comprises a total of 9 positions and Board Members are remunerated for their position.

At 19 September 2017 Environment Select Committee, the Committee considered a report from the Housing Board; specifically around recruitment and remuneration.

The Committee will now receive an annual update report from the Housing Board.

The Committee received a statement from the Cabinet Member for Housing, Corporate Services, Arts, Heritage and Tourism introducing the Council’s Housing Board and its Annual report.

In the absence of the Cabinet Member, the Committee were encouraged to submit any questions on the Annual Report to him directly.

Resolved – That the ongoing work of the Housing Board and its Annual Report be noted.   

The Environment Select Committee was due to consider the report on Housing Repairs and Maintenance Service report in June 2017, however, this report was deferred.

The ESC Chairman agreed at a recent briefing meeting with the Head of Housing Strategy and Assets and the Cabinet Member for Corporate Services, Heritage, Arts, Tourism and Housing that scrutiny involvement at the present time would not add value. The Head of Housing Strategy and Assets is therefore invited to provide a brief verbal update to the Committee on the report.

The Committee received a presentation from the Head of Housing Strategy and Assets on the Housing repairs and Maintenance Service.

The Head of Housing Strategy and Assets explained that the total spend on the service amounted to £14m per year, with only £1m spent through the DLO, leading to high contract management costs, inability to gain efficiencies with the DLO and a variation in quality and performance.

The Committee were informed that the Cabinet, in March 2017, had agreed to the DLO expanding to take on all responsive repairs and voids subject to a financial business case. It was noted that the work of the DLO achieved savings when compared to contractor costs. As a consequence, the Cabinet, at its meeting on 3^rd July 2018, were being asked to agree the business case for progressing with the enlargement of the DLO to take on all responsive repairs and voids work with effect from 1^st April 2019. 

The Head of Housing Strategy and Assets responded to the following issues and questions raised by members:

·         Any plans to undertake maintenance on properties not currently included in the Council housing stock.

·         Competing with private contractors to generate savings for the Council.

·         Recruitment of suitably qualified personnel.

·         Managing capacity and demands placed on the team to achieve high level performance.

The Chairman thanked Head of Housing Strategy and Assets for the presentation and responding to the Committee’s questions and comments.

Resolved: To support the report and recommend that Cabinet adopt the following recommendation on 3^rd July 2018:

‘to agree the business case for progressing with the enlargement of the DLO to take on all responsive repairs and voids work with effect from 1^st April 2019.’ 

To receive information on the Council's current eco policies, in light of Full Council's resolution on the Business Plan in July 2017 to: ‘To reaffirm our commitments to continue working within our policies on the Environment and Carbon reduction’.

The Committee considered the report of the Director for Economic Development and Planning about the Council’s Energy Change and Opportunity (ECO) Strategy and current Eco policies.

The Director explained that the Council have developed an ECO Strategy to meet the challenge of climate change in Wiltshire. The Strategy set out the Council’s ambition to reduce its carbon emissions and lead the county’s low carbon transition, and prepare for unavoidable climate change. Cabinet approved the Strategy and agreed that the ECO Board would oversee the delivery of the Strategy, and approve and monitor the delivery of Action plans listed in the report. It was noted that much of the delivery work coming out of the Action Plans would be resourced and taken forward by relevant service directorates.

It was noted that the Council is committed to work with partners through the Energy Resilience plan to reduce Wiltshire’s carbon footprint, and promote Low Carbon Developments through planning policy. It was also noted that the Council aimed to meet and exceed household recycling targets, continue to reduce the amount of waste sent to landfill, and continue to reduce organisational energy demand through energy efficiency projects and renewable energy projects in managing its facilities.

Initially an ECO Team, accountable to the ECO Board, was established and responsible for strategic development, coordination, and administration of the ECO Board.  With the ECO Strategy now embedded within the organisation and the administrative overhead of managing the Board being modest, there was no longer a requirement to maintain a dedicated ECO Team.

The Cabinet Member for Spatial Planning, Development Management and Property reported that ten years ago the Council had an average performance level in relation to the reduction of carbon emissions. Since the ECO Strategy has been embedded within the organisation, the Council has moved up to 2^nd place in the South West local authority ratings produced by Regen South West. A copy of the Regen report can be found here.

The Director for Economic Development and Planning and Cabinet Member for Spatial Planning, Development Management and Property responded to the following issues and questions raised by the Committee:

·         The Council’s response to the Government's carbon reduction targets.

·         The Council’s strategy for the next stage of carbon reduction.

·         Addressing the low carbon agenda more widely in Wiltshire through the influence of the ECO Strategy, for example in terms of planning and transport. 

·         Engagement with the Government’s Industrial Strategy and other strategies.

·         The leadership provided within directorates on eco issues compared to other local authorities.

·         The frequency of Cabinet considering climate change issues.

·         The use of Government grants to increase the availability of electric vehicle charging points.

·         Government policy on climate change and how it influences the council’s strategies and action plans.

·         Frequency of ECO Board meetings and potential for attendance by the public at future meetings. 

Resolved:  

i.              To thank the Director for Economic Development and Planning and Cabinet Member for Spatial Planning, Development Management and Property for attending the meeting and responding to comments  ...  view the full minutes text for item 22.

Following the Environment Select Committee-Executive Annual Meeting on Housing, it was agreed that the Committee receive a verbal briefing on employment land and how the relevant policy is implemented across Wiltshire.

Additionally, in light of Cabinet’s agreement to defer Full Council’s consideration of the Housing Sites Allocation (HAS) Plan to 10 July 2018, the Chairman has asked the Director of Economy and Planning to provide a verbal update on the progress of the HAS Plan to the Committee.

The Committee received an update from the Director Economic Development and Planning, Tim Martienssen, and Cabinet Member for Spatial Planning, Development Management and Property on employment land and how the relevant policy is implemented across Wiltshire, and on the progress of the Housing Sites Allocation (HAS) Plan.

The Director Economic Development and Planning commented on the availability of employment land in the County and the number of sites reviewed in the last year. It was noted that there was potential for an additional requirement for employment land towards the end of the Strategic Economic Plan period. A variety of sites are available to meet demand and there was a focus on those sites that were easy to develop and that would be fed into the local plan review.   

The Committee was informed that consideration of the HAS by Council has been deferred to allow additional time for comments from Town and Parish Councils. It was noted that 19 additional responses had been received.  It was planned that the HAS would be considered by Cabinet in July 2018, followed by Full Council and then receive independent consideration by a Government Inspector for a final decision.

Resolved:

i.             To thank the Director of Economic Development and Planning for his update on employment land and progress of the Housing Sites Allocation Plan and the Cabinet Member for Spatial Planning, Development Management and Property for attending and responding to issues and questions raised.

ii.            To note the update provided.

To receive a brief update from Steve Maddern, Consultant in Public Health, on the Traveller Reference Group and agree a way forward on a future timetable for regular updates.

The Committee received an update from the Traveller Reference Group, seeking clarity about the frequency of updates on progress on the Group and the Traveller Strategy. 

Resolved: That the Environment Select Committee continue to receive annual updates from the Traveller Reference Group, with the next annual update to be received at 4 September 2018 meeting.

The Chairman and Vice-Chairman agreed that they would like the Committee to receive some information on this item, following its presence on the Cabinet Forward Work Programme.

Brief information to be received by the Committee; in order for members to discuss the item ahead of Cabinet's consideration.

The Committee received the report of the Spatial Planning Manager about emergency stopping places for Gypsies and Travellers and the Draft Strategy being considered by the Cabinet at its meeting scheduled for 3^rd July 2018.

The Cabinet Member for Spatial Planning, Development Management and Property and the Spatial Planning Senior Officer explained that currently there were no emergency stopping places to provide safe short term stay to meet gypsies and traveller’s temporary accommodation needs in Wiltshire. Dealing with unauthorised encampments is a continuing issue, leading to nuisance to landowners and the public and implications for the Council in terms of clean-up costs and reputational costs.

The development of the Draft Strategy sets out how a network of emergency stopping places would be delivered to provide safe short term stay and manage the unauthorised encampments more effectively.

The Cabinet Member for Spatial Planning, Development Management and Property and Spatial Planning Manager responded to issues and questions raised by the Committee on the following:

·         The differences between emergency stopping places and more permanent sites.

·         Potential sites for emergency stopping places and collaboration with private land owners.

·         Increasing issues of trespass where no emergency stopping places exist.

·         The potential for bringing abandoned sites back into operation as emergency stopping places.

·         Potential conflicts between culturally different groups and the placement of emergency stopping places.

The Chairman thanked the Cabinet Member and officer for attending the meeting and responding to the Committees questions.

Resolved: To inform the Cabinet that this Committee endorses Wiltshire Council establishing an Emergency Stopping Places Strategy.

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.

The Committee received updates on recent activity for the following Task Groups:

i)             Waste Contracts Task Group

The Committee noted that the task group’s Chairman, Cllr Yuill had recently taken up a position of Portfolio Holder for Waste and would no longer be a member of the task group. The task group had appointed a new Chairman, Cllr Sven Hocking, at their meeting held on 20^th June 2018.

ii)            Hackney Carriage Late Night Tariffs

The Committee noted that the Overview and Scrutiny Management Committee (OSMC), at its meeting held on 5^th June 2018, had agreed to establish a task group to undertake a review on late night tariffs for Hackney Carriages in the Salisbury area, following reports of high late-night fares in the Salisbury area and the Salisbury recovery effort.  

The Chairman, Cllr Dean, was given authority by the OSMC to determine the task group’s membership. He suggested that the review be widened to take in late night tariffs for Hackney Carriages in Wiltshire.

Resolved:    

i.             To endorse the Waste Contracts Task Group electing Cllr Sven Hocking as Chairman, following Cllr Yuill taking up the position of Portfolio Holder for Waste.

ii.            The Environment Select Committee establish a task group to consider late night tariffs for Hackney carriages with the following Terms of Reference:

a)    To investigate whether the current schedule of late-night tariffs for Hackney carriages, as adopted by the Licensing Committee in 2014,

b)   Is supportive of Wiltshire’s night time economy (NTE)

c)    Is comparable to, and competitive with, night time centres in adjoining counties

d)   Provides a fair system across all parts of the county.

e)    To make any evidenced recommendations for improvement as appropriate

iii.          The Chairman of Environment Select Committee be given authority to determine the task group’s membership as follows:

·         Cllr Matthew Dean

·         Cllr Derek Brown OBE

·         Cllr Peter Evans

·         Cllr Ian McLennan

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 Work Programme, asked for confirmation about how to progress a number of items and provided updates on the following areas:

·       Potential Scrutiny of the Council’s Plastic Waste Management Policy

·       Reduced Road Causalities

·       Highways Term Consultancy Contract

·       Government’s 25 year Environment Plan

Resolved:

i.               To delay a potential scrutiny of the Council’s Plastic Waste Management Policy until after February 2019, once amendments to national guidance have been implemented and the Council’s new waste contracts have been in operation for a sufficient time period.

ii.             To remove the Reduced Road Casualties item from the Forward Work Programme scheduled for 4^th September 2018 – See statement from The Head of Service: Sustainable Transport at Appendix A to these minutes.

iii.            To add consideration of the new Highways Term Consultancy Contract to the Forward Work Programme for 4^th September 2018,

iv.            That the Forward Work Programme 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 4^th September 2018.

The next meeting is scheduled for 4th September 2018 at 10.30am.