Agenda and minutes

To receive any apologies or substitutions for the meeting.

Apologies for absence were received from Cllr John Smale, Cllr Nick Murry and Cllr Steve Oldrieve.

Cllr Oldrieve was substituted by Cllr Stewart Palmen.

To approve and sign the minutes of the Environment Select Committee meeting held on 5 November 2019.

Resolved:

The minutes of the previous meeting held on 5 November 2019 were approved.

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

Cllr Tony Jackson declared a personal interest in relation to agenda item 8 – Interim Management Arrangements for the Contracted Leisure Centres, as he was a member of a local People for Places gym.  Cllr Jackson remained in the meeting a spoke on the item.

To receive any announcements through the Chair:

·       Western Gateway Rail Strategy

The Chairman provided updates on the following:

·       Western Gateway Rail Strategy

The Chairman referred the Committee to the announcement attached to the agenda papers and indicated that a full report would be provided on the matter at the next Environment Select Committee on 6 May 2020.

·       Better Deal for bus users

The Chairman encouraged the Committee members to read the Briefing Note that was circulated to all members on 26 February, about supporting bus services in Wiltshire.

He reported that the Government have allocated £671,171 of funding to Wiltshire Council, to improve bus services in the county, however, before this funding is provided to the Council, Wiltshire needs to give the Government a brief outline of how it intends to spend this money.

Members were asked to inform Passenger Transport, by 27 March 2020, of any requests that they have received for bus services in their area.

The committee, at its next meeting on 6 May 2020, would consider the report sent to Government, outlining how Wiltshire intends to spend the money.

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 26 February 2020 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 28 February 2020. 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 reported that a statement had been received from David Fisher, absent from the meeting, about air pollution experienced in Royal Wootton Bassett, due to hydrogen sulphide gas escaping to the atmosphere from Crapper & Sons Landfill site.

The Chairman thanked Mr Fisher for his contribution and outlined that the Environment Agency licence and monitor landfill sites.

As the scrutiny committee with responsibility for housing, the Environment Select Committee has been receiving annual updates from the Housing Board, as part of its on-going scrutiny of the housing portfolio.

The previous annual report was received by the committee on 8 January 2019, where the committee commented, among other things, on the work around garage sites and the positive outcomes of the seven year repairs and maintenance rolling programme.

The committee will now receive the annual report for 2018-19 from the Housing Board, ahead of Cabinet’s consideration.

The Committee considered the report of the Director of Housing and Commercial Development, which provided the Committee with an opportunity to comment on the activities of the Council’s Housing Board between December 2018 and November 2019, prior to the Annual Report being considered by the Cabinet on 24 March 2020.

Cllr Richard Clewer, Cabinet Member for Corporate Services, Heritage, Arts, Tourism, Housing, Climate Change and Military-Civilian Integration explained that throughout the period of the Annual report, the Board has engaged in a range of activities to shape the service offered to residents and their families, increased service quality via appropriate monitoring mechanisms, encourage resident engagement and protected the reputation of the council as a landlord by ensuring a robust Business Plan is implemented.

The report set out the areas focused on by the Board during the year, with the primary focus of the Board being (i) the Housing Revenue Account (HRA) Business Plan; (ii) Maintained momentum toward delivering 1 thousand new homes in the future; (iii) the agreement of Small Improvements Bids to deliver works which had been specifically requested by HRA residents; and (iv) the introduction of 3 themed sub-committees to enable more involvement in

policy development.

Cllr Clewer and Director of Housing and Commercial Development responded to a number of issues and comments from the Committee, in particular, the following issues and comments were raised:

·       The standard of some affordable homes provided by private developers not meeting affordable homes criteria.

·       The prohibition of gas boilers in new homes from 2025 in a bid to tackle emissions.

·       The provision of affordable housing to be managed by the Council.

·       Councillors identifying potential sites for affordable homes.

·       Level of performance against Key Performance Indicators and how this compares with other Local Authorities.

·       Implications for the Council of rent reductions during 2019/2020.

·       Housing Board meeting dates.

·       Consideration of the Housing Board Business Plan by the Cabinet.

·       Right to Buy process.

The Chairman thanked the Cabinet Member and officers for attending the meeting and providing responses to the issues raised.

Resolved:

1.    To endorse the Housing Board Annual Report 2018-2019;

2.    That the Cabinet Member for Corporate Services, Heritage, Arts, Tourism, Housing, Climate Change and Military-Civilian Integration consider other forms of heat technology, when moving away from providing boilers in HRA homes from 2025;,

3.    That Key Performance Indicators from the Housing Board are received at the Committees next meeting under Chairman’s Announcements.

Following the committee’s annual meeting on the ‘waste’ portfolio in 2017, it was agreed that a ‘Waste Contracts Task Group’ be established. The Task Group’s final report was received by the committee on 8 January 2019, with the Executive response being received on 12 March 2019.

As new recycling arrangements are due to come into force and because the committee has always had an interest in the progress of the waste contracts, the Chairman has requested an update on the progress of the change to the recycling service. This update is attached.

The Committee considered the report of the Director of Highways and Waste, which provided an update on the progress of changes to the Recycling Service.

Cllr Bridget Wayman, Cabinet Member for Highways, Transport and Waste introduced the update and explained that since July 2018, Hills Municipal Collections Limited have been delivering services under a contract with the council for the collection of waste and recycling and contracts for the management of materials collected. During this period, the Council have been working with Hills to plan service improvements, which include the kerbside recycling collection service.

The Committee noted the changes to the Service and how more materials could be recycled in the blue lidded bin.  Residents were being informed of the changes by letter. The collected materials would be sorted at a new materials recovery facility built near Calne which would enable the materials to be sorted to a high quality standard for delivery to reprocessors for recycling. By making it easier for people to sort their waste, it was hoped that the amount of waste recycled would increase.

Cllr Wayman and the Director of Highways and Waste responded to a number of issues and comments from the Committee, in particular, the following issues and comments were raised:

·       The markets used for the processing of recycled plastic materials.

·       Future recycling methods including chemical recycling, and the need to lobby Central Government about the recycling of certain plastics.

·       Materials to be placed in the black lidded box.

·       Current recycling rates and expectations for future improvements.

Resolved:

1.    To endorse the work that Waste and Environment are doing in progressing the new recycling collection service.

2.    To visit the MRF in Calne at a date to be agreed; and

3.    Review the progress of the recycling service improving Wiltshire’s recycling rate, once the new service has been operating for 12 months.

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 an update from Cllr Wright, Chairman of the Global Warming and Climate Emergency Task Group about the Task Groups recent activity since the last meeting of the Select Committee.  In Particular, Cllr Wright highlighted that the Task Group continued to gather evidence and intended to bring formal recommendations to the Select Committee for endorsement in May or June 2020.

The Committee were informed that Cllr Pip Ridout, Chairman of the Housing Aids and Adaptations Task Group, was unable to attend this meeting, however, the Task Groups final report was expected in May 2020.

Resolved:

    1.         Notes the Task Group Updates report.

    2.         Endorses the Housing Aids and Adaptations Task Group’s recommendation, that the Council require that the M4(2) standard be applied for all affordable housing, with the ability to negotiate M4(3) where a need is identified.

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 Chairman drew the Committee’s attention to the Forward Work Programme and asked for confirmation about how to progress a number of items detailed below:

·       A Better Deal for Bus Users

Resolved:

1.    To note the Committee’s Forward plan

2.    To note that the ‘A Better Deal for Bus Users’ would be considered by the Committee at its meeting on 6 May 2020.

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 6 May 2020.

To confirm the date of the next scheduled meeting as 6 May 2020.

Resolved:

To agree that in accordance with Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972 to exclude the public from the meeting for the business specified in minute Number 95 because it is likely that if members of the public were present there would be disclosure to them of exempt information as defined in paragraph 3 of Part I of Schedule 12A to the Act and the public interest in withholding the information outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information to the public.

This item will be added to the agenda as a supplementary item.

The Committee considered a report of the Director of Communities and Neighbourhood Services about interim proposals for the management of the Council’s leisure centres.

Resolved:

1.    To endorse the proposal as presented.

2.    To be engaged at the appropriate time in the process of agreeing the final leisure facility provision for the county and future management options.