Agenda and minutes

Apologies were received from Cllr Stephen Oldrieve, who was substituted by Cllr Trevor Carbin.

To confirm and sign the minutes of the Environment Select Committee held on 01 November 2011 (copy attached).

The minutes of the meeting held on 11 November 2011 were presented.

It was,

Resolved:

To approve the minutes as a correct record.

Cllr Hill declared a personal, non-prejudicial interest in Minute No. 7 owing to the current waste provider having an on-going planning application within his division. He stated he would participate in the debate with an open mind.

There were no 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 above 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 above no later than 5pm on Tuesday 03 January 2012.  Please contact the officer named on the first page 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.

There were no questions.

Cabinet in January will be asked to approve the pre-submission draft Wiltshire Core Strategy for the purpose of undertaking the final stage of formal consultation. The document is then scheduled to be considered by full Council.

The Cabinet member and supporting officers will give a presentation to the committee outlining the key areas for consideration, following which members will have an opportunity to question the Cabinet member on the strategy.

The Committee will then have the opportunity to feed any recommendations to Cabinet and Council.

Cabinet on January 17 will be asked to approve the pre-submission draft Wiltshire Core Strategy for the purpose of undertaking the final stage of formal consultation. The document is then scheduled to be considered by full Council.

The Committee was asked to examine the issues relating to the draft Core Strategy and feed any recommendations to Cabinet and Council.

The Cabinet Member for Finance, Performance and Risk was in attendance. The Service Director (Economy and Enterprise) made a presentation outlining the issues surrounding the draft Core Strategy. He clarified that any changes made as a result of recommendations would remain addendums until full Council granted approval, and that all evidence for the Core Strategy was now submitted and complete.

The Service Director (Economy and Enterprise) further outlined the key objectives outlined in the Core Strategy, and detailed the implications and alterations to various core policies, as well as giving assurance that the draft Sustainability Appraisal would be published alongside the Core Strategy. He informed Committee members there would be 2 workshops organized between Cabinet and full Council to aid all councillors in absorbing the details of the draft Core Strategy.

A debate followed, wherein clarity was sought regarding the level of consultation and the terminology relating to certain policies and the Community Infrastructure Levy. It was clarified that the issue of the Community Infrastructure Levy was an on-going process, and that the committee would be updated once details had been confirmed.

Questions were also raised regarding the impact on transport and infrastructure plans as a result of the Core Strategy, as well as the nature of housing development and the impact this would have on jobs. Concerns were also raised regarding the Committee’s ability to scrutinize the draft Core Strategy with the information provided.

The Service Director (Economy and Enterprise) further informed the Committee of communications with Town and Parish Councils regarding those areas of the Draft Core Strategy that had been altered which affected them.

After discussion, it was:

Resolved

1)    To thank the Cabinet Member and Service Director for the presentation;

2)    To note the assurance and robustness of the sustainability of the draft Core Strategy;

3)    To offer no endorsement of the draft Core Strategy due to the lack of provided documentation prior to the meeting;

4)    To invite the Cabinet Member to update the Committee on the development of the Community Infrastructure Levy at the earliest opportunity.

The Committee considered a report in July 21, 2011 which provided an overview of the proposals for transformation of waste collection within Wiltshire. Following this item members’ requested a further update to outline the delivery of the project, which was programmed to see the roll out of plastic and card collections in the north, east and west of the county.

The Committee is invited to discuss the delivery of these changes and whether there are any lessons to be learnt as further changes are rolled out in 2012 in the north, east and south of the county.

The Committee considered a report in July 21, 2011, which provided an overview of the proposals for transformation of waste collection within Wiltshire. Following this item the committee requested a further update to outline the delivery of the project, which was programmed to see roll out of plastic and card collections in the north, east and south of the county.

The Cabinet Member for Waste, Property, Environment and Development Control Services and the Service Director (Waste Management Services) were in attendance as requested by the Committee, and presented a report to the Committee regarding the progress of the delivery of the Waste Transformation Programme.

The Cabinet Member and Service Director outlined some of the issues relating to the implementation of a single Waste Collection and Recycling Service across Wiltshire, including detailing the next phase of the rollout involving garden waste and non-recycled rubbish, delays in delivery and how the Waste Service mitigated this, and future targets.

A debate followed, wherein questions were raised regarding the limited type of plastic bottles able to be recycled under current plans, and it was clarified this was a decision to ensure the sustainability of the service and would be kept under review. It was stated that prices received for mixed plastic bottles would be in the range of £220 per ton, whereas for mixed plastics in general would be in the range of £20 per ton.

The Committee also discussed the future impact of the Waste Transformation Programme, and stressed the need to consider targets beyond 2020, as well as making enquiries about the future of any landfill taxes and the provision of recycling services in rural areas. Further details were also sought regarding the project to construct a Mechanical Biological Treatment plant (MBT) in order to divert waste from landfills.

The Committee further expressed an interest in being included in the process and policy of future waste management contracts in 2013, when the tendering process for the current contract ending in 2016 begins.

After discussion, it was,

Resolved

1)    To thank the Cabinet Member and Service Director for the presentation of the report;

2)    To note the excellent progress of officers in delivery the Waste Transformation Programme;

3)    To invite the Cabinet Member and Service Director to further update the Committee with a performance review and procurement plans for the award of future waste management contracts, in December 2012.

At its meeting in November the Committee received an overview of the options linked to upcoming decisions towards the Highways & Amenities Contracts.

The Committee at the conclusion of the debate invited the Cabinet member to return to its January meeting to provide a further update on the scope of the contracts before initiating the tendering process.

At its meeting in November the Committee received an overview of the options linked to upcoming decisions towards the Highways and Amenities Contracts. The Committee requested an update on the scope of the contracts before the tendering process was initiated.

As requested by the Committee, the Cabinet Member for Highways and Transport was in attendance, alongside the appropriate Corporate Director (Dr Carlton Brand) who provided a verbal update to the Committee.

It was clarified that the current contracts come to an end in May 2013, and that the adverts for the new contracts will go out in January 2012. The available options were explained to the Committee, and it was stated that the market would be tested before any decision was made, and further that the Amenities and Highways teams would be brought together in future to simplify the service.

Dr Brand stressed the importance of this issue, and with the Cabinet Member welcomed the opportunity to appear before the Committee again to offer regular updates of the progression of the contracts.

A debate followed, during which the Committee raised questions in relation to current and potential contractors, and how the service would operate in future.

It was,

Resolved

1)    To thank the Cabinet Member and Corporate Director for the update;

2)    To add future updates from the Cabinet Member to the Forward Work Programme at each subsequent meeting of the Committee.

In September 2011 a small team of elected members and officers from other (peer) local authorities reviewed the Council’s Planning Service at the invitation of the Council. An action plan was developed by the Service Director (Development Services) and the Cabinet Member for Waste, Property, Environment and Development Control Services to respond to the review.

Further to this, the Organisation and Resources Select Committee considered the final report of the Section 106 Task Group, which included a recommendation for the Committee to create a Task Group to monitor delivery of any action plan to emerge from the recent peer review of the Development Control service.

The Cabinet Member was in attendance with the appropriate Corporate Director (Dr Carlton Brand) to update the Committee. Dr Brand stressed that one of his priorities was to lead on the transformation of the Planning Service, and encouraged the Committee to widen the remit of any proposed task group resulting from the Peer Review.

Dr Brand further emphasized his happiness to work positively with the task group to help deliver the transformation of the Planning Service, and offered to circulate the Peer Review document to the Committee.

A discussion followed, during which the terms and geographic spread of membership of the proposed task group was raised.

It was,

Resolved

1)    To thank the Cabinet Member and Corporate Director for their input;

2)    To form a task group with an initial membership of Cllrs Chris Humphries, Leo Randall, Howard Marshall and Peter Fuller;

3)    To recommend the task group define its Terms of Reference after its inaugural session.

The Forward Work Programme was noted and amended to reflect the changes reflected in Minutes 06, 07 and 08.

The date of the next meeting was confirmed as 01 March 2012.

The Chairman allowed an urgent item request from Cllrs Peter Colmer and Jacqui Lay regarding the implications of the Waste Site Allocation proposals within the Development Plan Document and Core Strategy, including the impact of traffic, the concentration of sites in the north of the county, and the ability of local infrastructure to cope with demands, and requested the Committee scrutinize the issues.

The Cabinet Member for Waste, Property, Environment and Development Control Services was in attendance, and stressed that consultation on the proposals had begun in 2007, and had received limited objections from the community.

The Chair thanked the Members for bringing the matter to the attention of the Committee and wished it noted that it had been requested that Scrutiny look into the waste site allocation DPD, but that at this stage in the process the Committee did not have sight of the report and so only limited value to add to the process, and advised that the Members should raise their concerns at Cabinet on 17 January 2012 or Council on 07 February 2012.