Environment, Development and Transport Committee

Transcription

1 Environment, Development and Transport Committee Minutes of the Meeting held on Friday 20 June 2014 at am at County Hall. Present: Mr R Coke (Chair) Mr R Bird Dr A Boswell Mr B Bremner Mr S Clancy Mr T East Mr B Iles Mr S Hebborn Mr T Jermy Mr B Long Mr I Mackie Mr J Mooney Mr B Spratt Mr W Richmond Mr J Timewell (Vice Chair) Mrs C Walker Mr M Wilby Also present: Mr P Hacon Dr M Strong 1 Apologies Apologies were received from Mr White (Mr Long substituted). 2 Declarations of Interest 2.1 None declared. 3 Items of Urgent Business The Chair advised the Committee that regrettably a letter had been sent from the County Council to the Secretary of State regarding the Willows planning application, which the Secretary of State was still in the process of determining. This letter had caused fresh anxiety in Kings Lynn and West Norfolk. The Chairman confirmed to the Committee that the energy from waste contract had been terminated and could not be retrieved. The Committee RESOLVED (with one abstention) to release the following statement:- ''I have circulated copies of letters dated 28 May and 6 June 2014 from the NCC planning services manager regarding the on-going saga of the Willows planning application.

2 The content of the letter has, understandably, caused considerable anxiety in King's Lynn and the west of Norfolk. I have discussed my concerns over the handling of this matter with the Managing Director and I would like to take this opportunity to clarify the situation and put many minds to rest. The letters were part of a series of representations from various parties to the Secretary of State, who is still in the process of determining the planning application. Given the history of this planning application it would be politically naive to think a letter like this would not raise significant concerns in the local community. The content is such that I firmly believe that it was an error of judgement to send this letter. The Managing Director has confirmed that any future correspondence of this nature, dealing with this site, will be shared with me as your Chairman and Group spokespersons, on behalf of the committee. I can also reassure you that the contract with Cory Wheelabrator for the construction and operation of an incinerator on this site has now been terminated. There is no longer any contract and there is no avenue by which this contract can be retrieved. Finally, I can confirm that elected members of the County Council remain fully in control of the fate of this site. The County Council has resolved that until a new waste policy "is agreed by Council, disposal of the land at the Willows, including being a part payment with Cory Wheelabrator, will not be permitted without the approval of Full Council". In addition, any such sale could, if Full Council is so minded, contain a suitable covenant to prevent the land from being used for incineration. 4 Local Member Issues/Member Questions 4.1 Appendix A to these minutes sets out the Member questions and replies received for this meeting. 5 Appointments to Internal and External Bodies 5.1 The Committee received the report by the Acting Managing Director (item 5) which proposed some changes to particular existing internal and external body appointments. Most existing arrangements would be maintained until September 2014 when a full review would take place. Member champion appointments would be considered in November Dr Strong, former Member of the Broadband, Phone and Digital Working Group, requested that this Group be reformed and reconstituted until the end of 2015, in order to complete the important work that the Group had been working on. 5.3 The following changes to internal and external bodies were noted: Mr Coke would replace Mr Harrison on the Norfolk Flood and Water Forum. Mr Coke and Mr Timewell would sit on the Norfolk Waste Partnership Strategic Board.

3 Mrs Walker would remain on the RAF Coltishall Community Liaison Reference Group. The RAF Coltishall Member Steering Group would consist of the Leader, Deputy Leader, the Chair of the Economic Development Sub-Committee (Mr Spratt) and Mr Timewell. Mr Spratt, Mr Wilby, Mr Timewell, Mr Jermy, Mr Bearman and Mr Coke would sit on the Highways Procurement Mobilisation Member Reference Group. 5.4 The Committee RESOLVED that:- Unless otherwise specified above or in Appendix A of the report, existing appointments to external and internal bodies would continue pending a review to the September Committee cycle and that Member Champion appointments would remain in force until the November review. Appointments to those particular external and internal bodies where there was a need to review appointments before the September meeting of the Committee be agreed, as set out in Appendix A of the report. Where there was a scrutiny working group whose work was not considered by Members to be have been complete, the Chief Officer would bring a report to allow Members to consider how/if they wish to progress these pieces of work. Authority to make appointments to internal and external bodies be delegated to the Acting Managing Director, following consultation with the Chairman or Vice Chairman (and Group Spokespersons where appropriate) where there was an urgent need. The Broadband, Phone and Digital Working Group be reformed with the following Members:- Dr Boswell, Dr Strong, Mr Bremner, Mr FitzPatrick, Mr Hebborn. 6 The Council s Position of Hydraulic Fracturing ( Fracking ). 6.1 The Committee received the report by the Interim Director of ETD (item 7) which considered whether the work commenced by the former fracking Working Group should continue. The County Council currently did not have any specific policy in place relating to fracking or how this activity could impact on Norfolk. 6.2 The Committee RESOLVED that The work commenced by the Working Group should continue, reporting to the EDT Committee. The Working Group be re-established to take this work forward with Membership comprising of Cllrs Andrew Boswell (Chairman), Stan Hebborn,

4 Bert Bremner, Tim East and Tony White. 7 Environment, Development and Transport Committee Plan 7.1 The Panel received the report by the Interim Director of Environment, Development and Transport (item 6), which brought together the core information Members would require to make informed decision making in relation to environment, development and transport issues in Norfolk. 7.2 The Committee RESOLVED that: Additional information would be included within the Committee Plan on the subjects of potholes, gritting, climate change, recycling and landfill sites. At the end of each financial year, the Chairman, on behalf of the Committee, would provide an overview of the Committee s progress in achieving key priorities for environment, development and transport in Norfolk. This information would assist the Policy and Resource Committee to monitor overall progress against the Council s key priorities and targets for the environment, development and transport in Norfolk. A breakdown of individual budget spending on Highways would be provided. 8 Norwich Northern Distributor Road: Local Impact Report 8.1 The Committee received the report by the Assistant Director, Environment and Public Protection. The report provided Members with a draft Local Impact Report to consider. The Local Impact Report would be submitted to the examining authority to provide details of the impact of the Norwich Northern Distributor Road on the surrounding area. 8.2 The Committee RESOLVED (with one abstention) that: The draft Local Impact Report be agreed and that delegated authority be given to the Assistant Director, Environment & Public Protection, in consultation with the Chairman of the EDT Committee, to jointly prepare and finalise with any further amendments and submit the final Local Impact to the Examining Authority. 9 Street Lighting Options for Reducing Energy Use 9.1 The Committee received the report (item 9) by the Interim Director of Environment, Transport and Development. The County Council had a commitment to reduce carbon emissions by 50% between 2008 and 2020 as part of the carbon reduction Scheme and the report provided both environmental and cost saving benefits for the County Council and for Norfolk. 9.2 It was proposed and duly seconded that the option to remove the provision of Norfolk County Council adopted lighting on new developments be deleted.

5 9.3 The Committee RESOLVED that the following options should be assessed for further consideration:- Removing redundant lighting on main roads Removing lighting for some illuminated bollards/signs, where regulations allow Increasing trimming Increasing dimming Extending part night lighting Introducing LED technology Introducing CMS technology 10 Forward Plan 10.1 The Committee received the report (item 10) by the Interim Director of Environment, Transport and Development, which updated Members on the items and decisions which needed to be considered by the Committee in relation to environment, transport and development issues in Norfolk The Committee RESOLVED to add the following areas of interest to the forward plan:- A further report on Street lighting energy use to be added for the November 2014 meeting. A regular financial monitoring report would be included The meeting closed at 12.20pm Chairman If you need this document in large print, audio, Braille, alternative format or in a different language please contact the Customer Services Team on or (textphone) and we will do our best to help.

6 Appendix A. 4. Member Questions 4.1. Question from Shelagh Gurney. Cutting of highways and grass verges in Hellesdon has been appalling to date, with an apology from a senior officer at Aylsham forthcoming. The new contractor clearly does not have the handle on this, starting so late this year that grass is some three feet high in places. Are all complaints being recorded irrespective on whether or not there is a hazard risk and can the Chairman of ETD give assurances that a full investigation will be carried to ascertain what has gone wrong and apologise to the residents of Hellesdon? Response by Richard Coke, Chair of Environment, Development and Transport Service Committee. The instruction to start the first urban cut for the Broadland District Area was given to Lafarge Tarmac on 13 May with completion required by 15 June. We understand that grass cutting did not start in Hellesdon until 27 May, during a time when growth had been vigorous resulting in significant quantities to be cut. After concerns were raised senior officers met on site on 5 June to review the work carried out. Additional cutting and strimming operations were programmed immediately and a further visit from the Highways Ranger was made to undertake grass tidying operations. Lafarge Tarmac will continue with the second urban cut as soon as the first is completed to avoid any repetition of the problems experienced thus far. This is a quality issue and we have accordingly penalised the contractor in terms of the Key Performance Indicators that track agreed work standards. We are confident that progress has been made and that the learning from this will improve performance in the future, meeting the standards that are part of our contract. We are sorry that our standards have not been met during the initial grass cutting period and apologise to anyone who may have been affected. All calls to the Customer Service Centre are counted to help inform our service delivery and monitor trends and enquiries. Any calls that relate to safety concerns or hazards are additionally logged in the Public Enquiry Manager system for further attention by the relevant staff member. Therefore all calls are logged. 4.2 Question from Alison Thomas There is concern in my Division regarding the lack of grass cutting on the A140. The junction of Wood Lane with the A140 had no visibility and was very dangerous. It has since been strimmed by the contractor at our officers request but is still awaiting a "proper cut"

7 I understand that La Farge Tarmac should have completed the main roads cut by now and are in breach of their contract. Could I request that members of this committee implement an urgent review of the contractual obligations of La Farge and establish what action should be taken by this Council in relation to any proven breach. Response by Richard Coke, Chair of Environment, Development and Transport Service Committee. Thank you for raising the issues on the A140. The instruction to start the first of two Countywide rural grass cuts was given to Lafarge Tarmac on 7 May. Their contractual target date for completion for the whole county was 13 June. Therefore, when Cllr Thomas first raised her concerns on the 9 June, Lafarge Tarmac was still within contractual timescales. As Cllr Thomas has explained, due to her concerns the junction in question was strimmed the same day concerns were raised, along with other nearby junctions. The majority of the first rural grass cut was completed within the contractual timescale and to the standards required. However, due to concerns raised by Lafarge Tarmac's traffic management provider, there has been a slight delay on completing the A road cut in the south and west of the county. This has been resolved and grass cutting will be completed by 21 June. One advantage of the new contract over its predecessor is that when the contactor fails to deliver to contractual timescales, through a monthly Key Performance Indicator process, they will be marked down which then has real financial penalties. This provides the contractor with an incentive to comply with timescales. In terms of this rural grass cutting order, as the target completion date has not been fully achieved, scoring on this Key Performance Indicator will be reduced accordingly, so it is likely that a financial penalty will be imposed. However, this will depend on the scoring of all other orders completed within the month of June.