Agenda and minutes

Health and Environment Policy Committee - Wednesday, 9th October, 2019 6.30 pm

Venue: Walton Suite, Guildhall, Winchester

Contact: Claire Buchanan, Senior Democratic Services Officer  Tel: 01962 848 438 Email: cbuchanan@winchester.gov.uk

Items
No. Item

1.

Minutes pdf icon PDF 140 KB

Minutes of the meeting held on 9 July 2019

Minutes:

RESOLVED:

            That the minutes of the meeting held on 9 July 2019, be approved and adopted.

 

2.

Declarations of Interests

To receive any disclosure of interests from Members and Officers in matters to be discussed.

 

Note:  Councillors are reminded of their obligations to declare disclosable pecuniary interests, and non disclosable interests in accordance with legislation and the Council’s Code of Conduct.      

 

If you require advice, please contact the appropriate Democratic Services Officer, prior to the meeting.

 

Minutes:

Councillor Clear made a personal statement in respect of reports HEP005 (Southern Parishes Sports Facilities) and HEP008 (Local Enforcement Plan) due to her role as Parish Councillor for Wickham, mentioned in the reports and their involvement in the draft of the Local Plan.

 

Councillor Griffiths declared a non pecuniary interest in respect of Item 5 (Climate Emergency Action Plan) due to being a temporary employee of Boomtown Festival Ltd.

 

Councillor Becker declared a non pecuniary interest in respect of Item 5 (Climate Emergency Action Plan) due to her employment as Government Legal Adviser for the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and also due to her husband’s employment as Lead Analyst for Shell New Energies. 

 

3.

Public Participation

To receive and note questions asked and statements made from members of the public on matters which fall within the remit of the Committee.

 

Minutes:

  At the invitation of the Chair, Jock Macdonald (WinACC), Phil Gagg and David Ball addressed the Committee in relation to Item 5 (Climate Emergency Action Plan) below. A summary of their comments are set out under the relevant minute below.

 

 

4.

To note the Work Programme for 2019/20 pdf icon PDF 276 KB

Minutes:

            RESOLVED:

                        That the Work Programme for 2019/20 be noted.

 

5.

Climate Emergency Action Plan - Presentation pdf icon PDF 2 MB

Minutes:

 

The Committee received a presentation from the Strategic Director: Services (Interim) and the Cabinet Member for Environment updating Members on progress regarding the Climate Emergency Action Plan and seeking comments from the Committee thereon. The presentation was available on the Council’s website.

 

The presentation provided an initial steer on the Action Plan which was due to be considered by Cabinet at its meeting on 11 December 2019 for amendment and review and focussed on the preparatory plan and questions raised to date.  The action plan was subsequent to the Council’s declaration made in June 2019, with the aim to achieve carbon neutrality as a Council by 2024 and as a District by 2030 which several authorities had also pledged their commitment to attaining.

 

During public participation, Jock Macdonald (representing WinACC), Phil Gagg and David Ball addressed the Committee on this matter. A summary of the points raised are set out below:

 

Jock Macdonald (representing WinACC):

 

-       Welcomed progress to date;

-       Supported the incentivise principles raised during the stakeholder engagement;

-       Suggested that the Council raise opposition in respect of two forthcoming projects in relation to motorways and the future growth of Southampton Airport;

-       Population increases would generate higher volumes of traffic and further increase emission levels going forward.

 

Phil Gagg

 

-       Acknowledged and welcomed the plan;

-       Considered that the challenges and targets referenced in the plan to be formidable and of a significant scale, although it was recognised that an impressive impact had been achieved over the last decade;

-       Suggested that the Council would need to take robust action on all other areas of emissions.

 

David Ball 

 

-       Action Plan was welcomed and targets ambitious;

-       Council and District targets – considered that the plan focussed on Council targets and that a separate plan for the District provided a clear way forward with District targets being harder to achieve;

-       Suggested that the plan and resulting emissions be independently reviewed and audited to enhance credibility;

-       Considered that the quantification of carbon emissions needed to be made clear;

-       Questioned how renewables in the District would also be quantified.

 

At the conclusion of public speaking, the Chair thanked those who addressed the Committee for attending to express their views on this matter.

 

The Strategic Director: Services (Interim) and relevant officers from the project board responded to Members’ questions and comments regarding the following:

 

·         The need for advice to householders on immediate and short term actions they can take was highlighted.

·         Events have been undertaken across the district as part of “Green Week” and this district wide focus will continue through the Action Plan.  ,

·         The Action Plan will address the role of schools engagement and consideration is being given to how partners can assist this (such as Marwell Zoo and Hampshire County Council (HCC);

·         It was reported that the Action Plan would be separated into actions to address Council emissions by 2024 and those to address district wide emissions by 2030;

·         Movement Strategy: The  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

6.

Southern Parishes Sports Facilities (HEP005) pdf icon PDF 230 KB

Minutes:

(Report HEP005 refers)

 

The Committee received a presentation from the Head of Programme and Cabinet Member for Sports, Leisure and Communities setting out the options for the provision of a four court sports hall in the Southern Parishes and future choices for the Meadowside Leisure Centre.  Comments were sought from the Committee ahead of a detailed report to be considered by Cabinet at its meeting on 11 December 2019.

 

The Head of Programme, Strategic Director: Services and Cabinet Member for Environment responded to Members questions and comments regarding the following:

 

·         Modelling had been carried out on the usage of Meadowside Leisure Centre as part of the districtwide Sports Hall assessment; and it was reported that the offices of Whiteley Town Council were located within this building.

·         An external consultant had been commissioned to investigate all practical options for a 4 court hall in the southern parishes available in this case, all of which were listed within the report.  However, Members were asked to put forward any further viable alternatives that they may be aware of for consideration.

·         A high level assessment was set out in the report in respect of the viability of the  options. It was reported that low carbon options would be challenging to achieve in the existing building and have significant financial implications for sports halls generally. However, as part of the council’s approach to dealing with the climate emergency  this would need to be set out in the project objectives and costed accordingly;

·         Discussions were in place with Whiteley Town Council regarding the possibility of them taking over the operation of the building, giving consideration to the cost implications of this;

·         Access agreements for use of the new North Whiteley community school were raised and it was noted that where investment had been made in the facility, planning permission would subject to the completion of a s106 legal agreement which would enable community use. The Head of Programme advised that he would explore this matter including when the new School might be provided and report back to Members of the Committee in due course; and

·         Concern was raised regarding the connectivity between the Southern Parishes and Whiteley due to existing traffic congestion issues and accessibility into Whiteley for other residents in this area of the District.

 

RESOLVED:

 

That the content of the report and presentation be noted and the Cabinet Member for Sports, Leisure and Communities have regard to the comments outlined above.

 

7.

Local Enforcement Plan (HEP008) pdf icon PDF 15 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

(Report HEP008 refers)

 

The Cabinet Member for Built Environment and Wellbeing introduced the report which set out a review of the existing Local Enforcement Plan and the work carried out to date, including Parish Council and Member engagement to ensure Enforcement priorities are understood and resourced to provide confidence in the Enforcement Service.  It was reported that the South Downs National Park Authority (SDNPA) have their own enforcement plan in place.

 

The Service Lead: Built Environment advised that a Parish Council event was proposed to take place on 19 November 2019 which would incorporate the feedback following this Committee and the Winchester Town Forum.

 

 The Service Lead: Built Environment and Cabinet Member for Built             Environment and Wellbeing responded to Members questions and comments          regarding the following:

 

·         That the balance and shaping of the flowchart be amended for ease of reference;

·         Clarification around timescales as to how the Council would address this matter;

·         Ward reporting to be embedded into the structure as well as being tagged into quarterly reporting.  This would enable Parish Council’s and Ward Members to be kept up to date as matters occurred; and

·         That the wording relating to the priorities be amended to clarify that the matters contained in Priority 1 were of a different nature (i.e. as a result of a criminal offence etc) and do not detract from any other priority listed

 

At the conclusion of debate, the Committee welcomed the report and recognised the importance of the document for use in day to day work processes and, subject to the amendments noted above, supported the new local enforcement plan being taken forward to a forthcoming event with Parish Council’s.

 

 

    RESOLVED:

 

That the report be endorsed, and that the Cabinet Member for Built Environment and Wellbeing have regard to the comments raised by the Committee, as set out above.

 

 

 

The meeting commenced at 6:30 pm and concluded at 8.45 pm.

 

 
Registering to speak at meetings of the council:

The information below relates to the majority of meetings of the council but please note that different rules do apply for registering to speak at meetings of Full Council, Licensing Sub Committees, Planning Committees, Open Forums, and the Standards Hearing and Human Resources Sub Committees and the Appointments Panel. Further information can be obtained using the contact details above.

Members of the public may speak at this meeting, provided they have registered to speak three working days in advance. Please contact Democratic Services via democracy@winchester.gov.uk or (01962) 848 264 to register to speak and for further details - which can also be found on the individual meeting agenda front sheets.

 

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