Agenda, decisions and minutes

Venue: Delyn Committee Room, County Hall, Mold CH7 6NA

Contact: Maureen Potter 01352 702322 

Items
No. Item

1.

Appointment of Chair

At the Annual Meeting, Council resolved that the New Independent Group should nominate the Chair of the Committee.  The Committee is requested to formally appoint the duly nominated Chair.

Decision:

That Councillor Ray Hughes be confirmed as the Chair of the Committee.

 

Minutes:

The Environment Overview & Scrutiny Facilitator advised that it had been confirmed at the Annual Meeting of the County Council that the Chair of the Committee should come from the New Independent Group.  As Councillor Ray Hughes had been appointed to this role by the Group, the Committee was asked to endorse the decision.

 

RESOLVED:

 

That Councillor Ray Hughes be confirmed as the Chair of the Committee.

 

2.

Appointment of Vice-Chair

To appoint a Vice-Chair for the Committee

Decision:

That Councillor David Evans be appointed Vice-Chair of the Committee.

Minutes:

 

Councillor Dave Hughes nominated  Councillor David Evans as Vice-Chair of the Committee and this was seconded by Councillor Sean Bibby.

 

On being put to the vote Councillor David Evans was appointed Vice-Chair of the Committee.

 

RESOLVED:

 

That Councillor David Evans be appointed Vice-Chair of the Committee.

3.

Declarations of Interest (Including Whipping Declarations)

To receive any Declarations and advise Members accordingly.

Minutes:

None were received.

 

4.

Minutes pdf icon PDF 74 KB

To confirm as a correct record the minutes of the meeting on 17 April 2018.

Decision:

That the minutes be approved as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

 

Minutes:

The minutes of the meeting held on 17 April 2018  were submitted.

 

RESOLVED:

 

That the minutes be approved as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

 

5.

Environmental Enforcement in Flintshire pdf icon PDF 98 KB

Additional documents:

Decision:

(a)       That the report be noted; and

(b)       That option 3, to extend the in-house provision, through recruitment or regional   working to provide the same level of enforcement coverage as the existing       contractor without maintaining a zero tolerance approach be recommended to    the Cabinet for consideration.   

 

Minutes:

Councillor Carolyn Thomas introduced a report to provide details of the Environmental Enforcement activities undertaken by the Council’s Enforcement Team and Kingdom Securities Limited on behalf of the Council.  She invited the Chief Officer (Streetscene and Transportation) to present the report.

 

The Chief Officer advised that the report outlined the approach to all environmental enforcement issues including littering, fly-tipping, and side waste enforcement, and the impact this work was having on street cleanliness and other performance indicators.  He referred to the Environmental Enforcement Policy which was adopted by the Council in 2013 and stated its approach to all aspects of

environmental enforcement.  The Chief Officer reported on the main considerations, as detailed in the report concerning littering offences, dog-fouling, side waste, fly-tipping, fly-tipping on private land, and abandoned cars. 

 

The Chief Officer introduced Mark Mountford, Regional Business Manager, and Eoin Henney, Business Manager, Kingdom Securities Limited, and invited them to give a presentation on the environmental enforcement activities undertaken on behalf of the Council.  The presentation covered the following main points:

 

·         patrol strategy

·         total Fixed Penalty Notices (FPN’s) issued

·         offences 2016-17 and 2017-18

·         make/female ratio and age banding 2016-18

·         Ethnicity percentages 2016-18

·         Fixed Penalty Notice (FPN) locations

·         behaviour change

 

The Chief Officer advised that the current arrangement with Kingdom Securities Limited was coming to an end and reported on the options, as detailed in the report, which were available for low level environmental enforcement within the County for recommendation to Cabinet.

 

The Chairman thanked Mark Mountford and Eion Henney for their presentation and invited Members to raise questions.

 

Councillor David Evans commented on the number of FPN’s issued for cigarettes in comparison to those for other offences, citing dog fouling as an example.  He expressed concerns that some areas were being specifically targeted to catch people who smoked cigarettes.  Referring to the options available for a future operating model, Councillor Evans expressed a preference to extend the Council’s in-house provision through recruitment to provide the same level of coverage as provided by Kingdom Securities Limited.

 

Councillor Bernie Attridge commented  on the cost and visual impact of littering on the environment and advised that Kingdom Securities Limited were introduced in 2016 to support the enforcement of environmental crime and the in-house enforcement team.  He commented on the improvements which had been achieved in town centres in terms of street cleanliness which supported the impact of a zero tolerance approach and the continued presence of enforcement officers.  He also advised that there had been an improvement in Flintshire’s grading in the Keep Wales Tidy rankings table.  Councillor Attridge commented on the small number of complaints received in comparison to the number of FPN’s issued and gave an assurance that all complaints were investigated and if any evidence of wrong practice was identified would be dealt with robustly. Councillor Attridge added that Flintshire had adopted an independent appeals process as requested by the Environment Overview and Scrutiny Committee whereby appeals were considered by the Chief Officer, Governance.

 

Councillor Haydn Bateman asked  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

presentation pdf icon PDF 283 KB

6.

Repairing Potholes and Preparing the Annual Carriageway Resurfacing Programme pdf icon PDF 91 KB

Additional documents:

Decision:

That the report be noted

 

Minutes:

The Highway Network Manager introduced a report to outline the approach to defect identification and provide details on capital expenditure and investment levels relating to the highway network, the cost benefit of temporary pot holes repairs and the reasoning behind the need for repeated repairs on some road surfaces due to the same pot holes reappearing.  He advised that the report also provided details of the proposed carriageway resurfacing programmes for 2018/19.

 

                        The Highway Network Manager provided background information and reported on the main considerations, as detailed in the report. 

 

The Chief Officer commented on the level of Capital investment required to maintain the condition of the carriageways at the current state. He referred to the Authority’s allocation of Welsh Government funding for road maintenance schemes together with the Council’s capital allocation which needed to be carefully allocated to provide maximum benefits.  He advised that all roads were surveyed to develop programmes for resurfacing which were shown in the  appendix to the report. 

 

Councillor Vicky Perfect asked why there were only two parking points for electronic cars in the County.   The Chief Officer advised that a strategy was being developed and it was agreed that an item on this subject would be included on the Forward Work Programme for future consideration by the Committee.

 

Members thanked the Chief Officer (Streetscene and Transportation) and his team for the maintenance of the highway network during periods of severe winter weather. 

 

RESOLVED:

 

That the report be noted

 

7.

Year-end Council Plan 2017/18 Monitoring Report pdf icon PDF 150 KB

Additional documents:

Decision:

That the report be noted.

 

Minutes:

The Chief Officer (Planning, Environment and Economy) introduced the Year-end Council Plan Monitoring Report 2017/18.  He explained that the report presented the monitoring of progress for the Council Plan priority ‘Green Council’ which was relevant to the Committee.

 

The Chief Officer  provided background information and advised that the monitoring report for the 2017/18 Council Plan was a positive report, with 83% of activities being assessed as making good progress, and 74% having achieved the desired outcome.  Performance Indicators showed good progress with 56% meeting or near to period target.  Risks were also being successfully managed with the majority being assessed as moderate (63%), minor (8%), or insignificant (6%). 

 

            The Chief Officer advised that there were no performance indicators which showed a red status for current performance against target for the Committee.  He reported on the following major risks which had been identified and explained that progress against the risks in the Council Plan was included in the appendix to the report.

 

Priority Green Council

Risk:  Funding will not be secured for priority flood alleviation schemes.

Risk:   Adverse weather conditions on the highway network.

 

During discussion the Chief Officer responded to the questions raised concerning school transport, recycling of general waste, and local flooding due to the increased  development of land for residential purposes. 

 

RESOLVED:

 

That the report be noted.

 

8.

Forward Work Programme (Environment) pdf icon PDF 72 KB

Additional documents:

Decision:

(a)       That the Forward Work Programme be amended; and

 

(b)       That the Facilitator, in consultation with the Chair of the Committee be authorise to vary the Forward Work Programme between meetings as the need arises.

 

 

Minutes:

The Environment Overview & Scrutiny Facilitator presented the Forward Work Programme for consideration.  She advised that an additional meeting of the Committee had been agreed and would be held on 12 July. 

 

            Following a suggestion from Councillor Vicky Perfect it was agreed that an additional item would be included on the Programme to consider the charging points at points of interest for electronic cars.

           

RESOLVED:

 

 

(a)       That the Forward Work Programme be amended; and

 

(b)       That the Facilitator, in consultation with the Chair of the Committee be authorise to vary the Forward Work Programme between meetings as the need arises.

 

 

9.

Members of the Press and Public in Attendance

Minutes:

There was one member of the press and seven members of the public in attendance.