Agenda, decisions and minutes

To receive any Declarations and advise Members accordingly.

There were no declarations of interest. 

RESOLVED:

(a)    That the Forward Work Programme be approved;

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

(c)      That the Committee notes the progress made in completing the outstanding actions

FORWARD WORK PROGRAMME AND ACTION TRACKING (link to recording) 

The Overview & Scrutiny Facilitator presented the current Forward Work Programme consideration and gave an update on progress with actions from previous meetings.

It was requested that an item on the Synthite fire be added to the Forward Work Programme “The Facilitator explained that Emergency Planning matters were within the terms of reference of Corporate Resources Overview & Scrutiny Committee.  She agreed to ask the Democratic Services Manager if the item could be considered by that Committee and if so, members of the Environment and Economy Committee could be invited to attend the meeting”.

It was requested that meetings of the Streetscene Task & Finish Group be progressed.  The Streetscene Service Manager agreed to monitor.

RESOLVED:

(a)    That the Forward Work Programme be approved;

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

(c)      That the Committee notes the progress made in completing the outstanding actions

RESOLVED: 

That the Chief Officer for Planning, Environment and Economy, on behalf of Flintshire County Council, be given delegated authority to issue Closure Notices under section 76 of The Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 and authorise officers to enforce these powers in accordance with the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014.

ENFORCMENT OF CLOSURE NOTICES AND CLOSURE ORDERS UNDER THE ANTI-SOCIAL BEHAVIOUR, CRIME AND POLICING ACT 2014  (link to recording)  

The Chief Officer (Planning, Environment and Economy) introduced the report. The purpose of the report was to endorse the authority for the Chief Officer for Planning, Environment and Economy to be delegated to exercise the Council’s powers in relation to Closure Notices and Orders, under the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014.

The Community and Business Protection Manager and Trading Standards Investigations & Community Safety Manager reported on the key points as detailed in the report.

The following question was raised:  Are playgrounds, mobile shops,  and market stalls included?  The Trading Standards Investigations & Community Safety Manager agreed to look into this and advise the Committee.

The re commendation in the report was carried.

Councillor David Coggins Cogan asked that his vote against the recommendation be recorded.  

RESOLVED: 

That the Chief Officer for Planning, Environment and Economy, on behalf of Flintshire County Council, be given delegated authority to issue Closure Notices under section 76 of The Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 and authorise officers to enforce these powers in accordance with the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014.

RESOLVED 

That the Environment & Economy Overview & Scrutiny Committee notes the

actions of the Civil Parking and Environmental Enforcement team along with the data for these activities over a twelve-month period.

UPDATE ON THE WORKS OF THE ENFORCEMENT SERVICE  (link to recording)  

The Chief Officer (Streetscene and Transportation) presented a report

to provide an update on the work of the Enforcement Service.  The Regulatory Services Manager reported on the key points as detailed in the report. 

During consideration of the item the following actions arose:

• Councillor Richard Lloyd requested that better signage/enforcement be provided to stop vehicles being parked on street pavements

• Councillor Mike Peers referred to section 1.07 of the report and asked if data could be provided on the illegal burning of waste.  He also requested information on the performance data charts and asked how many cases were open and the progress being made.  The Chief Officer said that the information could be provided as part of an annual report on environmental crime enforcement data

• Discussion took place around the 5-minute grace period parking outside schools and it was said that this matter was being considered by the School Parking Task and Finish Group. It was requested that confirmation be sought that this was correct and if so that members of the Environment & Economy Overview & Scrutiny Committee receive an update on progress.

• The Regulatory Services Manager agreed to provide data on vacancies and sickness absence for the Enforcement Team to a future meeting of the Committee

• The Regulatory Services Manager agreed to provide an overview of data on the frequency/number of school visits to a future meeting of the Committee

• Councillor Bill Crease requested that HMO landlords to be encouraged to work with the Council to make arrangements to dispose of items to avoid the possibility of fly-tipping – The Chief Officer advised that an update report on trade waste would be submitted to the Committee in October and said that the suggestion could be considered as part of the item.

Councillor Mike Peers proposed that the word “performance” be removed from the recommendation in the report.   The Chief Officer agreed that in future, as part of an annual report, data on “open” cases, progress to date, and officer time, would be provided.   The amendment to the recommendation was carried.

RESOLVED 

That the Environment & Economy Overview & Scrutiny Committee notes the

actions of the Civil Parking and Environmental Enforcement team along with the data for these activities over a twelve-month period.

RESOLVED:

That the proposed development of Open Access Agreements as a tool to improve digital connectivity in Flintshire be supported.

OPEN ACCESS AGREEMENT WITH FRESHWAVE  (link to recording)   

The Chief Officer (Planning, Economy and Environment) introduced the report to seek approval to sign a non-exclusive Open Access Agreement with Freshwave Facilities Limited  

The Enterprise and Regeneration Manager provided background information and reported on the key considerations as detailed in the report.

The recommendation in the report was carried.

RESOLVED:

That the proposed development of Open Access Agreements as a tool to improve digital connectivity in Flintshire be supported.

RESOLVED:

That Members recognise the progress of work on the Investment Zone and

supports the Council to work with Wrexham County Borough Council and

the Corporate Joint Committee to work at risk through the required

Gateways outlined over the next six months, to secure the funding of

£160m over the next 10 years.

INVESTMENT ZONE FOR FLINTSHIRE AND WREXHAM (link to recording)

The Enterprise and Regeneration Manager introduced the report to update Members on the development of the Flintshire and Wrexham Investment Zone to date and seek approval for the next steps to take the programme through the joint UK / WG Gateway process.  He provided background information and advised that the report provided a summary of the Investment Zone programme and the progress made to date on its development in Flintshire and Wrexham. Whilst the announcement of a General Election created a degree of uncertainty to the process, development work on the Investment Zone has continued in readiness for further discussion with the two governments post-election. 

The Enterprise and Regeneration Manager reported on the key points as detailed in the report and the Gateway 1 submission document.

Councillor David Coggins-Cogan referred to the tax incentives/grants available to attract businesses to operate in the Investment Zone and asked that the tax arrangements of large multi-national companies be taken into consideration. 

RESOLVED:

That Members recognise the progress of work on the Investment Zone and

supports the Council to work with Wrexham County Borough Council and

the Corporate Joint Committee to work at risk through the required

Gateways outlined over the next six months, to secure the funding of

£160m over the next 10 years.

RESOLVED:

(a)      That  Scrutiny notes the outcomes of the modelling work undertaken on restricting the capacity of residual waste collections.

(b)      That Scrutiny does not support a transition to the most effective service delivery model of retaining a comprehensive weekly recycling collection service and reducing residual waste collections to once every four weeks while retaining the 180L black wheeled bin to realise maximum recycling performance increase, greenhouse gas emission reduction and cost reduction.

THE COUNCIL’S TRANSITION TO A RESTRICTED CAPACITY RESIDUAL WASTE COLLECTION MODEL (link to recording) 

The Chief Officer (Streetscene and Transportation) introduced the report to update Scrutiny on the outcome of the waste and recycling modelling work undertaken by the consultants appointed by WRAP Cymru with the purpose of maximising recycling performance, following the adoption of the Resource and Waste Strategy in March 2024.

The Regulatory Service Manager reported on the key points as detailed in the report.

Councillor David Richardson raised a concern around the use of the phrase “lack of appetite” in Section 3.05 of the report as he felt this could be interpreted to mean all Flintshire residents.  It was agreed that the wording in the report would be amended prior to the report going to Cabinet.

Councillor Allan Marshall requested that copies of the compositional analysis reports undertaken by Welsh Government agencies and the Council be sent to all Members for information.  The Regulatory Services Manager advised that the data for the analysis was compiled by WRAP Cymru and a request submitted to confirm that the information could be released.  The Chief Officer suggested that a meeting could be arranged to enable Officers to explain how the data was configured to Members. 

Councillor David Coggins-Cogan proposed that the recommendations in the report be amended as follows:

That Scrutiny notes the outcomes of the modelling work undertaken on restricting the capacity of residual waste collections.

That Scrutiny does not support a transition to the most effective service delivery model  of retaining a comprehensive weekly recycling collection service and reducing residual waste collections to once every four weeks while retaining the 180L black wheeled bin to realise maximum recycling performance increase, greenhouse gas emission reduction and cost reduction.

A recorded vote was requested.  When put to the vote the amendments were carried.

RESOLVED:

(a)      That  Scrutiny notes the outcomes of the modelling work undertaken on restricting the capacity of residual waste collections.

(b)      That Scrutiny does not support a transition to the most effective service delivery model of retaining a comprehensive weekly recycling collection service and reducing residual waste collections to once every four weeks while retaining the 180L black wheeled bin to realise maximum recycling performance increase, greenhouse gas emission reduction and cost reduction.

There was one member of the press in attendance.

(The meeting started at 10.00 a.m. and ended at 2.32 p.m.)