Agenda item

(a)       That the report be endorsed;

(b)       That the Cabinet Member and officers be invited to take away the comments and provide responses; and

(c)       That the comments/observations of the Committee are fed back to the Corporate Resources Overview & Scrutiny Committee who are responsible for the overview and monitoring of performance.

The Committee received a report to note and consider the 2013/14 Year End service performance report produced under the adopted business model of the Council.  The responsible officers each gave a short presentation on performance, outlining work which had been undertaken to improve performance and areas where improvement was needed, as outlined within the report.

Public Protection

Councillor Paul Shotton welcomed the appointment of two additional Environmental Crime Officers and intelligence on dog fouling received from members of the public, but felt that more could be done on education.  He noted the significant increase in fixed penalty notices issued during 2013/14 and asked about the ‘Doggy Do’ presentations at schools.  The Interim Public Protection Manager confirmed that presentations at local schools were part of the long-term strategy to help educate pupils to encourage their parents on responsible dog ownership.

On work to tackle domestic violence, the Chair said that a DVD highlighting this issue had been well received at a meeting of the Housing Overview & Scrutiny Committee and gave her view that appropriate discussion on this topic should take place in schools to raise awareness about behaviour from a young age.  The Interim Public Protection Manager replied that the ‘Cat’s Paw Theatre’ company were delivering an annual presentation to high schools and that this had been well received last year.

The Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Environment reminded Members that the Council was the first in Wales to sign up to the White Ribbon campaign to tackle domestic violence and that a Cabinet Member from each Authority would be appointed as an ambassador.

Clarification was sought by Councillor David Evans on fly tipping on private land, particularly rented properties.  The Chief Officer (Organisational Change) agreed to follow this up with the Chief Officer (Streetscene and Transportation) but said that communication channels should be in place to ensure that any fly tipping identified by Council officers was appropriately reported to engage with relevant outside bodies.

The Chief Officer (Planning & Environment) advised that the Council had legislative powers to serve Section 215 Notices to owners of untidy land.  The Chair felt that all Members should be made aware of this.

The Interim Public Protection Manager agreed to provide separate clarification on a query from Councillor Ray Hughes on whether action could be taken if incriminating evidence was found on fly tipping on private land.

Councillor Carolyn Thomas pointed out that the increase in fixed penalty notices issues related to litter as well as dog fouling, and that it was important to enforce both.

In response to queries raised by Councillor Haydn Bateman, the Interim Public Protection Manager expanded on work undertaken by the Substance Misuse Co-ordinator to tackle discarded needles and the partnership between the Council and P&A Mold.

Following a question from Councillor Cindy Hinds, it was noted that the Community Safety team included an anti-social behaviour officer who worked in partnership with Police and other agencies.  Alternatively, the Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Environment said that Members could report any specific issues to the Interim Public Protection Manager to pass on to the Neighbourhood Wardens who were able to collect evidence whilst on patrol.

Regeneration

Councillor Shotton welcomed the significant increase in new jobs created within the Deeside Enterprise Zone (DEZ), praised the Dragon’s Den project and requested an update on funding for Phase 2 of the North Wales Advanced Manufacturing Skills & Technology Project.  Having only recently taken responsibility for Regeneration within her new portfolio, the Chief Officer (Community & Enterprise) was aware from recent discussions that the second phase had been commissioned and that locations were under consideration.  The Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Environment advised that an announcement on funding was expected shortly and it was hoped that Flintshire would be successful in securing the Centre.

Councillor Thomas pointed out that reference made in the report to the Flintshire Enterprise Project and Community Key Fund had not indicated the partnership working with Cadwyn Clwyd.  She went on to mention the availability of funding from Cadwyn Clwyd for innovation projects.

In response to a question from Councillor Mike Reece, the Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Environment agreed to clarify the availability of grant funding for businesses (eg  cafes, public houses, etc) where toilet facilities were available to the public.

Assets & Transportation

Councillor Nancy Matthews asked if a report on the Flood Alleviation Scheme could be submitted to a future meeting.  The Member Engagement Manager would relay this to the Facilitator who had arranged a workshop in September 2014 for Members to populate the Committee’s Forward Work Programme.

As a point of accuracy, under the Highways Policy and Strategy work update in the report, Councillor Evans pointed out that the main roundabout was in Queensferry and not Shotton.

In response to concerns raised by Councillor Shotton about slippage on work to the Deeside Corridor, the Chief Officer (Organisational Change) stated that mechanisms were in place within the contract to deal with this.  The Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Environment was aware of these concerns but gave assurances that he was involved in progressing the matter.

Whilst Councillor Colin Legg recognised the financial constraints on transport contracts, he raised concerns at the withdrawal of bus services on Halkyn Mountain which had not been publicised.  The Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Environment said that withdrawal of commercial services required 56 days’ notice but agreed to follow up this query.

On the introduction of 20mph speed limits outside schools, the Chief Officer (Organisational Change) explained that this would only apply to those currently at 30mph.  Schools with a higher speed limit would need to reduce to 30mph before they could be brought into line with 20mph.  Responding to comments on dangerous cycling routes, he said that the national cycle network was mapped and that a well-defined local cycle network was in place where user judgement could assess safety levels.  This was being further developed with the introduction of schemes such as a route from Sandycroft to Airbus.

Councillor Veronica Gay pointed out that the bus timetable on the Council’s website did not allow for a user to search for a route by inputting the start point and destination.  She asked what steps could be taken to prevent cyclists from travelling on the pavements and incidents of dangerous parking adjacent to a junction within her ward.  The Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member said that these may not be issues for the Council.  The Chief Officer (Organisational Change) felt that the junction may lie outside the Flintshire boundary but agreed to discuss outside the meeting.

Streetscene

The Chair questioned why the relevant officer was not available to present this section of the report.  The Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Environment said that due to leave taken by the Chief Officer (Streetscene and Transportation) and the absence of his stand-in officer, he would take questions and provide a separate explanation to the Committee on the absences.  The Chair requested that her extreme disappointment be noted.

In response to a question from Councillor Matthews, it was confirmed that the design of the Household Recycling Centres (HRC) enabled users to access facilities without the need to climb steps.

Following a question from Councillor Bateman, the Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Environment explained that a hand-held sweeping device was being trialled to collect small items of litter, which it was hoped would be rolled out across all town centres.

Councillor Gay raised concerns at the potential for fly tipping as the Sandycroft HRC site did not allow for trade waste.  Following confirmation that trade waste could be taken to the sites in Mold and Greenfield, Councillor Bateman advised of alternative trade waste recycling facilities available in Sandycroft.

Councillor Ian Dunbar welcomed the Cabinet decision to move the portable toilet facilities from Connah’s Quay to Talacre and said that facilities available in the Connah’s Quay Flintshire Connects office may encourage greater use of the library.

Planning

The Chair referred to the enforcement statistics and questioned whether sufficient progress was being made.  The Chief Officer (Planning & Environment) explained that the performance measured the percentage of enforcement cases resolved within 12 weeks which may not necessarily have been achieved through prosecution, as often the threat of doing so was enough to reach a satisfactory resolution.  The Chair requested that a breakdown of the 77.85% of resolved cases be provided to the Committee, indicating the nature of these issues to distinguish between minor and significant matters.

Councillor Shotton offered his congratulations to the Planning team for their hard work on major developments such as the Northern Gateway and Broughton Park cinema complex.  He also commented on the informative training on planning issues which would benefit all Members.  The Chief Officer (Planning & Environment) said that all Members were invited to the Planning training sessions and that suggestions on any particular areas of development were welcomed.

Also on Planning training, Councillor Evans said it would be helpful for some training sessions to be scheduled outside the working day.  When asked about progress on the Coastal Improvement Programme, he was advised that proposals were likely to be submitted to Cabinet in the Autumn.

Councillor Dolphin spoke about an arrangement previously in place for the Enforcement team to report to Town and Community Councils any issues within their wards and felt that it would be helpful for this to continue with updates on progress.  The Chief Officer (Planning & Environment) said that the usual practice was for local Members to be informed of issues in their wards.  The Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Environment offered to pursue a response for the Committee on the arrangement in place.

Councillor Dunbar thanked officers for the work which had taken place at Wepre Park.

RESOLVED:

(a)       That the report be endorsed;

(b)       That the Cabinet Member and officers be invited to take away the comments and provide responses; and

(c)       That the comments/observations of the Committee are fed back to the Corporate Resources Overview & Scrutiny Committee who are responsible for the overview and monitoring of performance.