Agenda and minutes

Councillor Ian Gilchrist was present as a substitute for Councillor Douglas Nicol who had sent his apologies to the Panel.

At this point in the meeting declarations of interest are received from Members in any of the agenda items under consideration at the meeting. Members are asked to indicate:

(a) The agenda item number in which they have an interest to declare.

(b) The nature of their interest.

(c) Whether their interest is a disclosable pecuniary interest or an other interest,  (as defined in Part 2, A and B of the Code of Conduct and Rules for Registration of Interests)

Any Member who needs to clarify any matters relating to the declaration of interests is recommended to seek advice from the Council’s Monitoring Officer before the meeting to expedite dealing with the item during the meeting.

Tim Williamson has given notice of his wish to address the Panel on the matter of gaining planning permission for the external insulation of walls of houses in Bath.

Pat Dawson has given notice of her wish to address the Panel on the matter of the proposed closure of some of the Council’s public toilets.

Mr Tim Williamson addressed the Panel. A copy of the statement can be found on the Panel’s Minute Book, a summary is set out below.

  The Need

·  In B&NES 41% of CO2 emissions are from our houses

·  Most of the heat in a house leaks through the walls.

·  More so in solid walled houses (50%)

·  69% of our houses in Widcombe are solid wall. 

·  Therefore wall insulation – internal or external is required

The problem of planning permission

·  1/3 of Widcombe residents report planning was a barrier.

·  I applied: after several attempts have finally got planning permission. 

·  Required to submit: Scaled drawings of elevations 1:50 or 1:100 – both as exists and also as proposed with external insulation?!

·  A Design and Access Statement = Landscaping? / Paths? Roads?

·  Agricultural Land Declaration!

This planning process is for house extensions – not for wall cladding

Householders will be put off.  Also cost = £200

Proposed Solution and question

National Planning policy framework

·  128 In determining applications... The level of detail should be proportionate ……and no more than is sufficient to understand the potential impact.

·  199. Local planning authorities should consider Local Development Orders to relax planning …… in particular where this would promote economic, social or environmental gains,  …… and should consider …. the use of conditions or planning obligations (203).

I now ask the Committee to request the Planning Department to answer:

Can a Local Development Order be developed to make it easier for householders to get permission for external insulation? 

e.g. PERMITTED DEVELOPMENT for the side and rear walls using the same colour as exists.

The Chairman thanked him for his statement and asked that it be passed to the Planning Department so that they may prepare a response.

Mr Sean Dixon addressed the Panel on behalf of Mr David Redgewell. A copy of the statement can be found on the Panel’s Minute Book, a summary is set out below.

Greater Bristol and South West transport groups welcome Network

Rail’s proposals for four tracks between Lawrence Hill and Filton Abbey Wood which will double capacity on both the InterCity lines to the North and West of Bristol as well as the Greater Bristol Metro routes to Clifton Down, Avonmouth, Severn Beach, Henbury, Yate/Gloucester/Cheltenham, Newport/Cardiff, Weston/Taunton and Portishead and hopefully eventually to Thornbury.

The reopening of passenger services on the Portishead line including a new spur to Portishead and new stations at Portishead and Pill constitutes Phase One of the Metro project. Phase Two (fundable between 2019 and 2023) includes a reopened passenger service from Bristol Temple Meads to Henbury and Avonmouth via Filton Abbey Wood.

He also stated the need for proper ramp provision within all railway stations.

Finally, he wished to notify the Panel that a number of bus stops in the north of Bath were without timetables and called for this to be rectified.

The Chairman thanked him for his statement.

Cllr Judith Chubb-Whittle, Chair of Stanton Drew Parish Council addressed  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

The Cabinet Member(s) will update the Panel on any relevant issues. Panel members may ask questions.

Councillor Caroline Roberts, Cabinet Member for Transport addressed the Panel. She first of all wished to offer her congratulations to the Street Lighting team for winning a street design award for their work on introducing LED lights across the Council. She added that a number of authorities were now looking to do something similar.

She informed the Panel that a Transport Strategy was being developed alongside plans for the Core Strategy and the Placemaking Plan.

She spoke of how the Council had applied for a Better Bus Area Grant and how 100 bus shelters had now been replaced across the area as part of the Bath Transport Package.

She stated that arrangements were already being made to make sure that enough Snow & Grit Wardens were in place for the coming winter.

She informed them that a 10 journey Park & Ride smartcard was now available to purchase.

Councillor Ian Gilchrist commented that he had not yet received a response to the petition relating to the inclusion of Widcombe Hill in the proposed 20mph zone.

Councillor Caroline Roberts replied that she would seek advice as to whether it could be included as part of the consultation process.

Councillor David Martin suggested that the consultation on the proposed 20mph zone for Bathwick takes place at the same time as the one for Widcombe.

Councillor Les Kew asked how much did the implementation of the LED street lights cost and how much did the Council hope to save as part of the project.

Councillor Caroline Roberts replied that implementation costs were £1m and that £200,000 a year was projected to be saved.

Councillor Les Kew asked if there was any update on the plans for the extension of the Newbridge Park & Ride.

Councillor Caroline Roberts replied that the plan relating to this was ready to be submitted.

Councillor Tim Ball, Cabinet Member for Homes and Planning addressed the Panel. He informed them that a meeting was due to take place on 17^th September with the Core Strategy Inspector to discuss the unmet housing need of Bristol & South Gloucestershire. He added that the Council had already advised him that they would only take part in a review concerning B&NES.

He announced that the Placemaking Plan was due to be launched on 24^th July.

He spoke of plans to hold a Developers Conference in the early part of 2014 to encourage the building of homes within B&NES. He added that it would be an opportunity for Councillors to meet with developers and build momentum for the area.

The Panel has requested an update following on from a previous report in January 2013 regarding actions being taken to mitigate the impacts of urban gulls in Bath and North East Somerset.

The Neighbourhood Environment Manager and Environmental Protection Manager gave a presentation to the Panel regarding this item. A copy of the presentation can be found on the Panel’s Minute Book, a summary is set out below.

The Neighbourhood Environment Manager explained that the department had recently undertaken a publicity campaign relating to gulls, had reviewed their web pages and produced a leaflet regarding urban gulls. As a result of this she was pleased to announce that the web pages had seen a substantial increase in hits.

Egg replacement service

8 buildings in City Centre used the service

21 nests were found

42 eggs were replaced

The Neighbourhood Environment Manager spoke of how they working on ways to encourage more businesses to take up the service.

Bird free gel

The gel is being trialled by a number of Councils with the aim of deterring the gulls from using buildings to nest on. The gel deceives the gulls into thinking the building is too hot to land upon or on fire and therefore they do not settle upon it. It has been used on the roof of the Roman Baths Kitchen and the feedback so far has been fairly positive.

Commercial Waste enforcement

The Environmental Protection Manager reported the following figures:

157 warning letters

48 waste receptacles warning letters

15 Fixed Penalty Notices

3 ‘straight to’ prosecutions

He stressed how important it was for waste to be contained properly and to be put out for collection at the appropriate time.

Domestic Waste enforcement

The Environmental Protection Manager explained how the department were targeting ‘hot spots’ and had issued approximately 60 letters to residents.

Feeding gulls

The Environmental Protection Manager spoke of the need to challenge members of the public who are blatantly feeding gulls and to consider littering offences if it was in the public interest.

Gull proof sacks

The Neighbourhood Environment Manager informed the Panel that the sacks had been currently issued to 2000 households and that 400 more bags, over 20 streets were to be issued in September 2013.

Solar compacting bins

The Neighbourhood Environment Manager stated that 55 of the bins had now installed and that they were much better at containing waste. She added that B&NES is the best performing Council in terms of efficiency with around 89% of bins being emptied when they reach the ‘amber’ level.

Kirsten Elliott addressed the Panel. A copy of her statement can be found on the Panel’s Minute Book, a summary is set out below.

She wished to propose the idea of a Gull Conference. She outlined the possible schedule for a one day conference / public meeting to seek a solution to the gull problem.

She asked the Council to provide a room, a small fund to pay speakers (if necessary), and refreshments. She stated that she was happy to organise the event at no charge as she was a concerned resident who wants to do the best for the City in which she lives.

She added that she  ...  view the full minutes text for item 9.

The current Medium Term Service & Resource Plan includes a £120k savings target from 2014/15 on the public toilets budget.  This briefing note describes the work being undertaken to achieve the savings, by transferring responsibility to other organisations or closures, and improvements to the remaining toilets and service offer through an external contract.

The Waste Management Officer introduced this item to the Panel. She explained that the agreed Medium Term Service & Resource Plan includes a £120k savings target from 2014/15 on the public toilets budget. 

Procurement for external contract:

The external contract (15 years plus 5 year extension) will include investment by the contractor in the 12 prioritised toilets to improve and modernise facilities, such as automatic doors, anti-abuse mechanisms and equipment, easy-clean surfaces, water and electricity minimisation, and including entry charging for income to off-set against running costs, plus full management, cleansing, coin collection/handling, utility charges, responsive and planned repairs and maintenance. The outcome of the procurement process is close to being finalised.

The Chairman asked what would happen to the remaining sites if no alternative provision is found.

The Divisional Director for Environmental Services replied that the sites would still have to close even if no alternative provision was found. He added that the exceptions to this were the ones located in Weston High Street as agreed at Full Council which must have an alternative before closing and the ones in Larkhall that will now remain open until at least next April, while ward councillors and officers try to find an alternative facility.

He added that when any public toilets were closed the Council would attempt to sell the site.

Councillor David Martin asked when the external contractor would begin to run the prioritised sites and if the Council would be involved in setting the charges for the use of the facilities.

The Waste Management Officer replied that they were likely to be running the sites from October 2013 and yes the Council would be involved in setting the charges.

Councillor David Martin asked if charges were to be applied to the facilities within Southgate.

The Waste Management Officer replied that she was not aware of any such proposal.

Councillor Patrick Anketell-Jones asked if a site that was due to be closed could be sold off commercially with a provision of one multi use toilet to be retained.

The Divisional Director for Environmental Services replied that he was in talks with Property Services on this very matter to see if the Council can agree a mixed-use commercial arrangement for the buildings, which included a toilet for the public to use.

Councillor Geoff Ward commented that he felt it was a bizarre decision for a city with the stature of Bath to take. He stated that the Council should be doing all it could to keep our public independently minded and suggested the savings be made elsewhere.

The Chairman thanked the officers for the update and asked that the Panel continue to be kept informed on the matter.

The Service Manager for Highways & Parking will give the Panel a presentation on this matter.

Sylvia Green, Bath Cycling Club addressed the Panel, a copy of her statement is available of the Panel’s Minute Book, a summary is set out below.

She spoke of how she was a long term resident of Widcombe and knew the area very well. She said that she was aware that the Widcombe Association had for many years been working towards the closure of Widcombe Parade to through traffic in order to improve the experience of residents, but she felt that the discussions and tentative plans thus far would not achieve that aim for all users.

She stated that Bath Cycling Club is concerned over the lack of thinking about the needs of cyclists and would like to see a proper professional consultation before the plans were finalised. She added that of particular concern is the westward route from Pulteney Road as it is very problematic. If Rossiter Road becomes two way it will be very narrow and therefore dangerous for cyclists in both directions.

She suggested that the existing cycle lane be retained in its current direction as a contra-flow cycle lane through Widcombe Parade to solve the problem. She added that in a contra-flow lane the cyclist can see well in advance what is coming, can make eye contact with the driver and anticipate what action to take. She said that this proposal would also entail the minimum amount of building works to implement and therefore hoped it could be incorporated into the final plans.

Roger Houghton addressed the Panel, a copy of his statement is available of the Panel’s Minute Book, a summary is set out below.

He said that it was difficult to comment on the current proposal for Rossiter Road as since the scheme was approved at Cabinet last July all discussion had subsequently been held in private with no opportunity for public participation. He said he would therefore like to make a more general criticism, about how in B&NES such schemes continue to be treated as traffic management rather than urban design issues.

He commented that in Bath the project had been handled largely by Highways, with a traffic-led solution based on modelling (modelling which has a less than perfect record for accurate prediction). Halcrow was employed as a consultant — an organisation whose expertise lies more in engineering than in urban design and even understood that Highways had insisted that the Rossiter Road scheme be designed to a 40 mph standard, despite being a 30 mph road.

He said that in Ashford, by contrast, a multi-disciplinary team had been led by renowned urban design company Whitelaw Turkington. Bristol-based Ben Hamilton Baillie provided advice on shared space (regrettably I'm told that B&NES's Highways officers have fallen out with Hamilton Baillie and his ideas). The decision was taken to adopt shared space as the fundamental design philosophy.

He said that for Widcombe, having waited 30 years for a solution to its traffic problems the temptation is to argue that anything must  ...  view the full minutes text for item 11.

The Team Leader for Traffic and Safety introduced this item to the Panel.

He explained that B&NES maintains a record of all accidents involving injury which are reported to the Police. It is a legal requirement for accidents involving injury to be reported to the Police, however, it is accepted that some accidents go unreported, especially those involving a single vehicle. Collision – only accidents, which involve no injury, are not reported, therefore no records of collision-only accidents are held.

He commented that fatal accidents are thankfully very rare in B&NES, however 6 occur on average every year. They normally occur at random locations, and a large proportion is due to errors on the part of the casualty. Should more than one fatal accident occur in the same location, the local road network will be investigated and improvements made if required.

Headline Data

Over the period 2005 – 2012, all casualties in B&NES has dropped from 705 to 437, a reduction of 38%

KSIs have dropped from 71 to 33 (54%)

Slights have dropped from 634 to 404 (36%)

Highways Agency Roads

B&NES casualty figures include those occurring on Highways Agency Roads, even though the Council has no jurisdiction over these roads. On average, 34 casualties per year (7% of the B&NES total) occur on HA roads, split equally between the A36 and A46. The HA’s local agent Atkins-Skanska, are responsible for addressing accident problems on the Trunk Road network. They are currently investigating accident clusters at Hartley Bends on the A46, and the Branch Road/A36 junction at Hinton Charterhouse.

The Team Leader for Traffic and Safety introduced Viki Horvath and Ton Hummel who were present on behalf of Atkins-Skanska.

Viki Horvath stated that it was part of their role to analyse and monitor the data received regarding the road network. She said that the main problem associated with the Hartley Bends were cars travelling at excessive speed as it was not feasible to drive through the bends at 50mph. She added that speed activated signs had been introduced in the area and that they were considering further bend warning signs and chevrons.

The Chairman welcomed their attendance at the meeting and for having this information available to the public. She asked if further information on incidents involving pedestrians and an incident breakdown over the last three years could be sent to the Panel.

The Team Leader for Traffic and Safety said that he would provide the Panel with that information.

Councillor Liz Richardson asked if they received details of all accidents that take place. She also suggested that the Panel receive a breakdown of rural / urban incidents.

The Team Leader for Traffic and Safety replied that he was aware of an element of under reporting of incidents involving single vehicles as well as cyclists. He added that they received information from the Police only when injuries occurred.

Viki Horvath commented that the Highways Agency plans to look at the section of the A36  ...  view the full minutes text for item 12.

This report presents the latest workplan for the Panel.

The Chairman introduced this item to the Panel. She proposed no changes to the September agenda at this stage and suggested that reports relating to Rossiter Road and Urban Gulls be added to the agenda for the November 2013 meeting.

The Panel agreed with these proposals.