Agenda and minutes

The Chair welcomed everyone to the meeting.

The Chairman drew attention to the emergency evacuation procedure.

Apologies from Councillor Lisa O Brien who was substituted by Councillor Paul May.

Apologies from Councillor Shelley Bromley who was substituted by Councillor Duncan Hounsell

Apologies from Councillor Paul Crossley who was substituted by Councillor Sarah Moore

Apologies from Councillor Ryan Wills who was substituted by Councillor Hal MacFie

Apologies from Councillor Joel Hirst who was substituted by Councillor Rob Appleyard

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 Officeror a member of his staff before the meeting to expedite dealing with the item during the meeting.

There were none.

There was none.

The Panel will be updated at the meeting on statements submitted.

Sylvia Sinclair made a statement on High Common/Approach Golf Course Procurement Process. A copy of the statement is attached to the minutes.

The Panel agreed to refer the statement to the relevant Cabinet Member – Councillor Sarah Warren.

Councillor Joanna Wright made a statement regarding Cleveland Bridge. A copy of the statement is attached to the minutes.

Note: this statement was referred from the Corporate Panel meeting on 9^th May 2022.

The Panel agreed to refer the statement to the relevant Cabinet Member – Councillor Manda Rigby.

Note: Statements are now included on an action list to follow up with the relevant cabinet member.

The Panel confirmed the minutes of the previous meeting as a true record and they were duly signed by the Chair.

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

Councillor Sarah Warren, Cabinet Member for Climate Emergency and Sustainability sent an update to the Panel on her portfolio areas. The update is attached to these minutes.

Lynda Deane – Head of Service, City & Town Centre Management introduced the report.

Councillor Manda Rigby, Cabinet Member for Transport, thanked Lynda and her team for the huge amount of work done including that for the public enquiry. She noted that the authority was praised for its proportionate response and it’s consultation.

Panel members made the following points and asked the following questions:

Councillor Appleyard asked the following questions. Officer response shown in italics:

·  Do we co-operate with other utilities for ‘planned’ work? Yes we work with the utilities to programme work as best we can.

·  Is there a note on the type of access that was needed for Blue Badge holders during the manned entry period? I can let you know the number. There have been no complaints and a couple of emails of thanks from Blue Badge holders.

Councillor May asked about the times of operation and safety implications after 6pm. The officer explained that times of operation are planned (in consultation with the police) when the streets are most crowded. Safety has to be balanced with access. This is part of the layered approach to prevent terrorism.

Councillor May asked if TRO’s allow flexibility. The officer responded that if the threat level increases, the TRO allows us to respond accordingly, and this would be based on police advice. The terror level has only reached critical twice (for a short time) in the last few years.

Councillor Walker asked if the video entry management system allowed cars out of the area after 10am. The officer explained that if a car is parked in the area at that time, CCTV or marshals will contact parking services and eventually the police. Yes, you can get out.

Councillor Rigby (Cabinet Member for Transport) added that, now other traffic is banned, parking for Blue Badge holders is easier.

Councillor Johnson asked if Blue Badge holders’ access would be stopped if the threat level was raised to critical. The officer explained that a decision would be made at the time, in line with police advice.

Councillor Johnson asked if the barriers are left open outside of hours. The officer explained that at the moment this is manually operated, and emergency vehicles get through automatically.

Councillor Dr Kumar asked if there would be any changes if the threat level changed as the report is six years old. The officer explained that the report referred to was that by the National Association Counter Terrorism Office (2016) and that the threat level remains the same as when the report was written. She added that the police would not be actively working with us on this if they felt there was no need for protection.

The officer introduced the second part of the report and explained Protect Duty and Martin’s Law. She explained the proposal to set up a BANES Protect and Prepare Board.

Councillor May agreed that we should prepare and asked if this covered all areas of BANES. The officer explained that the whole of  ...  view the full minutes text for item 9.

Kate Hobson, Project Development and Delivery Manager, introduced the report

Panel members made the following points and asked the following questions:

Councillor Appleyard asked about the plans for the volume of vehicles likely at the recycling hub. The officer explained that a sustainable staff travel plan was a condition of the planning permission.

In response to a question from Councillor Appleyard, the officer explained that there would be solar panels on as much of the roof space as possible.

Councillor Appleyard asked about the potential for a mini hub on the East side of Bath. The officer explained that much work has gone into finding sites in Bath and the Oddown area is the most deliverable site.

Councillor May asked if the black bags taken to Avonmouth would be reduced. The officer explained that if there is increased recycling – this would usually come from black bags but there will still be unrecyclable materials. She explained that there will not be a treatment plant at Pixash Lane. The officer confirmed that Midland Road Recycling Centre would not be shutting.

Councillor May asked about the possibility of electric dustcarts. The officer explained that the technology is developing.

Councillor Johnson stated that it was a fantastic project. He asked about reduction to landfill and if this has led to a higher level of waste being recovered ie incinerated. He asked if there should be targets to increase recycling as the next step to reduce waste going to recovery and stated that this project should support that move. The officer explained that a Waste Strategy report will be published soon which will contain targets.

Councillor Johnson asked about the look of recycling banks in the Heritage setting. The officer explained that the visual impact is part of the consideration. The officer stated that she would get back to Councillor Johnson about HHO systems. She explained that Pixash Lane was being future proofed with appropriate ducting and charging points.

Councillor Malloy stated that she was pleased to see that recycling for plastic wrappers and film was being investigated. She asked if community engagement with schools was carried out. The officer explained that this was organised by the Waste Strategy team. She added that when a new service, such as films and wrapper recycling, was introduced, there would be a public campaign.

The Panel RESOLVED to note the report.

Cathryn Brown, Team Manager Clean Air Zone, introduced the item and gave a presentation which covered the following:

·  What was the CAZ designed to achieve?

·  Our achievements in the first year

·  Monitoring of potential traffic displacement

·  How revenue from the zone is spent

·  Government’s view of performance in 2021

·  Next Steps…

Panel members made the following points and asked the following questions:

Councillor Johnson asked about delivery hubs/e-cargo deliveries. The officer explained that it is hoped that the pilot will develop into a sustainable system.

Councillor Appleyard stated that this was a challenging project and he recognised the work done on it. He asked about next steps and about people being educated in terms of gradually replacing cars. The officer agreed that it would be great to evolve the scheme but not yet sure how it would look. She added that every opportunity is taken to talk to people about the use of cars and whether journeys are necessary. The team is supporting the Liveable Neighbourhoods Projects and beginning to spread our knowledge and learning in terms of behaviour change.

Councillor Appleyard asked about surpluses – he stated that the pain has been felt in the local area so hoped any surpluses would be spent in the local area. The officer explained that surpluses must be reinvested in transport schemes, some of which will be local. She confirmed that the surplus will benefit local schemes.

In response to a question from Councillor May, the officer explained that the figures show the average NO2 levels, it is hoped that the figures continue to come down and the team are focussing on particular areas.

Councillor May asked about targets for 2030/35. The officer stated that there are discussions about local targets to demonstrate the Council’s commitment to go further.

Councillor Appleyard asked about areas of concern and also about areas outside of Bath such as Keynsham High Street. The officer explained areas of concern are Wells Road, Walcot Parade and Dorchester Street. She added that areas across the whole of BANES are included in monitoring, Keynsham is part of an Air Quality Management area as well as Temple Cloud and Farrington Gurney. Councillor Walker stated that Ward Councillors can request to have their area monitored.

Councillor Hounsell stated that the presentation was excellent, thorough, and clear.

The Panel RESOLVED to note the presentation and report.

This report presents the latest workplan for the Panel. Any suggestions for further items or amendments to the current programme will be logged and scheduled in consultation with the Panel’s Chair and supporting senior officers.

The Panel noted the future work plan.