Agenda and minutes

Venue: Council Chamber - Guildhall, Bath. View directions

Contact: Michaela Gay  01225 394411

Media

Items
No. Item

24.

WELCOME AND INTRODUCTIONS

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Chair welcomed everyone to the meeting.

 

25.

EMERGENCY EVACUATION PROCEDURE

The Chair will draw attention to the emergency evacuation procedure.

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Chair drew attention to the emergency evacuation procedure.

 

26.

APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE AND SUBSTITUTIONS

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Councillors Karen Walker and Ryan Wills sent their apologies for the meeting.

27.

DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

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.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

There were none.

28.

TO ANNOUNCE ANY URGENT BUSINESS AGREED BY THE CHAIRMAN

Additional documents:

Minutes:

There was none.

29.

QUESTIONS, STATEMENTS AND PETITIONS FROM THE PUBLIC OR COUNCILLORS

The Democratic Services Officer will advise at the meeting.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Mr Tim Newark made a statement to the Panel on the subject of Gulls.

 

There were no factual questions.

 

Mr Robin Kerr made a statement to the Panel on the subject of Gulls.

 

There were no factual questions.

Mr Robin Kerr statement pdf icon PDF 105 KB

30.

MINUTES pdf icon PDF 314 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

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

31.

Renewables pdf icon PDF 571 KB

There will be an update and opportunity for Panel members to contribute to policy development on this item. There will be a presentation at the meeting, presentation slides are attached.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Chair invited Councillor Sarah Warren, Cabinet Member for Climate and Sustainable Travel, Jane Wildblood, Strategic Manager - Climate & Environmental Sustainability and Robin Spalding, Renewable Energy Programme Manager to give a presentation to the Panel which covered the following:

 

·  Renewable Energy Update – Introduction from Councillor Sarah Warren

·  Targets and Policy Context

·  Current Funding Opportunities

·  The Corporate Work Programme and Project Pipeline

·  The Council’s Corporate Estate

·  Corporate Project Pipeline

·  Corporate Pipeline Next Steps

·  The District Wide Challenge

·  The Role of Community Energy

·  Tackling the Challenges - Next Steps

·  Useful Reference Material

 

It was explained that this was a policy development item and officers and the Cabinet Member welcomed the Panel’s input and ideas on how to encourage more renewables.

 

Panel Members raised the following points and asked the following questions:

 

Councillor Dr Kumar asked how realistic the net zero aim was with so much challenge still outstanding. The officer acknowledged that there was a challenge but reported that there had been a real increase in the last two years. Also the outcome of discussions with commercial and public sector means that others will come online which will see a further increase. In response to a query regarding Bath University, the officer reported that her team works closely with the University, meeting with them regularly to look at opportunities for bids and projects and also to share expertise.

 

Councillor Crossley stated that the Council’s job was to show that the challenges are not undeliverable. He suggested some sites for solar and renewables such as private car parks and other landowners and also owners of large buildings such as churches. The officer explained that her team was focused on delivering in-house first (Council Estate buildings) and the next stage will be looking further afield – she agreed on the suggestion about roof spaces.

 

Councillor Bromley stated that local energy provision would give us more security. She also asked about community buy in – allowing people to buy shares. The officer stated that this was the model of Community Energy Projects. Councillor Singleton added that a minimum investment was £100.

 

Councillor O Brien noted the solar/renewable ideas with regard to rural areas but stated that she supported the idea of using roof space in Bath (warehouses, community centres etc) also there would be more people to invest.

Councillor Johnson noted that 4 solar projects had been delivered by the Council so far with 2 of the 4 Council schools included. He asked why it takes so long to deliver these projects. The Cabinet Member explained that it takes time to get the right officers in the right posts and to get the policy framework in place and also that technology is coming down in price. She explained that we can now start to move faster and that it is often about getting things in place at the right time, especially regarding schools. She added that the Pixash Lane development was a template.

 

Councillor O Brien asked about water (river) and wind power. The  ...  view the full minutes text for item 31.

32.

Gulls Strategy pdf icon PDF 296 KB

A report is attached. There will be a presentation at the meeting.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Chair invited Aled Williams, Environmental Protection Manager to introduce the item. The officer gave a presentation covering the following:

 

·  Gulls overview

·  Gulls Strategy and Action Plan

·  2022 Actions

 

Panel Members raised the following points and asked the following questions:

 

Councillor Crossley asked how we justify the support given to single households regarding Gulls. The officer explained that work would be carried out on a number of properties at the same time which shares the cost of equipment. There is a limited budget so we look at areas where we can make the best use of the resources we have often based on a demonstrable threat to public health or public safety.

 

Councillor Johnson asked how we will manage the increase in Gull numbers if the numbers have not been cut down by measures taken so far. The officer explained that Council’s are restricted by National Health England’s licensing regime. He explained that there is a section of society who disagree with any interference at all.

 

Councillor Dr Kumar asked what the numbers showed as a result of the counting in May. The officer explained that that had been a 4% increase. He explained that if Local Authorities and society wish to control these numbers, licensing changes would be needed which would require lobbying the Government/National Health England.

 

Councillor Hirst asked if there was a role for community volunteers and also asked if other ideas had been considered such as hawks. The officer explained that there were community champions such as the public speakers at the meeting today. He also explained that there has been a scrutiny day on the issues in the past looking at many ideas.

33.

Heritage Services Strategic Approach pdf icon PDF 3 MB

There will be a presentation on this item at the meeting. Presentation slides are attached.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Chair invited Robert Campbell, Head of Heritage Services to give a presentation to the Panel which covered the following:

 

·  Introduction/Business Context

·  Vision

·  Mission

·  Strategic Priorities

·  Overall outcomes

·  2021/22 Review

·  The Fashion Museum – Re-fashioning Bath

·  A National Treasure

·  The Situation

·  Inequality in BANES

·  City Centre Regeneration

·  Opportunity: Sustainability and Fashion

·  Our Vision

·  Fashion Collection Archive

·  The New Museum

·  Hubs for inclusive cultural engagement and levelling up

·  Current Status

·  Residents Discovery Card

·  Main Project Goals

·  Systems and the process of applying

·  Roll out

·  Key Benefits and Challenges

 

 

Panel Members raised the following points and asked the following questions:

 

Councillor O Brien asked about the reasons and process of moving out of the Assembly Rooms. The officer explained that the National Trust owned the building and was taking it back for business reasons – a National Trust immersive experience.

 

Councillor Dr Kumar asked where the items will be kept in the interim and also if the new building would be fully accessible. The officer explained that the items would be kept in Dents (A Heritage Glove maker based in Warminster). He further explained that the new building would be accessible, accessibility standards would be exceeded where possible.

 

Councillor Johnson praised the presentation and asked about how the strategy fed into the content of exhibitions – for example in the Victoria Art Gallery which did not have many contemporary artists. The officer explained that the quality of any exhibition is subjective but there will soon be a new senior curator and we will be looking at a new strategy including content of exhibitions.

 

Councillor Malloy asked about a visitor centre in Bath – information will be sent to Panel members on this.

34.

Cabinet Member update

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

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Councillor Sarah Warren, Cabinet Member for Climate and Sustainable Travel, gave the following update:

 

·  The Local Plan Partial Update (LPPU) is rolling through the phases and near completion, this will make bringing in renewables more straight forward.

·  A Climate and Biodiversity Festive was held last month.

·  Liveable Neighbourhoods – work is progressing. We are working through consultation and co-design with the community.

·  Active Travel schemes – successful bid for funding. There are new officers in post and work is progressing.

·  Regarding buses – not such good news. As of today there are new timetables and BANES has been let down by First Bus and WECA. We continue to campaign hard.

·  E-scooters – there has been geographical expansion, they can now be used to travel to the University.

 

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

 

Councillor O Brien asked how many Liveable Neighbourhoods would be on stream shortly. The Cabinet Member explained that there would be 3 pilots shortly and they would be working through the programme.

 

Councillor Bromley asked if the University is promoting use of E-scooters. The Cabinet Member stated that she believed there had been promotions.

35.

Panel Workplan pdf icon PDF 191 KB

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.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Panel noted the future workplan and noted that Mayor Dan Norris would be attending the November 2022 meeting.