Agenda and draft minutes

The Chair welcomed everyone to the meeting.

The Chair drew attention to the emergency evacuation procedure.

Councillor John Leach gave his apologies and was substituted by Councillor Duncan Hounsell.

Councillor June Player gave her apologies.

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 4.4 Appendix 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.

Councillor Collins informed the Panel that she is a member of Bath and West Community Energy which is mentioned in the item ‘Annual Climate and Nature Progress Report’. Following the Monitoring Officer’s advice, she will stay for the discussion on the item.

·  Councillor Duncan Hounsell made a statement regarding  the ‘WECA A4 Corridor Project’

·  Malcolm Baldwin regarding ‘Future Proofing our Tourist Economy Sector’

·  Ceris Humphries submitted a statement regarding ‘Street Strategy’ but could not attend the meeting.

All statements are attached to the minutes of the meeting.

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

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

The Chair explained that Councillor Paul Roper (Cabinet Member for Economic and Cultural Sustainable Development) and Councillor Oli Henman (Cabinet Project Lead for Climate Emergency and Sustainable Travel) were at the meeting to present items and could answer any relevant questions when their item is discussed.

Councillor Paul Roper (Cabinet Member for Economic and Cultural Sustainable Development) introduced the report. He explained that the paper sets out the issues on this policy development item. The Cabinet Member asked for the Panel members views.

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

Councillor Johnson asked whether ‘zoning’ (eg Food Quarter) in Bath may impact other areas of the city. He stated that Bath is not easily quartered and asked how this will work. The Cabinet Member explained that this was not just for Bath but other towns. There will be work with the regeneration team, ‘zone’ is a buzz word.

Councillor Heijltjes stated that the paper is focused on retail and events rather than footways and highways etc. She explained that Bristol and many other Council’s have a ‘kerbside strategy’ which covers many things. The Cabinet Member stated that he would pass this comment on. Councillor Heijltjes explained the ‘Lambeth Strategy’ which sets out how people use the kerbside (not just vehicles) for things such as tree planting and EV (Electric Vehicle) charging.

Councillor Box stated that she is a rural Councillor and that this strategy is more for the towns. She asked what enforcement there will be (in terms of licenses). The Cabinet Member stated that enforcement does need to be considered, there are currently 3 environmental health enforcement officers. The officer explained that since Covid, enforcement officers have been permissive to help businesses but there must be a line. Councillor Box asked that consideration be give to people with disabilities.

Councillor Collins noted that the paper gave an outline idea of the strategy. She asked that the impact on businesses be considered as there are places in Bath with vibrant mini highstreets and outside tables and chairs add to this. The Cabinet Member stated that he would pass these comments on.

Councillor Johnson agreed that there should not be anything too restrictive to allow for vibrant streets. He asked about strategies for buskers and also how enforcement would work when this is very stretched. The Cabinet Member acknowledged that there is a tension and agreed that enforcement has to be part of this. He acknowledged that enforcement is an issue in rural towns. He explained that Bath (BID)  Marshalls can be considered.

Councillor David stated that the desire to introduce more markets is a good idea especially local and neighbourhood markets. She asked about the environmental impact of the strategy eg. The effect of patio heaters. The Cabinet Member explained that the Regeneration Team are looking at the environment of the city in terms of the street scene and looking to improve urban landscapes. The issue is with the funding.

Councillor Wait stated that the strategy is for the whole of BANES. He stated that he would like to see more markets and events for Keynsham High Street and asked that the organisation of this be made as straight forward as possible eg. Road closures. He stated that High Streets  ...  view the full minutes text for item 95.

Councillor Oli Henman (Cabinet Project Lead for Climate Emergency and Sustainable Travel) gave a presentation which covered the following:

·  Clear Ambition for Climate and Nature

·  First Joint Annual Progress Report

·  Where are we now: BANES Council

·  Highlights: Climate

·  Highlights: Nature

·  Highlights: Place-based Green Infrastructure

·  Next Steps

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

Councillor Johnson asked about decarbonising Council operations and how much of the electricity decrease was a result of direct changes made by the Council and how much was down to the national picture. The Cabinet Project Lead stated that he understood it was a mixture of both. He stated that he would check this and see if it is possible in the future to separate these statistics.

Councillor Heijltjes asked about timescales and deadlines that were shown in the original action plan. She asked about progress on the Ecological Action Plan and asked about risk assessments in terms of not achieving core priorities. The Cabinet Project Lead explained that the report shows the ambition for 2030. He said that it was a challenging picture and that there had not been the level of investment that was desired. A lot depends on the national picture. He added that the Annex show the original aims and progress.

Councillor Box ask the following questions, the Cabinet Project Lead answers are shown in italics:

·  Can public health be shown in terms of air quality. Councillor Box requested a written response regarding how many potential lives have been saved by clean air strategies. She commended the intervention. The Cabinet Project Lead agreed that this was a good idea and explained that the map on the website shows each air quality monitor. He agreed that this is linked with public health.

·  Suggestion of practical support for farmers and landowners with regard to biodiversity in hedgerows. Maybe a campaign/training. The Cabinet Project Lead agreed with this approach.

·  The school transport fleet is very old, this could be de carbonised. The Cabinet Project Lead agreed to take this comment back.

Councillor David ask the following questions, the Cabinet Project Lead answers are shown in italics:

·  It is good to see information on the ecological quality of parks and green spaces, a number of interventions have benefited from funding. The funding needs to be sustained. The Cabinet Project Lead agreed that community partnerships are a good way to give people ownership. We need to build on those.

·  The Corporate landlord model offers opportunities to improve nature – hopefully this includes parks and green spaces. This point will be taken back.

·  It is good to see a level of detail regarding rivers and glad to see the issue of sunken boats being gradually addressed. Plea to allow continued funding for this in the budget process. There are different responsibilities regarding rivers – the process with sunken boats has begun, there are currently 6 sunken boats in Bath.

Councillor Collins ask the following questions, the Cabinet Project Lead answers are shown in italics:

·  Green  ...  view the full minutes text for item 96.

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 that future workplan and that the November meeting would consider:

Vision Zero Transport

Housing Plan

(possible Waste Recycling provision)

Future items include: Active Travel and Movement Strategy

Panel members suggested future items on: Air pollution and Homelessness Strategy Update