Agenda and minutes

Venue: Council Chamber - Guildhall, Bath. View directions

Contact: Michaela Gay  01225 394411

Items
No. Item

42.

EMERGENCY EVACUATION PROCEDURE

The Chair will draw attention to the emergency evacuation procedure as set out under Note 6.

 

Minutes:

The Chairman drew attention to the emergency evacuation procedure.

 

43.

WELCOME AND INTRODUCTIONS

Minutes:

The Chairman welcomed everyone to the meeting.

 

44.

APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE AND SUBSTITUTIONS

Minutes:

Councillor Sue Craig gave apologies for the meeting.

45.

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.

Minutes:

There were none.

46.

TO ANNOUNCE ANY URGENT BUSINESS AGREED BY THE CHAIRMAN

Minutes:

There was none.

47.

ITEMS FROM THE PUBLIC OR COUNCILLORS - TO RECEIVE DEPUTATIONS, STATEMENTS, PETITIONS OR QUESTIONS RELATING TO THE BUSINESS OF THIS MEETING

At the time of publication no notifications had been received.

 

Minutes:

The Panel noted that a member of the public, Nicolette Boater, submitted a question regarding Climate Emergency (relating to item 8 on the agenda). The question and answer was circulated and is set out below:

 

Question:

In the absence of any reference of the B&NES Climate Emergency, Environment & Place Partnership (promised in Council’s 10.10.19 Climate Emergency Progress report) in either the 16.3.20 Climate Emergency Update report or associated Appendix 1, please can you advise what progress has been made to setting this up?

 

Answer:

We have set up the Climate Emergency Public Services Group and further work is underway on the wider B&NES partnership, of which this group is a key part.

 

48.

MINUTES - 20th January 2020 pdf icon PDF 111 KB

Minutes:

The Panel confirmed the minutes of the previous meeting (20th January 2020) as a true record and they were duly signed by the Chair.

49.

Climate Emergency Action Plan pdf icon PDF 104 KB

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

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Cabinet Member for Climate Emergency, Councillor Sarah Warren introduced the item. The Corporate and Community Sustainability Manager, Jane Wildblood, gave a presentation to the Panel which covered the following:

 

·  Action Plan Update

·  Corporate Strategy

·  Report – key actions update

·  Citizens engagement programme

·  Strategy and plan reviews

·  Recommendations

 

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

 

Councillor Born raised the following points. Officer and Cabinet Member responses are shown in italics.

 

·  Could retrofitting could be brought forward and maybe progressed from the draft guidance stage. The Cabinet Member for Housing, Planning and Economic Development explained that consultation on the development plan starts in November which is ten months away and quick in planning terms. The process must be followed.

 

·  The Parish Council tool kit is excellent, could it be adapted for Bath residents’ associations. The officer agreed that the tool kit could be adapted as suggested.

 

·  Could we produce some guidance for householders setting out practical steps. The officer explained that this is in hand and the guide will be similar to the ’50 things you can do’ guide which has been publicised in the press.

 

Councillor Hirst raised the following points. Officer responses are shown in italics.

 

·  Are there any quick wins as it can be useful to be able to point to practical steps we are taking. The officer explained that some things have been done already such as LED street lighting and the Civic Centre in Keynsham. Also, we are supporting Bath and West Community Energy. We have a small team compared to other local authorities so we will do our best with the resources we have.

·  Regarding the list of policies, can we create a timeline and do the policies come through this Panel for review or go to separate places. The officer explained that the Panel could look at the policies.

·  There is a deficit regarding the Bath Area Forum, we have to fill that void. We must keep working to engage the whole of BANES.

·  Supportive of a citizen’s jury regarding retrofitting.

 

Councillor Johnson raised the following points. Officer responses are shown in italics.

·  A task and finish group would be better than a single day event. Members could get more involved.

·  Could the Parish Council tool kits be adapted for businesses too. Sometimes businesses need a nudge.

·  The tool kit is available online but a lot of people still struggle to find things online, a lot of people will not prioritise this unless something is put in front of them. Councillor Warren, Cabinet Member for Climate Emergency explained that she working with the Communications department to review how information can be accessed so they could consider paper copies.

 

Councillor O Brien raised the following points:

 

·  Retrofitting should be the priority as that is where most carbon emissions come from. There is a company that provides low ratio loans for people to carry out the work needed, the Council could look into this too.

·  Solar panels can be problematic because of  ...  view the full minutes text for item 49.

50.

Waste Strategy 2020-2030 pdf icon PDF 116 KB

A report is attached. There will also be a verbal update at the meeting.

Minutes:

Pam Jones - Interim Project Manager, Environmental Services introduced the report. She explained that this is an early report on emerging themes and wanted to hear the Panel’s comments on compulsory recycling. She added that she had been working closely with the Corporate and Community Sustainability Manager.

 

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

 

Councillor Hirst raised the following points:

 

·  He has concerns around the closure of the Midland Road Site. It would not be appropriate to move it to Oddown due to the busy road.

·  Anxious about compulsory recycling as we are managing recycling well so would making it compulsory make enough of a difference?

·  Worried about vulnerable people – a draconian approach may cause stress. The nudge approach is better.

·  Excited about growing the reuse and repair group. They could drop in on ward meetings.

 

The officer explained that we have a 58% success rate regarding recycling, but we have run out of things to do to improve this. Around 20% of residents do not recycle. Making it compulsory might mean we can jump from 58% to 61%. This move would not be based around just fines, it would be mainly about education.

 

Councillor Bromley stated the current system for recycling in BANES is complex, maybe you could make the benefits of this system clearer and incentivise rather than punish.

 

Councillor Wood, Cabinet Member for Neighbourhood Services explained that some counter education is needed, some people believe the Council puts all the collected recycling into landfill. The officer explained that the Government 2023 Strategy will set out how Council’s should get rid of waste, we aligned with this already. We need to work on putting out the message that recycling is helping with the Climate Emergency agenda – the environmental benefits are the equivalent of taking cars of the road.

 

Councillor Johnson made the following points:

 

·  Recycling should be made compulsory and BANES should push to be the best authority on this.

·  Charges for garden waste may disincentivise people.

·  To what extent will the Council’s actions be superseded by the Government Waste and Recycling Strategy?

·  Can the Council act over people having fires in their garden?

 

The officer responded that the Council’s plans are aligned with the Government’s Strategy. There is a need to help support people to compost more waste. There is a proposal in the Strategy that garden waste should be made free. Councillor Crossley, Cabinet Member Community Services explained that he disagreed with this in that some people do not have gardens. He stated that he thought the community initiatives in the report such as street champions and volunteers was a good idea as local people might get a better response than Council advice. Councillor Crossley added that the Government should give Council’s the responsibility to pick up business recycling and litter and it should be made illegal to pack things with polystyrene.

 

Councillor O Brien stated (regarding the Waste Strategy) that there are a number of homes such as flats  ...  view the full minutes text for item 50.

51.

Panel Workplan pdf icon PDF 110 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.

Minutes:

The Panel noted the future workplan.

 

The Panel noted that any items suggested within the meeting would be considered at the Chairs and Vice Chairs meetings and also at the agenda planning meeting with the Chair of the Panel.