Agenda item
Cabinet Member update
The Cabinet Member(s) will update the Panel on any relevant issues. Panel members may ask questions.
Minutes:
Councillor David Dixon, Cabinet Member for Neighbourhoods addressed the Panel.
Food Waste Recycling – In May the Council will commence this service in flats and schools.
Solar Compactors – A further 30 of these receptacles will be distributed across Bath and Keynsham. He added that only 5% of what was inside the compactors now went to landfill.
Allotments – He informed them that the overall waiting list for plots was down and that within the south of Bath there were some empty plots that were vacant.
Bereavement Services – He explained that a figure of £100,000 had been allocated in the budget to provide a café at Haycombe Cemetery. He wished to now inform the Panel that due to the relocation of some members of staff, their former offices would now be used to provide this service at a much reduced cost.
River Safety – He said that he had been in discussions with the Canals & River Trust regarding the ladders that are in place along the river. He explained that they are not official safety ladders and that he has asked the Trust to report back on how many need to be put in place and how much this would cost. He also said that discussions were on-going with regard to placing safety messages on life buoys along the river.
Councillor Douglas Nicol suggested that some form of scramble netting might be a better idea to be put in place as finding a single ladder could prove to be quite difficult.
The Chair asked where the allocated funds for the café at Haycombe Cemetery would now be spent.
Councillor Dixon replied that any remaining funds would go back into the central budget.
Councillor Lisa Brett asked if he’d received any negative feedback relating to the solar compactors from the public with regard to touching their handles.
Councillor Dixon replied that he did not feel that the public saw this as a problem. He added that litter on the street had reduced greatly since their installation and informed the Panel that every time a compactor was emptied the handle was cleaned thoroughly.
Councillor Liz Richardson asked if the Council had considered placing a message on the compactors to highlight the amount of recycling that they enable.
Councillor Dixon replied that messages and branding would be placed on them in the future following good discussions with the supplier.
Councillor Liz Richardson asked if they all needed to be that large.
Councillor Dixon replied that the current model needed to be that size to house the solar panel required to compact the refuse inside. He added that a slim-line version has been discussed with the supplier.
Councillor Douglas Nicol commented that he had noticed that a rather large amount of cigarette ends were being deposited in a particular area of the Bath Bus Station which he attributed to the bus drivers.
Councillor Dixon replied that he would pursue that matter with the appropriate officers.
Councillor Caroline Roberts, Cabinet Member for Transport addressed the Panel.
She reported that the consultants had completed their part of the work relating to the Bath Transport Strategy and that this would now be shared with the Transport Commission and presented to the Local Development Framework (LDF) Steering Group at a meeting on March 27th and the Bath City Conference on April 30th.
She added that she hoped the strategy would be in place in time to support the work of the Enterprise Area and the Placemaking Plan.
She commented on how well the public event relating to Saltford Station had been attended. She acknowledged that the proposal does have its challenges, citing cost and access as just two examples.
She stated that a new footway was to be put in place in Lower Borough Walls in association with the Business Improvement District (BID).
She said that the Council was working in partnership with other local authorities on the issue of flooding. She explained that the Bath – Bristol cycle path had now been drained and that the A431 Kelston Road would be closed for the next six months due to its current instability.
She added that the B3110 Midford Road was partially reopened during Saturday lunchtime (1.3.14) with one lane in operation and that a specialist was already designing the solution to stabilise the bank using soil nailing and mesh.
Councillor Liz Richardson asked if there was a programme in place with regard to bridge inspection following the recent bad weather.
Councillor Roberts replied that she would consult the Divisional Director for Environmental Services on the matter.
Councillor Lisa Brett asked what the budget consequences were for the Council regarding the recent flood and road problems.
Councillor Roberts replied that she believed the Council was doing the best it could and putting resources where they were needed most. She added that they would look to gather funds from the proposed £100m plan to combat flooding.
Councillor Lisa Brett asked for a report on this matter to be brought back to a future meeting of the Panel.
The Chair asked for the draft of the Bath Transport Strategy to be presented to Panel at its meeting on May 6th.
Councillor Roberts replied that a copy of the draft strategy would be sent to all political groups prior to this time and that she would attend all group meetings if requested to.
The Chair thanked the Cabinet Members for their updates and attendance.