Agenda item

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 BANES is covered.

Councillor Johnson asked if the cuts to CCTV in recent years have impacted on the service. The officer explained that there would be a review of CCTV and this will hopefully meet the budget cycle for next year. She explained that there would be a Cabinet report on this in the Autumn. She added that there may be joint funding bids with the police.

In response to a question by Councillor MacFie, the officer explained that all CCTV cameras are working in Keynsham High Street. Councillor Rigby added that there are plans for a mobile CCTV units which could be moved to hotspots and events.

The Panel RESOLVED to note the report.