To receive from Members any declarations and the nature thereof in relation to:-

(a)    personal interests in any agenda item

(b)    personal and prejudicial interests in any agenda item

(c)     any political whip in relation to any agenda item.

To receive any announcements from the Chairman and any matters of communication.

The Chairman announced that, at the request of Councillor Aldis who had to leave early, he would be taking the Highways and Transportation Task Force Report earlier in the meeting, following the Requested Items at minute 31

To approve as a correct record the Minutes of the meeting of the Sustainable Communities Overview and Scrutiny Committee held on 13 September 2011 and to note actions taken since that meeting.

RESOLVED: That the Minutes of the meeting of the Sustainable Communities Overview and Scrutiny Committee held on 13 September 2011 be confirmed and signed by the Chairman as a correct record.

To receive petitions from members of the public in accordance with the Public Participation Procedure as set out in Annex 2 of Part A4 of the Constitution.

No petitions were received from members of the public in accordance with the Public Participation Procedure as set out in Part D2 of the Constitution.

To receive any questions, statements or deputations from members of the public in accordance with the Public Participation Procedure as set out in Annex 1 of part A4 of the Constitution.

The Chairman announced that no questions, statements or deputations from members of the public had been received in accordance with Public Participation Procedure as set out in Annex 1 of Part A4 of the Constitution.

To consider any decision of the Executive referred to this Committee for review  in accordance with Procedure Rule 10.10 of Part D2.  

No decisions of the Executive were called-in to be reviewed in accordance with the Call-in Procedure as set out in Part D2 of the Constitution.

To consider any items referred to the Committee at the request of a Member under Procedure Rule 3.1 of Part D2 of the Constitution.

No items were referred to the Committee for consideration at the request of a Member under Procedure Rule 3.1 of Part D2 of the Constitution.

To consider the final draft strategy and Waste Local Development Scheme prior to full public consultation amd submission to inspection.

The Executive Member for Sustainable Communities - Strategic Planning and Economic Development introduced a report on the following items:

• The Minerals and Core Waste Strategy;
• A revised Minerals and Waste Local Development Scheme; and
• The representations received from the Waste Core strategy consultation in 2010 and the Minerals Safeguarding Areas consultation in spring 2011 and the recommended responses to them.

• The Minerals and Core Waste Strategy would be reported to the Executive on 15 November 2011 for approval to go to public consultation.

Members asked the Executive to consider whether a single Waste Strategy should be produced in the future, following the one now being considered, rather than a joint strategy.  It was noted that there would be financial issues to be borne in mind when considering a single strategy.

It was noted that none of the Strategic Waste Management Sites identified in the Strategy Plan for Submission had been ruled out of consideration.

RECOMMENDATION TO THE EXECUTIVE: That consideration be given when the Waste Core Strategy is reviewed in 2013 as to whether a single Waste Strategy should be produced in the future.

RECOMMENDATIONS:

1.      That the representations received from the Waste Core Strategy consultation in 2010 and the Mineral Safeguarding Area consultation in spring 2011 and the recommended responses to them be noted.

2.      That the intended stages for the future progress of Minerals and Waste Core Strategy be noted.

3.      That the revised Minerals and Waste Local Development Scheme for submission to the Secretary of State be noted.

To receive the draft Local Economic Plann and receive a presentation.

The Assistant Director, Economic Growth, Skills and Regeneration presented a report on the draft Economic Development Plan, on which consultation had been launched on 30 June and closed on 30 September 2011.  There had been an extremely positive response to the consultation.  The final draft of the Plan would be informed by the consultation responses and would be taken to the Executive and full Council in November 2011 for approval.  An implementation plan will then be put in place.

The Assistant Director, Economic Growth, Skills and Regeneration drew attention to three economic development initiatives in the plan as examples of the action the Council was taking:

• Creating the conditions for economic growth – working towards the development of the A5-M1 link road, on which the public inquiry would start in 2012;
• Supporting residents into work and training through the European Social Fund (ESF).  Central Bedfordshire was one of very few local authorities which attracted co-finance from the ESF;
• Proactively engaging strategic local employers through a planned system of alerts to be able to offer them targeted support,

In answer to Members’ questions the Assistant Director, Economic Growth, Skills and Regeneration considered that Central Bedfordshire was well placed to attract companies wishing to relocate into the area and was not at a disadvantage against neighbouring districts, although in a competitive environment the Council would need to ensure this remained the case.  Officers were also working hard to get young people in Central Bedfordshire into employment and were seeking to engage with young people to prepare them for the workplace.

RECOMMENDATION: That the Executive be informed that the Overview and Scrutiny Committee welcomed and commended the report.

To consider the Sustainable Communities base budget review for 2012/13.

The Acting Director of Sustainable Communities presented the proposed 2012/13 Standstill Budget for Sustainable Communities following a review of the 2011/12 base budget.  The report presented a re-alignment of the base budget for 2011/12.  Two areas had materially influenced the base budget review and these were the cessation of the Bedfordshire  and Luton Casualty Reduction Partnership (BLCRP)  following the removal of the central Government grant in 2010/11 and recognition of the 2011/12 contract price uplifts for Waste Services, the budget having been held centrally in 2011/12.

In answer to a Member’s question it was noted that the residual money in the BLCRP would be used by the Police on the current speed cameras.

RECOMMENDATIONS:

That the following be noted:

1.      The proposed Standstill Budget for 2012/12 of £50,914k;

2.      A reduction in financial resources required compared to the August 2011 forecast outturn of £246k (forecast to budget comparison);

3.      A reduction of £298k compared to the approved budget of £51,212k (budget to budget comparison).

To highlight quarter 1 performance for the Susatainable Communities directorate.

The Executive Member for Sustainable Communities - Strategic Planning and Economic Development presented a report on the performance of the Sustainable Communities directorate during quarter 1 of 2011/12.  High performance continued to be delivered across a range of indicators.

Officers were asked to investigate why some of the performance information had not been scored, accepting that with low data returns this was not possible because information could be used to identify individuals.

RECOMMENDATION: That the report be noted.

To report the conclusions and recommendations of the Task Force on the “draft approach to parking”, the managing agency contract (MAC) with Amey and the draft approach to road and footway maintenance – “Approach to Delivering a Sustainable Highway Network”.

The Chairman of the Committee introduced the report of the Highways and Transportation Task Force, which had met five times between July and October 2011 to consider and make recommendations on:

• The Council’s draft “Approach to Parking”;
• The managing agency contract (MAC) with Amey LG; and
• The Council’s draft approach to road and footway maintenance – “Approach to Delivering a Sustainable Highway Network”.

It was noted that the Task Force, to inform their deliberations, had looked at the operation of residents’ parking zones (RPZs) in the Prince Regent area of Dunstable to test their concerns that RPZs were not an effective solution.  There had been a good response from the residents there to a survey, with 68% of residents either dissatisfied or very dissatisfied with RPZs, feeling that the scheme did not represent value for money and did not solve the problems of residents not being able to park near their own homes.  The Task Force had concluded that RPZs were not satisfactory and did not cover their own operating costs.  They recommended the use of controlled parking zones (CPZs) instead, although it was noted that small areas of RPZs could be created as part of those wider CPZs if they were considered appropriate.

The Task Force also looked at the managing agency contract with Amey LG and concluded that the contract operated well and offered good value for money.  Officers were asked, however, to remind Amey that where sub-contractors were used they should have the same quality standards as Amey themselves.

It was noted that the public needed to have confidence in  the enforcement of car parking issues and that this should be the case under the automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) system which would be in place shortly.

Members asked that the Executive be made aware of the condition of the highways asset in Central Bedfordshire, which was deteriorating and would not be repairable if maintenance was reduced.

A member referred to the need for car parking charges to be sensitive to encourage use of town centres.  It was noted that car parking charges were reviewed each year as part of the annual setting of fees and charges and such issues were considered at that time.

RECOMMENDATIONS TO THE EXECUTIVE:

1.      That the Overview and Scrutiny Committee endorses the following recommendations and comments of the Highways and Transportation Task Force for submission to the Executive in respect of the draft Approach to Parking:

i)       the draft Approach to Parking is supported as the basis for the development of parking services in Central Bedfordshire.

ii)      that controlled parking zones be used as a major measure for the management of car parking, provided that such zones are selectively introduced following proper evaluation and are sufficiently and adequately funded

iii)     that residents’ parking zones as such should not be used by the Council in the future as a parking control measure and that any further requests should be considered in the context of controlled parking  ...  view the full minutes text for item 36.

To consider details of the currently drafted Committee work programme and the executive Rorward Plan.

The Committee received a report from the Acting Director of Sustainable Communities on their latest draft work programme and the Executive Forward Plan for the period 1 October 2011 - 1 September 2012.

RESOLVED: That the report be noted.