Agenda and minutes

To receive any apologies for absence from Members.

Apologies were received from Cllr B Dion and Cllr S Gabriel.

Apologies were also received from Portfolio Holders, Cllr M Greene and Cllr K Rampton.

To receive information on any changes in the membership of the Committee.

Note – When a member of a Committee is unable to attend a meeting of a Committee or Sub-Committee, the relevant Political Group Leader (or their nominated representative) may, by notice to the Monitoring Officer (or their nominated representative) prior to the meeting, appoint a substitute member from within the same Political Group. The contact details on the front of this agenda should be used for notifications. 

Cllr D Borthwick substituted for Cllr S Gabriel and Cllr N Decent filled the Conservative Group vacancy for this meeting.

Councillors are requested to declare any interests on items included in this agenda. Please refer to the workflow on the preceding page for guidance.

Declarations received will be reported at the meeting.

There were no declarations of interest.

To confirm and sign as a correct record the minutes of the meetings held on 31 January 2022.

The minutes of the meetings held on 31 January 2022 were confirmed as an accurate record.

To note and comment on the attached action sheet which tracks decisions, actions and recommendations from previous meetings.

The Chairman provided the following updates on the Action Sheet:

·       Minute 146 – Item on Play in BCP now added to the Forward Plan. Action completed and removed from action sheet.

·       Minute 153 – BCP Surface Water runoff and sewerage overflows. Action added for Portfolio Holder to provide feedback to O&S Board following his meeting with MPs.

·        Minute 162 – Chairman has agreed to add flytipping to the Forward Plan, date to be agreed in consultation with Vice Chair.

To receive any public questions, statements or petitions submitted in accordance with the Constitution, which is available to view at the following link:

https://democracy.bcpcouncil.gov.uk/ieListMeetings.aspx?CommitteeID=151&Info=1&bcr=1

The deadline for the submission of a public question is 4 clear working days before the meeting.

The deadline for the submission of a statement is midday the working day before the meeting.

The deadline for the submission of a petition is 10 working days before the meeting.

There were no public questions, statements or petitions for this meeting.

To consider the Local Transport Plan Capital Programme 2022/23 report scheduled for Cabinet consideration on 9 March 2022:

The O&S Board is asked to scrutinise and comment on the report and if required make recommendations or observations as appropriate.

Cabinet member invited to attend for this item: Councillor Mike Greene, Portfolio Holder for Sustainability and Transport.

The Cabinet report for this item is included with the agenda for consideration by the Overview and Scrutiny Board.

The Service Director, Transport and Engineering, presented a report, a copy of which had been circulated to each member of the Board and a copy of which appears as Appendix 'A' to these minutes in the Minute Book.

The Service Director and the Transport Improvement Manager addressed points raised by the Board. Many of these related to concerns around ward councillors and local residents accessing information regarding highway works/maintenance programmes, including:

·       The report listed structural maintenance works but did not include other works such as road markings/white linings. It was explained that there was a separate, funded programme in place for this type of maintenance within the Neighbourhood Services budget. Members were encouraged to report areas of concern in their wards.

·       When would a list of roads for highway maintenance for 2022/23 be available to inform councillors and residents of works in their area? It was explained that this information would be included on the website but did not form part of this strategic report. Works were identified and prioritised using criteria to assess the condition of the roads.

·       There was an initial list of roads for 2022/23 and the Board was advised of some of the planned resurfacing works. It was noted that as well as the LTP budget there were other sources of funding available through Government schemes. 

·       A Board member queried the process for selecting and agreeing the list of roads and asked about the consequences of losing Band 3 status. It was confirmed that to satisfy the incentive requirements for Band 3 the Council was required to publish a three-year rolling programme of highways maintenance. The three year figures were included in the report’s appendices and the Council was currently in a good position.

·       It would be helpful if the road listings included the ward, particularly as there were often roads with the same name in different areas of BCP.

·       Some Board members expressed concern at the state of road markings and white lines in some areas of BCP. These markings were particularly important for pedestrians and cyclists.

·       There were mixed views on the effectiveness of the reporting system. Some Board members expressed frustration at the lack of response received. A Board member questioned the efficiency of the process for ranking and undertaking white lining. It was explained that works were assessed and prioritised chiefly on safety grounds and within finite resources, with those of highest safety priority dealt with first, based on information from the Neighbourhood Services inspection team and the public reporting system.

·       A Board member asked if there was a list of roads scheduled for white lining and if this could be circulated. The Board was advised that this would have to be followed up with the Director of Environment.

Other issues raised included:

·       A Board member asked about the funding for bus facilities referred to in Appendix A. It was explained that this funding supported the continuation of works to provide infrastructure for safer journeys, including raised kerbs, shelters and real  ...  view the full minutes text for item 169.

To consider the Development of the Throop Nature Park (Hicks SANG) report scheduled for Cabinet consideration on 9 March 2022:

The O&S Board is asked to scrutinise and comment on the report and if required make recommendations or observations as appropriate.

Cabinet member invited to attend for this item: Councillor Mark Anderson, Portfolio Holder for Environment and Place.

The Cabinet report for this item is included with the agenda for consideration by the Overview and Scrutiny Board.

The Portfolio Holder for Environment and Place presented a report, a copy of which had been circulated to each member of the Board and a copy of which appears as Appendix 'B' to these minutes in the Minute Book. The Portfolio Holder and the Strategic Lead, Greenspace and Conservation, addressed a number of points raised by the Board including:

·       Why was it appropriate to call the proposal a nature park when the planning consent was for a SANG (Suitable Alternative Natural Greenspace)? The term ‘nature park’ implied something different and may increase concerns for local residents. The Board was advised that ‘SANG’ was a technical term which did not mean very much to the public. There were similar examples where the term ‘nature park’ had been applied and its use here reflected the Council’s aspirations for the site.

·       Board members asked why the £100k of CIL resources referenced in recommendation (iii) was needed, particularly when SANGs were meant to require less maintenance. The £100k sum would rise with inflation and was needed per annum for 80 years and there were concerns that this may reduce the amount of resource available for other sites? It was explained that the £100k was needed for the maintenance of the site, including car park improvements, electric vehicle charging and ecology surveys. The Board was assured that parks maintenance was not resourced from CIL. The heathland mitigation contribution came as result of new housing development and was ringfenced for the purpose of delivering the SANG.

·       Board members asked whether the new ranger to manage this site was a dedicated, full-time post as implied in the report. It was explained that the new ranger would also be supporting other SANGs and heathland projects in BCP. Members felt this should be made clear in the report, to reassure local residents and avoid any misunderstanding about the nature of the project. It was noted that the highest risk assessed was the negative views of stakeholders/local residents.

·       Why was £618k needed for implementation when the land was already owned by the Council? An approximate breakdown of costs was provided, including contingency figures and project fees. A Board member challenged these figures and questioned why these costs were not included in the report for transparency.

·       A Board member asked whether the £100k of CIL resources in recommendation (iii) was exclusively from the heathland mitigation element. The Portfolio Holder confirmed that it was and gave an undertaking to amend the Cabinet recommendation to reflect this.

·       It was noted that the Equalities Impact Assessment accepted that the lack of toilets and lighting would impact on the ability to use the open space.

·       It was confirmed that the site had a dual use as pasture and water meadow depending on seasonal conditions.

·       It was confirmed that although the site would remain open all hours, the opening times for the car park were conditioned in the planning consent to avoid issues such as anti-social behaviour.

·       A Board member felt the rebranding  ...  view the full minutes text for item 170.

To consider an update from the Portfolio Holder for Tourism and Active Health on the development of the BCP Seafront Strategy.

The Portfolio Holder for Tourism and Active Health provided a verbal update on the progress of the BCP Seafront Strategy. He explained that the report to O&S Board and Cabinet had been rescheduled for their respective April meetings to allow sufficient time for the explanatory narrative accompanying the strategy to be completed. He provided a brief summary of what the Strategy would contain and reminded the Board that all members had been invited to a seminar on 1 March, to learn about the strategy in more detail and provide feedback.

The Chairman thanked the Portfolio Holder and apologised for any misunderstanding regarding the content of the update.

To consider the above report scheduled for Cabinet consideration on 9 March 2022.

The O&S Board is asked to scrutinise and comment on the report and if required make recommendations or observations as appropriate.

Cabinet member invited to attend for this item: Councillor Karen Rampton, Portfolio Holder for People and Homes and Councillor Hazel Allen, Lead Member for Homelessness

The Cabinet report for this item is included with the agenda for consideration by the Overview and Scrutiny Board.

The Lead Member for Homelessness presented a report, a copy of which had been circulated to each member of the Board and a copy of which appears as Appendix 'C' to these minutes in the Minute Book.

As the appendix to the report was deemed to contain exempt information the Board had a discussion on whether or not it was necessary to exclude the press and public when this part of the report was discussed and agreed the following resolution by a majority vote:

RESOLVED that under Section 100 (A)(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public be excluded from the meeting for the following items of business on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraph 3 in Part I of Schedule 12A of the Act and that the public interest in withholding the information outweighs such interest in disclosing the information.

Paragraph 3 = Information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person (including the authority holding that information)

The Lead Member and officers responded to questions and comments from the Board on the issues raised in the exempt appendix, in particular the different options being put forward to Cabinet for consideration.

At the end of the debate the Board agreed a recommendation to be submitted to the Cabinet meeting on 9 March 2022 when this report would be considered. The Board discussed whether the recommendation could be made public.  As the recommendation related to issues of commercial sensitivity within the exempt appendix the majority of the Board agreed that the recommendation should also remain exempt.

To consider and amend the Board’s Forward Plan as appropriate and to consider the published Cabinet Forward Plan.

The Chairman outlined the Board’s Current Forward Plan and invited comments from members.

·       Transformation Update, 4 April 2022 – It was suggested that it would be helpful to be given specific examples of how processes will change to make things more efficient. The Chairman asked members to let him know any additional issues they wanted covered to ensure maximum value from this session.

·       In response to comments from Board members the Chairman agreed to write to the Portfolio Holder for Tourism and Active Health to ask when the Cabinet report on Leisure Centres was coming forward. He also agreed to follow up in more general terms on the reasons for items being continually delayed on Cabinet Forward Plan.

·       Play in BCP, 16 May 2022 – The Chairman agreed to ask that the scope of this item incorporates the potential transfer of play sites to Christchurch Town Council (highlighted by a Board member as being the subject of a report to Cabinet on 25 May 2022).

·       The Chairman also agreed to contact Democratic Services on behalf of some members who expressed concern at the finishing times of Council meetings.

To note the following proposed meeting dates for the 2021/22 municipal year:

·       4 April 2022

And 2022/23 municipal year:

·       16 May 2022

·       13 June 2022

·       18 July 2022

·       22 August 2022

·       19 September 2022

·       17 October 2022

·       14 November 2022

·       5 December 2022

·       9 January 2023

·       6 February 2023

·       6 March 2023

·       3 April 2023

The Board noted 4 April 2022 as the one remaining meeting date for the Municipal Year 2021/22. Dates for the Municipal Year 2022/23 were also noted.