Agenda and minutes

To receive any apologies for absence from Members.

Apologies for Absence were received from Cllr P Broadhead, Cllr M Greene, Cllr N Greene, Cllr M Iyengar and Cllr P Miles.

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. 

Notification of the following substitute members for this meeting was received from the relevant political group leaders or their nominated representatives:

Cllr D Farr for Cllr M Iyengar

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 disclosable pecuniary interests or other interests in respect of any items on the agenda.

To note and comment on the Board’s Action sheet as required.

The action sheet, which provided an update on recommendations and actions from the previous meetings, was noted.

To receive any public questions, statements or petitions submitted in accordance with the Constitution. Further information on the requirements for submitting these is available to view at the following link:-

https://democracy.bcpcouncil.gov.uk/documents/s2305/Public%20Items%20-%20Meeting%20Procedure%20Rules.pdf 

The deadline for the submission of public questions is Monday 9 March 2020

The deadline for the submission of a statement is 12.00 noon, Friday 13 March 2020.

The deadline for the submission of a petition is 12.00 noon, Friday 13 March 2020.

No notifications of statements, questions or petitions had been received

For the Board to consider any issues raised by the Chairman which are not dealt with elsewhere on the agenda.

The Vice-Chairman (in the chair) explained that a report in relation to the Council’s response to the Covid-19 outbreak was being produced for the benefit of Cabinet for its meeting on 18 March 2020 and that a verbal update would be provided to the Board at the 6pm meeting to give an overview the content.

The Vice-Chairman also explained that since the publication of the agenda, the item relating to Car Parking Charges Harmonisation had been withdrawn and Officers would instead be dealing with an inflationary rise in charges under officer delegation. The Car Parking Charges Harmonisation would instead be dealt with at a future meeting.

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

The Overview and Scrutiny Specialist updated the Board in relation to the progress of the Estates and Accommodation Working Group that had been established by the Board at its previous meeting. The working Party had now met for the first time and had agreed the scope of its work and its methodology. A further meeting would likely place in April.

The Vice-Chairman advised that the dates included on the forward plan were subject to change depending on the progression of the Corona Virus outbreak, the situation of which was changing daily.

Following a suggestion from the Overview and Scrutiny Specialist, the Board agreed to delegate the addition of any additions/amendments to the  Forward Plan to the Chair and Vice-Chair to allow agenda management during this uncertain time, although Board Members would be able to submit suggestions.

Cllr M Anderson requested that an update surrounding the lifts at Pokesdown Station be received at the Board’s July meeting.

To consider the following environment related report scheduled for Cabinet consideration on 18 March:

·                Kerbside Recycling Collection Service (Bournemouth)

The O&S Board is asked to scrutinise the reports and make recommendations to Cabinet as appropriate.

Cabinet member invited to attend for this item: Councillor Felicity Rice, Portfolio Holder for Environment and Climate Change.

The Cabinet report will be published on Tuesday 10 March and available to view at the following link: https://democracy.bcpcouncil.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=285&MId=3727&Ver=4

Before the Board considered the following item, it was moved and seconded 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.”

Voting – Unanimous

The Portfolio Holder for Climate Change and Environment presented a report, a copy of which had been circulated to each Member and a copy of which appears as Appendix 'A' to these Minutes in the Minute Book.

The Overview and Scrutiny Board were requested to consider the proposals to bring the recycling service across the historic Bournemouth area in-house. The Board were advised that the creation of BCP Council and the need for a single revised waste strategy meant that this was an expedient time to review collection methodology across the conurbation and understand the financial implications of the options put forward.

RECOMMENDED that Cabinet approve Option 2, as set out in the report.

Voting: Unanimous

Note: Following the consideration of this confidential item, members of the public and press were invited back into the meeting.

To consider the following transport and infrastructure related reports scheduled for Cabinet consideration on 18 March 2020:

·                     BCP Council Parking Charges Harmonisation – NOTE: This item will now be dealt with by way of an officer decision, however the Chairman has agreed that there should still be an opportunity for the O&S Board to ask questions on this item. A verbal update will be provided at the meeting.

·                     Street Works Permitting Scheme

The O&S Board is asked to scrutinise the reports and make recommendations to Cabinet as appropriate.

Cabinet member invited to attend for this item: Councillor Andy Hadley, Portfolio Holder for Transport and Infrastructure.

The Cabinet report will be published on Tuesday 10 March and available to view at the following link: https://democracy.bcpcouncil.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=285&MId=3727&Ver=4

Car Parking Charges Harmonisation

Board Members and members of the public and press were reminded that this report would not be considered at this meeting and would be scheduled for a future meeting.

Streetworks Permitting Scheme

The Portfolio Holder for Transport and Infrastructure presented a report, a copy of which had been circulated to each Member and a copy of which appears as Appendix 'B' to these Minutes in the Minute Book.

The Portfolio Holder explained that the proposals were put forward to ensure that the council complied with statutory requirements to have a mechanism for controlling streetworks on the highway in order to reduce congestion and disruption to residents when works were undertaken on the traffic network and would involve the council issuing permits and levying a charge to ensure that the administrative costs were covered. It was anticipated that a minimum of six staff would be needed to administer the scheme, although there was provision for a further three staff members, if required.

The Portfolio Holder explained that all companies that were involved with statutory undertakings had been consulted with and the scheme had been adjusted based on comments received.

The Portfolio Holder and Corporate Director for Regeneration and Economy responded to questions and comments from Board Members.

The Portfolio Holder was asked about the maximum charge being applicable to all roads, which did not seem necessary when taking small residential roads or cul-de-sacs into account. It was explained that there was a historic road layout problem across the conurbation, caused in part by Poole and Bournemouth having been in different counties until the mid- 1970’s, meaning that the road network did not “join up”. There was a recognition that the conurbations network was at capacity and therefore any closure or disruption on one part of the network would have an affect on other routes. The scheme was designed to be inclusive and the Council was required to adopt such a scheme.

The Portfolio Holder was asked about how the scheme would provide an opportunity to improve the current situation, which often found a section of highway being dug up multiple times to undertake different works. It was explained that this scheme would be giving a discount to utility companies that undertook works together, a lead company would take responsibility but would receive a 30% discount as an encouragement to work together with the aim of causing less disruption, although it was acknowledged that this may, on occasion, complicate matters. The flip-side to any complication that it would cause contractors is that the Council would have more control over works, have a greater knowledge of who was responsible and therefore it would be easier to enforce any further remedial works that need to take place in the event that initial remedial works were not up to standard.

The Portfolio Holder was asked about the inspection of roads once works had been undertaken, details of fines that would be issued if works were not completed to standard and discounts  ...  view the full minutes text for item 135.

To consider the following planning related reports scheduled for Cabinet consideration on 18 March 2020:

·       Heathlands SPD

The O&S Board is asked to scrutinise the reports and make recommendations to Cabinet as appropriate.

Cabinet member invited to attend for this item: Councillor Margaret Phipps, Portfolio Holder for Strategic Planning.

The Cabinet report will be published on Tuesday 10 March 2020 and available to view at the following link: https://democracy.bcpcouncil.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=285&MId=3727&Ver=4

Heathlands SPD

The Portfolio Holder for Strategic Planning presented a report, a copy of which had been circulated to each Member and a copy of which appears as Appendix 'C' to these Minutes in the Minute Book.

The Portfolio Holder explained that the Supplementary Planning Document had been out to consultation in February and it was essential that the council maintained a planning framework for mitigating the impact of development on the Dorset Heathlands from within a 5km range and that the existing document was due to expire on 31 March 2020, which therefore meant that this document needed to be adopted and ready to come into force from 1 April 2020. She further explained that the document had been prepared jointly with Dorset Council and would be applicable for a five-year period.

The Document focussed on two main strategies, one in relation to SAMMs (Strategic Access Management and Monitoring) and the other in relation to HIPs (Heathland Infrastructure Projects). It was estimated that this document would assist the council in generating approximately £1.42M. The strategies would enable both councils to grant planning permissions for new homes within the 5km buffer, hence its importance.

The Portfolio Holder and Corporate Director for Regeneration and Economy responded to questions and comments from Board Members.

The Corporate Director explained that there would be a need to be flexible when looking at C2 use applications and each application would need to be taken on its merits. There had been no changes in regard to how this aspect would work from the existing document that was currently in force. There was a general awareness.

The Portfolio Holder responded to a comment in relation to enforcement issues. She explained that she was aware that these had been some enforcement issues in areas surrounding heathland and these needed to be addressed by the Planning Enforcement Team. Feedback received in relation to climate action plan stated that these amendments were minor in nature and improved the clarity of the SPD. Further comments made in relation to aspiring to extend the heathland would be taken on board, but it was not anticipated actually doing this would be an easy task.

The Portfolio Holder was asked a question about the reasoning for a cap on fees. It was explained that having a cap in place enabled developers to have a certainty as to what they would need to pay for issues to be mitigated.

The Portfolio Holder was asked a question about differing of opinions between experts and how this might affect outcomes. It was explained that whenever applications came forward, there was a list of statutory consultees that had to be consulted with and that Natural England was one of these, much weight was given to the Natural England point of view when determining a planning application

The Portfolio Holder was asked about the delayed response from Meyrick Estates. It was explained that the response had initially been sent to an email address that was no longer in use  ...  view the full minutes text for item 136.

To note the following future meeting dates and locations for the 2019/20 municipal year:

20 April 2020, venue TBC

The meeting date was noted – venue to be confirmed

To consider the following meeting dates for the 2020/21 municipal year:

·       18 May 2020 - Christchurch

·       22 June 2020 - Bournemouth

·       20 July 2020 - Christchurch

·       24 August 2020 - Poole

·       21 September 2020 - Bournemouth

·       19 October 2020 - Christchurch

·       16 November 2020 - Poole

·       7 December 2020 - Bournemouth

·       4 January 2021 - Christchurch

·       1 February 2021 - Poole

·       1 March 2021 - Bournemouth

·       1 April 2021 - Christchurch

Venues to be confirmed.

Venues had now been assigned to each meeting and would rotate as per current arrangements, this could change as time progresses.