The deadline for questions to be submitted to the Monitoring Officer is 5 September 2022.
Minutes:
Question from Councillor Vikki Slade
Initial indications suggest that the visitor numbers for the 2022 Air Festival have been strong and it was great to see some new features introduced such as the bi-plane / sunseeker boat race. I am sure that in the coming months lessons will be learned to make future events more inclusive, more environmentally friendly and to bring more new ideas. I hope that the Portfolio Holder will take the opportunity to listen carefully to local residents and businesses and include ideas to improve the event wherever they come from.
One popular feature that people missed this year was Air Festival TV. People told me that they enjoy seeing the cockpit images on the big screen, seeing the unarmed combat while sat on the beach waiting for night air and watching interviews with pilots throughout the event. Can the portfolio holder please explain why the council decided not to include this element of the Air Festival this year?
Response by the Portfolio Holder for Tourism, Culture and Vibrant Places, Councillor Dunlop
The Air Festival was once again very well attended in 2022 with high visitor numbers and an economic impact estimated to be close to £50m over the 4 days supporting our £1.2 billion tourism economy and 18,000 local tourism jobs. I am at a bit of a loss as to what Councillor Slade means by lessons will be learned, we’ve got two accessible viewing areas, we’ve got two accessible car parks and we have a mix of facilities along the promenade to ensure no one is excluded.
Our sustainable action plan will grow and be developed over the coming years as we continue to reduce waste, promote reusable water fills, encourage people to travel sustainably and use the platform to educate on the environment.
Our events team are continually developing this event and this year saw the return of the Science, Technology, Engineering and Manufacturing (STEM) marquee welcoming local companies to showcase their work and inspire the next generation, alongside the engaging Dorset Engineering and Manufacturing Cluster conference bringing 150 STEM companies together on the first day.
Regarded as one of the best air shows in the UK, we continue to increase our land and sea content to showcase the destination and in turn providing additional footfall for our businesses at the end of the summer; boosting the local economy.
We work closely with a variety of business partners such as the Destination Management Board, Town Centre and Coastal BIDs, the Chamber of Commerce and Hospitality.
Air Festival TV has not operated for the a few years since the contract ended, this year we were delighted to work with our community radio partner Hot Radio alongside our festival commentators to provide ‘on-air’ commentary for those watching further afield and out to sea and we will be looking at ways of providing enhanced live streaming for 2023.
Supplementary Question from Councillor Slade
Can you please tell me why we decided not to take advantage of the free to the council Air Festival TV which has been provided for years up until the pandemic, there hasn’t been a full air festival since but I am afraid you didn’t answer the question about why we didn’t have air festival TV because last time I heard you can’t actually watch the cockpit from Hot Radio.
Response by the Portfolio Holder for Tourism, Culture and Vibrant Places, Councillor Dunlop
As I said the contract expired and one of the problems with air festival TV was that the operator relies on advertising to cover their cost and the advertising was going off along the seafront and was conflicting with the broadcast of the air festival commentary, so while we were in mid commentary flow you’d have adverts popping up along the seafront. I have been asked this question once or twice before triggered directly by the people who run the contract, and what I say now is what I said then we are happy for anyone to approach us to offer an air festival TV facility that can be provided to people who have accessibility problems and I absolutely support that, what they have to be able to do though is to find a way of providing it so that it doesn’t clash with the commentary along the seafront.
Question from Councillor Howell
“In the 13-15 High Street Planning Committee item on 4th October, I requested that a condition be introduced to prevent residents of the new development being granted Zone A parking permits. The Head of Planning said this could be achieved by section 106 agreement but the transport officer said this was unnecessary because the transport department could already decide to exclude developments from the permit scheme. As a consequence, no condition was proposed by committee members.
1. Is allowing residents of new developments that have been constructed with reduced or no parking to apply for Zone A permits in conflict with the Council’s climate change policies?
2. Given that there are approximately 285 Zone A spaces but 467 permits in issue, at what point will it become unfairon existing Zone A permit holding residents to issue more permits?
3. Does the transport department have an enforceable policy which allows it to exclude specific developments from the Zone A scheme?
4. Please give examples in the Zone A area where this policy has been exercised?
5. If it has not been exercised, will the Portfolio Holder instruct the transportation department to start excluding new developments from the scheme?”
Response by the Portfolio Holder for Sustainability and Transport, Councillor Mike Greene
I shall try to answer all parts of the question together.
Where development takes place within a Controlled Parking Zone such as Poole Town Zone A, the Local Planning Authority is able to impose an informative on planning approval which reserves the right for the Council to deny parking permits to future occupiers.
This aligns with the Council’s climate change policy but is, in my opinion, more relevant to the limited parking space available and our wish to reduce or limit congestion and car-based travel within our highly accessible town centres.
An example of when where this option was exercised by the Local Planning Authority is when planning was granted for No. 1 High Street. The planning informative states:
Informative; The applicant should note and inform future residents that they may be excluded from being able to purchase permits associated with parking permit schemes controlled by the Council in the area. This is to reduce the impacts from the development due to the low levels of car parking provision being proposed.
Whether the Council chooses to decline applications for parking permits in these situations is likely to depend on occupancy levels rather than the actual number of permits already granted and the total number of spaces available.
Supplementary Question from Councillor Howell
The Portfolio Holder only referred to Planning then, my question specifically referred to the transport officer saying they have the right to already do that, so I would like clarification as to if there isn’t anything imposed as a condition in the way that the Portfolio Holder mentioned does the transport department have the enforceable policy able to do that as that what the transport officer specifically said to the Planning Committee in that case.
And also in that example that the Portfolio Holder mentioned he used the word may and not will, so could he say whether that actually has been enforced on No. 1 High Street?
Response by the Portfolio Holder for Sustainability and Transport, Councillor Mike Greene
I wasn’t at the Planning Board in question, however as I understand it the informative is always included in those elements and therefore there was no need for a condition. Councillor Howell is absolutely right that it gives the Council the right but not the obligation to decline, my personal feeling is that we would almost always refuse to grant those permits apart from in exceptional circumstances, and in the case of No. 1 High Street I did specifically check that out and yes I’ve been told that we have not granted any permits on No. 1 High Street whether or not they have been requested.
Question from Councillor Mike Brooke to the Leader of the Council
Did Cllr Mellor vote for the Climate and Ecological Emergency motion that was put before Full Council on 16th July 2019. Yes or No?
Response by the Leader of the Council, Councillor Drew Mellor
Yes
Supplementary Question from Councillor Mike Brooke
I need to ask why is it then that the issue of climate change and ecological emergency which should be at the centre of every strategic priority of this council lacks any discussion in the Big Plan which is this administrations bible and which also had not been presented to a Scrutiny Committee or to Full Council?
Response by the Leader of the Council, Councillor Drew Mellor
I would like to focus on action and not words and what this administration has done is to immediately put back in the money that had come out of the climate budget, then we’ve doubled it and then we’ve made it permanent, then we put forward a £20m green futures fund. This council now and this administration is delivering on climate because it is absolutely at the centre of what we believe and you are going to continue to see that through now to May and beyond.
Question from Councillor Andy Jones
This year has seen a sharp increase in the number of complaints that I’ve dealt with regarding people sleeping in campervans overnight especially in roads in the Boscombe Overcliff area although I am aware this is also an issue elsewhere in BCP. Unfortunately under existing legislation there has been very little that the Police or Council Officers have been able to do to tackle this with some campervans being left parked up for weeks or even months on end. One way to tackle this is through the introduction of a PSPO which other Councils have done. Can the Portfolio Holder assure my residents that such a measure is going to be pursued, and if so, the time frame for a public consultation and subsequent implementation?
Response by the Portfolio Holder for Community Safety and Regulatory Services, Councillor Bobbie Dove
As you know one of the first measures that Councillor Mellor put in to place as Leader was to introduce a summer response so that residents, visitors and businesses are fully supported during the high demand days our amazing area experiences.
We could always stand at the end of the pier giving news interviews whilst calling a major incident, blame others and hit headlines but Councillor Mellor felt there was a more adult way of leading the council and with that less reputational damage, so as is true with everything this administration has does we always strive to do our best and bring out the very best outcomes for those who live, work and visit BCP.
So during our 2022 summer response we immediately recognised that the by laws around overnight camping in particular were insufficient to deal with this matter effectively and as we would all like so following the emails which you and I have exchanged over the summer which I must thank you I immediately put forward consideration for a PSPO on this area to officers in September and as everything that I have said we have hit the ground running.
Officers including the councils legal team have spoken to other authorities and have been gathering evidence to consider a range of issues that the council could include in a PSPO.
A report will be coming to Cabinet in December to seek approval to launch the 4 week public consultation and following this there will be consideration of all of the options available to us to tackle incidents such as illegal camping and other issues such as wild fires resulting in a final paper with recommendations for our coastal and open green spaces.
I am optimistically hopeful that this will be returned to Cabinet early in 2023 to ensure that any PSPO can be implemented in time for the summer season.
Question from Councillor George Farquhar
Could the Leader confirm that a decision has been taken to cease indoor bowls at the Bournemouth Indoor Bowls facility in Kings Park from 1 April 2023?
Given previous assurances that the Towns Fund would be used to redevelop Boscombe and provide health & wellbeing facilities at the centre what is the future for sports and education provision there?
Can the Leader clarify if this is part of a disposal of assets and if so what steps will be taken to allow the transfer of these assets to the Community to run themselves?
By way of information to inform the reply. The CEO has already been approached by Members of the club and had a positive response to Asset Based Community development and has offered to set up a meeting with the Community Development Team at BCP, has that meeting taken place or is it planned to do so?
Response by the Portfolio Holder for Communities, Health and Leisure, Councillor Jane Kelly
A decision has been taken to pause the bowls service from April 2023 the reasons for this are several.
Club membership at Bournemouth Indoor Bowling Club (BIBC) has been declining over the last few years despite discussions with the club and with the investment put into the building to try to increase the participation levels. Also it could be noted that participation with this sport nationally has decreased over the last few years.
But that doesn’t mean to say that the people that are using it currently aren’t important, they very much are.
With the rising costs associated in maintaining the offer we have taken the decision to pause the bowls service from April 2023 whilst we consider the longer-term use of the bowls area. We understand this is disappointing for the club, but we will continue to support them via arranging significant reductions with memberships at other clubs in Christchurch and Poole, as well as to organise taster events at those venues, many members are already members at these other clubs and so are aware of them already.
The Skills and Learning courses will continue on the first floor.
When the leasehold was purchased by the authority via the Boscombe Towns Fund we agreed that the indoor bowls service would continue for a minimum of 12 months, we have honoured this agreement but unfortunately we now have to make this decision for the reasons outlined to pause the service from April 2023.
As you will be aware there are two other indoor bowls facilities in Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole, one in Christchurch near the very successful 2 Riversmeet leisure centre, the East Dorset Indoor Bowls Centre and there is one by the Dolphin Centre in Poole, they both have the capacity to accept and welcome new members.
We cannot continue to operate the building at a loss under the current cost of living pressures and the adjustments we are having to make to the budget to arrive at a balanced position for next year, we have currently commissioned a specialist consultancy company to undertake a review of the BIBC facility and service. This review will determine the demand of indoor bowls across BCP and recommend further options for the use of the bowls area based on the demographic and needs of the local residents to the facility.
The BIBC facility is an integral part of the leisure portfolio of BCP Council the objective remains to develop the facility into a thriving leisure asset and maximise its potential for the benefit of the local community and wider demographic as per the original proposals agreed upon purchase via the Boscombe Towns Fund. The building is in no way considered to be disposable and every effort will be made to bring it back to life as soon as possible.
Supplementary Question from Councillor George Farquhar
Will we see any movement on what has been outlined by the Portfolio Holder before March 31st 2023?
Response by the Portfolio Holder for Communities, Health and Leisure, Councillor Jane Kelly
Its really useful that the club is staying open during the winter so that when it does close for a while it will be an opportunity to start playing at an outdoor bowls club.
There are constant conversations going on currently between officers and representatives of the members, there have also been meetings with the wider number of the members with our leisure officers and all sorts of options and ideas are being discussed. Its being discussed as to whether the current committee would be able to run the facility, I don’t know what the outcome of those are going to be, I haven’t yet seen the report from the company. There is an awful lot going on and so the answer is yes but we don’t know the outcome as yet.
Question from Councillor Mark Howell
Did the Council consider providing a temporary space for Poole Museum to continue to engage the public during its renovation? If so, why did this not proceed? If it was considered too expensive, what was the estimated cost?
Response by the Portfolio Holder for Tourism, Culture and Vibrant Places, Councillor Beverly Dunlop
A pop-up was considered and explored but decided against, aside from the cost of the lease and favourable terms and high fit out and running costs the pop up would principally end up being a café and a shop with limited value in terms of engagement and a better solution is being developed.
The museum will now have an outreach programme so that we can engage with more of the community during the closure period to promote the museum, this will be called ‘Museum on the Move’, it’s a travelling museum and is supported by the heritage lottery fund and the projects in early days but I would be more than happy to chat further with Councillor Howell as it comes together and go through that with you.
Question from Councillor Andy Jones
Earlier this year the Echo ran a story about vehicles parking in cycle lanes with the one in Christchurch Rd in Boscombe being its primary focus. The cycle lanes in this section of road are regularly abused with numerous vehicles ignoring the No Waiting and No Loading restriction at will, day and night. Needless to say this is causing much anger and frustration to those who wish to cycle through this area but are unable to do so due to the obvious danger posed by these vehicles. Whilst I appreciate that the Council’s CEOs are doing all that they can to tackle those who park illegally, they cannot be there all day every day. Will the Portfolio Holder therefore commit to introducing camera enforcement to deal with this problem as other Councils are now doing, and if not, advise how he proposes to address this problem moving forward as more and more cycle lanes are implemented across BCP?
Response by the Portfolio Holder for Sustainability and Transport, Councillor Mike Greene
We are continually looking at ways to improve the road network for all users and recently we took the opportunity of resurfacing works to upgrade cycling facilities in this area by converting some advisory cycle lanes to mandatory.
The Council only has powers to enforce certain parking restrictions by camera. These include mandatory cycle lanes where a waiting restriction such as a double yellow line also exists, so some of those on Christchurch Rd in Boscombe would now qualify when they didn’t before.
Generally, it may be useful to know that where the Council currently carries out enforcement of, for example, keep clear markings at schools, using both fixed cameras and a camera car, the fine income does not cover the costs of the enforcement work. Fixed cameras are particularly costly compared with the fine revenue collected.
There may, though, be the opportunity for an occasional visit from the camera car when it is not in use elsewhere, subject to other priority demands, and I have asked officers to look into this.
The Council can also enforce the waiting restrictions on this route using its civil enforcement officers. The Council has been working to build up the capacity of its civil enforcement team and will continue to regularly patrol this route in an effort to keep it clear.
Question from Councillor George Farquhar
The residents and visitors need confirmation that the vital service provisioned by the Fisherman’s Walk Cliff Lifts will continue to be provided to the residents and visitors in the years ahead. And what this Administration is doing to prevent the possibility of the Cliff Lift closure.
There have been concerns raised by residents with me, that the Fishermans Walk Cliff Lift has serious issues including the chassis needing much work and repairs to keep it operational.
Can these concerns be confirmed or denied.
Can we seek further confirmation that there will be funds and resources repairs and ongoing maintenance made available to ensure this valuable community asset continues to be in service for the community and visitors.
In particular there is a demographic with accessibility needs, that would be denied access to the beach should the vital service close.
The Cliff Lifts also provide a revenue stream and serious consideration should be increased by extending the hours of operations until dusk.
Response by the Portfolio Holder for Environment and Place, Councillor Mark Anderson
I would like to thank Cllr Farquhar for his question.
The cliff lifts are historic parts of the seafront infrastructure and do provide an essential service, they are also subject to ongoing maintenance and repair. They operate primarily during the warmer months and are now closed for the winter. There are no plans to close the facility permanently.
However, recent condition assessments have high-lighted potential issues with the electrical switch gear and lift cab chassis at Fisherman’s lift.
Officers are currently exploring the options and costs related to these and aim to bring forward recommendations prior to Christmas and following on from that I hope the repair and maintenance of the lifts and associated works should be taking place in the spring, so services can resume as normal in the warmer weather.
I would also like to thank Cllr Farquhar for the suggestion about longer opening hours and whilst too late for now, I will take it up with officers with a view to seeing if it is feasible next year.
Supplementary Question from Councillor George Farquhar
What consideration will be given to the disability act and those that have accessibility needs to ensure that this facility and that act is taken into consideration with the reports that come back for the viability of the repairs of the electric system and the chassis?
Response by the Portfolio Holder for Environment and Place, Councillor Mark Anderson
Councillor Farquhar’s comments will be taken on board, just before the meeting I was talking to the chief operating officer about the lift and about the funding and so I am very much aware of wanting to make sure its operating and we were discussing making sure the funds were available and how we were going to use them.
Question from Councillor Vikki Slade
What additional budget is being provided to the Elections Team ensure that they have the additional equipment and additional staff needed to deal with Voter ID changes that are coming in for the local elections in 2023 and to provide for the needs of those with additional privacy needs. What additional work is being undertaken by the Elections Team to ensure that residents are aware of the changes, and to ensure that residents without existing Photo ID are not disenfranchised?
Response by the Portfolio Holder for Community Safety and Regulatory Services, Councillor Bobbie Dove
The Council has recently received confirmation of the funding allocation from the government for the additional burdens due to be brought in by the Elections Act 2022 for elections in May 2023and there is a supplementary Justification Led Bid process for further funding if required and DLUHC have confirmed that they will fully fund these new burdens. The secondary legislation with the detail of the Act, has just recently been laid before parliament and is awaiting approval which is called the Voter Identification Regulations 2022 and DLUHC have confirmed there will be funding for additional polling station staff, privacy screens and mirrors for each polling station, along with additional office staff/Call Centre staff to deal with the enquiries in the applications process.
At this time the Elections team have been advised that there will be a national website which will allow applications for the Voter Authority Certificate and this should be live in Mid-January 2023. It is planned that our publicity/communications will go live at the same time and will advise of the process and requirements. This is also the proposed timeframe for the Electoral Commission national campaigns.
Locally, our Elections and Communications teams have been proactive and have already been discussing a communication strategy, which will complement the general and targeted national publicity being proposed by the Electoral Commission on these new measures. This will be firmed up once the detail which we require, is confirmed in the secondary legislation we are waiting for.
Other work streams also include engagement with Equality, Diversity & Inclusion team and the Community Engagement/Participation Officers, to formulate the proposed consultation with older age groups, disability groups, vulnerable residents or for those whose first language is not English. Thus ensuring all information/literature and web site information is accessible to all so that every eligible person within the conurbation is clear about the new system and support to ensure that democracy is still upheld by being able to vote on May 4th.
Supplementary Question from Councillor Vikki Slade
I still have two additional concerns, one is around you mentioned older people and those with disabilities but we know that its young people that aren’t voting and in the main the list of items that are allowed for voting for young people is very much more restrictive than for older people. What is being done particularly around the under 30s and what assurance can you give us that people will be able to access this support in their own community and not be required to the main towns as that is very difficult for some people to do, particularly young people without their own transport.
Response by the Portfolio Holder for Community Safety and Regulatory Services, Councillor Bobbie Dove
The details have only come out in the last few days so the engagement team are working with all the consultations to make sure we engage with everyone that we need to, vulnerable older people but age is a protected characteristic and that includes younger people to.