The following motion submitted in accordance with Procedure Rule 10 of the Meeting Procedure Rules has been proposed by Councillor M Howell and seconded by Councillor K Rampton.
APR1 Numberplate
That this Council resolves that the ownership of the Vehicle Registration number APR1, which used to be registered to the Poole Mayoral car, be transferred to the new Poole Town Council for zero consideration on the basis that it constitutes property of a historic nature relating to the Mayoralty of poole which should have been transferred to The Charter Trustees of Poole on the dissolution of the Borough of Poole.
The following motion submitted in accordance with Procedure Rule 10 of the Meeting Procedure Rules has been proposed by Councillor P Cooper and seconded by Councillor P Canavan.
Live Traffic, Flooding and Infrastructure Resilience for BCP
This Council notes that during the recent aftermath of Storm
Chandra, Dorset Council provided residents with a dedicated live
traffic update service, offering real-time information on road
closures, incidents and disruption. This proved vital for public
safety, emergency response and travel planning during severe
weather.
In contrast, BCP Council does not currently provide a comparable live or real-time traffic and road status page. Information available to residents is largely limited to planned roadworks or issue reporting, leaving no central, publicly accessible source of live information during emergencies.
Council further notes that recent flooding events across the BCP conurbation have caused significant disruption to residents, businesses and essential services. These events are not new or exceptional, and climate-related severe weather is increasingly frequent and predictable.
This Council is also concerned that sewer backflow and inadequate sewer network capacity during torrential rainfall continues to exacerbate flooding, property damage and public health risks. These issues are often insufficiently acknowledged or addressed within planning, infrastructure capacity assessments and development decisions.
This Council believes the absence of a live, coordinated traffic and road status system, alongside unresolved drainage and sewer capacity challenges, represents a serious gap in resilience and emergency preparedness.
This Council therefore resolves to:
1. Ask Cabinet to set out the reasons why BCP Council does not currently provide a live, real-time traffic and road status service comparable to Dorset Council’s, including an assessment of costs, funding priorities and whether financial considerations alone justify the absence of such a service.
2. Request that officers urgently explore the development of a publicly accessible, real-time system covering traffic disruption, flooding, road closures and emergency conditions across BCP.
3. Call for a long-term, resilient approach that brings together all relevant agencies, stakeholders and partners including highways, emergency services, water and sewerage providers, planning authorities and neighbouring councils to address information sharing, sewer backflow, drainage capacity and infrastructure resilience during extreme weather.
4. Require that sewer network capacity, flood risk and surface water management are explicitly and robustly addressed within planning policy and development decisions.
5. Request a report back to Full Council setting out options, costs, responsibilities and timescales for delivery.
Minutes:
APR1 Numberplate
As the mover of the original motion, Cllr Howell requested that the motion be deferred to a future meeting of Council to allow for officers to prepare a report.
Council accepted the request.
Voting: Nem. Con.
Live Traffic, Flooding and Infrastructure Resilience for BCP
The following motion was submitted in accordance with Procedure Rule 10 of the Meeting Procedure Rules and was moved by Councillor Peter Cooper and seconded by Councillor Patrick Canavan.
This Council notes that during the recent aftermath of Storm Chandra, Dorset Council provided residents with a dedicated live traffic update service, offering real-time information on road closures, incidents and disruption. This proved vital for public safety, emergency response and travel planning during severe weather.
In contrast, BCP Council does not currently provide a comparable live or real-time traffic and road status page. Information available to residents is largely limited to planned roadworks or issue reporting, leaving no central, publicly accessible source of live information during emergencies.
Council further notes that recent flooding events across the BCP conurbation have caused significant disruption to residents, businesses and essential services. These events are not new or exceptional, and climate related severe weather is increasingly frequent and predictable. This Council is also concerned that sewer backflow and inadequate sewer network capacity during torrential rainfall continues to exacerbate flooding, property damage and public health risks. These issues are often insufficiently acknowledged or addressed within planning, infrastructure capacity assessments and development decisions.
This Council believes the absence of a live, coordinated traffic and road status system, alongside unresolved drainage and sewer capacity challenges, represents a serious gap in resilience and emergency preparedness.
This Council therefore resolves to:
1. Ask Cabinet to set out the reasons why BCP Council does not currently provide a live, real-time traffic and road status service comparable to Dorset Council’s, including an assessment of costs, funding priorities and whether financial considerations alone justify the absence of such a service.
2. Request that officers urgently explore the development of a publicly accessible, real-time system covering traffic disruption, flooding, road closures and emergency conditions across BCP.
3. Call for a long-term, resilient approach that brings together all relevant agencies, stakeholders and partners including highways, emergency services, water and sewerage providers, planning authorities and neighbouring councils to address information sharing, sewer backflow, drainage capacity and infrastructure resilience during extreme weather.
4. Require that sewer network capacity, flood risk and surface water management are explicitly and robustly addressed within planning policy and development decisions.
5. Request a report back to Full Council setting out options, costs, responsibilities and timescales for delivery.
Council debated the motion and Councillor Earl moved an amendment to add the following: “That Council refers to the Environment and Place Overview and Scrutiny Committee to investigate the following requests:”
This was seconded by Councillor Mike Cox.
Cllr Cooper accepted the proposed amendment and Council debated the substantive motion, where it was:
RESOLVED: That Council refers to the Environment and Place Overview and Scrutiny Committee to investigate the following requests:
1. Ask Cabinet to set out the reasons why BCP Council does not currently provide a live, real-time traffic and road status service comparable to Dorset Council’s, including an assessment of costs, funding priorities and whether financial considerations alone justify the absence of such a service.
2. Request that officers urgently explore the development of a publicly accessible, real-time system covering traffic disruption, flooding, road closures and emergency conditions across BCP.
3. Call for a long-term, resilient approach that brings together all relevant agencies, stakeholders and partners including highways, emergency services, water and sewerage providers, planning authorities and neighbouring councils to address information sharing, sewer backflow, drainage capacity and infrastructure resilience during extreme weather.
4. Require that sewer network capacity, flood risk and surface water management are explicitly and robustly addressed within planning policy and development decisions.
5. Request a report back to Full Council setting out options, costs, responsibilities and timescales for delivery.
Voting: Nem. Con.
Cllr Tarling left 22:28
Cllr Tarling returned 22:32