To consider the following Corporate related
report scheduled for Cabinet consideration on 20
December:
· Dorset Local Industry Strategy
· Smart Place Pilot (Lansdowne)
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 Vikki Slade, Leader of the Council.
The Cabinet report will be published on 12 December 2019 and available to view at the following link:
https://democracy.bcpcouncil.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=285&MId=4171&Ver=4
Minutes:
The Local Industrial Strategy for Dorset – The Leader of the Council was asked to introduce the report which had been circulated and which appears as Appendix 'D' to the Cabinet minutes of 20 December in the Minute Book. The Board was advised that this was a joint strategy and had been signed off in the preceding week by Dorset Council’s Cabinet. The Board raised a number of queries concerning the report including:
· The Chairman commented that as one of two equal players in the strategy BCP Council should have a great deal of influence and question the four areas included within the strategy. The Leader explained that there could only be a maximum of four areas included and there were areas within BCP and areas within Dorset which had some synergy. The Leader advised that the strategy was a culmination of work across both authorities and there were three drivers, which aligned to the Councils priorities, of wellbeing, natural environment and investment. The Leader advised the Board that the influence BCP in terms of what was included within the strategy was appropriate.
· A Member referred to a paragraph within the report concerning unlocking cultural assets and suggested that this should be included ad a theme within the new Local Plan.
· A Member asked about the inclusion of Dorset as the natural home for creative and culture as opposed to somewhere else. The Board was advised that the creative and cultural element would include the Arts University, the digital sector along with the smart places development. There was a strong emphasis around Poole Harbour. The Leader advised that in developing the strategy for submission now the Council wanted to be one of the first from phase 3 to submit.
· A Board Member highlighted the importance of engaging with the local MPs. The Leader responded that she completely agreed and that she wanted to build on the existing base and maintain the strength of the existing local economy including the financial sector.
Smart Place Pilot (Lansdowne) – The Leader of the Council was asked to introduce the report which had been circulated and which appears as Appendix 'A' to the Cabinet minutes of 20 December in the Minute Book. It was noted that this was the culmination of a long journey began by Bournemouth Council. The Board was advised that there would be continuous monitoring for the pilot and that the results would be made publicly available. The following points were raised within the ensuing discussion:
· In response to a question it was confirmed that there would be no impact on trees from the Lansdowne Project and it was hoped that future projects would be able to learn from Lansdown in order to minimise any impact on trees.
· A Board Member questioned what was being done in terms of continuous monitoring of electromagnetic field (EMF) emissions from the 5G trial networks to ensure compliance with Public Health England (ICNIRP) guidelines as requested by the Overview and Scrutiny Board. It was confirmed that information from the monitoring would be placed on the website so that there could be regular up to date information available.
· The Board had previously agreed to monitor this and the Chairman agreed that he would consider how best this could be achieved. It was noted that as soon as the technology goes in the information would become available.
In response to a question it was confirmed that most of the equipment would not require planning permission and these would start to be put in place whilst planning permission was sought for those part of the tech which did. It was noted that the 5G roll out in Brighton was blocked due to planning considerations rather than any other issues.