The deadline for questions to be submitted to the Monitoring Officer is 6 September 2021.
Minutes:
Question from Councillor Simon Bull
Following the recent IPCC report, released on 9th August, coincidently two years after BCP council declared a Climate and Ecological Emergency, what immediate action and leadership can residents expect from this council that reflects the seriousness and gravity of the situation facing all of us?
Response from Councillor Mike Greene, Cabinet Member for Transport and Sustainability
Let me start by agreeing with Cllr Bull about the need for the Council’s leadership on Climate Change:
The IPCC report– described by the UN as a ‘Code Red for humanity’ - evidences critical and unprecedented changes in global weather and climate systems as a result of human activity.
We acknowledge the immediacy that is required to respond to the Climate and Ecological Emergency, further emphasised by this recent report. There is a collective responsibility to work at scale and at pace to protect the BCP area by reducing our own emissions, improving resilience to extreme weather events, and protecting local ecology to safeguard natural systems for future generations.
But before answering the direct question about what actions the Council are taking and should take, I have to let Members know about the huge barrier I found when I took on the Climate Change portfolio. And that is the simple one of resource.
As Full Council early last year, we collectively approved a budget which allocated £240,000 for Climate Change. That summer, the previous Administration withdrew that vital funding. As a result, when I took on the role 10 months ago, despite the declaration of the Emergency and despite all the worthy words of some of the politicians opposite me, the Sustainability team I inherited for the whole of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole was actually smaller than the one I had in Bournemouth Borough Council alone two years previously: 1.8 Full Time equivalent officers who were supposed to be responsible for everything from an increasingly burdensome support for members and report writing, to finding locations for solar farms and working out how to fund them. An impossible task. Let’s be clear: when it came to Climate Change, to coin a phrase used recently, the last Administration was all mouth and no trousers.
Yet despite that extreme lack of resource, we have achieved a significant amount and started a number of initiatives over those 10 months. A few examples:
Over the next three months I also expect that we:
But I must return to the vital question of resources to carry out our Climate Action work.
One of the first acts of this Conservative Administration was to reverse that savage cut made by our predecessors of the £240,000 allocated to Climate Action, and that reversal is what has allowed all the projects and initiatives I have just listed to progress.
Later this meeting, Cllr Mellor will be bringing to Council the successful Budget Outturn report, and from that surplus, he has allocated a doubling of that £240,000 to £480,000 to be available for our work on Climate Action.
And I can tell you now, it is our intention in the forthcoming Medium Term Financial Plan to make that £480,000 part of the Council’s base budget and so be made permanent for future years.
The implications of this are enormous. It means that our hardworking but totally overwhelmed team of 1.8 equivalent employees will become a fully structured, integrated team of eight, working exclusively on Climate Change and Ecology and led by its own Service Director. Recruitment to the posts has already started.
Bluntly, this Council will no longer be appearing in Amateur Hour. It will have a full, professional operation with the capability to attract the necessary funding and implement the projects we need to invest in if we are to stop just bleating about the Climate and Ecological Emergency and actually do something about it. And I am working with the Leader now on ways the Council can pump prime those projects too.
In the 2020/21 budget we all agreed to allocate a significant amount to Climate Action as a Member priority. The last Administration decided it wasn’t enough of a priority and cancelled that allocation. Our Administration put the money back in. Then we doubled it. Next month we’ll make sure that amount will be repeated year-on-year, and we have introduced the officer structure to make it work.
That, in the words of Cllr Bull’s question, is the sort of immediate action and leadership that residents can expect from this council that reflects the seriousness and gravity of the situation facing all of us.
Councillor Bull as a supplementary question asked the portfolio holder if he agreed that we are in a climate and ecological emergency and that we should be moving like the wind to take action. In response Councillor Mike Greene said yes.
Question from Councillor Vanessa Ricketts
A petition with approximately 500 verified signatures has been handed into Council, from residents of Commons Ward concerned with the effect on road safety and business viability of the proposed dual cycleway along Barrack Road, as part of the Transforming Cities Fund.
Please could the Portfolio Holder for Transport and Sustainability confirm that he is in receipt of this petition, and further guarantee that the concerns raised by residents will be fully taken into consideration and evaluated before any further action is taken on this part of the TCF scheme?
Reply from Councillor Mike Greene, Cabinet Member for Transport and Sustainability
The proposed improvements on Barrack Road form part of a fast, safe cycle route linking Christchurch to Merley via North Bournemouth and North Poole, with links to the wider Dorset network too.
The biggest problem on our roads is congestion. If by giving people safe and attractive choices we can persuade just a small percentage to choose a more sustainable mode of travel, this will have a significant impact on the level of congestion seen on our roads, allowing junctions to operate within their physical capacity and freeing the space up for those who do still want to use their cars. There will be benefits from reduced carbon emissions and improved air quality too.
As well as positive feedback and support for the proposals, we have also received a petition and other responses which express concern about proposed parking reduction outside some Barrack Road businesses. We will, of course, consider these responses and look at whether there are any mitigating or alternative measures which might be included before reaching any decisions on the final design.
I can assure Cllr Ricketts that any changes to the road, as with all highway improvements carried out by this Council, will strictly adhere to Department for Transport guidance to ensure that what is being designed will be safe for all road users, including emergency vehicles.
While the previous Administration adopted a dogmatic approach to road closures and other such measures, often without any pre-consultation, this Administration’s approach is a much more pragmatic one which weighs up all the aspects fairly before making any changes.
Question from Councillor Margaret Phipps
BCP Council has given a £70,000 Bounce Back grant to Adventure Is Out There 365, to enable it to submit a planning application for a water park lagoon at Hurn. However, there is an application imminent for a Surf Lagoon at Brocks Pine, St. Leonards, just five miles away in Dorset Council’s area. This is clearly a much more sustainable and deliverable location next to the A31 and adjoining a current Dorset Council owned public park with visitor facilities. With its contacts at Dorset Council, the Dorset LEP and the Chamber of Commerce, BCP must have known that this alternative equivalent project was very more advanced and ready to launch.
Therefore, can the Portfolio Holder for Regeneration, Economy and Strategic Planning tell me why this Council gave £70,000 of public money to the Hurn Lagoon project which is a duplicate of another proposal, is in an undeliverable location and unlikely to ever be required?
Response from Councillor Philip Broadhead, Deputy Leader of the Council and Portfolio Holder for Regeneration, Economy and Strategic Planning
The Bounceback Challenge Fund was set up to provide an opportunity for businesses to think creatively and innovatively about what they could do to bounce back from the pandemic. Because of the good work done in previous months to get over £150m of Government grants out to over 6000 businesses that needed it in extremely challenging times, we were then in a fortunate position of being able to look at using some of the remaining funding, around 2% of the total, to encourage projects that would help the economy to bounce back. Looking forward, not backward. Although only a smaller amount compared to the 98% of COVID grants that were about helping businesses to survive the pandemic, this project has been extremely well received and indeed is up for national awards for its innovative way of thinking positively about the future of our local economy.
Applications needed to focus on 4 things: Pride of Place, Innovation, Deliverability and helping the economy bounce back.
As per my earlier answer to a member of the public, the process for being successful with a grant was quite clear: there was a scoring matrix attached to the above criteria and those that met criteria as set out in the application were awarded a grant. Again, as explained earlier, the process for this was also robust:
The process for scoring against the criteria fell into two parts – we contracted Dorset Growth Hub to do a lot of the ground work and draft scoring, and this was then complemented by our in house Economic Development Team, who assessed the draft scores and amended if necessary, using further local and professional knowledge to assist.
It also worth noting that we had no formal need to involve outside bodies, such as the DGH in the work for helping to assess the grants. Rather this was our decision to help with the workload and also bring in as much expertise as possible.
These final scores, done in collaboration with the DGH and ED teams, were presented to the awarding panel for approval.
I think this last point is extremely important. I had been firm since the start of the process that the scoring matrix was the basis that all projects and ideas should be decided, not the opinion of individuals – especially politicians. If the collective team of the DGH and the ED team decided that a project met the scores against the criteria, it would be completely inappropriate for a politician to ignore that score because they had a personal view for or against an idea or business. This is especially true for grants toward planning permission, of which we received and approved a few grants. If as a Member for the awarding panel I overruled the combined scoring presented to me, it would signal that I thought I knew better than the experts. It would also severely undermine the whole process and the legitimacy of the businesses who worked hard to put forward these creative proposals.
The team were quite clear that this proposed grant, which was to fund a planning application which already had match funding, was clearly deliverable.
I appreciate that Councillor Phipps has strong views about this scheme, which are no doubt driven by the fact that she lives close to the proposed site for the planning application. What would Councillor Phipps have done in my position – having had clear advice from the Council that going against the combined scoring matrix would signal that they knew better than the planning committee, who are the ultimate and correct arbiters of a planning application? Had she been in my position and overruled the scoring, by saying that she thought it was unlikely that it would get planning permission, she would be saying that she knew better than the experts about how to score the proposals and also that she knew better than the planning committee on what would or wouldn’t be likely to obtain planning permission. Is that what she would have done?
Politicians have a clear role. We come up with the plans and the strategy, and then oversee the experts who put those plans and strategies into action. I’m immensely proud of the Bounce Back Challenge Fund, which has helps 100s of businesses across the area have the opportunity to not just crawl out the pandemic, but leapfrog ahead of businesses in other areas.
And I’m also proud that my conscience is clear. Rather than unfairly make local businesses miss out on opportunities like this because of personal or political views about the schemes, we made sure that if you met the criteria, you were awarded a grant. Because unlike others I don’t think that I always know best.
Councillor Phipps referred to the scoring of this grant and indicated that obviously the Portfolio Holder knew that there was an equivalent scheme in Dorset. She emphasised that there would be no pride of place and it would be a negative innovation. She explained that this grant was given to a non-existent business and asked why other businesses that applied for this grant, that did exist and were affected by Covid were rejected when this non-existent business in Hurn was given £70,000. In response the Portfolio Holder reported that he was extremely confident that all the requirements were in place, and there had been auditing undertaken on the process, which had been followed. He reported that the bids had been considered against all the criteria and in this instance the deliverability was coming forward with a planning permission hence the reason why it scored. He highlighted that consideration of one scheme compared to the other was not actually what the bounce back challenge fund grant was about and emphasised that each application was looked at on the basis of the merits as presented and to overrule a process sets a dangerous precedent for politicians.
Question from Councillor Simon McCormack
Can the leader explain his comments on his facebook live Q&A where he said that saxon square shopping centre was sold by, and I quote, "some of the same people that run the Christchurch independents" when records show that Saxon square was sold by a Conservative administration in the late 70s to Early 80’s. In the same Q&A, he also said that it was unfortunate that the Christchurch Independents had sold off some of the significant assets, Could he list assets and when they were sold, considering the Christchurch Independents was only formed in 2018.
Response from Councillor Mellor Leader of the Council
He explained that it was a statement of fact that the Christchurch Independents are primarily made up of people who were on the previous Christchurch Borough Council. That Christchurch Borough Council in the last term did grant a 135-year lease on Saxon Square so I think that it is perfectly correct to make the inference that I did, and that Borough Council did agree to the disposal of Bargates car park so again it is absolutely correct in terms of the assertion I made. What I can also say is this administration is absolutely committed to expanding our assets and leaving at the end of this term with more than we started. We have a paper tonight which proves that commitment on the regeneration in Poole so effectively the previous Christchurch Borough Council did sell some assets and they did enter into long leases in terms of the 135 year lease I have described and so I am perfectly happy with my comments.
Question from Councillor Lisa Lewis
Given that we were informed there would be over 10,000 trees planted across BCP in 2021, as a result of grants, could you let us know how many trees have been planted so far, where the plantings have occurred, and when the whole planting programme will have been completed. Also, will the aftercare of the trees ensure their survival? There are so many new trees which lack the necessary watering subsequent to their planting and therefore do not survive.
Response from Councillor Mark Anderson, Portfolio Holder for Environment Cleansing and Waste
I would like to thank Cllr Lewis for her question, in 2020 a funding bid to the Urban Tree Challenge Fund, was submitted by the Parks Foundation on behalf of BCP Council, which was successful and trees were planted at:
Chesildene Estate, Kings Park, Watermans Rec, Somerford Slip Road, Sterte Esplanade, Hatchards Field and Bearwood Playing Fields
A total of 4789 trees were planted.
All the trees were young whips or feathers, effectively these are bare-rooted trees that need to be planted whilst the trees are still dormant during the winter months. As the weather warms up and the roots get moist, they perk up and begin to grow. Whips and feathers are cheap to ship (burning less carbon) and have a high success rate. They require very little watering as they are very small, around a metre tall, and the roots can establish quickly to support the top growth. They were planted mostly with the support of volunteers working with Environment staff. The trees planted are all UK native species chosen for improving biodiversity and at this height requiring little maintenance. Where possible they were mulched to prevent excessive grass growth in the first year around the base, but otherwise have not received further follow-up maintenance. This is normally only required with much larger semi-mature trees that are more typical with urban schemes.
There is a requirement as part of the funding for the trees to be maintained, checked and biodiversity impacts recorded, and this work will take place in accordance with the grant conditions.
In addition to these trees already planted there are an additional 4,000 trees being planted in North Bournemouth including the reinstatement planting of lost hedgerows at Hicks Farm.
We will be creating a hectare of woodland as part of the Iford Meadows Nature Reserve, and this accounts for another 1,600 trees. We are planning to plant this in the winter.
100 semi-mature trees have been planted in Poole Park over the last year as part of the Lottery funded refurbishment.
We are trialling techniques to work with communities on ‘re-wilding’ urban parks. This is happening at Winton, Alexandra and Watermans Parks.
The team have also met with Earthwatch, the organisation that installs the Tiny Forests. Each Tiny Forest costs £25,000 before VAT and they have some very specific key criteria which did not match the areas we were considering, they also required that we had to provide an agreed location before the start of summer.
I obtained a breakdown of this cost and discovered the cost of the actual whips and feathers was included in the £1994 Materials section which also covers, information plaque, benches and additional features, so in this £25,000 project very little is actually spent on trees.
It was felt that this money could be better directed, So Parks are working with the park’s foundation and our own staff to look at introducing our own tiny forests equivalents as well as further tree planting, rewilding projects and habitat management that is ongoing or planned across BCP.
Next year is of course the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee and the woodland trust are setting up the Queen’s Green Canopy initiative with everyone being invited to plant trees from October 2021 when the tree planting season begins through to the end of 2022. The idea is that The Queen's Green Canopy will create a network of individual trees, avenues, copses and whole woodlands in honour of The Queen's service and the legacy she has built.
This will create a green legacy of its own, with every tree planted bringing benefits for people, wildlife and climate, now and for the future.
The woodland trust is encouraging Schools, nurseries, colleges, universities and outdoor learning centres across the UK to apply as well as all kinds of different groups such as resident associations, sports clubs and many more.
You don’t need to belong to an official organisation. The most important thing is that your group is willing to take on the planning, planting and care of the saplings.
There are a few eligibility criteria, If you’re applying as a school your trees should be planted on either the school grounds, land the school has arranged regular access to or in an area that is publicly accessible. If you’re applying as a community group, the land needs to be accessible to the public. You should also make sure your local community are aware of your plans to plant and are happy for you to go ahead.
To access the woodland trust site and apply do a search for “plant a tree for the jubilee”.
I should also add that in our Cleaner, Greener, Safer paper we are also adding additional funds for tree maintenance.
So, to summarise, there is still a lot of tree planting going on within BCP and this will continue through various routes, and I hope to see plenty of trees planted to celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.
Question from Councillor Mike Brooke
The current litter campaign has caused offence to a number of people, and I have to say, I am somewhat disturbed by the nature of the messaging. There are 56 four letter words ending in IT but only one word that that fits all the different statements. That word begins with the letters SH. As a family person with young children does the Leader regard the implied language used in this campaign as appropriate for a council which is promoting the area as a family destination?
Response from Councillor Mellor, Leader of the Council
Councillor Brooke indicated that the campaign must be costing or have costed a lot a money and that he would be grateful if the Leader would inform Council what the total cost of the campaign was beginning with the use of the drones which started this campaign in terms of the research required going right through to the current display of all the posters, production, use of consultants and so on and does he think that this was actually value for money in terms of the results so far received. In response Councillor Mellor explained that well over £3m extra funding had been committed in terms of the summer response and if you look at the response for this summer compared to what was experienced last summer absolutely that was money well spent. Councillor Mellor indicated that he would provide Councillor Brooke with the specific detail that he requested on the campaign. He reported that he was proud and committed and was not going to apologise for stepping up resourcing to deliver a significantly better summer than was experienced last year this is a world class place and we are going to put money in to make sure that we can deliver that world class resort.
Question from Councillor Vikki Slade
In the last few weeks, we have witnessed the talent and dedication of athletes in a range of sports at the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics. I am sure the portfolio holder will join me in congratulating those who come from the Dorset area and in particular Poole swimmers Jacob Peters who competed in the Olympics and Leo McCrea who swam in the Paralympics.
We made a commitment to replace the ageing Dolphin Swimming Pool under the former Borough of Poole Council but with the previous proposals to redevelop the town centre seemingly abandoned what commitment can we give the next generation of athletes that we are committed to a new facility worthy of one of the largest local authorities in the country?
Reply from Councillor Mohan Iyengar, Portfolio Holder for Tourism, Leisure and Culture
I congratulate all our athletes competing in the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics, and particularly those from Dorset.
On the swimming, we need to replace the Dolphin Centre pool which is safe to use but end-of-life. In the former Borough of Poole Council I and several members cross-party pushed forward the ‘Heart of Poole’ scheme to provide a new first-class pool within a re-built sports centre as part of a wider scheme in that area. It had considerable cross-party input. Alas it was shelved in the first administration of BCP. The partners disbanded and momentum was lost over 2019 and 2020. There’s now a catch-up needed for swimmers and other sports-users.
The pool and a wider sports-leisure offering will come back in a new proposal in ’22. Various options are being considered within broader discussions to regenerate Poole, which I and other colleagues will bring forward.
Councillor Slade asked if the Portfolio Holder could provide assurance that all of the local swimming clubs and users would be fully engaged with the consultation. Councillor Iyengar explained that he was aware of the urgency for this project, and all the very worthy bodies would be included.
The meeting was adjourned from 8.50 – 9.00 am
The Chairman reported that those questions that were not dealt with due to the time limit would be dealt with in writing.