Agenda and minutes

The minutes of the meeting held on 9 September 2015, having been circulated, were signed as a correct record.

It was confirmed that two public questions had been received and would be submitted and addressed under Standing Order 34 (9).

1)    What are Halton Borough Council’s road safety policy and priorities for financial year 2015/16?

2)    What are Halton Borough Council’s road safety priorities for the Daresbury Ward for the financial year 2015/16?

A written response was provided (appended to these minutes).

            The Board considered the Minutes of the meetings of the Executive Board relevant to the Environment and Urban Renewal Policy and Performance Board.

            RESOLVED: That the Minutes be received.

The Board received a report of the Strategic Director, Community and Resources, which advised that a petition had been received which comprised of 25 individual letters from Year 5 pupils at Murdishaw West Community Primary School, Runcorn, requesting the installation of pedestrian crossing facilities on Barnfield Avenue, and to make recommendations about future provisions of such facilities.

It was noted that there were two paths to the east of the school/Barnfield Avenue, that gave access to the school and were well used at school times; in addition, there was one pathway immediately adjacent to the school entrance and one next to the traffic signals at the Busway crossing.

It was reported that surveys had been carried out to record both the volumes of traffic and the numbers of pedestrians crossing at the three locations shown on the drawing at Appendix A. It was noted that the busiest of these was the most southerly at the Busway/Barnfield Avenue junction, which was a traffic signal controlled junction. It was noted that as the crossing from this footway only added a short extra walking distance for many crossing students, there was further justification for the possible introduction of a pedestrian controlled crossing into the traffic signals at the Busway junction, when the junction was next refurbished.

RESOLVED: That the petitioners be informed that the pedestrian/traffic surveys have been carried out and that consideration will now be given to

a)    introducing controlled pedestrian crossing facilities into the existing traffic signals at the junction of Busway with Barnfield Avenue; and

b)    to reviewing existing signing and road markings, renewing these as necessary, with both proposals being subject to funding availability.

The Board considered a report of the Strategic Director, Community and Resources, which provided an update on the Armed Forces Covenant and the Armed Forces and Veteran support.

The Board was advised that the Royal British Legion had commissioned a significant piece of research in 2014, to identify the size, profile and needs of the ex-service community, to provide forecasts on the future profile. The key findings were summarised in the report. It was estimated that the total of the armed forces community living in the UK in 2014 was between 6.5 and 6.7 million, with 46% now aged 75+. It was reported that this age group faced similar problems to those in the UK population as a whole, of isolation, physical health problems and difficulties with mobility and care.

Of those veteran’s in the younger cohort of 16-34, (some 6% of the ex-service community), it was noted that they were more likely to have a caring  responsibility than the UK general population of the same age. Finance and employment were significant problems for this group with one in twenty having taken out a pay day loan and over half of those of working age unable to make use of their skills or experience in their current job.

          Halton was part of a pan Cheshire Covenant; a voluntary statement of mutual support between the civilian community and its local armed forces community. The Covenant, set out 20 pledges, around five key themes; the Board received an update on each of the following:-

·       Housing;

·       Employment and Benefits;

·       Education;

·       Health; and

·       Wellbeing.

          The Board noted that the Cheshire Community Covenant Partnership, which consisted of the Armed Forces Champions from Cheshire East, Cheshire West and Chester, Warrington and Halton, representatives from Health, Job Centre Plus/DWP, 75^th  Engineers and 42^nd Regiments.

          In addition, the Board was advised that the Armed Forces Covenant Fund was a national grants scheme that had been in place since 2012. In 2015, it was reported that the arrangements had been reviewed and revised, with new guidance issued in August 2015. Details and guidance on applications for such grants were given in the report, but there were three key priorities for the fund:-

·       Community integration;

·       The co-ordination and delivery of support to the Armed Forces Community; and

·       Former service personnel in the criminal justice system.

          Members were also updated on wider Halton activity since the last report. World War 1 commemorations commenced on 4 August 2014, with Town Centre events in Runcorn and Widnes taking place, the Lights Out initiative promoted, the gathering of history and WW1 experiences in a project by the Library Service, a tea dance and a joint project with the Imperial War Museum North. On 8 May 2015, to mark VE Day, Halton’s Mayor lit a Beacon in the evening with local veteran support organisations and residents in attendance.

          Members noted details of future plans which included Corporate Covenants to complement the Armed Forces Covenant, the involvement of Reservists in the Covenant arrangements and  ...  view the full minutes text for item 27.

The Board considered a report of the Strategic Director, Community and Resources, which provided an update on the Council’s garden waste collection service.

Members were reminded of the introduction of a charge for the collection of garden waste which was introduced as part of the 2015/16 budget setting process. This report provided Members with an update on the scheme since the introduction of this charge on 1 June 2015.

Service take-up was reported to be 36% of eligible households (15,215 households), with the cost of the service set at £30 per bin per year (£25 if paid for online).It was noted that income received from subscriptions was sufficient to cover the operation, management and administrative costs associated with the service, which meant that the objective of making the service self-financing had been achieved. The report set out details on the payment rates, incidents of fly tipping, the administration of the scheme and an analysis of kerbside collections and of garden waste deposited at the Council’s Household Waste Recycling Centres.

 The Board wished to place on record their thanks to Officers that had introduced and managed the implementation of the scheme and to those Members of the Waste Topic Group for their contribution.

RESOLVED: That the report be noted.

The Board received a report of the Strategic Director, Community and Resources, on the proposed updates to the Local Development Scheme (LDS).

The LDS was the timetable for the production of Halton’s Local Plan which set out how the Borough would develop over the next 15-20 years. The LDS identified the Planning Policy documents to be prepared with targets dates for their production.

A provisional Halton Local Development Scheme 2015 was attached to the report at Appendix 1. It was noted that the LDS was an essential tool in policy production as it allowed future participation to be scheduled in advance by stakeholders, industry and the public. Regular updates on the milestones in the LDS were published on the Council’s website.

RESOLVED: That the provisional Local Development Scheme, appended to the report at Appendix 1, and the Local Plan document highlighted in the LDS, be noted.

The Board considered a report of the Strategic Director, Community and Resources, on the Business Plan for 2016/17.

The Council developed its business plan in parallel with the determination of its annual budget and the review and refresh of the Corporate and Directorate Risk Registers.

It was noted that Members now had the opportunity to contribute to the process of plan development. Members were informed that plans could only be finalised once budget decisions had been confirmed in March 2016, and that some target information may need to be reviewed as a result of final outturn data becoming available post March 2016.

The following areas were discussed:

·       Waste Management and Open Spaces;

·       Economic Regeneration;

·       Highways, Transportation and Traffic; and

·       Physical Environment – Statutory Plans

RESOLVED: That

1)    Members’ comments be taken into account when developing the Business Plan; and

2)    the draft plan be brought to a future meeting of the Board.

The Board considered a report of the Strategic Director, Community and Resources, which gave details of road traffic collision and casualty numbers within the Borough in the year 2014, and recommended a continuance of road traffic collision reduction work.

The Board was advised that Appendix A to the report set out full details of the numbers of traffic collisions and casualties in the year 2014, and compared these figures with those from previous years. These results were disappointing, with an increase in the numbers of people slightly injured and of those killed/seriously (KSI) injured, compared to those figures for previous years. Within the KSI total, both the number of adults and of children increased, but it was noted that the latter figure was known to be volatile in Halton and could fluctuate from year to year.

A summary for 2014 was set out in the report. Halton’s 2014 casualty figures reinforced the view that achieving further reductions would prove to be extremely challenging. Members noted that this should be considered in the context of a reduction in Government grants for road safety, and an anticipated continued reduction following the next Government Spending Review, together with the absence of national road casualty reduction targets.

RESOLVED: That

1)    the overall progress made on casualty reduction in Halton over the past decade be noted and welcomed; and

2)    the continuing programme of road traffic collision and reduction schemes and road safety education, training and publicity be endorsed.

The Chair made an announcement regarding the recent appointment of Mick Noone as the Lead Officer for Roads for Transport for the North. This appointment was essentially required to ensure that the whole of the North of England’s strategic road network was developed to meet the strategic, economic and environmental needs of the North, working in conjunction primarily with the Department for Transport and Highways England.

The Chair congratulated Mr Noone on his appointment.