Agenda and minutes
PDF 63 KBVenue: Ashcombe Suite, County Hall, Kingston upon Thames, Surrey KT1 2DN
Contact: Tom Pooley or Huma Younis
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APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE AND SUBSTITUTIONS
Minutes: Apologies were received from Nikki Barton, Natalie Bramhall, Pat Frost and Cllr John Furey.
Chris Norman substituted for Pat Frost.
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MINUTES OF THE PREVIOUS MEETING: 10 SEPTEMBER 2014
To agree the minutes as a true record of the meeting. Minutes: The Minutes were agreed as an accurate record of the meeting.
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DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST
To receive any declarations of disclosable pecuniary interests from Members in respect of any item to be considered at the meeting.
Notes: · In line with the Relevant Authorities (Disclosable Pecuniary Interests) Regulations 2012, declarations may relate to the interest of the member, or the member’s spouse or civil partner, or a person with whom the member is living as husband or wife, or a person with whom the member is living as if they were civil partners and the member is aware they have the interest. · Members need only disclose interests not currently listed on the Register of Disclosable Pecuniary Interests. · Members must notify the Monitoring Officer of any interests disclosed at the meeting so they may be added to the Register. · Members are reminded that they must not participate in any item where they have a disclosable pecuniary interest. Minutes: There were none.
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QUESTIONS AND PETITIONS
To receive any questions or petitions.
Notes: 1. The deadline for Member’s questions is 12.00pm four working days before the meeting (21 October 2014). 2. The deadline for public questions is seven days before the meeting (20 October 2014). 3. The deadline for petitions was 14 days before the meeting, and no petitions have been received. Minutes: There were none.
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RESPONSES FROM THE CABINET TO ISSUES REFERRED BY THE SELECT COMMITTEE
There are no responses to report. Minutes: There were none.
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RECOMMENDATION TRACKER AND FORWARD WORK PROGRAMME
The Committee is asked to monitor progress on the implementation of recommendations from previous meetings, and to review its Forward Work Programme. Additional documents: Minutes: 1. The Chairman brought attention to the Environment and Transport Select Committee’s Performance and Finance Sub-Group, advising Members of the Sub-Group to think laterally about where budget reductions could be made. Specifically, the Chairman called on Members not to focus solely on the numbers in order to identify savings but rather to challenge assumptions made by officers about where and how money is spent in the Environment and Infrastructure (EI) Directorate. The Committee was advised that a briefing note would be sent round highlighting the approach that the Performance and Finance Sub-Group should take towards scrutinising E&I’s spending and identify potential areas of savings.
2. The Chairman further advised that the Utilities Task Group may also want to consider reconvening following the submission of the Flooding Task Group’s final report. Recommendations: None
Actions/Further information to be provided: None
Committee Next Steps:
· The Chairman to distribute a note to the Committee detailing the approach that should be taken to identifying savings by the Performance and Finance Sub-Group.
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SURREY CYCLING STRATEGY UPDATE
Purpose of the report: Scrutiny of Services and Budgets
This report provides the Select Committee with an update on progress to date with the implementation of the Surrey Cycling Strategy.
Minutes: Witnesses:
Ian Good (Head of Emergency Management) Lesley Harding (Place and Sustainability Group Manager) Helyn Clack (Cabinet Member for Community Services)
Key points raised during the discussion:
1. The report was introduced by the Place and Sustainability Group Manager (PSGM) who provided an update on the Surrey Cycling Strategy to date.
2. Members expressed particular concern with large cycling events which were identified as being an area of concern for Surrey residents due to the disruption they caused. The Head of Emergency Management (HEM) highlighted that regulated cycling events were an effective means of advertising cycling as an active pastime and encouraging people to exercise. They also have a more general positive impact on Surrey by promoting tourism and increasing trade to local businesses.
3. The HEM further advised that since the implementation of the Surrey Cycling Strategy a drop has been recorded in the number of complaints about cycling events.
4. The Committee asked about measures laid out in the Surrey Cycling Strategy to combat the number of unregulated events taking place in Surrey, pointing out that there appeared to be little, if any, reduction in the number of unregulated events taking place. The HEM advised that Surrey County Council (SCC) has been working with Surrey Police, British Cycling and Sport England to tackle these butas there were not any regulations in place it was difficult to clamp down on such events. Instead, the Council has been working to engage with a small number of organisers who arranged the majority of unregulated cycling events in Surrey to ensure that they adhere to a code of practice in order to minimise disruption to residents.
5. Members highlighted problems arising from 2014’s Prudential Ride London-Surrey event and highlighted that a lack of local knowledge by stewards had meant that they were unable to provide directions for drivers who had to be diverted. The HEM highlighted that the stewards had been briefed to allow as many drivers through as possible but that the discussions would be held with the race organisers ahead of the 2015 event to communicate the improvements expected in the standards of marshalling.
6. The Cabinet Member further advised that the organisation of the race would continue to improve every time it took place especially if it was kept along the same route each year as it would allow stewards to develop local knowledge and organisers to fix past problems.
7. Members also indicated that it might be a good idea to advertise the date that Prudential Ride London-Surrey would be taking place as soon as possible so that residents had plenty of advanced warning and would therefore have the opportunity to plan accordingly.
8. The Committee stated that residents were not solely concerned with cycling events but also with the conduct of some cyclists who pay little heed to road traffic laws and discussed ways in which this small minority of cyclists could be encouraged to act more responsibly on the roads.
9. Members requested data on ... view the full minutes text for item 75/14 |
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REPORT OF THE FLOODING TASK GROUP
Purpose of the report: Policy Development and Review
This report contains the findings and recommendations of the Flooding Task Group, which was commissioned by the Environment & Transport Select Committee to investigate the impacts of the recent flood events that affected Surrey in December 2013 and early 2014.
Additional documents: Minutes: Witnesses:
Ben Skipp (Programme Manager) Mark Howarth (Flood and Water Strategy Manager)
Key points raised during the discussion:
1. The Chairman prefaced Member discussions on the report by qualifying some of the information provided in Annexe 1. It was highlighted that, for each town or village listed in the annexe, the flood source was listed as the original reason for the flooding, i.e. the river which burst its banks, rather than any other water sources which may have overflowed as a result. The Environment Agency (EA) manage main rivers, so their data has been used.
2. The Committee asked how the Council was working to mitigate the dangers of flooding caused by sources of water which fall outside the EA’s remit. Sewage was cited by Members as a particular problem for residents and had inundated numerous houses during the floods that occurred in early 2014. The Chairman noted that some leaks in the sewage network were caused by rivers bursting their banks and so it was vital to work with the EA to ensure that appropriate flood defences were put in place. The Chairman asked the Flood and Water Strategy Manager (FWSM) to provide an update on any discussions taking place with Thames Water who maintained Surrey’s sewage network.
3. The FWSM advised that progress was being made with Thames Water in getting them to contribute to flood prevention strategies. The Chairman highlighted that the EA only has power to regulate Thames Water where sewage is at risk of draining into a river but that no powers are available to compel them to take action where sewage is at risk of flooding homes. As Thames Water is a private company, SCC is not allowed to contribute money towards upgrading the sewage network.
4. Members expressed concern that the proposed solution to prevent flooding in the future for some areas was still listed as ‘unknown’ in the annexe. The Chairman highlighted that SCC and the EA were at present still exploring what measures could be taken to reduce the risk of flooding where the solution was listed as unknown but advised the Committee that the flooding Task Group would ensure that measures would be identified to mitigate flooding risks.
5. The Committee asked for further information on the River Thames Scheme and asked for assurances that the strategy wouldn’t come at the expense of local projects creating flood defences for communities in Surrey. The FWSM confirmed that there are a number of local schemes and projects taking place in Surrey to develop flood defences. The Chairman suggested that the time taken to get planning permission for flood schemes could be a cause for delays to implementation if not resourced adequately. The Programme Manager (PM) agreed to ascertain the current involvement of planning officers in flood scheme development and whether there should be any concern around resource to take schemes through the planning process in optimum timescales.
6. Members asked who would be paying for the Caterham Bourne flood defences which were ... view the full minutes text for item 76/14 |
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DATE OF NEXT MEETING
The next meeting of the Committee will be held at 10.30am on Monday 15 December 2014. Minutes: The Date of the next meeting is Monday 15th of December at 10.30 am in the Ashcombe Suite.
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