Councillors and committees

Agenda, decisions and minutes

Venue: Bourne Hall, Spring Street, Ewell, KT17 1UF

Contact: Nicola Morris, Community Partnership & Committee Officer  Surrey County Council, Community Partnership Team, Epsom Town Hall (2nd floor), Epsom, KT18 5BY

Items
No. Item

1/15

APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE AND SUBSTITUTIONS

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    To receive any apologies for absence and notices of substitutions from Borough members under Standing Order 39.

    Minutes:

    Apologies were received from Mrs Lallement.  Mrs Mountain left the meeting early at approximately 8pm.

2/15

WRITTEN PUBLIC QUESTIONS AND STATEMENTS

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    To answer any questions or receive a statement from any member of the public who lives, works or studies in the Surrey County Council area in accordance with Standing Order 69.  Notice should be given in writing or by e-mail to the Community Partnership & Committee Officer at least by noon four working days before the meeting.

    Minutes:

    There were no public questions or statements received.

3/15

ADJOURNMENT

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    For the Committee to consider adjourning for up to half an hour to receive questions from members of the public.

    Minutes:

    Seven members of the public were present.  Four informal questions were asked and the answers were provided at the meeting.

     

    A question was asked in respect of the accumulation of litter on the railway embankment in Epsom and regular cleaning was requested.  Cleaning of this area is a matter for Network Rail although action can be requested by the Borough Council.  It was agreed that the Community Partnership & Committee Officer would write to the Borough Council asking them to request Network Rail to improve cleaning in this area.

4/15

PETITIONS

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    To receive any petitions in accordance with Standing Order 68.

    Minutes:

    No petitions have been received.

5/15

MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETING pdf icon PDF 132 KB

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    To approve the Minutes of the previous meeting as a correct record.

    Minutes:

    The minutes were confirmed as a correct record.

6/15

DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

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    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 no declarations of interest.

7/15

MEMBER QUESTION TIME

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    To receive any written questions from Members under Standing Order 47.   Notice should be given in writing to the Community Partnership & Committee officer by 12.00 noon four working days before the meeting.

    Minutes:

    Ten questions were received and the questions and answers are set out in Annex A.  The following supplementary questions were asked.

     

    Question 1:  Cllr Dallen felt that as there are numerous examples of drivers failing to stop at the lights that more should be done to ensure that they are clearly visible.

     

    Question 2:  An informal question was also asked on this topic.  The resident reported that cars travel too fast and that there have been several accidents as a result of cars losing control.  The chicanes are ineffective at slowing traffic and the parking bays make it difficult for residents to see on-coming traffic when reversing out of their driveways.  It was noted, that there are a lot of vulnerable people in this area, as well as a school and church.  The road has a good accident history and would not currently be a priority for work by highways, unless the Local Committee wished to agree to make it a priority for funding.  It was agreed, that Cllr Dallen would present the information to the next informal meeting of the Local Committee so that members could discuss whether it would be appropriate to consider speed management measures in this road, when weighed against other priorities for the Committee’s funding.

     

    Question 3:  Mrs Mason expressed her dissatisfaction with the quality of communication received from the project Horizon team particularly in respect of Jasmine Road.

     

    Question 8:  Cllr Arthur withdrew this question as the matter seemed to have been resolved. 

     

    Question 9:  Cllr Arthur requested that consideration be given to including this work in the Committee’s programme as soon as the planning permission expires.

Annex A pdf icon PDF 178 KB

8/15

DATA OVERVIEW OF ACADEMIC PROGRESS WITHIN THE BOROUGH OF EPSOM AND EWELL pdf icon PDF 706 KB

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    The report provides an analysis of performance which includes both the outcomes of statutory assessments and Ofsted judgements. The report indicates strengths and areas for improvement.

    Minutes:

    Declarations of Interest:  None

     

    Officers attending:  Kerry Randle, Area Education Officer NE; Caroline Marden, Area Schools Officer; Bindi Sarl, Babcock 4S; Michael Youlton, Babcock 4S

     

    Petitions, Public Questions/Statements:  None

     

    Member discussion – key points

     

    Noted that since the report was written Stamford Green School had received the outcome of their Ofsted inspection and they are now rated as 1 outstanding and that on page 21 there are now 5 focus support schools.

     

    Noted, that the floor standard is a measure designated by Government that they would like all schools to reach.  This is a challenging target and in some cases the floor standard is above the national average.  Schools are not considered to be giving rise to significant concern unless they fail to meet all the applicable floor standards.

     

    Members had some concerns that pupils at Blenheim High School were not achieving the same level in progress in English and maths as those in other schools in the area.  Officers responded that a consultant is currently working with the school to look at areas for improvement.  However, the school are still above the floor standard for the percentage of pupils achieving 5+ A*-C at GCSE including English and maths.

     

    Members thanked the officers for their excellent work with local schools, as well as all the staff working in those schools.

9/15

HIGHWAYS UPDATE pdf icon PDF 276 KB

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    This report summarises progress with the Local Committee’s programme of Highways works for the current Financial Year 2014-15.

     

    Preparations are well advanced to deliver the Local Committee’s programme of Highways works for the Financial Year 2015-16.

     

    At Full Council on 10th February 2015 it was decided to reduce the Local Committees’ Highways revenue budgets by £1,000,000.  It was also announced that 25% of the Local Committees’ Highways capital maintenance budgets must be used to assist with drainage issues.

    Additional documents:

    Decision:

    That the Local Committee (Epsom & Ewell) agreed to:

     

    (i)    approve the modified budget allocations for 2015-16  as set out in Table 7 of the report;

     

    (ii)   approve the modifications to the 2015-16 programme of ITS schemes as detailed in Table 8 of the report, which are needed to accommodate the changes to the 2015-16 budgets;

     

    (iii)  authorise the Area Team Manager in consultation with the Chairman, Vice Chairman and relevant Divisional Member(s) to identify appropriate drainage related schemes in which to invest the £27,100 Capital Drainage allocation;

     

    (iv)  extend the Divisional Programmes detailed in Table 9 of the report to become a two year programme from 2015-16 to 2016-17, and authorise the Area Team Manager in consultation with the Chairman, Vice Chairman and relevant Divisional Member(s), to prioritise schemes within the Divisional Programmes for delivery in the first year 2015-16;

     

    (v)  authorise the Area Team Manager in consultation with the Chairman, Vice Chairman, and relevant Divisional Member(s) to undertake all necessary procedures to deliver the agreed programmes.

     

    Reasons:  At Full Council on 10th February 2015 it was decided to reduce the Local Committees’ Highways revenue budgets by £1,000,000.  This equates to a reduction of £57,490 for Epsom and Ewell.  It was also announced that 25% of the Local Committees’ Highways capital maintenance budgets must be used to assist with drainage issues.  This equates to £27,100 for Epsom and Ewell.

     

    Programmes of work for each Division have been agreed with Divisional Members.  Committee is asked to provide the necessary authorisation to deliver those programmes of work in consultation with the Chairman, Vice Chairman and relevant Divisional Member without the need to revert to the Committee as a whole.

    Minutes:

    Declarations of Interest:  None

     

    Officers attending:  Nick Healey, Area Highways Team Manager; Alan Flaherty, Engineer

     

    Petitions, Public Questions/Statements:  None

     

    Member discussion – key points

     

    Noted in paragraph 2.28 bullet three it should read Riverholme Drive and not Reiverview Road.

     

    Cllr Dallen questioned the quality of the work carried out on footway patching in the Town centre.  It was agreed that he would meet with the Maintenance Engineer to discuss his concerns.

     

    Cllr Arthur felt that there was room for further improvements to be made with the phasing of the traffic lights at the Spring Street junction in Ewell.  The Area Highways Team Manager suggested that Members should meet with the traffic signals officers on site so that options could be considered.  It was suggested that this could be combined with a planned visit to the nearby Cheam Road/ A24 junction.

     

    It was reported that the skid resistant material in Ruxley Lane had been overlaid when the road was resurfaced.  The new road surface is being tested to see if it meet the appropriate standard for skid resistance.

     

    Cllr Mason reported that the work to revise the access arrangements to the Tesco store in Ruxley Lane had now been completed, but that drivers are ignoring the no entry signs.  Officer reported that now that the Traffic Regulation Order has been published it is the responsibility of the police to enforce any traffic violations.

     

    Members were advised that if they felt that there were any road markings in their area that needed refreshing they should inform the Parking Officer so that they can be added to the maintenance list.

     

    It was confirmed that the West Hill cycle route will be constructed as agreed.  Some members were unsure what had been agreed.  They were advised to contact the Transportation Planning team who would be able to supply them with the details.

     

    Noted, that in Table 8 the project in Chantilly Way is to consider increasing the speed limit as the Police feel that the current speed limit is too low.  Members were not opposed to this except perhaps in the vicinity of the bend where drivers should be advised to slow down.

     

    Members were disappointed that officers from the Project Horizon team had been unable to attend the meeting and hoped that they would be able to attend the April informal meeting.

     

    Resolved: to:

     

    (i)    approve the modified budget allocations for 2015-16  as set out in Table 7 of the report;

     

    (ii)   approve the modifications to the 2015-16 programme of ITS schemes as detailed in Table 8 of the report, which are needed to accommodate the changes to the 2015-16 budgets;

     

    (iii)  authorise the Area Team Manager in consultation with the Chairman, Vice Chairman and relevant Divisional Member(s) to identify appropriate drainage related schemes in which to invest the £27,100 Capital Drainage allocation;

     

    (iv)  extend the Divisional Programmes detailed in Table 9 of the report to become a two year programme from 2015-16 to 2016-17, and authorise the Area Team Manager  ...  view the full minutes text for item 9/15

10/15

LOCAL PREVENTION YOUTH TASK GROUP RECOMMENDATIONS pdf icon PDF 116 KB

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    The Local Committee is responsible for commissioning Local Prevention services to prevent young people becoming Not in Education, Employment or Training (NEET) within their local area.  The Local Committee Youth Task Group has recently met and received presentations from a range of potential providers. This papers sets out their recommendation for awarding Local Prevention.

    Decision:

    That the Local Committee (Epsom & Ewell) agreed to:

     

    (i)    approve the Youth Task Group recommendation to award a contract for a 36 month period for One to One Work from 1 September 2015 to YMCA East Surrey for the value of £40,000 per annum (subject to future changes in SYP budgets).  Within the contract there is the opportunity to extend the service for a further two years, subject to budget changes, provider performance and any changes in the needs of young people.

     

    (ii)   approve the Youth Task Group recommendation to award a grant for a 36 month period for Neighbourhood Work from 1 September 2015 to The Beat Project for the value of £40,000 per annum (subject to future changes in SYP budgets). Within this grant agreement there is the opportunity to extend the service for a further two years, subject to budget changes, provider performance and any changes in the needs of young people.

     

    Reasons: The recommendations will support the council’s priority to ensure that all young people in Surrey are employable.

     

    Minutes:

    Declarations of Interest:  None

     

    Officers attending:  Nicholas Charalambous, Youth Support Team Manager

     

    Petitions, Public Questions/Statements:  None

     

    Member discussion – key points

     

    Councillors queried how many youth centres are now considered to be in the Borough.  The Youth Support Team Manager agreed to respond to members after the meeting.

     

    Members requested that the Youth Task Group should meet four times a year and requested clarification of its role and responsibilities.  It was agreed that the Chairman and Vice-Chairman of the Task Group should meet with officers to discuss its future operation.

     

    Resolved: to:

     

    (i)    approve the Youth Task Group recommendation to award a contract for a 36 month period for One to One Work from 1 September 2015 to YMCA East Surrey for the value of £40,000 per annum (subject to future changes in SYP budgets).  Within the contract there is the opportunity to extend the service for a further two years, subject to budget changes, provider performance and any changes in the needs of young people.

     

    (ii)   approve the Youth Task Group recommendation to award a grant for a 36 month period for Neighbourhood Work from 1 September 2015 to The Beat Project for the value of £40,000 per annum (subject to future changes in SYP budgets). Within this grant agreement there is the opportunity to extend the service for a further two years, subject to budget changes, provider performance and any changes in the needs of young people.

     

    Reasons: The recommendations will support the council’s priority to ensure that all young people in Surrey are employable.

     

11/15

DATE OF NEXT MEETING

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    Monday 22 June at 7.00pm, Bourne Hall, Ewell

    Minutes:

    Monday 22 June at 7.00pm, Bourne Hall, Ewell