Agenda, decisions and minutes
PDF 731 KBVenue: Council Offices, Knowle Green, Staines-upon-Thames. TW18 1XB. View directions
Contact: Carys Walker Partnership Committee Officer Room 357, Council Offices, Knowle Green, Staines-upon-Thames TW18 1XB
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OPEN FORUM
Before the formal Committee session began, the Chairman invited questions from members of the public attending the meeting. Where possible, questions received an answer at the meeting, or a written response was provided subsequently. Questions and response have been attached as an annex to this item.
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APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE
To receive any apologies for absence. Decision:
The following apologies were received:
Cllr Ian Harvey Cllr Tim Evans Minutes:
The following apologies were received:
Cllr Ian Harvey Cllr Tim Evans |
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MINUTES FROM PREVIOUS MEETING
To approve the Minutes of the previous meeting as a correct record.
Decision: The minutes of the previous meeting were agreed as an accurate record of the meeting on 17th July Minutes: The minutes of the previous meeting were agreed as an accurate record of the meeting on 17th July |
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DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST
All Members present are required to declare, at this point in the meeting or as soon as possible thereafter (i) Any disclosable pecuniary interests and / or (ii) Other interests arising under the Code of Conduct in respect of any item(s) of business being considered at this meeting. NOTES: · Members are reminded that they must not participate in any item where they have a disclosable pecuniary interest. · As well as an interest of the Member, this includes any interest, of which the Member is aware, that relates to the Member’s spouse or civil partner (or any person with whom the Member is living as a spouse or civil partner). · Members with a significant personal interest may participate in the discussion and vote on that matter unless that interest could be reasonably regarded as prejudicial.
Minutes: There were no declarations of interest. |
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CHAIRMAN'S ANNOUNCEMENTS
To receive any Chairman’s announcements.
Agenda item only
Minutes: The Chairman announced the following: Parson’s Green Attack: As you will have heard there was police activity in Sunbury as a result of investigations into the attack. Personnel from both Spelthorne Borough Council and Surrey County Council have been involved in ‘gold level’ communications with the police and have been working in close partnership on an almost daily basis since then. We do understand that this can be unsettling for residents, but please know that everything that can be done is being done at this time. .
If you have any information that you think you have any information that you think may assist the investigation, then call the confidential hotline on 0800 789 321 or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111
I am pleased to announce that the Citizen’s Advice Bureau has had it’s AGM on 10th August. This is an organisation that receives support from both the county and borough councils and which we are very proud to do so. Last year, the CAB help almost 4,000 residents handle just short of 12,000 issues including advice about housing, debt, employment matters and benefits. Among these 117 residents had their homes saved from repossession as a result of advice received. They are always looking for volunteer advisors so if anyone here tonight is so inclined, our Partnership Officer would be pleased to put you in touch. |
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VICE CHAIRMAN'S ANNOUNCEMENTS
To receive any Vice Chairman’s announcements.
Agenda item only
Minutes: As the Vice-chairman was chairing today’s meeting he did not make any further announcements. |
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PETITIONS & PETITION RESPONSES
To receive any petitions in accordance with Standing Order 14.1. Notice must be given in writing or by email to the Community Partnership and Committee Officer at least 14 days before the meeting. Alternatively, the petition can be submitted on-line through Surrey County Council’s or Spelthorne Borough Council’s e-petitions website as long as the minimum number of signatures has been reached 14 days before the meeting. Decision: The Joint Committee agreed to:
The Spelthorne Joint Committee agreed:.
(i) To note the question, the petition and the circumstances surrounding the changes to bus services 441 and 555
(ii) That the County Council is to discuss the levels of provision with Heathrow Airport Ltd., for bus services from the “south side” of the airport.
Minutes: Mr Andrew McLuskey brought a petition to the Committee requesting the reinstatement of bus services between Stanwell and Heathrow.
At the time of submission, the petition was enclosed with 147 signatures. At the meeting itself, additional signatures had been supplied bringing the total to approximately 400. In addition to the petition, Mr McLuskey had also submitted a written questions asking what consultation was carried out prior to the service being curtailed.
A number of residents were in attendance to support the petition in person and there were a number of factors that they wished to be taken into consideration.
· The lack of consultation that had been carried out before the services were withdrawn · The suitability of buses for carrying those who had mobility issues (lack of wheelchair access, appropriate seating etc,) · Travel information and timetables which were out of date and therefore giving in correct information. · Services not running in the evenings, Sundays or on public holidays.
Comments from the Committee acknowledged the problem, pointing out that those affected would often be the most vulnerable. Older people relied on the bus services to attend medical appointments and a lot of children used the service to get to and from school. Less affluent families who could not afford to run a vehicle were also affected; as were those commuted into London and relied on the bus to make a connection to rail and tube services and, in addition, those who work at Heathrow itself.
The Area Highways Manager (AHM) explained that decisions about bus services (including routes and types of vehicles used) were made by the bus company itself and was based on how financial viable each service is. The county council can lend some influence and in some cases can assist by subsidising unprofitable routes, however the current financial situation means that this measure is unlikely unless funding was taken from another bus service that was already subsidised.
With regards to consultation, bus operators are only obliged to give the council 2 weeks notice of a change to their service and there is no consultation period nor a right to appeal the decision.
It was noted that the Strategic Transport Team were planning to meet with Heathrow Airport Ltd to discuss sustainable and affordable options to mitigate the loss of services. It was also agreed that the Committee would invite the bus company to address them at a future meeting.
In closing, the Chairman underlined the importance of residents making use of the bus services whenever possible as this is the best way to convince the providers to retain those services.
The Joint Committee agreed to:
The Spelthorne Joint Committee agreed:.
(i) To note the question, the petition and the circumstances surrounding the changes to bus services 441 and 555
(ii) That the County Council is to discuss the levels of provision with Heathrow Airport Ltd., for bus services from the “south side” of the airport.
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WRITTEN MEMBER QUESTIONS
To receive any written questions from members under Standing Order 13. The deadline for members’ questions is 12 noon four working days before the meeting. Minutes: No members’ questions were submitted. |
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WRITTEN PUBLIC QUESTIONS
To answer any questions from residents or businesses within Spelthorne borough area in accordance with Standing Order 14.2. Notice should be given in writing or by email to the Partnership Committee Officer by 12 noon four working days before the meeting. Additional documents: Minutes: Two questions were received from Charlton Village Residents Association (CVRA)
Question 1
This was a request for yellow lines on Walnut Tree Road which a fellow resident had raised at the CVRA’s annual general meeting. A written response to the question had been prepared by the council’s Highways department and had been supplied to the committee and the residents association prior to Committee.
In their verbal response, representatives from the CVRA added that there had been an accident since the AGM mentioned in their written submission and this was because people could not been seen as they attempt to cross the road in between parked cars. They therefore were keen that action to address this was taken as soon as possible.
The Highways Manager reiterated the process that would be followed as part of the parking review this year and stated that the spring of 2018 would be the earliest that lines could be installed, if approved.
Question 2
This was a question about a reoccurring flooding issue in the village that is brought about whenever there is a significant rainfall. As in the previous question, a response had been prepared and provided to the questioner and committee members.
In responding to the officer’s report, the CVRA said that they disagreed that the water flow was foul water and believed it to be a line of water that flowed into a nearby river.
As part of an ongoing investigation, the borough’s Senior Environmental Health officer had also been looking into this and will provide an update to the residents’ association directly.
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DECISION TRACKER (FOR INFORMATION)
To review any outstanding decisions from the Joint Committee.
Additional documents: Minutes: In relation to item 2 regarding the land around Sheep’s Walk, Shepperton: Spelthorne Borough Council was the agency that took out the injunction on those occupying the site and that the hearing was adjourned until Monday 25th September.
As a result of this hearing the injunction was granted and the land must be vacated by 24th October.
The County’s Countryside Team have commission contractors to clear the litter on the site and they should be on site in the next 3-4 weeks.
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ENVIRONMENT AGENCY: WINTER READINESS AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT [FOR INFORMATION, NO REPORT]
A presentation given by the Environment Agency officer for Spelthorne to outline the current activities with respect to winter readiness, temporary defences and work with partners and community groups. Minutes: The Environment Agency along with Applied Resilience (who coordinate the emergency planning for the borough) presented to the Committee to give an overview of their recent work in the community and preparations for the upcoming winter months.
The Environment Agency commenced by looking at the range of services and equipment that they can deploy at short notice before and during floods. Included in this are barriers that can be quickly deployed and which provide a defence against rising flood waters. These are held at strategic hubs throughout the country so that they can be reached easily wherever and whenever they are required. Temporary barriers can be put in place within 5 hours of them being requested.
Maps included in the presentation show areas the Environment Agency see as their primary focus in the event of flooding and where temporary barriers may be needed namely, along areas of the Thames, Sweeps Ditch and Littleton Lake. It is noted however that temporary defences are not suitable for all types of flooding and may in a few cases make it worse by diverting it to another vulnerable area. To counteract this, the Environment Agency are carrying out additional modelling to improve the deployment of barriers in the event of flooding.
Applied Resilience have updated plans following the 2014 flooding and have worked with community groups to develop their readiness so that they can take local action in the event that they are threatened by flooding. Having helped them to establish their groups and write their plans, both agencies will be holding an event in November where flood groups will be invited to take part in a range of simulations that allow them to test the robustness of their plans in a safe, learning environment.
Throughout their time working with communities, both agencies recognise that residents between the ages of 18 -34 were difficult to engage with and often did not fully comprehend the threat that their households may be under in the event of an emergency. Within the presentation were examples of posters which were designed to be hard hitting and therefore encourage action within this area of the population. Apps and social media are also considered important methods to reach out to them. Whilst social media is important for this age group, it is recognised that it is not as well taken up by the older generation and therefore Applied Resilience have worked directly with the Older Persons Group to illicit their interest. Residents associations are also informed about activities in their area, however as the impetus for drawing up a local emergency plan comes from the community’s desire to implement one, they cannot be compelled to do so.
The Committee acknowledge the good work that both agencies were doing and were keen that it was publicised as well as possible. Councillors requested that both the county and borough councillors should be kept apprised as well as residents’ associations.
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A verbal update from Colin Kemp, Cabinet Member for Highways. Additional documents: Minutes: A briefing note and map accompany these minutes. The numbers on the map are Surrey Highways asset ID numbers and correspond with the ID on the published Horizon 2 lists on the SCC website.
The Chairman welcomed Surrey’s Cabinet Member for Highways to the Committee.
The Cabinet Member’s primary purpose for attending was to look at the role that Local and Joint Committees can play in influencing how highways funding should be spent in their area. He acknowledged that funding to the Committee directly had be reduced by around 80% this year but that across the county £90million had been spent but that he believed that there was not enough publicity about this. In future, he would like to illicit the Committee’s view on how it should be spent in Spelthorne. Highways improvements especially new schemes and major design projects often take around 5 years to come to fruition and so early involvement by the Committee could contribute to making them successful.
The Cabinet Member asked for Members’ action and views on: · How developers’ funds can be used and accessed · Scrutinising how parking enforcement funding has been applied · Considering how to charge for parking around commercial centres · Charging for on-street parking
The Cabinet Member concluded that he would be happy to hear from any committee members from both the county and borough membership but requested that the appropriate county divisional member should be copied in on all correspondence.
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HIGHWAYS UPDATE (FOR DECISION)
To receive an update from the Highways Area Team Manager (North East).
Additional documents: Decision: The Joint Committee agreed:
(i) To allocate the anticipated £42,273 revenue from the 2018-19 budget for day to day maintenance. (ii) To allocate the anticipated £36,364 capital from the 2018-19 budget to continue the development of strategic schemes for CIL bids. (iii) Authorise the Area Highway Manager in consultation with the Chairman, Vice Chairman, and relevant Divisional Member(s) to undertake all necessary procedures to deliver the agreed programmes. Minutes: The Area Highways Manager (AHM) presented a report that updated the Committee on progress of this year’s schemes and outlined a strategy for allocating next year’s budget. The estimated figures were based on the medium term financial plan that was agreed by Cabinet in March.
The Area Highways Manager also included figures from the available parking surplus which had been reconciled from figures that had been previously given to the parking task group. All allocations had now been accounted for and the figure given in table 2 was up to date.
Should the Committee agree on the second recommendation, the AHM’s aspiration is to work closely with the borough council’s planning officers and the task group to develop the bids which will best improve the highways infrastructure. Proposals will be brought back to committee for input. It would not guarantee however that funding would be released to pursue these proposals as this decision is the preserve of the borough council.
The Committee commented that one of the benefits of the proposed approach was that it provided the flexibility to address those issues that don’t fall into the criteria for repair for central funding but nevertheless matter to residents.
(Cllr Griffiths left the meeting ahead of the decision)
The Joint Committee agreed:
(i) To allocate the anticipated £42,273 revenue from the 2018-19 budget for day to day maintenance. (ii) To allocate the anticipated £36,364 capital from the 2018-19 budget to continue the development of strategic schemes for CIL bids. (iii) Authorise the Area Highway Manager in consultation with the Chairman, Vice Chairman, and relevant Divisional Member(s) to undertake all necessary procedures to deliver the agreed programmes. |
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FORWARD PROGRAMME [FOR DECISION]
To agree the Forward Programme for the next meeting:
· Environment Agency: Update on the River Thames Scheme · Surrey Fire & Rescue Service: Annual Review · Highways Update & Budget · Parking Review Decision: The Joint Committee agreed to include the following in the forward plan for the next meeting:
· Parking Review · To invite representatives from the Abellio Bus Company to attend the next meeting
Minutes: The Joint Committee agreed to include the following in the forward plan for the next meeting:
· Parking Review · To invite representatives from the Abellio Bus Company to attend the next meeting
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DATE OF NEXT MEETING
To be held on Monday 6 December 2017 at 6.30pm in the Council Chamber, Spelthorne Council Offices, Knowle Green, Staines-upon-Thames TW18 1XB.
(6.30pm – 7pm: Open Forum, Informal Public Question Time)
Minutes: The date of the next meeting is Wednesday 6th December at 6.30pm |