Archived decisions
Item 1
AT A MEETING of the ENVIRONMENT POLICY REVIEW COMMITTEE held on Thursday 18 October 2001 at The Castle, Winchester.
PRESENT:
Councillors: J.K. Glen (Chairman); F.J. Bright; Mrs E.M. Byrom; C.R.H. Davidovitz; Mrs P. Dickens; A.G. Dowden; W.J. Filer; Mrs K. Heron; K. House; R.J. Kimber; T.G. Knight; R.C. McIntosh; M.J. Roberts; Sir James J. Scott; Miss J.D. Wride.
12. MINUTES
The Minutes of the meeting held on 17 September 2001 were confirmed by the Committee and signed as a correct record following a grammatical correction on page 5.
Arising thereon:-
(i) Minute 5 - A New Forest National Park
The County Planning Officer reported that the consultation period in respect of the proposed national park boundary and the proposed special arrangements for setting up a New Forest National Park had closed. Following consideration of the responses received, a Designation Order would be published by the Countryside Agency and submitted to the Secretary of State for confirmation. This was anticipated in early 2002 and there would be a period during which objections could be made. Should any objections be made to the Minister, a public inquiry would be held.
In respect of the South Downs the Countryside Agency met in September and agreed, for consultation purposes, the proposed boundary and arrangements for setting up the South Downs National Park. A three month consultation period would commence in late November 2001.
(ii) Minute 7 - 20mph Speed Limits in Rural Areas
The County Surveyor reported that feedback from the various 20mph pilot
schemes would be submitted to the Committee for their consideration in due
course.
(iii) Minute 9 - Local Bus Service Budget - 2001/02
The County Surveyor updated the Committee on the latest position in
respect of the pressures on the local bus service budget. In respect of
recommendation (iii), a decision was made not to pursue the
recommendation in view of the Rural Bus Subsidy Grant funding already
received from the Government.
(iv) Minute 11 - Reviewing the Adopted Hampshire County Structure Plan
The County Planning Officer reported that currently there was not a published timetable available for this review, however, Members were assured that technical work was underway in a number of areas.
In respect of the decision of whether the review would lead to an alteration of the existing plan or a replacement plan, it was agreed that this decision would be a crucial one, however, there was nothing further to report at this time.
13. CHAIRMAN'S COMMUNICATIONS
(i) The Chairman reminded Members that the County Council's "Down to
Earth 2" conference on sustainable lifestyles was being held on Friday 19
October at the Guildhall, Winchester.
(ii) The Chairman reported that the Overview and Scrutiny Seminars that had been held recently had been very useful. Follow-on seminars were planned.
14. TRANSPORT NETWORK IMPROVEMENTS BEST VALUE REVIEW - OPTIONS REPORT
The Committee considered the report of the County Surveyor (Item 2 in the Minute Book) and received a presentation which detailed the review process and the key topic areas identified for investigation of improvement. Members' comments and preferences were invited for incorporation into the discussions at the forthcoming Transport Network Improvements Challenge Workshops.
Members signed up for the workshops as follows:-
External Service Provision (7 November 2001: 11.00am - 1.00pm, Meeting Room, Mottisfont Court, The Castle, Winchester)
Councillors: C.R.H. Davidovitz, Mrs K. Heron and R.C. McIntosh
Product Procurement (7 November 2001: 2.00 - 4.00pm, Conference Room 3, Ashburton Court, The Castle, Winchester)
Councillors: Mrs K. Heron, T.G. Knight and M.J. Roberts
Public Engagement (19 November 2001: 4.00 - 6.00pm, Basing Room, The Castle, Winchester)
Councillors: Mrs P. Dickens, A.G. Dowden and Miss J.D. Wride
Democratic Process and Minimising Bureaucracy (20 November 2001: 11.00am - 1.00pm, Portal Room, The Castle, Winchester)
Councillors: Mrs E.M. Byrom, T.G. Knight and M.J. Roberts
Whole Life Costings (20 November 2001: 2.00 - 4.00pm, Wellington Room,
Elizabeth II Court, The Castle, Winchester)
Councillors: F.J. Bright, T.G. Knight + 1 vacancy
Managing and Developing Skills for the Task (21 November 2001: 2.00 -4.00pm,
Basing Room, The Castle, Winchester)
Councillors: Mrs K. Heron, R.J. Kimber, Sir James J. Scott and Miss J.D. Wride
Following completion of the review, it was anticipated that the Outcomes Report
would be presented to the Committee in January 2002.
15. FUTURE DIRECTION OF THE COMMITTEE
Members discussed the future direction of the Committee and put forward suggested areas of work which would be considered in due course. (see Appendix 1 attached to the Minutes).
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APPENDIX 1
ENVIRONMENT POLICY REVIEW COMMITTEE
18 OCTOBER 2001
FUTURE DIRECTION OF THE COMMITTEE
The following suggestions were received:-
· Investigate increasing the delivery of freight by rail rather than by
road - (Councillor Mrs Heron)
· Flooding/drainage - (Councillor Mrs Byrom)
· Countywide review of provision and need for mineral extraction and
waste and how we deal with it - (Councillor Miss Wride)
· Investigate enhancing the delivery of waste targets - (Councillor House)
· Arrange a meeting with the Environment Agency inviting them to
answer questions on a wide range of issues including waste and
flooding - (Councillor Dowden)
· Councillor Roberts:-
* Airports
* Buses
* National Parks - particularly the South Downs
* Spatial Policy
* Recycling
* Sustainability
* Transport Integration - particularly rail transport
* Ports and the whole policy of what we do there
· National Parks consultation - helping form the County view -
(Councillor Sir James Scott)
· Councillor Mrs Dickens:-
* The South Downs - strategy and provision
* Buses - accountability
· Brainstorming session on various transport issues - (Councillor Knight)
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