Archived decisions
AT A MEETING of the ENVIRONMENT POLICY REVIEW COMMITTEE held on 1 December 2004 at The Castle, Winchester.
PRESENT:
Councillors: Mrs P. M. Devereux (In the Chair); F. J. Bright; Mrs E. M. Byrom;
Mrs K. Heron; K. House; R. J. Kimber; T. G. Knight; P. Luffman; R. H. Price;
M. J. Roberts; Sir James J Scott; J. D. Shaw and J. K. West.
Also in attendance: Councillor J. K. Glen.
Also in attendance: Councillor C. Davidovitz for Item 7 South East Plan Update.
263. DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST
Members were mindful that, where they believed they had a personal or personal prejudicial interest in any matter to be considered at the meeting, they should normally at the time of the debate declare their interest, and having regard to the circumstances described in paragraphs 9, 10, 11 and 12 of the County Council's Code of Conduct, consider whether to leave the meeting whilst the matter was discussed.
264. MINUTES
The Minutes of the meeting held on 6 October 2004 (Item 2 in the Minute
Book) were confirmed by the Committee and signed by the Vice - Chairman.
265. CHAIRMAN'S COMMUNICATIONS
The Vice - Chairman had no matters to report.
266. MEMBERS QUESTIONS
No questions to the Executive Member for Environment or the Executive
Member for Spatial Strategy had been received.
267. DEPUTATIONS
No requests to make a deputation had been received.
268. LOCAL TRANSPORT PLAN
The Committee received a presentation by the Director of Environment on the
Local Transport Plan.
The presentation focussed on the process and broad outline content for the
new Local Transport Plan and covered the Government's main themes for the
second round of Local Transport Plans namely congestion, accessibility, road
safety and air quality. The proposed approach of the County Council was
outlined including suggested additional objectives of economic prosperity,
quality of life and asset management. The overall approach and process were
also outlined including provisions for consultation, potential programmes and
proposed timetable. A copy of the presentation was circulated to Members.
During the course of the ensuing discussion, Members questions were
answered and the Director of Environment advised that further guidance was
still awaited from Central Government and until this was received it was
unknown whether public transport would be added to the agreed priorities.
Members emphasised the importance of cross boundary working with district
authorities to ensure service delivery.
RESOLVED
That the presentation by the Director of Environment be noted.
269. SOUTH EAST PLAN UPDATE
The Committee received a presentation by the Deputy Director of
Environment on the South East Plan update.
The presentation focussed on the changes made to the draft proposals at the
Regional Assembly Plenary meeting on 29 November and on the impacts of
the final proposals on Hampshire. Members were also updated on the
programme of further technical work carried out in the sub regions to identify
costs and infrastructure options and to develop a transportation strategy and
implementation plan. A copy of the presentation was circulated to Members.
The Deputy Director of Environment advised that South East Counties had
commissioned Roger Tym and Partners to research infrastructure investment
needed in the region for 2006-2026 and the existing infrastructure had been
acknowledged as being already at or over capacity in some areas although in
other areas it was in need of reviewing. Public consultation would be launched
on 17 January 2005 when engagement with Local Strategic Partnerships and
town and parish councils and public meetings in each district would take
place. Responses would be formulated and presented to the Cabinet meeting
on 21 March 2005 and County Council on 31 March 2005.
During the course of the ensuing discussion, Members questions were
answered and it was noted that infrastructure was funded by various
programmes including developer contributions.
RESOLVED:
That the presentation by the Deputy Director of Environment be noted.
270. HOUSING AFFORDABILITY IN HAMPSHIRE
Members declared the following personal interests:
Councillor Kimber as a board member of the Pavilion Housing Group.
Councillor House as a member of the Regional Housing Board.
Councillor Glen relating to his involvement in the mortgage business.
The Committee considered a report of the Director of Environment (Item 8 in
the Minute Book) providing progress on housing affordability in Hampshire
in light of the latest update by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation which
provides a useful comparison of housing affordability based on house prices
and household incomes.
Members noted that housing affordability in Hampshire had moved into the
same position as London and that despite this increasing problem in the South
East, it is the South West that remains the second least affordable region in
England after London. This could have adverse implications for the South East
and for Hampshire in particular, as the Government may see a case for
redistributing funding from the South East to the South West region.
RESOLVED:
(i) That the report be noted and the issue of housing affordability be kept
under review and closely monitored as the South East Plan and Local
Development Frameworks are prepared within Hampshire.
(ii) That the County Council's role in securing delivery of affordable housing
should be looked at in more detail by the appropriate scrutiny body. This
matter will be considered further by the future Environment Policy
Review Committee Sub Group at its meeting on 21 January 2005.
271. SPEED MANAGEMENT REVIEW
The Committee considered a report of the Director of Environment (Item 9 in
the Minute Book) detailing a proposed review of speed management
including traffic calming and other methods of speed control. The report also
advised Members of the Review Brief and invited Member nomination to
participate in the review.
The Director of Environment answered Members' questions.
RESOLVED:
(i) That the report be noted.
(ii) That Councillors P Luffman, R H Price and J K West participate in the
consultation part of the review.
272. TRANSPORT CAPITAL PROGRAMME 2004/05 PROGRESS AND
PROGRAMME AMENDMENTS
The Committee considered a report of the Director of Environment (Item 10
in the Minute Book) detailing the 2004/05 programme amendments which are
proposed to reflect slippage in the programmes and variations in costs in some
schemes. Amended versions of Appendices 2 and 3 of the report were
circulated to Members.
RESOLVED
That the progress on the 2004/05 Transport Capital Programme be noted.
273. "WORKING TOGETHER" WITH STREET LIGHTING
CONTRACTOR
To allow for further consultation with staff and Trade Unions to be
undertaken it was decided to defer the report to a future meeting of the
Committee.
274. ENVIRONMENT POLICY REVIEW COMMITTEE - FORWARD
PLAN
The Committee considered the report of the Chief Executive and Director of
Environment (Item 12 in the Minute Book) setting out issues for future
consideration by the Committee.
RESOLVED
That the report be noted.