Archived decisions

p I.F.E. Beagley

p Carol Boulton

p A.S. Carew

p Anne Edwards

a Mrs K. Heron

a Keith House

p G.M. Hockley

p Sam Payne

p Mrs M.J. Tucker

p Mrs. S.A. Wheale

a John K. West

Also present, Councillor M.J. Kendal, Executive Member for

Environment

Action

109 APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE

Apologies were received from Councillors Mrs Heron, House and J.K. West.

110 DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

Members were mindful that, where they believed they had a personal or a personal prejudicial interest in any matter to be considered at the meeting, they should declare their personal 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 save for exercising any right to speak in accordance with paragraph 12 of the Code. The declaration to be made at the time of the relevant debate.

No such interests were declared on this occasion.

111 MINUTES

The Minutes of the meeting of the Committee held on 2 October, 2008 were confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

Arising thereon, the Committee received and noted briefing notes on outstanding issues identified at the last meeting as follows (Item 3(x) in the Minute Book).

· Note from the Director of Environment on two topics, namely incinerator ash and the costs/signage of the "20 is plenty" scheme for roads adjoining schools.


· Note from the Chief Executive on developers' contributions under Section 106 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990, confirming that the County Council as waste disposal authority could take contributions towards the provision of additional waste disposal or recycling facilities.

112 DISPLAY ENERGY CERTIFICATES

The Committee considered a briefing note by the Director of Property, Business and Regulatory Services (Item 5 in the Minute Book) giving further information on the implications for the County Council, and an example of a Display Energy Certificate and accompanying Advisory report, as requested at the last meeting. Mike Fitch from the Property, Business and Regulatory Department attended and amplified on the report, and he responded to questions from Members. The main points arising were:

· Based on the current threshold of 1,000 square metres, some 395 County Council buildings required display energy certificates, most of them schools.


· There was a possibility that the Government would reduce the threshold to 250 square metres, which would mean a further 3,000 or more County Council buildings requiring display energy certificates.


· There was a cost in terms of registration fees for each certificate amounting to £27 per building, and also costs for training energy assessors to investigate buildings' energy performance and prepare the certificates.


· There was close collaborative working with other relevant organisations, for example the Fire and Rescue Service and a pilot project with the Carbon Trust to drive improvements in schools .


· It was recognised that Display Energy Certificates did not in themselves save energy, but they did concentrate managers' attention on the need for fuel efficiency and improved levels of energy performance in buildings.


· The County Council's programme of improvements to schools, notably Building Schools for the Future and New Deal for Schools, have resulted in improved thermal efficiency and reduced energy consumption at buildings by means of using more modern and efficient systems.


· There were many examples in the County Council's building stock of old or listed buildings, where it was more challenging to achieve energy efficiency and reduce carbon dioxide emissions.


· The Director of Property, Business and Regulatory Services would come back to Members with information on whether Display Energy Certificates applied to buildings such as village halls, and to County Farms.


In discussion some Members were concerned at the additional costs incurred by the County Council in training staff, preparing and registering Display Energy Certificates, but recognised that there was a legal requirement on the County Council to do so. It was reported that the programme of registering certificates for applicable buildings would be completed by the end of January. The Committee asked for an update on progress in a year's time.

DPBRS

(Mike Fitch)

Chief Executive (Philippa Smart to update the Work Programme)

113 REVENUE BUDGET 2009/10 ONWARDS

The Committee considered the report of the County Treasurer and Director of Environment (Item 6 in the Minute Book) on the revenue budget for the coming year onwards. Councillor Kendal, Executive Member for Environment, gave an account of the main pressures on the revenue budget which included higher levels of inflation on highway maintenance linked to fuel/energy costs; increasing costs of fuel and re-tendering for passenger transport services; savings from the safer roads partnership/driver awareness training to be recycled towards costs associated with road safety and enforcement of village 30 speed limits; progress towards the review of speed limits on A and B roads; expected reduction of income from searches because of the current state of the property market, and major scheme development costs.

Tom Neidrum, Head of Finance, Environment Department, then gave a presentation on the main features of the revised budget and revenue budget (Item 6(x) in the Minute Book). He drew attention to the projected underspend of £314,000 which would need to be carried forward into next year; the significant current levels of efficiency savings which it would be possible, though challenging, to continue; on the net overall savings in staff numbers; on £1m savings accruing on the waste budget through effective implementation of controls on trade waste; and on the practical costs of engineering and enforcement works for speed limits. In response to questions it was confirmed there would be extensive publicity for the continuing village 30 speed limit campaign, and a refresh of publicity for the 20 is Plenty campaign on roads near schools. With regard to the street lighting Private Finance Initiative, it was confirmed that it would still be open to Parish Councils in appropriate cases to seek and contribute towards the costs of street lighting within their areas.

After debate, the Committee (with three members abstaining) recommended the Executive Member for Environment to approve the revenue budget for 2009/10 onwards for submission to the Leader and Cabinet, on the basis set out in paragraph 3 of the report.

Director of Environment County Treasurer

114 CAPITAL PROGRAMME 2009/10 ONWARDS

The Committee considered the report of the County Treasurer and Director of Environment (Item 7 in the Minute Book) on the capital programme for the coming year onwards. Councillor M.J. Kendal, Executive Member for Environment, drew attention to the main challenges posed by the capital programme, notably that there would be no Government supported borrowing due to Hampshire being a "floor" authority; it had therefore been necessary to reduce the capital programme by £5m per annum; capital receipts were expected to diminish because of property market conditions; priority would be given to protecting structural maintenance in order to preserve the County Council's assets; the capital programme for the next two years would be spread over 3 years which would inevitably lead to some projects being deferred; and the environmental enhancements programme would have to be suspended so far as new schemes were concerned, although those already authorised would continue to be implemented over the next two years. He added that there was a £5m Government grant for waste disposal projects over the next 3 years. In addition, he drew attention to two major grant funded schemes: the bus rapid transit scheme from Fareham to Gosport (£20m) and the scheme to improve capacity at M27 junction 5, for both of which the County Council was the "lead Authority".

In response to questions it was confirmed that the safer routes to school scheme would continue; and some Members were concerned at the prospect of new environmental improvement schemes in villages and country towns having to lapse for the time being because of the financial pressures on the capital programme.


After discussion, the Committee agreed (with 3 Members abstaining) to recommend the Executive Member for Environment to approve the capital programme for 2009/10 to 2011/12, as set out in the report.

Director of Environment County Treasurer

115 LOCAL TRANSPORT PLAN : LTP2 PROGRESS REPORT

The Committee considered the report of the Director of Environment (Item 8 in the Minute Book) setting out details of the delivery of the second local transport plan (LTP2) and the content of the progress report on the first two years of LTP2. It also gave a brief summary on guidance for the third local transport plan (LTP3). An explanation was given of the respective roles of the County Council and the Government Office for the South East in preparation, consultation and approval of the local transport plan. The Committee received and noted the report with interest.

Director of Environment

(John Buckett)

116 TRANSPORT IN THE COMMUNITY - UPDATE ON COMPLETED SCRUTINY REVIEW

The Committee considered the report of the Director of Environment (Item 9 in the Minute Book) on progress with implementing identified recommendations. Peter Shelley from the Environment Department gave a comprehensive presentation on the progress achieved; some in collaboration with consultants appointed to undertake a review of Community Transport. During discussion of the report, Members suggested the following:

· A report back to a future meeting on the outcome of the analysis of ways in which the role of passenger transport forums could be further enhanced.


· Recognition of the need for children to be consulted through the Transport Forums, some form of transport provision for young people in the evenings, particularly in rural areas.


· Clarification of the position of voluntary sector transport groups with regard to their eligibility for single tenders or necessity for competitive tendering.


· With regard to branding of community transport vehicles to reflect the County Council's contribution, the possibility of commercial advertising to be considered.


· A more detailed breakdown of tender outcomes and costs for Members once the current programme of re-tendering had been completed.


A further update report on progress with implementing identified recommendations, and on the outcome of the consultants' work, is timetabled to be made to the meeting of the Committee in July 2009.

Director of Environment

(Peter Shelley)

Chief Executive

(Philippa Smart)

117 ROAD INFRASTRUCTURE AND POPULATION GROWTH

The Chairman of the Review Group, Councillor Mrs Wheale, gave a brief summary of the focus and progress with the review. Two meetings had been held so far and stakeholders had been identified and requested to submit written evidence. Selected witnesses would then be invited to give evidence in person at a meeting in March. These witnesses would include the Highways Agency, SEEDA, Leicestershire County Council and other relevant organisations. A survey proforma had been sent to all County Councillors, and District Councils had been contacted and encouraged to respond with their views.

Chief Executive

(Philippa Smart)

118 FORWARD LOOKING WORK PROGRAMME

The Committee received and noted the updated work programme for the Committee (Item 11 in the Minute Book).