Agenda and minutes

To receive any apologies for absence.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Howman and McGuinness.

To confirm as a correct record the minutes of the previous meeting.

The minutes of the meeting held on 17 January 2019 were agreed as a correct record.

Please indicate if there are any interests which should be declared.  A declaration of an interest should indicate the nature of the interest (if not already declared on the Register of Interests) and the agenda item to which it relates.  If a disclosable pecuniary interest is declared, the Member should withdraw from the room whilst the matter is discussed.

These declarations apply to all Members present, whether the Member is part of the meeting, attending to speak as a local Member on an item or simply observing the meeting from the public seating area.

There were no declarations of interest.

To consider any business which, by reason of special circumstances, the Chairman proposes to accept as urgent under Section 100(b)(4)(b) of the Local Government Act, 1972.

There was no urgent business to consider.

Members wishing to speak pursuant to Standing Order 34 should inform the Chairman of their intention to do so and on what items they wish to be heard before the meeting commences.  Any Member attending the meeting under Standing Order 34 will only be permitted to speak on those items which have been previously notified to the Chairman.

There were no Members present pursuant to Standing Order 34.

There was no Chairman’s correspondence to report.

Representatives from Lynx and West Norfolk Community Transport have been invited to attend.

The Chairman welcomed Julian Patterson and Graham Smith from Lynx, and Fiona Matchett from West Norfolk Community Transport to the meeting.

The Chairman advised that Martin Chisholm, Business Manager was also present to answer any questions the Committee might have.

Graham Smith outlined the background to Lynx and explained how their service had grown following the withdrawal of Stagecoach from the area.    It was explained that Lynx had tried to maintain the same frequency of services and felt that the services were now sustainable.

Some changes that would be implemented soon, included:

·        Increased seasonal coastal route to also include Fakenham.

·        New contactless payment facilities for passengers.

It was explained that some of the issues faced by them related to the high volume of traffic on the roads, resulting in extra time on journeys, roadworks often outside of King’s Lynn, the town centre itself and trying to encourage more people to come into King’s Lynn and the antisocial behaviour issues experienced at the bus station.

Fiona Matchett from West Norfolk Community Transport explained the background to West Norfolk Community Transport and the transition into Go to Town.  She explained that traffic congestion was one of the major issues being experienced and creating routes for new houses, once built.  Fiona explained that a mystery shopper had been on the bus and the feedback received had been very good.  It explained that the company was always looking at ways to improve the service for the future. 

The representatives from WNCT and Lynx responded to questions / comments as outlined below:

·        How West Norfolk Community Transport was funded.

·        The target % increase in passengers needed to ensure the service was sustainable.

·        Concessionary travel outside of the County.

·        It was confirmed that changes to the No.4 bus after 9.30 am would take place in the middle of April.

·        Consultation had not taken place with WNCT regarding the King’s Lynn Transport Study.

·        Traffic congestion and the introduction of a bus priority route.

Julian Patterson outlined the suggested changes that he had given to the consultant on possible changes which could help alleviate some of the issues being experienced.

Councillor Joyce suggested that the Committee should write to Norfolk County Council to support the suggestion for the introduction of a bus lane where room existed.

Councillor Collop asked whether there was any movement forward in relation to electric vehicles?  Julian Patterson explained that no operators in the area had so far changed to an electric vehicle, the costs to do so were very high.  It was explained that a new diesel engine was very clean in any case.

Councillor Mrs Wilkinson asked if there were any plans to reinstate the route from Fairstead to the hospital.    It was explained that at the moment it was not commercially viable as the majority of users held concessionary passes and it had to be viable and cost effective for the operator.  It was advised that Lynx had no immediate plans to reinstate the service unless Norfolk County Council were prepared  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

To receive the 6 monthly update from the Police.

PC Anderton gave the 6 monthly update and crime statistics to the Committee.

In response to a question from the Chairman, PC Anderton explained that he had been putting on extra community sessions in the library and was having a good working relationship with some of its users, including some homeless people and was now having a regular session with them.

PC Anderton explained that the SNAP meetings were still going ahead and dates would be sent out.  The Beat Managers would be inviting the relevant Ward Councillors.

PC Anderton also gave an update in relation to knife crime and referred to the County Lines initiative currently being undertaken.

Councillor Bambridge informed the Committee that a Public Space Protection Order comes into effect on 2 April 2019 and it would be interesting to see the effect of that.  She had previously suggested that classical music be played at the bus station to deter anti-social behaviour and stated that it had been known to work in other areas.  She added that it would be interesting to know what affect the Discovery Centre was having on young people.

With regards to bike theft, PC Anderton explained that there was a national run Bike Register scheme and explained to the Committee how this worked.  He added that it could help to identify a bike if stolen.

The Chairman thanked PC Anderton for the update and for attending the meeting.

AGREED:       That the update be noted.

The Committee will receive a presentation from Dave Robson, Environmental Health Manager (Environment) on Smoke Control Areas in King’s Lynn.

The Committee received a presentation from the Environmental Health Manager on Smoke Control Areas in King’s Lynn (a copy of the presentation is attached to the minutes).

Councillor Smith commented that the zones did not appear to cover the bulk of houses where solid fuel was being used, which tended to be the older housing stock.  He asked whether officer time could be freed up with the Smoke Control Areas were removed.  He therefore proposed that the Committee put forward a recommendation that the Smoke Control Areas should be removed.  However there was no seconder for the proposal.

The Environmental Health Manager explained that the administering of the SCAs actually took up very little officer time and they probably had to deal with 2-3 complaints per year.

The Committee generally felt that it was better to leave the SCAs in place, given that they did not take up too much officer time.

The Chairman thanked the Environmental Health Manager for the presentation.

The Committee were reminded that the Local Government Act 1992 defined a Local Authority’s Special Expenses.  It stated that Special Expenses were any expenses incurred by the authority in performing in a part of its area, a function performed elsewhere by a Parish Council.

Special Expenses were currently charged for the provision and emptying of dog waste bins, this also included West Lynn which was unparished.

Parish and Town Council were responsible for the provision and installation of dog waste bins within the parished/town areas and also paid the Borough Council for the emptying of said bins.

It was explained that in total there were 775 dog waste bins located throughout the Borough of which 128 were located in King’s Lynn & West Lynn.  The bins were emptied once or twice a week based on usage levels and equated to a total of 161 empties.

There was currently a projected budget of £12,400 for 2018/19 to Special Expenses for the emptying of dog waste bins within King’s Lynn.

At present there was no provision within Special Expenses for the supply and installation of dog waste bins and this cost was met from present revenue budgets.

Councillor Mrs Collop referred to problems being experienced at Mill Lane in relation to dog fouling and stated that 2 signs were in-situ.  She asked what else could be done to prevent the problem from happening. 

The Public Open Space Manager explained that it was sometimes difficult to place dog waste bins outside of someone’s house but he would have a look to see if there was somewhere where a bin could be located.  The problem could also be reported to the Council’s Community Safety and Neighbourhood Nuisance Team to look into. 

Councillor Joyce stated that in order to prevent this from happening elsewhere, someone should be taken to court and fined over the issue.

Councillor Miss Bambridge agreed with the comments made by Councillor Joyce.  She informed the Committee that the Environment & Community Panel would, at its next meeting, be considering a review of Littering and Dog Fouling.

In response to a query raised by Councillor J Collop, the Operations Manager explained that you could apply for a dog waste bin on the Council’s website.  Officers would then go out to see if the location was acceptable.  As part of any on-going review, officers would talk to Ward Members and if it was found that an area was being used more heavily then another dog waste bin would be provided. 

The Executive Director for Commercial Services explained that the Council had been given £26,636 from Government as part of the clean our high streets campaign, however this money had to be spent by the end of March.  The Council had also been awarded £24,000 for parks but that had to be spent by the end of the next financial year.

With the £26,636 it was proposed to buy some litter picking sets, chewing gum removal kits and also further dog waste bins and large  ...  view the full minutes text for item 10.

To consider passing the following resolution:

“That under Section 100(A)(4) of the Local Government Act, 1972, the press and public be excluded from the meeting for the following item of business on the grounds that it involves the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraphs 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A to the Act”.

The Chairman read out the following:

‘That under Section 100(A)(4) of the Local Government Act 1072, the press and public be excluded from the meeting for the following item of business on the grounds that it involves the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A to the Act.’

To receive an update from the Executive Director for Commercial Services.

The Executive Director for Commercial Services gave an update to the Committee on St George’s Guildhall.

The Chairman thanked the Executive Director for the update and for keeping the Committee informed.

AGREED:       That the update be noted.

The Committee is asked to consider items for a future Work Programme for

The Committee is also asked to consider the Cabinet’s Forward Decision List.

The Committee noted the Work Programme and Cabinet’s Forward Decision List.

The next meeting of the Committee is scheduled to take place on Thursday, 20 June 2019 at 6pm in the Council Chamber, Town Hall, King’s Lynn.

The next meeting of the Committee was scheduled to take place on Thursday, 20 June 2019 at 6pm in the Council Chamber, Town Hall, King’s Lynn.