Agenda and minutes

To appoint a Vice Chairman for the Municipal Year.

RESOLVED: Councillor Mrs Bower was appointed Vice Chairman for the Municipal Year.

To receive any apologies for absence.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Bullen and Mrs Wilkinson.

To approve the minutes of the previous meeting.

RESOLVED: The Minutes from the previous meeting were agreed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

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.

Those 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 proposed to accept as urgent under Section 100(b)(4)(b) of the Local Government Act, 1972.

There was none.

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.

Councillors Parish and Ryves for all items.

If any.

There was none.

The Panel was invited to make nominations for members to serve on the Outside Bodies as listed within the Report.  It was explained that nominations would be presented to Full Council on 4^th July 2019 for approval.

RESOLVED: The Environment and Community Panel nominated the following Members to serve on the below Outside Bodies:

1.     Borough Council/College of West Anglia Board – Councillor Lowe

2.     King’s Lynn and West Norfolk Area Museums Committee – Councillors Bubb, de Whalley and Kemp

3.     Norfolk County Council – Norfolk Countywide Community Safety Partnership Scrutiny Sub Panel – Councillor Kemp.  Appointment of substitute to be made at Council.

4.     Norfolk Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee - Councillor Kemp.  Appointment of substitute to be made at Council.

5.     West Norfolk Community Transport Project – Councillor Moriarty

6.     King’s Lynn Football Club Board – Councillor Pope.  Please note that following the meeting Councillor Pope had declined the nomination.  The only other nomination was Paul Bland (non-cllr).

The Panel considered the report which had been circulated with the Agenda.  A discussion was held on the Single Use Plastics Informal Working Group and it was proposed that the Group was not disbanded and instead their terms of reference be extended to include monitoring of the implementation of the recommendations.

It was noted that the recommendations from the Informal Working Group, which had subsequently been approved by the Environment and Community Panel were in the process of being considered by Cabinet.

It was also noted that the Panel could ask for an update to be added to their Work Programme at any time.

The Panel also noted that, should the need arise, the Informal Working Groups which were to be disbanded could be revived or new Informal Working Groups could be established.

RESOLVED:

1. The Single Use Plastics Informal Working Group to continue to operate and its Terms of Reference be extended to include the monitoring of the implementation of the recommendations put forward by the Environment and Community Panel.  Councillors Mrs Bower, Bubb, de Whalley and Parish to serve on the Informal Working Group:

2. That the Homelessness and Housing Delivery Task Group continue to operate and the Democratic Services Officer be instructed to seek Membership of the Task Group from the Group Leaders for the 2019/2020 Municipal Year.  The Task Group to comprise of 6 Members (3 Conservative, 2 Independent and 1 Labour).

The Principal Environmental Health Officer presented the report which outlined the scale of the problem of littering and dog fouling across the Borough and the resources required to deliver a robust littering and dog fouling enforcement strategy to address problems.

The Chairman thanked the Principal Environmental Health Officer for his report and invited questions and comments from the Panel, as summarised below.

Councillor de Whalley referred to Parish Council dog bins and commented that the clearance costs were considered too expensive to some Parishes.  The Principal Environmental Health Officer explained that officers did work with Parish Council’s to facilitate community approaches to deal with issues and enforcement was often only a last resort.

In response to a question from Councillor Squire regarding working with schools, the Principal Environmental Health Officer explained that once the Enforcement Officer was in post they would be targeting heavily littered areas and engage and approach organisations to deal with problems.  They could work in schools if it was appropriate and the role would be intelligence led.

Councillor Moriarty commented that often dog fouling was caused by people coming into the area to walk their dogs, not necessarily local people.  He explained that often offences would occur outside of normal office hours and he asked if the officers working hours would be flexible.  The Principal Environmental Health Officer explained that they would and that work could be carried out with Parish Councils to identify problem areas and times that problems usually occurred.

Councillor Bubb explained that within his Ward dog bins were sponsored, which helped Parish Council’s meet the cost of clearance and he suggested that this could be considered in other areas if costs were thought to be prohibitive.

Councillor Lowe asked if action would be taken to increase how many incidents were reported.  The Principal Environmental Health Officer explained the officers’ role would be to collate intelligence and people would be encouraged to report incidents through campaigns and social media.

Councillor Bambridge explained that she got lots of reports about dog fouling from her residents and encouraged them to contact the clean-up team.  She also made reference to a project she had run with Whitefriars School to produce posters to encourage owners to pick up after their dog.

Councillor Mrs Collop referred to a recent discussion at the King’s Lynn Area Advisory Committee regarding funding which was available for dog bins.  She explained that she had asked for some within her Ward but had not yet received them.  The Executive Director agreed to follow this up.   The Executive Director informed the Panel that towards the end of the previous financial year Government had awarded funding for community clean up initiatives, but the timescale for which the money had to be spent was tight.  The Council had used some of this money to purchase a small stock of dog bins and if Members were aware of any specific areas where a dog bin was required they should contact him.

The Portfolio Holder for Environment, Councillor  ...  view the full minutes text for item EC10:

To consider the attached report and make any appropriate recommendations to Cabinet.

The Waste and Recycling Manager presented the Cabinet report which outlined the procurement arrangements for the treatment of collected food waste and garden waste.  Information was provided on the waste contract, Joint Venture and expected savings.

The Chairman thanked the Waste and Recycling Manager for his report and invited questions and comments from the Panel, as summarised below.

In response to a question from Councillor Joyce, it was explained that it was more economical for treatment sites to be within 5 to 7 miles of King’s Lynn.

Councillor Squire referred to the updated report and it was clarified that the three authorities involved in the joint procurement had been referred to.  She also made reference to the provision of caddy liners and WRAP funding which Norwich City Council had used to promote food waste collection and had resulted in an increase in the amount collected.  The Waste and Recycling Manager explained that the Single Use Plastics Informal Working Group had discussed the use of caddy liners, and this was something that could be included in the future.  The Panel also noted that any liner could be used in the food waste caddy as this could be separated when processed.

Councillor Kemp made reference to the Government Waste Strategy and the requirement for all Councils to collect food waste by 2023.  She asked if a countywide initiative could be considered and also if there were plans to bring back processing to Norfolk.  The Waste and Recycling Manager explained that the previous facility which had been used was more expensive per tonne than using an anaerobic digester outside of the County and it produced C02 emissions without any energy recovery.

In response to a question from Councillor Bambridge it was explained that approximately 30% of households used the food waste collection service.  Those present at the meeting who did not use the service cited the reason as to why including composting, not creating any waste and the unpleasantness of it. 

Councillor Parish addressed the Panel under Standing Order 34 and it was explained that the process for maize was different to food waste.  The Executive Director explained that any contract would have an annual service improvement plan written into it and this could look at the provision of caddy liners if required.

Councillor Squire referred to the Government Waste Strategy and the requirement for all Councils to provide a food waste collection service.  She asked if King’s Lynn would be at a financial disadvantage for already having a service, should financial assistance become available for those Councils that would need to introduce the service.  The Waste and Recycling Officer explained that the Government had identified that this would be an additional burden on Local Authorities and options would be considered.

Councillor de Whalley referred to a Suffolk Brewery anaerobic digestion facility and it was explained that the access fee for this facility was too high.  The Waste and Recycling Manager also explained that there was an over capacity of anaerobic plants so  ...  view the full minutes text for item EC11:

The following items were suggested for addition to the Work Programme with the Members name who suggested the item in brackets below:

·        Pre-screening climate change Equality Impact Assessment (Councillor Moriarty)

·        Blue Flag Beaches (Councillor Moriarty)

·        Annual Air Quality Report (Councillor Moriarty)

·        Climate Change and working towards zero emissions (Councillor Bambridge).

·        Visit to the Materials Recycling Facility (Councillor Squire)

·        Where plastics and recycling goes once it leaves the MRF (Councillor Squire)

·        Shopmobility scooters in King’s Lynn and provision at the weekend (Councillor Squire).

·        Air quality in particular neighbourhoods and industrial areas including smells and other car emissions which were currently not monitored (Councillor Kemp).

·        Climate change presentation from external experts (Councillor de Whalley)

·        Update on the Docks (Councillor Bubb)

RESOLVED: The Panel’s Work Programme was noted.

To note that the next meeting of the Environment and Community Panel is scheduled to take place on 16^th July 2019 at 6.00pm in the Council Chamber, Town Hall, Saturday Market Place, King’s Lynn.

The next meeting of the Environment and Community Panel would be held on Tuesday 16^th July 2019 at 6.00pm in the Council Chamber, Town Hall, Saturday Market Place, King’s Lynn.