Agenda and minutes

Venue: Council Chamber, Town Hall, Saturday Market Place, King's Lynn PE30 5DQ. View directions

Contact: Rebecca Parker 01553 616632 

Items
No. Item

EC14:

Apologies for absence

To receive any apologies for absence.

Minutes:

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

EC15:

Minutes pdf icon PDF 92 KB

To approve the minutes of the previous meeting.

Minutes:

Councillor Mrs Collop referred to the appointment of Members to Task Groups and Informal Working Groups which was presented to the previous meeting and asked if the positions had been filled.  The Democratic Services Officer confirmed that Group Leaders had confirmed the appointment of the Members to the Task groups.

 

Councillor Kemp asked if Members would have the opportunity to be involved in the Homelessness Task Group.  The Democratic Services Officer advised that any Member could attend any meeting to speak on an item under Standing Order 34 and would ensure that the Panel Members were notified when agendas for Task Groups were published.

 

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

EC16:

Declarations of interest

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.

Minutes:

There were no declarations of interest.

EC17:

Urgent Business

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.

Minutes:

The Chairman advised the Panel that at the Full Council meeting on 4th July, Council referred the appointment of a representative to the King’s Lynn Football Board back to the Environment and Community Panel.

 

The Panel were therefore invited to nominate a representative to serve on this Board.

 

RESOLVED: There were no nominations put forward, so the appointment would be referred back to Full Council.

EC18:

Members Present Pursuant to Standing Order 34

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.

Minutes:

There was none.

EC19:

Chairman's Correspondence

If any.

Minutes:

There was none.

EC20:

Financial Assistance Scheme - Themed Fund pdf icon PDF 71 KB

Minutes:

The Partnership and Funding Officer presented the report and explained that the Borough Council operated a Financial Assistance Scheme to support local community groups.  This included a special ‘themed’ annual fund of £4,000.  Members of the Panel were asked to consider the use of this themed fund for 2019/2020.

 

The Chairman thanked the Partnership and Funding Officer for her report and invited questions and comments from the Panel, as summarised below.

 

Councillor Squire suggested that the themed fund should be used to encourage the planting of native trees and wildflowers, including in schools.  The Chairman and Vice Chairman commented that this would be a good idea and the Vice Chairman referred to successful planting schemes which had been carried out in Hunstanton.

 

Councillor Bubb referred to the suggestion that the fund be used to provide defibrillators.  He commented that these had hidden costs in that the batteries needed to be replaced.

 

Councillor Mrs Collop suggested that a small amount of the fund available be used to install a memorial bench for the late Councillor Gourlay.

 

The Portfolio Holder for Culture, Heritage and Health, Councillor Mrs Nockolds explained that there was a budget available for tree planting and there was a ‘Street Trees’ project ongoing which encouraged businesses to offer funding for planting, with so far over twenty trees being planted.  She explained that this was a Borough wide scheme.

 

The Panel was also informed that some of the Government’s Parks and Gardens funding had gone into the Norfolk Community Foundation pot so that organisations and local community groups could bid for funding for projects to enhance parks and gardens.  The Portfolio Holder for Culture, Heritage and Health suggested that this route could be used to apply for funding for a memorial bench.

 

Councillor Ryves suggested that the themed fund be used for providing meadows on common land.  He also highlighted that 2020 was the 75th anniversary of World War II and funds could be used for memorials.

 

Councillor Mrs Kemp suggested that the fund could be used for growing flowers in certain gardens to help smarten up areas.  She suggested that seed packets could be provided and used in communal gardens and sheltered housing.

 

Councillor Tyler suggested that the fund be used to bring music into schools.  This could include donations for young children learning music and providing instruments.  He explained that there was a West Norfolk organisation which provided this and brought in professional musicians to schools.  The Vice Chairman commented that she was aware of this organisation and that they did great work in schools.

 

The Portfolio Holder for Culture, Heritage and Health commented that there was already a music hub in Norfolk and encouraged schools that were looking to bring more music in to look at what they could offer.  She also commented that there was a Local Cultural Education Board which was hosted by Creative Arts East and local drama and music groups could apply for funding.  The Portfolio Holder also informed the Panel of  ...  view the full minutes text for item EC20:

EC21:

Full Year - 2018-2019 Performance Monitoring Report pdf icon PDF 146 KB

Minutes:

The Senior Policy and Performance Officer presented the report.  He explained that each year the Cabinet agreed the Performance Indicators and each Panel monitored the Performance Indicators that were relevant to the Panel, on a quarterly basis.

 

The Panel’s attention was drawn to the three indicators which had not met target:

 

·        CE1 – Number of suspected licensable HMO’s that are inspected and/or licensed.

·        CE4 – Number of new affordable housing completions.

·        CO7 – Number of brown bins in use for composting.

 

The Senior Policy and Performance Officer referred to the notes against the indicators, which explained that the indicators relating to HMO’s and affordable housing reflected national issues and were impacted by matters outside of the council’s direct control.  He also highlighted that the brown bin indicator had only missed its target by just over 1%.

 

The Chairman thanked the Senior Policy and Performance Officer for his report and invited questions and comments from the Panel, as summarised below.

 

Councillor Bubb suggested that it would be useful to have figures as well as percentages to give a more accurate reflection of performance.  The Senior Policy and Performance Officer agreed to add figures to the appropriate indicators in future monitoring reports.

 

RESOLVED: 1. The Panel reviewed the monitoring report and agreed the actions in the action report.

2. The Senior Policy and Performance Officer to add figures as appropriate, as well as percentages, in the next monitoring report.

EC22:

Dry Recyclables Processing

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Waste and Recycling Manager presented information to the Panel, including showing the two videos (links below) and providing a presentation (attached).

 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/science-environment-48716549/how-recyclable-is-your-food-shop

 

https://vimeo.com/346105155

 

The Waste and Recycling Manager outlined the processes involved in dry recycling and highlighted that all the Borough’s recycling was carried out in the UK and nothing was exported until it had been prepared for remoulding.   

 

He reminded the Panel that they had been invited to attend a tour of the Materials Recycling Facility.

 

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

 

Councillor Kemp asked if there were plans to extend what could be recycled, including larger plastics.  She also referred to the review of Norfolk County Council’s Waste Policy which made reference to incineration.  The Waste and Recycling Manager explained that he was unaware of the Norfolk County Council review.  He explained that with regards to larger plastics, this had been reviewed recently but no changes had been made.  The Waste and Recycling Manager also explained that WRAP funding had been previously used to identify plastic sorting opportunities, but it would not allow the mixing of materials.

 

The Waste and Recycling Manager explained that harder and larger plastics were often made up of different components and this made the processes more complex.  He also referred to items such as tins of paint, which could contaminate a lot of other recycling should there be any remnants of paint which make it into the truck, or the recycling belts at the MRF.

 

Councillor Bubb asked if there were alternatives that could be used to black plastic sacks.  The Waste and Recycling Manager explained that waste could be put into the bin loose, or other bags could be used.  He explained that black sacks could be made easily from fairly low grade recyclable material and that in the past other colours had been used to differentiate between trade waste etc.  The other benefit of using black bags was that anything confidential could not be seen from the outside. 

 

Councillor Bubb commented that black bags could take a long time to break down in landfill and the Waste and Recycling Manager confirmed that none of West Norfolk’s waste was sent to landfill, it was shredded, bailed and then sent to Holland to be used as fuel. 

 

Councillor de Whalley explained that it was important to raise public awareness about how and why we recycled.  The Waste and Recycling Manager explained that social media was used and there were some videos available on the Norfolk Recycles website.  Other options were being looked at in conjunction with the Communications Team.  Households also received two leaflets a year to encourage correct recycling.

 

The Panel was informed that currently 20% of materials collected for recycling could not be recycled.  The Waste and Recycling Manager explained that there was still an element of human sorting required at the MRF.

 

Councillor Ryves informed the Panel that he had visited the MRF  ...  view the full minutes text for item EC22:

EC23:

Air Quality Monitoring Report

The Environmental Health Manager will give a presentation on the draft report. 

 

Background information and previous monitoring reports are available to view at https://www.west-norfolk.gov.uk/info/20137/air_quality/169/air_quality_information

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Environmental Health Manager presented information on Air Quality Monitoring, as attached.  He explained that the Annual Report was still in the process of being finalised and then would be sent to DEFRA for auditing before being published on the Borough Council’s Website.

 

The Chairman thanked the Environmental Health Manager for his presentation and invited questions and comments from the Panel, as summarised below.

 

Councillor Kemp asked about sulphur monitoring, benzene monitoring and pollution in industrial areas.  She also referred to a metal smell at Coopers.  The Environmental Health Manager explained that Industrial Pollution control was monitored separately.  He explained that benzene and sulphur dioxide levels had been monitored at certain sites in the past, but the assessment of the levels had resulted in them no longer being monitored as levels were well below the annual mean. 

 

Councillor Kemp commented that going forward the Council needed to look at other elements to reduce the impact on air quality, for example at Wisbech Road where there was pollutants from cars.  The Environmental Health Manager explained monitoring had been carried out at Wisbech Road, but it was below the annual mean.  Nar Ouse Way had also had a positive effect on the air quality along Wisbech Road.

 

The Chairman thanked the officers for the monitoring that was carried out.  He acknowledged that resources did not allow for all areas to be monitored, but felt assured that should issues arise they would be investigated.

 

The Environmental Health Manager invited Councillor Kemp to discuss issues regarding specific sites within her Ward with him outside of the meeting.

 

Councillor Squire referred to the mean figures which had been provided to the Panel.  She asked if the Panel could be provided with the maximum figures and the range for the past year.  The Environmental Health Manager agreed to provide this information to the Panel. 

 

Councillor Bambridge asked if monitoring was carried out outside of schools as she was aware of a lot of cars outside of schools at leaving time which were left with their engines running.  The Environmental Health Manager explained that some monitoring was carried out, but schools were generally set back from the road and the levels declined quite quickly from the roadside.

 

Councillor Ryves referred to smells in the Stoke Ferry area resulting from medical cannabis being grown in Wissington Sugar Factory.  It was explained that this site was regulated by the Environment Agency and had the relevant permits in place.  Any issues with smell should be reported to the Council’s Community Safety and Neighbourhood Nuisance Team.

 

RESOLVED: 1. The update was noted.

2. The Environmental Health Manager to provide annual maximum and range figures to the Panel if possible.

EC24:

Work Programme and Forward Decision List pdf icon PDF 59 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The following items were identified for consideration for addition to the Work Programme:

 

·        Review of the Policy on the release of Chinese Lanterns.

·        Blue Flag Beaches

 

RESOLVED: The Panel’s Work Programme was noted.

EC25:

Date of the next meeting

To note that the next meeting of the Environment and Community Panel is scheduled to take place on 3rd September 2019 at 6.00pm in the Council Chamber, Town Hall, Saturday Market Place, King’s Lynn.

Minutes:

The next meeting of the Environment and Community Panel would be held on Tuesday 3rd September 2019 at 6.00pm in the Council Chamber, Town Hall, Saturday Market Place, King’s Lynn.