Agenda item

Councillor Devereux presented his report.  He undertook to forward to Councillor de Whalley a copy of a presentation he had recently attended on Local Decisions around climate change. 

Following a question from Councillor Squires, Councillor Devereux confirmed that the Council had adopted a ban on the release of balloons and Chinese lanterns on its land some time ago.

Councillor Devereux undertook to organise a briefing for Councillors on sea level rises and mitigation being undertaken when requested by Councillor Squires.

In response to a comment from Councillor Kemp that building plots in the flood plain should be removed from the plan as they weren’t appropriate for older or disabled people, Councillor Devereux reminded Members that flood risk assessments would have to be carried out on all plots and the levels would have to be revised according to the levels at any time.  Councillor Blunt also responded that the Local Plan Task Group was considering sites, and all issues would have to be considered.

Following a question from Councillor Mrs Collop about the emptying of very full bins and the jamming of items in the bottom of the bin, Councillor Devereux explained that the lorries did shake the bin on emptying, but encouraged householders to clean their bins.

Councillor Jones asked whether the IPCC reports sea level were threats to coast and whether the current strategies were sufficient to safeguard towns and villages.  Councillor Devereux commented that there was little doubt that there would be evolution to what was currently used. He concurred that he wanted to know the Environment Agency sea level rise predictions in the borough’s area.

In response to a question from Councillor Parish as to the remit of permits to extract water and the environmental impact on chalk streams,  Councillor Devereux informed members that the Council had recently joined the Water Resources East Group which examined the use of the water resources in the area.  He acknowledged the importance of chalk streams to the local flora and fauna.

In response to Councillor A Tyler asking what arrangements were being put in place to inform households of what to put in the recycling bins, Councillor Devereux said he expected the information to be on the Christmas delivery leaflets as it had been in previous years. 

Following a question from Councillor Rust whether the remediation work to Heacham beach wasn’t taking place due to lack of funding, Councillor Devereux confirmed that the shingle bank work was paid for by the Environment Agency and the Community Interest Company, however the amount of shingle needed to be recycled was less than expected, the annual recycling works would be completed as usual in February/March next year.

Councillor Rust asked whether having attended the flood workshop Councillor Devereux had a greater understanding of the climate emergency and the need to declare. She also asked the views of the owners of new builds at Snettisham on this. Councillor Devereux referred to the presentation he had attended and again undertook to provide this for members.  He indicated that the people purchasing the new properties at Snettisham knew the risks of what they were purchasing.

In response to a question from Councillor Moriarty about the joint waste collection procurement and the portfolio holders involvement in the process, Councillor Devereux confirmed he was regularly briefed at portfolio meetings with officers.  He deferred any comment on this until the special Cabinet meeting on Friday 6 December, and confirmed he was not involved in the detailed contractual arrangements as this was carried out by a panel of professional officers.  

In response to a question from Councillor Dark as to how the preparatory work on the Climate Change item containing relevant information was progressing.  Councillor Devereux confirmed he had that day received a draft of the report which would go to the January Cabinet meeting.