Agenda and minutes

To confirm as a correct record the minutes of the Environmental and Sustainability Committee meeting held on 05 July 2022.

The minutes of the meeting held on 05 July 2022 were approved as a correct record of proceedings.

To receive any disclosures of interest from councillors in accordance with the Council’s Code of Conduct for members.

Councillors Mooney and Sexton advised that they were Surrey County Councillors.

The Chair, or his nominee, to answer any questions raised by members of the public in accordance with Standing Order 40.

At the time of publication of this agenda no questions were received.

There were none.

To consider any issues raised by ward councillors in accordance with Standing Order 34.2

At the time of publication of this agenda no ward issues were received.

There were none.

The Committee is asked to consider a report from the Planning Development Manager and the Principal Planning Officer that seeks agreement of the Housing Delivery Test Action Plan 2022 and publication on the Council’s website.

The Committee considered a report from The Planning Development Manager and the Principal Planning Officer that sought agreement and publication of the Housing Delivery Test Action Plan 2022.

The Committee asked that reference to Knowle Green Estates be removed from the report and replaced with ‘the Council’. It was suggested that the report outlined the public consultations that would be undertaken when large developments were planned, as agreed by the Corporate Policy & Resources Committee.

The Committee requested that the report be circulated to the committee members once the amendments had been actioned.

The Committee resolved to:

1.    agree the Housing Delivery Test Action Plan 2022; and

2.    publish the Housing Delivery Test Action Plan 2022 on the Council’s website

To receive written or verbal updates from the following Task and Finish/Working Groups:

The Local Plan Task Group – written update from Ann Biggs, Strategic Planning Officer

CIL Update – written update from Joanna Ghazaleh, Infrastructure Delivery Co-ordinator

The Committee received an update from the Strategic Planning Manager on CIL, the Staines Development Framework and the Local Plan Task Groups.

The Committee were advised that the Staines Development Framework Consultation had now finished and that the Local Plan Consultation deadline had been extended to 19 September 2022.

The Committee resolved to note the updates.

The Committee are asked to consider a report from the Climate Change Officer that seeks approval and adoption of the Climate Change Strategy.

The Committee considered a report from the Climate Change Officer that sought approval of a Climate Change Strategy following the declaration of a Climate Emergency in October 2020.

The Committee were advised that the proposed strategy would be linked to Surrey County Council’s own strategy and would include Surrey County Council’s plans that might impact on Spelthorne Borough Council (the Council) and other Surrey Local Authorities. Concerns were raised as to whether the Council was committed to the Surrey Greener Future Plan. The Group Head Commissioning and Transformation advised the Committee that this had been supported at a previous meeting and that although the Council would be involved in all aspects of the plan, realistically the main focus would be on services that the Council provided and therefore would have the greatest influence on. The Committee were advised that the Council could not fully endorse the Surrey Greener Plan due to the parts of it that the Council had no control over. Concerns were raised regarding some of the future target dates within the proposed strategy. The Climate Change Officer advised the Committee that a number of key tasks outlined in the proposed strategy were being worked on in tandem and that the work plan was not reliant on one task being completed before commencing another.

The Climate Change Officer advised that a full day of training would be provided for all officers in respect of the Climate Change Strategy.

The Committee requested that an item be added to the Forward Plan for this Committee, to report back on progress made on the actions outlined in the report. The Committee asked that the work to be undertaken and work completed as part of the strategy be added to the Project Management Plan so that members would be able to see progress made.

The Committee resolved to approve and adopt the Climate Change Strategy.

The Committee are asked to consider a report from the Group Head Commissioning and Transformation that asks them to note Phase 1 of the Local Walking & cycling Infrastructure Plan and to agree to moving to Phase 2 to further define schemes for walking and cycling within the borough of Spelthorne.

The Committee considered a report from the Group Head Commissioning & Transformation that sought agreement to move to Phase 2 to further define schemes for cycling and walking within the Borough of Spelthorne and associated costs.

The following concerns were raised by the Committee:

1.    The length of time taken to reach this stage

2.    Would the new footpaths/cycle paths be maintained and would there be funding for this

3.    Accessibility for disabled/wheel chair users was currently an issue due to drop kerbs not being maintained, illegally parked cars and pavements falling into a state of disrepair. The Committee wanted reassurance that these issues would be rectified within the proposed scheme.

The Committee asked that a representative of Surrey County Council be invited to address the Committee to discuss their concerns and to confirm what the future plans were for this initiative.

The Committee resolved to:

1.    note the Phase 1 LCWIP report

2.    agree moving to Phase 2 to further define schemes for cycling and walking within the Borough of Spelthorne at a cost of £175k; and

3.    to request that a representative of Surrey County Council attend a meeting of the Committee to discuss the proposals.

To receive a verbal update on the work of the Climate Change Working Group

The Committee received an update from the Joint Chair of the Climate Change Working Group.

The Committee were advised that the last meeting held was on 23 August 2022. Topics discussed included the Net Zero Innovation Programme and the proposal to link with Cobra Collective and Talking Trees to help develop future policies to assist the Council in reaching Net Zero.

The Working Group also reviewed and discussed the Council’s Climate Change Strategy and Action Plan as well as the Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plan.

The Committee were advised that the week commencing 24 September 2022 is Great Big Green Week.

The Committee resolved to note the update.

To receive a verbal update from the Group Head Commissioning and Transformation on the Recovery Action Plan for this Committee.

The Committee received an update on the Recovery Action Plan from the Group Head Commissioning and Transformation.

The Committee resolved to note the update.

A copy of the Environmental & Sustainability Committee Forward Plan is attached.

The Committee considered the Forward Plan for business of this Committee.

The Committee resolved to note the Forward Plan.