Minutes for Overview and Scrutiny Committee (Regeneration and Environmental Services) meeting, Feb 3 2009, 6.30PM official page

No apologies for absence were received.

Members and Officers are requested to give notice of any personal or prejudicial interest and the nature of that interest, relating to any item on the agenda in accordance with the relevant Code of Conduct.

No declarations of interest were received.

Minutes of the meeting held on 25 November 2008.

RESOLVED:

That the Minutes of the meeting held on 25 November 2008 be confirmed as a correct record.

Report of the Environmental Protection Director.

Further to Minute No. 78 of the meeting of the Cabinet Member – Environmental held on 14 January 2009, the Committee considered the report of the Environmental Protection Director providing further information regarding the performance of the new refuse and recycling collection service, following the completion of the roll out of the Alternating Weekly Collection (A.W.C.) service and, for properties where this was not appropriate, the colour coded plastic sack service. Performance monitoring was required in relation to targets for recycling and diversion of waste from landfill, and policies had been re-aligned, where necessary, to reflect current service provision.

The report detailed aspects of the A.W.C. service and indicated that the roll-out of A.W.C. had been completed in September 2008 and currently operated at 106,000 properties across the Borough. Given the scale of the exercise, completing the roll-out within 15 months was considered to be a significant achievement. The report also detailed the introduction of the following services:-

• sack collection service in those areas where A.W.C. was not the most practical option;
• the food waste collection service,
• the delivery of over 30,000 caddies to residents using the service;
• the Green Bee (Dry Recyclables) collection service

Since the introduction of A.W.C. in June 2007, there had been a sustained increase in dry recyclables tonnage collected to that of previous years and the average tonnage collected was continuing to improve. The Bring Sites continued to be extremely popular and tonnage collected at all sites had significantly increased.

The Cabinet Member – Environmental had approved amendments to the domestic waste and recycling policies; the amendments being detailed in paragraph 7 of the report.

Copies of the above Policies were attached as an annexe to the report.

RESOLVED:   That

(1)       the progress made to date and the general success achieved as a result of introducing new refuse and recycling services be noted;

(2)       the amendments to the domestic waste and recycling policies as detailed in the report be accepted;

(3)       the officers be congratulated on their hard work and success; and

(4)       the Overview and Scrutiny Committee be involved during the process for agreeing a new contract

Report of the Leisure Director.

Further to Minute No. 37 of the meeting of the Cabinet Member – Leisure and Tourism held on 3 December 2008, the Committee considered the report of the Leisure Director on the progress in achieving the Department’s objectives for the period April to September 2008.

The report gave a detailed summary of the activities carried out by each Section within the Department.

RESOLVED:

That the report and progress made by the Leisure Services Department towards achieving its Departmental and Corporate Objectives be accepted..

Report of the Planning and Economic Regeneration Director.

The Committee considered the report of the Planning and Economic Regeneration Director providing an update on recent events concerning the future of the Crosby district town centre. The report indicated that trading conditions within the town centre had been challenging for some time and vacancy rates amongst retailing properties were a cause of concern. There was a lack of any tangible progress in investment plans which added to uncertainty and had made matters worse.

The report also indicated that Sainsbury was currently interested in acquiring new retail floor-space within the town centre and had confirmed its intention to undertake local consultation prior to the submission of a planning application, in order to ensure full engagement within the town. If achieved, the new food-store would be significantly larger than the current Sainsbury operation in the area. The Committee received representations of a local trader and local councillors (Councillor Barber and Councillor Parry).

RESOLVED:             That

(1)       the report be received;

(2)       the Overview & Scrutiny Committee and Crosby Area Committee be kept informed of any developments; and

(3)       the Chair of the Overview & Scrutiny Committee and the Head of Overview & Scrutiny discuss the feasibility of undertaking a mini-review of the trading conditions of Crosby Town Centre.

Report of the Legal Director.

The Committee considered the report of the Legal Director attaching the latest Key Decision Forward Plan which contained all the Key Decisions which the Executive was anticipated to take during the above period. The Committee was advised of its right to pre-scrutinise any Key Decision which fell under its remit.

The report also provided updates on recent activities of the current Working Groups, as follows:-

• Community Involvement – Licensing Working Group;
• Watercourse Maintenance and Flooding Working Group; and
• Libraries Assets Working Group.

RESOLVED: That

(1)       the contents of the Forward Plan, together with the report, be noted; and

(2)            progress in relation to the Committee’s Work Programme and Working Groups be recognised and supported.