Agenda and minutes

Venue: Committee Room 1, North Warehouse, The Docks, Gloucester, GL1 2EP

Contact: Tony Wisdom  Democratic Services Officer

Items
No. Item

18.

Declarations of Interest

To receive from Members, declarations of the existence of any disclosable pecuniary, or non-pecuniary, interests and the nature of those interests in relation to any agenda item. Please see Agenda Notes.

Minutes:

No declarations were made on this occasion.

19.

Minutes pdf icon PDF 142 KB

To approve as a correct record the minutes of the meeting held on 17 September 2015.

Minutes:

The minutes of the meeting held on 17 September 2015 were confirmed and signed by the Chair as a correct record.

20.

Public Question Time

To receive any questions from members of the public provided that a question does not relate to:

 

·         Matters which are the subject of current or pending legal proceedings, or

·         Matters relating to employees or former employees of the Council or comments in respect of individual Council Officers

Minutes:

There were no questions from members of the public.

21.

Petitions and Deputations

To receive any petitions and deputations provided that no petition or deputation is in relation to:

 

·         Matters relating to individual Council Officers, or

·         Matters relating to current or pending legal proceedings

Minutes:

There were no petitions or deputations.

22.

Local Transport Plan

To receive a presentation by Mr Ben Watts of Gloucestershire County Council.

Minutes:

Members received a presentation on Gloucestershire’s Draft Local Transport Plan 2016 – 2031 by Mr Ben Watts, Senior Planning Officer, Gloucestershire County Council.

 

Councillor Dee referred to traffic problems between St Barnabas roundabout and the town centre which he believed started as far out as the Stroud Road railway bridge.

 

The Chair referred to problems on the A.38 between the Tesco Express store and Finlay Road. Mr Watts advised that the area had not yet been investigated.

 

Councillor McLellan expressed concerns regarding funding, in particular for the Metz Way bus advantage scheme. He noted that the Community Infrastructure Levy could be set as low as zero if the City Council chose to adopt the Levy.

 

Mr Watts advised that the delivery of the Metz Way scheme would be subject to a successful funding bid through the Gloucestershire Local Transport Board (Local Enterprise Partnership). If the funding bid were to be unsuccessful alternative funding options would need to be considered.

 

The Chair asked if high occupancy lanes could be introduced. He was advised that consideration could be given to such schemes if they made better use of highways.

 

Councillor Lewis believed that public perceptions should be managed and he suggested that journey timings before highway works be publicised to highlight improvements.

 

Councillor Dee believed that planning developments in Stroud district near the City boundary were increasing traffic on key routes.

 

Councillor Smith referred to Painswick Road and the recent outline permission for 420 dwellings. She noted that traffic from the Stroud direction used the road as a cut-through to avoid Eastern Avenue.

 

Mr Watts advised that the City Council, as part of the emerging transport evidence base for their City Plan, had identified Painswick Road as a key corridor potentially requiring improvement.

 

Councillor Dee noted that infill housing development was appearing on land that would be needed for future highway improvements because such sites were not included on development plans.

 

Councillor Lewis noted that the council could not refuse such applications on highways grounds unless the traffic impact was severe in comparison to London and other major urban centres.

 

Councillor Dee suggested that future requirements should be assessed more critically and Councillor Smith noted that such scrutiny would not provide robust grounds for refusal.

Councillor McLellan observed that the motor car was returning to prominence as the preferred form of transport and Mr Watts noted that there was no committed funding for sustainable transport at this time.

 

The Chair thanked Mr Watts for his presentation.

23.

Gloucester Playing Pitch Strategy 2015 – 2025 pdf icon PDF 213 KB

To consider the report of the Cabinet Member for Housing and Planning seeking approval for the Gloucester Playing Pitch Strategy 2015 – 2020 and the Artificial Grass Pitch Strategy.

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Head of Planning presented the report which provided an overview of the

outcome of the public consultation, and recommended that the revised Playing Pitch Strategy and Artificial Grass Pitch Strategy be adopted by the City Council.

 

He reported that there had been 14 responses and there was a good level of support for the strategy.

 

The Interim Neighbourhood Services Service Manager noted that overplaying was a big issue and a number of clubs would not allow training sessions on playing pitches.

 

Councillor Dee believed that drainage was a key issue and some pitches in the city drained out on to lower pitches. He was advised that drainage was one of the ancillary issues to be considered together with lighting and fencing.

 

The Head of Planning drew Members’ attention to the Artificial Grass Pitch Strategy and advised that such pitches could be provided at Oxstalls and Blackbridge, serving the north and south of the City respectively.

 

He noted that the proposed officer led steering group would meet twice yearly and become the delivery group. Facilities would be protected in the City Plan and opportunities would be identified in new developments.

 

Councillor Dee noted the importance of identifying which sport would be the users of pitches. The Interim Neighbourhood Services Service Manager noted that both rugby and football could be played on artificial grass pitches but these pitches were often not suitable for hockey.

 

Councillor McLellan praised the quality of the strategy and questioned whether it would raise expectations unrealistically. He noted that pitches had to be maintained and cut regularly.

 

The Interim Neighbourhood Services Service Manager advised that the national governing bodies for sports had funding available for pitch maintenance and improvement and there were options for looking at equipment banks that sports clubs could access directly.

 

Councillor Lewis believed that clubs should co-operate to pay for pitch cutting and he was advised that was an issue that would be examined by the Delivery Group.

 

Councillor Dee referred to problems of fouling caused by people exercising dogs and he suggested that dedicated dog walking areas be provided. He was advised that most pitches were provided in areas of public open space where dog fouling could be an issue.

 

The Chair called for oversized artificial grass pitches to accommodate American Football and to allow sub-division of pitches for other sports (particularly at junior level).

 

 

 

 

RESOLVED TO RECOMMEND COUNCIL that:

 

1)    The Gloucester Playing Pitch Strategy 2015 – 2025, as provided at Appendix 1, and the Artificial Grass Pitch Strategy, as provided at Appendix 2, be adopted by the Council; and

 

2)    An officer led Delivery Group be established for a period of three years from adoption of Gloucester Playing Pitch Strategy 2015-2025 and the Artificial Grass Pitch Strategy to monitor, evaluate and review the delivery of the strategies and related action plan as set out in paragraph 9.2, which shall report to the Cabinet on an annual basis.

 

24.

Date of Next Meeting

Thursday 17 March 2016 at 6.00pm.

Minutes:

Thursday, 17 March 2016 at 6.00 pm.

 

The Chair wished all present a Merry Christmas.