Agenda and minutes

Venue: Civic Suite, North Warehouse, The Docks, Gloucester, GL1 2EP

Contact: Democratic and Electoral Services 

Items
No. Item

34.

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:

There were no declarations of interest.

35.

Declaration of Party Whipping

To declare if any issues to be covered in the Agenda are under party whip.

 

Minutes:

          There were no declarations of party whipping.

36.

Minutes pdf icon PDF 205 KB

To approve as a correct record the minutes of the meeting held on 5th September 2022.

Minutes:

          REOLVED that:- The minutes of the meeting held on 5 September 2022 be agreed and signed by the Chair as a correct record.

37.

Public Question Time (15 minutes)

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.

 

To ask a question at this meeting, please submit it to democratic.services@gloucester.gov.uk by 12 noon on Wednesday 28th September or telephone (01452) 396203 for support.

Minutes:

          There were no public questions.

38.

Petitions and Deputations (15 minutes)

To receive any petitions or deputations provided that no such petition or deputation is in relation 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.

 

To present a petition or deputation at this meeting, please submit it to democratic.services@gloucester.gov.uk by 12 noon on Wednesday 28th September or telephone (01452) 396203 for support.

 

Minutes:

          There were no petitions nor deputations.

39.

Action Points Arising From Previous Meetings pdf icon PDF 153 KB

To note the outcomes of action points arising from previous meetings.

Minutes:

39.1    In noting the action point, Councillor Wilson stated that he was pleased the motion on tree planting was being actioned and asked if a map was available regarding where trees would be planted. Councillor Cook suggesting asking the Climate Change Manager what their ideas were for particular wards.

 

39.2    Referencing trees and saplings dying, Councillor Hilton asked what plans there were to re-establish having new plants grow. Councillor Cook advised that while some species had failed due to the extreme heat, others had been successful and that more caution would be exercised in terms of where new plants would be planted. In response to comments from the Chair regarding some residents offering to maintain plants, Councillor Cook stated he would certainly encourage such an approach.

 

39.3    Following a query from Councillor Dee regarding whether the planting season could be changed from spring to autumn, Councillor Cook advised that, following the appointment of an arborculturalist, this would certainly be examined.

 

39.4    Councillor Castle raised issues regarding the location of some trees and Councillor Cook advised that this would be work undertaken by the new arborculturalist.

 

39.5    Following discussions, it was noted that once the arborculturalist had been embedded and in the fullness of time, contact would be made with Members to investigate where might be the most appropriate sites for new tree planting. It would also be investigated as to whether ward councillors could be consulted prior to developers adopting land.

 

39.6    RESOLVED that:- The Overview and Scrutiny Committee NOTE the report.

40.

Overview and Scrutiny Committee Work Programme and Council Forward Plan pdf icon PDF 247 KB

To receive the latest version of the Committee’s work programme and the Council’s Forward Plan.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

40.1    Group Leads updated the Committee regarding changes to the work programme which would be circulated. It was agreed that the Podsmead Land Transfer item would be considered in November.

 

40.2    RESOLVED that:- The Overview and Scrutiny Committee NOTE  the updated work programme.

41.

Environmental Crime Enforcement Update pdf icon PDF 131 KB

To consider the report of the Leader of the Council and Cabinet Member for Environment updating Members of the activities of the Environmental Crime Team in 2021-22.

Minutes:

41.1    Councillor Cook outlined the report and the methods of investigated environmental crime. He informed Members that the Council was in the process of recruiting a new co-ordinator who would assist with enforcement activity. The Chair agreed that it was a good scheme as, previously such matters would be dealt with, but that investigation and enforcement may have been lacking.

 

41.2    The City Centre Manager stated that the purpose of enforcement was so that, in the future enforcement would not be necessary as it would act as a deterrent to committing future offences. He advised that such enforcement was conducted on an ad hoc basis prior to the formation of the team and that there was now a significant level of enforcement.

 

41.3    The City Centre Manager, following a query from the Chair regarding whether the scheme was self-financing, confirmed that there was funding from the Council and one post was funded by the County Council.

 

41.4    Councillor Pullen asked how successful the contractor had been in educating and informing residents and business with regard to environmental crime. The City Centre Manager informed Members that the Council had managed to deploy 3GS to other parts and issue fines which had enabled Council officers to conduct outreach work in the community. He cited that, for example, in Barton and Tredworth, some issues had arisen as a result of business not having trade waste agreements in place. 3GS had been utilised to check this as a first point of contact and in some cases, fines had been issued subsequently.

 

41.5    Councillor Wilson asked whether 3GS would lose money as a result of being successful in its enforcement activity. Councillor Cook advised that the role of the Council was to keep the City’s streets clean.

 

41.6    In response to queries from Councillor Pullen, the City Centre explained that the responsibility for fly-tipping on private land was that of the owner of the land and that, in some cases, owners had been advised that if they were to engage in secondary fly-tipping, they themselves would be open to prosecution.

 

41.7 The City Centre Manager confirmed that the Council had use of three CCTV cameras as well as the ability to use footage obtain by police cameras.

 

41.8    Councillor Dee queried whether the booking system at the Hempsted recycling centre could be linked to fly tipping. Councillor Cook shared that he did not believe this to be the case and that availability was very good.

 

41.9    Councillor Castle asked whether it would be possible to book attendance at the recycling centre in person. Councillor Cook advised that this was run by the County Council and that it was this body which should be approached with such a suggestion.

 

41.10  RESOLVED that:- The Overview and Scrutiny Committee NOTE the report.

42.

Date of Next Meeting

Monday 31st October 2022.

Minutes:

Monday 31 October at 6.30pm in the Civic Suite, North Warehouse.