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MAIDSTONE BOROUGH COUNCIL

 

CABINET MEMBER FOR THE ENVIRONMENT

 

REPORT OF THE ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES

 

 

Report prepared by Steve Wilcock

Date Issued: 14 April 2009                  

 

 

1.                           AIR QUALITY ACTION PLAN  UPDATE

 

 

1.1                        Issue for Decision

 

1.1.1                   To consider the recommendations made by the Environment and Leisure Overview and Scrutiny Committee regarding the progress and outstanding actions with regard to air quality management.

 

1.2                        The Recommendation of the Assistant Director of Environmental Services

 

1.2.1                   That the Cabinet Member agrees that the responses identified in the report be sent to the Overview and Scrutiny Committee.

 

1.3                        Reasons for Recommendation

 

1.3.1                   On 24 March 2009, officers attended the meeting of the Environment and Leisure Overview and Scrutiny Committee, to present an update on the activities of the council with regard to the progress in carrying out the Action Plan, which follows on from the declaration of the urban-wide Air Quality Management Area in August 2008.

 

1.3.2                   The Committee raised questions with officers on a number of matters and made four specific recommendations which are provided in the Appendix to the report.

 

1.3.3                   The recommendations state that the Committee would like to consider the draft action plan, prior to its approval by cabinet and that there should be a supplementary planning document regarding pollution issues fed into the Local development Framework.

 

1.3.4                                Not all the proposals can be agreed this year due to the timescales and steps necessary.

 

1.4                        Alternative Action and Why Not Recommended

 

1.4.1                   As the formation of an Action Plan is a statutory requirement once an Air Quality Management Area has been declared, there is no alternative action available.

 

1.5                        Impact on Corporate Objectives

 

1.5.1.1              The activities discussed contribute towards the Council’s Corporate Improvement Program (CIP) GEN 12

 

1.6                        Risk Management

 

Perceived Risk	Seriousness	Likelihood	Preventative Action
Air Quality Action Plan not in place.	High	Low	Agree to steps explained in the report.

 

1.7                        Other Implications

 

1.7.1    

1.   Financial	X
2.   Staffing
3.   Legal
4.   Equality Impact Needs Assessment
5.   Environmental/Sustainable Development
6.   Community Safety
7.   Human Rights Act
8.   Procurement
9.   Asset Management

             

 

  Financial

 

1.7.2                   Some proposals will need to be considered as part of the budget setting process for the next financial year

 

NO REPORT WILL BE ACCEPTED WITHOUT THIS BOX BEING COMPLETED     X     Is this a Key Decision?        Yes                        No        If yes, when did it appear in the Forward Plan? _______________________     X   Is this an Urgent Key Decision?     Yes                  No   Reason for Urgency   [State why the decision is urgent and cannot wait until the next issue of the forward plan.]

 

How to Comment   Should you have any comments on the issue that is being considered please contact either the relevant Officer or the Member of the Executive who will be taking the decision.   Cllr Mark Wooding, Cabinet Member for Environment Telephone: 01622 602000                                                           E-mail:  markwooding@maidstone.gov.uk   Steve Wilcock, Senior Pollution Officer Telephone: (01622) 602134                                                           E-mail:  stevegoulette@maidstone.gov.uk

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[1] Resolutions are listed as found in the minutes of the relevant meeting.

 

[1] Insert in this box the Cabinet Member whose portfolio the recommendation falls within.

[1] The Officer/Cabinet Member responsible for responding to the recommendation should indicate in this box either the acceptance or rejection of the recommendation.

If the recommendation is rejected an explanation for its rejection should be provided.  The ‘timetable’ and ‘lead officer’ boxes can be left blank

If the recommendation is accepted an explanation of the action to be taken to implement the recommendation should be recorded in this box.  Please also complete the ‘timetable’ and ‘lead officer’ boxes.

[1] The Officer/Cabinet Member responsible for responding to the recommendation should indicate in this box when the action in indicated in the previous box will be implemented.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Appendix

 

 

Recommendation[i]	Cabinet Member[ii]	Response[iii]	Timetable[iv]	Lead Officer[v]
The draft Air Quality Action Plan be considered by the Committee prior to its approval by Cabinet;	Environment	Agreed. There are several important steps needed to be completed before the action plan can be completed; these were explained to the committee.	By April 2010	Steve Wilcock
The Highways Agency be lobbied to ensure the variable speed limit order is put in place by September 2009;	Environment	Agreed. A letter will be sent to the Highways Agency requesting that the order is put in place and enforced as soon as possible. The matter will also be raised with the HA at the regular liaison meetings	Letter to be sent May 2009	Steve Goulette
Officers ensure that a Supplementary Planning Document with regard to pollution issues is produced in time to feed into the Local Development Framework; and	Environment	Agreed. This is an ongoing document that falls into the Planning Policy timetable.	14-28 weeks from the agreed LDS period. Aiming for September 2009.	Steve Wilcock
Information with regard to what European Standard the Service Buses used for Park and Ride Service meet to be circulated to the Committee.	Environment	Currently contracted from Arriva. Euro 3 using 5% bio-diesel.	As presented.	Steve Goulette