MAIDSTONE BOROUGH COUNCIL
Communities, Housing and Environment Committee
Minutes of the meeting held on Tuesday 16 June 2015
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Present: |
Councillors Mrs Ring (Chairman),D Mortimer, Newton, Mrs Parvin, Perry, Mrs Robertson, Webb, Webster and J.A. Wilson |
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Also Present: |
Councillors Mrs Blackmore and Garland. |
7. Apologies for Absence
There were no apologies for absence.
8. Notification of Substitute Members
There were no Substitute Members.
9. Urgent Items
The Chairman stated that, in her opinion, the appointment of a Parish Charter Member Champion should be taken as an urgent item because of impending meetings requiring a representative to support the work of the Committee.
10. Notification of Visiting Members
The following Members were in attendance as observers:
· Councillor Mrs Blackmore
· Councillor Garland
11. Disclosures by Members and Officers
There were no disclosures by members or officers.
12. Disclosures of Lobbying
There were no disclosures of lobbying.
13. Exempt Items
RESOLVED: That all items be taken in public as proposed.
14. Presentation of Petitions
It was noted that there were no petitions.
15. Questions
It was noted that there were no questions from members of the public.
16. Minutes of the Meeting Held on 26 May 2015
RESOLVED: That the minutes of the meeting held on 26 May 2015 be approved as a correct record and signed.
17. Low Emission Strategy
The Head of Housing and Community Services introduced the Low Emission Strategy.
· The covering report outlined the rationale behind the Low Emission Strategy, the issues driving its development and its main aims;
· The Low Emission Strategy would enable the council to develop a new action plan that was more aligned to the council’s responsibilities, available resources and to reflect the latest Strategic Plan; and
· It was intended that the Low Emission Strategy would evolve to encompass the relevant parts of the Carbon Management Plan which was in need of refreshing. This would ensure that the key actions from both documents would have a synergy that was tailored to what could reasonably be expected of a district council to deliver.
In response to Members’ questions the following points were made:
· The Low Emission Strategy looked at all emissions and what Maidstone Borough Council could achieve in partnership;
· Infraction proceedings made reference to the legalities and potential fines in relation to poor air quality standards.
· The strategy was aspirational but tried to remain realistic;
· The proposals were likely to be cost neutral. The strategy would be developed further and would be brought back to the Committee for its approval at the end of the year.
Members of the Committee were interested in the concept of Shared Space, an urban design approach used to improve traffic efficiencies. It was proposed that the following wording was added to the first recommendation: including investigating the emission benefit from ‘shared space schemes’ used by some local authorities.
RESOLVED:
1. That the Committee agrees the proposed themes for the Low Emission Strategy, as set out in Appendix A, for consultation with stakeholders and members of the public including investigating the emission benefit from ‘shared space schemes’ used by some local authorities;
2. That the Committee instructs the Head of Housing & Community Services to report back to the Committee with the result of the consultation and the draft Low Emission Strategy for approval by the Committee no later than December 2015; and
3. That the Committee notes that the Carbon Management Plan 2009 is being reviewed and updated and a report on progress is being prepared. The Committee agrees that an updated Carbon Management Plan will be prepared and incorporated into the Low Emission Strategy.
Voting: 9 – For 0 – Against 0 – Abstentions
18. Urgent Item - Appointment of Parish Charter Member Champion.
The Committee considered the appointment of a Parish Charter Member Champion because of impending meetings requiring a representative of the Committee.
RESOLVED: That Councillor John Perry be appointed as the Member Champion for the Parish Charter.
Voting: 9 – For 0 – Against 0 – Abstentions
19. Duration of meeting
6.30 p.m. to 7.13 p.m.