Agenda item

To receive any Members' questions

The Chairman explained that the time allowed for consideration of Members’ Questions was 15 minutes.  If any questions could not be responded to due to lack of time, the written responses would be published as soon as practical after the meeting. 

Councillor Crystall put the following question to the Executive Member for Environmental Sustainability.  

Councillor Crystall said that according to the final report from the Climate Change Task and Finish Group, received by Council on 5 March 2019, it was recommended that existing capital grants for loft and cavity wall insulation be extended to provide greater assistance grants to cover solid wall insulation and secondary glazing in energy efficiency priority areas of the district.  He said it was also suggested that this could be achieved from within the existing capital budget, as current loft and cavity wall grants were under-utilised by residents. He asked whether this extension to the grant offer had been provided, and if so, whether Councillor McAndrew could provide specific figures for the total amount allocated to solid wall insulation and to secondary glazing, and indicate how much of this allocation had been actively granted to residents for this purpose.

Councillor McAndrew said the council was keen to maximise domestic energy efficiency across homes in the district. In line with the recommendation of the Climate Change Task and Finish Group, approved by Council, £12,000 of unspent resources had been brought forward into 2019/20 to ‘top up’ grants available to East Hertfordshire households through the national Energy Company Obligation (ECO) scheme.  This scheme aimed to assist the most vulnerable and fuel poor households. Such support enabled residents to benefit from an ECO grant without having to self-fund the top up while at the same time ‘stretching’ the benefits of council resources.

ECO grants aimed to maximise the reduction of carbon produced in heating a domestic dwelling. The council was guided by the recommendations of the ECO surveyors. To date, although the council would be very happy to fund solid wall insulation and/or secondary glazing installation if specified by the surveyor, the interventions identified through the ECO programme had called for loft insulation and new boilers. 

Councillor McAndrew said the most recent Queen’s Speech included the government’s intention to invest £2.5bn over the coming five years providing “Home Upgrade Grants” for fuel poor homes in order to significantly improve domestic energy efficiency. The council would wish to support this new grant regime, especially if it provided opportunities for the installation of solid wall insulation.

Councillor Crystall put his second question to Councillor McAndrew.  He said the Council, as a trusted local information source, should continue to promote information on energy reduction to local residents. The Grantham Institute at Imperial College had published a list of 10 straightforward actions that individuals could take to reduce their own carbon emissions.  He asked whether the Council would commit to placing this list in a prominent place on its website and publishing it in the Council’s publications such as Link and Network.

Councillor McAndrew said he agreed that the council should be a trusted local source of information on environmental sustainability.  He had been encouraged to learn that participants in the Council’s inaugural Environmental and Climate Forum held in Ware in January had said they saw the council as an organisation which could be trusted to give clear advice. 

Councillor McAndrew said the Grantham Institute was highly regarded in the field of environmental sustainability. The Institute’s list included a number of useful and practical steps that could be taken to tackle climate change.  Many other bodies had also provided guidance.  However, by endorsing one particular list of actions, the council’s valued ‘honest broker’ position could be compromised, as it could be queried why the council was promoting the Grantham Institute’s list in preference to other information.

Councillor McAndrew concluded that whilst he fully supported Councillor Crystall’s call for the council to provide clear advice, he preferred that the council draw on the actions advocated and not be restricted to them.  Such actions would be considered along with others’ advice and the ideas emerging from the Environmental and Climate Forum to form detailed guidance.

Councillor Bolton asked the Executive Member for Neighbourhoods what steps the Council was taking to tackle anti-social behaviour within the District.

Councillor Boylan said anti-social behaviour could have a significant impact on the lives of those it directly affected. The council took a robust, joined up approach to tackling anti-social behaviour in the district.  At strategic level, Members and officers actively participated in the East Herts Community Safety Partnership Board alongside colleagues from Police, Fire & Rescue, Housing Associations, the county council, town councils, probation service and other partners.  Recently, the Board had considered the impact of fireworks-related anti-social behaviour. The council had also joined a local working group and the Leader had written to the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government to seek his support in tackling what was a serious emerging form of anti-social behaviour.

Councillor Boylan said operationally, the council’s work was co-ordinated on a day-to-day basis by its Community Safety and ASB Manager who, among other duties, chaired the East Herts Anti-Social Behaviour Action Group which considered the most complex individual cases and agreed multi-agency responses. The council’s work also included providing advice and guidance on anti-social behaviour on the council’s website and funding diversionary activities for young people during school holidays.

The council’s joined up approach to tackling anti-social behaviour had been recognised by Hertfordshire Constabulary in 2018 when they were awarded the Mick Fogarty Problem Solving Award for the effective way the council and local police had worked together to remedy a particularly difficult episode of crime and anti-social behaviour in a block of flats in Bishop’s Stortford.

The council prided itself on the pivotal role it played alongside partners in tackling anti-social behaviour while at the same time supporting victims.

Councillor Jones asked the Executive Member for Environmental Sustainability whether he could assure him that the council was committed to supporting Community Transport projects in the district.  He said these services relied heavily on the financial support given by the Council, until they become self-sustaining.  He asked whether the Executive Member could assure him that there were no plans to reduce this financial commitment. 

Councillor McAndrew said the Council understood the value community transport held in enabling the district’s communities to live independently and lead fulfilled lives. There were many benefits to be gained from good community transport including reducing social isolation and encouraging more environmentally sustainable transport choices.

Councillor McAndrew said there were no plans to reduce the council’s overall level of financial support allocated to community transport as he understood the role of council subsidy in helping schemes get established. The council’s Community Transport Strategy 2018-21, approved by Council in December 2018, made clear the intention to provide financial support to assist schemes to develop viable business models to maximise the longevity of the scheme. The strategy also made clear the council’s desire to help community transport providers move towards greater levels of self-sufficiency so as to enable it to redirect resources to support the start-up of new community schemes in the district.

Therefore, in 2020/21, the council would be willing to provide existing community transport schemes with the same level of funding as in 2019/20 where this was part of a plan, year-on-year, to reduce East Herts’ contribution, as the council’s aspiration was to use a greater share of the community transport budget to support the growth of new schemes in areas not currently served.

Councillor Jones asked, as a supplementary question, whether the council would consider re-establishing twice-yearly Community Transport Conferences. 

Councillor McAndrew said he had already met the Chief Executive of the Citizens Advice Bureau for Broxbourne, in order to re-establish the conferences.

Councillor Devonshire asked the Executive Member for Planning and Growth how the council was seeking to protect employment land within the district.

Councillor Goodeve said the council was very concerned about the loss of employment space in the last 5-10 years and its main priorities were to ensure it retained the viable employment land it had, and ensured that the 20Ha of new land allocated within the district plan were built.

Councillor Goodeve said officers were negotiating with landowners and developers to ensure all employment allocations were built on new developments and were appropriate in terms of size and mix to complement the local economy.  Land at Gilston, Bishop’s Stortford and Ware was currently under discussion.

She said the council had 33 existing designated employment sites in the district.  However, she was concerned that a number of them could be under threat from exercise of permitted development rights which allowed owners to convert certain types of office and industrial units to residential use without planning permission.  Unfortunately when this right was exercised, often the homes provided were not of the quality the council would like to see, resulting in a poor quality public realm.  Whilst this option had been a key part of the government’s approach to accelerating housing delivery by making residential use of unused premises, in Hertfordshire it had led to the forced displacement of viable businesses in the district alongside poor public realm, no section 106 contributions and no affordable housing.

Councillor Goodeve said the council had recently consulted on the introduction of Article 4 Directions, which meant owners would have to apply for the usual planning permission if they wished to convert to residential use.  The response to the consultation had been overwhelmingly positive, with only two objections to which the council would be responding shortly. The council had also explained to the Minister for Housing, Communities and Local Government that in East Herts, employment land lost to residential was essentially irreplaceable due to the Green Belt, and that protection of this land was vital to the commercial sustainability of the district’s towns. The Direction was due to come into force at the start of next year.  Members might have seen the council’s video on LinkedIn about this which had had over 1000 views. This was a key, pro-active measure to ensure employment land was protected from uncontrolled development.

Councillor Wilson asked the Executive Member for Environmental Sustainability the following question.  He said that on 23 October 2019 the Council had unanimously agreed a motion proposing that the Environmental and Climate Change Forum would investigate working with Hertfordshire County Council to research the possibility of setting up an "On-Demand" Transport service in East Herts.  As planned developments were continuing to progress within the district, it was vital that the council set up more viable alternatives to private car use as soon as possible.  He asked Councillor McAndrew to update the Council on any progress, and if no progress had been made, to indicate when updates would be given about the possibility of putting an On Demand Transport system in place. 

Councillor McAndrew said he agreed that a wider range of alternatives to car use in the district would assist in meeting the challenges of climate change.  To that end, transport was a key theme being addressed by the Environmental and Climate Forum and indeed the next planned Forum meeting would focus on transport issues.

Public transport policy, including demand responsive transport solutions, and financial subsidy was overseen by Hertfordshire County Council.  The county council gathered views and input from all partners, including East Herts Council, through the Intalink Enhanced Partnership which they facilitated.

Recently, the government had announced its ‘Better Deal for Bus Users’ programme. This included the allocation of £20 million for a Rural Mobility Fund to trial demand responsive transport solutions. Hertfordshire County Council was co-ordinating bids on behalf of Intalink. The council was currently assessing the case for submitting an expression of interest, possibly in partnership with others. The deadline for expressions of interest was 30 April.  He would keep Members informed of progress.

The Chairman said the allotted time for questions had expired and the remaining question from Councillor Goldspink would be answered in writing following the meeting.