Agenda and minutes

Venue: County Hall, Chichester

Contact: Lisa Etchell on 033022 23597  Email:  lisa.etchell@westsussex.gov.uk

Items
No. Item

1.

Declarations of Interest

Members and officers must declare any pecuniary or personalinterest in any business on the agenda. They should also make declarations at any stage such an interest becomes apparent during the meeting. Consideration should be given to leaving the meeting if the nature of the interest warrants it.  If in doubt please contact Democratic Services before the meeting.

Minutes:

1.1 In accordance with the Code of Conduct, the following personal interests were declared in relation to: the A27 Chichester Bypass Improvements: Submission to the Government’s Roads Investment Strategy:

 

Mr Baldwin as a member of Horsham District Council

Ms Goldsmith as a local resident living within 6 miles of the A27

Mrs Hall as a member of the Development Control Committee at Arun District council

Mr Hunt as Cabinet Member for Finance at the County Council

Dr O’Kelly as a member of Chichester District Council

Mrs Purnell as a member of Chichester District Council and Selsey Town Council an attendee of the Build a Better A27 (BABA27) meetings and a local resident living within 10 miles of the A27 

Mr S Oakley as a member of Chichester District Council and Tangmere Parish Council and a member of the County Council’s Planning Committee

2.

Minutes of the last meeting of the Committee pdf icon PDF 88 KB

The Committee is asked to agree the minutes of the meeting held on 16 March 2018 - attached (cream paper).

 

 

Minutes:

2.1 Resolved – that the minutes of the Environment, Communities and Fire Select Committee held on 16 March 2018 be approved as a correct record, and that they be signed by the Chairman.

3.

Responses to Recommendations pdf icon PDF 192 KB

The Committee is asked to note the Cabinet Member’s responses to the Committee’s recommendations:

 

a) County Council’s Proposed Response to the Department for Transport’s (DfT’s) Consultation on the creation of a Major Road Network (MRN)

 

The Committee is asked to note the Cabinet Member’s response to the Committee’s Recommendations on the County Council’s Proposed Response to the Department for Transport’s (DfT’s) Consultation on the creation of a Major Road Network (MRN) – attached.

 

b) Fire & Rescue Service and Performance of the Substance Misuse Contract

 

The Committee is asked to note the Cabinet Member’s response to the Committee’s recommendations on the Fire & Rescue Service and Performance of the Substance Misuse Contract – attached.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

a) County Council’s Proposed Response to the Department for Transport’s (DfT’s) Consultation on the creation of a Major Road Network (MRN)

 

3.1 The Committee noted the Cabinet Member’s Response to the Committee’s Recommendations on the County Council’s Proposed Response to the Department for Transport’s (DfT’s) Consultation on the creation of a Major Road Network (MRN)

 

b) Fire & Rescue Service and Performance of the Substance Misuse Contract

 

3.2 The Committee noted the Cabinet Member’s Response to the Committee’s Recommendations on the Fire & Rescue Service and Performance of the Substance Misuse Contract

 

4.

A27 Chichester Bypass Improvements: Submission to the Government's Roads Investment Strategy pdf icon PDF 148 KB

Report by Executive Director for Economy, Infrastructure and Environment and Director for Highways and Transport – attached.

 

In July 2016, Highways England published five options for improving the A27 at Chichester, for public consultation.  As none of the options secured support from a majority of the consultation respondents, the Secretary of State wrote to Highways England cancelling the scheme because of the lack of local consensus. In response, the County Council convened a community meeting to try to develop a way forward as part of the ‘Build A Better A27’ initiative.  Consultants were appointed to provide independent technical advice and support to promote a scheme for inclusion in the Government’s second Roads Investment Strategy (RIS2 - 2020-25). As a result of this work, there are now three potential approaches to promoting a scheme to the Government for inclusion in RIS2.

 

The Committee is asked to note the outputs of the work by the Community Group and consultants and to submit its views to the Cabinet Member for Highways and Infrastructure on: the desirability of the options, the suggestion that Approach C is taken forward; and the suggestion that the ‘mitigated northern route’ be identified as the County Council’s preferred option.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

4.1 The Committee considered a report by Executive Director for Economy, Infrastructure and Environment and Director for Highways and Transport (copy appended to signed minutes). 

 

4.2 Lee Harris, Executive Director, Economy, Infrastructure and Environment and Darryl Hemmings, Planning and Transport Policy Manager introduced the report which outlined the conclusions and options drawn from the recent joint work undertaken by the County Council and technical consultants  Systra, with input from various community groups involved in the  ‘Build a Better A27’ BABA27 initiative. The report put forward three potential approaches to promoting a scheme to improve the A27 Chichester Bypass. Key points were:

 

·         Following the cancellation in February 2017, by the Secretary of State due to lack of local consensus for the previous improvement scheme in the RS1 period, the County Council set up the BABA27 community group initiative. This involved the bringing together of various local community groups as a way of developing ideas and consensus for the improvements needed. Transport and engineering consultants Systra were also brought in to advise and develop the options.  

 

·         To promote a scheme to be included in the Government’s second Roads Investment Strategy (RIS2 – 2020-25), Systra had conducted a high level assessment of options against the success criteria identified by the community group and wider delivery considerations. Although there was still no overall majority in favour of one of the options, officers recommended the County Council show preference for a route but present the other option as a reasonable alternative (Approach C).  If no option was recommended, then the Committee was asked to note the fall back option would be that no major scheme would be delivered by Highways England and small scale improvements would be delivered as development takes place.

 

·         Next steps involved a decision by the Cabinet Member which would then be sent to Highways England to consider. Further technical work by Highways England will be required on any options put forward before a future public consultation.

 

4.3 The Cabinet Member for Highways and Infrastructure thanked officers and the work of both Systra and the BABA27 community group. He advised that it was useful to keep in mind the core objective of identifying options that could compete with other schemes for inclusion in RIS2 and deliver solutions to local concerns. He was minded, without prejudice, that the County Council should present an option to Highways England in order to maintain traction. 

 

4.4 The Committee invited the following non-committee local Members to address the Committee for five minutes and give comment:

 

4.5 Mrs Hall – She raised concerns that any major improvements to the existing A27 Chichester Bypass could cause disruption to already congested access routes to Pagham and the surrounding areas. She was in favour of the ‘Mitigated Northern Route’ as the preferred option.

 

4.6 Mr Hunt – He noted a correction was needed on page 45, Figure 2 of the Systra report, illustrating the suggested route alignments. In his view, the South Downs National Park (SDNP) boundary could be misleading  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

5.

Growth Deals pdf icon PDF 82 KB

Report by Executive Director Economy, Infrastructure & Environment and Director of Economy, Planning & Place – attached.

 

At its meeting on 31 January 2018, the Committee requested an update on progress with current Growth Deals that have been developed with districts and boroughs to enable resources to be aligned to support and facilitate the delivery of key and agreed growth priorities. This report highlights the progress made to date, the current status of the programmes being delivered through the Deals and proposed next steps.

 

The Committee is asked to note progress made to date and support the proposals identified in paragraph 2.1 of the report.

 

Minutes:

5.1 The Committee considered a report by Executive Director Economy, Infrastructure & Environment and Director of Economy, Planning & Place (copy appended to signed minutes). 

 

5.2 Duncan Barrett, Strategic Manager, Economy, introduced the report which highlighted the progress made to date, and the current status of programmes being delivered through the deals and proposed next steps. Key points were:

 

·         Deals were currently in place with five of the district and borough councils, with the overall target being to secure twelve deals by March 2022.

 

·         Although some projects had been historically challenging to get off the ground, a long process of work had now been carried out in partnership with district and boroughs councils. The next steps were to ensure the County Council, along with its partners, delivered the outcomes.

 

5.3. Lee Harris, Executive Director, Economy, Infrastructure and Environment added that the alignment of priorities by the County Council and the district and borough councils had been critical to progress being made.

 

5.4. Ms Goldsmith thanked the officers involved and advised that the Growth Deal concept came about from observations taken from Staffordshire County Council. In her view, current investment in the Crawley area showed the strength and innovation of joint partnership working.

 

5.5 The Committee made comments including those that follow. It:

 

·        Welcomed the current progress being made on the Growth Deals and its positive benefits for the Economy.

 

·        Queried the governance and management of each deal. An officer advised that the programme of governance in place included reporting to each respective growth board. In addition, each project would have a project manager.

 

·        Queried whether all partnerships that were required for the successful implementation of projects were in place and what risks or barriers had been encountered that could prevent delivery or delay to the projects. An officer advised that some areas had been challenging, but there was clarity with the district and borough councils over each project and what the priorities were.

 

·        Noted that a majority of the funding had been allocated to only three deals, with the remaining receiving smaller amounts.

 

5.6 Mrs Goldsmith added that partnership working was important, with people beginning to see results in areas where investment had already taken place. There had been a collective focus on key areas and projects to ensure delivery of the deals.

 

5.7 Resolved – That the Committee notes the progress made to date and the next steps identified in paragraph 2.1 of the report. 

 

6.

Business Planning Group Report pdf icon PDF 46 KB

The report provides an update to the Committee of the Business Planning Group (BPG) meeting held on 10 April 2018, setting out the key issues discussed – attached

 

The Committee is asked to endorse the contents of this report and the Committee’s Work Programme for 2018/19, revised to reflect the Business Planning Group’s discussions.

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

6.1 The Committee considered a report by the Chairman of the Business Planning Group (copy appended to the signed minutes).

 

6.2 Resolved – That the Committee endorses the contents of the report and particularly the Committee’s Work Programme for 2018/19, revised to reflect the Business Planning Group’s (BPG’s) discussions.

 

7.

Appointment of Business Planning Group Members

The Committee is asked to appoint five members to the Business Planning Group (BPG) for 2018-19, including the Chairman of the Committee and two minority party members.

 

The membership of the Committee’s BPG in 2017/18 was Mr Barrett-Miles (Chairman), Mr S Oakley (Vice-chairman), Mr Jones, Mr Patel and Mr Purchese.

 

No background papers.

 

Minutes:

7.1. The Committee considered the political group requirements for the membership of the Business Planning Group.

 

7.2. The Committee approved the membership by majority.

 

7.3 Resolved – That the Committee appoints Mr Barret-Miles (Chairman), Mr S Oakley (Vice-Chairman), Mr Baldwin, Mr Jones, and Mr Purchese to the Business Planning Group.

 

8.

Forward Plan of Key Decisions pdf icon PDF 137 KB

Extract fromthe ForwardPlan dated 23 May 2018 – attached.

 

Anextract fromanyForwardPlan publishedbetween the date of despatchof the agenda and the date of the meetingwill be tabled at the meeting.

 

The Committee is asked to consider whetheritwishes to enquireinto any of the forthcoming decisions withinits portfolio.

 

Minutes:

8.1 The Committee considered the Forward Plan dated 23 May (copy appended to signed minutes).

 

8.2 Resolved – That the Forward Plan be noted.

 

9.

Date of Next Meeting

The next scheduled meeting of the Committee is on 13 June 2018 at 10.30 a.m. at County Hall, Chichester.

 

Items likely to be on the agenda include:

 

·         Bus Strategy

·         FRS Integrated Risk Management Plan

·         2017/18 FRS Performance Review

·         Total Performance Monitor 17/18 Outturn

·         Economic Growth Plan

 

Minutes:

The Committee noted that its next scheduled meeting will take place on 13 June 2018 at 10.30am at County Hall, Chichester.

10.

Exclusion of Press and Public

Minutes:

Resolved - That under Section 100(4) of the Local Government Act 1972,

the public be excluded from the meeting for the following item of business on the grounds that it involves the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Part I, of Schedule 12A, of the Act by virtue of the paragraph specified under the item and that, in all the circumstances of the case, the public interest in maintaining the exemption of that information outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information.

 

11.

Highways Contract Update

Minutes:

Summary of Matters discussed in the absence of the Press and Public

 

(Exempt, paragraph 3, Financial or business affairs of any person (including the authority))

 

The Committee noted the update on the Highways Contract and members gave comment.