Meeting documents

Apologies were received from Mr Chapple OBE, Mr Butcher and Mrs Lesley Clarke OBE.

To disclose any personal or disclosable pecuniary interests.

Mr Warren Whyte declared an interest for Item 6 as the Chairman of the Buckinghamshire Historic Environment Forum and a member of the Bucks Archaeological Society.

Of the meeting held on 14^th April 2015 to be confirmed as a correct record.

The minutes of the meeting held on 14^th April 2015 were confirmed as a correct record. 

The Chairman advised members that a brief update report from the Drug and Alcohol Action Team (DAAT) Commissioners in relation to work with partners on Legal Highs would be received at the 23^rd June meeting.  The Chairman also requested that a status update report should be requested on the introduction of BCC’s Sustainable Drainage duties for 23^rd June. These items would be added to the Work Programme.                                                    ACTION: Committee Adviser

Members discussed the Country Parks item which came to the meeting in April.  Whilst the Committee had agreed to undertake an Inquiry into Country Parks, the Chairman was concerned about the lack of clarity around the legal ownership and it was suggested that this should be resolved before members developed a scope for this piece of work.  It was agreed that the Committee Adviser would liaise with the Cabinet Member for Planning and Environment to progress this.

ACTION: Committee Adviser

This is an opportunity for members of the public to put a question or raise an issue of concern, related to Environment, Transport and Locality Services.   Where possible, the relevant organisation to which the question/issue is directed will be present to give a verbal response.  The member of public will be invited to speak for up to four minutes on their issue.  A maximum of 30 minutes is set aside for the Public Questions slot in total (including responses and any Committee discussion). This may be extended with the Chairman’s discretion. 

For full guidance on Public Questions, including how to register a request to speak during this slot, please follow this link:

http://www.buckscc.gov.uk/about-your-council/scrutiny/get-involved/

There were no public questions.

For the Chairman of the Committee to provide an update to the Committee on recent scrutiny related activity.

Members are asked to note the update report from Cath Marriot on the Safer Bucks Plan 2015-16.

The Chairman advised members that the S106 Inquiry Report had been very well-received at Cabinet.  The Committee had been congratulated on an in depth report and all seven recommendations were agreed, two in part by Cabinet. 

The Committee also noted the short update provided by the Community Safety Manager in response to members’ concerns that the original consultation exercise undertaken for the Safer Bucks Plan had not yielded enough responses, particularly in the Aylesbury Vale area.

An Overview item for Members to examine the Council’s statutory duties as record keeper, its ability to carry out its duties and charging opportunities to generate income whilst delivering high quality advice.

Contributors:

Mrs Lesley Clarke OBE, Cabinet Member for Planning and Environment

Mr Simon Newell, Environment Team Leader

Mr Phil Markham, Senior Archaeology Officer

Ms Julia Wise, Historic Environment Records Officer

Mr Mike Farley, Bucks Archaeological Society

The Chairman welcomed Mr Phil Markham, Senior Archaeology Officer, Mr Simon Newell, Environment Team Leader, Ms Julia Wise, Historic Environments Record Officer and Mr Mike Farley, Bucks Archaeological Society to the meeting.  Mr Markham took members through his report, which provided an overview of the role of the Archaeology service and the legislation under which they operate, partnership working with the district councils as the local planning authorities, how the team generate income currently and the future challenges and opportunities for the service.  The Chairman then invited Mr Mike Farley of the Bucks Archaeological Society to inform members of the history and work of the Society and how the Society interacts with the Council’s Archaeology team.

During these discussions and in response to subsequent questions from members the following main points were noted:

·         Mr Farley outlined why the Archaeology Service was very important.  Buckinghamshire has historical sites of great significance and whilst developments of new houses, shopping centres and roads were very positive it was vital that the implications of development on our heritage was recognised and the Archaeology team played a key role in protecting this for future generations.

·         Fortunately the profession of Archaeology has grown over the years and it was important to have qualified people to assess what was needed to protect historical sites.  An up to date Historical Environment Record(HER) was key to informing future developments in the county.

·         Bucks Archaeological Society respected the professionalism of the service provided by Buckinghamshire County Council and wanted to encourage greater public awareness of their work.  Some of the Society’s members volunteered in the county archives and at the museum.  But there were concerns that the service was over-stretched, as keeping the HER updated and providing advice and monitoring the progress of large developments was demanding, as it was so important to ensure that standards were being met.  Also HS2 would increase the workload for the team and they were already struggling to support any significant Outreach work.

·         A member commented that he was aware that although Planning officers at the district councils knew about the HER, they did not always consult it – was there anything that could be done to ensure that developers consulted the HER at pre-application or at least, when preparing to submit their application. Julia Wise agreed that it would be helpful if consulting the HER could be included on the pre-application checklists for all the district councils and if the Planning officers reinforced the need to consult the HER at an early stage.

·         It was noted that when the team were busy it was inputting new information into the HER which would be held up.  Julia Wise would have to prioritise dealing with developer inquiries over the inputting duties.  The only reason the HER was currently as up to date as it is, was due to Julia’s personal dedication in working longer than her contracted hours. Simon Newell recognised this and felt it was a priority to secure additional support in this area.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

Members are asked to consider the draft outline scope for a proposed Inquiry into Flooding in Buckinghamshire.

The Committee are asked to agree the outline scope and proposed timelines and to note the membership for the Inquiry group, which will then meet to further refine the scope and agree the approach members wish to take.

The Committee received and noted the draft Outline Scope for a proposed Inquiry into Flooding in Bucks 2013-14: Lessons Learned.  Members agreed that they wished to go ahead with the Inquiry and that the Committee Adviser should organise meeting dates accordingly.

ACTION: Committee Adviser

Members will discuss the Work Programme and forthcoming Committee items.

Members are asked to read through the Transport, Environment and Economy (TEE) Business Unit Plan 2015/16-2017/18 ahead of the meeting (Please see the link below) and highlight any issues that the Select Committee might wish to consider in future.

Data/BCC TEaCSC/201505191000/Agenda/httpsdemocracy.buckscc.gov.ukdocumentss56428TEE%20Business%20Unit%20Plan%202015-18.pdf.pdf

Members discussed forthcoming agenda items on the Work Programme and suggested other topic areas that the Committee might wish to consider in future.  These included; Fracking, Economic Development and the possibility of developing a Heritage Route through the county, East/West Rail and HS2.

The next meeting will take place on Tuesday 23^rd June 2015 at 10am in Mezzanine Room 2, County Hall, Aylesbury.  There will be a pre-meeting for Committee Members at 9.30am.

The next meeting will take place on Tuesday 23^rd June 2015 at 10am in Mezzanine Room 2, County Hall, Aylesbury.  There will be a pre-meeting for Committee Members at 9.30am.