Agenda and minutes

Councillor B Chapple OBE appointed Councillor R Carington as the Vice-Chairman of the Transport, Environment & Climate Change Select Committee for the 2023/24 municipal year.

Apologies were received from Councillors D Barnes, E Culverhouse, D Watson and A Wood.

Changes to membership were Councillors P Cooper and N Naylor replacing Councillors A Poland-Goodyer and W Whyte.

The Chairman thanked the outgoing Members for their work and would express this to them in writing.

Action: C Ward

There were none.

That the minutes of the meetings held on 30 March 2023 and 17 May 2023 be confirmed as a correct record.

The minutes of the meetings held on 30 March 2023 and 17 May 2023 were confirmed as an accurate record.

Public Questions is an opportunity for people who live, work or study in Buckinghamshire to put a question to a Select Committee. The Committee will hear from members of the public who have submitted questions in advance relating to items on the agenda. The Cabinet Member, relevant key partners and responsible officers will be invited to respond.

Further information on how to register can be found here: https://www.buckinghamshire.gov.uk/your-council/get-involved-with-council-decisions/select-committees/

Three public questions were considered at the meeting as attached to the agenda and verbal responses were provided by the Cabinet Member for Climate Change and Environment and the Cabinet Member for Transport. The questions and answers are appended to the minutes.

The Chairman thanked the public for their questions and noted the importance of trees to Buckinghamshire residents.

To consider a report updating on the Council’s tree planting activity following the tree planting season.

Contributors:

Councillor Gareth Williams, Cabinet Member for Climate Change & Environment

Steve Bambrick, Service Director for Planning & Environment

Ed Barlow, Head of Climate Change & Environment

Alexander Beckett, Climate Change Programme & Partnership Manager

The Cabinet Member for Climate Change & Environment introduced the report and highlighted the following key points from the presentation:

·       In the first year of the programme, 5,500 trees had been planted, whilst in the second year around 145,000 trees had been planted.

·       The delivery of the 543,000-tree planting target would be through a mixture of partnership work e.g. Forestry England and Chiltern Rangers. Careful consideration was needed when selecting sites and the trees to be planted, these considerations included maintenance arrangements, soil conditions and utility locations.

·       Community based tree planting had been supported across Buckinghamshire in the last 12 months with schools, parish councils and charities being engaged.

·       The Council had successfully applied to the Local Authority Treescapes Fund for the second year in a row. This Round 2 funding of £184,000 had gone towards the Dorneywood Scout Camp, Releaf Marlow and Miyawaki ‘Tiny’ Forests at Princes Risborough School and Bourton Park, Buckingham.

·       Organised in partnership with Chiltern Rangers, 4,000 trees and shrubs had been planted along Platinum Park Way and 1,000 trees, gifted by HS2, were given away to 30 organisations including parish councils, Lindengate Charity and Hogshaw Farm.

·       Over £105,000 grant funding had been secured from the England Woodland Creation Offer to create a 14,300-tree woodland at Bury Farm, Amersham, using a contractor planting model.

·       Similarly, a new 14,700 multi-species tree woodland at Grange Farm, Hazlemere, had received £110,000 grant funding from the England Woodland Creation Offer. There had been a volunteer planting day attended by the local school along with assistance from the Chiltern Rangers.

·       At the new Wing Woodland site, under the Forestry England Woodland Partnership Scheme, 110,000 trees had been planted. This would reach 132,000 trees by 2023/24. At present, the trees were fenced off for protection to allow them to be established. 

·       Overall, the service was 35% towards its 543,00 target and was on track to deliver.

·       All Council land tree planting sites were registered with the Woodland Carbon Code which contributed towards the UK’s national targets for greenhouse gas emission reductions. It was noted that carbon sequestration would increase as trees matured.

·       The use of utilizing different planting techniques, working with partners and leveraging external funding had reduced average annual cost per tree from £12.13 in 2021/22 to £6.91 in 2022/23.

The Committee noted the following during its discussion:

·       It was clarified that HS2’s tree planting activity was separate to the Council and did not contribute towards the Council’s overall tree planting target.

·       In response to various queries regarding tree watering, the Cabinet Member advised that ‘beating up’, the forestry term for replacing newly planted trees that did not survive, was built into the contracts and was more cost effective than all out watering of sites. Nonetheless, watering did take place in some cases, for instance specific Highways trees.

·       A number of Members complimented the Wing Woods scheme however concern was expressed regarding potential visitor numbers by car, a lack of parking mitigations and the potential for dangerous on-road parking in future (  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

The Cabinet Member will provide a verbal update on activities part way through the summer period.

Contributors:

Councillor Steve Broadbent, Cabinet Member for Transport

Richard Barker, Corporate Director for Communities

Lindsey Vallis, Service Director for Transport Services

Cheryl Platts, Transport Policy & Improvement Manager

The following points were made during the Cabinet Member for Transport’s verbal update on School Transport allocations:

·       ‘Summer ops’ were at their peak with the team cross-working with referrals from the Education team who determined eligibility. The provision for transport assistance may be from public buses, rail, taxi or personal transport budgets (PTBs).

·       As of 20 June 2023, 622 new referrals had been made. Of these, 567 had been allocated transport, 9 had PTBs agreed, and 46 awaited application following being invited to. More referrals were expected by the end of June. Currently 339 new SEND referrals had been received (Pre-16: 203, Post-16: 136).

·       In total, it was estimated that the service made transport arrangements for around 7,500 students (5,000 mainstream, 2,500 SEND).

·       The Spare Seat scheme was on its continuous improvement path having recently been simplified to reduced incoming inquiries. The scheme was moving to a flat fee service with easier payment methods (e.g. online rather than direct debit). Applications could be made on the council’s website from 26 June until noon on 10 July.

·       Home to School Transport was a statutory service that was subject to budgetary pressures. £28.6m had been allocated in 2023/24 as follows:

o   Mainstream: £7.7m.

o   Pre-16 SEND: £16.1m.

o   Post-16 SEND: £3.9m.

o   Pupil Referral Unit Transport at £0.9m.

The following points were made during the Committee’s discussion:

·       The team’s scope was on transporting to and from school however the team may be able to assist in providing Members, community groups and schools with suitable contacts in the transport sector to assist with transport queries (e.g. classes being taken to and from leisure centres).

·       One Member highlighted the important role walking and cycling had for children going to and from school. The Cabinet Member advised that the Council had topped the Modeshift STARS league and that improving access to schools was considered when bidding for Active Travel schemes (e.g. Keep Hill Wood, High Wycombe, and Buckingham).

·       PTBs offered families more cost-effective, flexible solutions to make their own transport arrangements.

·       The budgetary pressure was a challenge nationally which was acknowledged by Government and the Local Government Association. The team was active in the Association of Transport Co-ordinating Officers which liaised with Government on policy and long-term outlook. The service also explored efficiency options such as e-ticketing to monitor usage, route optimization and fleets.

The Chairman thanked the Cabinet Member for the update and noted the costs involved in this statutory service.

The Select Committee will review the progress of work on implementing the 10 recommendations made in the Pollution in Buckinghamshire’s Rivers and Chalk Streams review which was presented to Cabinet on 15 November 2022.

Contributors:

Councillor Robert Carington, Working Group Chairman

Chris Ward, Senior Scrutiny Officer

The Vice-Chairman, Councillor R Carington, introduced the 6-month progress report to the Committee and noted the progress of the recommendations. The Vice-Chairman thanked the Deputy Cabinet Member for Environment, Councillor J Jordan, for her lobbying work towards the enactment of Schedule 3 of the Flood and Water

Management Act 2010 which would likely be in 2024. The Chairman and Vice-Chairman noted their disappointment in the Minister’s letter of response to the Leader.

The Cabinet Member for Climate Change & Environment updated that Thames Water had announced around £14m funding for the River Chess which was in part due to the work of the inquiry group. The Cabinet Member for Transport advised that gully cleansing meant silt levels were around 16% and that silt did have an important role in reducing pollutants entering watercourses.

For the Select Committee to consider and agree the draft work programme for the year ahead.

Contributors:

All Members

Chris Ward, Senior Scrutiny Officer

The agenda contained the proposed Work Programme for 2023/24 which was a live document. The Committee was advised that the HS2 meeting in March 2024 would be a single item meeting to fully explore the project and that an update on the new Highways contract would be forthcoming later in the year. The Chairman advised that the start of inquiry group’s work on Streetworks and Statutory Undertakers had been delayed but would commence shortly.

There was discussion on the suggestion of the Committee receiving a report on parking enforcement and 20mph zones. It was recommended that an item on TPOs related to planning and enforcement which was within the portfolio of the Growth,  Infrastructure & Housing Select Committee.

RESOLVED –

That the Work Programme be noted.

14 September 2023 at 10am.

14 September 2023 at 10am.