Agenda and minutes

Members and Officers are invited to make any declaration of pecuniary, personal and/or prejudicial interests that they may have in relation to items on this agenda, and are reminded that they should re-declare their interest before consideration of the items or as soon as the interest becomes apparent.

Members and Officers should make their declaration by stating:

a)             the item they have the interest in

b)             whether it is a pecuniary/personal interest and/or prejudicial interest

c)             the nature of the interest

Councillor Greenway declared a Personal Interest in Agenda Item 6 as a Member of Bersted Parish Council and a Member of Friends of Bersted Brooks.

Councillor Warr declared a Personal Interest in Agenda Item 6 as a resident of Bersted.

The Committee will be asked to approve as a correct record the Minutes of the Environment Committee held on 21 November 2023.

The Minutes of the meeting held on 21 November 2023 were approved by the Committee. These would be signed after the meeting.

One Member wished to discuss matters arising from the last meeting, however was advised by the Chair that the purpose of  Item was to approve the accuracy of the minutes from the last meeting only, and any questions could be put in writing to Officers.

The Chair confirmed that there were no urgent matters for this meeting.

To receive questions from the public (for a period of up to 15 minutes)

No public questions had been submitted for this meeting.

The report provides an update on the Bersted Brooks Park project, including a summary of the stakeholder engagement and public consultation, and outlines proposals to be taken forward.

[Councillor Greenway re-declared his Personal Interest during discussion of this Item]

Upon the invitation of the Chair, the Principal Landscape Officer presented the report, which summarised the project background and provided an update on the Bersted Brooks Park project. This included a summary of the stakeholder engagement and public consultation, and it outlined proposals to be taken forward. The aims of the project were to enhance the open spaces in terms of biodiversity and accessibility for the public. It created the opportunity to mitigate the effects of climate change and flooding. The main messages taken from the consultation were that people were supportive of individual improvement proposals, but there were concerns about including areas of Bersted Park, which largely related to encouraging more people into the residential area and the impact this would have on parking locally. The main responses were summarised in Appendix 2. The principles of enhancing the open spaces were supported by the public, with results showing most people responded positively to the proposals presented. 86% of people wanted to see the creation of natural flood interventions, with 85% of people supporting the idea of wetland planting to improve flood resilience. The masterplan had been changed in response to the consultation feedback, and the new proposed areas were shown in Appendix 5. The benefits of the proposals included increasing accessibility to visitors, creating the opportunity for learning about the natural environment, enhanced wildlife habitats and mitigating the impact of future flooding.

          The recommendations were proposed by Councillor Greenway and seconded by Councillor Bower.

          Members then took part in a debate and the following points were raised:

• Page 27 mentioned ‘Raised walkways / improved access’. It was asked that it be made clear this would improve access for people with disabilities. The Principal Landscape Officer confirmed Officers had taken note of this.
• Could it be confirmed that the ‘Improved Parking’ would make use of permeable surface? The Principal Landscape Officer confirmed Officers had taken note of this.
• Waymarking and signage – could this include a braille interpretation? The Principal Landscape Officer confirmed Officers had taken note of this.
• Natural Play – could this include sensory elements to ensure children would get the most out of this? The Principal Landscape Officer confirmed Officers had taken note of this.
• Clarification was sought regarding the budget for the project. This was provided by the Group Head of Finance and Section 151 Officer, and the detail of this was contained within the Quarter 3 Budget Monitoring Report.
• Support was offered for the masterplan and the positives the project would bring such as flood mitigation, learning opportunities for school children, and it was acknowledged the project was generally supported by the public.
• It was noted that this project was currently at masterplan stage, and changes could still be made.
• There was concern raised about the cost, and Officers were asked to obtain external funding from partners to assist with costs wherever possible.
• It was asked whether an update report could be brought back  ...  view the full minutes text for item 546.

The purpose of the report is for this Committee to consider and recommend its 2024/25 revenue budget, which will be submitted to the Policy and Finance Committee on 8 February 2024. The Policy and Finance Committee will consider the overall revenue budget for 2024/25 so that it can make recommendations to a Special Meeting of the Council on 21 February 2024.

[30 Minutes]

Upon the invitation of the Chair, the Group Head of Finance and Section 151 Officer introduced the report to Committee. He updated that there was a change to the Table in paragraph 4.5, page 93, which should say ‘Do not recruit to vacant Parking Services Permit post’, not the Parks Officer post. There was a difference in cost of around £6k, however he did not propose changing the Committee budget on that basis as the amount was immaterial. The overall revenue budget increase from 2023-24 was £90k as detailed in Table 4.4 on page 92. The savings of £543,000 identified in the Financial Strategy paper were detailed in the Table in paragraph 4.5. The Environment Committee Capital Programme was detailed in Appendix B, this did not currently include slippage from programs like Bersted Brooks, but this would be included after 31 March once the slippage had been confirmed. The schemes had already been approved and no further Committee approval would be required as there was no additional expenditure.

          The Group Head of Finance and Section 151 Officer understood there would be some elements of the budget that Members would not ideally choose, however Members were aware that the budget needed to be reduced. He explained if amendments were made to the budget that increased the total spend for the Committee, it would effectively increase the draw down the Council would have to make on its usable revenue reserves, which would increase financial pressure on the Council.

The recommendations were proposed by Councillor May and seconded by Councillor Blanchard-Cooper.

          Members (and non-Committee Members given permission to speak) then took part in a question-and-answer session and the following points were made:

• Further information was requested around the reduction of seasonal foreshores staff hours. Officers explained they were looking at how this could be done in a way to limit the impact on the public, which may mean shorter hours at the beginning and end of the season.
• How would the additional income from cemetery fees be achieved? Officers were looking at the range of fees, but were trying to reduce the impact on the lower cost fees.
• Where would the savings in event management come from? This had not yet been decided, but Officers were trying to limit the impact to the public on this.
• Clarification was sought on the updated budget for play areas in Appendix B. The Group Head of Finance and Section 151 Officer explained this included slippage from previous years, which was why there appeared to be a sharp rise.
• It was asked whether details could be provided to Members around the savings as and when they became available.
• Concern was expressed by several Members as it was felt not enough detail had been provided in advance of the meeting, particularly around consequences of the savings, and not enough consultation had taken place.
• There was concern around cemetery fees and it was thought Members should have input into these. The Group Head of Finance and Section  ...  view the full minutes text for item 547.

The report sets out in further detail the Committee’s Revenue and Capital programme budget performance projections to the 31 March 2024.

[10 Minutes]

[Councillor Brooks declared a Personal Interest during this Item as Ward Member for Marine (relating to beach access)]

          Upon the invitation of the Chair, the Group Head of Finance and Section 151 Officer introduced the report to Committee. He highlighted Table 1 on paragraph 4.1 (page 100), which indicated a revenue budget underspend of £339k, a positive change of £284k from quarter 2. This was largely due to an increase in parking income. The parking charges were introduced in January last year, however they had not been built into that year’s budget. There was slippage in areas such as Bersted Brooks and Play Areas, so the budgets had not been lost, but carried over.

          The following points were raised by Members (and a non-Committee Member given permission to speak):

·       It was felt that installing the free ticket machines at Felpham and Middleton was a cost that should have been avoided.

·       There was currently no budget for beach access, which was felt important. It was suggested that Officers reach out and obtain funding for this.

The Committee noted the report.

This report will set out the performance of the Key Performance indicators at Quarter 3 for the period 1 April 2023 to 31 December 2023.

The report will be circulated separately to the agenda.

[10 Minutes]

Upon the invitation of the Chair, the Group Head of Technical Services introduced the report, the purpose of which was to update the Committee with the Quarter 3 Performance Outturn for the Key Performance indicators for the period 1 April 2023 to 31 December 2023.

          The Chair invited questions and the subject of household waste was discussed by Members. It was asked what could be done to improve the recycling rates. The Group Head of Environment and Climate Change explained that the Government had now mandated that a separate food waste collection be delivered by authorities, and a report on this would be presented to Committee in March. The previous Food Waste trials had a positive impact on recycling rates and achieved 60%, and it was anticipated this would help to meet targets. Residents feedback was 90% positive regarding these trials. West Sussex County Council were also carrying out work to educate people on waste and recycling, including visiting schools. One Member suggested that the Waste Partnership be invited to more community events.

The Committee noted the report.

There were no Outside Bodies reports.

The Committee is required to note the Work Programme for 2023/24.

[5 Minutes]

The Work Programme was introduced by the Group Head of Environment and Climate Change. It was asked whether a scrutiny report for cleansing could be added to the Work Programme.

There were questions around the Flood Forum and when this would take place. Officers advised that the first meeting would take place on 26 February 2024, and further information regarding this would soon be distributed to Members.

The Group Head of Environment and Climate Change explained that Officers were currently reviewing Items to be included on the Work Programme for the next municipal  year, including regular report updates to Committee.

The Committee noted the Work Programme.