Agenda and draft minutes

Apologies for absence had been received from Councillors Elkins and Madeley.

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 Items 7 and 9 as a Member of West Sussex County Council.

The Committee will be asked to approve as a correct record the Minutes of the Environment Committee held on 23 January 2024.

The Minutes of the meeting held on 23 January 2024 were approved by the Committee. These would be signed after the meeting.

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.

Local authorities have specific statutory obligations in relation to contaminated land, including a requirement to publish a contaminated land strategy. The current strategy was published in 2001 and has not been substantially reviewed since.

This report seeks adoption of a revised contaminated land strategy for Arun.

          Upon the invitation of the Chair, the Environmental Health Team Manager presented the report, which requested adoption of the revised contaminated land strategy. He explained that local authorities had specific statutory obligations in relation to contaminated land, including a requirement to publish a contaminated land strategy. The current strategy was published in 2001 and had not been substantially reviewed since. A detailed review had therefore been carried out and a revised strategy was presented at Appendix 1. The revised strategy detailed how the Council intended to meet its statutory duties to inspect its area for contaminated land. Environmental Health routinely commented on planning consultations in relation to contaminated land and this would continue to be the chief mechanism for managing contaminated land risks. Environmental Health would continue to provide information on potentially contaminated sites through Environmental Information Requests and maintain a public register of contaminated land. The existing contaminated land database required an extensive review to ensure all information was migrated to the Environmental Health database and was available in the corporate mapping system. Once completed, the reprioritising and associated investigation of sites would be conducted. The main changes to the Strategy included updating procedures to ensure the policy was complimentary with current legislation and guidance such as Defra revised statutory guidance. In addition, the revised strategy outlined how the Council intended to implement the contaminated land regime though utilisation of the planning process and by promoting a risk-based approach. Consultation had taken place with internal and external stakeholders and no objections or adverse comments had been received. An Equalities Impact Assessment had been carried out, and the Environmental Health Team Manager apologised for an error in this, as he had used a previous version of the template. He explained the decisions were made based upon the type and levels of contamination irrespective of protected characteristics, and should therefore have an overall positive impact.

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

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

• The accuracy of two of the Ward names in the strategy was questioned, which it was confirmed were accurate.
• The strategy mentioned the possibility of contaminants on Ford Airfield, and with the potential of development on this site it was asked whose responsibility it would be to check this. The Environmental Health Team Manager explained standard process was followed with planning proposals, which were reviewed against mapping. If it was believed there was potential contamination, standard planning conditions would be recommended ensuring the developer would be required to undertake relevant surveys to ascertain the risk and where required complete work.
• Clarification was requested that there were no urgent problems. This was confirmed correct. There were currently no high risk sites identified.

The Committee

RESOLVED that

1. the revised contaminated land strategy be adopted.

2. authority be given to the Group Head of Technical Services to make minor and administrative amendments to the strategy.

The current Combined Cleansing Service Contract (CCSC) expires on 31 January 2026. To successfully procure a new contract within this timeframe, a Committee decision is required now in order to inform the strategic direction and scope of the new CCSC.

Upon the invitation of the Chair the Environmental Services & Strategy Manager presented the report. He explained that it was a requirement of the Environment Act 2021 that a weekly food waste collection to all properties in 2026 be implemented. The key decision required of Members this evening was whether to standardise the provision of a 180 litre residual bin or a 240 litre bin option for residents. Failure to make this decision and approve the other recommendations outlined in this report would result in delays to the procurement of a new contract and would significantly increase legal, procurement and financial risk to the authority.

Arun’s current recycling rate was just below 43%. The agreed vision target was to achieve a 55% recycling rate by 2025 and 60% by 2030. The current service of a weekly collection from sacks would never allow Arun to achieve this target.

Defra had provided capital funding of £1.66 million to procure vehicles and food waste caddies to deliver a weekly food waste service. Confirmation of transitional and ongoing revenue funding would follow shortly. In order to ensure financial sustainability and to ensure uptake of food waste collections, the residual collection frequency must be reduced and the recommendation was to move to a fortnightly residual collection service.

Choosing a 180 litre bin would support greater diversion of food waste and recyclable materials and encourage the right behaviours from residents. It was estimated that this would achieve a recycling rate of over 57% and deliver the Council’s immediate Vision target. A 240 litre bin provided more than ample capacity for a fortnightly collection and would potentially deliver a recycling rate of up to 53%. Both sizes would allow a future move to three weekly collections, although this was not deemed necessary at this time.

There was clear evidence from the 1-2-3 collections trial that high resident satisfaction could be maintained by introducing weekly food waste and reducing residual frequency. The recommendations in this report would ensure an enhanced and better performing service than the current one. Residents would receive an increase in core waste collections from 78 to 104 collections per year. Food waste made up approximately 42% by weight of a typical residual waste bin and targeted recyclables 13%. By giving residents the option to have both of these collected separately it reduced the need for residual collection frequency and capacity. When collected separately food waste could be processed via anaerobic digestion, which was a much more efficient and environmentally friendly way of processing and provided higher value end products in the form of bio gas outputs and fertiliser. There was an overall system benefit and carbon footprint reduction in this approach.

Other services provided under this new contract would largely operate as per the current ones. Dry mixed recycling collections and street cleansing operated effectively but would be reviewed in line with legislation and best practice.

The procurement strategy for this procurement was to deliver the best service and environmental solutions possible, whilst at the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 720.

This report provides an update on the bathing water classification for Bognor Regis (Aldwick) and the actions of the Bathing Water Quality Partnership Group, established to drive the improvement of the bathing water quality and provide assurance and commitment across the partnership organisations.

          Upon the invitation of the Chair, the Environmental Health Team Manager presented the report which provided an update on the bathing water classification for Bognor Regis Aldwick and the actions of the Bathing Water Quality Partnership Group. The last report on Bathing Water Quality had been presented to the EnvironmentCommittee on 15 June 2023 and outlined the work already undertaken to investigate and address the causes of the Poor bathing water classification atAldwick. Since the last report the Bognor Regis Aldwick Bathing Water QualityPartnership Group had continued to meet, with further investigations progressed via the technical steering group. These had principally focused on identifyingmisconnections, but had also located and rectified a sewer defect causingpotential infiltration to the surface water system, with works completed and additional relining worksplanned. Further sampling had also been conducted and had helped identify more areas for investigation, the details of which were in table 4.3. Investigations had also commenced to consider the potential impact to bathing waters of waste entering road drains, including the potential for toilet waste to be deposited by motorhomes. Whilst there was no direct evidence of motorhomes using drains in this manner, regular parking in the vicinity of the drains connected to the surface water system had been reported. Consideration was being given to sampling at potential locations to confirm if contamination was occurring, and the Council was also working with Southern Water to implement the principles of the former yellow fish campaign to help educate the public about the impact of pollution, with messaging around ‘only rain downthe drain’.

The latest bathing water classifications for 2023 were published on 1 December 2023 and were shown in the table 4.7. The classifications for 2023 were based on data from the last four years of sampling carried out by the Environment Agency, which were 2019, 2021, 2022, and 2023. There was no classification in 2020 due to Coronavirus restrictions. Whilst Aldwick had retained its poor classification, the bathing water sampling data from 2023 showed improvements, with a reduced bacterial load, and if the classifications were based on a single year of data, this would have been classified as Sufficient. Since the classification process considered four years of data this unfortunately meant it would take longer for the improvements made to impact the classification. Automated electronic signs were being installed at Aldwick, Littlehampton, Felpham and Bognor Regis East to eliminate the need to manually place handwritten signs when a pollution risk forecasting  (PRF) was issued. This meant information and any advice against swimming was available in real-time. The Environment Agency had confirmed that Pagham would be added to the PRF forecasting for the 2024 season and funding support for an electronic sign to also be included at this location has been agreed by Southern Water. This meant additional information would be available at Pagham in 2024, to help residents and visitors make informed choices about bathing.

The Chair invited questions from Members and the following points  ...  view the full minutes text for item 721.

As a result of recent flooding within the District the Arun Flood Forum has been set up to investigate the contributing factors, impacts and possible solutions in a collaborative way. At the first meeting Southern Water (SW) made a presentation to the Forum and a number of questions to SW and other Forum members was asked.  This report provides an update following this meeting of the Forum. 

[During discussion in this Item, Councillor Greenway declared a personal interest as a Member of the Arun Flood Forum]

[During discussion in this Item, Councillor Blanchard-Cooper declared a personal interest as a Member of Littlehampton Town Council]

[During discussion in this Item, Councillor Wallsgrove declared a personal interest as a Member of the Arun Flood Forum]

[During discussion in this Item, Councillor Yeates declared a personal interest as a Member of the Arun Flood Forum]

Upon the invitation of the Chair, the Group Head of Environment and Climate Change presented the report, which provided an update to Committee following the inaugural Arun Flood Forum held on 26 of February 2024. The report set out the background and membership of the flood forum. Appendix 1 contained the Terms of Reference for the Arun Flood Forum; Appendix 2 provided rainfall figures for Bognor Regis from October 2023 to February 2024, which showed the rainfall had been above average; Appendix 3 contained roles and responsibilities of the various agencies; the presentation given by Southern Water was shown at Appendix 4; Appendix 5 recorded the questions and answers before and during the meeting, which was still being completed; Appendix 6 showed the notes and action points from the meetings.

          The Senior Coastal Engineer then went into further detail around the appendices attached to the report. Included in the Southern Water presentation was details of Southern Water’s roles and responsibilities; an overview of the different flooding sources and who managed those; the wastewater management plan by area and enhancements that Southern Water were promoting; the clean river and sea plan for 2025-2030, which outlined the investment planned across the District; the role of providing infrastructure for new developments; a summary of the waste water treatment works; a brief overview of their infiltration reduction plan; and an update on flooding schemes. Members were encouraged to read the whole presentation, which was felt to be informative. At the Forum it was agreed that questions asked before the meeting would be responded to in writing, to allow more time for those present to ask questions. The answers to some questions were still outstanding, and would be circulated via the flood forum once answers had been obtained. The quality of questions from Forum members and the floor helped shape the actions arising from the meeting. It was clear there was a desire to strengthen partnership working to develop an integrated approach to deal with flooding within the District.

The Chair invited questions and comments and the following points were raised by Members (and non-Committee Members given permission by the Committee to speak):

• One Member felt the tone of the meeting was very good, however the Southern Water presentation had been disappointing, with very little mention of Storm Ciaran. He felt the Chair of the Forum needed to press for answers more, and questions needed to be carefully positioned to ensure the Terms of Reference were met. Overall, he felt it was a good meeting, but improvements could be  ...  view the full minutes text for item 722.

The Chair of the Free Parking Scheme Review Working Party, Councillor Wallsgrove, will provide a brief update on the first meeting of the Working Party held on 05 February 2024.

The Chair updated that the first meeting of the Free Parking Scheme Review Working Party had taken place on 05 February 2024, and the Minutes were attached to the agenda at pages 125-131. At the meeting it was agreed that Councillor Wallsgrove would be Chair of the Working Party and Councillor Wiltshire would be Vice-Chair. The Terms of Reference were agreed, and could be found in the Minutes, as was the Work Programme. It was agreed there would be three meetings of the Working Party in total, with the two remaining meetings scheduled for May and June. At the final meeting, the Working Party would finalise its recommendations to the Environment Committee. At the meeting, an Officer Presentation had been given, and the Working Party had asked questions, taken part in discussions and put forward initial suggestions. It had been agreed that the next meeting would take place at 6pm on 13 May 2024.

The Chair invited questions from Members and the following points were raised:

• From the Minutes it seemed that discussion was very varied about possible solutions, and it was asked how this would be taken forward. The Group Head of Technical Services explained that both he and the Chair had requested the Working Party members investigate potential solutions and submit them prior to the next meeting. These would then be discussed at the next meeting where recommendations to the Environment Committee would begin to be formulated. The recommendations would be finalised at the third and final meeting.
• It was asked whether use of technology had been discussed at this first meeting, as it was felt this would reduce misuse and give usage data. It was confirmed this had been discussed and was being looked into.

Councillor Worne explained that she had been unable to attend the first meeting, and would also not be able to attend the second meeting. She proposed that the Terms of Reference of the Working Party be changed under ‘nomination to seats’ as follows (additions shown in bold and deletions are shown in strikethrough):

• ADC Environment Committee Vice Chair
• 34 additional Members of the ADC Environment Committee, to be agreed by Group Leaders

This would allow another Environment Committee Member to take her place on the Working Party. This was seconded by Councillor Blanchard-Cooper.

It was asked whether this change would still need to be politically proportionate, and whether it may be easier to instead change the Terms of Reference to allow substitutions. The Chair stated Membership the Working Party would still need to be politically proportionate, and the Committee Manager confirmed this and explained that it would be for the Group Leaders to decide upon the amended Membership.

Upon taking the vote, the change to the Free Parking Scheme Review Working Party terms of reference was declared CARRIED.

          The Committee

RESOLVED that

The Terms of Reference of the Free Parking Scheme Review Working Party be amended, as agreed by Committee.

There were no Outside Bodies reports.

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

[5 Minutes]

Upon the invitation of the Chair the Group Head of Environment and Climate Change and Group Head of Technical Services introduced the Items that would be included on the Work Programme for the new municipal year. Collectively, these were as follows:

·       The Arun Flood Forum Update (following each upcoming meeting)

·       Grounds Maintenance Contract Extension Re-Tender (likely to be around September)

·       Bersted Brooks Update

·       Cleansing Contract Performance Update

·       Grounds Maintenance Contract Performance

·       Beach Access Update

·       Engineering Services Report

·       Rights to the River Arun

·       River Road, Arundel Car Park Review

·       Parking Tariffs

·       Bathing Water Quality Update

·       Ferring Car Park Business Case Feedback

·       Solar Canopy Feasibility Report – Mewsbrook Car Park.

A Tree Planting Strategy update would also be circulated to Members of the Committee at the end of the tree planting season.

It was asked whether a revised Work Programme could be circulated to Members.  It was explained that it had not yet been decided which dates each report would be coming to Committee, but an email would be sent to Members confirming the reports.

It was requested by one Member that the Beach Access Update report come to Committee early in the new municipal year.