Agenda and draft minutes

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Contact: Mike Jones, Principal Committee Officer  Tel. 0151 691 8363. Email:  MichaelJones1@wirral.gov.uk

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No. Item

52.

Members' Code of Conduct - Declarations of Interest / Party Whip

Members are asked to consider whether they have any disclosable pecuniary interests and/or any other relevant interest in connection with any item(s) on this agenda and, if so, to declare them and state the nature of the interest.

 

Members are reminded that they should also declare whether they are subject to a party whip in connection with any item(s) to be considered and, if so, to declare it and state the nature of the whipping arrangement.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Members were asked to consider whether they had any disclosable pecuniary interests and/or any other relevant interest in connection with any items on the agenda and, if so, to declare them and state the nature of the interest.

 

Members were reminded that they should also declare whether they were subject to a party whip in connection with any items to be considered and, if so, to declare it and state the nature of the whipping arrangement.

 

The following declarations were made;

 

Councillor Irene Williams

Personal interest by virtue of her membership of both Cheshire Wildlife Trust and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB).

Councillor Christina Muspratt

Personal interest by virtue of her membership of both Cheshire Wildlife Trust and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB).

 

53.

Call-in Hoylake Beach Management pdf icon PDF 2 MB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Chair introduced the item of business ‘Hoylake Beach Management’ considered by the Cabinet Member as a delegated decision made on 13 March 2020, the decision relating thereto having been called-in in accordance with Council Procedure Rule / Standing Order 35. The Chair informed the Committee of how the meeting’s business would be conducted and set out the Council’s ‘call-in’ protocol. The Chair also noted that a petition relating to the management of Hoylake Beach was received on 22nd July 2020 and would be formally submitted to the next Ordinary Council meeting on 19th October 2020.

 

Explanation of Call-In by the Lead Signatory

The delegated decision made on 13th March 2020 had been called in, with Councillor Andrew Gardner as the lead signatory setting out the reasons for bringing this matter before the Environment Overview & Scrutiny Committee.

 

The decision was called in on the basis that;

 

• the decision is ill conceived and ideologically motivated rather than being based on Wirral residents’ wishes

• no consultation has taken place with residents

• it breaks a current agreement (The 2010 Hoylake Beach Management Agreement) with a national body who have not consented to such and

• the decision becomes an irreversible, predetermined outcome due to the nature of the beach itself

 

Councillor Andrew Gardner, as lead signatory, added that Natural England guidance did not prohibit raking of the beach and that the Council should continue to adhere to the aforementioned existing beach management plan until 2021. Councillor Gardner stated that the beach is a dynamic, natural area which has historically been impacted by cycles of sand accretion and, although it is impossible to know what the future will hold, there were immediate issues with drainage and an uncertainty about how stopping current management techniques will impact the area.

 

Councillor Gardner responded to Members’ questions, particularly noting that he did not believe that there was any indication from Natural England that the Council would be prohibited from raking the beach and that he believed that management should continue as before and reassessed in 2021. In response to a Member question, Councillor Gardner advised the Committee that local ward councillors had received a large volume of contact from local residents regarding the management of the beach and, according to a questionnaire sent to residents as part of political campaigning in 2018, the majority of local people were in favour of retaining a sandy beach – a point opposed by a number of Members who questioned the validity and impartiality of the questionnaire.

 

In response to Member questioning, Councillor Gardner clarified his position that the currently managed beach area was the only amenity space for Hoylake residents and that allowing this part of the beach to become overgrown with saltmarsh and vegetation had a tangible impact on the wellbeing of the local community.  In addition,  Councillor Gardner reaffirmed that Natural England guidance regarding conservation related only to the ‘intertidal’ area and that there was no reason why a small proportion of  ...  view the full minutes text for item 53.