Agenda and minutes

Venue: Floral Pavilion

Contact: Mike Jones, Principal Democratic Services Officer  Tel: 0151 691 8363 email:  michaeljones1@wirral.gov.uk

Media

Items
No. Item

55.

WELCOME AND INTRODUCTION

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Chair welcomed attendees and viewers to the meeting and reminded everyone that the meeting was webcast and retained on the Council’s website for two years.

56.

APOLOGIES

Additional documents:

Minutes:

An apology for absence was received from Councillor Michael Collins.

57.

MEMBERS' CODE OF CONDUCT - DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

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.

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Minutes:

Members were asked to declare any disclosable pecuniary interests and any other relevant interest and to state the nature of the interest. There were no declarations of interests.

58.

Minutes pdf icon PDF 93 KB

To approve the accuracy of the minutes of the meeting held on 15 November 2022.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Resolved:

That the minutes of the meeting of the Environment, Climate Emergency and Transport Committee held on 15 November 2021 be approved and adopted as a correct record.

59.

Public Questions

Notice of question to be given in writing or by email by 12 noon, Monday 17 January 2022to the Council’s Monitoring Officer (committeeservices@wirral.gov.uk) and to be dealt with in accordance with Standing Order 10.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Six questions had been received.

 

Question from Wendy Bennett

Thank You Councillors. I am a keen walker and in particular since the beginning of the pandemic have regularly walked along the Dee Estuary boardwalk from Red Rocks Hoylake to West Kirby beach. Since the beginning of 2021, I have become increasingly alarmed about the substantial grass growth on West Kirby beach, near its junction with Lingdale Road and up to the West Kirby promenade steps, at Riversdale Road. I have asked for a photograph to be distributed so you can have a look and see what it looks like.

Large areas, which in 2020 were sand, are now widely covered by grasses. This part of the beach is now under significant threat. The new southern boundary of the grass has arrived off the promenade and if left unchecked, will probably continue growing this year towards the Council’s nice new Sail Loft restaurant. The eastern boundary is encroaching on the amenity beach.

What action does the council plan to take, and when, to remove all this grass as if it remains unchecked the consequent loss of the beach will have a significant economic impact on hospitality and other businesses in West Kirby which have already suffered due to the pandemic? As you will also be aware, West Kirby beach is an important visitor destination, particularly for families from the wider Merseyside area during summer.

Answer: Thank You for your question. You may be aware that the assent from Natural England for the management of the beach at West Kirby expired at the end of March 2021. Since its expiry Wirral Council has commissioned the development of a Habitat Regulations Assessment (HRA) in support of a new assent application. That HRA considers the use of a Barber Surf Rake to manage the beach area as defined in the previous beach management plan. No additional areas have been included. The HRA process is now concluding and Wirral Council will shortly be making an application to Natural England for assent based on the new HRA. If assent is provided beach management will commence in Spring 2022 and will be subject to any conditions set by Natural England.

I would just like to add, at West Kirby, we have what I consider and what many people consider to be an exemplary beach. It’s got something for everybody. It’s got a large section of natural beach which is very popular throughout the year, and it’s got a section of raked beach, which as you have just heard, we hope to resume raking if we get permission to do so This is an example of an artificial beach which is very popular with people who want that from their beach as well. They both provide amenity to those who enjoy them, and I hope we can have something similar at Hoylake Beach as well. That’s the sort of compromise I have been hoping for and talking about right from the start, and I think that would be  ...  view the full minutes text for item 59.

60.

Statements and petitions

Notice of representations to be given in writing or by email by 12 noon, Monday 17 January 2022 to the Council’s Monitoring Officer (committeeservices@wirral.gov.uk) and to be dealt with in accordance with Standing Order 11.1.

 

Petitions may be presented to the Committee. The person presenting the petition will be allowed to address the meeting briefly (not exceeding one minute) to outline the aims of the petition. The Chair will refer the matter to another appropriate body of the Council within whose terms of reference it falls without discussion, unless a relevant item appears elsewhere on the Agenda. Please give notice of petitions to committeeservices@wirral.gov.uk in advance of the meeting.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Councillor Allan Brame presented a petition as follows:

 

I have a petition from 341 residents regarding the Arno and Oxton Fields. This is an area which is under possible threat as part of our policy of reducing grass cutting as part of our budget cuts. Councillors contacted officers and we got this response:

“The Arno and Oxton fields are to be included in the proposal to significantly increase cessation of maintenance of amenity green spaces”

That obviously causes considerable concern. While there is no objection to increased wildflower planting in the fields, new tree planting, and it might indeed be reasonable to increase re-wilding and help diversity by cutting a greater area of Oxton fields just once a year, these areas are still too precious simply to be abandoned if we have complete cessation of maintenance.

There are volunteers in the Friends of Arno and Oxton Fields who do an amazing job to enhance the green flag winning rose garden and the beautiful open spaces, but they simply could not cope with the scale of grass cutting that would be required over this area. So the petition is asking the Council to drop the idea of not maintaining Oxton’s local fields.

61.

Questions by Members

Questions by Members to be dealt with in accordance with Standing Orders 12.3 to 12.8.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

There were no questions by Members.

62.

ROAD SAFETY WORKING GROUP RECOMMENDATIONS UPDATE pdf icon PDF 117 KB

Please note that the PDF file for this item may not be suitable to view for people with disabilities, users of assistive technology or mobile phone devices. Please contact ts-trafficcoord@wirral.gov.uk if you would like this document in an accessible format.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Assistant Director for Neighbourhood Safety and Transport introduced the report of the Director for Neighbourhood Services which provided an update on progress made in planning, funding and implementing the recommendations of the Road Safety Working Group as requested by the Environment, Climate Emergency and Transport Committee on 7 September 2021. Liverpool City Region had since adopted a road safety policy focussing on ‘Vision Zero’ to reduce the number and severity of road accidents.

 

The Chair urged Members to attend training on new transport guidance which prioritised walkers and cyclists. It was emphasised that in all schemes an assessment of safety was the starting point.

 

Members discussed aspects of the report and welcomed the offer of a further update on which schemes could be achieved within the financial year.

 

Resolved: That

the update on the recommendations of the Road Safety Working Group as set out as appendix A to this report be endorsed.

63.

Wirral Allotment Partnership Strategy 2021-26 pdf icon PDF 106 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Assistant Director for Parks and Environment introduced the report of the Director of Neighbourhood Services which provided a review of allotment provision across Wirral, setting out the proposed Wirral Allotment Partnership Strategy (2021-26) which sought to address the recommendations set out within a Scrutiny Review, setting out what the Council intended to do to maintain, improve and increase the provision in the most cost-effective manner.

 

Members debated many aspects of allotment provision and clarified:

·  That the waiting list had grown to about 1,500 with applications currently with Planning for additional allotment sites.

·  That an advisory board would be set up similar to the Tree Strategy Advisory Board.

·  Consideration was being given for repurposing land owned by the Council to provide additional allotment site and bringing overgrown plots back into use, as well as increasing the number of half plots.

·  Accessibility issues were being addressed for disabled residents.

(This minute was subsequently amended at the meeting on 1 March 2022 and the following text was added:

·  officers promised to start an allotment strategy advisory board on the lines of the road safety strategy board)

 

The Chair proposed an amendment to request regular updates on the developing allotment strategy including the level of the waiting list, repurposing of land and disabled provision. This was seconded by Councillor Steve Foulkes.

 

Resolved: That

(1)  the Wirral Allotment Partnership Strategy 2021-26 be approved; and

(2)  regular updates on this strategy and the partnership working be provided to the Committee.

64.

Operation Evaluation – Pollinator Pilot pdf icon PDF 154 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Assistant Director for Parks and Environment introduced the report of the Director of Neighbourhood Services which provided an operational evaluation of the Pollinator Plan pilot projects undertaken in summer 2021, including the plan for roadside verges and green spaces and the new approach to grounds maintenance.

 

Members expressed their thanks to officers who had fundamentally changed their thinking on grounds maintenance during the pandemic to embrace the change in focus.

Members were informed that

·  A number of sites had been swopped for other areas following residents’ complaints and a very small number of sites had been put forward in error.

·  A workshop for Members was to be arranged to plan for the following municipal year and to discuss suitable locations.

·  There were different understandings and impressions of the term ‘cessation’. There had been a one-off cut of all locations in the autumn of 2021 but this could not be guaranteed in future years.

 

The Chair proposed an amendment to delete ‘cessation’ and insert ‘strategy’. This was seconded by Councillor Chris Cook.

 

Resolved: That

(1)   the contents of the report be noted which will and be used to develop the Council’s Pollinator Plan to which will be presented to Committee for approval at a future meeting.

(2)  a workshop for Members be arranged, as a part of the development of the Council’s Pollinator Plan, to agree future pollinator strategy.

65.

Tree Management and Inspection Update pdf icon PDF 108 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Assistant Director for Parks and Environment introduced the report of the Director of Neighbourhood Services which provided Committee with an update they had requested following the April 2021 arboriculture maintenance contract, including the impact of Storm Arwen which had a significant impact of about 800 trees.

 

Members discussed the report with officers and talked about their own experiences. They were impressed with the speed of response to issues and asked questions which confirmed

·  Making fallen trees in verges safe was the priority with stumps to be tackled afterward in conjunction with work to reinstate the affected verges

·  Options to sell timber from fallen trees was being investigated, as it was often more valuable than simply selling for biomass or chip board.

·  Some fallen timber was left to encourage biodiversity

 

The Chair proposed an addition to the resolution to recognise the work of the teams. This was seconded by Councillor Foulkes.

 

Resolved – That: 

the contents of the report on the progress being made against the Council’s biodiversity commitments be noted and the Committee’s thanks be conveyed to the team for the additional work following Storm Arwen.

66.

2022/23 Budget Update pdf icon PDF 90 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Head of Legal Services introduced the report of the Director of Law and Governance which provided for consideration the recommendations of the Policy and Resources Committee in respect of the 2022/23 Budget Update.

 

It was emphasised that the Council had a significant financial challenge and had to demonstrate financial viability, under the scrutiny of an independent Assurance Panel. The proposals outlined were part of a draft budget and were therefore not without prejudice, and it was for the Committee to focus on these specific proposals, any comments on which would be fed back to the Policy and Resources Committee.

 

Members discussed the background to the financial situation and recognised that all services affected some people. They noted:

·  the possibility of charging more for professional services

·  that some issues, notably the climate emergency, would continue even whilst mitigation measures were paused

·  concern over the option to reduce school crossing patrols (This minute was subsequently amended at the meeting on 1 March 2022 and the text now reads: Members expressed concern at the proposal to reduce school crossing patrols)

·  that there would be a risk assessment and consultation before any final decisions were made

 

Resolved – that:

(1)   the 2022/23 draft budget proposals be noted.

(2)   the relevant director with portfolio be authorised to take the necessary action to consult on any proposals that require additional consultation and take necessary action to deliver the resulting service changes in consultation with the Chair and Group Spokesperson or reporting to the Environment, Climate Emergency and Transport Committee as the Director considers appropriate.

67.

Work Programme Update pdf icon PDF 86 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Members considered the proposed work programme for the remainder of the municipal year.

 

The Chair requested that the Parking Strategy be included in the work programme since parking was in the remit of this Committee.

 

 

Resolved – that:

the proposed Environment, Climate Emergency and Transport Committee work programme for the remainder of the 2021/22 municipal year be noted.

(This minute was subsequently amended at the meeting on 1 March 2022 and the resolution now reads:

(1)  the proposed Environment, Climate Emergency and Transport Committee work programme for the remainder of the 2021/22 municipal year be noted.

(2)  it be noted that the park strategy was to be added.)