Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Cllr Ford.

To confirm the minutes of the meeting held on 11 June 2015 as a correct record.

RESOLVED:

That the minutes of the meeting held on 11 June 2015 be signed by the Chairman as a correct record.

To note any declarations of interest made by members in connection with an agenda item.  The nature of the interest must also be specified.

Members are asked to discuss any possible interests with Democratic Services prior to the meeting.

There were no declarations of interest made by any member in connection with an agenda item.

To note any issues raised during the public participation period.

No issues were raised during the public participation period.

To receive an oral update from the Portfolio Holders for the Environment and for Planning and Transportation.

Cllr Beeton, the Portfolio Holder for the Environment, advised the Panel that the replacement of the beach huts at Milford on Sea was progressing.  A recent meeting for beach hut owners, to look at design options, had attracted more than 600 attendees, with 6 presentations being given instead of the planned 3.  Over 300 questionnaires had been returned and were in the process of being analysed.  This was taking time, particularly for the free text entries. 

As a related issue, it had not been possible to remove the metalwork from the World War II sea defences at Milford, as planned in the summer.  The Council was still awaiting the necessary consents from the Marine Maritime Organisation, who had received the fast track application more than a month ago.  Realistically, this work was now unlikely to be done before next spring.

The Food Hygiene service was continuing to perform well having completed 807 inspections; 158 revisits of unsatisfactory premises; and investigated 184 complaints about food hygiene and food purchases over the last year.  The annual report had recently been submitted to the Food Standards Agency.  Over 1200 premises now had scores listed on the Food Standards Agency’s website; more than half with the best potential score of 5.  The scheme was proving effective in encouraging food businesses to improve their standards.

Increasing problems with flytipping across the District had prompted a realignment of resources to improve the investigation of incidents.  Consequently a number of sites where flytipping had been prevalent had been cleared through enforcement.  To assist this work the Panel would be asked to look at the Council’s policy on flytipping, distinguishing it from littering.  The Panel would also be asked to look at some of the issues associated with issuing fixed penalty notices for littering.

So far this year there had been a significant reduction in the number of stray dogs collected, at 72 instead of the expected 100.  Many were being rehomed by this Council as they were not reclaimed by their original owners.

Cllr E Heron, the Portfolio Holder for Planning and Transportation, advised the Panel that he would shortly be taking a decision with respect to the charges to be applied for car parking next year.  He was intending to freeze the current charges; which would then have been unchanged for 4 years.  He was intending to remove the special exemption for users of Lyndhurst Community Centre that allowed a 5 hour stay in the main Lyndhurst car park, in recognition of the lack of alternative parking, and that events often lasting longer than the 3 hours covered by the short term parking clock.  Cllr Heron believed the circumstances in Lyndhurst were no different to those applying with other community buildings across the District.  People were able to top up the parking allowed by the clock with an additional 2 hours, which was a cost-effective solution.  He considered it only fair to remove such anomalies.  Cllr Heron considered however that car parking for the Hythe  ...  view the full minutes text for item 14.

To receive and consider the findings and recommendations of the Sky Lanterns Task and Finish Working Group.

Cllr Bennison presented the report of the Sky Lanterns Task and Finish Working Group which had considered the options available to this Council to address the harm being caused by the release of sky lanterns and related items.  She thanked the officers for the excellent background information that they had provided, which had fully explored the issues and focussed attention on the action that could be taken.

The Panel supported the recommendations that, in future, a statement would be included in the Council’s licensing policy that discouraged the use of sky lanterns at events; and also the inclusion of a clause in future licences and leases of Council owned land to prohibit their release.   It was proposed that a letter would be sent to town and parish councils who leased land from this Council to request them to ban the use of sky lanterns at events.  An item would be included in the newsletter for Council tenants on the dangers of sky lanterns.  It was also proposed to seek joint working with the National Park Authority and the Forestry Commission, perhaps through a joint communications strategy.

RESOLVED:

That the proposed actions set out in Appendix 1 to Report Item 5 be commended to the relevant Portfolio Holders.

To be advised of the current situation with respect to the handling of waste paper for recycling from Hampshire.

The Panel considered the current arrangements for the recycling of paper and cardboard that was collected for recycling within Hampshire.  Following the sudden closure of the papermill at Aylesford Newsprint, Kent, in February 2015 the market for paper to recycle had become saturated, with the price dropping very significantly.  Veolia, acting on behalf of Project Integra, had reviewed the available options and secured a contract for the paper to be sent to China for processing.  In addition to securing the best possible price for the paper, the transport took advantage of the shipping containers that were being returned to China, that would otherwise have been empty.  The recycled material was being handled to exacting environmental standards to produce high quality paper products.  The Environment Agency had approved the arrangement.

The Panel discussed the issue, following the recent coverage in the local press.  They were satisfied that Veolia had acted promptly and correctly in securing the new contract arrangements.  Many other authorities were also using similar arrangements, which were increasingly likely within the global markets that now applied.  Highlighting the arrangement in Hampshire was not justified.

It was agreed that a letter should be sent on behalf of the Panel to Cllr Sean Woodward, the County Council’s Environment Portfolio Holder and the Standing Deputy Chairman of Project Integra recognising the difficulties that had been faced in responding to the papermill’s closure and that the best available deal had been achieved for Hampshire residents; but urging that every attempt should continue to be made to identify and use UK based markets for recycling paper and card.

To agree the programme of meetings for 2016/17.  The suggested programme is set out below:-

In each case, the meeting to start at 2.00 p.m. and be held in Committee Room 1 at Appletree Court, Lyndhurst.

RESOLVED:

That the following dates of meetings be agreed, each to start at 2.00 p.m. and be held in Committee Room 1 at Appletree Court, Lyndhurst:

To agree the work programme to guide the Panel’s activities over the coming months.

RESOLVED:

That the work programme attached as Appendix 1 to these minutes be approved to guide the Panel’s work over the coming months.