Agenda and draft minutes

The Chairman paid tribute to James Carpenter, as this was his last Panel meeting before he left the Authority.  James had been Strategic Director – Place, Operations and Sustainability, for the past 3 years. 

James was leaving the Council in early February to take up a new post as founding Managing Director / CEO of East Devon District Council’s new trading company, East Devon Environmental Services. 

On behalf of the Panel, the Chairman wished to place on record his thanks for all his work and assistance at Panel meetings, and in his service to the Council, and  wished him well for the future.

To confirm the minutes of the meeting held on 11 September 2025  as a correct record.

The minutes of the meeting held on 11 September 2025 were confirmed 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.

To receive any public participation in accordance with the Council’s public participation scheme.

There was no public participation.

To receive the Waste and Recycling Phase 3 Operational update.

The Panel received an operational update on Phase 3 of the Waste and Recycling service implementation, the slides for which are with the agenda pack, and an updated version is attached to these minutes.

The presentation detailed statistics on containers, collections and customer service inquiries across phases 1 and 2, and the significant tonnage of food waste collected so far.

The presentation also covered trends, behind the gate collections, key lessons for phase three, data, letters and responses, and resourcing and bin deliveries.

Delayed collections were continuously reducing, and complaints were relatively low. The phase 3 service planning had been improved using lessons learned from phases 1 and 2 including on customer contacts and closer tracking of deliveries.

Members raised a number of detailed local queries to which answers were given.  Positive feedback was directed to the Strategic Director, Assistant Director and the Service Manager, as well as their team for their support of Members and their positive response to residents’ concerns

Members suggested that officers liaise with councillors to tap into to their local knowledge to gain extra insight into potential geographic anomalies in collection rounds to avoid problems and aid the process.  Officers invited members to bring forward any concerns and explained that there were online forms for the public to raise issues.

Council Communications were also covering any problems with general concerns including assisted collections.

Officers acknowledged that not all residents were computer literate, and this was taken into account with telephone call centre availability of the Waste Advisor team and customer service.

In answer to a question, officers explained that regular all - member briefing sessions were ongoing both in person and online as the project progressed.

A member raised a query concerning holiday let business owners not receiving green waste collections and asked about the Council’s policy being changed to allow this. Officers clarified that under the Environmental Protection Act, holiday lets and other businesses were not entitled to domestic collections, including garden waste. As a result the Council did not offer a commercial garden waste collection service.

In response to a query, members were reminded that the Council offered a wide range of briefings and a number of meetings had been held with various parish councils. Full attendance at future briefings was encouraged.

Additionally, members were sent weekly Waste and Recycling update emails, which included details of customer service performance and points of contact, and was a good source of information for conversations with residents.

Officers noted a request to provide members with a copy of the leaflets distributed to residents to aid members in assisting local people with their enquiries and explained that these were made available electronically in the Councillors’ Area of Forestnet. Some members preferred a hard copy.

The Chairman thanked officers for a very useful and comprehensive update.

To receive the Corporate Plan Key Performance Indicator Dashboard for Quarter 2, 2025/26.

The Panel received Corporate Plan: Key Performance Data for quarter 2 - 2025-2026.

The report highlighted 11 KPI data points for this Panel and also included a detailed analysis of fly tipping, including data on national incidence, the nature of fly tipping in the District and the target, as well as ongoing service actions.

The Panel were pleased to note that Planning measures were above the local and national targets and that only 1 appeal had been allowed of 217 decisions made in that period.

It was noted that from available data, Fly-tipping had shown a significant increase in recent years, both nationally and within the District, with local data indicating a rise in incidents compared to the previous year. It was explained that while this trend reflected wider behavioural and systemic factors, it should not be viewed as a direct measure of Council performance, as the Service continued to respond promptly and effectively to all cases.

It was acknowledged that the recent waste service rollout may have uncovered previously unmanaged waste streams, contributing to the rise in recorded incidents.

Officers explained that addressing these challenges would require continued efforts in education, enforcement, and behavioural change, supported by ongoing monitoring and targeted interventions at identified hotspots.  The reports also covered enforcement activity and details of signage.

It was also noted that fly tipping recorded at Bring Sites could sometimes be excess waste left, including where containers were full. Council teams were aware of this issue and were proactive in monitoring this. It was emphasised that Bring Sites were not household waste recycling sites and HCC sites should be used for this purpose and there was clear updated signage at Bring Sites. There was also CCTV at some sites to facilitate enforcement. Examples of the type of fly tipping materials recently recorded was provided in the report.

Members reported several individual incidents in local areas though officers emphasised that the Council only responded to fly tipping where it occurred on Council - owned land and it could be challenging to deal with it elsewhere. Members queried the extent of fly tipping in the District not on NFDC land, and officers explained that these incidents were not dealt with by the Council and where they were dealt with by private bodies, this information was not made available to the Council.

On Garden Waste, it was noted that there had been a reduction in the take up of this service and the reasons for this and its relation to fly tipping had been explored and were detailed in the report.

RESOLVED:

That the report be noted.

An opportunity for the Portfolio Holders to provide an update to the Panel on developments within their portfolios.

The Panel received updates from the Portfolio Holders on issues within the purview of the Panel.

Cllr Blunden, Environment and Sustainability

Further to discussions earlier in the meeting, Cllr Blunden reiterated officer advice and encouraged members to use the Waste Advisors service and attend the member briefings. 

Details were given of recent cliff falls between Barton on Sea and Hordle. Eroding cliffs were part of the character of the area and significant rainfall had exacerbated the problem. The Coastal team had assessed the issue and some 650m of the area remained closed for safety reasons.

On Open Spaces, work was underway on facilities such as replacement of  Langdown Bridge, Hythe.  Repairs and improvements to Hythe promenade were also underway and should be completed in the next few weeks.

Environmental signage design was also in progress with local input.

Increased resources had been made available to improve the cleanliness of the Council’s 23 public conveniences.

A pilot project to help businesses reduce energy use was also highlighted. The Climate Change and Nature Emergency Task and Finish Group’s report would be brought to the next Panel meeting in March.

Cllr Tipp, Planning and Economy

The Portfolio holder reported on the following:

Replacement of old village notice boards was underway across the District. These were previously Council owned and passed to Go New Forest.  Procurement work was complete and work was to begin shortly.

Recent Business & Community Grants awards totalled £58.4k for business  and £50.1k community.  A total of 46 applications were received (30 community; 16 business). All applicants provided at least 10% match funding. Visits were currently being carried out and were projects to be completed in March.

On the NEET Support Project (Not in Education Employment or Training),

NFDC currently delivered the Better Futures New Forest Enterprise Project , which supported small groups of young people through mentoring, enterprise training, and work placements, aiming to build confidence and improve employability.

The Economic Development Team was developing a project to establish a NEETS Hub in the New Forest for 16–24-year-olds, including employer engagement, targeted employment, training advice, and practical guidance.

This year the Council was a sponsor of the New Forest Business Show which was organised by the NFBP and 2026 show will be a business to business exhibition with networking and catering areas to be held on 18th June at the New Forest Showground.

The Council was delivering practical workshops in February and March to help local small businesses strengthen resilience and continuity planning in cases of emergency.

On the Local Plan, the Panel were advised that public consultation on  development sites was postponed due to it clashing with the Government consultation on LGR. It was now expected to take place during February and March. During this period there would be a series of drop in events across the District. Dates and venues were being finalised and will be shared. The cross-party Members Working Group would meet on 19 January to give Member input.  There would be an opportunity for all  ...  view the full minutes text for item 32.

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

It was requested that an item on feasibility of Council collection of commercial waste be added to the work programme.  It was accepted that this may not be brought forward until at least after the waste roll out had finished, due to officer resource demands.

RESOLVED:

That the Work Programme be noted.