Agenda and minutes

Venue: Rennes Room, Civic Centre, Paris Street, Exeter. View directions

Contact: Sharon Sissons, Democratic Services Officer (Committees)  Telephone 01392 265115 or email  sharon.sissons@exeter.gov.uk

Items
No. Item

20.

Minutes

To sign the minutes of the meeting held on 9 March 2017.

 

Minutes:

The minutes of the meeting held on 9 March 2017 were taken as read and signed by the Chair as correct.

21.

Declaration of Interests

Councillors are reminded of the need to declare any disclosable pecuniary interests that relate to business on the agenda and which have not already been included in the register of interests, before any discussion takes place on the item. Unless the interest is sensitive, you must also disclose the nature of the interest. In accordance with the Council's Code of Conduct, you must then leave the room and must not participate in any further discussion of the item.  Councillors requiring clarification should seek the advice of the Monitoring Officer prior to the day of the meeting.

 

 

Minutes:

No declarations of disclosable pecuniary interest were made.

 

22.

Questions from Members of the Council under Standing Order 20 pdf icon PDF 232 KB

To receive questions from Members of the Council to appropriate Portfolio Holders.

 

Minutes:

In accordance with Standing Order No 20, a number of questions were put by Councillor Mrs Thompson and also Councillor Musgrave on developments, process and the Public Spaces Protection Order. A copy of the questions had been previously circulated to Members, and these, together with the responses from Councillor Gottschalk, Portfolio Holder for City Development, Councillor Denham, Portfolio Holder City Transformation, Energy and Transport and Councillor Brimble Portfolio Holder Place are appended to the minutes.

 

23.

Public Realm Surface in Sidwell Street

An update will be provided on the pavement surface in Sidwell Street with a view to a future update on the wider treatment of the city centres’ pavements and walkways to the Place Scrutiny Committee in September.

Minutes:

The Deputy Chief Executive discussed the quality and safety of the footpaths at Sidwell Street, in relation to the interim arrangements for the Bus Station, and that there had been an increased footfall after the closure of the Bus Station. He highlighted where Devon County Council were looking to replace the slabbed footways with tarmac. This had been brought to the Committee because it would impact on deterioration in public spaces and the wider city.

 

In response to questions raised by Members, the Deputy Chief Executive explained that Exeter City Council were unaware of these issues until work by Devon County Council had begun at Sidwell Street. It was important that Members were informed of the work and to consider inviting Devon County Council to the September meeting to provide an update on the planned work.

 

Members discussed the best options for the planned tarmac and the importance of warning and informing the public of potential safety issues and areas. It was anticipated that joint work would take place between Exeter City Council and Devon County Council to develop a way forward in terms of future programing and to the public realm maintenance in the city centre. 

 

County Councillor Stuart Hughes Highways Portfolio, and City and County Councillor Andrew Leadbetter (DCC Liaison for Exeter) had been invited to attend the September meeting to update City Members. The Chair recommended Members address issues at the next Scrutiny meeting.

 

24.

Scrutiny Committee Portfolio Holders' Year End Update - June 2017 pdf icon PDF 178 KB

Councillor Brimble (Portfolio Holder Place) Councillor Bialyk (Portfolio Holder Health and Wellbeing, Communities & Sport) Councillor Denham (Portfolio Holder City Transformation, Energy and Transport), Councillor D Gottschalk (Portfolio Holder City Development), and Councillor R Sutton (Portfolio Holder Economy and Culture) to present year end updates for 2016/17.

Minutes:

Councillors Brimble, Denham, Gottschalk, Bialyk and Sutton presented the following updates on priorities for Place, City Transformation Energy & Transport, City Development, Health and Wellbeing, Communities & Sport and Economy and Culture respectively for 2016/17.

 

Place

 

The Portfolio Holder for Place reported the following updates:-

 

·         An external Recycling Advisor had been appointed for a four month contract for low recycling areas. The engagement work was expected to commence mid-summer 2017;

·         Anti-social behaviour such as graffiti issues were being addressed and there was the pending implementation of the PSPO and work with other Local Authorities to improve CCTV surveillance into the city;

·         Following the Service Managers retirement, the Parks and open spaces work was moving forward.

 

In response to Members’ questions, the Portfolio Holder for Place responded as follows:-

 

·         Further details of the Recycling Advisor appointment and where the post holder would be working would be confirmed with of the Cleansing and Fleet Manager. A written response would be provided to take issues forward;

·         He would meet with Councillors Mitchell and Owen and representatives of the St James Ward and Victoria Street concerning recycling issues. Other issues should be reported to the cleansing team;

·         The use of seagull-proof bags would be the most efficient means of managing waste to stop its spread and demonstrate that Exeter was an innovative city. He would also view a video of the St James area regarding refuse bags left out by students which had attracted seagulls;

·         Exeter University would contribute to the budget to pay for sea-gull proof bags and he stated the importance of remaining fair to all residents. He recommended that Councillors monitor their Wards and contact him.

 

A Member commented that the door step food waste collection would assist with improving the recycling issues once it had been implemented.

 

Health and Wellbeing, Communities & Sport

 

The Portfolio Holder for Health and Wellbeing, Communities & Sport reported the following updates:-

 

·         The implementation plan was being finalised;

·         St Sidwells Point and bus station developments were ongoing and it was expected that this complex would become the heart of the city. There would be a need to bring Wonford and Riverside centres up to date;

·         The new director would lead on aspiring Exeter to become the most active city in Devon and promote a positive impact on Health and Wellbeing;

·         The bus station tenders were over expectation, which led to an extraordinary Council meeting being held. Questions would be taken to Members’ Briefings and a revised budget would be taken to Council. All information would be provided to Members at the appropriate time;

·         There were three potential options to move forward - make no changes, spend the budget amount or to revise the budget. The options would be brought to Members to ensure a transparent process.

 

In response to a Members’ question, the Portfolio Holder for Health and Wellbeing, Communities & Sport responded that the Sports England bid update outcome was expected to be completed in June and would be confirmed by Exeter City Futures.

 

City Transformation, Energy & Transport

 

The  ...  view the full minutes text for item 24.

25.

Environmental Enforcement Options pdf icon PDF 115 KB

To consider the report of the Service Manager Community Safety & Enforcement.

Minutes:

The Service Manager Community Safety and Enforcement presented a report which sought to identify the options available to provide additional environmental enforcement to support the Clean Streets Strategy. He highlighted the proposed pilot scheme which would use a specialist private contractor to test the impact of higher visibility enforcement on littering and dog fouling. The scheme would last for 12 months and would include education and engagement with the public, using all relevant media in order to highlight the issues of littering and dog fouling

 

In response to Members’ questions, the Service Manager Community Safety and Enforcement responded:

 

·         There would be a contractor selection process  where details of officer numbers and deployment times and locations  would be discussed and agreed;

·         There had been minimal fines since 2010/11 where a total of 619 Fixed Penalties were issued. The fines were for £75;

·         An approach would be agreed with the successful contractor to protect the Council’s reputation and  to provide appropriate means to collect fixed penalty fines

·         The 12 month pilot scheme would cover the whole city, to include areas where residents were likely to own more dogs;

·         Paid dog walkers would be included in the scheme to ensure they comply with ;

·         Discussions would be held with the contractor to ensure both littering and dog fouling offences were addressed. Initial exploratory research suggested it would be likely that four officers would patrol in pairs with the Police being made aware of their presence and remit.

·         The expectation is that the pilot scheme would incur no cost to the Council.

 

Place Scrutiny Committee supported and recommended approval by Executive of the following:-

 

(1)     to undertake a 12 month pilot scheme using a specialist private contractor in order to test the impact of higher visibility enforcement on littering and dog fouling;

 

(2)     to ensure a sensitive and balanced approach to environmental enforcement through an appropriate operational pre-agreement with the provider; and

 

(3)     to precede such a scheme with a focused campaign via all relevant media in order to educate and engage residents and visitors on the issues of littering and dog fouling.

 

26.

Review of Environmental Health and Licensing Statutory Service Plan 2017/18 pdf icon PDF 152 KB

To consider the report of the Environmental Health and Licensing Manager.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Environmental Health and Licensing Manager presented a report which sought approval for the adoption of the Environmental Health and Licensing Statutory Service Plan 2017/18. The Statutory Service Plan sets out the Council’s regulatory function in respect of food safety, health and safety, licensing, environmental permitting and other statutory functions over the forthcoming year. The Food Standards Agency Framework Agreement required the Council to produce a Food Law Enforcement Plan (referred to as the Enforcement Plan). The key aim of the plan was to demonstrate how the Council will fulfil its regulatory obligations in respect of its food safety service. A draft copy of the plan was available on the Council’s website, in the Members’ Room, or available on request.

 

The Environmental Health and Licensing Manager highlighted some of the challenges his team had face during 2016/17:-

 

·         The several large fires across the city, and the out of office support provided;

·         Service inspections of 618 food businesses representing 99.5% of the total;

·         There had been 4,465 Service requests received for food safety, health and safety regulation, infectious disease control, air quality and other service requests. There had been 450 anti-social behaviour cases dealt with;

·         The inclusion of CCTV in taxis and the prosecution of four drivers operating Hackney Carriages without a licence;

·         The Best Bar None Scheme had won an award for the most innovative scheme;

·         Improvements to public communication using new media outlets.

 

The Environmental Health and Licensing Manager discussed how his team had been raising awareness of child exploitation to increase understanding of this modern day slavery and identify where it could happen.

 

He discussed several of the priorities for 2017/18, which included the development of a strong community safety partnership, developing a sustainable city, to maintain a high standard in food safety, promoting safer workplaces, enhancing safety of the night time economy, Private Hire and Hackney Carriage Licensing, development of a strong Exeter Business Against Crime (EBAC) Partnership and the implementation of the Public Spaces Protection Order for Exeter City Centre.

 

In response to Members’ questions, the Environmental Health and Licensing Manager:-

 

·         Discussed the future of the help zone, which he was hoping that partners would be able to get up and running from September;

·         Discussed the work around modern slavery and child sexual exploitation;

·         The new media outlets used for public communications would be the use of social media, raising awareness of education sessions and schemes being delivered by the service.

 

The Chair and Members expressed their thanks to the Environmental Health and Licensing Manager and his team for their hard work during 2016/17.

 

The Place Scrutiny Committee supported and requested Executive to recommend approval by Council of the Statutory Service Plan, and the Environmental Health and Licensing Manager be authorised to change the Statutory Service Plan in the light of centrally issued guidance and/or to meet operational needs.

 

27.

Place Final Accounts 2016/17 pdf icon PDF 169 KB

To consider the report of the Chief Finance Officer.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Principal Accountants (PM and MH) advised Members of any major differences, by management unit, between the approved budget and the outturn for the financial year up to 31 March 2017 in respect of the Place Scrutiny Committee. An outturn update in respect of the Place Capital Programme was also incorporated into this report in order to help provide a comprehensive financial update in respect of the Place Scrutiny Committee Budgets.

 

The 2016/17 financial year had ended with a deficit of £3,211,221 after transfers from reserves, however £2,198,565 of this variance was due to the way support services were accounted for.  The actual surplus attributable directly to Place Scrutiny Committee is £1,012,655 after transfers from reserves as detailed in an appendix to the report. 

 

Details of the schemes completed during the final quarter of 2016/17 were set out in the report along with the overall financial performance of the Place Capital Programme detailed in an appendix attached to the report.  The Place Capital Programme showed a total spend of £3,299,147 with £1,264,701 of the programme deferred until 2017/18.

 

In response to Members’ questions the Environmental Health and Licensing Manager responded commented that the Riverside Arches located behind the Riverside Leisure Centre, and had been a location for anti-social behaviour.

 

The Principal Accountant (PM) commented that he would provide additional information to Councillor Wardle concerning City Wide Property Level Protection.  

 

The Place Scrutiny Committee noted the report. 

 

RECOMMENDED that Members of Place Scrutiny Committee assure themselves that Officers review areas with significant variances and undertake the necessary actions to address the issues that the variances may cause.

 

28.

Update on the Visitor Strategy 2018 - 2020 pdf icon PDF 182 KB

To consider the report of the Tourism and Sport Manager.

Minutes:

The Economy & Enterprise Manager presented a report which updated Members on progress made with developing a new visitor strategy for Exeter.  It was necessary to consult with the tourism industry and business community of Exeter to develop the new visitor strategy, working towards its proposed vision and priorities.   She discussed the five priorities detailed in the report.

 

In response to questions from Members, the Economy & Enterprise Manager advised that the City Centre Strategy was addressing the issue of bus transport to Exeter Quay. Stagecoach would be asked to provide additional information and be invited to the September meeting.  Members discussed inviting a representative from Stagecoach to attend a future meeting, to discuss planned bus routes.

 

Exeter was raising its level of awareness within the UK, especially after Exeter Chiefs winning the Premiership Rugby final.  It was agreed to widen the promotion of the city, taking into account Exeter Chiefs recent success and the knock on effect in raising the profile of Exeter.

 

Place Scrutiny Committee supported the adoption of the vision and priorities for the Exeter Visitor Strategy 2018 – 2020.

 

29.

Pop-Up Shop Space in Exeter pdf icon PDF 224 KB

To receive the report of the Economy and Enterprise Manager.

Minutes:

The Economy & Enterprise Manager presented a report which updated Members on the pop-up shop landscape within Exeter and to promote opportunities to help encourage and support new business start-ups within Exeter.

 

The Economy & Enterprise Manager discussed the Exeter Commercial Property register and updated Members that, in the first five months of 2017, there had been 367 requests and searches received for office, retail and pubs & restaurants in Exeter. This demonstrated that there was a continued demand for space within Exeter for small scale office accommodation, workspace, retail and food & drink. There was a need to introduce additional incubator spaces in consultation with City Development, Corporate Property and the business community to provide new opportunities in the city.

 

A Member commented on the option of adapting shipping containers into functional shopping premises which was agreed would be a viable option. In response to questions from Members, the Economy & Enterprise Manager responded:

 

·         There was a mix of use of premises across in the city centre, with a proposal to setup a teenage market to demonstrate what help could be given to assist younger people in setting up their own business.

·         If Exeter City Council decide to support additional incubator space in the city, business support could be provided as part of the package to new business start-ups support businesses.

 

Place Scrutiny Committee supported the following:-

 

 (1)       Promotion of the pop-up shop opportunities across the city through the Exeter Commercial Property Register and through social media;  

 

(2)        Development of a business case to introduce additional incubator spaces in Exeter in consultation with City Development and Corporate Estates, to provide opportunities for new office, workspace, retail and food & drink; and

 

(3)       Research opportunities in developing a Teenage Market in Exeter.

 

30.

Appointment of Legacy Leisure Working Group and Minutes pdf icon PDF 18 KB

To receive the minutes of the meeting held on 4 April 2017 and to appoint the Members of the Legacy Leisure Working Group for the forthcoming year.

 

The current members are Councillors Bialyk, Sills and D Henson.  A replacement Member is sought from the Labour Group. The Terms of Reference are attached.  

 

To note the meetings include a site visit at 9.30am, and meeting at 10.00am, for the forthcoming year as detailed below.  The meetings are open to all Members.

 

11 July 2017 -             Annual Tour of Leisure Facilities - Open to all Members.

 

12 September 2017 - Wonford Sports Centre/ Northbrook Golf Course (Wonford Community Centre)

 

24 October 2017 -       Clifton Hill Sports Centre/Pyramids Swimming Pool (Isca Centre)

 

12 December 2017 -   Northbrook Swimming Pool (Isca Centre)

 

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The minutes of the Legacy Leisure Working Group meeting held on 4 April 2017 were circulated for Members’ information, which included future dates of meetings for the year. Councillor Foggin was appointed to serve on the Legacy Leisure Working Group for the forthcoming Civic Year.

 

Place Scrutiny Committee noted the minutes of the Legacy Leisure Working Group held on 4 April 2017.

 

31.

Task and Finish Scrutiny Membership pdf icon PDF 270 KB

To note an update of the Task and Finish Group membership – June 2017

Minutes:

The Chair presented the report setting out the Task and Finish Group membership for 2016/17.

 

The Place Scrutiny Committee noted the report.