Issue - meetings

To consider the report of the Environmental Health and Licensing Manager

Place Scrutiny Committee considered the report at its meeting on 8 November 2018 and its comments will be reported.

The Director (JY) presented the report seeking approval for a new Air Quality Action Plan following public consultation. The format of the report and action plan was in a template prescribed by the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra).

The draft action plan had been subject to a statutory consultation which had over 3,000 residents completing the online survey and many others responding in written submission and through participation in targeted focus groups. The Final Action Plan set out the impact the consultation had and how the action plan had changed as a result of the consultation.

The Portfolio Holder for Economy and Culture stated that it was not in the City Council’s gift to implement a workplace parking levy although it would be kept under review with Devon County Council.

Members thanked the officers for their hard work on the revisions to the action plan.

Place Scrutiny Committee considered the report at its meeting on 8 November 2018 and its comments were reported.

RECOMMENDED that:-

(1)          Council adopts the Air Quality Action Plan; and

(2)          the feasibility of a work place parking levy be kept under review and an update be brought back to Place Scrutiny Committee as part of the annual review of the Air Quality Action Plan.

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

Councillor Musgrave attended the meeting under Standing Order 44.

The Director (JY) presented the report of the new Air Quality Action Plan following completion of a public consultation. The plan detailed a range of actions for the Council and partners to take to improve air quality in Exeter between 2019 and 2024, in line with the Council’s Corporate Strategy 2018 – 2021 and the emerging Exeter Vision.The Action Plan is a statutory requirement under Part IV of the Environment Act 1995. The format of the report and action plan was in a template prescribed by the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra).

The draft Action Plan has been subject to a statutory consultation with a great response, with over 3,000 residents completing the online survey, and many others responding in written submission and through participation in targeted focus groups. The appendix in the Final Action Plan sets out how the draft action plan had changed following the feedback from the consultation exercise.  

Councillor Musgrave stated that he had no criticism of the officers or their work, however he stated that the report was a year late with no action plan in place since January 2017. He commented that in his opinion, 66% of monitoring stations showed that the air quality was over the legal limit and that Devon County Council and Exeter City Council appeared to be moving in different directions on tackling the issue. He noted a letter he had received from the Director of Public Health, who claimed that all areas of Exeter required improvements to air quality. He further commented that he considered that the figures presented in the report for the workplace parking levy had included the undecided 25% as a part of the 59% figure, which he felt was misleading. The report should read as 39% against the action plan. He hoped that Place Scrutiny Committee would not recommend approval.

The Senior Environmental Technical Officer advised that the introduction of a workplace parking levy was proposed in the draft Air Quality Action Plan. Only 41% of respondents had agreed with the implementation, with 59% either disagreeing or undecided. The measure had not been taken forward in the Action Plan, but would be kept under review with Devon County Council who were the statutory authority for implementing the scheme. An update would be brought back to Scrutiny Place Committee as part of the annual review of the Air Quality Action Plan.

In response to questions from Members, the Director (JY), the Senior Environmental Technical Officer and the Environmental Health and Licensing Manager responded:-

·        The issue of whether the locations of bus stops at road junctions contributed to poor air quality in certain locations was one that could be raised with Exeter City Futures for them to consider including in their action plan.

·        The report which came to the previous Place Scrutiny Committee was the Annual Status Report, which is a statutory return to Defra who require data from the previous five years. The Annual  ...  view the full minutes text for item 51