{Disestablished Committee} - Physical Environment Overview and Scrutiny Committee

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Present:

• Councillor Wheale - In the Chair 
• Councillors Ali, Brandy, Carroll, Gallagher, Hall, Helsby, Kane, Lewis, Loughman, McCulley and Risby. 

Also Present:

• Councillor P Murphy
• Councillor Swannick.

PE/06/1 Minutes

Decision

To approve as a correct record the Minutes, of the meeting held on 13 December 2005.

PE/06/2 Visit to Shudehill Interchange

Members commented on the visit that morning to Shudehill Interchange which would be opening to the public on 29 January 2006, the same day that the re-routing of buses begins. Questions were asked about facilities for cyclists and there were some concerns about the extent of the provision being made at Shudehill.

Members were also informed that the re-routing of buses from Great Ancoats Street on to Oldham Street into the City Centre, had been put on hold.

Decision

To thank the officers for the visit to Shudehill Interchange and agree to revisit the Interchange and the impact of rerouting in the city centre in two months time.

PE/06/3 Planning Control

The Committee considered a report from the Head of Planning on the work around improved Planning Enforcement.

Members were informed that one of the main actions that had proven difficult to follow through had been the introduction of a dedicated enforcement team. This had not yet been possible due to an inability to appoint a team leader despite two recruitment processes, including through the national press.

The post had now been re-evaluated, with a higher salary and was going through the recruitment process.

Members were concerned on lack of progress made over the last year towards the objectives they were trying to achieve despite the increase in budget which had been agreed and that the joint Scrutiny Committee Sub Group with the Finance and General Purposes Overview and Scrutiny Committee should reconvene as soon as possible so Members can look in more detail at Planning Control.

Decision

1. To note the report.

2. To request the Finance and General Purposes Overview and Scrutiny Committee to agree that the joint Scrutiny Committee Sub Group be reconvened to review the position.

3. Councillor Swannick the Executive Member for Planning and Environment to be invited to attend the joint Scrutiny Committee Sub Group to assist its considerations.

PE/06/4 Recycling Update

The Strategic Director (Operations) submitted a report on the developments and initiatives in relation to Recycling and on the current recycling levels.

The Head of Environmental Services informed Members that over the past two years the Council has made major changes in order to reduce the amount of waste sent to landfill, including substantial investment in the provision of kerbside recycling services across the City. These changes enabled the Council to exceed its 7% statutory target in 2003/04 and resulted in a recycling performance of 15% in 2004/05, the target for 2005/06 is 18% and every effort is being made to achieve this target.

Members were also informed about the improvements in service provision from April 2005 such as the Garden Waste Collection Service, Twin Bin Collection Service, Bulky Waste Pilot Scheme, Real Nappies Scheme and New WRAP funded compost bin initiative which will be advertised more extensively in the City.

It was noted that the position had been complicated by the fact that Defra had recategorised some waste streams which meant that some areas such as fly tipping no longer counted against household waste.

On the use of boxes or bins, it was confirmed that whilst it would be possible to treat whole stretches of property according to the most appropriate method of disposal, whether box or bin, it would not be possible to mix properties as the costs would be far to great.

The encouragement of more widespread use of composting was welcomed, although it was stressed that this needed to be properly supported with residents being clearly advised as to the details of any scheme.

It was agreed that waste minimisation was a key issue and Members asked for a further report on work being undertaken and that the Waste Minimisation Officer be invited to the next Meeting.

Decision

1. The report be noted.

2. To request a further report on waste minimization to the next meeting.

PE/06/5 Environment on Call

The Strategic Director (Operations) submitted a report on the development of Environment on Call and on the implementation of the new Customer Relationship Management (CRM) pilot within Environment on Call.

The Executive Member for Direct Services requested that the report be deferred from the agenda as it did not have all the information required and that a more detailed and comprehensive report be submitted to Committee in the future.

He also asked that if Members had any specific issues they wished to see covered in the report they should let him know and he would make sure appropriate reference was included.

Decision

To defer consideration of the development of Environment on call to enable the officers to submit a more comprehensive report to Committee in the future.

PE/06/6 Funding for the Implementation of the Licensing Act 2003

The Committee considered a report on the income and expenditure in relation to the Licensing Act 2003.

Members were informed that the Council to date had received approximately 1600 applications for a premises licence and 970 applications for personal licence.

The anticipated income in the transition year is £650K. In 2006/7 this income level will be lower as the majority of premises will only pay an annual charge, the anticipated income is £380K. The expenditure this year to date by the Licensing Unit has been £480K and is estimated to be around £580K by the end of the financial year, the expenditure includes temporary staff to process applications for the conversion and variation of existing licences and applications for new licences, purchase of new IT software and support costs of legal and committee services.

The Chair congratulated officers on all the hard work that had been done regarading the new Licensing Act 2003. He also queried how Members could input their views on the working of the new licences and it was explained that a review would be carried out in the near future. As part of this Members would be emailed explaining the purpose of the review and seeking comments.

Decision

To note the report.