Agenda and minutes

To receive apologies for absence from those Members who are unable to attend the meeting. The Chair will verbally report the following changes the Boards membership:

Councillor Robert Iredale has replaced Councillor Richard Eastwood

Co-opted member Eilidh Ogden has resigned.

The Panel welcomed Councillor Iredale to the Panel and noted that he had replaced Councillor Eastwood. The Chair thanked Councillor Eastwood for his support and contributions to the Panel.

The Panel noted that co-optee, Mrs Ogden, had resigned. The Chair thanked Mrs Ogden for her support and contributions to the Panel.  The Panel were informed that further co-optee recruitment would be undertaken in the Autumn.

To approve the Minutes of the meeting of the Panel held on 4 March 2021.

The Panel considered the minutes of the previous meeting held on 4 March 2021. A discussion took place regarding a high court judgement on remote meetings which had ruled decisions must be taken in person. The Chair advised that the Overview and Scrutiny Management Committee had considered the matter and decided that as Scrutiny Panels could make recommendations but did not undertake decision making, Panel meetings would continue to take place virtually with an agreement to review the matter in September 2021. 

Councillor Bolt advised that he could not agree the minutes of the last meeting until legal advice had been received regarding holding Scrutiny Panel meetings virtually.

RESOLVED -

1.    The Panel agreed to seek legal advice on holding Scrutiny Panel meetings virtually until the matter was reviewed in September 2021.

2.    The minutes of the meeting of the Panel held on the 4 March 2021 were agreed as a correct record subject to the receipt of the above advice.

The Councillors will be asked to say if there are any items on the Agenda in which they have disclosable pecuniary interests, which would prevent them from participating in any discussion of the items or participating in any vote upon the items, or any other interests.

Councillor Taylor declared an interest regarding his position as a representative on SUEZ (formerly SITA Kirklees Ltd) in relation to agenda item 7.

Most debates take place in public. This only changes when there is a need to consider certain issues, for instance, commercially sensitive information or details concerning an individual. You will be told at this point whether there are any items on the Agenda which are to be discussed in private.

All items were considered in the public session.

The Panel will receive any petitions and hear any deputations from members of the public. A deputation is where up to five people can attend the meeting and make a presentation on some particular issue of concern. A member of the public can also hand in a petition at the meeting but that petition should relate to something on which the body has powers and responsibilities.

In accordance with Council Procedure Rule 10 (2), Members of the Public should provide at least 24 hours’ notice of presenting a deputation.

No deputation or petitions were received.

The Board will hear any questions from the general public. Due to Covid-19 restrictions, questions should be emailed to executive.governance@kirklees.gov.uk  no later than 10am on 12 July 2021.

No questions were received from the public.

The Panel will consider a report which sets out the draft Kirklees Resource and Waste Strategy prior to full council in September 2021.

Contacts:

Sue Procter, Service Director – Highways & Streetscene
Will Acornley, Head of Operational Services
Natalie Clark, Programme Manager
Lory Hunter, Commercial & Technical Development Manager

The Panel considered a presentation on the Kirklees Resource and Waste Strategy presented by Sue Proctor, Service Director for Highways Street Scene, Environment and Climate Change and Will Acornley, Head of Operational Services.

Sue Proctor highlighted that:

·       The Waste Strategy has previously been to scrutiny and through different elements of the authority throughout its 2 years of development.

·       The engagement plan for Summer 2020 took place face-to-face and then virtually online in response to national covid-19 restrictions.

·       The consultation received a good response (over 23,000 online and over 7,000 to the consultation itself) and the vast majority of responses were constructive and aspirational for the authority.

·       The strategy outlined the strategic ambitions of the authority and was the overarching framework which established the principles on how the authority moved forward to manage resources and waste.

·       This was set against the backdrop of the current PFI (Private Finance Initiative) contract reaching its expiry.

·       The strategy was not a business case on how to deliver the aspirations or for the procurement of the next waste management contract.

·       Work was ongoing to develop business cases, but the strategy was the fundamental pillar in driving what the business cases needed to deliver. Approval of those business cases would be needed in moving forwards.

·       A key part of the strategy was the ‘reduce, reuse, recycle’ initiative which aimed to reduce the waste produced locally.

·       This involved working with local communities, businesses, and residents to change their relationship with waste, to instead see the materials that they usually throw away as resources.

·       The authority was still waiting to receive the government’s environment bill to provide clarity on what the authority would be required to deliver to achieve consistency across the nation.

Natalie Clark, Programme Manager, Environmental Services shared a presentation which outlined the Development of the strategy as follows:

o   Collection consistency framework (2018 – 2020). Was the proposal from government to ensure local authorities collect the same materials from the kerb side. The Collection consistency trial identified different options available and the impact.

o   Public engagement (October 2020 – January 2021). Shared the options with residents through consultation.

o   Scrutiny (December 2020) - Feedback was given on the engagement process to scrutiny. This was collated with the collection consistency framework and formulated the strategy, identifying 3 thematic sections:

o   Delivering Modern and sustainable services.

o   Leading by example.

o   Supporting Kirklees families and ensuring inclusions.

In response to a question from panel regarding dog excrement contaminating litter bins, Will Acornley advised that dog excrement could be placed in litter bins, although this could be offensive and could discourage people from emptying them. It was further advised the Panel that additional resources had been put in place in parks over weekends to keep on top of the issue.

In response to a question from the Panel regarding educating the larger public on waste disposal and how we compare with other authorities, Sue Proctor advised that engagement and education within the wider community rather  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

To provide the Panel with an update on Dewsbury Town Centre projects and their programmes for delivery

Contacts:

Simon Taylor – Head of Town Centre Programmes

Peter Thompson – Project Manager

The Panel considered an update on Dewsbury Town Centre Projects and their programmes for delivery presented by Simon Taylor, Head of town centre programmes.

The Panel noted that:

·       In respect of the Springfield centre, a  key objective was drawing in the younger population and ensuring that the town centre had purpose to be visited.

·       Pioneer House (an annex to the college) had undergone a full refurbishment and its heritage had being brought to light. This was now open and an important part of the history of Dewsbury town centre.

·       The re-configuration of Dewsbury train station aimed to create a more attractive gateway into the town centre.

·       Smaller programmes also included the Dewsbury Townscape Heritage Initiative (THI), the Dewsbury Heritage Action Zone (HAZ), the Dewsbury Revival Grant Scheme, the accelerated Town Fund Package as well environmental improvements.

In respect of the Dewsbury Town Investment Plan, Simon Taylor highlighted that:

·       The plan was submitted in January 2021 identifying 9 projects.

·       24.8 million of investment funds was agreed from central government.

·       The public, the town board, local MP, Council Leader, community groups and business interests were involved with the development of the plan.

·       7 core town centre projects were planned to be delivered between now and 2025 / early 2026.

Simon spoke about each project in further detail:

·       Consultation on stage 2 of the designs for Dewsbury Market had just finished and were now moving into stage 3.

·       There were plans for an update to be presented to Cabinet in March 2022.

·       Construction works were scheduled to start midway through 2022 with a strategy in place for businesses that were trading in the town centre when the works began.

·       Early works on the Dewsbury Arcade were continuing into Autumn 2021 with a scheduled opening for Summer 2023.

·       Dewsbury town park was a long term project, with a scheduled opening in 2025. Planning work was scheduled to begin early in 2022, and construction works were planned to start in early 2024.

·       The redevelopment of the Fieldhouse and Daisy Hill area provided residential opportunities.

·       The Fieldhouse development would create showcase apartments and planning approval and funding streams were already in place. Design work was ongoing, construction work was scheduled to start summer 2022 with plans for opening 2023.

·       The development of Daisy Hill was, currently in early phases of work and was a long term regeneration project lasting from 10 to 15 years with the aim of developing a quality standard residential site.

·       The Creative Culture programme involved the development of a new Art Centre with plans for expansion by 2024.

·       There were to be events and cultural programmes to encourage people into the town centre.

·       Dewsbury Building Revival Grant Scheme was for existing building owners to help them make improvements to their building. This was with additional funding, to be extended until early 2026.

·       The transforming cities fund had committed funds of 8 million to a new bus station in Dewsbury. The consultation was scheduled to start 19^th July and works were planned  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

The Panel will consider the draft Work Programme and forthcoming items/activites for 2021/22

Contact:

Jodie Harris, Principal Governance and Democratic Engagement Officer

The Panel considered its work programme for 2021/22 and noted that various Regeneration programmes were to be planned into the timetable. As a result of the additional items, it was agreed that consideration was to be given to holding an additional meeting of the Panel.

The Panel requested that the Kirklees Homes and Neighbourhoods (including estate management) update be brought forward in the work programme if possible. Whereas the ad-hoc Panel was more focused on the High Rise Flats, the Panel wanted to see a more general update on the transfer of KNH to Council management to understand how this went, and to understand what the future plans and ambitions were.

There were also some concerns about the provisional timing for the Winter Maintenance Programme. The Chair suggested that if an additional meeting could be scheduled, that it may be possible to build additional capacity to schedule the specified updates earlier in the year.

RESOLVED: The Panel noted the work programme, and it was agreed for Jodie Harris Principal Governance and Democratic Engagement Officer, to arrange an additional meeting of the Panel.