Minutes:
1. Mr Hill, OBE (Cabinet Member for Community and Regulatory Services) provided a verbal update on the expected changes to the Brexit planning assumptions and presented the information (as set out below) from the Kent Resilience Forum:
(a) Kent County Council (KCC) and the Kent Resilience Forum (KRF) received official notification from Government on 24 December that operation Yellowhammer (Government’s contingency plan) had been stood down and as a result Operation Fennel (Kent County Council’s contingency plan) would not be stood up for 31 January 2020.
On 13 January 2020 Highways England began work to remove the Brock barrier from the M20 and all work was expected to be completed by 1 February 2020. Both KCC and KRF had issued press releases informing the public of the barrier removal.
The Department for Exiting the European Union (EU) had confirmed that the Withdrawal Agreement Bill was expected to be ratified by the end of the month and the working assumption was that there would be no disruption or additional checks at the ports as of 1 February 2020 as the UK would still be treated as a member state. There remained a risk that the UK would leave the EU without a trade agreement on 31 December 2020 (the end of the implementation period). KCC and the KRF were working with key stakeholders to understand the potential implications of this in Kent. The KRF had not yet received any updated planning assumptions for December 2020, however, Government departments had provided assurance that the assumption would be shared within the next two months. When planning assumptions were received the County Council and the KRF would work with planners and partners to ensure that appropriate mitigations were in place to minimise any impact to Kent businesses, residents and communities. The County Council continued to plan for any risk of industrial protest or any other direct action that sought to influence on-going negotiations. There were 172 service specific business continuity plans in place which were subject to regular review and updates to ensure that the Council was resilient to potential disruption.
Two emergency planning exercises were also staged during January which used a prolonged Operation Stack scenario.
2. Miss Carey (Cabinet Member for Environment) gave a verbal update on the following:
(a) Kent Biodiversity Strategy
The Kent Biodiversity Strategy was due to be complete by the end of February 2020 and a report would be presented to the Committee in March 2020.
(b) Household Waste Recycling Centres
Miss Carey commended the staff at the Household Waste Recycling Centres (HWRCs) for their on-going commitment to delivering a high-standard of service, particularly over busy periods such as Christmas. Miss Carey said that she had visited Kent’s HWRC sites and had received positive feedback from residents regarding the excellent facilities offered by KCC.
(c) Tonbridge & Malling Household Waste Recycling Centre consultation
The Tonbridge & Malling Household Waste Recycling Centre consultation was underway. Members of the public had until 31 January 2020 to submit their response to the consultation and statutory bodies had until 7 February 2020. Subject to a satisfactory outcome of the planning process and the ability to meet the local authority’s pricing threshold, the contract was scheduled for award on 25 February 2020. Members would receive a further update at the Environment and Transport Cabinet Committee on 31 March 2020.
(d) Energy and Low Emission Strategy
The Energy and Low Emission Strategy consultation report had been taken to the Kent and Medway Chief Executive Board and was to be presented to the Kent and Medway Leaders Board on 26 January 2020 for further comment and amendment. A report would be presented to the Environment and Transport Cabinet Committee in March 2020.
(e) Kent Environment Strategy
Officers continued to work on the actions that had emerged from the Kent Environment Strategy and these were to be developed further by the Kent Environment Strategy Cross-Party Member Working Group, the meeting of which was due to be held on 30 January 2020. A list of ‘no regrets’ and ‘do now’ actions were also in the process of being developed and would be circulated to all partners in due course. Work also continued on the Net Zero assessment that fell within the remit of the Kent Environment Strategy Cross-Party Member Working Group. KCC was also on-track to set the accelerated target for the carbon budget and associated action plan by May 2020. Miss Carey noted that KCC had installed solar panels on five of its buildings and planned for a further solar installation over the coming months. KCC had also identified two closed landfill sites as possible locations for a solar farm. An assessment to review the proposal was underway.
3. Mr Payne (Cabinet Member for Highways and Transport) gave a verbal update on the following:
(a) The weather and potholes
The predicted road surface temperatures in December resulted in thirty nights of gritting, with twelve full county-wide runs and one partial run.
The prolonged wet weather on Kent’s roads had a detrimental impact and as a result, KCC had received an increased number of inquiries relating to potholes. Kent’s Highways team had addressed this, and repairs had been undertaken. Mr Payne informed the Committee that 75% of pothole inquiries had been reported via the online portal. He encouraged Members to promote the use of the online reporting tool to their residents as a more effective way of collating data, prioritising work and effectively deploying the correct resources.
The tail end of storm Brendan was felt mainly across mid and west Kent on the night of 14th January. Out of Hours highway officers were doubled up for the event and were kept busy most of the night particularly with fallen trees and flooding. On the morning of 15th only three roads remained closed because of fallen trees and these were opened once cleared.
KCC had received £1.2m for the 2020 Pothole Blitz and would be using 10 contractors from February to help deliver the required work. KCC had also adopted the approach, where appropriate, of carrying out large patch repairs which encompassed a number of smaller defects.
(b) Faversham Bridge
The Faversham Creek bridge was removed in early December 2019 which exposed a number of structural failings. Mr Payne re-visited the site on 12 December when it was decided to upgrade the footpath with a new tarmac surface and temporary lighting. The new surface would remain in place as a permanent asset of the residents after the bridge’s repair. During the interim, the bridge had temporary pads constructed either side of the abutments to support the new temporary footbridge and road bridge which was installed on 16 January 2020. It would be open to the public on 24 January 2020. Mr Payne expressed his thanks to the residents of Faversham for their cooperation and to KCC’s contractors for their rapid response and consideration. He also thanked Earl Bourner (Kent Highways) who had had the day-to-day responsibility for efficiently managing responses to a difficult set of issues.
4. The Cabinet Members and Director of Highways, Transportation and Waste responded to comments and questions as follows:
(a) Mr Hill agreed to circulate the estimated cost of the Brexit planning assumptions and operations to Members.
(b) In response to suggestions made to include the Highways telephone number on Council Tax forms for residents to report potholes, Mr Payne said that it for County Members to encourage and help their residents to make enquiries using the online reporting tool.
(c) With regard to the recuperation of costs for the Faversham bridge, Mr Jones (Director of Highways, Transportation and Waste) assured Members that KCC was in dialogue with the Peel Port (Faversham’s Maritime Authority) regarding issues around flood gates, navigational rights, liabilities etc. The details were confidential and so could not be shared with the committee, but it was assured that KCC continued to pursue cost liabilities.
5. It was RESOLVED that the verbal updates be noted, with thanks.