Minutes:
1. Mr Hill, Cabinet Member for Community and Regulatory Services, gave a verbal update on the following:
(a) The Council’s country parks had retained all eight of their Green Flag Awards which demonstrated the quality of the parks and the hard work of staff involved. £1.1million of government covid recovery money had been spent on several improvements including play areas with inclusive elements for those with disabilities.
(b) The Summer Reading Challenge 2022 named ‘Gadgeteers’ ran between 9 July and 10 September 2022 and 18,419 children took part.
(c) The Javelin Way development in Ashford was completed on 8 September 2022 and included a new centre for the Jasmine Vardimon Dance Company as well as 26 neighbouring business units. The development would be formally opened in December 2022.
(d) Twelve new Community Wardens had been recruited and were currently undergoing training.
2. Mr Hill responded to the following questions and comments from Members:
(a) A Member referred to the success of the Summer Reading Challenge and asked whether there were any opportunities for partner organisations to continue the work and encourage young people to attend libraries. Mr Pearson, Head of Libraries, Registrations and Archives, said the Reconnect Programme and the Kent Show had promoted awareness of the challenge and links had been made with schools. Mr Pearson said the team was keen to explore working with partners and emphasised the importance of the Summer Reading Challenge in encouraging children to continue reading.
(b) Asked whether Members would be notified when new Community Wardens had been recruited to their division, Mr Hill confirmed this would take place.
3. Mr Murphy, Cabinet Member for Economic Development, gave a verbal update on the following:
(a) As a result of the No Use Empty initiative a local building company in Dover was hoping to open the first of a series of new industrial workshops on the Whitfield site and a company in Belgium had bought premises off plan. In addition, a listed building in Margate was being renovated and Mr Murphy confirmed, further to comments from Members at previous meetings of the committee, that banners would be displayed on No Use Empty buildings indicating the Council was investing in development.
(b) The Council was working with Lord Waverly on a parliamentary committee to look at the logistics for goods and services across the country. Mr Murphy emphasised the importance of distribution and referred to Pannattoni, one of the biggest warehousing companies in the world, who had a site at Aylesford which included Amazon, Evri and DHL. A company called Mesaroli, which specialised in cool and refrigerated transportation, was now located at Discovery Park in Sandwich.
(c) The Council, in conjunction with Folkestone and Hythe District Council, were setting up a joint working group to look at the feasibility of using Dungeness Power Station for the Rolls Royce reactors. Work was progressing in terms of industrial capabilities, in particular the life sciences, and the Council was working with UK power networks to ensure the continuation of power in Kent.
(d) The Council had supported Dover District Council’s Levelling Up bid for the Beacon project and, if granted, this funding would boost living standards and increase higher education needs in the area.
(e) An All Member Briefing on Section 106 Contributions was scheduled for 31 October 2022.
4. Mr Murphy responded to the following questions and comments from Members:
(a) Asked about the Council’s position on fracking, Mr Murphy said fracking was an issue for concern and the fracking policy was under review. Mr Murphy said he would be happy to update Members outside of the meeting.
(b) Asked whether representations would be made to government regarding important infrastructure projects and issues in relation to economic development, Mr Murphy agreed this was essential, given Kent’s geographical position, for both the county and the rest of the country.
5. Mr Jones, Corporate Director for Growth Environment and Transport, gave a verbal update on the following:
(a) The year continued to be busy for the ceremonies team with over 6,500 ceremonies taking place so far, the largest number since 2016, and the team had worked extensively with local businesses to enable ceremonies at private locations in addition to registered offices.
(b) The Trading Standards Team were working with communities to raise awareness of cost-of-living scams and doorstep crime activity. The team had run an event in Romney Marsh and had so far visited over a thousand homes to ensure local communities got the best support. There had been targeted awareness of illicit goods including illegal dangerous vapes and a consignment of almost 8,000 vapes had been confiscated.
(c) Community Wardens had been busy engaging with residents and partners and continued to carry out welfare checks for the Homes for Ukraine Scheme and delivering positive wellbeing activities within communities.
(d) The Kent Community Safety Team had hosted several events recently to share best practice. The domestic Abuse Commissioner and their team had spent time with Council staff to explore the learning from Domestic Homicide Reviews.
(e) The Kent Scientific Services had been testing pesticide sampling on goods coming through the ports and analysing the content of Cannabidiol (CBD) products to identify the risks of organised crime within communities.
(f) The Kent Country Parks Strategy 2023-2028 consultation opened on 4 October 2022 and would close on 12 December 2022.
(g) The Kent and Medway Horticultural Employment Task Force achieved an award for ‘HR Initiative of the Year’ at the Fresh Product Consortium (FPC) Fresh Awards 2022 for their work with fruit and salad producers in identifying how young people could become involved in the industry.
6. Mr Jones responded to the following questions and comments from Members:
(a) Asked about the extent of the illegal vapes issue, Mr Jones said the intelligence team was mapping out significant networks of distribution locations and worked closely with other authorities and the police.
(b) Asked about Ukrainian nationals removing themselves voluntarily from the Homes for Ukraine Scheme and the support the Council could provide in making sure individuals could access services, Mr Jones said by engaging with communities, and working with district and borough colleagues, every endeavour was made to ensure those who needed or sought support received it.
(c) Asked about the impact in Kent when support for Ukrainian refugees ceased, Mr Jones said the Council would respond to the national guidelines.
(d) Asked how the Council could ensure schools places were offered to Ukrainian families, Mr Jones said he would respond outside of the meeting.
RESOLVED that the verbal updates be noted.