Minutes:
1. Mr Hill, Cabinet Member for Community and Regulatory Services, provided an update on the following:
a) In commemoration of King Charles III’s Coronation, tributes were held in all 99 of Kent’s Libraries, including 65 organised events and activities, and a coronation party at the Kent History and Library Centre which was attended by over 100 people.
b) Folkstone Library remained temporarily closed. Repairs were estimated to cost over £1 million, and the budget was not available for this. In response, nearby libraries would be open additional hours and other building options were being considered. A bid to the Government’s Library Improvement Fund was also being explored.
c) The Kent Community Safety Conference took place on 28th March 2023. The event was successful and for the first time offered both in-person and virtual participation. The topic of the conference was tackling violence against women and girls which was a pertinent issue in Kent.
d) Turner Contemporary’s Director, Clarrie Wallis won an Ampersand Foundation Award for cultural activities which included a financial grant of £125,000. This was for a photographic exhibition, curated by Clarrie Wallis and artist Steve McQueen.
2. A Member raised concerns regarding the moving of Folkstone library to a central location and asked whether more communication and information could be provided. Mr Hill understood the position and said efforts to provide as much information as possible to residents would continue. He said consideration would be given to the location of the library to satisfy the needs of Folkestone residents and agreed to explore the possibility of a meeting with residents.
3. Mr Robey, Deputy Cabinet Member for Economic Development, gave a verbal update on the following:
a) The EU Exit Entry System (EES), an automated system for registering travellers from the UK and other non-EU countries each time they crossed an EU external border, had been delayed to November 2024.
b) The Straits Committee, an organisation of local authorities on both sides of the English Channel, would discuss water conservation, quality, and supply at its next conference in July 2023. In addition, discussions were ongoing around boosting cross-channel tourism and marking the 120th anniversary of the signing of the Entente Cordial.
c) A decision was taken to use the Innovation 3 funding to maintain schemes under the Kent and Medway Business Fund whilst approval of a bid for funding was awaited from HM Treasury which, Mr Robey was pleased to update Members, had been received on 15 May 2023.
d) The government had agreed to fund the Dover Harbour Board project which intended to modify the harbour (including the cruise terminal) and a KCC project to improve traffic flow in and around the harbour.
e) Regarding Stodmarsh and the ability to treat Phosphorous and Nitrogen as a result of housing developments, progress was being made which included the building of wetlands, requesting that Southern Water invest more in tertiary water treatment, and onsite mitigation measures.
f) Plans were progressing for small modular reactors at Dungeness and KCC remained hopeful and continued to engage. Mr Bowie, Minister for Nuclear and Networks, at the Department of Energy Security and Net Zero had agreed to visit the site.
g) The Council continued to engage with Eurostar regarding the service stopping at Ashford International.
h) The Business Vision Live event was held at the Kent Event Centre in May 2023 and was well attended.
4. A Member asked what the intended outcomes of the Dover Harbour project would be, and Mr Jones said that the infrastructure changes would improve access to the port and improve traffic flow.
5. Mr Jones, Corporate Director Growth, Environment and Transport, provided an update on the following:
a) The Active Kent & Medway ‘Move Together’ programme was launched on 9th May and would support people to get active, particularly those with long-term health conditions.
b) The Active Kent & Medway team were holding the annual Primary PE Conference 2023 at the Kent Event Centre, Detling in May 2023. Over 100 teachers would be attending alongside representatives from the Department for Education.
c) Oakwood House was now open for Citizenship Civil Ceremonies and positive feedback had been received from those who had recently used the venue. Mr Jones invited Members of the committee to visit the site on forthcoming open days.
d) The number of people visiting libraries continued to recover. The figure was over 70% of pre-pandemic levels, which was higher than the national average. E-use of libraries had grown above the national average and had surpassed pre-covid use levels. Use of the Archives search room had also increased 39% on the previous quarter. The registration services continued to remain busy to meet demand on birth and death registrations and the Ceremonies team were preparing for the peak summer period of ceremonies.
e) The Public Protection team met with the Serious Economic Crime Unit of Kent Police and Mr Jones said the organisations would work together to tackle doorstep crime. The memorandum of understanding with Kent Police had been revised, and the Council and Police sent joint cease and desist letters to tackle doorstep crime.
f) Mandy Cason, a Community Warden in the Gravesham Team, was awarded for assisting the community and going above and beyond in her role, and Susan Beeney, also a Community Warden, had won the Littlebourne Parish Council Millennium Award for her work in the community.
g) Public Protection continued to work with the border force to tackle the import of illegal vapes. Thousands of illegal vapes had been seized in Dover which were dangerously above the legal limit. Public Protection had also held tobacco ‘days of action’ in towns across Kent. During the operation, services recovered thousands of illegal cigarettes and illegal vapes.
h) Scientific services had developed and launched testing for veterinary residues in meat and fish, the only test of its kind in the country and Mr Jones said that these tests were key analysis for ports and would be increasingly important when new import checks were introduced.
i) Mr Jones praised the Council’s services in attendance at the Business Vision Live event and reported that they had received positive feedback from attendees.
6. Mr Jones responded to the following questions and comments from Members:
a) Members commended the crackdown on illegal vapes and sent their thanks regarding this project. They also asked where illegal vapes ended up and what had been done to track illegal vape distribution. Mr Jones informed Members that they worked very closely with Kent Police and that an intelligence unit worked on tackling organised crime and conducted network analysis to understand and prevent distribution.
b) A Member raised the delays experienced at the port of Dover over Easter and their concerns that delays may again occur during the summer and school holidays. Mr Jones told Members that the Kent Resilience Forum had been doing a lot of work in this area. Particularly in analysing and sharing data between operators, to understand the scale of the problem and decide what tools are needed to prevent disruption.
RESOLVED to note the verbal updates.