Agenda and minutes

To receive apologies for absence and notification of any substitutes present

Apologies for absence were received from Mrs C Bell and Mr R Love. Mrs S Prendergast and Mr M Balfour attended as substitutes.

To receive any declarations of interest made by Members in relation to any matter on the agenda.  Members are reminded to specify the agenda item number to which it refers and the nature of the interest being declared.

None were declared.

To consider and approve the minutes as a correct record

1.    RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting held on 30 November 2017 are a correct record and that they be signed by the Chairman subject to the following changes:

a.    Minute 49. Formatting corrected.

b.    Minute 51. Votes for the resolution amended to 12 (from 13) [Total 16 voting member present and four votes against recorded]

c.    Minute 52. 8. Votes against the amendment amended to 13. and recorded votes amended to read ‘votes for’ from votes against.

d.    Minute 52. 9. Ida Linfield deleted and replaced by Mr A Hook

e.    Minute 51. (Bus Consultation) to include a note, that the Cabinet Member, Mr Balfour confirmed that a Cross-party Working Group would be established. Members agreed to include this within the minutes.

f.     Minute 46.8. Amend Mr Payne’s title to read ‘Member for Tonbridge.’ Mr M Payne also requested that it be noted that he fully supported the procedure however he was unable to support the M12 being included as an allocation of the site as its geographic proximity was close to Medway. Mr Payne also requested that it be noted, in advance of any consultation, that he had raised an objection as a Tonbridge Member to the site allocation.

To receive verbal updates from the relevant Cabinet Members for the Environment & Transport Cabinet Committee portfolio

1. Mr M Whiting (Cabinet Member for Planning, Highways, Transport and Waste) provided and written report to Members of the Environment and Transport Cabinet Committee on the:

·         Major Roads programme,

·         M2 Junction 5 improvements; and

·         Kent County Councils response to the National Infrastructure Commission’s consultation, ‘Congestion, Capacity and Carbon: Priorities for National Infrastructure’

2. Mr M Whiting informed Members that there was a draft response to the Department for Transport (DFT) consultation on the Strategic Road Network and a consultation on the Heavy Good Vehicles (HGV) levy, the closing date of which was Friday 26 January 2018. Due to the timing of the Environment and Transport Cabinet Committee there was not sufficient time to circulate the draft response ahead of the meeting however Mr Whiting assured Members that due to Kent’s Strategic position, KCC should receive a share of the revenue from the levy to improve the road network in Kent and in addition, provide money to lorry parks to combat the issues around illegal lorry parking across the county.

3. Mr M Whiting updated Members on the Major Road Network (MRN) consultation, the deadline date for the response was 19 March 2018 and this was due to be shared with the Environment and Transport Cabinet Committee on 20 March 2018. The DFT had advised that all responses from Members would be considered after the official deadline date.

4. Mr M Hill, OBE (Cabinet Member for Community and Regulatory Services) provided an update to Members on the cultural commissioning work that was undertaken in conjunction with the waste industry. Closing the Loop was an innovative programme established by Future Foundry that offered young people from deprived communities a chance to explore circular economy in creative ways. The programme has engaged with over 600 people through community and school events and young people from Dover and Shepway have taken part in the workshops. Mr M Hill had planned to meet the leading officer from the Arts Council in the coming week and would provide an update to Members following his visit.

To discuss and consider and make recommendations to the Cabinet Member for Planning, Highways, Transport and Waste on the challenges outlined, progress made against KES Targets and identification of significant new areas of work.

Katie Stewart (Director of Environment, Planning and Enforcement) and Carolyn McKenzie (Head of sustainable Business and Communities) was in attendance for this item.

During this item Mr Payne declared that he was a member of the Country Land owners Association (CLA) and the National Farmers Union (NFU).

1. Katie Stewart (Director of Environment, Planning and Enforcement) introduced the report which set out the Kent Environment Strategy (KES) that had been adopted by Kent County Council (KCC) in 2016. The report highlighted the current state of the environment, the impact that KES activities were having on the environment, the progress made against KES targets and identified actions needed to combat the challenges ahead.

2. Carolyn McKenzie (Head of sustainable Business and Communities) presented a series of slides that set out the 2017 State of the Environment report. The report considered a broad range of environmental, social, economic and health issues that had been impacted by the environment and the activities that could be taken in partnership to maximise resources and achieve the best outcome.

3. In response to questions the officers provided further information:

a.    Carolyn McKenzie said that as part of the Low Emissions Strategy work, the Highways, Transportation and Waste (HT&W) team was reviewing what policies could be adopted as part of this. The current position of the National Planning Policy was that air quality damage could be resolved through charging points however there was no direction as to the model or infrastructure required. Carolyn McKenzie said that policies were being developed that could be adopted by all districts within Kent and that the HT&W team were working in conjunction with Kent design and UK Power Network to ensure that new housing developments could accommodate this. There would be a Design Workshop held on 6 March 2018 to address some of the issues.

b.    In response to start/stop technology, the Council applied the ISO 14001:2004 specification to its procurement of vehicles to help minimise the impact of carbon emissions. The HT&W team would continue to work with external providers to enhance environmental performance.

c.    In response to funding for charging points, many Local Authorities opted against applying for the Electric Vehicle Homecharge Scheme grant as it did not cover the entire cost of instalment. Carolyn McKenzie informed Members that Kent County Council had to establish its role before delivering such a project.

d.    Carolyn McKenzie informed Members that the Low Emission Strategy aimed to be completed in the summer however the work would be on-going as strategies were developed.

e.    In response to Members concerns regarding bus services, Carolyn McKenzie confirmed that the issue around idle vehicles was being addressed and that an anti-idling policy was being developed across sectors. Businesses, including Volvo, supported the transition to a low carbon economy and worked with the Council to retrospectively fit diesel buses with electric. The pilot of electric buses would be launched in March 2018 and Members would receive an update at future committees.

f.     Carolyn McKenzie said that environment  ...  view the full minutes text for item 61.

To receive a short presentation on the consultation’s findings, and to consider  and endorse, or make recommendations to the Cabinet Member for Community and Regulatory Services on the proposed decision to adopt and deliver against The Country Parks Strategy 2017 – 2021.

Stephanie Holt (Head of Countryside, Leisure and Sport) and Ruth Tyson (Head of Country Parks and Countryside Partnerships) were in attendance for this item.

1. Mr M Hill, OBE (Cabinet Member for Community and Regulatory Services) introduced the Country Parks Strategy 2017-2021 Consultation report that provided an overview of the findings, as well as the proposed changes to the implementation of the Strategy. Mr Hill referred to paragraph 1.2 that provided a summary of achievements within the service.

2. Stephanie Holt (Head of Countryside, Leisure and Sport) added that the first draft Consultation Strategy was presented by Tim Woodhouse to the Environment and Transport Cabinet Committee in June 2017. She welcomed Ruth Tyson as the new(Job Share) Head of Country Parks and Countryside Partnerships to present to the committee the public’s response to the Kent Country Parks Strategy Consultation Questionnaire (Appendix 2, page 66 of the agenda pack).

3. Ruth Tyson (Head of Country Parks and Countryside Partnerships) presented a series of slides that set out; the Consultation Report, the continuous improvements and the visions, aims and objectives of the Kent Country Parks Strategy 2017-2021, and the public’s response to these.

4. Ruth Tyson advised Members that Appendix 1 contained further detail on the findings and the proposed changes that would help guide a well informed decision in allowing the service to adopt and deliver against the new Country Parks Strategy.

5. In response to questions the officers provided further information:

a.    Stephanie Holt addressed Members’ concerns regarding the response figures for the questionnaire. She confirmed that the Kent Consultation Team advised that the response rate was representative of a non-controversial Kent County Council consultation and owing to the high customer satisfaction level, the consultation was proposing a continual improvement of the Strategy rather than a radical change which led to a neutral response.

b.    In regard to the financial targets, in particular to the 77% self-generated income of the Country Parks budget, Stephanie Holt Informed Members that this was reflective of the performance figures for 2016-2017. Since the figure was produced, the Country Parks budget received a c. 20% cut but assurance was given to Members that the service was currently overperforming on income. Stephanie Holt reminded Members that the service was weather dependant and illustrated this with an observation that the majority of income targets were not met throughout December 2017, owing to the particularly inclement weather. This highlighted the importance of the out-of-season offers available to encourage visitors to the parks.

6. RESOLVED that:

a.)  the information set out in the presentation and given in response to comments and questions be noted; and

b.)    the Cabinet Committee endorse or make recommendations to the Cabinet Member for Community and Regulatory Services on the proposed decision to adopt and deliver against the Country Parks Strategy 2017-2021 as shown in Appendix A.

To consider and endorse or make recommendations to the Cabinet Member for Planning, Highways, Transport and Waste on the draft Kent County Council response to the consultation.

Joseph Ratcliffe (Transport strategy Manager) was in attendance for this item.

1. Mr M Whiting (Cabinet Member for Planning, Highways, Transport and Waste) introduced the report that outlined Kent County Council’s draft response to the Department for Transport’s (DFT) ‘Shaping the future of England’s Strategic Roads’ consultation on Highways England’s ‘Strategic Network Initial Report.’ The draft response set out KCC’s position on the proposals and outlined Kent specific projects on the Strategic Road Network needed to support growth, including the new Lower Thames Crossing and the enhancements needed on the M2/A2 corridor, a solution to operation stack and various motorway improvements.

2. In response to questions and comments the officer provided further information

a.    Joseph Ratcliffe (Transport strategy Manager) agreed to amend Appendix A of the report to reflect the two separate roundabouts:

·         Duke of York roundabout – on the A2, at the junction of the A258

·         Whitfield roundabout – on the hill of the A256

b.    In response to Members concerns regarding the Dover Traffic Assessment Project (TAP) on the A2, Joseph Ratcliffe said that Kent County Council needed to strengthen its response to the consultation to help inform governments decisions. In response to the Local Authority’s main ‘A Roads’ there would be a separate consultation on the proposed Major Road Network (MRN) and this was due to be reported on at the Environment and Transport Cabinet Committee in March 2018.

c.    Joseph Ratcliffe said that there was a freight action plan that had been adopted by the Council in 2016 that set out five key aims. Kent’s position as a strategic gateway for Europe meant that the Strategic Road Network (SRN) in Kent had a disproportionate volume of freight compared to other areas and Brexit would require infrastructure investment to maintain freight fluidity. There was a Roadside Facilities Fund that had been proposed by Highways England and KCC have requested that lorry parking facilities should be incorporated within the SRN.

d.    In response to the Heavy Goods Vehicles (HGV) audit survey, Joseph Ratcliffe confirmed that an updated survey had been released in September 2017 and that statistics showed that there was between 800 to 900 lorries per night, parked in unofficial spaces.

e.    Mr M Whiting (Cabinet Member for Planning, Highways, Transport and Waste) informed Members that the north side of the A249 was already incorporated within the SRN, KCC in its response had proposed that the west side of the A249, Detling Hill and Bluebell Hill, also be included within the SRN. Schemes such as the Leeds and Langley Relief Road were not included within either of the consultations however they would be consulted upon as part of the new development proposals in the future.

f.     Mr M Whiting said that there was a large discrepancy in the funding ratio and that Highways England received £50 to KCC’s £1. Therefore, the proposal had been made to transfer all roads under the MRN into Highway England’s remit and this would in turn increase the amount of money available to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 63.

To consider and endorse, or make recommendations to the Cabinet Member for Planning, Highways, Transport & Waste, on the proposed adoption and publication of Developing our Approach to Asset Management in Highways - 2018/19 – 2020/21 to maximise Incentive Fund resource.

Roger Wilkin (Director of Highways, Transportation and Waste), Andrew Loosemore (Head of Highways Asset Management) and Alan Casson (Senior Asset Manager) were in attendance for this item.

1. Mr M Whiting (Cabinet Member for Planning, Highways, Transport and Waste) introduced the report that set out the County Council’s work towards achieving a Band 3 Incentive Fund rating in order to avoid a reduction in capital funding for highway maintenance provided by the Department for Transport. The adoption of the updated strategy would provide an evidence base to help Kent secure an Incentive Fund allocation of £4.6m in 2018-19.

2. Andrew Loosemore (Head of Highways Asset Management) said that a Task and Finish group was established to look at Kent County Council’s (KCC) approach to Highway Asset Management. He informed Members that the Incentive Fund was not additional money, the Government had changed its mechanism for allocating capital resource to local authorities for Highway Maintenance and the new process now depended on local authorities being able to evidence their work in order to secure the grant. In 2015-16 Kent County Council was a band 1 authority, KCC carried out substantial work to ensure this improved to a Band rating of 3 and the document, ‘Developing our Approach to Asset management in Highway – 2018/19 – 2010/21’, could maximise funding. 

3. In response to questions the officer provided further information:

a.  Andrew Loosemore said that the £1bn figure was a projection on where KCC would be in ten years’ time in terms of road maintenance backlog if the current investment levels remained the same. By introducing a more detailed approach the document was able to describe the current condition of the asset groups, outcome the trends going forward based on current resource levels and then estimate the resource levels required in order to maintain assets in a steady state condition. He reminded Members that this was a national issue and that there was a £12bn backlog in road maintenance across England and Wales (excluding London).

b.  In relation to Members ‘concerns around maintenance of pavements due to mismanaged trees, Roger Wilkin said that this was a historical issue and when requests from developers were received to line streets with trees, the request was often negotiated due to the pressures they presented if not managed correctly.

c.   In response to street works, Roger Wilkin assured Members that utility companies managed a heavy workload and that all work should be carried out to a high standard. If that quality was compromised, appropriate action would be taken to ensure full rectification.

d.      Andrew Loosemore said that the soft estate did not hold any asset value in terms of Whole of Government Accounts’ methodology of understanding valuing highway assets. Some of the soft landscape was included within the land element which totalled £13bn. Members were informed that its inclusion within the figures was primarily for information purposes to give a complete picture of all assets that have to be maintained.

4. Members commended work undertaken in relation to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 64.

To consider and endorse, or make recommendations to the Cabinet Member for Planning, Highways, Transport and Waste on the proposal for Kent County Council to continue to provide the management and delivery of the National Driver Offender Retraining Schemes to the Kent Police Diversionary Partnership for a further five years.

David Beaver (Head of Waste and Business Services) was in attendance for this item.

1. Mr M Whiting (Cabinet Member for Planning, Highways, Transport and Waste) introduced the report that set out the proposal for Kent County Council to continue to provide the management and delivery of the National Driver Offender Retraining Schemes to the Kent Policy Diversionary Partnership for a further five years.

2. David Beaver (Head of Waste and Business Services) informed Members that Kent County Council had conducted the National Driver Offender Retraining Schemes on behalf of Kent Police for the last ten years. The Scheme was part of the Casualty Reduction Strategy that was adopted in 2014 and approved by the Environment and Transport Cabinet Committee in 2015. The training service was for low level traffic offenders who were referred to KCC by the enforcement body to undertake driver retraining as an alternative to receiving penalty fines and licence endorsements.

3. David Beaver summarised KCC’s role as the service provider and informed Members that KCC were able to recontribute its expertise and finances back into road safety.

4. In response to questions the officer provided further information:

1. David Beaver informed Members that those who are referred by the enforcement body to attend the retraining scheme should not have personal data shared on public records.

2. In response to Drink Driver Awareness courses, David Beaver informed Members that this was not something that was currently being delivered by Kent County Council as part of the National Driver Offender Retraining Schemes as this was managed directly by the Police. He welcomed Members suggestions and said that it may be reviewed in the future.

5. RESOLVED that the Committee endorsed the proposed decision to for Kent County Council to continue to provide the management and delivery of the National Driver Offender Retraining Schemes to the Kent Police Diversionary Partnership for a further five years.

To consider and endorse, or make recommendations to the Cabinet Member for Planning Highways Transport & Waste on the proposed decision to procure and delegate authority to the Director of Highways, Transportation and Waste to award contract/s for the urban grass, shrubs & hedges service.

Andrew Loosemore (Head of Highways Asset Management) was in attendance for this item.

1. Mr M Whiting (Cabinet Member for Planning, Highways, Transport and Waste) introduced the report that set out the proposed decision to re-procure the Urban Grass, Shrubs and Hedges contract.

2. In response to questions the officer provided further information:

a.    Andrew Loosemore (Head of Highways Asset Management) said that there would be no further reduction in the level of service. The Medium Term Financial Plan (MTFP) indicated a saving of £385,000 and the documentation for procurement took that saving into account with the reduction of services delivered through the new contracts.

b.    There was over twenty Expressions of Interest and nine of those were in the process of evaluation. Once the evaluation had taken place the Director of Highways, Transportation and Waste would then then be able to award contract/s for the Urban grass, shrubs and hedges service.

c.    Andrew Loosemore informed Members that the district councils had withdrawn from providing the service on behalf of the Council. If the Districts expressed an interest in delivering the service at a local level, then Kent County Council would provide them with contract rates that KCC had secured and the Districts would be paid per square metre, against the rates within that contract. Andrew Loosemore said that a top-up service was also available for increased number of cuts however the impact of reduced services meant that many district councils had to withdraw their interest and hand the work back to KCC. Andrew Loosemore referred to the report that was presented to the Environment and Transport Cabinet Committee on 30 November 2017 that highlighted the implications and said that the opportunity remained open to local councils to adopt the work on behalf on the Council.

3. RESOLVED that the Committee endorsed the proposed decision for the Cabinet Member of Planning, Highways, Transport and Waste to re-procure and delegate authority to the Director of Highways, Transportation and Waste to award contract/s for the urban, grass, shrubs and hedges service.

To consider and endorse, or make recommendations to the Cabinet Member for Planning, Highways, Transport and Waste on the proposals to amend fees and charges for 2018/2019; and to delegate authority to the Director of Highways, Transportation and Waste to amend such changes up to a maximum of the prevailing Retail Price Index (RPI), or the agreed increase in Council Tax.

Andrew Loosemore (Head of Highways Asset Management) and Kirstie Williams (Highways Asset Management – Mid Kent Highway Manager) were in attendance for this item.

1. Mr M Whiting (Cabinet Member for Planning, Highways, Transport and Waste) introduced the report that set out the proposed changes to fees and charges for the services provided by Kent County Council as the Highway Authority for the 2018/19 financial year. The paper proposed that the Director for Highways, Transportation and Waste be delegated the authority to amend the fees and charges up to a maximum of the prevailing Retail Price Index (RPI), or the agreed increased in Council Tax to reflect the actual service cost.

2. Andrew Loosemore (Head of Highways Asset Management) rectified the following errors:

a.    Appendix A, page 182 ‘over the footway - single dwelling inspection fee for 3 site checks’ – the figure should read £150

b.    Appendix A, page 188 ‘National Driver Alertness Course [formerly NDIS] self-financing scheme provided for Kent Police’ – the figure should read £170

3. In response to questions the officer provided further information:

a.  Kirstie Williams (Highways Asset Management – Mid Kent Highway Manager) referred to paragraph 2.3 of the report that listed three exceptions where the current fees for those services no longer covered the actual cost or reflected the charges made by other Local Authorities. She informed Members that all fees had been scrutinised and that those listed failed to cover the cost of staff delivery, thereby resulting to a cost increase.

b.  In response to issues raised around the provision of training services and the attendance levels, Kirstie Williams had received feedback from the course manager who had reviewed the Bike-ability Cycle Training and reported that the allocated budget consistently failed to cover the cost of the course. In regard to Bike-ability Cycle Training for children, there was an increase in overhead spend when the course was done outside of schools. If Schools provided this within the remit of Safeguarding, Teachers were able to provide the resources required.

4. RESOLVED that the Committee endorsed the proposal to the Cabinet Member for Planning, Highways. Transport and Waste to amend fees and charges for 2018/2019 and to delegate authority to the Director of Highways. Transportation and Waste to amend such changes up to a maximum of the prevailing Retail Price Index (RPI), or the agreed increase in Council Tax, whichever is the greater.

To note the draft budget and MTFP and make suggestions to: the Cabinet Member for Finance; the Cabinet Member for Planning, Highways, Transportation and Waste; and the Cabinet Member for Community and Regulatory Services on any other issues which should be reflected in the draft budget and MTFP prior to Cabinet on the 5 February 2018 and County Council on the 20 February 2018.

Roger Wilkin (Director of Highways, Transportation and Waste) and Kevin Tilson (Finance Business Partner for Growth, Environment and Transport) were in attendance for this item. 

1. Kevin Tilson introduced the report that was designed to accompany the final draft 2018-19 budget and 2018-20 Medium Term Financial Plan (MTFP) published on 15 January 2018. Kevin Tilson referred to paragraph 3.1 of the report which contained information regarding where to find the most pertinent sections in relation to Growth, Environment and Transport (GET).

2. Kevin Tilson highlighted a number of issues that fell within the remit of the Environment and Transport Cabinet Committee:

              i.        In regard to additional spending demands, the GET directorate had an additional pressure of £7m due to the awarding of contracts and commissioned services.

            ii.        In terms of Policy Saving, the most significant variance from the autumn budget statement was the reduction to the subsidised Bus Saving from £2m down to £0.45m.

           iii.        The current Capital Investment plans for GET sat at £762m however there was a number of additional schemes that sat within the remit of the Environment and Transport Cabinet Committee to deliver.

3. Roger Wilkin (Director of Highways, Transportation and Waste), responded to Members concerns regarding the Winter Service Policy and said that the Highways, Transportation and Waste team were reviewing the Winter Service Routes and exploring new methodology and technology to determine where savings could be made and how this could be accomplished with minimal impact. KCC hoped to pilot a network of road surface temperature gages which would work in conjunction with the new LED streetlighting installations. The pilot would help to determine the key salting routes and reduce costs. Roger Wilkin informed Members that it was too early to confirm whether a consultation would be necessary, however, it was required, a decision report would be presented to the Cabinet Committee for discussion.

4. RESOLVED that the report be noted.

To note the revenue and capital forecast variances from budget for 2017-18 that are within the remit of this Cabinet Committee, based on the October monitoring, reported to Cabinet on 15 January 2018.

Kevin Tilson (Finance Business Partner for Growth, Environment and Transport) was in attendance for this item. 

1. Kevin Tilson introduced the Financial Monitoring report and provided a summary of the financial position within the Growth, Environment and Transport (GET) directorate as indicated within the October Monitoring report that went to Cabinet on 15 January 2018. The GET directorate had an increased pressure of +£0.761m due to the increased forecast cost for streetlight energy and the LED installation programme. Kevin Tilson assured Members that the budget would return to a neutral position by March 2018.

2. Kevin Tilson confirmed that there was a £2.6m capital bid submitted to County Council for ratification. This would help fund the conversion of existing concrete columns to the new energy efficient LED lanterns.

3. Members commended the work carried out by the officers to achieve the significant savings.

4. RESOLVED that the report be noted.

To receive a report by the General Counsel on this Cabinet Committee’s Work Programme 2018.

Georgina Little (Democratic Service Offer) was in attendance for this item.

1. RESOLVED that the work programme for 2018 be noted.