Minutes:
1) Mr Hill congratulated those who participated in the Olympic and Paralympic Games:
· Kate French from Meopham won gold in the modern pentathlon.
· For women’s hockey, Susannah Townsend and Grace Balsdon from Canterbury won bronze medals.
· In the Paralympics, Will Bayley from Tunbridge Wells represented Team GB for table tennis and achieved two silver medals and Ross Wilson from Swale won a bronze medal for table tennis.
· Honourable mentions were given to Zak Skinner from Tonbridge and Malling and John Boyd Smith from Kingsdown.
Country parks were recovering from heavy usage during the pandemic and had been an invaluable resource. There was to be a review of the Kent Country Park Strategy and assistance from Members would be sought to assist officers in generating the strategy.
Kent’s 99 libraries were all open and an engagement exercise was to be conducted with the public to see if people’s needs had changed following the pandemic.
The Summer Reading Challenge was a success and there was still time for children to complete the challenge. Around 12,000 children participated, online or physically and over 6000 had completed the challenge.
There had been significant pressure on Ceremonies Services during the summer months, as many people had delayed their ceremonies due to the pandemic and the constraints on how many people could attend. However, the service was back to normal and open for bookings. 60% more ceremonies were carried out on top of the normal amount pre-pandemic. 3624 ceremonies had been completed since April 2021, of which around 2500 were during July, August and the first half of September.
Turner Contemporary had their tenth anniversary event on 16 September which attracted around 400 people down to Margate and many senior figures in Kent attended. A new director was about to be announced and Mr Hill had been part of the appointment panel.
Mr Hill went to Southborough on 18 September 2021 where there was a celebration of the opening of Southborough Town Council’s hub. It had been a very complicated project and thanks were given to Jonathan White, Projects and Operations Manager for his work on the project. There had been a very positive reaction from residents of Southborough.
EDF, the operator of the nuclear power station at Dungeness had announced on 7 June that they would be moving into a ‘defueling’ phase and the plant was to be decommissioned with immediate effect. Mr Hill said that he would send a detailed note to Members regarding the implications for KCC.
2) Further to Mr Hill’s update, the following was noted from Members’ questions and comments:
· It was requested that cycle racks be installed in country parks and concerns were raised regarding improving parking payment systems at country parks.
· Concerns raised about the state of repair of Folkestone Central Library were a matter to be taken forward by the Infrastructure Team.
· There had been an enormous increase in the use of Public Rights of Way and work was being done to make repairs.
3) Mr Murphy said that he had been appointed to Ebbsfleet Development Corporation Board, subject to agreement by the Secretary of State. The appointment meant that the interests of KCC and Kent residents would be fed into the Board. Ebbsfleet was a major development area for Kent and it was felt it was essential that the countywide issues were taken into account when planning for the large site.
There was to be a decision on whether part of the Swancombe Peninsula would be designated as an area of special scientific interest. The decision would be made on 10 November by a government body and then this would aid discussions about what was to be done on the site in relation to the London Resort.
The Inland Border Facility at Dover was to monitor the import of foodstuffs and taxes. The food ‘check-in’ was the responsibility of Dover District Council but the checking of taxes was HM Government responsibility. KCC’s involvement was to ensure that the entrance and exit points for the two facilities did not lead to any traffic congestion.
Funding had been agreed for ‘Locate in Kent’, an external organisation which worked to encourage people to work and locate in Kent and helped people to set up businesses. This had been funded from European Union.
Mr Murphy presented the award for ‘Outstanding Contribution to Business in Kent’ at the Kent Excellence in Business Awards. The winner of the award, Bill Ferris had overseen the revival and opening of Historic Dockyard Chatham.
There was to be a full Members’ Briefing about Project Gigabit. As part of the broadband Project Gigabit project for Kent, the government through Building Digital UK proposed that £203 million be set aside to improve Kent and Medway’s broadband connectivity. It was hoped that the new scheme would reach 122,000 properties in Kent and Medway. The Kent Voucher Scheme was to continue and would utilise government grants.
The government were setting up a new entry level scheme for town planning apprenticeships. This was welcomed as the recruitment of apprentices was considered important for the growth of the county but also there had been a lack of trained local government officers in this area.
The government had issued directives that water courses could not be polluted more than they already were with nitrates and phosphates. This had an effect on developers and businesses in the area of the Stodmarsh water course. A project had been undertaken by the affected districts and it was considered that more wetlands would assist in resolving some of the issues affecting the Stodmarsh water course.
4) Further to Mr Murphy’s update, the following was noted from Members’ questions and comments:
· The Chair asked for an update to brought to the Cabinet Committee in addition to a Members’ Briefing regarding Project Gigabit.
· Concerns were raised about future planning and infrastructure for broadband.
· The owners of Eurostar would be asked to reconsider the running of trains from Ebbsfleet and Ashford as it was important for Kent.
5) Mr Jones, Corporate Director for Growth, Environment & Transport said all services were operational and working within their budget means.
Drainage for new developments would be key in the Kent Design Guide and relationships would be built with developers to make sure both connectivity and future drainage solutions were prepared. There had been a number of Blue Green Infrastructure Schemes, one being in Margate which worked to address the surface water flooding but also to create a ‘green’ environment.
A submission had been made as part of the Active Travel Bid which was to enhance and improve our Public Rights of Way and improve cycling and walking facilities. There were public consultations live relating to the Active Travel Schemes and also there would be a consultation relating to the Bus Improvement Plan.
There was to be an increased burden on the Trading Standards Team with additional checks with the change in government’s requirements relating to the Inland Border Facilities.
KCC had been seeking representation with the train operating company, Eurostar to address concerns around the longevity of the postponement of services from Kent.