To receive oral reports from Portfolio Holders on current issues concerning their Portfolios, which are not covered elsewhere on the agenda.
Minutes:
Planning Policy
The Portfolio Holder stated that the Council would perform a Settlement Capacity Analysis exercise on the larger settlements within the District. The Council had engaged consultants to assist with this process, and it was expected to finish the project in January 2016. The Portfolio Holder outlined the scope of the review for the benefit of Members and stated that, a draft report on Settlement Capacity work would be considered by the Cabinet in 2016, alongside all of the other evidence being produced to inform the draft Plan – Preferred Approach.
Safer, Greener & Transport
The Portfolio Holder made the following statement, following the announcements made earlier in the week by the Police & Crime Commissioner, and the Chief Constable for Essex:
“I am sure that that members are already aware of the announcements which the Chief Constable and the Police and Crime Commissioner made on Tuesday about the future of policing in Essex.
In short, there are two reasons why the shape of policing in our county is changing. First, crime is evolving, with more emphasis on the need to prevent and deal with crimes like sexual exploitation and domestic abuse, as well as telephone and online fraud, the extent of which is in my view greatly underestimated.
Second, there are unprecedented financial pressures on the police. The Essex force has already saved £40 million, but is still expected to save a further £60 million over the next 5 years.
We can not argue with these facts and those figures. We just have to ensure that adaptations are made to ensure that together the police and their community safety partners can work as effectively as possible to combat crime and disorder.
As far as this District is concerned, the most visible changes will be the closure of Epping Police Station and the loss of the public counter at Loughton Police Station. In reality, the impacts will not be as great as some people fear. For instance, Epping is no longer an operational hub, and the operational base will continue at Loughton. Community policing is not coming to an end. On the contrary, new community policing teams are being established to protect people from harm and to prevent crime.
Few people these days use police stations. Over 2 separate months, the records show that 744 people visited Loughton's front counter, and only 381 at Epping - and only a handful were to report crime. Those numbers compare with 6389 at Harlow.
Going forward, it's essential that alternatives must be provided, so that those things that could only be done by visiting a police station - reporting a crime, for instance - can be done in other ways.
On Friday next week, I and officers concerned with community safety matters will be meeting with the divisional police commander. We want to explore, for instance, whether it might be possible to develop the idea of co-location - making a contact point available via the District Council. We are fortunate to have one of the most effective community safety teams in the county, and that will undoubtedly be of benefit.
I want to place emphasis on innovative and low-tech means of communicating with the public, bearing in mind that those who do not have access to broadband are often the most vulnerable in our society.
The Police and Crime Commissioner has urged everyone to find solutions to the undoubted problems that change will bring. Everyone should be aware that the District Council and the Community Safety Partnership are ready to participate in the engagement process in the most positive way possible.”