Agenda and minutes

(a)            District Councillor Brian Sandler was confirmed as the Chairman of the Committee for the Civic Year.

(b)       Parish Councillor J Salter was appointed as Vice-Chairman of the Committee for the Civic Year.

To confirm the minutes of the last meeting of the Committee held on 23 February 2005 (previously circulated) and any matters arising.

That the minutes of the meeting of the Committee held on 25 February 2005 be confirmed as a correct record.

Further to the request of the committee at their last meeting. Chief Superintendent Coltman of the Harlow Police has been invited to engage with the committee in a question and answer session on Policing issues for the District.

The Chairman welcomed and introduced Superintendent Steve Graysmark of the Harlow Police who was standing in for Chief Superintendent Coltman who, due to other commitments could not attend. The Chairman explained that Superintendent Graysmark was there at the invitation of the Committee to engage in a question and answer session on Policing issues for the District. In his opening statement Superintendent Graysmark informed the meeting that a new Chief Superintendent would be starting soon, a Mr Andy Evans, who has a very good reputation.

Q:             People are encountering a lot of difficulties in contracting the Local Community Team in Chigwell, and are not even getting call backs from messages that they leave, can you help?

A:        if you give me your details afterwards, I will look into that. We have a very good team in Chigwell, doing excellent work in the area.

Q:            Theydon Bois has installed a CCTV system recently and get regular requests to download them to disks, but the Police are reluctant to pick them up and so we are left with a stack of DVD’s. We have also installed a broadband connection to link up the CCTV feed with the Police, where they can download the images at the Police Station in Ongar.

A:        They should off course pick them up; and I will have to research into the capabilities they have in receiving and storing you CCTV footage via a broadband connection.

Q:        We have heard that Community Officers are to be put into vehicles for patrols, but we would like them to continue to patrol on foot.

A:        I can assure you that Community Officers will stay on foot. Although they do use buses and tubes to get them to their patrol area, they will not use cars to get them around their patrol areas.

The Joint Chief Executive (Community) added that this is a large rural district with little public transport in places. They cannot use Police vehicles but we are discussing the use of smart cars to get them to their patrol areas, we are also exploring the use of Community Transport Busses to move them around.

Q:        There are a lot of cars parking on pavements, I have raised this with the police but they say it is of a low priority.

A:        It is a low priority, we can have a blitz on people who do this but an area will need to be identified and then prioritised. I will take your details at the end of the meeting.

Q:        What is the current situation in the North and West part of the district over resources; and can officers stay in one location over a long period of time so that they can build up some expertise and local knowledge?

A:        I agree that it’s better for officers to stay in one place for a long time, but I can’t stop people moving especially if they want to progress their careers.

It used to be that Epping and Harlow were  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3.

To discuss the following matters raised by Local Council’s:

(a)               Planning Enforcement.

To receive a report on the present status of planning enforcement.

(b)            Highways Maintenance.

            To receive an update on the latest position about the transfer of responsibilities for highways maintenance and the need to set up a good set of contact points between local councils and officers. In particular, road traffic sign replacement.

(c)       Traffic Wardens

            To receive a report on traffic wardens, their organisation and timing patterns.

(d)            Planning Sub-Committees

            To discuss the movement back to Epping of two planning sub-committees (Plans ‘C’ and ‘D’) and the effect it may have on public participation.

a)                             Planning Enforcement

The meeting received a report from Stephan Solon (Senior Planning Officer) who currently manages the Planning Enforcement Team. The district council currently has 4½ enforcement officers and 1 administrative person, with only himself with any planning experience.

There were over 700 cases cleared per year over the last few years, with a backlog of about 580 cases still to be closed. They are currently looking into ways to eat into this backlog – by looking at officer’s caseloads to see if they can close any cases and to review any particularly difficult cases. Last year 890 new cases were received – with the review currently going on it is hoped that a substantial number of these cases will be dealt with. Although it is recognised that there are staffing issues, having one post that they have not been able to fill. They particularly need officers with planning experience.

A member noted that without more staff it seemed difficult to see how the section could catch up with the backlog; they need more money to get more staff. The parishes tend to see planning issues that are on the whole, ignored.

Another member noted that planning sub committees ran a serious risk when they imposed conditions that needed to be enforced, but with the backlog they cannot enforce it. The planning officer replied that officers advise members if conditions are enforceable to which members need to listen to and act upon.

The Joint Chief Executive (Community) added that Planning Enforcement is discretionary, which meant the council does not have to do it, but does it anyway in the interests of good planning for the district. There are more jobs than officers available to fill them. The Government says this service should be cost neutral but the council are unable to achieve this. There is a dilemma here as members are reluctant to raise more money through the Council Tax as the government may cap us.

A member asked if a report is made by one of the parishes on an enforcement matter would the Enforcement Team give this priority over a public complaint? The planning officer answered they prioritise on the nature of the complaint and not on who sends it in. He added that they would also like more information from the parishes when they do send in reports.

The planning officer was asked what would happen to the backlog – will it ever get cleared? He answered that it depended on the nature of the complaints, the easy ones could be cleared in a few weeks, but some of the more difficult cases could take years – one thing they do need is more officers with planning expertise.

b)                             Highways Maintenance

The Head of Environmental Services gave a short account of the latest position on the transfer of highways to the County Council and drew the attention of the meeting to the tabled sheet containing the new contact names and numbers of the Highways section  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

The Liaison Committee is asked to consider appointing three representatives to serve on the Working Group and agree a deadline for the completion of the review and the consultation processes.

The District Council will notify its representatives at a later stage.

The Liaison Committee is asked whether the Parishes or the District Council should support the working group.

The Liaison Committee was asked to consider appointing three representatives to serve on the Working Group. The group appointed:

• Councillor Janet Woods, Loughton TC;
• Councillor E Borton, Nazeing PC; and
• Councillor J Salter, Abbess, Beauchamp & Berners Roding PC

It was noted that the existing charter has a paragraph headed Quality Parish Councils - a separate charter especially for Quality Councils was asked for. This would be a decision for members and not for officers to make.

1.         Town and Parish Councils should have received a Draft List of Matters and Participants for the Examination in Public (which is due to commence on Wednesday 14 September at The Maltings, Ely). There is a 28 day consultation period on the Draft List, which expires on Wednesday 29 June. Members are encouraged to respond to this consultation to try and ensure that representatives of the District will be heard at the EiP.

2.         The attention of Members is drawn to Matter 8H of the Draft List, which concerns the Stansted M11 area. The participants named for this matter include one representative each from the County and District Councils. While the North Weald Bassett Airfield Users Group and/or the Bassett Community Action Group have also been invited, no representatives of local councils in this district have been listed. Members should also note that the Hertfordshire Association of Parish and Town Councils is included as one of the participants for this matter

The meeting noted the item on the supplementary agenda about the East of England Plan Public Examination – this was not to be a public enquiry but a discussion. The organisers are determined that no more than 25 people per meeting are to be invited. Councillor E Borton (Nazeing PC) is to co-ordinate any comments to go up the next public examination meeting on behalf of the Local Councils.

a)                             Ongar Information Centre.

An explanation was asked for the projected closure of the Ongar Information centre. The Joint Chief Executive (Community) explained that no one went into the centre at Ongar and it was therefore not economical to staff it. Officers are now looking at alternative ways to provide this service more efficiently.

b)                             Heavy goods Vehicle Operators Licences.

A short note was tabled from the North Weald Bassett Parish Council. They wanted clarification on who and how these licences are considered and how Parish and Town Council’s views and concerns could be taken into account. The Head of Environmental Services agreed to explore with North Weald PC what was needed and to put a paper with the minutes (attached at Appendix 2) of this meeting explaining what the processes are and how to object. Parishes can come back to the next meeting with any queries.

Meetings of the Committee are scheduled for the following dates this municipal year:

2 November 2005

1 March 2006

Wednesday 2^nd November 2005

Wednesday 1^st March 2006