Agenda item - Member Involvement

To consider the following matters raised by councillors:

(a)      Petitions: to receive any petitions submitted to the full Council or at the meeting itself

Presented at Full Council on 31 January 2019:

(i)            KSD Environment Ltd (Presented by Cllr Yates)

(b)      Written Questions: to consider any written questions

(i)            Amendments to Budget – Councillor Sykes

(c)      Letters: to consider any letters

(d)      Notices of Motion: to consider any Notices of Motion referred from Council or submitted directly to the Committee.

138(a) Petitions

138.1 (i) KSD Environment Ltd

The Committee considered a petition referred from the meeting of Full Council held on 31 January 2019 and signed by 1250 people. The wording of the petition was:

We, the undersigned have serious concerns about the location of the existing waste and recycling depot, operated by KSD Environmental Ltd. The position of the business adjacent to a school crossing, a number of residential properties, a church and a busy intersection with a major route into the city, is causing major problems for both traffic and pedestrians. Only recently, a child narrowly avoided being seriously injured by an HGV at the site and there have been several incidents involving vehicle collisions and near misses. In our opinions, there is a very real likelihood of a serious or fatal accident occurring in the near future and it is time that the business relocate to a more suitable site.

The Chair gave the following response:

Thank you for the petition regarding the concerns relating to Road Safety in the location of the existing waste and recycling depot. I’m pleased to inform you that Road Safety Officers have identified this location has a good safety record and there have been no reported accidents or concerns. However, I have asked officers to continue to monitor this location and report any issues that may arise. If you have any further concerns regarding road safety at this location they can be reported to council officers at Transport.Projects@brighton-hove.gov.uk or directly to Operation Crackdown which is continually monitored by Sussex Police on http://www.operationcrackdown.org/.

We are aware that the KSD Environmental Ltd. depot forms part of the site known as ‘1 Moulsecoomb Way.’  McLaren Property is presently consulting local residents about a new development proposal that would see the KSD operation vacating the site.  This proposal would be need to be subject of a planning application before it could be implemented.  The council, as Local Planning Authority, would carry out its own consultation as part of any planning application and residents would be invited to make their views known at that stage in the process. However, the city council does not have the power to force companies to move off of a site unless the use has not been authorised through the planning system.  For that reason relocating would be a matter for KSD to decide.  However, the city council would always be willing to offer to work with them to offer advice if they did with to relocate to another site with the Greater Brighton city region.

138.2  RESOLVED: That the petition be noted.

138(b) Written Questions

138.3 (i) Councillor Sykes – Amendments to Budget

            Councillor Sykes asked the following question:

At Budget Council the Green Group submitted a number of amendments, which passed, that included reversals of cuts and funding for some new or reinstated services as set out below. Please would the Council Leader indicate for each cut reversal what the effect will be in relation to the original Administration proposal and for the three new /reinstated service propositions what the plan is to take them forward?

Cut reversals:

·         Delete the £0.020m proposed cut to the Third Sector Improvement Programme Healthy Neighbourhoods fund;

·         Delete the £0.053m proposed cut in Public Health funding of substance misuse services;

·         Delete the £0.093m proposed cut in Public Health funding of sexual health services;

·         Delete the £0.050m proposed cut in directly-provided day services for people with Learning Disabilities;

·         Delete the £0.031m proposed cut in funding to the Community Safety Team;

·         Reduce the £0.242m proposed cut to the Library service by £0.121m to help safeguard the future of our Libraries;

·         Reduce the £0.140m proposed cut in Families Children and Learning residential, respite and short breaks for children with health problems and Special Educational Needs by £0.070m.

New /reinstated services:

·         Fund Cityclean with £0.022m to provide logistical support to Universities and student volunteers to ensure reuse and sustainable disposal of student household furniture and belongings at end of term and to minimise fly-tipping;

·         Provide £0.033m to create a recurring fund to help keep the City Centre looking at its best: a Community Clean-up Fund. To be used for anti-graffiti materials available for community groups and residents and towards sustainable street cleansing innovations such as hot foam technology to remove gum, grime and weeds;

·         Fund community transport for older people (for example, the Easylink service) with £0.038m.

The Chair gave the following response:

The following information was circulated at the meeting:

138.4  Councillor Sykes referred to the funding for Libraries and asked whether the original proposition to lose eight members of staff would now be reduced to only four members of staff, and whether the deletion of the £31k cut to the Community Safety Team and the provision of £33k to the City Centre Clean-up Fund, were guaranteed to go ahead or whether they would be dependent on a resolution on where those monies would come from.

138.5  The Executive Director Neighbourhoods, Communities & Housing referred to the Libraries and said that it wasn’t as straight forward as loosing eight or four members of staff. There had been a reduction in the hours worked by staff, and the change to the budget would allow those hours to be increased, and staff who had left or were leaving had all applied for voluntary severance and it had been decided not to withdraw that offer, and some cuts to funding had been reversed and more money was available for casual staff. The Assistant Director City Development & Regeneration said the £33k for the Clean-up Fund would enable the Council to continue to support community clean up initiatives and give the Council scope to increase the budget for weed removal. The Executive Director Finance & Resources confirmed that the next TBM report would set out what had happened with the changes to the budget.

138(c) Letters

138.6  There were none

138(d) Notices of Motion

138.7  There were none