Minutes:
Thirty seven public questions had been submitted prior to the meeting. The
following supplementary questions were asked:
Question 3 – Alick Miskin asked the Council to pay attention to LTN1/20 section 444 paragraph 3 outlining the government’s intention to get people involved in active travel. He asked for assurances that the TRO team were ready to act on those suggestions.
Cllr Vernon Smith responded that he would personally ensure that the team were considering that part of the legislation.
Question 4 – Steve Gower raised concerns regarding independent scrutiny of those participating in the Housing First Project. He asked for assurances around how there would be oversight of this work.
Cllr Kathy Williams would provide a written response.
Question 5 – Peter Wormington stated that there were lots of volunteers keen to help the Council implement active travel but needed support and guidance. He asked whether a solution could be put in place such as the Stroud Cycling Forum.
Cllr Nigel Moor replied that each councillor had £30,000 to work on highways issues and could work with the community to bring those to fruition.
Question 6 – Peter Wormington asked a question regarding the importance of maintaining streets and roads to keep traffic flowing.
Cllr Nigel Moor replied that this was recognised and work had been carried out with schools across the County to ensure that the roads and streets around them were maintained appropriately.
Question 12 – Molly Scott Cato asked what responsibility the Council had to ensure there was proper school provision in communities as well as alternative provision and queried the use of the land at Severn View School in the future.
Cllr Patrick Molyneux replied that the member of the public would be welcome to email himself and officers for a more detailed response. The land in question was leased to the trust so if there was no future for a school at that site, the land would come back to the council. In conjunction with the community there would be discussion as to what would happen to that land. The responsibility was for provision for every child in the county and the Member outlined that the Council wanted to deliver the best possible education for children close to where they live.
Question 13 – Nigel Adcock asked why Britannia Way in Woodmancote had been resurfaced when other areas were more in need?
Cllr Vernon Smith replied that the team worked to the Transport Asset Management Plan looking at how we move forward and get the best value for money in the work carried out. He also detailed the Highways Maintenance Efficiency Plan, noting that the documents were available online.
Question 14 – Nigel Adcock stated he had reported a number of areas of pavement deterioration. He had not received a response and specifically mentioned the corner of Harvey’s Lane, which stretched for around 20 metres. He had been contacting the Council for twelve months with no response.
Cllr Vernon Smith replied that they were keen to hear from members of the public. He asked the member of the public to email him and he would get the highways manager to get in touch with him.
Question 15 – Nigel Adcock asked how realistic the figure on highways spend being advertised was and how much had already been spent and how much might still be available for small schemes.
Cllr Vernon Smith replied that £150m is a five year programme and major resurfacing was included. Resurfacing was the way to reduce defects on the network.
Question 16 - Chloe Turner referred to the County Council’s investments and noted that other major investments had moved away from a strategy of investing in Fossil Fuel companies. She asked if the Council should take more of a leadership role on this.
Cllr Lynden Stowe replied that fund managers had a remit and there were expectations on their performance to ensure the Council could make their pension payments. Investments needed to be made. The Council was able to have a dialogue with fossil fuel companies and encourage progress. He suggested that some of the companies would have different business models over the next few years. The Council could take this active role through the Brunel Pension Partnership.
Question 17 - Chloe Turner stated that the Highways and Biodiversity document was excellent. She asked how it was measured and could the Member point to areas of improvement. She also asked if the Council would promote ‘NoMowMay?’
Cllr Vernon Smith replied safety measures meant that some cutting needed to be made. Whenever possible they worked with the biodiversity programme.
Question 22 – Penny Kent asked how the County Council felt about a 25 year lifetime of carbon emissions from Javelin Park, with the total amount of carbon emitted being underestimated. She asked how this would affect the pledge for Gloucestershire to become a carbon neutral county by 2035.
Cllr Nigel Moor replied that Javelin Park was part of a balanced approach alongside the recycling of more waste material. He had confidence that the savings from waste not going into landfill would be significant.
Question 25 – David Willingham expressed concern that the Council’s online Public Rights of Way mapping had incorrectly advised on the location of a footpath and this had led to incorrect advice and delays in the planning process. He asked if the Council would reimburse the costs caused by this error.
Cllr Vernon Smith asked that the member of the public email in the question due to part of the question being unheard as a result of a technical issue. He would then provide a written response.
Question 28 – David Willingham asked if the written answer to his question would have been different if the question had come from a county councillor. He clarified that he was looking to have a timeline for the highways work at Tennyson Road.
Cllr Vernon Smith replied that the Council worked according to the Asset Transport Management Plan to work out when to intervene.
Question 33 – Alan Mossman stated his concerns regarding toxic particle emissions from cars and trucks and stated that this still came from tyres and brakes and would continue from electric vehicles. What would the Council do aside from electric vehicles to combat this and ensure good health outcomes for young children?
Cllr Mark Hawthorne replied that the Council had been encouraging the take up of electric vehicles and had put in place dedicated cycling routes as well as investing in public transport. There was a robust plan in place. He also stated that sometimes increasing road capacity was about ensuring safety.
Question 34 – Alan Mossman asked if there would be a supplementary technical third part review of LTN 1/20?
Cllr Vernon Smith replied that this was an exciting scheme and officers were fully aware of the policy and understood it.
Question 35 – Alan Mossman asked what was the procedure for resolving conflicting requirements between DfT Circular for setting Local Speed Limits and LTN1/20.
Cllr Vernon Smith replied a detailed response would be provided.