Agenda and minutes

Councillors Jo Barker, Margaret Bell, Bill Gifford, Marian Humphreys, Penny-Anne O’Donnell, Wallace Redford, Howard Roberts and Isobel Seccombe

None.

The minutes of the meeting of Council held on 16 May 2023 were agreed as a true record.

The Chair expressed his pleasure at the privileged position he was in which enabled him to meet groups who were doing fantastic work in their community.  He thanked those people in the community who were voluntarily giving their time to make the community a better place.

He also explained that the vehicles used for civic engagements were now equipped with magnetic pennants bearing the Council’s emblem in order to support a demonstration of civic pride in Warwickshire.

To note any requests to speak on any item on the agenda in accordance with the Council’s Public Speaking Scheme (see note at end of the agenda).

None.

Councillor Kam Kaur (Portfolio Holder for Education) introduced this comprehensive report relating to a project at Kingsway Community Primary School in Leamington Spa, which was being funded from a combination of DfE grant, Capital Investment Fund and Capital Inflation Contingency Fund, and moved the recommendations as set out in the report. 

Councillor Peter Butlin (Portfolio Holder for Finance and Property)  seconded the recommendation and reserved the right to speak.

Debate

Councillor Jonathan Chilvers lamented that the DfE had declined to contribute additional funds to the project after costs had increased and considered that in the circumstances it was appropriate for the Council to allocate the funding for the scheme to continue. 

Councillor Judy Falp supported the Council’s allocation of funding to the project and welcomed the improvements at the school.

Councillor Butlin noted that the DfE had failed to recognise the impact of inflation and other pressures on the project costs but that the Council recognised the need to support improvement at the school and were therefore proposing to support the additional expenditure.

Vote

A vote on the motion took place which was carried unanimously.

Resolved

That Council agrees £2.633 million be added to the capital programme to deliver the scheme at Kingsway Community Primary School.

Councillor Jan Matecki (Portfolio Holder for Transport and Planning) introduced this report and summarised its key elements explaining that the Lias Line was a disused railway line extending between Fosse Way and Rugby. It was a permissive route that was owned, managed and maintained by Sustrans.  The paper recommended the release of capital funding, secured from the Active Travel Fund, to enable Sustrans to upgrade 3.5km of the Lias Line to multi-user greenway.  Councillor Tim Sinclair seconded the recommendation and reserved the right to speak.

Debate

Councillor Sarah Boad welcomed the proposals which, unlike the ravages of construction for HS2 would provide a safe space for families. 

Councillor Sarah Feeney also welcomed the development and suggested that more communications were required to ensure that residents were aware of the location of cycleways.

Councillor Heather Timms welcomed the proposed investment in Warwickshire which she considered would drive the rural economy through greater use of cafes and businesses and provide access for young people to commute to work. 

Councillor Tracey Drew also welcomed this scheme and noted that when public transport routes and greenways were joined up active travel would increase and so the smaller connections associated with the scheme were eagerly anticipated.

The report was also welcomed by Councillor Sarah Millar who thanked the team for their work on the scheme and expressed hope that local families would take advantage of the provision.

Councillor Rob Tromans was supportive of the scheme which he considered would add another dimension and reduce emissions.

Councillor Christopher Kettle spoke as the local division member to ask officers to ensure the track used by the equestrian community as an offroad facility was enabled to be continued.  He noted that whilst Sustrans stated they designed paths to be multiuser friendly, the first section of improvement to the line was unusable by the equestrian community.  Since there were 1600 horses registered with Defra in the immediate area, he expressed hope that Sustrans would liaise with the British Horse Society.  Councillor Kettle went on to note an increase in reported road accidents and that it would be important that the design did not therefore inadvertently exclude equestrians and hoped that the Portfolio Holder would push Sustrans to ensure that concerns raised in the Chamber were addressed.

Councillor Tim Sinclair echoed the view that this was a welcome provision for families, cyclists and walkers which represented a valuable community asset for generations to come.

Councillor Jan Matecki thanked the Chamber for its support and noted that Sustrans would be able to draw on its experience to include equestrian use of the line but that the Council did not have significant influence in this regard. 

Vote

A vote on the motion took place which was carried unanimously.

Resolved

That Council approves the addition to the Capital Programme of £2,434,735 secured from the Government’s Active Travel Fund for the purpose of improving the eastern section of the Lias Line traffic free greenway as part of the creation of a walking, cycling and  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3.

Councillor Yousef Dahmash (Portfolio Holder for Customer and Transformation) introduced the published report and moved the motion stating the Audit and Standards Committee had undertaken some very valuable work over the last 12 months, the highlights of which were set out in the report.

Councillor John Cooke seconded the motion, commending the Chairmanship of Mr John Bridgeman.

Debate

Councillor John Holland expressed thanks to the members of the Committee and the officers who provided support together with the external auditors.  He noted that some service areas in the Council were not subject to external inspection procedures and queried if it was within the Committee’s remit to provide such assurances.

The Chair noted that it had been an unusual year with many challenges and thanked the officers who had supported the Committee and worked with the external auditors.

Councillor Dahmash invited Councillor Holland to share his concerns via email. 

Vote

A vote on the motion took place which was carried unanimously.

Resolved

That Council endorses the annual report of the Audit and Standards Committee.

Councillor Jan Matecki (Portfolio Holder for Transport and Planning) explained that the report followed consideration by Overview and Scrutiny and the Cabinet.  During the consultation process for the Plan, key themes had emerged which were set out at paragraph 1.10 of the report.  More detail on individual transport interventions in the form of annual action plans and monitoring plans would flow from LTP4 and provide the link from strategy and policy into action on the ground.  Councillor Richard Baxter-Payne seconded the proposals and reserved his right to speak.

Amendment – Green Group

Councillor Jonathan Chilvers proposed an amendment to the motion, with the addition of the words in bold and underlined below which it was intended would provide a greater steer on the travel hierarchy:

That Council adopts the Local Transport Plan for Warwickshire (LTP4) at Appendix A which supersedes and replaces the existing Plan (LTP3), and will adopt the guiding principles of the Transport Hierarchy set out in LTP4 within the Council’s Design Guide and project lifecycle documents to embed and demonstrate the application of those principles across our transport infrastructure projects.

Councillor Drew seconded the amendment and reserved her right to speak.

Councillor Matecki accepted the amendment as friendly.

Debate

Councillor John Holland welcomed the amendment and, reflecting on the process of creating a Local Transport Plan, he considered that the content had to be translated into action.  To illustrate this point, he shared his experience of introducing an Air Quality Management Zone Order which had not yet been completed.

Councillor Jenny Fradgeley welcomed the user-friendly document but considered that it was pitched at a high level and more power, guidance and direction was needed.  She welcomed the inclusion of active travel but considered that more ambition was required with appropriate guidance to ensure action could take place.

Councillor Sarah Millar also welcomed the amendment and any reflections on proposed rail ticket office closures. 

Councillor Kate Rolfe also commented on the pleasant presentation of the Plan but queried where the funding to fulfil its aspirations would be found.  She did not consider that there was sufficient emphasis on infrastructure to support development and that the draft should have included more detail.

Councillor Sarah Feeney commented on problems regarding car parking and the need to support people living in deprived areas which were likely to become low emission zones. She also commented that the use of average speed cameras was lamentably absent from the Plan.

Councillor Tim Sinclair noted that the document was more aptly considered as a strategy document than a plan.  Whilst it needed to be a useful document, there had to be a flexibility to allow for change, and provide a balance with the environment, wellbeing, economy and place.  In his view, it would be a useful strategy document to provide effective implementation plans.

Councillor Clare Golby lamented the low level of consultation responses which she did not consider sufficient to inform a strategy. She highlighted experiences from the division she represented including the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

Councillor Yousef Dahmash (Portfolio Holder for Customer and Transformation) moved that Council agree the proposals set out in the report. Councillor Jill Simpson-Vince seconded the proposals, which were put to the vote and unanimously agreed as set out below.

Resolved

That Council approves

1.         an amendment to Part 2(9) of the Constitution to remove the requirement for the membership of the Health and Wellbeing Board to include the Leader of the Council and to update the membership in line with paragraph 1.5 of the report;

2.         the appointment of Councillor Penny-Anne O’Donnell to the Health and Wellbeing Board in place of Councillor Isobel Seccombe; and

3.         the appointment of Councillor Daren Pemberton to the South Warwickshire Community Safety Partnership.

A period of up to 40 minutes is allocated for questions to the Leader, Cabinet    Portfolio Holders and Chairs of Overview and Scrutiny Committees.

1.     Question from Councillor John Holland to Councillor Jan Matecki

Councillor Holland reminded the Chamber of the question he posed on 21 March regarding the repairs to the road and adjacent footpath for Priory Mews, Cape Road, Warwick, and asked: “Can residents now be given a date when repairs will be completed?”

Councillor Matecki responded that Councillor Holland was aware from conversations with officers, that County Highways was working closely with Severn Trent Water to get Priory Mews reopened.  There was a significant void under the carriageway that would need to be filled and this could only be done once Severn Trent had demolished the four houses on either side of the road.  Three of the four houses had been purchased by Severn Trent’s insurers and they were moving to complete the purchase of the remaining property.  The road could not be opened until the grouting work to fill the void had been done and this could not be progressed with the heavy machinery required until the houses had been demolished.  The landslip issue involved a Severn Trent water main which was why responsibility for the repair remained with Severn Trent.  Senior Council Officers had recently met with directors from Severn Trent to ensure that the issue was being escalated and pushed forward as quickly as possible to a resolution and repair.  Councillor Matecki emphasised that it was not possible to make the repair without the demolition of the homes so it was not possible to make the repair as the Highway Authority and then claim the costs back from Severn Trent.

Councillor Holland requested that Councillor Matecki become personally involved as the situation was unsatisfactory.  Councillor Matecki assured Councillor Holland that he was involved and speaking to officers on a regular basis to do all that could be done to expedite the repair.

2.     Question from Councillor Sarah Boad to Councillor Jan Matecki

Councillor Boad asked “Chiltern Rail are currently consulting on closing the ticket office at Leamington Station. Other train companies are consulting re other ticket offices in Warwickshire This will affect many users, particularly those without a smart phone / access to the internet. Will the portfolio holder object to these plans on behalf of the County Council?”

Councillor Matecki explained that on 5 July 2023 individual train operators had announced a series of individual company consultations on proposals to close the majority of rail station ticket offices in England. This was in response to a Department for Transport request that operators reduced their operating costs and the government funded subsidy required. The consultation period was due to run for three weeks, closing on 26 July 2023.  The Council considered a 3-week consultation period for an issue such as this to be insufficient and would making this clear in the response to the three train operators covering Warwickshire that a 12 week consultation should be standard for major policy changes.

Councillor Matecki stated that whilst in principle the concept of reforming station retailing in light of changing  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

To consider any other items that the Chair considers are urgent.

None.