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PRESENT: Councillors Mrs Howes (Chairman), Stretton (Vice-Chairman), Beer, J Evans, Holness, Muir and Thompson (substituting for Councillor Mrs Hunt).

Also present: Councillors Bicknell and Mrs Knight.

Officers: Mr Bellinger, Mr Beswick, Mr Carr, Mr Gould, Mr Herlinger, Mrs Hornby, Mr Hitchen, Mr B Smith and Mr Turner

01/09 ELECTION OF CHAIRMAN

RESOLVED: That Councillor Mrs Howes be elected Chairman of the Panel for the ensuing Municipal Year.

02/09 ELECTION OF VICE CHAIRMAN

RESOLVED: That Councillor Stretton be elected Vice-Chairman for the Panel for the ensuing Municipal Year.


03/09 APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE

Apology for absence was received from Councillor Mrs Hunt.


04/09 DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

None were received.


05/09 MINUTES

RESOLVED: That the minutes of the meetings held on 6 May 2009 be approved.

06/09 PRESENTATION ON THE PROVISION OF BUS SERVICES WITHIN THE ROYAL BOROUGH OF WINDSOR & MAIDENHEAD

Members received a presentation and update on the provision of bus services within the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead from Mr Beswick. The members welcomed Bill and Jackie Courtney, of Courtney Coaches. During the ensuing discussion the following points were noted –

Ø That the cost of providing a smaller bus on some routes would not be much different from providing a larger bus and would therefore not be economically viable and particularly as the larger vehicles were wheelchair accessible.
Ø That there was the Holyport service was well patronised.
Ø That the public concerns in relation to the Halifax Road issue had been resolved with buses running every hour rather than every 30 minutes as previously. The no. 6 service, which was in the press in February, had been reinstated along Cookham Road.
Ø That officers should meet with bus operators on a regular basis to voice any concerns that had arisen, particularly in relation to Old Windsor.
Ø That there were 940 bus stops within the Royal Borough, some of which had ‘live’ travel information via the GPRS system. Members noted that it was the intention to make this information available to as many bus stops as was viable.

07/09 LOCAL DEVELOPMENT FRAMEWORK: SUSTAINABLE DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION SUPPLEMENTARY PLANNING DOCUMENT (NOVEMBER 2008): REPORT OF CONSULTATION

Members considered the report due to be submitted to Cabinet on 25 June 2009 on the Local Development Framework: Sustainable Design and Construction Supplementary Planning Document (November 2008): Report of Consultation. The Panel noted that there were some positive results and that the responses had been well supported in this first step of the process.

The Panel noted that a design guide for recycling storage would be helpful to the development industry. Members noted that there appeared to be a difference in standards for when a Site Waste Management Plan was required by regulations and when it was required through the SPD. In response, it was clarified that difference would not reduce the responsibility of a developer who would need to comply with the regulations which required plans to be undertaken on the basis of capital value. The SPD requirement related to the submission of the plan to the council only (which is not required by the regulations).

During a discussion it was noted that –

Ø Paragraph 2/6 should be clarified to state that the Pre-Assessment Estimator Report would need to reach the expected standard.
Ø Paragraph 3.103 should be strengthened to outline the government target for recycling and the council’s target.
Ø Paragraph 3.106 should be clarified that the requirement for storage bins in kitchens applied equally for houses and flats.

RESOLVED: That the report be recommended to Cabinet, subject to the inclusion of the comments from the Panel as detailed above.

08/09 LOCAL DEVELOPMENT FRAMEWORK OPTIONS PAPER CONSULTATION (MARCH 2009): REPORT OF CONSULTATION

Members considered the report due to be submitted to Cabinet on 25 June 2009 on the Local Development Framework Options Paper Consultation (March 2009): Report of Consultation and noted that the next stage of the consultation would need to be more specific to areas of Green Belt which may be amended. Members also noted that the Council had tried to remove Stafferton Way through the last local plan, but was rejected by the Inspector and noted that it may not be opposed this time.

During a brief discussion members agreed that the Council was committed to protecting Green Belt land and that when considering boundaries it was also appropriate to add land.

RESOLVED: That the panel was content with the report.

09/09 MAIDENHEAD WATERWAYS PLANNING FRAMEWORK (APRIL 2009): REPORT OF CONSULTATION

Members considered the report due to be submitted to Cabinet on 25 June 2009 on the Maidenhead Waterways Planning Framework (April 2009): Report of Consultation and noted the following –

Ø That PRoM would expect to see something happen in the event that the Maidenhead Waterway Project was undeliverable and that it would need to accept what was considered deliverable.
Ø Navigation by small boats was desirable but that the narrow-boat objective was too ambitious. It was noted that many residents only supported the project to a certain point.
Ø That S106 funding could not be tied up indefinitely as it was necessary for delivery in other respects.
Ø That the long-term objective of narrow-boats could potentially blight some sites if they were needed to delivery on other parts of the infrastructure.

Members expressed that an explanatory paragraph be inserted stating that the document would be updated to reflect any future changes to the Maidenhead Waterway Project.

RESOLVED: That the report be recommended to Cabinet, subject to the inclusion of the comments from the Panel as detailed above.

10/09 SPEED CAMERAS

Members considered the report due to be submitted to Cabinet on 25 June 2009 on Speed Cameras. Members noted that in relation to the Accident Graph that investigation was being carried out where particular ‘hot spots’ were in the Borough which would enable identification of sites where speed cameras would be more effective.

Members noted that it was the intention to eventually replace all the present ‘film’ speed cameras with digital fixed cameras of which there were 33 within the Royal Borough. It was noted that there was a reported 10% reduction in speeding where “Slow Down” and “Watch Your Speed” signs were situated. Members also noted that all revenue from Speed Cameras went directly to the Treasury and that they paid a proportion back to the Royal Borough.

Members also noted that this report would be brought before Corporate Services Overview and Scrutiny.

RESOLVED: That the report be recommended to Cabinet.

11/09 AIR QUALITY MANAGEMENT

Members considered the report due to be submitted to Cabinet on 25 June 2009 on Air Quality Management and during a brief discussion, noted the following –

Ø That there were three areas that had been recognised as ‘target areas’ – Maidenhead Town Centre, A332 at Clarence Road, Windsor and A308 in Bray which mostly consisted of motorway traffic.
Ø That a Standalone Action Plan required the Authority to keep traffic flowing and that a Local Transport Plan would help to solve this problem.
Ø The Members noted that there were substantial funds available to undertake key improvements to the route through Windsor to Legoland and on towards Ascot to enable traffic to flow more freely.
Ø The Members agreed that further monitoring would now be essential but expressed concern around the A308 area in times of motorway traffic being at a standstill. It was explained to Members that this area had never exceeded the acceptable limits.
Ø Members wished that an explanatory paragraph giving ideas of costs be included in the report.

RESOLVED: That the report be recommended to Cabinet, subject to the inclusion of the comments from the Panel as detailed above.

12/09 CARBON MANAGEMENT PLAN – INTRODUCTION OF SMART METERING

Members considered the report due to be submitted to Cabinet on 25 June 2009 on Carbon Management Plan – Introduction of Smart Metering. It was noted that Smart Metering had been installed in York House and a substantial saving in usage had been noted. The intention was to install Smart Metering in all civic buildings and to encourage staff to save energy wherever possible. After a short discussion, members suggested that the report should be taken to the Sustainability Panel rather than Planning & Environment.

RESOLVED: That the report be recommended to Cabinet, subject to the inclusion of the comments from the Panel as detailed above.

13/09 WORK PROGRAMME

Members noted the items suggested for discussion at the meeting of the Panel to be held on 6 July 2009.

Ø Car Parking & Windsor Parking Strategy
Ø Run-off Flooding – presentation by Thames Water
Ø Change to Permitted Development – report and update
Ø New Legislation re: Building Codes – presentation
Ø Consultation on Clamping
Ø Service Monitoring Report
Ø Flood Monitoring Report

14/09 MEETING

The meeting, which began at 6.30pm, concluded at 9.15pm.