Agenda and minutes

Venue: Ascot and Bray - Town Hall

Contact: Wendy Binmore  01628 796251

Items
No. Item

25.

Apologies

To receive any apologies for absence.

Minutes:

Apologies for absence received from Julian Sharpe.

26.

Declarations of Interest pdf icon PDF 219 KB

To receive any Declarations of Interest.

Minutes:

No declaration of interest were received.

27.

Minutes pdf icon PDF 121 KB

To confirm the Part I Minutes of the meeting held on 17 September 2018.

Minutes:

The minutes of the meeting held on 17 September 2018 were Unanimously Agreed to be a true and accurate record.

 

Councillor Hunt raised concern that the date and time of the meetings had been changed too frequently.

28.

Work programme pdf icon PDF 66 KB

To Review the Work Programme

Minutes:

The Panel discussed the Work Programme.

 

The Chairman suggested that Councillor Da Costa discussed with Ben Smith, specific timeframes on the items that he had suggested on the work programme. These included Street Lighting, Road Maintenance and Council Waste.

 

ACTION: Ben Smith to organise meeting with Councillor Da Costa before the next Panel

 

Councillor Quick requested an update on the Hatch Lane/Dedworth Road, Windsor Junction. Ben Smith informed the Panel that a report had been drafted and some trials were being carried out. A report could be presented to the Panel at the March Meeting.

 

ACTION: Clerk to add date to Work Programme and add to March 2019 Agenda.

 

The Chairman requested information on the current routes of buses at the next Panel in February 2019. Ben Smith informed the Panel that there were no imminent changes to the bus routes. The team had taken a more holistic, overview of all the services offered and were still data gathering and discussing future services to make more sustainable. The Chairman asked for the Panel to be informed of suggested changes. The Rural Wards would continue to be supplemented.

 

The Chairman suggested inviting GOTCH to the next Panel to share some innovative ways for the future such as uber style buses, electric buses and fixed routes for rural wards.

 

A lot more funding was required from central government.

29.

Electric Pool Cars and Charging Points Update pdf icon PDF 246 KB

To receive the above update.

Minutes:

Ben Smith, Head of Commissioning, informed the Panel that Cabinet had agreed to change the fleet of pool cars to electric cars. At the time, the current provider was only offering BMW cars which were very expensive. There were now many more cars being offered and therefore at the end of the current contract, electric/hybrid vehicles would be investigated and selected.

 

The use of pool cars had been advertised by HR and subsequently there had been an increase in the use of pool cars. All planners now used the pool cars.

 

There had also been a lot of work done on identifying a Partner to trial a pilot scheme within one of the major developments, where the council could block book the cars during the daytime and midweek and residents could use the cars in the evenings and at weekends. This was being considered further at another Forum.

 

The Chairman pointed out that it was the same report presented to the Panel which they had scrutinised in September 2017. The Chairman suggested that ward members and parish councillors be contacted for suggestions on where they felt residents would require charging points to be installed. Ben Smith informed the Panel that a website had been live for more than 9 months and suggestions could have been posted on the website.

 

The Panel asked if the 75% funding from central government  had been applied for, which was available for the use of electric cars. Ben Smith informed the Panel that the company that we were working with, Connected Curb, had put forward an application for a developing system and another application had been put forward for charging points.

 

Councillor Quick pointed out that it would be the rapid chargers that would be more beneficial. Currently there were three charging points in the council in one of the car parks but these were hardly used.

 

Councillor Shelim requested information on rapid chargers and installation at households. He also requested further information on who paid for the electricity usage on public charging points and who maintained them. Ben Smith informed the Panel that private chargers were funded privately but a grant could be applied for. The electricity usage for public points was provided by the provider and the public would sign up to the provider and pay for usage.

 

The Panel asked who would provide the administrative process for the car share/car-pooling and it was confirmed that this would be managed by the company/developer. This would address the insurance issues.

 

Councillor E Wilson commented on the report and pointed out that it was a good report but was covered three separate points in one report, pool cars, car club and on street electric vehicle points pilot, this would not include RBWM points such as Braywick and Oak Leisure Centre. Councillor E Wilson felt that there was no one policy objective, there were many different objectives. Ben Smith commented that in any future report, this could be addressed.

 

Councillor Da Costa asked why there had  ...  view the full minutes text for item 29.

30.

Big Belly Bins - Borough Wide Pilot pdf icon PDF 239 KB

To receive the above report.

Minutes:

Ben Smith, Head of Commissioning - Communities, Commissioning, gave some background information to the Panel on the big belly bins. Ben Smith explained that a trial had been carried out in central Windsor and the feedback had been very good. The residents had noticed that the number of cigarette butts had almost disappeared. Residents had been happy to see that spmething had been done about litter. The smart bins were solar powered which could recognise when the bin was getting full to a fixed, set percentage and then would alert the contact centre so it could be emptied. The solar power worked equally well in this country too considering there was no sunshine all year round. The rubbish in the bins would be compressed so they could be emptied less frequently.

 

A report was going to be presented to Cabinet on 22 November to expand the trial to five more bins. The smart bins were split into one, two or three compartments, each collecting different types of rubbish.

 

The Chairman further informed the Panel that these smart bins had started in America and were working really well. Many other countries in the UK were using them too. The Chairman commented the officers for the cautious and pragmatic approach to introduce these very innovative bins.

 

Other points raised by the Panel included the following:

 

? these smart bins would be better placed in big busy cities, not rural areas. 

? there had been concerns about dirty handles on the bins which the public did not like to touch but this had been carried resolved by adding foot pedals.

? the repairing costs were a concern. 

? the smell from the bins was a concern but some sort of air freshener/deneutauliser system in the smart bin may work to resolve this.

? compressed waste causes gases, what happened to these?

 

Councillor E Wilson highlighted that the trial had been successful so why were further trials required? Or was this a phased implementation?

 

Councillor Bicknell, Lead member for Highways, Transport and Windsor, informed the Panel that we were currently in a contract, that could not be suddenly ended. This was a phased implementation, there was going to be a gradual release of labour against the contract, future contracts would be adjusted to comply with more bins. The Panel felt this could be included in the report.

 

The Panel Unanimously Agreed the two recommendations in the report.

 

31.

Appendix H - Parking Income Pressure pdf icon PDF 502 KB

In accordance with Section 100B (4) (b) of the Local Government Act 1972, the Chairman has agreed to the addition of a Part I urgent item, Appendix H – Parking Income Pressure. The item is considered urgent as it is a specific appendix relating to Parking which is going to Cabinet on 22 November 2018.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Ben Smith, Head of Commissioning - Communities, Commissioning, went through the report. The three main factors that had attributed included an significant increase in the take up of the Advantage Card, overall usage in car parks were down by 17% in Maidenhead on the same period last year and the financial benefits of purchasing a season ticket against paying daily charges.

 

Points raised by the Panel included the following:

 

·         Disappointing figures considering the borough had had two royal weddings. Ben Smith informed the Panel that visitors coming into Windsor were advised not to drive and some of the car parks were closed.

·         There had been a 2.2% reduction in footfall in Maidenhead.

·         £750K was being spent on replacing the parking systems to a new more advanced system.

·         Councillor Quick asked if the new operators were checking the residential areas for off-street parking. Ben Smith informed the Panel that the inspectors had deployed hours and had patrols in the outer areas during evening and weekends. Members could inform officers of regularly abused areas so the contractor could be informed. There was a self-managing contract was in place.

·         It was suggested that non-residents should be charged for car parking in the borough at all car parks. Ben Smith said he would look into this further.

·         Councillor Da Costa asked if the revenue would be down as the estimates were higher than the actuals. Ben Smith explained that since the tariffs went up, the income target had increased too so would remain about the same.

·         A great deal was offered to our residents and there had been a change in usage of our car parks.

·         New equipment was being installed which would give greater clarity on the data

 

ACTION: To report back at next Panel

32.

Local Government Access Act 1972 - Exclusion of the Public

To consider the following resolution:-

“That under Section 100 (A)(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public can be excluded from the remainder of the meeting whilst discussion takes place on item 8 on the grounds that it involves the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraph 1 – 7 of Part I of Schedule 12A of the Act”.

33.

Minutes

To confirm the Part II minutes of the meeting held on 17 September 2018.