Agenda and minutes

06 April 2022

It was moved by Councillor Mike Ratcliffe, Seconded by Councillor Dermot Murphy and

RESOLVED (Unanimously)

That the minutes of the meeting of the Community and Environment Committee held on 6 April 2022 be approved as a correct record.

The Chairman declared the motion CARRIED.

To enable members of the public to ask questions, express views or present petitions, IF NOTICE HAS BEEN GIVEN, (by telephone, in writing or by email) BY NO LATER THAN 12 NOON OF THE WORKING DAY PRECEDING THE MEETING. As per Procedural Rule 14.4 at any one meeting no person may submit more than 3 questions and no more than 1 such question may be asked on behalf of one organisation.

In accordance with the procedure for public participation Mr Peter Dobbs Local Resident of Ashbourne spoke regarding the action plan for Ashbourne’s Air Quality Management Area.

QUESTIONS from Peter Dobbs, Local Resident of Ashbourne, regarding the Ashbourne’s AQMA Updating Report –

Although I am pleased that an updating report has been included as an agenda item for this meeting, I am disappointed to note that it seems to be little more than a diary of meetings with references to reports that are not included in the pack with some impenetrable acronyms.

Question 1; At what date will this committee and the wider public have sight of the proposed action plan?

I understand that the same 11 actions that were in the ‘Marsden Report’ for the County Council published over 4 months ago are included in the current draft of the action plan.

My interpretation of diffusion tube data for 2022 shows that NOx levels on Buxton Road remain above the action threshold indicated in the 2021 ‘Detailed Assessment’, with one location (new in 2022) reaching an adjusted value of NOx of over 50ugm-3 (the legal limit is 40ugm-3).

So we currently have illegal levels of NOx that the apportionment exercise attributes largely to LGV and HGV.

Question 2; Which of the 11 actions in the draft plan does this council believe will have a significant effect over the next 4 years in reducing NOx levels at the top of Buxton Hill (the new test location outside the Bowling Green pub)?

Question 3; What evidence supports this prediction?

RESPONSE –

Question 1

Once the draft action plan has been fully considered by the working group it is expected that a final draft will be brought to a meeting of the Community and Environment Committee for approval before submission to Defra. At this stage it is not possible to state a precise date for this to happen as consultation with community stakeholders on the working group has not yet been concluded.

Question 2

Clearly the most effective action to reduce NO2 levels in this area would be to reduce/remove traffic from the roads that pass through it.  However, at this time there is no immediate prospect of a bypass being delivered, which would enable this to happen.  Therefore it is considered that the combination of measures set out in the draft action plan is necessary to reduce NO2 levels in the meantime.

Question 3

These measures are based on the best advice of Transport Officers at Derbyshire County Council.  The success or otherwise of their implementation will be measured by ongoing NO2 measurements in the area.

Members are required to declare the existence and nature of any interests they may have in subsequent agenda items in accordance with the District Council’s Code of Conduct. Those interests are matters that relate to money or that which can be valued in money, affecting the Member, her/his partner, extended family and close friends. Interests that become apparent at a later stage in the proceedings may be declared at the time.

There were no declarations of interest.

In the context of the approved Economic Recovery Plan for the Derbyshire Dales, to approve for submission the District Council’s bid to Round 2 of the Government’s Levelling Up Fund by the closing date of 6 July.

The Director of Regeneration and Policy introduced the Levelling Up Fund Round 2 bid which sought approval for submission to Round 2 of the Government’s Levelling Up Fund and informed Members that the new title of the bid was Ashbourne Reborn. The Director of Regeneration and Policy also thanked Members, colleagues and the Ashbourne community groups for their contributions.

It was explained to Members that this LUF bid was for Ashbourne but that work would continue on the Matlock project pipeline and in the long term when future funding opportunities arise, Member approval would be sort to include other areas in future iterations of the Capital Programme.

Members thanked the Director of Regeneration and Policy and his team, Consultants and the community team for the excellent bid.

It was moved by Councillor Dermot Murphy, seconded by Councillor Sue Bull and

RESOLVED (Unanimously)

1.   That the Levelling Up Fund Round 2 bid be approved for submission.

2.   That authority be delegated to the Director of Regeneration and Policy to make detailed changes prior to bid submission.

3.   That authority be delegated to the Director of Corporate and Customer Services to agree Heads of Terms or a Memorandum of Understanding with Ashbourne Methodist Church prior to bid submission.

4.   That the project pipeline be noted.

The Chairman declared the motion CARRIED.

This report considers an application from Calver Parish Council for funding in respect of the cost of the maintenance of a newly acquired village green.

The Director of Resources introduced a report which considered an application from Calver Parish Council for funding in respect of the cost of maintenance of a newly acquired village green. Members were also reminded of the 2008 review during which the Committee resolved that the District Council did not assume the maintenance costs for any new facilities, and that there was no budgetary provision for further commitments under the parish council reimbursable expenditure scheme.

During debate it was proposed by Councillor Peter O’Brien to support Calver Parish Council with a one off payment, this was seconded by Councillor David Hughes and

RESOLVED

That the application from Calver Parish Council for funding maintenance of the village green be granted.

Voting

6 For

9 Against

0 Abstentions

The Chairman declared the motion FALLEN.

It was then moved by Councillor Tony Morley, seconded by Councillor Jason Atkin and

RESOLVED

That the application from Calver Parish Council for funding maintenance of the village green be refused.

Voting

9 For

3 Against

3 Abstentions

The Chairman declared the motion CARRIED.

This report updates Members on the actions taken following the declaration of an Air Quality Management Area in Ashbourne at the meeting of this Committee on 7 April 2021.

The Director of Regulatory Services introduced a report updating Members on the actions taken following the declaration of an Air Quality Management Area (AQMA) in Ashbourne at the meeting of this Committee on 7 April 2021. Following this meeting, Officers had contacted Derbyshire County Council’s Transport team and begun the process of progressing an action plan. Liaison had been necessary to obtain the traffic figures necessary to undertake the Detailed Assessment. An Action Plan inception meeting was held on 13 May 2021 and it was agreed that the team would follow the model used for the creation of other AQMA Action Plans in Derbyshire, that is that a long list of all possible options would be devised and that this would then be evaluated to determine which of these options might be suitable for Ashbourne.

It was also agreed that representatives from Ashbourne Town Council and Ashbourne Town Team would be involved in the Action Plan process. A series of meetings would be needed in order to produce the final approved Action Plan and to monitor the actions agreed as part of the Plan. In order to manage the Action Plan process, Officers set up a simple action log to record progress. This action log was presented to Members in the report, giving a more detailed timeline of the actions taken during the process.

Members raised concerns over the progress of the action plan and the ongoing emissions produced by vehicles travelling through the area. The Director of Regulatory Services informed members that an action plan is given eighteen months to progress by DEFRA, it was also pointed out that the draft action plan on the table contained eleven points with the building of a by-pass included. It was hoped that a final draft would be brought to the September meeting of this Committee before submission to DEFRA.

During debate Councillor David Hughes proposed an amendment to include two additional recommendations as set out below:

2.    That a representation be made to DCC Highways Authority for a 20mph speed limit to be enforced on the A515.

3.    That a representation be made to DCC Highways Authority for a congestion charge to be introduced to create a clean air zone.

Further to this, Councillor Peter O’Brien requested the inclusion of the two additional recommendations below, this was accepted by Councillor David Hughes:

4.    That a full progress report be produced and presented to Members at the next meeting of this Committee.

5.    That the draft Action Plan be made publicly available and circulated to Members.

This amendment was seconded by Councillor Peter O’Brien and put to the vote as follows:

Voting

6 For

9 Against

0 Abstentions

The Chairman declared the motion LOST.

It was then moved by Councillor Jason Atkin to accept the Officer recommendations as set out in the report, this was seconded by Councillor Tom Donnelly and

RESOLVED

That the actions taken in progressing the AQMA action plan be noted.

Voting

10 For

0 Against

5 Abstentions  ...  view the full minutes text for item 37/22

This is an annual report to provide an update on the performance of the four leisure centres within the district, from 1 April 2021 – 30 March 2022. These leisure centres are now operated by Freedom Leisure.

The Community Development Manager introduced the annual updating report on the performance of the four leisure centres operated by Freedom Leisure within the district from 1 April 2021 to 30 March 2022.

The Community Development Manager informed Members that the Council would continue to work closely with Freedom Leisure over the next financial year, meeting on a monthly basis to monitor any further impact the pandemic has on the performance of the leisure centres.

It was moved by Councillor Jason Atkin, seconded by Councillor Chris Furness and

RESOLVED

1.   To note the annual report provided by Freedom Leisure for 2021/22

2.   To approve a deviation from the leisure contract to allow Freedom Leisure to retain and carry forward the £28,910 surplus from 2021/22 to 2022/23.

The Chairman declared the motion CARRIED.