Agenda and minutes

08 June 2023

It was moved by Councillor Peter O’Brien, Seconded by Councillor Steve Wain and

RESOLVED (unanimously)

That the minutes of the meeting of the Community and Environment Committee held on 08 June 2023 be approved as a correct record.

Voting:

13 For

00 Against

01 Abstained

The Chair 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.

Mr Nicholas Bishop, Ms Dadia Conti, and Mr A R Currie spoke on Item 13, the Ashbourne Air Quality Management Area Action Plan.

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.

Item 13 – Ashbourne Air Quality Management Area Action Plan.

Councillor Peter Dobbs declared a non-pecuniary interest in Item 13 as a Member of the Buxton Road Residents Group.

Councillor Anthony Bates declared a non-pecuniary interest in Item 13 as a Member of Ashbourne Town Council and Town Mayor.

To answer questions from Members who have given the appropriate notice.

No questions were received.

It was moved by Councillor Peter Dobbs, seconded by Councillor Robert Archer and

RESOLVED (Unanimously)

That the minutes of the Local Plan Sub-Committee meeting held on 03 July 2023 be received.

The Chair declared the motion CARRIED.

This report explains the progress that has been made in relation to public consultation on the draft Ashbourne Air Quality Management Area Action Plan and updates members on the results of air quality monitoring with the Air Quality Management Area.

The Director of Regulatory Services introduced a report which explained the progress made in relation to public consultation on the draft Ashbourne Air Quality Management Area (AQMA) Action Plan and updated Members on the results of air quality monitoring within the Air Quality Management Area.

Following the declaration of an AQMA at the meeting of Community & Environment Committee held on 7 April 2021, 5 updating reports such as this had been considered by this Committee. The AQMA was declared in relation to exceedances of the annual average air quality objective for nitrogen dioxide.

It was noted within the report that following the February 2023 meeting of this committee, advice was received that the public consultation should not be undertaken during the pre-election period and was therefore paused until 15 May 2023, the 6-week consultation period concluded on 26 June 2023.

It was moved by Councillor Peter Dobbs, seconded by Councillor Robert Archer and

RESOLVED

1.    That the Council re-confirms its commitment to incorporating agreed measures in the Action Plan that will bring about a significant and quantifiable reduction in nitrogen dioxide (NO2) pollution in Ashbourne town centre, pending the eventual construction of a relief road. The Council will continue to work with relevant partners to reach the earliest possible agreement on these measures.

2.    That the update on air pollution monitoring within Ashbourne be reviewed.

3.    That in response to the government policy paper published 28 April 2023 ‘Air quality strategy: framework for local authority delivery’, and other concerns, this council acknowledges the need to broaden air pollution monitoring to include levels of fine particulate matter.

4.    That a further report be brought to the next meeting of this Committee to establish the terms of reference, scope, and membership of a working group.

Voting:

13 For

00 Against

01 Abstained

The Chair declared the motion CARRIED.

This report updates Members on implementation of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund Investment Plan for the Derbyshire Dales, including ‘top-up’ funding from the Rural England Prosperity Fund. The report covers progress with the programme, delivery challenges and proposals regarding grant administration.

The Regeneration and Place Manager introduced a report which updated Members on the implementation of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) Investment Plan for Derbyshire Dales, including ‘top-up’ funding from the Rural England Prosperity Fund (REPF). The report also covered progress, delivery challenges, and proposals regarding grant administration.

The report explained how the UKSPF and REPF were funded by Government to partially replace funding previously provided by the European Union. It was noted that the Derbyshire Dales had been allocated a total of £2.7m capital and revenue to be spent by 31 March 2025. The report also informed Members of the project aims, to support business diversification, growth, adaptation and long-term resilience, as well as support community projects.

It was moved by Councillor David Chapman, seconded by Councillor Peter Dobbs and

RESOLVED (unanimously)

1.    That the update on the Derbyshire Dales UK Shared Prosperity Fund programme be welcomed, and progress to date and delivery risks be received and agreed.

2.    That recruitment challenges impacting the delivery of the programme, and the approach to increase capacity set out in the report be received and agreed.

3.    That the approach to delivering business grants under the Rural Innovation Grant scheme be received and agreed.

4.    That proposals to secure additional enabling capacity to support strategic sites work as proposed in Section 2.7 Intervention E14 are developed for consideration by the UKSPF Partnership.

5.    That the Council be recommended to consider an amendment to Contract Standing Orders in relation to the grants element of the UKSPF programme and requirements upon non-contracting authorities, specifically to increase the threshold for formal tenders for goods / supplies and works to over £75,000.

The Chair declared the motion CARRIED.

This report seeks the Committee’s approval for 13 new bids for capital projects to be referred to Council for inclusion in the District Council’s Capital Programme.

The Director of Resources introduced a report which sought Committee approval for 13 new bids for capital projects to be referred to Council for inclusion in the District Council’s Capital Programme. The report gave details of the 13 bids put forward for Members’ consideration, including their total costs and proposed funding methods.

It was moved by Councillor Anthony Bates, seconded by Councillor Steve Wain and

RESOLVED (unanimously)

That the 13 proposed Capital Bids for years 2023/24 to 2027/28, summarised in the report and detailed in Appendix 1, be approved by this Committee and recommended to Council for inclusion in the capital programme.

The Chair declared the motion CARRIED.

The Household Support Fund Round 4 (HSF4) directly supports households experiencing financial difficulties relating to rent arrears, utility bills and other debts. Such issues can have a long-lasting detrimental impact on the ability of residents to maintain rental payments and can lead to homelessness. The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has made a further round of funding available to upper tier authorities. In Derbyshire the County Council has confirmed that it will allocate £185,459 to Derbyshire Dales DC. As with rounds 1,2 and 3 it is proposed to deliver grants directly to residents through the Housing Team and Revenues and Benefits service.

The Housing Strategy Officer introduced a report which sought Member approval for the delivery of Round 4 of the Household Support Fund (HSF4). The report gave background on the HSF4 and explained how it aimed to directly support households experiencing financial difficulties relating to rent arrears, utility bills and other debts.

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) made a further round of funding available to upper tier authorities. Derbyshire County Council confirmed that it would allocate £185,459 to Derbyshire Dales District Council. As with rounds 1, 2 and 3 it was proposed within the report to deliver grants directly to residents through the Housing Team ad Revenues and Benefits service.

It was moved by Councillor Steve Wain, seconded by Councillor Peter Dobbs and

RESOLVED (unanimously)

That approval be given to the delivery of Round 4 of the Household Support Fund as set out in the report.

The Chair declared the motion CARRIED.

This report seeks approval to update and amend the District Council’s Housing Renewal Policy, which sets out the ways in which the Council will work to improve the existing stock of good quality private sector housing.  In particular it proposes the use of a relatively small amount of Disabled Facilities Grant funding to support applicants to the Homes Upgrade Grant scheme.

The Director of Regulatory Services introduced a report which sought approval to update and amend the District Council’s Housing Renewal Policy, which set out the ways in which the Council would work to improve the existing stock of good quality private sector housing. In particular, the report proposed the use of a relatively small amount of Disabled Facilities Grant funding to support applicants to the Homes Upgrade Grant Scheme. The draft Housing Renewal Policy 2023-26 was included as an appendix to the report for approval.

Due to a fall in demand for the Disabled Facilities Grant (DFG) programmes run by the District Council, the report recommended that DFG funding be utilised to support Homes Upgrades Grant (HUG) applications, as enabled by the Regulatory Reform (Housing Assistance) (England and Wales) Order 2002. It was estimated that a funding pot of £35,000 per year would be sufficient to provide the required support, it was also recommended that this level of funding should be made available for 2 years, to match the HUG programme.

It was moved by Councillor Steve Wain, seconded by Councillor Robert Archer and

RESOLVED (unanimously)

That the draft Housing Renewal Policy 2023-2026 attached as Appendix 1 to this report be approved.

The Chair declared the motion CARRIED.

The report makes a recommendation to accept the offer of £1,897,500 of HUG2 grant funding to improve the energy efficiency of off gas private housing across the district where residents are in fuel poverty.

The Director of Regulatory Services introduced a report which made a recommendation to accept the offer of £1,897,500 of HUG2 grant funding to improve the energy efficiency of off gas private housing across the district where residents are in fuel poverty.

The report informed Members that this latest round of funding was building on the previous Local authority Delivery (LAD) and HUG schemes, through which the Council had improved the energy efficiency of over 250 homes since 2019. It was estimated that the schemes would reduce emissions from homes across the district by 290 tonnes of carbon each year. The schemes enabled fully funded energy efficiency measures such as insulation, solar panels and low carbon heating to be installed in homes with the poorest EPC ratings (D or below) for residents on low incomes.

It was moved by Councillor Matt Buckler, seconded by Councillor Peter Dobbs and

RESOLVED (unanimously)

That Council be requested to agree the decision to accept HUG2 funding of £1,897,500.

The Chair declared the motion CARRIED.

This report informs Committee of the official interventions for food hygiene and health and safety at work undertaken by the Council’s Environmental Health service during 2022/23 and predicts service demands for 2023/24.

The Environmental Health Manager introduced a report which informed Members of the official interventions for food hygiene and health and safety at work undertaken by the Council’s Environmental Health service during 2022/23, the report also included predictions for service demands for 2023/24.

It was noted within the report that the District Council is required under the Food Law Code of Practice to submit a Service Plan to cover all areas of food law that the Authority has a duty to enforce. The plan has to set out how the Authority intends to deliver and resource official food controls and other official activities in its area. The report also noted that a performance review must be carried out at least once per year, this had taken place on 1 April every year, the findings of which were provided directly to the Food Standards Agency.

It was moved by Councillor Steve Wain, seconded by Councillor Dermot Murphy and

RESOLVED (unanimously)

That the service plan for the delivery of official controls detailed at Appendix 1 to the report be approved.

The Chair declared the motion CARRIED.