Basingstoke & Dean Borough Council Community, Environment and Partnerships Committee Meeting

Apologies were received from Councillor Watts and Carr.

There were no declarations of interest.

There were no urgent matters.

The minutes of the meeting held on 14 June 2023 were confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

The Cabinet Member for Climate and Ecological Emergency introduced the report which set out the progress made since June 2021 against the action plan within the Green Infrastructure Strategy.

The Committee discussed the report and made the following comments:

• Reference was made to Carbon sequestration and clarification was sought on the timeline for progressing the work as it was stated that there were a number of small pieces of work that could be completed quickly which would have a number of positive benefits.

• Specific mention was made to Saunders field and Portals paper mill as these were areas that would benefit from designation as a nature reserve due to their local environments and protected species.

• Sought clarification on the next steps for the East of Basingstoke project and whether the council were considering funding opportunities. The Cabinet Member advised that they had applied for national lottery funding but that the starting point for the project would be Eastrop Park.

• Reference was made to the Development Control Committee and the link to biodiversity priorities, The Cabinet Member advised that until there were changes to Planning policy it was a judgement call for councillors and advised that an all-member briefing on Biodiversity had been scheduled.

• Requested that the designation of old down as a nature reserve be specifically named in the priorities for the year.

• Would like to see wood burning removed from the strategy.

• Stated that access to green spaces with people with mobility issues should be a priority and that consideration needed to be made when designing outdoor spaces. It was also requested that the Cabinet Member and Officers work with the charity SCOPE as part of their “let’s play fair” campaign.

• Suggested that the council work with local town and parish councils, local landowners and farmers as part of implementing the strategy.

• Requested that further detail be included in relation to Health improvement, toilets, future growth of trees and their impact, and QR codes to provide information to residents.

• It was requested that in future reports the RAG status were updated to show the changes in progress since the last report.

• Stated that there was a huge benefit to expanding biodiversity within the borough.

Resolved: The Committee notes the work undertaken during years 3 and 4 of the Green Infrastructure Strategy (2018).

The Chair introduced the work programme and gave a brief overview of the items that would be included on the agenda for the upcoming meetings.

Councillor Lee advised the Committee that a work programme suggestion form had been submitted by Councillor Compton-Burnett in relation to the wellbeing strategy, the Committee agreed that the issue should be timetabled with Officers.

It was requested that the report on the Leisure Park and Ice Rink be brought forward from January if possible.

Requested that a presentation by the police and CSPOs on their priorities be scheduled on the work programme.

Reference was made to waste and recycling and questioned why it hadn’t been included on the work programme. The Democratic Services Officer advised that the issue would be dealt with by the Scrutiny Committee.

It was suggested that a full list of policies and strategies scheduled for review by the committee would be useful.