Hampshire County Council Economy, Transport and Environment Select Committee Meeting

Apologies were received from Councillor Rupert Kyrle. Councillor Gavin James attended as a deputy.

Members were mindful that where they believed they had a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest in any matter considered at the meeting they must declare that interest at the time of the relevant debate and, having regard to the circumstances described in Part 3, Paragraph 1.5 of the County Council's Members' Code of Conduct, leave the meeting while the matter was discussed, save for exercising any right to speak in accordance with Paragraph 1.6 of the Code. Furthermore Members were mindful that where they believed they had a Non-Pecuniary interest in a matter being considered at the meeting they considered whether such interest should be declared, and having regard to Part 5, Paragraph 2 of the Code, considered whether it was appropriate to leave the meeting whilst the matter was discussed, save for exercising any right to speak in accordance with the Code.

It was noted that the meeting had been a virtual meeting on Teams and not in Winchester. The minutes of the last meeting were then agreed.

There were no deputations for the meeting.

The Chairman welcomed Dave Martin and Gordon Wilson from the Environment Agency to the meeting. Councillor Charles Choudhary was also welcomed to the Committee to replace Councillor Roland Dibbs, who was thanked for his contributions to the Select Committee. Richard Kenny, the new Interim Assistant Director for Economic Development was also introduced and welcomed to Committee.

HCC staff and particularly those in ETE were thanked for their hard work during Storm Bella in December with clearing roads and highways.

The Chairman also updated the Select Committee on the Active Travel fund, as well as proposing the formation of a new informal working group around Hampshire Highways in which volunteers were sought.

The Select Committee received a presentation from the Strategic Manager for Climate Change, who explained the County Council’s focus on tackling emissions and how priority areas were being balanced against work on climate change. There were four key areas being worked on, being transport, residential emissions, energy generation/distribution and business/green economy.

Members queried the work being done with Districts and it was confirmed that the County Council was disseminating information via working groups to ensure good communication and successful joint projects.

Officers were thanked for their work on climate change management.

The Select Committee received a presentation from the Strategic Manager for Environment and also the Environment Agency on flood defence and mitigation across Hampshire.

The seven priorities as part of the new strategy were detailed and the importance of collaborative working was emphasised. New solutions were being investigated for natural flood management but it was accepted that high intensity rainfall (flash floods) were very difficult to mitigate with any system. It was important to identify hotspots and monitor the drainage network to ensure it was running efficiently.

Members queried the issues of water run-off from fields and rural areas, particularly in north Hampshire, but sediment pathways were a technique for intervention to capture run-off before it got too far.

Councillor Humby confirmed to the Select Committee that ongoing work and collaboration was taking place with the Environment Agency to look at long-term solutions with flood management and a better use of technology to monitor trends.

Officers were thanked for their presentation and the Environment Agency were thanked for attending the Select Committee meeting.

The Select Committee received a presentation from the Senior Finance Business Partner and Director for Economy, Transport and Environment regarding the revenue and capital programme positions for the department from 2021 to 2024.

Members were given a high-level overview and it was confirmed that there were no new proposals for transformation to 2021 savings. The reserves position was summarised, along with a strategy for dealing with the impacts of Covid. The current savings programme was also summarised.

During questions it was accepted that the highway network had deteriorated and resources were being looked at to address maintenance issues, although there were no imminent concerns.

With waste, the County was still awaiting direction from Central Government before being able to commit or invest, but different options were still being looked at for the time being.

Bus subsidies had largely remained the same due to contracts being in place, but lost fair income had been subsidised to keep buses open for key workers during lockdown and significantly reduced passenger numbers.




RESOLVED

The Select Committee supported the recommendations being proposed to the Executive Member for Economy, Transport and Environment

This item was discussed along with the revenue item on the agenda (item 9).

RESOLVED

The Select Committee supported the recommendations being proposed to the Executive Member for Economy, Transport and Environment

Members received a follow-up presentation and update on School Streets after it initially going to the October 2020 Select Committee meeting.

Officers detailed the trial proposed and how this would operate using barriers, cones and trained volunteers to manage the closure and reopening of roads. Engagement would happen with local schools and businesses to ensure a collaborative approach. It was acknowledged that there may be delays due to Covid and school closures.

Whilst £66,000 had been secured from the Active Travel fund for a pilot, it was accepted that funding would need to be looked at for anything longer term going forward. Teams were working with Children’s Services and schools direct before promoting the initiative more widely.

Officers were thanked for their work on the project to date.

The programme was agreed by the Select Committee and it was agreed that public transport and how it was recovering would be looked at once the pandemic had eased.