Communities Overview and Scrutiny Committee - Wednesday 19 June 2024 2.00 pm
June 19, 2024 View on council website Watch video of meetingTranscript
Welcome everybody. It is two o'clock. Just a general for all councillors. You will be aware that the general election is due to take place on the 4th of July 2024. We are therefore holding the meeting during a period of heightened sensitivity. Although the council is largely operating business as usual, we all need to take particular care with our comments today. I would therefore ask you all to ensure that any comments or questions cannot be perceived as seeking to influence the public support for or against any candidate or political party. This may also mean that officers feel they can answer all of our questions publicly today. But if that is the case, I would expect written responses to be provided by democratic services in a timely manner. Apologies, I've got Jenny Fratchley, Councillor Jenny Fratchley, who is not able to be with us today. And for the planning from the Portfolio team, it's Yamateki. All the other cabinet members are here, thank you. Dave Aytonhill, apologies from Dave as well as officers. Item one, two, disclose your pecuniary or non-pecuniary interest. There's been no additional ones disclosed other than those printed. If anybody picks anything up during the meeting, please do pipe up. Three is the chairs announcement. Sandy Mitchell, you're welcome. We have the press here today, but I will remind members present that the meeting is being webcast as well. So, if anybody has concerns, please let me know. Item one, four, minutes of previous meetings. Meeting on Wednesday, the 10th of April, 2024. If I can get them open, go through the pages. It's on page four here. Page five, page six, page seven, page eight, page nine, and page ten. I've already got any points that I need to raise, or are we all happy that those are agreed to a correct record? Not seeing any dissension, all agreed? I'll sign those minutes. Then moving on to the second set of minutes, which was at the AGM, the minutes on the AGM, Tuesday the 14th of May. It was the apologies, the election of chair, and the election of the vice chair, and that was all resolved. Members all happy with that. I'm signing those minutes. Thank you. Moving on, public speaking. I've not been notified of any public speaking today. No notification. And then we've got questions to portfolio holders. I have got one from Councillor Fragely who's put a written question in, but does any member want to ask any questions of portfolio holders that we have at the present time? No? No members? The question I will ask on behalf of Councillor Fragely then, as I say Yamateki's not here, but I will ask the officer if he could pick this up, please. Scott Tompkins, if you might look at this. The question is, after the recent heavy rains and grass cutting drains are blocked and any rain is causing standing water, is there a programme to sweep the gutters and jet block the drains? Are you able to answer that or would you provide a written response, Scott? Happy to answer that, chair. The answer is yes, we have a very robust programme for emptying drains and I would add to that to say that, you know, this has been an exceptional year, one of the wettest on records. And if you look in the out-term budgets reporting, you'll see that county highways underspent on winter maintenance because we did less salting of roads because we had such a warm winter. But we overspent on jetting and cleaning of gullies, which is what you would expect given the amount of rainfall that we had. And a lot of that was reactive works where people would tell us, residents would tell us about drains that they had concerns about and we would get out and jet and clean those. Councillor Fragile's right to raise the question. We are, because it's been such a warm and very wet spring, we have lots of grass growth and we've been working very closely with our contractors, Belfer Beatties, about the timing of the instructing and getting the grass cutting season under way, which we're very much into. We are very lucky as an authority, we are not one of those authorities in the country that has cut back on our grass cutting. We're still doing three cuts in many places, including extra cuts on visibility displays. But, you know, I always ask patients from residents because grass is growing very thick and fast and we are getting to the sites as quickly as we can. But there is a programme of grass cutting and there is a programme of drainage clearance. We've got one specific area, and I'll just say Harley, for example. Harley's built on a hill, new Harley, old Harley, in the Greenbelt and it is really green, masses and masses of trees, as we all know. And we do gully clean. The trouble is, at certain times of the year, most of that leaf debris ends up in the road and washes down into the lower areas. And even though we gully clean, we still get flooding. Do we actually look at areas where we know we get flooding anyway? And when it comes to jetting, even after jetting, sometimes the blockage, the system's not flowing away. Have we got anything in process to actually improve the situation where we know we get more debris blocking the gullies? Thank you. Thank you, Councillor Humphries. Scott Tompkins, are you able to give us an update on that aspect, please? So, a couple of thoughts there. One, over the last three years, we've used a system called Carbon Tech, which is when the gully operators go to clean a gully, they actually use a hand-held device to record the amount of distritus that's in the gully. So, gullies where every time we go back, they're pretty clean, in the future, we'll probably clean those less frequently. Gullies that, every time we go back, they're full, will probably increase the frequency that we clean those gullies. So, we're trying to get to a point where we're using our data to become a more reactive service. So, we're focusing on those areas. And that happens because in an area, possibly like our leaf, you're on a hill and you get really good runoff from water when it rains, it will clean the drainage system out. And naturally, you get positive drainage clearance. In areas where you've got lots of trees on the edge of highway and you get leaf fall, you can get more distritus into the system and we have to do more cleans. But we do have a system for tracking it. What's good about that system is it also tells you the date and time stamp of when the gully cleansing machine was there. So, if you ever have a resident who wants to know when's the last time our gully was clean, you can ask your area highway surveyor and they can get the information to check it. Thank you very much. Thank you, Scott. Councillor Stirling. Is there a program for gully cleaning as well? I mean, I've been told each gully gets cleaned every two years. Is it reported or do they just go round and clean them when they have to? So, there is a program for cleansing and that program is more and more being influenced by the data that I was just talking about, the collection of that data. So, our guidance states that we will clean gullies at least once every two years. We do a lot of other gullies more frequently than that, particularly ones that are in flooding hotspots. Can we get access to that program if somebody asks us when's the gully going to be cleaned? I mean, we can't have an answer. Just say it would be two months, three months or can we have an access to it? Yeah, absolutely. Again, your local area surveyor is the person to talk to in county highways. They can find out when you're scheduled to have cleansing in your area. It's one of those things where residents, they go off to work during the day and they don't see the gully machine come and clean the gully. And then if you get any gastritis on the road, there's an instant, there's a thought that the gullies never get cleaned, but actually we do turn up. Or sometimes if we turn up and there's a parked car over top of a gully and we can't get to it, we will book it in for a revisit. But that comes at a different time during the year. So, but yeah, always happy to provide the data through the area surveyors. Councillor Albers. Thank you. Yeah, really pleased to see the reactive stuff data actually now beginning to take hold. I know that's been sort of in the offing for years and just on the reactive, if I go to locality officer and we agree that it needs a reactive look, I still sometimes get feedback that it could take a while because there's a long list and I know we've talked about this before. So what kind of backlog do we have on that list at the moment? And which way is it trending in terms of getting better or otherwise? I think Councillor Jarvis, Scott, do you want to come back on that? Yeah, I can do. So clearly after this last winter, we had multiple requests for jetting going into the system. We actually employed an additional jetter into the teams to deal with some of the requests we were dealing with this year, which is why we overspent on the gully and jetting. But we had a backlog at some point. I don't know for certain right now, but I'm guessing that we're catching up with that as the summer months get in place. But it has been an exceptional year. So would you be able to circulate the committee just like that, what that backlog is and then the trend on it? Thank you. Happy to ask the question of highways and see where we can get circulated. Thank you. Thank you. I'm not seeing any other member ask any points on that, but I would state I've experienced similar issues in my own borough. And that's been waiting a few months. Hopefully, I'm told it should be done this or the initial survey should be done this week. So I'm hoping it will progress at that point. I think, as you say, we are running a bit behind by all accounts. Thank you. We get over to three one economic development updates is about welcome. Sorry, it's about what's just so it goes out of the we know we're talking to you want to give us an update in relation to the economic development. Please. Yes, thank you. Thank you. Through you, Chair. Welcome, members. Members, please. I'm pleased to be sharing with members another full report on the activity and the work that's been underway in economic development around the economy and skills. There's a lots of number of positive outcomes and opportunities. And I'd like to justify nature through you start off by saying in light of the fact that there are so much work going on and also the fact that we have now had the adoption of the Warwickshire Economic Strategy. If through yourself, chair, there might be an opportunity to have a look at how we review the document, the information coming through to work well with members of overview and scrutiny and maybe perhaps aligned to the economic growth strategy, which has three key thematic areas. And I am talking a little bit late on this agenda about that economic growth strategy. So I just wanted to pose that question today through you chair with members of the overview and scrutiny about this work because there is a lot going on. So if I can leave that one with you, there's a number of headlines and I'll talk briefly through the paper and just pull out a number of these that have been shared in the report, starting, first of all, with the unemployment and employment has gone down since we last came in April. It was come down from three point three to two point four percent, which means that Warwickshire is sitting well below that of the West Midlands average at four point four. Members will also read in the report that there have been some small changes in the county around production and services. But overall, our economy has remained at a steady pace in terms of key decisions that have gone on since the last report mentioned briefly there that cabinet have approved the Warwickshire Economic Growth Strategy. This is a framework to guide economic development initiatives and activities. And I will be sharing with members late on this agenda the delivery plan to take that forward and outlining a little bit more strategy. So coming on to business and economy at the last meeting mentioned that the team were in the process of collating figures. The twenty three, twenty four with the business support, pleased to be sharing those with you, and these are located on the report on pages for you. So this is relating to pages twenty seven. So overall finance and investment. We had another bumper quarter, quarter four, which broke the figures for quarter three. So overall, the level of funding that we've provided to businesses in Warwickshire through lending and grant was just over four million pounds last year. And this attracted three million pounds worth of private sector investment, mainly through the Warwickshire Investment Fund, the LCE. And overall, the programs have helped to safeguard 300 jobs, support 108 friendships and has helped support the creation of all towards the creation of 250 new jobs in the county and keeping up with the trend of success. We have started to see this financial year that Warwickshire has successfully secured its first property investment fund loan. So nine point seven million pounds has helped the Wiggly Group to develop two new major business parks, which are the boundary of country and Warwickshire, and this will be supporting opportunities and infrastructure for SMEs. I'm pleased to say that has been well received by the market and a number of pre-lets have already started to happen and the loan fund will be supporting that development. Looking now at business support mentioned on a number of occasions about the transition that we've been undergoing from EU funding to UK shared prosperity funds. So pleased with even with that transition to date in last year, we have supported 12000 businesses support. We are now coming into our third and final year of UK shared prosperity funds. And we have built a really strong, clear offer business growth Warwickshire, which captures a number of six, six business support programs that's working very closely with our districts and boroughs. And those have been going well. And then finally, on business support, members may have read in the news about the King's Award for Enterprise. Warwickshire has had a record number of businesses receiving these awards. We're pleased and proud to say that in total, eight businesses have received awards around innovation in international trade, promoting opportunities and sustainable development. And this figure includes one company called 3D Technologies, based in Warwick, who will only one of five businesses in the whole UK to receive the King's Award for Enterprise. It's a prestigious award for businesses. And what we've been doing is wanting to build on this success. And there's an event being held today where we've been inviting businesses working with the deputy lieutenant to invite businesses to come forward and apply for the next year for 20 for the King's Award 2025. Moving us now into employment and skills. So that is members benefit. We are now on page 30. So officers have been really busy in this area as well pleased to share that we are making progress and looking at two new employment, potentially two new employment programs, which we're just waiting for that formal agreement on which we will take through my portfolio holder. But I was keen to share with members of the committee today because as we move through this year, it's like you'll hear more about the names. I wanted to share this with you. The first one being a program called Work Well, and this is where officers from the Warwickshire Skills Hub have been working very close with our colleagues in Coventry Council and also with NHS Coventry in Warwickshire and through the Integrated Care Board. The focus being to support adults and young people with mental health illness to gain and maintain employment, working with health care professionals. This partnership that we've created, we've been selected as one of the areas to deliver this program, and it's due in part to the great work that's been underway through the Supportive Employment Program that members supported in Warwickshire, but also the great partnership we have in Coventry. And we've been able to demonstrate that we can work well across a range of partners with a variety of professionals coordinating and collaborating and this is all built around helping focus our residents into work. So the timeline we're looking at for this program coming on board, as I say, subject to a formal agreement, is around October through this year, and I'll look forward to sharing more about that with members as we get nearer. And the other new program is the work that's underway working with the Department of Work and Pensions, which is called Universal Support, and this is very much about providing targeted employment support, building on the work that we're already undertaking through the Skills Hub about bringing residents and supporting residents into work. This program is going to be targeting a further 700 people per year in the county, and we are just in the process of looking at the details and the funding, and again, subject to approval, we will be bringing that back to members later this year. Other areas to report on in regards to employment is there's been a whole range of work still continuing, and this quarter alone the Skills Hub has received almost 430 referrals from partners, and I'm really pleased to say that amongst that we've been able to support 66 customers through the supportive employment into paid work and 13 of whom are now working independently, which is fantastic. Alongside with the customer referrals, the Skills Hub also works very closely with businesses in the county, and we've been supporting 363 businesses since January with a range of areas and aspects of work, including helping them to become Fair Chance employers, looking at the future skills, and we've held a number of roundtables, and we've also reported at the last meeting about the Skills Escalator Fund. It was a program we worked and developed working closely with Neaton. Pleased to say that based on the success of that, we're now looking to roll that out amongst the districts and boroughs to make that countywide, and that's been supported through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund. And then just finally on employment and skills, we also have our Careers Hub. I'm really pleased that there's a whole range of activities coming forward. There's been some new initiatives, and this is where we're linking with the schools and the parents and the partners. And members will note that there's a particular initiative that we've been working with around supporting our Looked After Children. We've been offering teachers work experience. We've been offering career leaders events. And also we've launched the new SCND Enterprise Competition, as well as a number of discussions with young people about routes and pathways into apprenticeships. So I'll be pleased to come back with a little more information, certainly around the competition and how that's working. On the Multiplier Fund, this is about supporting residents to improve maths. So far, we are now in our third year of the program. We have supported 1,500 residents to improve their math skills. And just to note, and it came after the report we shared with you, Chair, that actually we had a recent meeting with the Department for Education about the Multiplier Fund, and they were really impressed with the work that's been going on with the county, with the commissions, with our programs, and the reach that the program has had to residents. And what we've been doing is, through commissioning, we've introduced a number of areas such as helping people to, such as cooking, household budgets, and also helping to run their own business, all of which are based around developing and supporting and improving math skills for residents. I'll move us on to business centres. Most of the improvement works now have been completed. That's the improvements to the reception areas and the community events underway. I'm pleased to report the rental income is at 8% and occupancy across the business centres has remained high. And then I'll move us on to another exciting area, which is that around the sector and inward investment. So this is now page 34 for members. So, yes, a couple of work areas to report on. We now have the new strand of the Innovation Fund reported back in October that we've been selected by Innovate UK. We've now had a further $1.5 million available, which we are working with businesses to support a number of creative grants. We had our Interactive Futures held in May in Warwick, working with Warwick District. We saw over 800 people come to that two-day event, which is linked to our creative and digital sector. Friday being an industrial day with opportunities to talk to developers and industry leads and Saturday was the exciting day with the skills and we had a range of young people of all ages coming to talk to the industries around careers and opportunities. Also during May, it was quite a busy month, Warwickshire attended the UK Reef. We went as part of the West Midlands Pavilion under the Invest, Coventry and Warwickshire identity. Really well attended and along with our exhibit space, we also had a number of speaker slots. I'm proud to say that Warwickshire led a couple of panels as part of the Midlands Engine Pavilion and we had a range of public and private partners and developers supporting us on that and it was enabled Warwickshire to give a wide exposure around the key sites, the talents and also to hear from businesses and partners who are successfully growing in our area. And also in May, the team attended the Battery Sales and Systems Expo at the NEC and this was all about an opportunity to promote the forthcoming investment zone and the work that's going on with Coventry and Warwickshire around future mobility and technology. And then finally, just to pick up around our partnership work, members will note that there's a piece of work that started with through the Coventry and Warwickshire Convention Bureau called Final Course, which is all around encouraging venues and customers to donate to food banks in our area. And then we also attended the Warwickshire Food and Drink event at the NEC. This was the first time Warwickshire took a stand and we took it with a number of local food and drink producers. There was an awful lot of attraction to our stand, really pleased. And what we do know is that as a result of that, some of the businesses won further business and they got some business inquiries and those that attended. And then also the local winery who was on our stand has recently appeared on BBC News representing the English wine industry. So pleased with the work that's been going on. I shall pause there, Chair. Thank you. Sorry, Jonathan, I'll come to you first. Thank you, Chair. Thank you, Isabella and all your team for the for the ongoing work. Just got a question about the skills part of this and there's loads going on, which is great. And I think we've kind of raised this before from reading the kind of update. I don't have a sense of like how big or small of the amount of money that we're investing in it. And I know. And then and then the following question is, are we getting a good rate, which which are the best, most successful programmes? You know, which ones are working really well, which ones need. And I know it's not as simple because when you're working with different client groups, you need different amounts of investment in them. I think I asked last time about kind of some kind of indication in the paper about the update, about kind of the scale and how we then measure, like the how how the indicators are going on those programmes and how we're planning to review them to see whether we want to upscale them or, you know, what we want to hear them next. And so it was a bit woofly, but I hope it's Jonathan. Isabel, you wanted to thank you for the for the interest in the questions. As I mentioned at the beginning, this is quite a paper which highlights a number of areas, but there is an awful amount of work that goes on. Huge range of programmes. And again, I guess through you, chair and for the members of the committee to have a consideration, if they would like, and maybe a more focused paper looking around that agenda would be very happy to bring because there is an awful lot going on. We can happily bring down that break, break down the finances, but also share with the with members what the journey is, those pathways, the client, the customer journey and the outcomes that we're achieving across the age range, whether it's linked to the apprenticeships, whether the support of employment, the careers hub and also the skills of itself. And I think that's perhaps just leaning to the point at the beginning about having that opportunity to get a little bit into some more detail for members, if that's possible, because there's quite a lot a big answer. If I could just be honest, I think it would take up maybe something as an agenda item to come if that's a suggestion. But through you, chair, that be for a forward plan. Thank you. You're content with where we are with that at the moment, Councillor Chilvers, in relation to the forward plan? Yeah, happy. I'm interested to hear whether other members of the committee would like to kind of pursue a slightly deeper dive on the skills side of things. I think you're perhaps right. The other thing would be to bring it up with the chair and spokes as well with perhaps getting that extended on to the programme further. Councillor Martin Watson. Yeah, thanks, chair. I mean, I just wanted to record my own personal thanks from as a portfolio holder for economy. Isabel and her team do so much work. They do some fantastic work and has already been alluded to. In some ways, the report can't do it justice because there's almost too much there. So it's just my personal thanks because I have the privilege to go out and meet with businesses that this impacts. So I see it firsthand the impact that this has. Was it a business yesterday in rugby? You know, three of their people are now doing apprenticeships, which they historically have never done before. So the team do some fantastic stuff, and I think if we could just kind of drill down on some of the areas and take them as specifics. I think, Councillor Chilvers, you'd get some of your answers there because the details there is just very difficult to include it in an overall report. But I just wanted to record my own personal thanks because the guys do some fantastic work. Thank you, Councillor Watson. Mark Ryder, you wanted to add to that? Please, just to add to Isabel's response to Jonathan about one of the programmes that were the best and how do we steer that work based on that. I think just one bit to add, some of the programmes are funded for a specific purpose. So in some way, we're led by the funding. But it has to be said that our skill hubs are really good at understanding the audience and the customer base and tweaking it to match that to get the biggest impact. And I certainly see that when I go there and talking to others in the country, you know, we're doing a tremendous job in Warwickshire. We're head of a lot of other local authorities, particularly engagement with FE and schools and across the supported employment programme. So, yeah, I think there's a report we could bring back which sheds a bit more light on specific areas. I thought I'd add that in response to you. Thank you. Thank you, Mark. I've not seen any of the member indicated at the moment. I've just got one question, Isabel, in relation to the Interactive Futures worksheet and the event held at the Royal Spa Centre. Obviously, quite successful looking at the figures in there. Was it a pilot or plans to bring it back again or plans to extend that to maybe other areas? Can you just advise? Thank you, Chair. So first year in the role, but when I spoke to colleagues, it's something we have run previously on a number of occasions. There was a slight pause during Covid and it has been an annual event to date with the exception of the Covid. I think each time we look at how we review it, it's been reviewed each time. Previously, it's run for longer periods or different audiences. So what we do want to do, make sure it's relevant to the needs of ourselves and needs of the residents as well as aligning to our objectives and working with the industry as well. So plans are to continue to hold this again next year and we will make the relevant. But it's likely we might move it a little bit later in the year. I think previously it used to be run around the January time. So this time it was run in May. I think from the discussions and talking to partners, it might be something we're looking to hold around the June time. But we can happily come back. But it is a regular event because this industry in this sector is really important and getting that opportunity for young people and residents to meet with the businesses and the businesses to meet with our residents has proved to be really fruitful. I'm very mindful of the fact that obviously this was around Royal Edmonton Spa, the event itself. Is it expected that it will continue in that area or is it likely to be rolled out into other areas across Warwickshire? So the interactive use is a partnership with Warwick District, reflective of the cluster of gaming sectors and creative sectors that we have in that area. I think that's why it probably does work well is because of that relationship. But we're always happy to have conversations with the boroughs and the districts about the clusters and the industries which are relevant and connected to their areas. But the event itself was open to residents across Warwickshire and outside of Warwickshire we had people visiting us from Coventry, Birmingham, all able to come and have that experience. The reason it was held there was the Warwick District and the relationship to the cluster of the industry that was located and they were able to do some tours around their factories and their businesses connected to the Royal Spa because it was just down the road. Thank you. Say I'm mindful of the location and the rationale behind it being there I suspect. I just wanted to make sure that it was accessible to all residents if we're going to carry on and how we perhaps develop it going forward. Thank you. Not seeing any other member indicate on that report. Thank you very much for the report. I appreciate the update. It's very positive information in there. I look forward to seeing it progress and possibly as we said further development through the Chair and Spokes we can perhaps get more information as we do a follow up report going forward. Thank you. Moving on to the Item 3.2, the EDS dashboard updates. Tristan, you're going to lead us through this one? I am indeed. Thank you, Chair. So this is the EDS dashboard which sets out the high profile schemes that EDS Engineering Design Services at Warwick County Council are working on both in construction and in development. We present this every six months to overview and scrutiny. And in doing so, preparing this this time, what I was struck by and what I'm going to talk about first is the number of schemes that we've successfully delivered since I last reported in November. So we can run through them. Bermuda, a scheme that's now fully open to traffic, opened recently. That's been completed since I last reported. Gypsy Lane, a Section 278 scheme has been successfully completed. Green Man Crossroads actually was largely complete last time I presented but it's kept on there because some progress has been made and there's still one or two outstanding items that need to be closed out on that. So I'm going to make sure that remains on the dashboard until we've successfully closed those out. Temple Hill roundabout in Wolvey, that was a casualty reduction scheme which has been successfully delivered that was actually nominated for a collaborative working award between ourselves, Warwick County Council and the contractor who is delivering that scheme. Evesham Road roundabout delivered Gallows Hill, another Section 278 scheme delivered. Harbour Lane Crossroads now fully open to traffic so that's pleasing to see. The work on Glassells Lane in support of the work for the new school has been completed and the renovations to Clopton Bridge has been completed also. In terms of those that remain in construction, so some schemes have been added now to replace those schemes that will be removed next time we report on the dashboard but pulling out some of the schemes that are still in construction or have started in construction so we have what we refer to as WCC3. So that's the Fords Foundry roundabout and Queensway roundabout work so that started as planned in May and we're expecting that to complete in 12 months or so. The work on Cassell Bridge and the Coventry Road cycleway scheme has also commenced having successfully negotiated our way through the cycle track order process. And then if we move on to schemes that are in development, again I'm not going to run through them all but just pick up on some of them. So we've got Ava Mill which is going to be really our next major big scheme on site. We've been spending a lot of time with the Environment Agency refining the final layout to make sure that whatever we construct there is not going to make flood risk worse and ideally improve on the existing situation. There is a little bit of uncertainty because of the general election around the timing of any funding that might come out from DFT so we're in close communications with them. And moving on to another scheme, the H44 College Street. So phase one we're completing the tree removal consultation process on that scheme and depending how that plays out we're hoping to start work sort of later this summer. That's located geographically quite close to Bermuda so it was important that Bermuda was open to traffic before we started on that scheme. And then further schemes, the A3400 Birmingham Road scheme, that's an important scheme for us. That's going to follow as soon as possible after the Warwick Road scheme in Stratford which is planned to be completed by the end of July. And other schemes such as St John's in Warwick, that is all linked into the quite complicated and detailed network management plan that we've got for delivering schemes within the Warwick and Leamington area so that will follow on from WCC3. So that's it Chair. I think I suspect we'll probably have a few members of this but wanted to raise questions. Councillor Humphries. Yeah I was going to ask you this one. Sorry it was quoted at $536,000 I see it's cost $899,000 and is that because of inflation or do we get the cost wrong in the first place? But added to that I was going to say I know that the Government has given promised money to do an improvement on the A5 and that was promised nearly four years ago of $79.5 million. If the difference between that one at $536 against $899 the one thing we had to do at the time is the county agreed to pay for any shortfall. Based on that sort of cost indifference if there is a shortfall on what will come for improvements on the A5 does it become too expensive for it to happen? Thank you. So in terms of Greenman that is a forecast cost I understand we've spoken to the project manager this week we now have the proposed final account from the contractor. So they're working through that so when that's complete I'll be able to update you on this document as to what the exact cost was. I understand when I spoke to them a little while ago it was less than the figure there but there's still some discussions to be had. In terms of the A5 that's not something that Engineering and Design Services are looking after at the moment. I can take that away and raise that point to them and try to get response if you like. I'd appreciate that because it could become vast because all of our strategy around housing and the things that are happening around Junction 10 rely on the A5. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. First question is on the Europa Way Programme in Development, the WCC3 scheme. In the notes it says that there's going to be an environment, I don't know how you say that word, a movement of money from WCC2 to WCC1. But then in WCC1 it says this is on hold because we don't actually know what the national highways are saying about it. So where are we with that one at the moment? So I think that the national highways position is key to determining exactly how we proceed in terms of WCC1. I know that we've spoken previously in overview and scrutiny about the importance that people place and we ourselves in making sure that the cycling element of WCC2 is delivered and that is still the plan. Nothing has changed but in terms of exactly what that programme looks like and in terms of the scale of the WCC1 works it does depend on the conclusion of our discussions with national highways. You have another question, Jonathan? I have another question about another scheme if that's okay, Jack. Carry on. Mark, do you want to answer on that particular point? I'll just add what Tristan said. There are 13 packages of works including developer funding on Europa Way, three of which are the county council schemes. During the course as time has gone on and schemes have been developed, inflation has bitten so we know that the three WCC schemes in full cannot be funded out of the money that is available. So the prioritisation on the complete WCC2 which includes the cycling infrastructure was a priority. The next priority is the Ford Foundry and Shires roundabouts which are currently underway now and increasing capacity there. So there will be some money remaining to do something with WCC1. National highways and ourselves are in discussion about what a smaller scheme might look like to improve safety on south N40 queuing which was a key to that junction. And I think that's where Tristan came in and that's where we are with national highways, what is achievable, what potentially are the developer funding could be brought to bear to make it safer but it's very much work in progress. But the two priority schemes are either underway or coming to completion. Thank you, Mark. So you had another, did you want to follow on from that point or you have to raise your second point then Jonathan? So the second question about K2L, it says Section 1C says under review. That sounds a bit worrying, can you tell me about that please? Thank you, Councillor. I'm just trying to find the specific notes on K2L. I think the answer is going to be, we've done a lot of work in presenting to stakeholders on K2L so that will be available in the background. Would it be possible for me to just take that away and get back to you with some more detail on it? Yes, that's fine but if you can provide an update to all members. That would be helpful, I suspect. There's a number of members across the area that would be interested in the response on that point. Anything else, Jonathan? So my final question, thank you, Chair, is around numbers 7 and 8 on the development where it talks about the developer funding for thick-saw and signalised junction and then a kind of a slightly wider scheme that's our one but in the notes it makes them sound very similar so I wondered if you could just talk through why they've been listed separately and what they involve. So there are two schemes there. One is the developer scheme which is persimmons homes and their connection into the A452 which is right near the thick-thorn junction. That's moving ahead at pace and where we are in the process of doing the technical approvals for that section 278 scheme. The other scheme is the wider scheme that we have forward funded and it's in the capital programme for delivery which is the improvements to the thick-thorn roundabout over the A46 which adds a little bit of capacity but more importantly there's the cycling and pedestrian crossing of the A46. That works in design feasibility at the moment but we have the funding for that in the programme and we will deliver it. It's really important because it connects into K2L as part of K2L eventually. Thank you Scott. Any other members want to raise any points on this? I've just got one comment I'd like to make in relation to the Buda connectivity project and I know that's coming back at a later date with some further information that we can perhaps get into more detail and dig down into what's taking place there. But my question probably really is around, now that that is open, what are the opportunities for delivering the proposals that were originally planned for the ball ring in that area? I know Tom here that you're currently in discussion with related to the tree removals in that area. Have you got any expected timescales as to when these works might start then please? So this is the College Street scheme isn't it. So phase one is well advanced and we're keen to start on site but the tree consultation is something that's relatively new to the authority and wasn't a process that was in place when we started designing it. So we are making sure that we're consulting on the need to remove I think it's three trees in that for that scheme depending how that plays out and if the decision is made to proceed with the scheme then we're hoping that that element can come sort of late summer. So we're primed to start delivering that one. I could just add to that, the change is something that's happened nationally. So if you remember in the last three, four years there's been some very high profile issues with trees in other places, thank goodness not in Berkshire, in Sheffield and in Plymouth where trees were removed to deliver schemes and the public were not consulted and it caused quite a bit of public upheaval and made national news. Those sorts of things so DFT issued a change in the guidance and now they were required to consult on all major roads when a when large trees are when trees are removed we have to consult with with with residences now the requirement to consult we were already following best practice which is where we knew there were going to be issues around trees being removed we would do a consultation tend to not do that in say a rural area where there where it's not affecting trees. Where it's not affecting properties or access as we were removing a tree for safety reasons we wouldn't consult but now that we now have a duty to consult and which is what we're doing at College Street. Thank you. I think it's helpful to know that, you know, there's a rationale behind any delays in relation to delivering the project. The only question I've got around that is, are there any other areas within that scheme because it is in two or three phases whether the other schemes could be progressed instead at this point or whether we've got to wait for that. So phase one is the one that is most advanced chair and is the one that we can deliver first phase two. There are some challenges around the design that we haven't quite resolved our design team is talking closely with the road safety team and the need to accommodate some quite large vehicles in the area. I believe there's a unit that's related to preparing or constructing canal barges. And so that's something that's having an effect on what the overall design is going to look like so there's still some work to do in the background. Thank you. Any other member on this point. Thank you very much for the report. I think it's helpful to provide the update to members as well. Thank you. Back to you is about item for economic growth strategy delivery plan. Thank you. Thank you chair. Hello again. So I'm really pleased to be bringing to members of overview and scrutiny. This delivery plan which supports the economic growth strategy that received cabinet approval in April. The report has two recommendations one is to seek your support for the delivery plan which is two years, which will help assist us take forward the strategy. And the other one is to note about the approach to monitor and manage and give oversight of the performance of this delivery plan. So, a little bit of background in terms of the economic growth strategy. And it's really about mentioned in my previous presentation. This is that framework about guiding economic development initiatives and activities in Berkshire. There's strategies there because it's going to give us a structured approach to addressing the challenges and about ensuring that we can deliver sustainable growth and it gives us a really strong direction. It's a 10 year plan 10 year strategy strategy also helps to bring that alignment with stakeholders. It's a Warwickshire County, not just Council, it's a county plan. So it's an opportunity for us to share goals influence and coordinate with stakeholders and also work at a very local level as well with partners. And importantly, it also helps to it for ourselves as the county council in regards to the allocation of resources, and it gives that oversight and assurance of the actions and the direction of travel that we're taking with this. So, the delivery plan has been attached as an appendices. And I think what we just want to sort of reinforce to members or share with members is the purpose of the plan. It's a two year plan, and it is to really make sure that we do create that resilient and diversified economy that we can and have the ability to respond to challenges, whilst also ensuring that sustainable inclusive growth and you'll see that strategy has three themes ambitious, inclusive and sustainable and they're there as broad headings but those are the three connected and collaborative themes that we're working towards. But we really need to be focusing on a number of areas underneath that and innovation and research and development, the skills development we've just mentioned earlier as well. We need to be looking at how the infrastructure is brought forward, where and how we bring forward good growth, sustainable growth, and the plan is all about how to then position Warwickshire's economy both now but also for the longer term, so that we ensure we have a successful and prosperous economy for everyone. And I think third point as well as the plan is about how do we then effectively implement this plan, so that we have that continuous evaluation, and we can actually be achieving and delivering the outcomes that we have set ourselves as a council and as a partner. So as I mentioned the three themes are there, and there's a copy attached to the report, both of the cabinet report and the strategic growth, the economic growth strategy. There's also attached as an appendix the details of the delivery plan, and really just to sort of mention to members that we've worked really closely with a whole number of partners and stakeholders, our districts and boroughs, chambers of commerce, federation of small business and whole universities to make sure that this plan is one that we can collectively and collaboratively deliver. And so subject to members support today and the next steps will be looking to set up a key group to oversee that delivery which will bring in those range of stakeholders, so that we can understand and we will be pleased to come back and bring back a report and in there you'll see that one of the proposals is to have an annual report and the state of the economy and how we are delivering and achieving against our economic growth strategy with the opportunity to review and reflect and to take on board any changes that we're seeing as we move forward. It's a bit shorter today. Thank you chair. Thank you. It's a good overview, thank you. Any member want to ask any questions at this point in relation to that item 4 report? Councillor Watson I'll bring you in first and then I'll go back to you Councillor. Yeah, thank you chair. It was just to reiterate what Isabelle had said. This is a really important document for us because when we develop the strategy, this effectively holds our feet to the fire. This tells us what we're going to do, when we're going to do it and who's going to do it for those timescales. So we was really keen to have a delivery plan that basically achieved the overall strategy or drove us towards the overall strategy. So it's a really important document and I think the first time we've had something that really looks at how we're going to do it, who's going to do it and when it's going to happen. So I'm really pleased with the document and hopefully scrutiny will accept it. Thank you. Thank you. Councillor Watson. Councillor Childress. Thank you. I really like this document so thank you for putting it together. I really like the focus on skills and productivity. I think that's great. And my only question is a little bit similar to before, is looking through those five or six metrics, I've got like no idea how much money we're invested in each of them. I don't know what our total budget going into this is and just some kind of indication of level of resource and money going into each one would really kind of strengthen the document. I don't know if that could be added in some way. Thank you, Councillor mentioned there is a whole package of funding that goes into the world of economy, economy and skills through external funding through partnership funding, as well as that resource of support to some of the initiatives as well are delivered on behalf of, but without necessarily acquiring funding from ourselves, but they're delivered through the partnerships that mentioned the University of Warwick being one, for example. So I'm happy to bring that certainly aware of the budgets we have both external and mainstream funding that we can connect. I think what the document mentioned, it's there's more than just the money and the resources we have. There is a whole range of other support that is going into that and the initiatives that other partners are bringing together. And this is this opportunity to bring that collaboration into one. But we can certainly share with you the budgets and the figures and the source of fundings that we have. Yes, thank you. And I think why I think it might be helpful is it might help show where, because some of these I feel like actually we're on it, we're driving forward and then there might be other bits where we help show where there's a gap and go actually we've got further to go on this one. So I think that's kind of a little bit behind why I'm asking and I just I can't get a sense from from what's there at the moment. But as I say, I really, I really like the way the rest of it's laid out. Any other member. There are two recommendations on this one to seek the support for the two year delivery plan to assist the delivery works as an economic growth strategy was approved by cabinet people 24 and also to note the proposed approach within the document, and the manage the oversight of the forms of the delivery plan members happy to agree. Those recommendations. Agreed. The dissensions. Agreed. Thank you. Moving on to item five. Do you think you're going to present this. It's got this going to start off with this one item five year and integrated. I don't mind presenting. Indeed, and what members have, I think from page 75 onwards in your agenda pack. I'll just wait for that to stop. Apologies for the electronic interference. Sorry Steve you want to start off again. Yeah, sure. Thank you. So this is the quarterly performance report. This is the year end report. Members seek the quarterly performance reports on a regular basis from there's quite a lot of detail here from page 75 I think from your, your agenda pack, you have a covering report but the four dependencies are the meat of the, of the, of the report you see the key performance indicators in Appendix one. You've got the progress on the delivery plan is the cancel plan, the overall cancel plans is the progress there. Then obviously there is the management of the finances and then management of risks throughout the report. And so there's a lot of detail here for the men for members to consider. Really what are the, what are the emerging headlines well, there are any 3.1 describes it really that there are still remaining increasing demands and costs and some of our high spend areas in children and families adult social care, special educational needs and disabilities and who are more relevant to this, this committee home to school transport. And those demands are putting stretches on our resources and our capacity and our workload. We have continuing recruitment and retention difficulty in specific areas, members can see there in those social care areas as well as highways in some of the professional disciplines in highways planners legal and finance. And there are also now some emerging challenges around staff absence, particularly in certain areas of busy support customer contact, etc. But that said, this report shows a very positive year end with 86% of performance measures are on track or have been met. That's been, that's been fairly steady throughout the year, and that shows some very positive performance throughout. And if we were to look at areas of particular strong performance they're highlighted in paragraph 2.4 I think is on page 78. We highlight there as we have done throughout this this meeting, number of apprenticeships created through cancel support are encouraging absolutely performance on waste, both our measures, carbon emissions through our cancel waste and the amount of household waste that is reused recycle and composted, they are hitting their targets. Absolutely. So there's lots of positivity throughout this report, I would say, in terms of the management of the finances, the headlines are in the report. Members can see and they're pretty much reflected in in those particular pressures where we are seeing difficult management within budget, particularly in a school transport area to think well known to this committee. Again, then those are the areas of social care as well that I mentioned, but the highlighted detail is in paragraph 4.4 and you can see there, you know, the difficulties in terms of meeting spend in particular, and that is obviously a focus for all the leadership of the council as we move forward now into a new financial year. As we look at our forecasting are absolutely focused on seeking to manage within budget and keep those overspends in clear sights. And finally, before I hand over for questions, there are particular risks, particular cross cutting risks across the council that are highlighted that are a challenge. We've heard a number of points from Isabel around managing our economic strategy. We have our economic growth strategy now in place. So there's a particular focus on that across the county and making sure that we see, if not equal, but at least growth in all parts of Warwickshire. And that's a particular focus for that strategy and on particularly on sustainable futures. That's our climate change strategy, which was adopted by this council last November. Lots to come on that. We're working our way through. There's a number of measures we're working our way through. I've said that waste is particularly strong. We're now hitting our targets on tree planting. We're now looking at areas of energy across Warwickshire. We're working with a number of partners on that, particularly the Westminster Combined Authority in trying to map where our energy needs are for the future. Decarbonise our estate, a particular challenge, since most of our estate is heated through gas, and that's a particular strong emitter for us. So we need to look at that and our fleet strategy as well, which Scott and his team are working on as we speak. And we think we might transition over a period of time from our current fleet to something which is as a lesser carbon footprint. So a lot more to come on that. There's a lot of material here. I'll pause at that point, Chair, and I or Scott or Isabel, representing her side of the community's director, are here to answer any questions. Thank you. Thanks, Steve. A good overview of the document, as you say, there's a lot of information within this document. Scott, did you want to add anything, or Mark? I see both your names are on that. Good presentation. Thank you for that. So I'll open it up to members if you've got any questions in relation to the report. Sorry, Isabel, did you want to add something? I didn't ask you. I thought you ran me up then. Okay. Any members want to ask any questions on the report or look into this further? Recommendations are that the committee considers report in the year and 23/24 organizational performance and the progress against the delivery plan and management to the finances of risk. One thing I would say, and it's more an admin issue, we have a number of 2.1, I think, four 2.1s, three 2.2s within the document. Can we perhaps make sure that when we put the documents together that we follow on the system so that we can, members can follow it where they need to identify any particular issues. So members happy with the report as it presented today, the recommendations all agreed. No dissension. That's agreed then. Thank you. Thank you very much for the report. Item 6, 20 mile an hour speed limit, verbal updates. Scott, back to you. Thank you, chair. So there's a report there at the end of your pack on 20 mile an hour speed zone. So just a reminder of the committee that we had a task and finish group that scrutiny task and finish group that looked at 20 mile an hour speed zones. And that reported back to this committee and Councillor Sinclair had suggested that after a period of time, we come back with some of the figures on what where where 20 mile an hour speed zones had been implemented. And this is just to get to get that update. So apologies from Paul Taylor, who was the officer that supported that scrutiny task and finish group and lead on that. He's pulled these this information together, but couldn't couldn't be here today. So there are six 20 mile an hour speed zones that have been delivered between February 20, 23 and now. And then there's a long list there of schemes that are either in design or console consultation stages. To be being considered and be very happy to take any questions about about any of these. Thank you, Scott. Any member want any further information or updates in relation to the update that we've received here? The briefing notes is there. I'll ask a question in relation to in relation to the delivery of the schemes being considered. Obviously, there's going to be work done behind them. Is there any expectation in relation to dates as to when these schemes might be being progressed, please? A really difficult question to answer because the every scheme has got really different parameters behind it. So, you know, 20 mile an hour speed schemes don't tend to be straightforward. So they you've got not only do we do a pre consultation with residents that are affected, but when we once we've ironed out what the traffic regulation order would be, we would then do a statutory consultation. That whole process typically takes between 12 and 18 months to get to a phase where you're delivering in most cases to get the speeds within the nationally required levels to for 20 to be put in place. It also requires traffic calming. So then you've got physical measures that you're delivering as well. So every scheme has got a different variant there on delivery. Thank you. I think Councillor Sinclair asked to raise the issue about post implementation studies, which you've touched on or Paul's touched on at the end of the thing, say the paper saying these would normally be done three to five years after completion. And I'm just wondering that seemed like so I can understand that you would for KSI's seriously injured, you would need to leave quite a long gap. But I wonder whether it's possible it would be possible to do something, some other things in the meantime for the ones that have been completed. So, for instance, once you've got a year of speed data, we should be able to see whether there has been a reduction in speed in the ones completed. And also, I think there's a place for some qualitative work around, you know, like in the Henley one, for instance, has had two people, you know, the element of feeling safer. And then there's also the you could also collect data on are more people feeling able to cross the road between shops or whatever like that. I just think maybe we don't need to wait three years or five years just for KSI's and actually we could do some post implementation work on some other metrics. I don't know if that'd be possible. Scott, are you able to? Yeah, happy to take that back and ask the team. We are looking at not just on 20 mile an hour speed limit schemes, but across a lot of our major schemes, capital program delivery, looking at before and after studies. You don't want to put lots of funding into doing the before and after studies when the reality is you're not going to go back and change that. But certainly on some schemes, doing a before and after study on speeds, typically on 20 mile an hour speed zones, you get about a one mile per hour drop in the average speed limit when you do the surveys. But I could go back and ask the team if we can do some of those on some of the six that have been completed. Yes, I don't think when you want to do them on everything, but actually we might find that, as you say, often there's a one to two mile reduction per hour. But we might find that one is particularly successful or one's not and we again might want to take that learning forward in terms of how we design schemes in the future. The feedback is helpful. Just one point, I've not seen any other member. The two or three of these are actually identified as 20 mile an hour schemes and they've got school by them all, i.e. high streets and things like that. I'm very mindful of the fact that there's a couple or two or three in here that may be by schools that are not identified as being schools. Is there any possibility that we cannot break down where they are actually going to be school schemes? And also, if they are going to be 20 mile an hour, are they fixed 20 mile an hour at school times or throughout the school, throughout the whole period, please? I think that's probably helpful to know. I don't think that any of these schemes are specific school zone schemes. These are all 20 mile an hour speed limit schemes. So it's where we're looking to change the speed limit on a whole section road. Some of them might contain schools within that, but it's it's a whole area or whole section of roads that are being considered for 20 mile an hour. Helps clarify it somewhat. Thank you. Any other member? OK, well, thank you very much for the update. I suspect we'll probably be looking at this again at some point. As you say, it's a hot topic to most members of the public have concerns and there's an expectation that we can deliver the 20 mile an hour in all areas. Unfortunately, that's not always the case, but it's interesting to see that we are progressing with a number of schemes. So just a suggestion in terms of whether we could ask Scott and his team to come back with the responding on the questions on implementation and studies, and then we can take that into Ovi and spokes about then how we want to receive an update on this in the future. So I think that's helpful. I'm sure Scott can take that away and we'll discuss to get it over his group. Councillor Humphries. There are a couple of other areas that I've put forward or been asked to put forward, not just only in Coleshill, but also in for Longley, and they don't appear on the list. So is there a sort of list behind the list which these are up for consideration, but I'm sure we've all been put things forward that disappear in the ether. Sometimes we don't know the status of anything else is going on. Thank you. Scott, are you able to update, or can we get some more information and update the displays? Yeah, can I go two ways on that one? I'll go back and ask the team, but my recommendation is, is engage with your area surveyor about about a scheme because because these are the schemes that we're aware of. So these are schemes that we are in design with or we're working with. If there's other schemes that have been discounted or there's other schemes that we're not aware of, they're not on the list. But if you engage with your area highway surveyor about how to get your scheme being considered, then that's the good through that process that we did that came out of the scrutiny group. Okay, so that's what I said, report. I don't see that you remember, we have on the item seven communities of the committee work programme. Does anyone have anything they'd like to see added to our work programme for the forthcoming year. Looking around. It's just a question I know at chair and spokes, I never quite say that right. We talked about having people in from careers from the buses and from seven trends. And I think you just you able to give us an update on where you've got to those it might be in there. But those invitations that we put out, I think we were trying to identify North and South because that was a requirement that we were looking at. Able to update us at all in relation to those invitations. Any member of the office, I should say, sorry. At the moment, it is being directed to officers so we can organise to have that over the next three meetings. Okay, so I'm very mindful of the fact that we put a bit of criteria around it, we wanted to cover both the north and the south so I suspect it might be a little bit more difficult than we expected but what one of them was with seven trends as well. They responded at all we had key perhaps give us an update. Not as yet. No, no, nothing from seven Trent yet. That's with me at the moment. So, obviously progress push to make sure that we get them in because it's going to be a short year this year because of the elections. We're not notified of any urgent items. So, thank you all for your attendance today. The input, and have a safe journey home. Thank you.
Transcript
Task and finish group that scrutiny task and finish group that looked at 20 mile an hour speed zones And that reported back to this committee and Councillor Sinclair had suggested that After a period of time we come back with some of the figures on What where where 20 mile an hour speed zones had been implemented? And this is just to give to give that update So apologies from Paul Taylor who was the officer that supported that scrutiny task and finish group and let on that He's pulled these this information together, but couldn't couldn't be here today so there are six 20 mile an hour speed zones that have been delivered between February 20 23 and now And then there's a long list there of schemes that are either in design or console consultation stages To being being considered and be very happy to take any questions about about any of these I Just got any member want any further information updates in relation to the update that we've received here the briefing don't Is the rent I'll ask a question in relation to in relation to the delivery of the skis being considered obviously There's got to be work done behind them any expectation in relation to dates as to when these schemes might be being progressed please a Really difficult question to answer because the every scheme has got really different parameters behind it so you know the 20 mile an hour speed schemes don't tend to be straightforward So they you've got it not only do we do a pre consultation with residents that are affected But when we once we've ironed out what the traffic regulation order would be we would then do a statutory consultation That whole process typically takes between 12 and 18 months to get to a phase where you're delivering in most cases to get the speeds within the Nationally required levels to for 20 to be put in place. It also requires traffic calming So then you've got physical measures that you're delivering as well. So every scheme has got a different variant there on delivery Thank you, I think council Sinclair asked sort of raised the issue about post implementation studies Which you've touched on or Paul's touched on at the end of the thing say at the paper saying These would normally be done three to five years after Completion and I'm just wondering that seemed like so I can understand that you would for ksis Come seriously injured you would need to leave quite a long Gap, but I wonder whether it's possibly possible to do something some other things in the meantime for the ones that have been Completed. So for instance, once we've got a year of speed data, we should be able to see Whether there has been a reduction in speed in the ones completed and also I think there's a place for some qualitative work around You know like in the Henley one for instance has have do people, you know the Feeling safer and then there's also the you could also collect data on are more People feeling able to cross the road between shops or whatever like that I just think maybe we don't need to wait three years to Or five years just the ksis and actually we could do some post implementation Work with on on some other metrics. I don't know if that'd be possible That's the team we are looking at not just on 20 mile an hour speed limit schemes but across a lot of our major schemes capital program delivery looking at before and after studies You don't you don't want to put lots Don't want to put lots of funding into doing the before and after studies when when the reality is you're not going to go back and change that but but But certainly on some schemes do it before and after study on speeds typically on 20 mile an hour speed zones you get about a one mile per hour drop in the average speed limit When you do the surveys, but yeah I could go back and ask the team if we can do some of those on some of the six that have been completed Yes, I don't think when you want to do them on everything But actually we might find that as you say often there's a one to two mile reduction Per hour, but we might find that one is particularly successful or one's not and we again might want to take that learning Forward in terms of how we design schemes in the future Just one point The two or three of these are actually identified as 20 mile an hour schemes And they've got school by the more handy ie by streets and things like that I'm very mindful of the fact There's a couple of two or three here that maybe by schools that not identified as being schools Is there any possibility that we cannot break down? Where they're where they are actually going to be school Schemes and also if they are gonna be 20 mile an hour they fixed 20 miles at school times or throughout The school throughout the whole period place. I think that's probably helpful to know Yeah, I don't think that any of these schemes are specific school zone schemes. These are all 20 mile an hour speed limit schemes So it's where we're looking to change the speed limit on a whole Section road some of them might contain schools within that but it's it's a whole area or whole section of roads That are being considered for 20 mile an hour Okay, well, thank you very much for the update Suspect we'll probably be looking at this again at some point Hot topic Most members of the public Expectation that we can deliver the 20 more hours in all areas and unfortunately, that's not always the case but It's interesting to see that we are progressing a number of schemes Just a suggestion in terms of whether we could ask Scott and his team to come back with the Responding on the questions on implementation and studies and then we can take that into over you and spokes about then how we want to Receive an update on this in the future There are a couple of other areas that I've put forward or been asked to put forward not just owning in Coleshill, but also in in for lonely and They don't appear on the list. So is there a sort of list behind the list which these are up for consideration But I'm sure we've all been put things forward that disappear in the ether sometimes So we don't know the status of anything else is going on. Thank you Oh Yeah, can I go two ways on that one I'll go back and ask the team but my recommendation is is engage with your area surveyor about About a scheme because because these are the schemes that we're aware of So these are schemes that we are in design with or work or working with if there's other schemes that have been Discounted or there's other schemes that we're not aware of they're not on the list. So But if you engage with your area or high area highway surveyor about how to get your scheme being considered Then that's the good through that process that we did that came out of the scrutiny group Thank you So that's for noted report The communities of your committee work program Does that anyone have anything they'd like to see added to our work program for the forthcoming year? Looking round Casa Chilvers, it's just a question. I know at Chair and spokes, I never quite say that right and we talked about having people in from careers from the buses and from seven Trent and I think you Just you able to give us an update on where you've got to those. It might be in there, but Identify north and south because that was it Requirement Yeah, thanks At the moment it is being directed to offices so we can organize to have that over the next three meetings So I'm very mindful of the fact that we put a bit of criteria around it we wanted to cover Both the north and the south so I suspect it might be a little bit more difficult than we expected But what one of them was with seven Trent as well? They responded at all yet. Can you perhaps give us an update? Not as yet no, no nothing from seven Trent yet that's with me at the moment You've got to remember chair Thank You councillor So We'll obviously progress that and push to make sure that we get them in because of the site It's gonna be a short year this year because of the elections so we do need to try and progress and make sure that that Those are delivered within this group this year We'll keep on top of that Not been notified of any urgent items. So thank you all for your attendance today input on a safe journey home.
Summary
The Communities Overview and Scrutiny Committee of Warwickshire Council convened on Wednesday 19 June 2024. Key topics discussed included the management of blocked drains and grass cutting, updates on economic development and skills initiatives, the progress of various infrastructure projects, and the implementation of 20 mph speed zones.
Blocked Drains and Grass Cutting
Councillor Fragely raised concerns about blocked drains and standing water due to recent heavy rains and grass cutting. Scott Tompkins confirmed that there is a robust programme for emptying drains and that the council has been reactive to residents' reports. He noted that the county had underspent on winter maintenance but overspent on jetting and cleaning gullies due to the exceptional rainfall. Tompkins also mentioned the use of the Carbon Tech system to track the cleanliness of gullies and adjust cleaning frequencies accordingly.
Economic Development and Skills Initiatives
Isabella Moore provided an update on economic development, highlighting the adoption of the Warwickshire Economic Growth Strategy. She reported a decrease in unemployment from 3.3% to 2.4%, and detailed various business support initiatives, including the Warwickshire Investment Fund and the UK Shared Prosperity Fund. Moore also discussed new employment programmes like Work Well
and Universal Support,
aimed at supporting residents with mental health issues and providing targeted employment support.
Infrastructure Projects
Tristan Smith presented the EDS Dashboard, detailing the progress of several infrastructure projects. Completed projects included the Bermuda Connectivity Project and the Gallows Hill roundabout. Ongoing projects include the Fords Foundry roundabout and Queensway roundabout works. Smith also mentioned the upcoming Ava Mill project, which is being refined in collaboration with the Environment Agency to ensure it does not exacerbate flood risks.
20 mph Speed Zones
Scott Tompkins provided an update on the implementation of 20 mph speed zones, as detailed in the Communities OS 20mph update. Six zones have been delivered since February 2023, with several more in design or consultation stages. Councillor Sinclair suggested conducting post-implementation studies to assess the effectiveness of these zones, focusing on speed data and residents' perceptions of safety.
Year-End Integrated Performance Report
Steve Smith presented the Year-End Integrated Performance Report 2023/24, highlighting that 86% of performance measures were on track or met. Key areas of strong performance included waste management and carbon emissions reduction. However, challenges remain in managing increasing demands and costs in social care and home-to-school transport.
Work Programme and Future Meetings
The committee discussed the work programme for the upcoming year, including inviting representatives from careers services, bus companies, and Seven Trent to future meetings. The need to cover both the north and south of the county was emphasized.
The meeting concluded with no urgent items raised.
Attendees
- Andrew Wright
- Bhagwant Singh Pandher
- Daren Pemberton
- Dave Humphreys
- Jeff Clarke
- Jenny Fradgley
- Jonathan Chilvers
- Mejar Singh
- Peter Gilbert
- Sarah Feeney
- David Ayton-Hill
- Isobel Woods
- Mark Ryder
- Nicole Conway
- Scott Tompkins
- Steve Smith
Documents
- Appendix 4 for Year End Integrated Performance Report 202324
- Public reports pack Wednesday 19-Jun-2024 14.00 Communities Overview and Scrutiny Committee reports pack
- OSC June 2024 - EDS Dashboard
- Previous Minutes 10April24
- Appendix 1 for Year End Integrated Performance Report 202324
- Minutes Appointments 14May24
- COSC_Work programme questions_updated 10June24
- Warwickshire Economic Growth Strategy Delivery Plan 2024-2026
- Communities OS ED Update - June 2024
- Year End Integrated Performance Report 202324
- Appendix 1 for Warwickshire Economic Growth Strategy Delivery Plan 2024-2026
- Appendix 3 for Year End Integrated Performance Report 202324
- Appendix 2 for Year End Integrated Performance Report 202324
- Communities OS 20mph update 19th June 24_ 1
- Agenda frontsheet Wednesday 19-Jun-2024 14.00 Communities Overview and Scrutiny Committee agenda