The committee asked the Cabinet to consider the level of public concern about the Edgware growth area, including the lack of a definition of what a bus station is in the adopted Local Plan. The committee also asked the Cabinet to review a report on the Barnet Highway Network Task and Finish Group that recommends improvements to how roads in the borough are maintained.

Transport Strategy

The committee discussed a draft of the new Barnet Transport Strategy. The committee welcomed the proposals for new 20mph zones and agreed with the Cabinet Member that the strategy should include an action plan, with clear milestones and timelines.

The committee also recommended that the Cabinet consider:

• clarifying what is meant by 'wheeling' in the strategy
• clarifying what a majority means in terms of support for neighbourhood-led 20mph zones
• the fact that Barnet has a large number of elderly residents

It is not a generic strategy. It will be a strategy that's specifically being written not even just for outer London, it's being written for Barnet.

Councillor Dean Steinemann, Cabinet Member for Environment, gave reassurances that the strategy is being written for Barnet specifically, and would not be 'generic'.

Highways Network

The committee discussed a report from the Barnet Highway Network Task and Finish Group, that recommends improvements to how roads are maintained in the borough. The report will now go to the Cabinet for their consideration, along with several recommendations from the committee:

• the Cabinet Member for Environment should consider the effectiveness of consultation with ward councillors when deciding on which roads to resurface
• the council should consider how it communicates with residents, to ensure that important information reaches them
• the council should review the quality and robustness of road repairs

You know, pothole, pothole repair and road resurfacing really does hinge on the quality. It is unfortunate that when you do a road resurfacing, you know, you pay an awful lot more money to use high quality materials, but it's worth it in the long term. It is an investment because the durability of a better quality road and repair lasts longer and doesn't require tons and tons of reactive maintenance and things like that.

Councillor Sachin Mitra welcomed the report, but raised concerns about the quality of road resurfacing in the borough. He argued that using high quality materials was an investment that would save the council money on reactive maintenance in the long term.

School Streets

The committee discussed a report on the implementation of School Streets in the borough. The report sets out how new School Streets will be introduced, including the engagement and consultation process. The committee asked officers to provide a full list of proposed School Streets, and to explore options for increased communication with secondary schools about School Streets.

I was going to just add, I was going to just add that's why we also look at uh traffic counts on the neighboring roads and boundary roads as well and parking stress surveys because it it's not it has to also look at the evidence as well because it has to look at that balance.

An officer explained that in order to assess the need for a School Street, the council would look at evidence such as traffic counts and parking stress surveys, as well as consultation responses.

The committee also asked for an annual report on the School Streets programme, so that the committee could better assess the effectiveness of previous schemes.

Food Waste Service

The committee discussed a report on the reintroduction of the Food Waste Service. The report sets out the rationale for reintroducing the service, the legal requirements, and the options for collecting food waste. The report will be brought back to the committee when it contains more detail, including on issues such as:

• how the service will be delivered to flats
• fox-proof containers
• the expected impact on the borough's recycling rate

In terms of the decision-making and making a robust decision-making, the thing I couldn't find in the report, see this discussion about whether or not to replace the current fleet or not, is when is the current fleet up for replacement in any event? Where does that fall in our forward budgeting? Because obviously, with the financial pressures, if that's next year and there's money budgeted for it next year, then that's a different consideration and if it's five years time and it's not currently in the medium-term plan.

Councillor Alison Cornelius asked for information on when the council's current fleet of refuse lorries would be due for replacement, and how that was being considered in the food waste strategy.

The Environment Act 2021 places a legal duty on all local authorities in England to collect food waste separately from all households by 1 April 2025.