Apologies for absence were received from Councillors D Hammond, P Hammond & Talbot and Mrs J Fitzgerald & Mr H Sturzaker.

Councillor Smith-Clare declared a personal interest as he was an allotment holder in the Borough.

Councillor Waters-Bunn declared a personal interest as her husband was an allotment holder in the Borough.

Councillor Cordiner-Achenbach declared a personal interest as her employer owned an allotment in the Borough.

However, in line with the Council's Constitution they were allowed to both speak and vote on the matter.

The minutes of the meeting held on 10 December 2019 were confirmed.

Members reported that they felt that the minute number 11, which referred to the letter sent from the Committee to the Secretary of the Great Yarmouth Allotment Association, did not reflect what had transpired at the meeting. The Executive Services Officer advised the Chairman that verbatim minutes were not taken at a meeting. The Chairman reported that he was taking advice from the Monitoring Officer regarding the letter presented to the Chairman at the last meeting from the Allotment Association and this matter would be addressed at the next meeting.

Jonathan Denby reported that services across Norfolk, Suffolk & Cambridgeshire were now operated with brand new bi-mode trains which delivered more seats, a much better travelling environment, USB points, better WiFi and improved accessibility. All the old diesel trains had been phased out and work to speed up the timescales for the bi-mode trains attaining their high level reliability targets was progressing well, after some more challenging periods in December 2019 and the first half of January 2020.

Greater Anglia were working closely with Network Rail to drive up performance levels across the networks, for example, the re-signalling project between Norwich & Great Yarmouth/Lowestoft. In December 2019, there was the introduction of a brand new service between Norwich & Stansted Airport, giving travellers from Norfolk a direct rail link to the airport for the first time. Seven direct services now operate in each direction Monday to Fridays, 15 on Saturdays and 13 on Sundays. Greater Anglia now offered daily hourly services on the Ipswich to Felixstowe branch and the lines from Norwich to Cambridge, Great Yarmouth, Lowestoft and Sheringham. It was hoped as improvements were made that 5minutes could be taken off of the journey time from Norwich to London Liverpool Street.

Mrs Langley asked if any improvements could be made to Vauxhall Station which was a draughty hanger-like structure. Jonathan Denby reported that the station was owned by Network Rail and there were limited as to what improvements they could make to the fabric of the building but they worked closely with the Community Rail partnership to see what could be done collectively.

Councillor Smith-clare asked for clarification that replacement bus services would be a thing of the past now the new trains had bedded into service.

County Councillor Castle reported that it was unhelpful to customers that toilet facilities, a  covered waiting room and other services were unavailable after 5 pm and there was no bus linkage from the station to other parts of the borough. Jonathan Denby reported that Greater Anglia were in the business of running trains, not buses , but would be happy to promote existing bus linkages. Toilets were closed when the station was unmanned to prevent costly vandalism.

Mrs Porter reported that she had undertaken a journey on one of the new trains and bought her ticket from the manned ticket office at the station and she was very pleased with her journey. Councillor Waters-Bunn reported that she was unaware that the station had a manned ticket office and asked for clarification as to the hours of opening. Jonathan Denby agreed to provide the times to Christina to email out to Members. She also voiced her disappointment that the direct journey to Stansted took longer than if you changed trains at Ely, 2:37 hrs v 3:09.

The Chairman thanked Jonathan for his informative presentation.

Harry Woods gave a presentation to the Committee on the aspirations to deliver first class information regarding Dementia to the residents of the Borough via the Great Yarmouth Dementia Action Alliance which was set up in 2018. The aim of the group was to work towards Great Yarmouth being recognised as a Dementia Friendly Town. Early diagnosis, correct signposting and support for the family were essential in tackling this debilitating disease and people could live a good life with dementia with the right support. Alzheimer's was the most common form of dementia. In Norfolk, 6,200 people had been diagnosed with dementia with another 4000 people living with it un-diagnosed. 

Harry Woods reported that a referral from a Doctor was required to access help. Sometimes it was easier for a sufferer or a family member of a sufferer to talk to someone they didn't know about the disease and how it was affecting them. The Chairman reported that the last person to know that you were suffering from dementia  was yourself.

Tourism was a huge employment sector within the town but to date, only two tourism based companies had undergone dementia awareness training. The Chairman suggested that GYTABIA be approached once again to offer training sessions to its members. Norwich was well ahead of the game and had already been recognised as a Dementia Friendly City. The organisation could offer a befriending support service on a 1-1 basis and host Information Support Coffee Mornings.

Harry Woods asked whether any Councillors would be willing to join their committee which, on paper had 40+ members, but in reality a usual meeting was attended by 15 members and their group was constituted. Councillor Jade Martin reported that she had attended dementia awareness training in the past and would be willing to join the committee. She suggested that a session for all Councillors should be arranged. Councillor Robinson-Payne asked if they received any funding. Harry Woods reported that although they were affiliated to the Alzheimer's Society they were a self-funding group although a benefactor had kindly sponsored them in their first year.

Harry Woods reported that it was hoped that the Norfolk Young Carers Association would go into schools and colleges to signpost young people for support in dealing with family members living with dementia.

The Chairman thanked Harry for his informative presentation.

The Committee received and considered the update regarding the Wintergardens.

County Councillor Castle reported that he would sooner see the building dismantled and put into storage and have a new visitor attraction installed in its place. The Chairman reported that this option had been tabled but the cost to dismantle the building was £2.5 m plus storage costs and English Heritage would not be supportive of this action. Councillor A Wight reported that a good business plan for the end user was key to the success of the project and  English Heritage had refused a previous business case for funding to install upvc windows throughout the structure which would have drastically reduced the maintenance costs.

The Committee received and considered the Forward Plan.

The Executive Services Officer reported that the Forward Plan dates would be updated as future meetings would be held in June, September & December 2020 and February 2021, dates to be confirmed at the next meeting.

RESOLVED:-

That the Committee agree & note the Forward Plan.

(i) Car Enthusiasts - South Beach Parade

The Chairman gave an update to the Committee on the position with car enthusiasts following a meeting earlier in the day with various stakeholders/statutory providers.

One of the possible solutions was to erect "access only" signage at Kings Road but funding was required for this initiative. The Chairman asked the County Councillors present if they would consider funding this proposal from their traffic funding allowance.

Councillor A Wright reported that County were considering trialling a new Noise Camera in the area. Councillor Robinson-Payne reported that frustration of the residents at Frank Stone Court. Car enthusiasts flattened the metal plates at the entrance to the car park out-of-hours to perform stunts on the empty car park. Environmental Health Officers had monitored the noise situation from  resident's flats but the noise of the exhausts was just in the permitted audible noise range.

(ii) Contacting Councillors

Councillor Cordiner-Achenbach requested that residents did not turn up on Councillor's doorsteps without an appointment and asked that residents contacted them first via email or telephone.

(iii) GY Allotment Association

A member of the Allotment Association asked whether the Council did have ultimate responsibility for the association as the Council had granted the land for public allotments under a covenant. He asked whether the Council could provide the relevant documentation. The Executive services officer agreed to refer this matter to the Monitoring Officer for advice and guidance.

(iv) Royal Mail Letterboxes - Street Clutter.

Mr Langley reported that the metal containers located on the side of Royal Mail letterboxes were not used by Royal Mail but used as undesignated litter bins by the public to dispose of litter and bags of dog excrement and were unsightly and unhygienic street clutter which needed to be removed as a matter of urgency.

Councillor D Hammond had contacted Royal Mail who had informed them that there was a five year removal scheme across the country but this matter needed to be escalated as a matter of urgency and he wondered whether the Committee could assist in any way.

Councillor Robinson-Payne suggested that the Committee should write a letter of support to be signed by the Chairman and send it to the Chairman of the Environment Committee for action.