Meetings

Meeting Details

Environment Committee
28 Jul 2021 - 18:30 to 19:45
Occurred

This meeting will be held in public and in person at the Town Hall, Great Yarmouth.

This meeting will be streamed LIVE on to the Council's YouTube Channel and, in view of COVID-19 guidelines we would encourage Members of the public to watch remotely by clicking here. If you wish to attend in person please could we ask where possible, you could indicate in advance that it is your intention to do so. This can be completed by contacting memberservices@great-yarmouth.gov.uk. We will ask for contact details to be given incase of the need to contact you (in the event of a COVID 19 Outbreak). Public Seating will also at this time remain limited.

Councillors and Officers attending the meeting will be undertaking a lateral flow test in advance prior to the meeting. They will also be required to wear face masks when they are moving around the room but may remove them once seated. We would like to request that any external or public speakers attending the meeting do the same to help make the event safe for all those attending. Information about symptom-free testing is available here

  • Documents
  • Attendance
  • Visitors
  • Declarations of Interests

Documents

Agenda

Standard Items
1 APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE

 

To receive any apologies for absence. 


 

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Thompson and Waters-Bunn.  

 

 

2 DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

You have a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest in a matter to be discussed if it relates to something on your Register of Interests form. You must declare the interest and leave the room while the matter is dealt with.

You have a Personal Interest in a matter to be discussed if it affects
•    your well being or financial position
•    that of your family or close friends
•    that of a club or society in which you have a management role
•    that of another public body of which you are a member to a greater extent than others in your ward.
You must declare a personal interest but can speak and vote on the matter.

Whenever you declare an interest you must say why the interest arises, so that it can be included in the minutes. 

 

Councillor Wells declared a personal interest in items 6 and 7 as he is a Director of GYBServices.

 

He also advised members of his employment status and that his employer, the Rt Hon Brandon Lewis MP has made many public statements in respect of Item 5. 

 

Councillor P Carpenter declared a personal interest in Item 5 as she is Chairman of Coastal Partnership East.

 

Councillor J Bensly declared a personal interest in Item 5 as he is a member of the Coastal Partnership and also has an interest in the Hemsby tourism industry. 

 

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

 

 

3 pdf MINUTES (141Kb)

 

To receive the minutes of the meeting held on 9 June 2021. 

 

 

 

The minutes of the meeting held on 9 June 2021 were confirmed by assent.

 

The following matter arising was noted from the above minutes:

 

The letter in respect of the local campaign to remove Frisbees from sale in the Borough had been produced and sent as agreed at the last meeting. 

 

A representative from the Friends of Horsey Seals is scheduled to attend the next Environment Meeting. 

 

 

4 pdf FORWARD PLAN (79Kb)

 

Report attached. 

 

 

 

 

The Committee received and considered the Forward Plan.

 

The Strategic Director advised that Committee Members would be invited to a workshop to discuss bio-diversity and how this can be supported in the Borough. 

 

A presentation by the Friends of Horsey Seals to be added to the next meeting forward plan. 

 

Agreed.

 

 

5 pdf HEMSBY ROCK BERM (2963Kb)

 

Report attached. 

 

 

 

The Committee received a presentation from Anne Casey, Coastal Adaptation Officer which summarised the report contents. 

 

The Chair thanked Anne Casey and Rob Goodliffe for the presentation and the work undertaken by the team to get to this stage.

 

Councillor P Carpenter expressed her support for the report contents and options but emphasized that expectations need to be carefully managed, this will not stop the erosion fully and the funding is not yet in place. 

 

Members discussed the progress to date and commented that it is at an early stage still but is a specific proposal that can now look for funding to move forward. 

 

The Chair informed Members that he had invited Councillor Galer as a Ward Council to speak in respect of this item. 

 

Councillor Galer reminded Committee of the long history of Hemsby coastal erosion and that there are 100 dwellings under threat along with the impact on the economy which is heavily dependent upon tourism. He advised that he is a Trustee of Save Hemsby Coastline and that the group were pleased to see that the blocks funded by this group have been incorporated into the proposals. In respect of the local economy he advised Committee of a report commissioned by the GYTA which gives granular details in respect of economic activity in the Borough. 

 

RESOLVED:

 

  • That the Committee note the progress of this work.
  • That the rock berm outline design (Option 1) is taken forward to seek necessary consents and licences with flexibility to construct the shorter (Option 2) or lower (Option 4) structures. Funding for consents and licences is available as identified in section 12.1 totalling no more than £10,000 this being delegated to Head of Property and Asset Management and Section 151 Officer to authorise the following applications: planning consent, marine licence, coast protection notification, landowner consents.
  •  To exclude from further consideration rock berm option 3 for the reasons identified in table 1 of the report.
  •  A funding Strategy be developed and funding applications submitted to relevant sources to maximise the likelihood of a scheme proceeding

 

Agreed

 

 

 

 

Report attached.

 

 

 

 

The Committee received and considered the Waste and Recycling update report from the Head of Environmental services.

 

He advised that the outcomes of the consultation were awaited and that there would be a further Committee report specifically in respect of Garden Waste. 

 

The Committee discussed the high incidents of flytipping in certain areas of the Borough and how this was impacted by the type of accommodation located in those areas with specific references to HMO's where residents do not have room to store items. This is also linked with the work in respect of selective licencing which the Head of Environmental Services advised would be proactively worked on now that officers could be diverted from the Covid support work. 

 

Councillor Wainwright asked if quickly removing flytipped bulky waste encouraged further flytipping.

 

Councillor D Hammond asked if the delays in organising bulky waste collection were making any difference.

 

The Head of Environmental Services commented that residents were prepared to wait for bulky waste collection currently and that there would be further communications in respect of potential enforcement action for unauthorised activity moving forward but this will be a slow process and may get worse before it gets better, he did not feel that the removal encouraged significant further issues. 

 

The Committee asked that they are provided with information in respect of the telephoned reports made to GYServices and also if there was an analysis available in respect of duplicate reports of the same items. 

 

Councillor Talbot suggested that there may be an option to look at recycling items which are collected as bulky waste and used to support members of the community who might benefit from receiving these items. The Head of Environmental Services advised that currently not all of the items would be suitable for recycling due to being left outside but this is an option that can be considered in the future. 

 

Councillor Carpenter recalled that in the past there had been community action days which had been very successful and well received. The Strategic Director advised that any events of these type would need to be considered across the borough, to include the more rural parishes and would need to be carefully resourced and have a clear communication plan in respect of subsequent enforcement options. 

 

Councillor Annison asked for an update in respect of the entrance to the Gapton Travellers Site. The Director of Operational Services advised that this work has been delayed but it is hoped to commence shortly. 

 

RESOLVED

  • to note the information contained within the report.
  • to note that service delivery in the main has been sustained with limited disruption despite the impact of Covid and the significant increase in tonnages and service demand
  • to continue to support the enforcement stance of Environmental Services around street scene issues including flytipping
  • to support the continuing educational work to address flytipping through localised targeted work (hotspot project) and collaborative work of the Norfolk Waste Enforcement Group. 

Agreed

 

 

 

Report attached. 

 

 

 

The Committee received and considered the report from the Head of Environmental Services who provided an update on the current position of the flytipping hotspot work started earlier in the year and the actions planned over the next stage of this pilot project. The project is now in Stage 2, enforcement mode. 

 

A further report in respect of lessons learned is expected to be presented to Committee at the next meeting. 

 

RESOLVED

  • to note the project update.

Agreed

 

 

8 ANNUAL PERFORMANCE STATISTICS UPDATE

 

A presentation will be given at the meeting.

 

 

 

The Committee received a presentation to provide an update in respect of the annual performance statistics. 

 

The Director of Operational Services advised members of the issues that had been experienced in respect of the receipt of brown bins, their delivery had been delayed but these have now been received and deliveries have commenced. 

 

Councillor Bird asked for further clarity in respect of what can and what cannot be recycled so that this can be supplied to the Parishes who are keen to support recycling initiatives. The Head of Environmental Services advised that the best resource to find this information is on the Norfolk Waste website. 

 

RESOLVED

  • To note the presentation contents.

 

Agreed

 

 

9 ANY OTHER BUSINESS
To consider any other business as may be determined by the Chairman of the meeting as being of sufficient urgency to warrant consideration.

 

The Chairman reported that there was one urgent item which he had determined should be discussed at this meeting. Household Waste and Recycling Collection Round Review. 

 

The Committee received and considered the report and were briefed on the details by the Director of Operational Services. 

 

The timescales for implementation in mid October were discussed and the benefits of the scheme changes were reviewed. 

 

The Chairman thanked the team for the work undertaken in this and felt that it was an exciting development. 

 

The Strategic Director reminded the Committee that the communications and engagement with residents will be key to the success of this change. 

 

An update report will be submitted to Committee in September. 

 

RESOLVED

 

  • to confirm support to undertake a collection round review as set out in the report.
  • To agree to underwrite the cost of up to £15,000 to undertake the review as a joint project between the council and its joint venture company Great Yarmouth Borough Services Limited.
  • To request the Director of Operational Services to provide an update tothe Environment committee pre-implementation of this review.

Agreed

 

 

10 EXCLUSION OF PUBLIC
In the event of the Committee wishing to exclude the public from the meeting, the following resolution will be moved:-

"That under Section 100(A)(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public be excluded from the meeting for the following item of business on the grounds that it involved the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraph 1 of Part I of Schedule 12(A) of the said Act."

Additional Meeting Documents

Attendance

Name
No attendance information has been recorded for the meeting.
Name
No other member attendance information has been recorded for the meeting.
NameReason for Sending ApologySubstituted By
No apology information has been recorded for the meeting.
NameReason for AbsenceSubstituted By
No absentee information has been recorded for the meeting.

Declarations of Interests

Member NameItem Ref.DetailsNature of DeclarationAction
No declarations of interest have been entered for this meeting.

Visitors

Present:

Councillor Wells (in the Chair): Councillors Annison, Bensly, Bird, Cameron, P Carpenter, Fairhead, D Hammond, Robinson-Payne, B Wright and Wainwright.

 

Also in attendance at the above meeting were:

 

Mrs K Blakemore (Strategic Director), Mr C Silverwood (Director of Operational Services), Mrs J Beck (Head of Property and Asset Management), Mr J Wilson (Head of Environmental Services), Councillor Galer (Ward Councillor), Ms A Casey, Coastal Adaptation Officer, Coastal Partnership East. Mr R Goodliffe, Coastal Manager, Coastal Partnerhship East & Mrs T Bunn (Senior Democratic Services Officer)

 

 

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