Agenda and minutes

To agree the minutes of the previous meeting.

The minutes of the last meeting were agreed and signed.

Matters arising from minutes:

Cllr Timmis raised the subject of Luton Airport and informed the Committee that a few weeks ago London Luton Airport Ltd came and gave a presentation to members in the Council Chamber regarding their expansion.  Councillor Timmis said that the presentation was very positive, with very little about the down side that parts of Dacorum are likely to experience with an increase by 2050 of 32 million passengers. Instead the focus appeared to be on how the new airport would look and how there will be a second terminal there. They are keeping the existing main runway and they will have a support runway which is basically where planes line up so that they can take off more quickly.

Cllr Timmis added that you can find the information on their website and they are producing a consultation which will run from now until December 16^th and they will be visiting most villages and towns in the area, but the consultation is almost entirely about the expansion, which in her opinion is a ‘tick box’ to say they have consulted. Cllr Timmis felt that as a Council and more specifically, as a Committee we should be aware of this consultation that is going on and respond to it as they are still considering doubling the present number of passengers and flights.

J Doe said that the official letter has been received from the airport regarding the consultation and a response would be organised. We will be looking at what the County Councils and local councils particularly St Albans are saying as well.

Cllr Birnie asked if this should be considered for a future meeting, and who would deal with it?

J Doe responded that Stephen Mendham has been the point of contact within his team and he would arrange something with him.

Cllr Ransley pointed out that transport to Luton Airport is not going to be confined to the M1 and any increase would adversely affect Ickneild Way and the A41.

Cllr Beauchamp said that one of the largest developments seems to be parking in and around Luton Airport and even though they are encouraging the use of The Dart and public transport, they are massively increasing the parking.

Cllr Timmis responded that Luton Airport has increased the number of car parks although the airport says that they are expecting a lot of passengers to come in using public transport and The Dart, the stats show that the majority of their passengers come from the three surrounding counties, so they are likely to be coming by car or coach. In answer to Cllr Ransley’s point about the traffic, she agreed that the roads will become more congested.

J Doe said that what members need to look at in the documentation is transport assessment and surface access strategy.They told us they are trying to put the main shift onto the train system and The Dart etc., but  ...  view the full minutes text for item 40.

To receive any apologies for absence.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Anderson, Hearn and Hobson.

To receive any declarations of interest.

There were no declarations of interest.

There was no public participation.

None.

J Doe presented the report.

J Doe explained that the report his was presenting was short due to the fact that the work on the plan is ongoing. He said that the five South West Herts authorities plus the County Council are all involved.

J Doe spoke about the strategic plan for the long-term that is being developed – planning for growth in a more co-ordinated and long-term way. Each district and borough would continue to work on their own local plans under the strategic guidance of the joint strategic plan.  Funding for infrastructure was also discussed and J Doe said that Oxfordshire was a County that had been very successful at this as the councils had collaborated, giving investors confidence to bring the money in. He added that a Memorandum of Understanding was signed by the six partners last January, and that a grant of £300,000 had been secured from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government under the Planning Delivery Fund.  There is now a dedicated director in post.

Cllr Birnie asked if POS Enterprises were doing the transport study. He added that he had a figure of £242,000 as opposed to the £300,000 in the report, and asked if that had been spent on the officer now in post.

J Doe replied that the transport study was being done by a company called ITP who worked closely with David Locke Associates on the growth study. POS Enterprises are a non-profit organisation with an advisory arm which is open to local councils.  J Doe explained that the overall grant was £300,000 and the £242,000 related to one of the financial years and that the money, together with top up money from each of the councils,  was paying for the officer in post and also a lot of the study work referred to in the report.  He added that the money will not deliver the plan in full and the next step would be for the member councils to agree whether they want to commit more resources to take the plan onto its next stages of development. He confirmed that another report to the Committee would be made once further decisions were made.

Cllr Ransley asked what would happen in one of the councils decide that it is too expensive to continue.

J Doe said that the study is based on all five being involved, it would be possible to continue with a smaller number but some of the evidence would have to be re-cast to ensure that the right information is available. 

Cllr Timmis asked how the approach to water would work as there would be a much greater demand on water if more houses are being built.

Cllr Birnie raised the point that this would also impinge on the Local Plan.

J Doe confirmed that there would need to be a report into water if the project moves further forward, at the moment the priority is to look at where the growth locations might be and  ...  view the full minutes text for item 45.

Lesley Crisp presented the report.

L Crisp said that the Enterprise and Investment Team now have three full time and four part time posts and only 1.5 of these are paid for by DBC as the rest are self-sustainable. She added that in order to continue to be a sustainable model, they now charge for many of their services.

L Crisp explained that in 2018 there were 7,900 enterprises in Dacorum which were responsible for £3.6 billion of gross value added and as an area Dacorum is doing very well. L Crisp discussed how they are working very closely with start up businesses to get them off the ground through the European Regional Development Fund – the ERDF programme, which has been extended to run for a further 2 years until 2023.

There was a conversation regarding events to encourage local residents into the area including the Halloween event and the Christmas Light switch on which, this year, is going to be a joint venture with The Marlowes, Riverside, The Hemel Hempstead Bid and the Market combining together to make a much bigger event than in the past. 

Cllr Birnie asked how many businesses comprised the 16.6% mentioned in paragraph 1.2.

L Crisp answered that she had made a table which she would pass round for the Committee to see, she said that micro business accounted for 7,205, small businesses, which have about 10-50 employees is 555. In addition there are 105 medium and then there are 35 larger businesses.

M Jeffrey clarified that the 16.6% related to large businesses increasing by 5 in 2018.

Cllr Ransley asked a question relating to 3.2.10 and where £1.8 million was spent with regard to leisure facilities in Tring.

L Crisp replied that she did not know the answer but would find out and forward it via Sharon Burr for Cllr Ransley and the Committee.

Cllr Riddick asked what kind of rail crossing had been built in Apsley as referred to in 3.2.5. The answer was the bridge to the Manor Estate widening.  J Doe replied that this was the additional bridge at Featherbed Lane, entirely funded by Bovis.

Cllr Birnie said that it would be useful if the source was mentioned when figures are used in reports.

Cllr Riddick asked how the figures regarding the Tourism Industry were reached as in paragraph 4.7. as 3.4 million visitors into Dacorum seems a large figure.

M Jeffery replied that it is actually about visitors both internal and external to Dacorum.

Cllr Riddick said that in paragraph 4.8 it states that there have been 64 days of filming in Dacorum but the income was only £14,455 which seems low.

M Jeffery said that we have a lot of filming which takes place in Dacorum that is not managed by the Council as it does not happen on Council owned or managed land.

L Crisp said that we charge a small administration fee mainly so that we are aware of where and when  ...  view the full minutes text for item 46.

J Doe suggested that the report on the Water Gardens could be brought to the November meeting.

Cllr Birnie asked J Doe about the Parking Report and when that would be presented, he also asked for confirmation that CIL would be on the March 2020 Agenda.

J Doe replied that he would let Cllr Birnie know about the Parking Report as soon as he could and confirmed that the CIL and Section 106 would be on the March Agenda. J Doe added that the report on The Bury was delayed as there was ongoing survey work being done on the building at the moment so there is nothing to report on as yet.  He said that he hoped to bring Planning Performance Agreements to the next meeting, but was aware there was a lot on the Agenda.

Cllr Birnie said that a Commercial Waste Report should be presented in November, and that he would liaise with J Doe regarding adding any other reports to the Agenda.

Cllr Birnie said that he thought the Environmental Management System Report from the Director of Finance was going to go on the Agenda in March now, as there is likely to be a new officer appointed.

The meeting ended at 20:35.  The next meeting is November 19 2019.