Agenda and minutes

To agree the minutes of the previous meeting.

The minutes of the Strategic Planning and Environment Overview and Scrutiny Committee meeting held on 13 September 2016 were confirmed by the members present and signed by the Chairman.

To receive any apologies for absence.

Apologies were received from Councillor Ashbourn and Councillor Matthews.

Councillor Timmis substituted on behalf of Councillor Ashbourn.

Councillor Birnie substituted on behalf of Councillor Matthews

To receive any declarations of interest.

There were no declarations of interest.

None.

There was no public participation.

None.

None.

L Crisp introduced the report and ran through the highlights of the report to members.
In 2015, the Hemel Hempstead Ambassadors scheme was launched to promote businesses within Dacorum. There are currently 45 member businesses generating an annual income of £36,500.
In March 2016, a business survey was done to understand more of what businesses want. From this survey, it was found that 77% thought Dacorum had met or exceed their expectations and 32% predicted they would grow over the next year. The survey helped to formulate new workshops for business to cover IT skills, soft skills and business skills. The courses are always fully booked and have generated an income of £37,000.
This year, the Dacorum’s Den initiative has been fully paid and sponsored by local businesses putting in a total of £11,500. There were seven winners this year and next year’s event is already fully sponsored.
The team are busy writing the new strategy for 2017-2020 and deciding on the new priorities and how to find new investment. This is based on the results from the business survey.

J Doe said a new strategy is very important and they will be working with other council departments. It is hoped the new strategy will go to Full Council this year so it might be useful for this to be added to the committee’s work programme.

Councillor G Adshead referred to item 1.7 in the report and asked if the team were addressing the issues that made the 23% not score Dacorum highly in the survey.

R Oblein said there are several wider issues. The team work with Hertfordshire County Council and the Herts LEP to try and solve some of these issues. It is hoped that new growth corridors will be built within the new Enterprise Zone to relieve parking and traffic problems. There is constant work being done with the sustainable transport team to reduce the number of cars. The Maylands link bus from the train station to the Maylands area has been taken on by Red Eagle after the contract ended with Arriva. The Ambassadors are looking at the skills shortage and transport issues to hopefully come up with a solution.

Councillor Birnie referred to item 1.3 and asked if the £36,500 was raised through membership fees.

R Oblein said it was membership fees. The fee ranges from £3,500 for larger businesses to £500 for smaller ones. The fee is based on the number of staff in each business.

Councillor Birnie referred to item 1.7 and the difficulty in finding move on premises for new businesses. Is it possible to provide a directory of premises?

L Crisp said she works closely with businesses and helps them with property searches. There is a big shortage of industrial units of 1,500-4,000 sqft.

Councillor Hicks asked about the funding for the Hemel Ambassadors.

R Oblein said the funding was for a two year period. The target was to achieve £40,000 so currently we are not that far off. We  ...  view the full minutes text for item 184.

J Doe introduced the report that the committee had requested.
Hertfordshire has an exceptionally high level of water usage with Dacorum having one of the highest rates of litres per head per day. Dacorum is also in one of the driest parts of the country as it has three chalk streams: the Bulbourne, Gade and Ver. The chalk means a lot of water permeates through the rock.
The waste water in Dacorum is served mostly by Maple Lodge Sewerage Works in Rickmansworth. Thames Water has said although it can cope with current demand, it will need significant upgrading by 2020-2025. Officers are well aware of this but we need to establish new ways to fund the upgrade – the Council is still taking section 106 and CIL payments from developers which might help.
J Doe said he has been attending high level meetings to ensure providers are properly aligned with the rate and location of development in the borough.
The County Council is the local flood authority and are statutory consultations on major planning applications. Thames Water’s role is critical and must sharpen up when they are consulted. There were major problems with the Spencer’s Park development. The site had been allocated and Thames Water had no objections when outline planning permission was given. When detailed plans were submitted, they raised objections which delayed the project until a solution was found.
J Doe referred to pages 15-16 and the major ongoing county study. Dacorum is a financial contributor to the study which looks at water supply and drainage up until 2051. The study will help inform boroughs for future developments.

Councillor G Adshead asked about water usage in Dacorum. He said 152 litres per person per day was very high and was this just residential?

J Doe said he understood it to be just residential. The high usage has prompted this study but usage includes dishwashers and washing machines. J Doe said he didn’t know exact reason why it’s high.

Councillor Timmis asked what was being done to limit usage. Where is the information telling people how high water usage is?

J Doe said there are various water reduction devices controls through planning development and there are more requirements in building regulations.

Councillor Timmis said there was a huge personal responsibility and there should be a way of making people aware.

J Doe said it wasn’t necessarily the Council’s role but water companies can control water usage through water rates and meters.

Councillor Birnie said it was good that building control is thinking positively about water usage.

J Doe said it is important that Thames Water is providing us with the right advice. It is important to develop an understanding how the system works within the boroughs. Some form of modelling work needs to be considered to identify issues.

Councillor G Sutton said Thames Water should be made more accountable. The new development in Leverstock Green flooded and Thames Water said it can’t flood because there is no property there  ...  view the full minutes text for item 185.

Councillor Timmis asked for an item regarding Luton airport to be added to the work programme.

Councillor G Adshead asked for a detailed report into fly tipping to be added to the work programme.