Agenda and minutes

To receive apologies for absence from the meeting.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Newton, Councillor Harding and Janet Williams (Public Health & Housing Manager).

Confirmation of the Minutes of the meeting held on Wednesday 01 September.

Chair ran through the minutes with members page by page.

It was proposed by Councillor Langford, seconded by Councillor Pennington and –

Resolved:

That the minutes of the meeting held on Wednesday 01 September 2021 be agreed and signed as a correct record.

(Vote: For - 7, Abstentions  - 1)

15 minute period for public contributions

There were no public contributions.

Chair ran through the action list and provided members with an update on progress.

The action list was duly noted.

Members with interests should refer to the agenda item and describe the nature of their interest when the item is considered.

Members were reminded that declarations of interest should be made as and when the specific agenda item to which they related was under discussion.

There were no Part II items.

Chair raised the public consultation launched by Devon & Somerset Fire Brigade in relation to their draft Community Risk Management Plan 2022-2027 - Community Risk Management Plan 2022-2027 (draft) | Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service (dsfire.gov.uk). 

It was explained the consultation will be via an online survey and members were urged to complete this individually once they had the opportunity to review the draft risk management plan.  

https://wh.snapsurveys.com/s.asp?k=163481748317

Members noted that the document referred to the closure of some stations and though Appledore was not mentioned in the document, there was a reference to efficiencies and effectiveness of locations.  It was agreed that a letter would be drafted from the Committee asking whether the future of Appledore Fire Station was being safeguarded and there are no future plans to close the station.

Councillor Cottle-Hunkin addressed the committee and asked for clarity regarding the process for registering assets of community value, she queried if this was an issue for Internal Overview & Scrutiny or External Overview & Scrutiny. 

The Head of Legal and Governance & Lead Monitoring Officer clarified that the committees were not involved in the process. She explained that if someone wanted to make a registration this would need to go to Tom Phillips in the Property Team and the team would then make an assessment. It was confirmed that the process is currently being updated by Legal Services and the Property Team.

It was questioned if members were involved in the decision-making process.  The Head of Legal and Governance & Lead Monitoring Officer confirmed that the process was set out in legislation and this legislation had to be used to make any decisions. It was clarified that Lead Members and Ward Members would be informed of any relevant decision.

It was queried why there is no right of appeal and the Head of Legal and Governance & Lead Monitoring Officer confirmed that this was also set out within the legislation. 

To receive the report of the Head of Communities & Place.  

Adrian Avery, Community Engagement Officer, attended the meeting to provide members with an update on the Play Strategy. He explained his role and members introduced themselves. 

The Community Engagement Officer highlighted the Play Strategy report written by the Head of Communities & Place and provided an update for members. It was confirmed that since the play strategy was approved in the summer a working group had been established.  Members include the Contract Manager and members of the Estate Team, who complete regular site visits and work with the Maintenance Team.  The group will be meeting every two months to discuss the play areas, look at their condition and plan future work.

It was confirmed that the Operational Services Manager would be attending the next working group and that the group would therefore be linking in closely with them. Currently the working groups are looking at the conditions survey from 2019, which will be updated by the team before 1^st April when maintenance and grounds services return in house. 

The Community Engagement Officer confirmed that since May improvements have been made to some of the play areas to bring them up to a higher standard - meaning that progress is being made on the aspiration to have all rated a good standard by 2023. 

As part of this work it was stated that a review of play spaces added by housing developers would take place, this will consider if any of these smaller spaces should be social spaces.

The Community Engagement Officer recognised there is public interest in play areas and confirmed that information will be made available on the website shortly.

Members were asked if they had any questions.

There was a query in relation to the rating of good for the Village Green at Westward Ho! Concerns were raised regarding the flooring of the play area, as well as rusty and sharp surfaces. It was stated that these concerns have been reported but were yet to be addressed.  The Community Engagement Officer confirmed that any reports regarding play areas should be passed onto the working group to consider, and the next meeting was due in December and agreed to update members on the concerns raised regarding Village Green.

During discussions it was identified that the Village Green park should be listed as Westward Ho!  As well Hanson Park and Benson Drive, which are both in Northam. The Community Engagement Officer agreed to amend the report.

Members queried whether there was still a plan to pass on play areas to Parish Councils. The Community Engagement Officer provided members with an update and confirmed that discussions had already taken place with some Parish Councils, but explained that in some cases there work was needed to bring these play areas up to a better standard first.

There was a query in relation to Geneva Court handover and the need for improvement. The Community Engagement Officer confirmed that this wasn’t a definitive decision and the aim was to complete the improvement work first.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 109.

Chair explained to members that Citizen’s Advice were unavailable for today’s meeting.  This item will be moved to the January meeting as Citizen’s Advice are available. This will move the Joint Meeting on Health to the 9^th March. 

Members raised concerns regarding the lack of dental availability in the area.  It was requested that External invite a person who can provide an overview of the situation in the area. Chair suggested this may be covered at the Joint Meeting with Health in March. Member’s asked that when setting up the meeting it is requested that one of the speaker is able to answer questions on dentistry / dental provision.   

It was suggested that the meeting is April is also a joint meeting with North Devon and South West Water and the Environment Agency are invited to discuss drainage and raw sewage.