Agenda, decisions and minutes

Members are required to notify any substitutions by midday on the day of the meeting.

Late substitutions will not be accepted and Members attending as a substitute without having given the due notice will not be able to take part in the meeting.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Val Bryant.

Audio recording – 1:38

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Val Bryant.

To take as read and approve as a true record the minutes of the meeting of the Committee held on 22 February 2022

RESOLVED: That the minutes of the Panel meeting held on 22 February 2022 be approved as the true record of the proceedings and be signed by the Chair.

Audio Recording – 1:48

RESOLVED:That the Minutes of the Meeting of the Committee held on 22 February 2022 be approved as a true record of the proceedings and be signed by the Chair.

Members are reminded that any declarations of interest in respect of any business set out in the agenda, should be declared as either a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest or Declarable Interest and are required to notify the Chair of the nature of any interest declared at the commencement of the relevant item on the agenda.  Members declaring a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest must withdraw from the meeting for the duration of the item. Members declaring a Declarable Interest, wishing to exercise a ‘Councillor Speaking Right’, must declare this at the same time as the interest, move to the public area before speaking to the item and then must leave the room before the debate and vote.

1) The Chair outlined that this Cabinet Panel meeting was about the Environment and welcomed all those who were participating this evening.

2) The Chair advised that, in accordance with Council policy, this meeting would be audio recorded as well as filmed. The audio recordings would be available to view on Mod.Gov and the film recording via the North Herts Council YouTube channel.

3) Members were reminded to make declarations of interest before an item, the detailed reminder about this and speaking rights was set out under Chair’s Announcements on the agenda.

Audio recording – 2:13

(1) The Chair outlined that this Cabinet Panel meeting was about the Environment and welcomed all those who were participating this evening;

(2) The Chair advised that, in accordance with Council policy, this meeting would be audio recorded as well as filmed. The audio recordings would be available to view on Mod.Gov and the film recording via the North Herts Council YouTube channel;

(3) Members were reminded to make declarations of interest before an item, the detailed reminder about this and speaking rights was set out under Chair’s Announcements on the agenda.

Members should notify the Chair of other business which they wish to be discussed at the end of either Part I or Part II business set out in the agenda. They must state the circumstances which they consider justify the business being considered as a matter of urgency.

The Chair will decide whether any item(s) raised will be considered.

There was no other business notified.

Audio recording – 2:43

There was no other business notified.

RESOLVED: That the information note entitled Work Programme and Action Tracker for 2022 was noted

REASON FOR DECISION: To ensure the Cabinet Panel on the Environment is able to plan its workload and monitor actions

Audio Recording: 2:49

The Policy Officer gave a quick update on the work the Policy Team have been involved in and highlighted the following key points:

·        Are continuing to work within the HCCSP and have been involved in developing a countywide biodiversity baseline;

·        Have rated the action plan of the HCCSP using Green, Amber and Red indicators to show how North Herts are progressing individually with those plans;

·        The Behaviour Change Sub-Group, which the team sit on, have produced a draft strategic action plan; having prioritised three key themes;

·        Have signed up to participate in a solar bulk purchasing scheme, allowing residents of Hertfordshire to register their interest in getting solar panels and battery storage; launching in August;

·        Had a large amount of the carbon emissions assessment done;

·        Work is being done on a ‘Roadmap To Net Zero’ showing how net zero can be reached by the 2030 target;

·        Still reviewing the Council’s carbon emissions in 2021, each year will be reviewed to show a decrease in emissions;

·        Hitchin had an Eco Fest on 14^th May and NHC was represented by a stall there;

·        Formed a Climate Change and Sustainability Officer Group, trying to draw together all of the work related to climate and sustainability.

The Communities and Policy Manager then presented the information note entitled Work Programme and Action Tracker for 2022/23 and highlighted the following points:

·        Page 13 outlines the work programme for the rest of the year;

·        Page 14 & 15 shows the action tracker, the majority being on hold or on-going with 1 action completed so far.

RESOLVED: That the information note entitled Work Programme and Action Tracker for 2022 was noted

REASON FOR DECISION: To ensure the Cabinet Panel on the Environment is able to plan its workload and monitor actions

To receive petitions, comments and questions from the public.

A variety of presentations were made to the Cabinet Panel including:

·        HCCSP Biodiversity Action Plan

·        Council Actions on Biodiversity

·        Protecting and Enhancing Biodiversity in our Region

·        Green and Growing Network Group

Audio recording – 14:05

Georgina Chapman, Policy Officer at North Herts Council gave a visual presentation on the Hertfordshire Climate Change and Sustainability Partnership (HCCSP) Biodiversity Strategic Action Plan. Some of the main points were:

·        HCCSP contains all Hertfordshire local authorities;

·        Progress so far includes: minimising or excluding the use of peat compost, conducting an audit of local authority green space, identify opportunities for grass verge and other grasslands management and developing a biodiversity baseline to quantify levels of biodiversity;

·        Upcoming actions include: reviewing how biodiversity is considered within the procurement processes, capturing ecological data from planning applications, developing a good practice ecological design guidance and engaging with the development of a Local Nature Recovery Strategy.

The following Members, officers and members of public asked questions:

·        Councillor Michael Muir

·        Aimee Flack

·        Diane Ketcher

·        Councillor Gerald Morris

·        Councillor Chris Hinchliff

·        John Webb

·        Deolinda Eltringham

In response to questions, the Policy Officer advised:

·        That she wasn’t sure why Parish Councils were not involved with the HCCSP but she would raise it at the next meeting;

·        An officer at Hertfordshire County Council has the plan for where the ponds will be located;

·        The 5 ponds per year figure was county-wide; there has been no consultation with The Wildlife Trust but they work closely with the HCCSP so they will be aware;

·        Members of the County Farmers Estate are part of the Rural Sustainability Network Group, some of which are situated in North Herts;

·        Have started reduced mowing regimes on roadside verges; the hedgerows that are maintained are mainly in urban areas and will continue to be cut to maintain footpaths for pedestrians and sight lines of drivers; the Council cuts those hedgerows only twice a year;

·        Historical data sets have been used when looking at the biodiversity baseline but more information will be provided on this outside of the meeting.

The Chair thanked Georgina Chapman for her presentation.

Andrew Mills, Service Manager - Greenspace then gave a verbal presentation on the Council’s Actions on Biodiversity and highlighted the following key points:

·        As part of the contract review with John O’Conner the Council discovered 600 square metres of seasonal bedding that was not sponsored, nor part of a cemetery or memorial;  and have subsequently taken those areas out; this has decreased the amount of carbon the Council is producing in maintaining and transporting plants;

·        Ensured that pots from plant nurseries are returned and recycled rather than disposed;

·        Vehicles and machinery contributed to the carbon production a large amount, these polices have been reviewed and have taken out 2 vehicles driving around the district;

·        The Greenspace team have received compliments and queries from the public over the decision to allow grass verges to grow more than usual;

·        Parks Herts is a forum of officers across the district which originated from an opportunity for benchmarking and sharing best practice between the 10 Districts & Boroughs; the group has been in existence for 20 years;

·        NHC & St. Albans were the first local authority to begin allowing local parks  ...  view the full minutes text for item 47.