Agenda and minutes

There were none.

To approve the minutes of the meeting held on 14 March 2023 as an accurate record.

The minutes of the meeting held on 14 March 2023 were agreed as an accurate record.

Members are invited to declare any disclosable pecuniary interests (DPIs) and other registrable and non-registrable interests they may have in relation to any item(s) of business on today’s agenda.

There were none.

To receive notice of any business not on the agenda which in the opinion of the Chair, by reason of special circumstances, be considered as a matter of urgency.

There were no items of urgent business.

The Sub-Committee is asked to scrutinise the information provided with a view to considering whether it is reassured about the delivery of the 2023-24 Sustainable Communities, Regeneration & Economic Recovery Budget.

The Sub-Committee considered a report set out on pages 43 to 58 of the agenda that provided the Cabinet Report on Period 1 Financial Performance for Members to ascertain whether they are reassured about the delivery of the 2022-23 Sustainable Communities, Regeneration & Economic Recovery (SCRER) Budget. The Director of Sustainable Communities introduced the item.

The Chair asked about the timeline for resolving issues with the ANPR camera contract, and heard that conversations were ongoing with the contractor and that it was hoped issues would be fully resolved by the end of August 2023. In response to questions from the Vice-Chair, Members heard that there had been a delay in the rollout of cameras for some School and Healthy Streets, which had lowered the forecasted income for these areas in 23/24. The Director of Sustainable Communities explained that they would not be able to comment on the loss of income to the Council in the current year due to commercial sensitivity.

The Sub-Committee asked about the possible additional financial burdens that the Council might face as a result of the Environment Act 2021, noting the government funding that had been announced to assist Councils in delivering some aspects of the legislation. The Director of Sustainable Communities explained that the Council would lobby government to ensure it received all available funding, and gave some examples of the possible changes the Act could bring, for example, no longer being able to charge for the collection of garden waste and the introduction of deposit return schemes. The Chair asked if there was a requirement on delivering ‘Biodiversity Net Gain’ in the Act, and the Director of Sustainable Communities committed to answering this question after the meeting.

Requests for Information

The Sub-Committee requested that information on the percentage Biodiversity Net Gain the Council would be asked to achieve as a result of the Environment Act 2021 be provided once available, alongside any risks to not achieving this target.

Conclusions

The Sub-Committee requested that a briefing on ANPR cameras be provided to Members once issues with the ANPR contract were resolved, and that the Chair of the Scrutiny & Overview Committee also be invited to attend.

To conduct pre-decision scrutiny on the Cabinet papers for the 26th July 2023 covering the Parking Policy Transformation Project.

The Sub-Committee considered a report set out on pages 3 to 22 of the supplementary agenda, which provided the draft Parking Policy and Action Plan 2023, due for consideration at Cabinet on the 26^th July 2023. The Cabinet Member for Streets & Environment introduced the item followed by some additional commentary from the Head of Highways & Parking Services.

The Sub-Committee enquired as to how the ‘Key Policy Drivers’ had been chosen, and the Head of Highways & Parking Services explained that these had been chosen to ensure that the policy was customer focussed and served the Mayor’s Business Plan whilst delivering efficiencies where possible. The Chair asked how this policy would fit into Croydon’s wider transport policy, which it was noted would be coming up for renewal soon. The Head of Highways & Parking Services explained that the Parking Policy Project Board had been attended by Strategic Transport officers so that they could feed into its development and ensure it aligned with their own work.

The Vice-Chair asked about delivery milestones and how the success of the Policy would be measured. The Sub-Committee heard that a more defined Action Plan would be developed once the consultation on the policy had concluded, and that this would include a timeline for achieving each action.

Members raised concerns about the resources available to deliver a new Parking Policy. The Head of Highways & Parking Services explained that this sat under the Council’s Transformation Programme, and had been allocated transformation funding of £200,000 for the development and implementation of the Policy. External resources had been brought in where specialist work would need to be undertaken, for example on designing kerbside controls, and someone was already in post for this; specialist consultants had supported the development and initial delivery of the consultation on the Policy. The Sub-Committee heard that data would be used in a more effective way going forward, and that the 38 Civil Enforcement Officers currently employed by the Council would be deployed in a more targeted way. The Council had an established Parking Design team, which sat in within Highways, and would be responsible for delivering changes that resulted from the new Policy. The Sub-Committee asked about the timeline for implementation of the new Policy, and heard that it was expected that the Policy would go out to public consultation for six weeks in summer 2023, with delivery of the full Policy expected to be implemented by the end of the 24/25 financial year.

Members asked how communication with residents would be undertaken to ensure that they were aware of what was changing with parking in Croydon and that individuals were not unfairly penalised. The Head of Highways & Parking Services explained that the Council had learnt lessons from its consultations on Healthy Neighbourhoods and School Streets schemes, and would be using a multi-channelled approach for communications, including workshops, publications on the Council website and on social media. In response to questions about whether there would be a ‘bedding in period’ on any Policy changes with  ...  view the full minutes text for item 21/23

To receive a presentation on the forthcoming consultation on updating the Council’s Flood Risk Plan, so that the Sub-Committee can provide feedback and input into its development.

The Sub-Committee considered a report set out on pages 59 to 116 of the agenda, which provided an update the ongoing consultation with residents, local businesses, and other stakeholders on a draft Local Flood Risk Management Strategy for Croydon. The Cabinet Member for Streets & Environment and Senior Engineer introduced the item and went through the presentation at Appendix 3.

The Chair commented on the thoroughness of the Draft Strategy, but raised concerns that quarterly meetings of the Flood Group had not taken place for a long time, and that the Flood Risk Action Plan had not been reviewed since 2021, which suggested a lack of resources. The Senior Engineer explained that the Draft Strategy had been developed to be deliverable within the available resources, and that the Action Plan would continue to be reviewed quarterly; currently the Flood Group was internal, but would invite external partners where appropriate to contribute. The last meeting of the Group had taken place recently, and the next date could be provided after the meeting.

The Sub-Committee asked how consultation results could feed into what was a complex and technical Strategy. The Senior Engineer explained that the consultation was in two parts, one looking at whether the objectives of the Strategy were correct, and the second looking to collect resident intelligence on flood risks the Council may not be aware of. The Cabinet Member for Streets & Environment explained that every effort had been made to reduce jargon and to make the Strategy and consultation as accessible as possible. The Chair asked how residents who were at higher risk of flood would be engaged, and heard that this group would be directly targeted for their involvement. Members asked if the Council kept flooding reports, and if this data would be used to target communications. The Senior Engineer explained that there was an action in the Action Plan to make sure the information collected on flooding events was consistent through development of a template for use in the contact centre; currently data was logged on an Excel spreadsheet stored in a SharePoint and specific information from this could be provided to residents on request. The Chair asked if data was collected on the source of a flood, and whether the Flood Incident Register could be published on the website. The Senior Engineer explained that this data was collected where available, but that there were no plans to publish the Register, although information from the Register was available to residents on request. The Director of Sustainable Communities explained that the statutory Section 19 flooding reports the Council produced were published on the website; the Chair stated that one had not been published since 2017, and the Senior Engineer explained the circumstances that would require a Section 19 report to be produced.

Members asked if there was a specific department responsible for flood risk, and heard that this sat in Highways, but that many departments worked together through the Flood Risk group to meet the Council’s obligations. The Sub-Committee  ...  view the full minutes text for item 22/23

The Streets & Environment Sub-Committee is presented with an up to date list of responses from Cabinet to recommendations made by the Sub-Committee for review.

The Vice-Chair highlighted recommendation 3 in Appendix 1, and that the data on the outcomes of experimental School Streets had not been provided to this meeting as planned, due to the department having not yet had time to analyse this information. The Sub-Committee noted that a report on this had been planned for Cabinet in July 2023, but had been deferred to September 2023. The Chair requested that a briefing on this be provided to Members before the report went to Cabinet.

The Sub-Committee is asked to:

a)    Note the draft work programme for 2023-24, as set out in Appendix 1 of the report.

b)    Consider whether there are any changes to the work programme that should be considered.

The Sub-Committee noted the report.