minutes

The Minutes of the Meeting held on 10 July 2012 (Minute Nos. 144 - 152) were taken as read, approved and signed by the Chairman as a correct record.

declarations of interest

Councillor David Simmons declared a Pecuniary Interest in respect of agenda item 9 (Fourayes Fruit Farm - Proposed Visit) as they were one of the main distributors for his business.

public session

There were no questions.

part a minutes for recommendation to cabinet

waste and recyling contract award

Mr Dave Thomas (Head of Commissioning and Customer Contact) gave a presentation on the Mid Kent Joint Waste Partnership. He explained that the project was a joint partnership between Ashford Borough Council, Maidstone Borough Council and Swale Borough Council and he provided background to the project; the opportunities and challenges; the priorities for Swale; options for the new service; the procurement and tender process; and current and forecast performance levels.

The Head of Commissioning and Customer Contact reported that the tender options for the waste contract would be considered at a co-located Cabinet meeting on 2 October 2012, where each of the three Authorities would consider the tender options and award the waste contract. This would determine the actual collection method to be adopted.

Councillor David Simmons (Cabinet Member for Environmental and Rural Affairs) advised that the introduction of a food waste scheme had been an ambition of SBC as it offered lots of benefits such as reducing the amount of food people threw away and helping to reduce bad odours. He clarified that the food waste scheme was not compulsory.

In response to queries, the Head of Commissioning and Customer Contact advised that they were not intending to replace the existing wheelie bins, but a small kitchen caddy for food waste together with an external container would be provided. He then showed Members an example of the caddies currently used by Maidstone Borough Council and explained that a similar product was expected to be used in Swale. In response to a concern about rodents, the Head of Commissioning and Customer Contact stated that the bins were lockable and that Maidstone Borough Council had not experienced any problems. However, if it was demonstrated that the bins had been damaged by rodents they would be replaced.

The Head of Commissioning and Customer Contact reported that the number of refuse collection vehicles was unlikely to change, but this was dependant on the tender award. The new system would accept most types of plastic, but not plastic bags and food container films but would include Tetrapak containers. He confirmed that it was intended that there would still be small electrical goods collections and there would be continued assisted collections for the elderly.

With regard to concerns about promotion of the scheme, the Cabinet Member for Environmental and Rural Affairs advised that both Officers and Members of SBC would be pro-active in assuring that people were aware of the proposed changes. Additional staff resources would be required to assist with this. He confirmed that both himself and SBC Officers were happy to arrange visits to Parish Councils.

Members made the following further points: needed to be clear what food could be disposed of ie. cooked or raw, and would hope that the waste disposal unit at Ridham Dock is used for disposal of Swale's waste.

In response to concerns that collected waste would be transported to third world countries, the Head of Commissioning and Customer Contact explained that KCC were the Waste Disposal Authority and they had signed up to the Waste Collection Charter so they were committed to ensuring that that would not happen.

A Member raised concern about the planned changes to the amount of household waste that recycling centres could receive from 1 October 2012. She expressed concern that it would lead to an increase in fly-tipping. The Head of Commissioning and Customer Contact explained that the SBC Cabinet Member and Officers also had concerns and had made their views known to KCC who had agreed to monitor any increase in fly-tipping as a result of the changes.

The Chairman thanked the Head of Commissioning and Customer Contact for his presentation.

crime statistics for the rural areas of swale

Inspector Phil Hibben provide an update on crime statistics for the rural areas of Swale. He explained that crime in the rural areas of Swale was down. The only exception was Boughton and Courtney Ward which had seen a slight increase due to a spate of burglaries. Arrests had been made so it was expected that this would fall.

Inspector Hibben explained that Swale had seen an 18 per cent reduction in crime, the biggest reduction in Kent. He reported that a group of officers dealing solely with rural issues had been set-up for Swale and that cross-boundary working was vital in helping to reduce crime in rural areas.

Inspector Hibben explained that their main challenges were: opportunist theft; metal thefts; fuel thefts and theft of horse tack/equipment. He advised that under-reporting was a problem, and that if people did not report issues, then the Police could not take action.

Discussions ensued about ways to improve reporting of issues in rural areas. Suggestions included: improve on-line working with local parish/community groups/societies and Police Community Support Officer (PCSO) working with local neighbourhood watch networks.

Mr Drury, (Chairman, Lower Halstow Parish Council), reported incidents of marine crime in Lower Halstow. He explained that bottle digging at the creekside in Lower Halstow was becoming a real problem. Mr Drury stated that the activity, a criminal offence, was having an adverse impact on the local environment which was within a Site of Special Scientific Interest and part of the Saxon Shore Way. Mr Drury stated the Parish Council had notified all the relevant bodies including Natural England and Peel Ports about the issue. The local PCSO, was also aware and had taken photos and other evidence but had not been able to proceed any further than that.

A Member explained that the holes left by the bottle diggers was also making the area dangerous for people mooring at the creekside.

Inspector Hibben agreed to investigate the matter and liaise with Mr Drury about progress. He would also provide an update at the next meeting of the Forum.

rural businesses engagement with the education system

The Head of Economy and Communities introduced the update which provided information about: SBC Apprenticeship scheme; Potential Swale Rural Schools Project; and the Business Support Programme for Swale.

With regard to the Business Support Programme for Swale, the Head of Economy and Communities asked Members to forward details of any businesses interested in the scheme, to the Economy and Community Services team on 01795 417398.

The Head of Economy and Community advised Members about 'Pitch Perfect' a free seven week training programme, to be held between the 11 October - 6 December 2012, that would enable organisations to benefit from a bespoke learning and development opportunity to build capacity and skills. She explained that all Parish/Town Councils had been made notified and asked Members to inform any voluntary/community groups they were aware of about the training. Invitations and booking forms could be obtained from the Economy and Community Services team on 01795 417398.

Parish Councillor Mike Baldock raised concern that the SBC apprenticeship scheme was still not being promoted properly. He asked that an 'easy guide' outlining the scheme be provided to all parish clerks so they could display them on village noticeboards.

Councillor Wright, Cabinet Member for Regeneration spoke about the Swale Jobs Fair event to be held on Wednesday 26 September 2012. Numerous rural businesses representatives would be attending the event at the Wyvern Hall, Sittingbourne where up-to 500 jobs were on offer.

Members requested that a report on the jobs fair be provided at the next meeting.

commuter parking - brenley lane, boughton

The Chairman drew attention to the response from KCC about commuter parking at Brenley Lane, Boughton, which had been raised at the previous meeting.

A Ward Member raised concern that the modifications to the waiting restrictions had still not been implemented. He agreed to inform Bill Ronan, (KCC), if this was still the case by the end of September 2012.

fourayes fruit farm - proposed visit

Mr Rollo Parsons (Swale National Farmers' Union) advised Members that Philip Acock had offered members the opportunity of a visit to the Fourayes Fruit processing farm in Sittingbourne.

Post Meeting Note

This will probably be arranged for spring 2013, further information to-follow.

At this point, Parish Councillor Mike Baldock raised concern that recommendations made by the Forum may not be followed-through as there was not a matters arising part to the agenda.

venue for next meeting

The next meeting on 8 January 2013 would be held at Eastchurch Village Hall, Warden Road, Eastchurch, Isle of Sheppey, Kent, ME12 4EJ.

Parish Councillor Mike Baldock requested that a report be provided for the next meeting on guidance about the boundary changes proposed by the Boundary Commission.

Councillor Lewin advised that the Boundary Commission's final recommendations could be viewed on-line and suggested that as the proposals would not come into effect until 2015 it would be better to consider the matter at a later meeting.