Visitors and members of the public who are unfamiliar with the building and procedures are advised that:

a)    There is no scheduled test of the fire alarm during this meeting. If the alarm does sound, please leave the building quickly without collecting any of your possessions, using the doors signed as fire escapes.

b)    Assemble outside where directed. Await instructions before re-entering the building.

c)    Anyone who requires assistance in evacuating the building, should make themselves known during this agenda item.

The Chair read out the emergency evacuation procedure.

Councillors should not act or take decisions in order to gain financial or other material benefits for themselves, their families or friends.

The Chair will ask Members if they have any disclosable pecuniary interests (DPIs) or disclosable non-pecuniary interests (DNPIs) to declare in respect of items on the agenda. Members with a DPI in an item must leave the room for that item and may not participate in the debate or vote. 

Aside from disclosable interests, where a fair-minded and informed observer would think there was a real possibility that a Member might be biased or predetermined on an item, the Member should declare this and leave the room while that item is considered.

Members who are in any doubt about interests, bias or predetermination should contact the monitoring officer for advice prior to the meeting.

No interests were declared.

To approve the Minutesof the meeting held on 15 February 2024 (Minute Nos. 636 – 646) and the Minutes of the meeting held on 15 May 2024 (Minute Nos. 39 - 40) as correct records.

The Minutes of the Meetings held on 15 February 2024 (Minute Nos 636 – 646) and 15 May 2024 (Minutes Nos. 39 – 40) were taken as read, approved and signed by the Chair as correct records.

Mark Welch, the Principal Transport Planner at Kent County Council (KCC) advised that a briefing on the Local Transport Plan 5 (LTP5) Consultation was being presented to all four Area Committee Meetings.

He said that this was a statutory plan for KCC which developed policies for the promotion and encouragement of safe, integrated, efficient and economic transport to, from and within their area and carried out their functions which would implement those policies. The plan would cover the period up to 2037.

KCC wanted to improve the health, wellbeing and economic prosperity of lives in Kent by delivering a safe, reliable, efficient and affordable transport network across the county and as an international gateway. KCC would plan for growth in Kent in a way that enabled them to combat climate change and preserve Kent’s environment.

He said that KCC would do this by delivering emission-free travel by getting effective dedicated infrastructure for electric vehicles, increase public transport use and make walking and cycling attractive. This would be enabled by maintaining their highways network and delivering their ‘Vision Zero’ road safety strategy.

Mark Welsh said that KCC were consulting on the ambitions and outcomes set out in the document. He said the consultation closed on 8 October 2024 and responses would then be reviewed before going to a KCC Full Council meeting in December 2024. People could either respond by emailing comments to LTP5@kent.gov.uk or via their ‘Let’s Talk’ online platform at www.kent.gov.uk/ltp5. He said there would be drop-in sessions on 10 September 2024 at Sheppey Gateway and 24 September 2024 at Sittingbourne Library.

A lengthy discussion took place and below is a summary of comments:

·         Where did the proposal on the Swale slide “Sittingbourne town traffic congestion relief including potential new highways routes between the A2 and M2” come from?;

·         the two Network Rail bridges in Sittingbourne were pinch-points and if widened would relieve congestion, why was there no reference to that in the plan?;

·         freight coming from the ports caused considerable damage to the highway network, why had that not been picked up in the plan?;

·         following KCC cuts, bus services in rural Swale had been decimated, some with no service and some reduced by 75%;

·         villages suffered when Operation Brock was in place as motorists used the rural routes as rat-runs. The plan should include improved flow on the roads;

·         Rodmersham school applied to have a 20 mile per hour (mph) speed limit on the road through the village, people did not feel safe walking along the lanes. KCC said it was not self-enforcing;

·         there was no sustainable bus service to and from the Kent Science Park, Councillor Monique Bonney had previously requested that Section 106 funding be used for an early morning and late afternoon service but KCC refused. The subsidized service had now been cut;

·         there was a focus on the M20 and M2/A2 corridors between London and the coast but nothing about north/south connections that assisted with moving around the county;

·         Swale Borough  ...  view the full minutes text for item 208.

Councillor Chris Palmer, a member of the Waste & Street Cleansing Scrutiny Review Member Panel, gave a presentation on the review being carried out.

She said that Swale Borough Council (SBC) were the collection authority, and this was a statutory duty. The previous contract with Biffa expired in March 2024 and Suez had been awarded an 8-year contract. SBC were part of a Mid-Kent Joint Waste Partnership (Swale, Ashford and Maidstone Borough Councils).

When the new contract started, a period of settling in was always anticipated. However, several months of disruption had been experienced by some residents.

On 16 July 2024 the Environment & Climate Change Committee agreed that a scrutiny review be carried out and a panel of five councillors were set up. They would look at a range of issues around the start of the new contract, including resources and staffing, data and rounds, contract and project management and communications.

The panel would spend the next couple of months carrying out detailed investigations into these topics, using a range of methods to get information and feedback, including workshops, consultation with Area Committees and the Local Councils’ Liaison Forum. A public survey had already been launched which asked for residents’ experiences with the new contract.

Councillor Palmer asked for comments to feed into the review.

The following comments were made:

·         Why did the contract with Biffa end?;

·         what guarantees were SBC given that Suez could do the job?;

·         were there financial penalties for Suez not delivering the service?;

·         were there going to be round changes for rural areas?;

·         suggest that Suez do the same as Biffa and start collected at the outside of an area and work in, it would be easier to pick up missed bins on the way back;

·         some areas had not experienced any problems, were they the rounds that were the same as the old Biffa rounds?;

·         the problems with non-collection of communal bins were a health-hazard;

·         would SBC not be making improvements until after the report was presented at the Environment & Climate Change Committee on 20 November 2024?;

·         there was too much reliance on technology;

·         could parish council clerks be advised about the round changes coming up to alert residents to look out for letters?;

·         SBC should consider a back-up plan such as bringing in an alternative company; and

·         Members complimented Suez on the clear up after Sittingbourne Carnival and the Hop Festival.

Councillor Palmer and the Head of Environment & Leisure responded that the contract with Biffa came to an end and a full open tender process was conducted.  Suez was the successful bidder for the new contract following the tender process. There were a range of penalties included in the contract. Rounds had not been changed for 10 years but housing development had impacted the efficiency of the rounds. 9,000 letters would be going out to houses advising them of further round changes effective from 16 September 2024, it was hoped that these would increase the collection rate from 9 out of 10 to 10  ...  view the full minutes text for item 209.

A member of the public asked if there could be more communication with people who could not access the internet so they could find out about Area Committee meetings. Members agreed and commented that the poor turn out at local elections reflected the growing gap between residents and elected members.

A discussion took place about returning to four Inside Swale editions a year. The Committee felt that if things like Area Committees were advertised in Inside Swale, there would be better attendance/engagement with people who did not have access to the website or social media. Also, they believed it would ensure more people received information on a range of issues.

The Clerk of Bobbing Parish Council said they were starting to produce four parish magazines a year and requested that information on Area Committee meetings and the function of Area Committees could be provided so this information could be included. The Policy & Engagement Officer agreed to provide this information.

A member of the public spoke about problems he had experienced when trying to find out about local engagement for businesses. He gave examples of recent searches of the website which brought up information on events that had taken place in the past. A Member directed him to the Swale Means Business section of the website and encouraged him to sign up to receive emails and newsletters.

These issues were further discussed later in the meeting under the item “Matters referred to Service Committee chairs for consideration”.

No issues were raised.

Councillor Bonney raised the issue of road closure signs being placed a mile along the road away from the start of roadworks. She said that the signage should be closer to the road closure.

Councillor Baldock stated he had not been advised if or when the next Swale Traffic Forum meeting would take place. He felt that the attitude of the KCC representatives at the first meeting was dismissive.

Further discussion took place on the impact of frequent road closures which included ambulances not being able to get through and bin collections being disrupted. This was a particular issue at Swanton Street, Bredgar.

Members noted the progress on actions.

Land assets in the Western Area – a parish councillor stated he had not been able to access maps on the website. He had been advised by officers they were located with the Property Asset Strategy. The Policy & Engagement Officer agreed to make enquiries with the relevant team.

Littering and fly-tipping – the Head of Environmental & Leisure Services said his team were putting together a programme of works to bring neglected areas back to specification. The contract for this work was being recruited now. An email would be sent to all Parish Clerks requesting information on areas to target.

Parking – the Chair of the Community & Leisure Committee advised that parking on double yellow fines was an offence. If a Traffic Regulation Order was in place, SBC could enforce. Buses parking on double yellow lines in Bell Road, Sittingbourne continued to be a problem.

Councillor Richard Palmer said that he had received complaints that Planning, Parking and Police enforcement was not taking place. In particular there were problems were planning breaches taking place at a housing development being built. The problems were referred to Planning Enforcement and residents were advised that they could not act on individual incidents, and they should keep a diary.

Councillor Bonney raised the issue of road closures affecting businesses and residents.

Councillor Sarah Stephen raised the issue of buses parking on double yellow lines outside schools.

Councillor Mike Baldock proposed that buses parking on double yellow lines outside schools, parking around junctions and obstructing the road, signage for road closures being placed far from the actual road closure and incorrect diversions be referred to the Swale Joint Transportation Board.  This was seconded by Councillor Richard Palmer and on being put to the vote was agreed.

Resolved:

1)    That buses parking on double yellow lines outside schools, parking around junctions and obstructing the road, signage for road closures being placed far from the actual road closure and incorrect diversions be referred to the Swale Joint Transportation Board. 

Councillor Mike Baldock proposed that the Chair of the Western Area Committee writes to the Chair of the Policy & Resources Committee to request that an item be added to the agenda to consider returning to four Inside Swale editions a year. Also that the Chief Executive be approached to enquire if she had delegated authority to allocate more funding for the checking and removal of archived information on the website so that when searches took place, out of date information doesn’t appear, i.e. promotion of events from previous years, this would make the website more user-friendly, and people could find current information more easily. If the Chief Executive did not have delegated authority to allocate extra funding, this matter should also be referred to the Chair of the Policy & Resources Committee for consideration. This was seconded by Councillor James Hunt and on being put to the vote was agreed.

Resolved:

1)    That the Chair of the Western Area Committee writes to the Chair of the Policy & Resources Committee to request that an item be added to the agenda to consider returning to four Inside Swale editions a year.

2)    That the Chief Executive be approached to enquire if she had delegated authority to allocate more funding for the checking and removal of archived information on the website so that when searches took place, out of date information did not appear, i.e. the promotion of events from previous years. This would make the website more user-friendly, and people could find current information more easily. If the Chief Executive did not have delegated authority to allocate extra funding, this matter should be referred to the Chair of the Policy & Resources Committee for consideration.

The meeting was adjourned at 8.44 pm until 8.51 pm.