To consider any questions submitted by Members.  (The deadline for questions is 4.30 pm on the Monday the week before the meeting – please contact Democratic Services by e-mailing democraticservices@swale.gov.uk or call 01795 417330).

The Mayor advised that four questions had been submitted from Members.  As Councillor Whiting was not in attendance in the Chamber, his question (2) would be rolled over to the next Full Council meeting.

Question 1 – Councillor Bill Tatton

There have been two well attended Sheppey Area Committee meetings with the main conclusion that if Swale Borough Council (SBC) gets its £20M Government Levelling up fund it should be spent on the proposed swimming pool re-build, expansion of the health centre and canvassing to local employers to find out what skill sets are needed by students that are attending Sheppey College.

There had been no mention of a soft play & adventure golf putting area or indeed a further eatery.

There are more than enough eateries in the adjacent High Street, there is no need to approve the appearance on the exit from the railway station, the present scheme designers stated it would be good for tourism under the belief tourists would arrive via train. Had research been carried out, very few tourists arrive by train, these trains normally comprise of 2 carriages so may be of interest to day trippers but not tourists.

Adventure golf putting is dependent on weather conditions and once Sheerness residents have had a go, how do the remote conurbations residents’ benefit? With possible Anti-Social Behaviour attacks, maintenance costs, golf club and ball hire, I cannot see how golf putting would offer the same benefit as swimming.

In a press release dated 7^th June 2022 by the Chair of Regeneration and Property Committee it stated that the swimming pool preferred suggestions were not feasible and would not be possible in the timescales the government have set.

Why can’t £60m be found as it was for the Sittingbourne town centre regeneration?

Response – Vice-Chair of Regeneration and Property

Wrapped around the Area Committee meeting, Swale Borough Council undertook wide-ranging consultation in early 2022 to seek people’s views on the proposed Levelling-Up Fund bid, with questions including ‘what would you like to see inside a new swimming pool building / refurbished leisure centre’ and ‘what would you like to see in the wider Beachfields footprint’. 

Responses showed support for a café, soft play and adventure golf, and these were tested against current and future demand as part of the business case preparation, with evidence showing there would be a strong market for these facilities. 

A key aim of the bid is to increase visitation from outside of Sheerness, to support the regeneration of the sea front, High Street and wider town centre.

In line with Council policy, we are keen to encourage public transport and active travel as primary transport means. The improvement of the pedestrian route from the station will benefit more users than just those arriving by train.

We share everyone’s disappointment that it has not been possible to include a new swimming pool in the Levelling-Up Fund bid, and that the fund does not support revenue investment, which would be required to deliver new transport services. We have undertaken to look to other funding sources to complement Levelling-Up investment, and will continue to do so.

The maximum possible ask of the Levelling-Up Fund is £20m, and we are bidding for that full value.

Supplementary Question

In which area of the Isle of Sheppey was the consultation of residents carried out?

Response

I do not have that information to hand, a full response will be provided.

Question 3 – Councillor James Hunt

Government have made up to £180 million available through the Brownfield Land Release Fund (BLRF2), to enable local authorities to release brownfield sites in their ownership. With all local authorities able to apply, will an application be being made by Swale Borough Council?

Response – Vice-Chair of Regeneration and Property

We are aware of this funding stream, round 1 of which opened in July, with a submission deadline of 19^th August. We understand from government guidance that there will be at least two further funding rounds. With a great deal of officer time being dedicated to our £20m Levelling-Up Fund bid and to unlocking our £1.17m UK Shared Prosperity Fund allocation, both with August deadlines, we will not be submitting a bid under this first call. Brownfield Land Release Fund investment will, however, be actively considered for future rounds, when we expect to be supported by the additional expertise and capacity of an External Funding Officer – the job advert for which closed last week.

Question 4 – Councillor Steve Davey

Could the chair please inform me of the current use by SBC and its contractors of pest and weedkiller including Glyphosate based varieties, and the plan to phase out the use of these products.

Response – Chair of Environment Committee

Thank you for a very pertinent question. There is an international debate regarding the use of glyphosate and current Government licensing of the product only runs until 2025. As a result, officers have been researching alternatives and using contract renewals as an opportunity to draw on industry expertise in this area.  

Our new grounds maintenance contract which started in January 2022, commits to reducing the use of glyphosate over the 5 year contract term and switching to more manual weeding instead. We currently use about 140 litres of herbicide across the Borough each year and have a target to reduce this to 90 litres in year one and to use no glyphosate by year 5.  

Our street cleansing contract allows for the use of glyphosate for treating specific weeding issues around the Borough, but I am pleased to report that our contractor has not used any glyphosate or equivalent product over the last few years. The new waste tender process has sought contractor views on alternative methods to glyphosate usage and whilst the alternatives are few and much more costly, we remain committed to restricting its use.

Supplementary question

Could the Communications team advertise this information?

Response

As we are in the middle of a tender process, there will be careful publicity.