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Environment - Approved Panel Minutes - 2 November 2006

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Environment Scrutiny Panel Meeting No. 28

2nd November 2006

Le Capelain Room, States Building Public Session

Present Deputy R.C. Duhamel (Chairman) (RD)

Deputy G.C.L. Baudains (Vice Chairman) (GB) Connétable K. A. Le Brun of St Mary (KB) Deputy Le Hérissier (RH)

Deputy S. Power (SP)

Apologies

Absent

In attendance M. Robbins, Scrutiny Officer (MR) 9.35 am Meeting commenced

 

Ref Back

Agenda matter

Action

1.

Minutes

Minutes for the 19th October 2006 were considered and with regard to Item 2 it was agreed that the words, "and did not wish to resign" were to be removed. The Panel agreed future minutes would record times of starting and finishing the meetings with a note of who was present for each item.

Present:- RD. GB. KB. SP. MR

MR

2.

(Item 2, 19/09/06)

(Item 8 19/10/06)

(Item 6 19/10/06)

Matters arising

The  Panel  discussed  the  current  working  practices  and  the involvement Members  and officers had in  the  reviews. It was agreed that any concerns in this area were to be considered at meetings.

The Panel expressed concern that the Planning Process Review may stall if the lead officer were not ensured the time to write the report. There were pressures in relation to the Jersey Telecoms Review which he was also working on. The Panel was advised that  the  matter  had  been  considered  at  a  recent  Chairmen's Committee meeting and the lead officer for the Planning Process Review had been fully released for a two-week period to dedicate time to drafting the report.

The reply from Senator Legrand, Président du Conseil Général de la Manche in relation to deep ground water in the Bay of Mont St Michel  was still  awaited.  It  was  understood  that   Deputy S.Ferguson  had  not  received  a  reply  and  the  officer  was requested  to  follow  up  this  matter  up  with  Mr  S.  Canavan, Chargee de Mission, as a matter of urgency.

Present:- RD. GB. KB. SP. RH. MR

MR

3

(Item 7 19/10/06)

Items to note.

The Panel noted the following three items: -

i) Planning and Environment report on completion of test on boreholes. The Panel stated its disagreement with the statement within the report that the drilling had been completed successfully

 

 

as  it  was  of  the  opinion  that  the  drilling  had  not  been  to specification. A letter was to be written to the Minister for Planning and  Environment  stating  the  Panel's  views  and  expressing concern  over  the  results  of  the  tests  due  to  the  structural difficulties of the boreholes.

ii). R.67/2006 Weighbridge, Caledonia Place: Approval of New Plan was noted without comment

iii) Archaeology and Planning Draft Supplementary Planning Guidance Discussion Paper. The Panel considered this to be  of  significant  importance.  This  complex  issue  required significant discussion and the Panel requested that it be an item for the agenda at a separate meeting on 8th November 2006.

Present:- RD. GB. KB. SP. RH. MR

RD / MR

MR

4

(Item 7 19/10/06)

Homes and Lifestyle.

The Panel considered a choice of photographs to be displayed on the stall. It recalled that £500 had been authorised for printing and selected 2 at poster size and 2 at A3 size. The Panel enquired about photographs of Bellozanne Waste Treatment Facility and Social Housing in the Island. It was considered that these would be  a  more  representative  example  of  the  Panels' remit  than general photographs of Jersey.

The Panel noted that the four passes available with the Stall Package were insufficient and that a further two would be needed. The cost of £20 to cover these was agreed.

The Panel noted that badges had been ordered to give out to the public at the show. at a cost £115 for 4,800.

Present:- RD. GB. KB. SP. RH. MR

MR MR

5

Planning Process

The Panel considered that this matter had been suitably dealt with within  matters  arising  and  noted  that  there  were  no  new developments.

Present:- RD. GB. KB. SP. RH. MR

 

6

(Item 9

Design of Homes Review

The  Panel  gave  consideration  to  a  position  paper  dated  26th October  2006.  The  Panel  was  advised  that  letters  had  been

written  to  various  professional  and  interested  groups,  with  a document  which  encouraged  submissions  for  the  Design  of Homes review. The Panel agreed that a copy was to be sent to the  Citizens  Advice  Bureau.  A  second  document  was  being prepared which was to be sent out to the public for submissions. Advice relating to the launch of the public submissions was being sought through Orchid to ensure the maximum benefit and focus from the media as the requests were circulated. It was noted that a large section of the public, probably 20-30 years old, might have held views which were of interest to the review. It was considered that this group might not listen to Channel Television News or read the Jersey Evening Post and in consequence, would be specifically invited to comment. In addition, certain recent housing developments were being identified for specific targeting with mail drops.

Consideration was also being given to intranet drops with various companies and a simple survey with Radio 103.

It was noted that the proposed dates for public hearings, being

 

19/10/06) the  11th,  12th  and  15th  December  2006  clashed  with

commitments of some Panel Members.

Concerning the fact finding visit to Malmo and Vienna previously agreed  by  the  Panel,  it  was  noted  that  Senator  T  Le  Main, Minister for Housing had declined the invitation to join the Panel

on the visit. The Panel agreed that the Minister had sufficient officer support to obtain the information through his department

but the Scrutiny Panels had such limited support that they needed

to obtain any supporting information themselves. MR It was also noted that Senator F Cohen, Minister for Planning and

Environment had shown an interest in attending but had declined

as he was unavailable at the time proposed for the visit. The Panel noted his budget difficulties but considered his attendance

on  the  visit  to  be  crucial  and  the  Panel  therefore  agreed  to rearrange the visit to enable the Minister to attend. Contact was to

be made with the Minister establishing a convenient date.

The Panel accepted that this might delay completion of the review until  January  or  February  but  considered  that  this  was  an acceptable  delay  for  the  benefits  involved.  The  Panel  would decide at a later date which of its members would be available for the visit.

Present:- RD. GB. KB. SP. RH. MR 6 Waste Review

(Item 13

19/10/06) The  Panel  gave  consideration  to  a  position  paper  dated  26th

October 2006 which indicated that the proposed visit to Cardiff Materials  Recycling  Facility  was  at  the  same  time  as  the Sustainable Development UK (SDUK) Conference in London. The Chairman proposed that the visit could include both venues. The Panel  considered  that  sustainability  underpinned  every  study which fell within it's remit particularly the forthcoming energy and transport issues, which were expected next year. The content of the  SDUK  Conference  offered  excellent  preparation  for  Panel Members

The Panel noted that Scrutiny was specified amongst the group of invitees on the advertising leaflet for the conference which was MR

circulated to members with the agenda. The Panel felt strongly

that all Members would attend. The Panel also noted that the MR Connétable of St Helier had expressed an interest in joining the

visit  for  the  Cardiff  section.  The  Panel  discussed  an  e-mail communication from the Greffier of the States relating to the visit

and dictated a reply to be sent by the officer.

The Panel recalled that it had previously authorised a cost of £300 per head for the visit to Cardiff and now authorised up to £612.50 per head for the combined visit to London and Cardiff which was to include the cost of the SDUK conference.

The Panel agreed that it would look at an Energy Review in the early part of 2007 which was a huge subject that would involve the full Panel membership. It was recognised that individual Panel members had specific interests and specialities. This suggested that areas within the energy review such as for example, transport and housing energy, would easily sit with individual members to lead. The Panel noted that resources at officer level had to be accounted for when the review was planned.

 

Present:- RD. GB. KB. SP. RH. MR

 

7

Press Releases.

The  Panel  considered that  the  forthcoming  visit  to  the  SDUK Conference  in  London  should  be  publicised  in  the  media  as should the Material Recycling Facility details from Cardiff. The press should be given details both before and after the event.

The Design of Homes Review was about to send out a press release to coincide with the request for public submissions.

The  Panel  was  reminded  that  all  press  releases  must  be approved by the Chairman.

Present:- RD. GB. KB. SP. RH. MR

MR / RD

SP / MR / RD

8

Date of Next Meeting

The next meeting was arranged for 9.30 am on 16th November 2006 in the Le Capelain Room.

 

 

 

 

The meeting ended at 1205 pm.

Signed Date ..

Chairman, Environment Panel