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Environment Scrutiny Panel
PUBLIC MEETING Record of Meeting
Date: 15th November 2007. Meeting Number: 65
Present Deputy R.C. Duhamel (Chairman) (RD)
Connétable K. A. Le Brun of St Mary (KB)
Connétable A. S. Crowcroft (SC)
Deputy P. V. F. Le Claire.(PLC) Apologies Deputy C. Scott Warr en
Absent
In attendance Mr M. Robbins. Scrutiny Officer
Mr. N. Fox, Scrutiny Officer
Ref Back | Agenda matter | Action |
1. | Minutes The Panel received and approved the Minutes of the meeting of 1st November 2007. The Panel received the Minutes of the meeting of 6th November 2007 and requested minor typographical amendments. The Panel received and approved the Minutes of the meeting of 9th November 2007. | MR |
2. | Action Updates The Panel noted a list of action updates from previous meetings. In particular the Panel noted that- Costs of advertising in the Jersey Evening Post were to be discussed at the Chairmen's Committee The Chairman was to meet officers to discuss Condition 8 of the conditions of the planning approval of the proposed Energy from Waste Plant at La Collette. The Panel was still awaiting some information from Guernsey in connection with the Waste Plant review. | RD RD |
3. | Matters to note |
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The Panel noted a document outlining the structure and purpose of the Countryside Renewal Scheme.
The Panel noted a Ministerial Decision (MD-PE-2007- 0247) and attached report from the Planning and Environment Minister regarding the commissioning of research on a review of the Island Plan.
The Panel noted an officer report and attached information regarding protection of the puffin colony on Plémont headland. |
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4. (Item 2 - 01/07/11) | Banner Stands The Panel noted correspondence between officers and Edmonds UK Ltd in respect of several quickscreen roller banner stands'. These were priced at £430 each which included the artwork and unit carrying bag and printed with a message appropriate to the Panel to be used at future public meetings. The Panel decided to delay a decision on the purchase until such time as a message had been developed. | Panel |
5. | Chairmen's Committee Briefing The Panel was informed that the Chairmen's Committee had recently met the Chief Minister in respect of future Scrutiny of the Annual Business Plan. Concerns had previously been expressed by the Chairmen's Committee that there was too much flexibility in the Business Planning system, and that funds could be transferred between Departmental units even after the Business Plan had been approved. The general opinion of the Chairmen's Committee was that there was considerable room for improvement in the Business Planning process. The Panel noted the briefing notes of the Chairmen's Committee meeting of 2nd November 2007. |
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6. (Item 3 - 01/11/07) | Jersey One World Group The Panel welcomed Mr. D. Wimberley of the Jersey One World Group (JOWG), an organisation dedicated to raising awareness of sustainability, justice and peace. The Panel was informed that the current objective of the |
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| JOWG was to reduce the number of plastic bags used in the Island. This was to be achieved by engaging small and large retailers and the public. Recently, the JOWG had held an event in connection with three local schools at which pupils manufactured their own shopping bags, which were often made of recycled material. It was hoped that this would encourage Islanders to use reusable bags and therefore less plastic. Mr. Wimberley was of the opinion that as oil production had peaked or was to peak soon, and the effects of climatic change were becoming clearer, it would be advantageous to reduce the amount of plastic used locally and globally. The Panel commented that it had noted the display of the aforementioned bags in St. Helier . The Panel expressed interest in the ongoing scheme, and approved in principle of the JOWG objectives. It encouraged Mr. Wimberley to continue with his work and was minded to follow the development of the scheme. |
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7. (Item 3 - 01/11/07) | Consultation Paper on Branchage from the Comité des Connétable s The Panel was informed that consideration was being given to altering the dates of the visites de branchage to accommodate occasional years of exceptional growth, and to altering the height to which greenery must be cut back from 12 to 14 feet. The current P30' licence for oversize vehicles set a maximum length for these vehicles, but did not specify a height limit. Therefore these vehicles could be taller than the current Branchage height. The Panel was aware that an increase in the height of the branchage would involve the removal of established tree branches that have not hitherto been involved. In terms of branchage dates, the Panel noted that there was no current requirement for a landowner to wait until the branchage date to cut back greenery, so this could be done earlier as necessary even under the current system. The Panel decided to invite Mr M. Stentiford and Mr. M. Freeman, Principal Ecologist of the Planning and Environment Department, and a Motor Traffic Officer to the next Panel meeting to discuss the matter. | MR |
8. (Item 4 - 01/11/07) | SDUK Conference, QEII Conference Centre, Westminster The Panel was informed that four places had been booked |
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| for the Sustainable Development - United Kingdom (SDUK) Conference to be held on 6th March 2007. The Panel agreed that the following delegates would attend- Deputy Duhamel Connétable Crowcroft Connétable Le Brun Deputy Le Claire After discussion of the matter, the Panel decided that it would be appropriate to book an additional place in order that an Officer could accompany the Panel. Mrs. C. Le Quesne, Scrutiny Officer, was accordingly directed to attend. The Panel agreed to meet the cost of one additional attendee to facilitate this, although it was acknowledged that the cost of this might be more that the £99 per person paid previously. Officers were directed to take the appropriate action. | MR |
9. | Draft Code of Practice The Panel noted that the central point of contention between the Executive and the Scrutiny function was the provision of legal advice. The role of H.M. Attorney General was discussed as it was deemed central to the ongoing discussions of legal advice. It was also suggested that if the primary duty of H.M. Attorney General were to advise Ministers and not the States as a whole then this should be clarified in law, and that there should be clearer provision for Scrutiny panels to seek legal advice elsewhere. The Panel concluded that an additional meeting would be required on this subject. Officers were directed to take the appropriate action. | MR |
10. | Garenne Group – Community Awards The Panel noted correspondence addressed to Senator Le Claire seeking nominations for the Community Awards. The Panel noted that the Garenne Group Community Awards were presented as part of the Jersey Awards for Enterprise. It discussed the possibility of sponsoring an environmental award to be presented at this event. The Panel considered this to be a viable use of funds, and cited the example of the recent Scrutiny Matters Newsletter as an indicator that profile-raising activities were deserving |
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| of funding. Officers were directed to contact the organisers of the Jersey Awards for Enterprise to discuss the possibility of establishing a new award or group of awards to be presented to persons who had benefited the environment. | MR |
11. (Item 3 - 18/11/07) | Water Quality in St. Aubin's Bay The Panel noted that a report on the subject was not yet available, and accordingly decided to consider this item at its next meeting. The Panel noted, however, that the current discharge into the bay could only function at a level up to 600 litres of liquid per second instead of the 900 planned. The situation was likely to worsen as the waterfront was further developed. |
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12. (Item 1 - 09/11/07) | Air Quality Review
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13. (Item 2 - 09/11/07) | Waste Plant
The Panel was aware that the three prospective advisors would bring different sets of skills to the project. It would therefore not be appropriate to |
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| make a decision at this stage. The Panel noted that all three of the companies had operated in the past in Guernsey. The Chairman was delegated to visit that island to gather information. Mr. M. Robbins, Scrutiny Officer, was also directed to attend. c) The Panel noted that it was currently negotiating an advertising package' worth £4056.20 with Channel 103, a local radio station. This would acquire the Panel a build-up of advertising exposure, culminating in an event hosted by a Channel 103 presenter.
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14. | Materials Recycling Week' Meeting The Panel recalled that a conference was being held on 4th December 2007, hosted by a publication entitled Materials Recycling Week - Recycling and Waste Management News and Information'. It was anticipated that Wrap' (a quasi-autonomous non- governmental organisation working on behalf of the UK government) would be detailing the outcome of its food waste collection trials at this event (see Item 19). The Panel decided to direct Mr. M. Robbins, Scrutiny Officer to attend. Mr. A. Andrews , an officer of the Parish of St. Helier was also to attend at the Parish's expense. | MR |
15. | Christmas lunch The Panel noted that there had been no movement on this topic. Officers were instructed to gather menus and other relevant information for the Panel's consideration. |
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16. (Item 8 - | Tidal Energy Summit The Panel noted that a summit on tidal energy was to be |
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27/07/07) | held on 28th and 29th November 2007 at the Marriot Hotel in London. The Panel agreed in principle that Deputy Duhamel, Connétable s Le Brun and Crowcroft and Deputy Le Claire should attend. It approved the necessary expenditure with additional funding for travel and incidental costs as might become necessary. The Panel agreed that this matter would be finalised by an e-mail conference once the costs had been established. | MR MR |
17. | Contact with Schools The Panel noted that only three schools had taken up the offer of the One World Group to participate in the production of Eco-friendly bags (see Item 7). The Panel noted as a matter of general principle that it should contact schools at the appropriate time of year to discuss making provision for consideration of recycling and other environmental concerns. |
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18. (Item 8 - 27/07/07) | Waterfront Development The Panel recalled that it had received a document entitled Masterplan for the Esplanade Quarter, St. Helier' and associated briefing from Hopkins Architects on 14th November 2007. The Panel discussed the content of the document and briefing and expressed concerns that- There was no clear understanding of what would happen to the vacated office spaces in the town centre. The effect on existing landlords was unknown. The resultant increase in migration and effect of infrastructure had not been properly considered. Having a single developer might be anti-competitive. The insurance situation of the preferred developer was unknown. |
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19. | Weekly Food Waste Collection The Panel noted a report in the UK media that 17 Local Authorities had recently undertaken a food waste collection trial, in which approximately 30,000 households took part. The Panel also noted that 4 out of 5 households in the trial area had taken part in the trial with the average household |
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collecting 6 to 7 pounds of food waste.
The Panel was minded to discuss these matters at the forthcoming Materials Recycling Week' conference (see Item 14).
Officers were directed to scan this report and copy it MR electronically to the Panel.
20. Future Meetings
The Panel noted that its next meeting had been scheduled
for 9.30am on 29th November 2007 in the Le Capelain Room, States Building. Due to the Panel's planned attendance at the Tidal Energy Summit, it was agreed to MR postpone this meeting for a date to be arranged. (see Item
16).
Signed Date: ..
Chairman Environment Panel