Agenda and minutes

Councillor G. N. Denaro chaired the Panel meeting and welcomed all those present.  The general housekeeping rules and protocol for participating in virtual Committee meetings was outlined for the consideration of all attendees.

Councillor S. R. Colella declared an other disclosable interest in respect of the application for Roadside Air Quality Management Signage for Hagley and Wythall, as he had supported the application. 

Councillor A. Kent, who was attending the meeting in his capacity as a ward member for a bid rather than as a member of the Panel, also declared an other disclosable interest because he was supporting the application for  Roadside Air Quality Management Signage for Hagley and Wythall.

The aim of this meeting was to provide the Panel members with an opportunity to discuss the applications with the applicants and for applicants to respond to any questions which might arise from those discussions.

Officers explained that the Panel would hold a further meeting (in private) later in the month to discuss the allocation of the funds available.  The Panel would then prepare a report putting forward recommendations for the consideration of the Cabinet.  The final decision for allocation of funds would remain with the Cabinet. 

Applicants would be contacted following this private meeting in August to advise them of the Panel’s recommendations.  Successful applicants would subsequently be contacted following the Cabinet meeting to advise them of the next steps in the process.

Officers explained that each application had been allocated a five minute slot and those in attendance were advised that they were welcome to go when they had responded to any questions from Members in respect of their application.

Bromsgrove District Councillors – Ward Initiative – Roadside Air Quality Management Signage

Councillors S. R. Colella and A. Kent presented the application and in so doing drew Members’ attention to a report that had been published by Public Health England (PHE) in March 2020 which had encouraged local authorities to install signage in respect of air pollution. This was considered to be particularly helpful in respect of tackling the impact of air pollution on the health of children and young people and by working with schools the project could help to raise awareness amongst teachers and parents as well as school children.

During consideration of this application questions were raised in respect of the following matters:

·                The signage that would appear in parts of Bromsgrove District should the application be approved and whether Worcestershire County Council (WCC) needed to provide permission.  The Panel was advised that Councillors Colella and Kent would liaise with WCC though did not anticipate that there would be an issue. 

·                The potential role of Worcestershire Regulatory Services (WRS) in relation to signage pertaining to air pollution and whether that service could fund the signage or might need to be involved in the project.  The Panel was informed that no issues had been identified in respect of this matter.

·                The reasons why the application had been submitted to the New Homes Bonus (NHB) Community Grants Panel, rather than to a County Councillor for divisional funding.  Members were advised that the idea had been proposed following a meeting between Councillors Colella and Kent where the subject of air pollution and the impact on children’s health had been discussed.  Councillor Colella was not a County Councillor so could not allocate divisional funds to a project.

Alvechurch Parish Council – Fit for Today, Fitter for Tomorrow

Parish Councillors John Cypher, Andy Humphries and Marc Worrall attended the meeting in support of this application.  Members were advised that the grant, if approved, would fund 25 parking spaces in a car park for the Parish Council, which was considered to be the optimum number required for the sports activities taking place on site.  The works would be undertaken as part of a strategy to improve the accessibility of the site and to reduce the impact of events on the neighbouring community.

The following points were discussed in relation to this application:

·                The possible increase of £40,000 in Alvechurch Parish Council’s earmarked reserves in 2019/20, which was identified by Members from the Parish Council’s accounts.  The Panel was advised that this information did not correspond with what had been reported to the Parish Council and would need to be verified.

·                The potential environmental impact of the proposed work in respect of the car park.  Members were informed that whilst some vegetation would be removed this would not include trees and a membrane cover would be used where new plants would be grown.

·                The availability of parking and the reasons why a car park was required.  The Panel was advised that there were limited  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5/2020

Members would be considering the criteria within the Scoring Matrix when reaching their decision in respect of each application.