To answer written questions from Councillors
Note: The deadline for questions is 5pm on Friday 5 February 2016(17.00 hours on the third clear working day before the meeting).
Minutes:
a) I.T. Security: Councillor Alexander Clarke asked the following written question and received the following written answer from the Chairman of the Strategy and Resources Committee, Councillor Neil Dallen:
Question:
How strong is Epsom & Ewell's cyber security?
Reply:
Very Strong. However, all users need to be vigilant at all times and must not open any emails with attachments that they are not expecting or look unusual.
b) Appointments to Outside Bodies: Councillor Liz Frost submitted the following written question and received the following written answer from the Chairman of the Strategy and Resources Committee, Councillor Neil Dallen:
Question:
We currently have Councillors appointed to outside bodies. These are official positions and Council Officers review them every so often to ensure that it is still appropriate for our Councillors to be representatives. Some of these have a more defined role than others.
In recent times there have been an increasing number of requests by organisations for us to have a ‘Champion’ to represent their interests. In some cases this appears to be the same as an appointment to an outside body – in others it is different. Currently we have no formal process for deciding whether a Champion is appropriate, and if so, for appointing them or monitoring them.
Can I ask the Chairman of Strategy & Resources Committee if he would work with Officers to come up with a method for addressing this? (Chairman of S&R)
Reply:
We are currently reviewing outside body appointments and we will include "Champions" on the list as if they were an outside body appointment.
Part of the review is to ensure that there is a justifiable reason to appoint a Councillor to an outside body rather than just a "nice to have" position. These positions not only involve Councillor time but also officer time.
c) Nuisance posed by stray golf balls: Councillor Omer Koukou-Tchri submitted the following written question and received the following written answer from the Chairman of the Environment Committee, Councillor John Beckett:
Question:
What are we planning to do about “Yellow Golf Range Balls” as I understand the matter from communications, Yellow Balls going from a private but initially unauthorised development; over public highway onto resident’s properties across the road [Longdown Lane] with danger to residents, their properties and general public and a tragedy waiting to happen?
Reply:
I am afraid that there is little this Council can do in relation to this matter. I am informed that no planning enforcement action can be taken, nor, as reported, is this an actionable public nuisance of the sort which our Environmental Health team can tackle. Any highway safety implications are matters for Surrey County Council to consider, and I would suggest that this be raised with the residents’ County Councillor. I am also informed that golf balls being hit into private gardens is a private law matter for the householders to pursue with the golf club- they would be well advised to seek their own independent legal advice about this.
d) Community Facilities on the Wells Estate: Councillor Kate Chinn submitted the following written question and received the following written answer from the Chairman of the Strategy and Resources Committee:
Question:
Can I ask the chairman of Strategy and Resources what positive steps are being taken to ensure that The Wells community keeps a centre that can be used and enjoyed by the whole community?
Reply:
I would refer Cllr. Chinn to the last Council meeting and the recommendation that was agreed.
e) Emergency Contingency Planning: Councillor Alexander Clarke submitted the following written question and received the following written answer from the Chairman of the Strategy and Resources Committee, Councillor Neil Dallen:
Question:
Have any tests of our emergency contingency plans been carried out, e.g. The holding of council meetings in places other than the Council offices? And if not, then why not?
Reply:
With iPads we can hold Council meetings at any location. There is no need to test this.
f) New Refuse Service: Councillor Alexander Clarke submitted the following written question and received the following written answer from the Chairman of the Environment Committee, Councillor John Beckett:
Question:
With the proposed bin swapping plan (black to green/green to black) what will happen in the case of residents who have bins of equal volume?
Reply:
The new refuse and recycling services will launch during the early summer of 2017. Throughout 2016 and into 2017, we will carry out an extensive programme to communicate the new service, including the bin-swap. We will engage with as many residents as possible, through a variety of media. Officers will be presenting an overview of the communications programme to the Environment Committee at its next meeting on 12 April. We will be calling the bin-swap “The Big Switch”, which we hope will resonate with people.
This will give residents plenty of early notice about “The Big Switch”, particularly over the summer and autumn of this year. We’ll help them to understand what bins they’ll need going forward, and encourage them to call us if they need any new containers. For example, a household without a black bin now will need one for refuse collections in the future. Or a household with a smaller green refuse bin now will want a bigger one to use for recycling in the future. We’ll encourage people to call us and make these changes well before launch.
An exception will be those households currently using a larger, 240-litre black bin to help them recycle more. There are around a thousand such bins being used across the Borough. While we don’t want big, black rubbish bins in the future, neither do we want to interrupt these residents’ excellent recycling habits in the meantime. So for these households it makes sense to wait until after launch to swap their big, black bin for a smaller one (and we are sure that those keen recyclers will welcome the change).
People are generally very interested in recycling, so it seems likely that most people will think about what they need, and contact us well before “The Big Switch”. But it’s reasonable to assume that a few households may still need some kind of bin change at launch, so this is part of our operational planning. One of our tasks, for example, is to ensure that no household has more than one 180-litre black refuse bin after launch (unless entitled to upgrade their refuse bin under our new policy for larger households).
g) Design Quality 'Supplementary Planning Document': Councillor Alexander Clarke submitted the following written question and received the following written answer from the Chairman of the Licensing and Planning Policy Committee, Councillor Graham Dudley:
Question:
Could I please have a best estimate of when the Design Quality 'Supplementary Planning Document' will be finished, and whether (and if so when/how) it will be open to public consultation?
Reply:
The Draft Design Quality Supplementary Planning Document will provide detailed advice on the design, townscape and space standards contained within the Development Management Policy Document, which is part of the Local Plan.
My current expectation is that the Licensing and Planning Policy Committee will consider the draft document in June 2016, and that this will be followed by a period of public consultation. Once the consultation responses have been considered and any appropriate amendments made, adoption of the document by the Licensing and Planning Policy Committee will follow, probably in September or October of this year.
h) Kiln Lane Link: Councillor Alexander Clarke submitted the following written question and received the following written answer from the Chairman of the Strategy and Resources Committee, Councillor Neil Dallen:
Question:
What efforts by the council are being expended upon the Kiln Lane Link?
Reply:
Surrey County Council are the lead authority for the Kiln Lane Link improvement scheme – and must take primary responsibility for promoting and securing funding for its delivery from the Government and others, but Epsom & Ewell are expending an enormous amount of effort to ensure that this major scheme remains high on all interested parties agendas.
We have been heavily involved with both Gatwick Diamond and the Coast to Capital (C2C) Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) to ensure that this remains at the top of their priorities.
We have also been instrumental in ensuring that Surrey County Council, the Highways Authority, continue to give it the priority and funding that it deserves.
This scheme will have an enormous positive impact on the whole Borough, particularly by reducing the traffic over Ewell West station Road Bridge and Hook Road/East Street.
The joining of the two business parks, Nonsuch and Longmead, will also give a very positive message to businesses and enhance the economic vitality of the area.