Minute
North Lanarkshire Council · 8 February 2023
Back to Environment and Climate Change Committee — 8 February 2023 and its agenda
Text extracted from the council's PDF. Layout and reading order may differ from the original.
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ENVIRONMENT AND CLIMATE CHANGE - 8 FEBRUARY 2023 70 8 February 2023 at 2 pm. A Meeting of the ENVIRONMENT AND CLIMATE CHANGE COMMITTEE PRESENT Councillor Loughran, Convener; Councillor McPhilemy, Vice-Convener; Councillors Carragher, Crichton, Di Mascio, Duffy, Goldie, Leckie, Linden, Masterton, McBride, M. McCulloch, McKay, Mitchell, Nolan, Reddin, Roarty, Smith, A. Stubbs, Thomas, Williams and Wilson. CHAIR Councillor Loughran (Convener) presided. IN ATTENDANCE Chief Officer (Community Operations); Chief Officer (Place); Chief Officer (Assets and Procurement); Greenspace and Country Parks Manager; Transportation Manager; Service Delivery Manager and Democratic Services Manager. APOLOGIES Councillors McDade and Woods. DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST IN TERMS OF THE ETHICAL STANDARDS IN PUBLIC LIFE ETC. (SCOTLAND) ACT 2000 1. There were no declarations of interest. The Convener used her discretion to vary the order of business as hereinafter minuted. STRATEGIC PERFORMANCE FRAMEWORK – PUBLIC SECTOR DUTIES CLIMATE CHANGE REPORT 2021/22 2. There was submitted a report by the Chief Officer (Assets and Procurement) (1) summarising the content of the Public Sector report on compliance with Climate Change Duties, submitted on behalf of the Council in November 2022 for 2021/22; (2) informing the Committee that the Council is required to complete an annual submission to demonstrate that, as a public body, it is contributing to the nationally set climate change targets as well as adhering to its other responsibilities in terms of both adaptation and sustainability; (3) providing an overview of progress during the year; (4) outlining and highlighting activity and actions contained within the Climate Plan Action Plan Update, which was attached as an Appendix to the report, with these actions contributing to reducing North Lanarkshire’s emissions as well as encouraging more sustainable practices within the area; (5) detailing the number of next steps such as development of the local heat and energy efficiency strategy and delivery plan which will influence the long term strategy and ongoing commitment to Net Zero Greenhouse Gas Emissions with a finalised version of this plan to be brought before Committee by the end of the year, and (6) attaching, as Appendices to the report, further information in respect of organisational targets, emissions and the Climate Plan Action Plan update.
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ENVIRONMENT AND CLIMATE CHANGE - 8 FEBRUARY 2023 71 Decided: (1) that the review of the performance overview presented within the report, and accompanying Appendices, be noted, and (2) that the good progress made to deliver direct and indirect climate actions, in order to reduce the overall emissions of North Lanarkshire, be acknowledged. UPDATE PAPER – ACTIONS TAKEN RELEVANT TO RODENT COMPLAINTS 3. There was submitted a report by the Chief Officer (Community Operations) (1) explaining to the Committee that, following a motion to Council in August 2020, it had been agreed to record and analyse all reportings of rat sightings made to the Council and to report the data to the relevant Council Committee at regular intervals to help measure the scale and impact of the issue of rodent complaints and to inform the Council’s approach moving forward; (2) reiterating that, when the revenue budget had been set for the 2021/22 financial year, an additional £150,000 had been awarded to Protective Services to treat defined priority areas that experienced high levels of rat infestations in order to address local concerns; (3) advising that, as part of the Recover NL funding provided to services over financial year 2022/23, it had been agreed that there would be a continuation of a free rodent control service delivered by the Council’s Protective Services Division; (4) providing a further update on the steps that continue to be taken in respect of the action plan which had been devised in order to direct the Council’s resources to the areas of most significant concern, co-ordinating response to the best effect and delivering improvement works, and (5) reminding the Committee that the previous update report had been submitted to the former Environment and Place Committee in August 2022. Thereon, the Chief Officer (Community Operations) highlighted that, although the report indicated that this would be the final report regarding rodent complaints, he would bring back a further report in six months time. Decided: that the actions that have been and will continue to be, undertaken to address identified problem areas be supported. POW25 – COUNTRY PARKS FOR THE FUTURE – STRATHCLYDE COUNTRY PARK GREEN GROWTH ACCELERATOR 4. There was submitted a report by the Chief Officer (Community Operations) (1) providing an update on the conclusion of the Green Growth Accelerator (GGA) pathfinder project to develop a proposal to extend and upgrade the current Water Sports Centre at Strathclyde Country Park, including renewable energy generation solutions; (2) outlining next steps for project delivery and highlighting a number of key areas requiring further decision; (3) informing that the GGA pathfinder grant had paid for over 75% of the cost of developing plans through to RIBA Stage 2; (4) intimating that the estimated cost of the project was currently £15m and that the Scottish Government had advised that it would award a Green Growth Accelerator Funding Agreement of £10m in revenue payments over ten years subject to the project delivering successfully, and (5) explaining that the remaining funding would come from the Country Parks for the Future capital allocation, Place Based Investment programme and Shared Prosperity. Decided: (1) that the successful outcome of the GGA pathfinder process be recognised, and (2) that further work to develop and deliver a fully funded project be supported.
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ENVIRONMENT AND CLIMATE CHANGE - 8 FEBRUARY 2023 72 NORTH LANARKSHIRE BIODIVERSITY ACTION PLAN 2023-2027 5. There was submitted a report by the Chief Officer (Community Operations) (1) presenting the current context and an update on the North Lanarkshire Biodiversity Action Plan which will assist in fulfilling the Council's commitment to tackling the twin crisis of biodiversity loss and climate change; (2) setting out the emerging national and international approach to tackling biodiversity loss and considering how conserving and enhancing North Lanarkshire's local biodiversity can contribute to those wider targets and commitments, and (3) attaching, as an Appendix to the report, the North Lanarkshire Biodiversity Action Plan 2023-2027. Decided: (1) that the significance of the Local Biodiversity Action Plan to deliver future targets to contribute to tackling the twin crises of biodiversity loss and climate change be recognised and that the progress shown so far be endorsed, and (2) that the updated North Lanarkshire Biodiversity Action Plan be approved. POWER RESILIENCE STRATEGY 6. There was submitted a report by the Chief Officer (Community Operations) (1) informing the Committee that a Black Start event is the name for the recovery process following a complete or partial shutdown of the UK's electricity system where the planning assumption is that full power restoration could take up to seven days; (2) indicating that the timeframe to a full power cut could be less than two minutes thereby meaning that there would be no preparation time in advance; (3) explaining that the planning arrangements for such a recovery process are described under the term "power resilience" and within the last UK Government's National Risk Assessment, Black Start is rated as a medium likelihood with significant impacts; (4) intimating that, although the Council has well documented and comprehensive business continuity planning measures in place, all of these are based on the assumption that there will be a national power supply available and, as a consequence, the Scottish Government has requested that, in addition to normal business continuity arrangements, all public bodies should also have a stand alone Power Resilience Strategy which would be enacted in the event of any failure of the national grid system; (5) attaching, as Appendices to the report, the proposed Power Resilience Strategy and details of all public assistance areas in North Lanarkshire, and (6) providing further details on the contents of the Strategy. Decided: that the implementation of the Power Resilience Strategy for the Council be supported. REMEMBERING TOGETHER - COVID MEMORIAL 7. There was submitted a report by the Chief Officer (Community Operations) (1) providing an update on progress so far with the community co-creation process to create a Covid memorial in North Lanarkshire through the Scotland wide Remembering Together Programme; (2) outlining the next steps which will take the project through from consultation in 2022 to design and installation in 2023; (3) reminding the Committee that in 2021 a national memorial project had begun in Glasgow and that this highlighted that there was a desire for other kinds of memorial that communities can co-create and that many people need this space and project to process their experience of Covid and, accordingly, the Scottish Government announced that it would fund the Remembering Together programme of co-created community memorial projects in each local authority with Greenspace Scotland co-ordinating the programme nationally; (4) providing details of the process that had been undertaken to identify artists who have a strong track record of working with community groups, including those who are harder to reach; (5) advising that workshops had been arranged with different community groups, which were completed in early December 2022, and that the artists would now work with the Council's Art Park Panel to consider how the community co-creation outputs can be
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ENVIRONMENT AND CLIMATE CHANGE - 8 FEBRUARY 2023 73 converted into a series of feasible options for different permanent pieces in Strathclyde Country Park, with the intention that the options would then be displayed for communities to see and respond to in Spring 2023; (6) confirming that, thereafter, a design would be chosen around the start of the 2023/24 financial year and would go into production around June 2023, with the intention that the memorial would be in place in the park by the end of the year; (7) advising that the cost of running the community co-creation workshops was £15,000, which had been funded by Greenspace Scotland, with the next steps of Remembering Together being resourced through the £100,000 grant to the Council from Scottish Government through Greenspace Scotland, and (8) advising that, although the memorial was to be located within Strathclyde Country Park, should any local community group consider that a more localised active remembrance was required, the Council's Community Partnership Team would support that organisation to determine if external grant funding could be accessed to assist in the delivery of this. Decided: (1) that the progress on developing a Covid memorial co-created with communities be recognised, and (2) that the proposals outlined in the report to take the programme through to completion be endorsed. MEADOWHEAD ROAD ACTIVE TRAVEL AND ROAD SAFETY IMPROVEMENTS CONSULTATION 8. There was submitted a report by the Chief Officer (Place) seeking approval for the implementation of the active travel and road safety improvements proposed for Meadowhead Road, Wishaw. Decided: that the proposed active travel and road safety improvements for Meadowhead Road, Wishaw be approved. TRAFFIC REGULATION ORDERS, ROAD HUBS AND TRAFFIC CALMING DELEGATED POWERS 9. There was submitted a report by the Chief Officer (Place) seeking agreement to proposals to revise the Scheme of Delegation to Officers in relation to the promotion of Traffic Regulation Orders, Traffic Calming and Road Hub Schemes in order to progress delivery of schemes more timeously and to minimise the risk of losing external funding. Decided: (1) that authority be delegated to the Chief Officer (Legal and Democratic), in consultation with the Chief Officer (Place), to approve Traffic Regulation Orders under the terms of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984, subject to the exclusions below:- (a) any proposal where the number of objections outnumber those in support by six or more, and (b) any proposal which is referred to the Reporter as set out in Regulation 8 of the Local Authorities’ Traffic Orders (Procedure) (Scotland) Regulations 1999, and (2) that the Scheme of Delegation to Officers be amended to provide authority to the Chief Officer (Place) to implement traffic calming and road hub schemes under the terms of the Roads (Scotland) Act 1984 subject to the exclusion below:- (a) any proposal where the number of objections outnumber those in support by six or more. C
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ENVIRONMENT AND CLIMATE CHANGE - 8 FEBRUARY 2023 74 PRIORITISATION OF ROAD SAFETY IMPROVEMENTS 10. There was submitted a report by the Chief Officer (Place) (1) seeking approval for implementation of a revised policy for prioritising traffic calming and pedestrian crossing requests; (2) informing the Committee that the Council frequently receives requests for a wide range of road safety improvements and that these can typically exceed 200 per annum, predominantly for traffic calming measures or pedestrian crossings, and that it was not possible for the Council to action all requests within available budgets; (3) advising that, in May 2011, the former Planning and Transportation Committee had approved the traffic calming priority list, which included sites with more than five injury accidents over a three year period, however, in the time since the traffic calming priority list had been established, many attributing factors and considerations had changed and that basing the need for road safety improvements on a threshold of five injury accidents over a three year period has its limitations; (4) confirming that, at present, the Council does not have an approved policy for prioritisation pedestrian crossing requests and that for many years the industry standard process to determine the need for pedestrian crossing has been based on the degree of conflict between pedestrians and vehicles known as the PV2 assessment, and that surveys are undertaken to identify the four peak hours with the greatest conflict between pedestrians and vehicles; (5) proposing a new staged assessment and prioritisation methodology which would apply to both traffic calming and pedestrian crossing requests and that thresholds would be applied at each stage to determine whether a request proceeds to the next stage of investigation; (6) confirming that, upon completion of the assessment process, any site meeting the relevant total threshold value would be ranked and prioritised for undertaking feasibility appraisals and, where appropriate, detailed design work; (7) clarifying that triggering the required thresholds would not guarantee that a site progresses to a feasibility assessment and detailed design as the number of sites targeted each year will be dependant on the available budgets, with those locations that are not taken forward to the implementation stage to be retained on a priority list which will be updated each March to determine which schemes are taken forward for implementation during the forthcoming financial year; (8) advising that each year there would be a review of Police Scotland’s accident data across the entire North Lanarkshire road network to allow the Council to identify accident clusters and to inform its own priorities for road safety improvements, and (9) attaching, as Appendices to the report, the proposed scoring matrix and the assessment methodology flow chart. During consideration of this matter, there was consensus that a report reviewing the success, or otherwise, of the policy be brought back to the Committee at an appropriate time. Decided: (1) that the importance of having an updated, fair and transparent assessment process for road safety requests, to ensure the Council’s finite resources are targeted to the areas and communities with the highest risk setting, be recognised, and (2) that the policy for prioritising traffic calming and pedestrian crossing requests, as outlined in Appendices 1 and 2 of the report, be approved. AWARD OF CONTRACT FOR ROUTING AND IN-CAB SOFTWARE 11. There was submitted a report by the Chief Officer (Community Operations) informing the Committee of the award of a contract for optimised Routing and In-Cab Technology to Rubicon Technologies Germany UG for an initial period of 18 months and a value to not exceed £69,083 exclusive of VAT. Decided: that the award of the contract to Rubicon Technologies Germany UG to a maximum value of £69,083, exclusive of VAT, be acknowledged. C
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ENVIRONMENT AND CLIMATE CHANGE - 8 FEBRUARY 2023 75 CONTRACT AWARD FOR PROFESSIONAL AND TECHNICAL SUPPORT AROUND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPROVEMENTS AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT 12. There was submitted a report by the Chief Officer (Community Operations) informing the Committee of his actions towards a negotiated tender for professional and technical support around environmental improvements and community engagement to Keep Scotland Beautiful for an initial period of 18 months, which commenced in November 2022 and for which the Council reserves the right to extend the contract for additional periods up to a maximum of a further 12 months, with the maximum value of the contract not to exceed £80,000 exclusive of VAT. Decided: that the actions of the Chief Officer (Community Operations) towards a negotiated tender to Keep Scotland Beautiful be acknowledged. CONTRACT AWARD FOR PEST CONTROL SERVICES – DOMESTIC AND CORPORATE PREMISES – NLC–CPT–22-035 13. There was submitted a report by the Chief Officer (Community Operations) seeking approval for the award of a contract for pest control services – Domestic and Corporate Premises NLC–CPT–2022- 035 to GP Environmental Limited for an initial period of 36 months, with an anticipated commencement date of 3 April 2023, and with the Council reserving the right to extend the contract for additional periods up to a maximum of a further 24 months to a maximum value of the contract to not exceed £2m exclusive of VAT. Decided: that the award of the contract to GP Environmental Limited, to a maximum value of £2m exclusive of VAT, be approved. CONTRACTS AWARDED BELOW COMMITTEE APPROVAL THRESHOLD 14. There was submitted a report by the Chief Officer (Assets and Procurement) notifying the Committee of contracts awarded between 1 October and 31 December 2022 with a value below the financial threshold requiring Committee approval. Decided: that the contracts awarded below Committee Approval Threshold between 1 October to 31 December 2022, as per the process within the Council’s General Contract Standing Orders, be noted.