No apologies were received.

The minutes of the meeting were approved and signed by the chair as a correct record.

Cllr Lloyd MOVED and Cllr Sapwell SECONDED that item 9 should be brought forward and will be discussed before item 4.

RESOLVED UNANIMOUSLY that the order of the agenda be varied accordingly.

Thames Chase

Mr Ormsby met with Thames Chase to discuss partnership arrangements. A report will come to the next Environment Committee on 20.1.2015.

Waste Strategy

A number of workshops are being held with Members and Officers from all Essex Authorities with regards to the future delivery of waste.  A report and a presentation will be made at the next meeting to discuss a waste strategy for the Borough.

The report provided a protocol which outlined Brentwood Borough Council’s approach to dealing with unauthorised encampments on land within the Borough, where persons trespass onto land (public or private) not owned by themselves with an intention to reside on a temporary or permanent basis.

The protocol detailed the powers and actions available to the Council and will inform decisions on appropriate enforcement.

The Council will consider its use of powers to deal with unauthorised encampments within the Borough in a proportionate way, which will recognise the rights of minority groups but will also seek to protect the interests and amenity of residents and provide a transparent outline of the powers and actions that the Council will consider in such cases.

A Motion was MOVED by Cllr Lloyd and SECONDED by Cllr Sapwell to received the recommendations set out in the report.

RESOLVED UNANIMOUSLY to:

2.1      Approve and adopt the Protocol as set out in Appendix A and B to       the report.

2.2      Agree to continue to work in liaison with Essex Police, Parish    Councils, other land owners and stakeholders to ensure an        effective response to unauthorised encampments in the       Borough,      aiming to minimise the impact on residents, the use of public and         private land and environmental damage.

From January 2015, new regulations will require the separate collection of paper, plastic, metals and glass for recycling, unless it is not necessary to provide high quality recyclates; or it is not technically, environmentally or economically practicable (TEEP). The aim of this is to increase the quality of recycled material by reducing contamination, and improve the environment.

In July 2014, Officers appointed WYG, an external organisation, to carry out the TEEP assessment to ensure that there was an independent assessment of the service. The assessment cost £3,500 which was a reduced cost due to procurement via the Essex Waste Partnership.

The assessment has identified that the collection service provided by the Council is compliant to continue in it’s current form, as it is not economically viable to introduce separate collections for all commodities, which is estimated would cost a further £600,000.

A Motion was MOVED by Cllr Lloyd and SECONDED by Cllr Sapwell to received the recommendation set out in the report.

RESOLVED UNANIMOUSLY to:

2.1       Agree that the Council continues to collect co-mingled waste, and        that approval is given to the TEEP assessment as a formal record.

At the Environment Committee on 16^th September 2014 it was agreed that a review should take place on other recycling sites, and that a report should be presented to the Committee on 12^th November 2014.

The Council currently provide nine bring sites, which are as follows:

Information was sent out to all Members on 2^nd October 2014 requesting details of any issues with sites within their Ward, and a request was made at the Parish Council liaison meeting on 22^nd September 2014 for the same information. 

There has been two comments; Blackmore feel that their site has deteriorated since the closure of Crown Corner, and there has been ongoing issues with the site at Mountnessing, who on 13^th October, at their Parish meeting agreed to close the site.

There are other high profile sites that Officers constantly have to deal with at key locations around the Borough.  It is felt that due to their high profile locations they could be considered for closure, as they do not represent the Borough in a good way.  These are; Hunter Avenue, Town Hall, and William Hunter Way.

Cllr Faragher MOVED a recommendation to defer this item, which was SECONDED by Cllr Russell.  After a full discussion the motion was withdrawn.  A Motion was MOVED by Cllr Lloyd and SECONDED by Cllr Sapwell to received the recommendations set out in the report subject to the following amendments 2.1 and 2.3.

2.1           That the Hunter Avenue and William Hunter Way Recycling         Sites be closed and that the Town Hall Recycling     Site be           relocated within the Town Hall grounds.

2.2            Agree that all other sites are monitored, and where                                     appropriate, through discussions with local Ward Members,                   Chair and Vice-Chair and where appropriate Parish                                     Councils, that the Head of Streetscene is given delegated                         authority to close further sites.

2.3            That the Mountnessing site future is reviewed with the                              Chair and Vice of Environment Committee and Ward                               Members on future options.

At the Environment Committee on 7^th July 2014, it was agreed that the Leader of the Council, and the Chair and Vice Chair of the Environment Committee meet with the lead Member for Highways and Transportation at Essex County Council to explore partnership working opportunities to improve highway maintenance across the Borough.

The meeting took place on 29^th September 2014 with Cllr Bass, the lead Member for Highways and Transportation at ECC, and provided an opportunity for the Borough Members to open a debate on how communication and on-going maintenance could be improved.  Cllr Bass welcomed the meeting, as there had been a lack of engagement with Brentwood Borough Council in the past over these matters.

It was agreed by all that for a number of years there had been a lack of investment nationally on the highway network, and that there was a need to invest more on local roads throughout the County.

However, through the discussion it became evident that the maintenance of highways should be co-ordinated centrally through ECC as the Highway Authority, but there was an opportunity to debate wider issues at the Local Highways Panel.  It was noted that maintenance could be improved by making more detailed information available regarding the state of the network, which is currently being assessed through survey work.

It was therefore agreed that there would be better communication between the two Authorities, and that when detailed information is available regarding local roads, then Cllr Bass would, in principle, be happy for this to be debated at the Local Highways Panel to ensure local knowledge is used moving forward.

A Motion was MOVED by Cllr Lloyd and SECONDED by Cllr Sapwell to received the recommendations set out in the report.

RESOLVED UNANIMOUSLY to:

2.1         Agree that Members note the outcome of the discussion with Essex County Council, and that when detailed information becomes available relating to local roads, this will be debated at the Local Highways Panel.

2.2      That in Principle, Members agree to the development of area      working with Essex County Council, and other       Districts/Boroughs.

At the Environment Committee on 16^th September 2014 it was resolved that the Council will inform all charity shops of the collection scheme to be introduced, and seek their views before the final implementation of the scheme.

Officers have now visited the following shops, and their feedback is noted in Appendix A of the report:

·         Saint Francis Hospice

·         Cancer Research

·         Sue Ryder

·         British Heart Foundation

·         Save the Children

·         Barnardo’s

It was evident from the discussions with the charity shops that they are opposed to the introduction of a free collection by the Council.  However, they provided no evidence that this has impacted their shops in other areas of the Country, where Council’s currently provide a household collection.

Other Essex Council’s were also contacted, which included; Uttlesford, Castle Point and Rochford, all of whom have run a service for a number of years through Essex Textiles with no adverse impact on charity shops.  Both Southend and Colchester also provide a service, either through their contractor of through a single charity.

After a full discussion, a motion was MOVED by Cllr Lloyd and SECONDED by Cllr Sapwell to receive the recommendations set out in the report.

Voting took place by a show of hands and in accordance with Rule 9.2 of the Council Procedure Rules, the Chair exercised his casting vote and the Motion was CARRIED.

RESOLVED:

2.1      Agree that the Council introduces a monthly Kerbside collection           service through Essex Textiles for a trial period of 12 months.

2.2      Agree that Officers work with local charity shops to enhance      income through recycling credits.

2.3      Agree that the results of the trial are reported back to the Environment Committee in order to approve the long term            strategy for textile recycling.

Fees and charges made by the Council for various services are reviewed on an annual basis by the relevant Committees relating to the services provided.

Recommended amendments to the fees and charges are incorporated into the budget  setting process to take effect from the following financial year.

A Motion was MOVED by Cllr Lloyd and SECONDED by Cllr Sapwell to received the recommendations set out in the report.

RESOLVED UNANIMOUSLY to:

2.1      Members agree to freeze the proposed Fees and Charges at       2014/15 levels as outlined within the report, which will then be           incorporated within the 2015/16 Budget.

2.2      That a further report be presented to this Committee providing details of  the outcome of the planned review of the current           charging policies, which will then inform the 2016/17 charging             levels.

An item of business may only be considered where the Chair is of the opinion that, by reason of special circumstances, which shall be specified in the Minutes, the item should be considered as a matter of urgency.

There were no items of Urgent Business

Not applicable.