Apologies were received by Cllr Lewis, Cllr Aspinell was present as a substitute.

The minutes of the Policy, Resources and Economic Development Committee meeting on 12^th February 2020 were approved as a true record.

The Chair moved that item 14 - Urgent business, be taken as the beginning of the meeting followed by item 8 – Economic Development Study, this was agreed.

Presentation by the Chief Executive on COVID 19

The Chief Executive, Jonathan Stephenson updated members of the committee on current situation the country is facing, together with the  guidance received by Central Government on the pandemic and the work being undertaken to support the most vulnerable on the Borough.

The Council commissioned an Economic Development Study.  Updates have been provided to previous meetings of the Policy, Resources and Economic Development Committee.

The completed study is presented to Members in Appendix A.  It provides 16 recommendations (listed A-P in the study). 

Mr Dolley from Leeside was present and addressed the committee.

After a full discussion, Cllr Tumbridge MOVED and Cllr Mrs Hones SECONDED the recommendations in the report.

A vote was taken by a show of hands and it was RESOLVED.

Members are asked to:

R1           Approve that officers consider all recommendations and advise members at the next Policy Resources and Economic Development Committee as to which they consider most viable and how to achieve them.

R2           Approve that officers specifically prepare reports on how to implement recommendations B, I, J and N, and to advise on any legal requirements or impediment to their implementation.

REASON FOR RECOMMENDATION

Members are presented with outputs from the Economic Development Study in order to inform recommendations that aim to enable economic growth.  The study is provided in Appendix A to inform the context of how recommendations have been made. The study, and other work such as the Place Audits, will inform priorities to be set in a new Economic Development Strategy.

A member’s discussion is to be arranged after the pre-election period to cover the key recommendations of the Economic Development Study.

The report updates the committee on the decision made at Policy, Resources and Economic Development Committee through this municipal year.

The Chair informed the committee this was an informational item and requested members to note the report.

The report updates the Committee on progress of the ‘Green Agenda’ and items that were previously identified to progress at the PRED Committee held on the 11^th September 2019.

The Chair informed the committee this was an informational item and requested members to note the report.

The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) requires local planning authorities to produce a Local Plan for their area.  Brentwood Borough Council has submitted the Local Development Plan and the Examination-in-Public is underway.  This report provides an update on the examination process.

A key part of the Local Development Plan strategy for growth is to deliver Dunton Hills Garden Village.   An update is provided regarding the project to deliver a new garden village.  A draft Framework Masterplan Document has been prepared and presented to the Dunton Hills Garden Village Project Delivery Board.   An extract from the masterplan is provided in Appendix A, showing the mandatory spatial principles proposed.  The masterplan provides a high-level framework for the site. In order to provide more detail, the Council is preparing detailed design guidance (Supplementary Planning Document). Both documents will form part of the policy framework for Dunton Hills Garden Village.

The Chair informed the committee this was an informational item and requested members to note the report.

Place Audits of the retail centres in Brentwood, Shenfield and Ingatestone have been commissioned in partnership with the Brentwood Business Partnership and Brentwood Chamber. The audits will benchmark each location and create recommendations for future place shaping initiatives, recognising the importance of each community. High streets are fundamentally changing and places need to adapt to suit the modern consumer.  However, this needs to be informed by an understanding that every place is different and has its own place at the heart of its community.

This report provides an update on the progress of the place audits.  A final report is to be issued in April and brought to the next Policy, Resources and Economic Development Committee.

The Chair informed the committee this was an informational item and requested members to note the report.

Highways England are inviting views on the Lower Thames Crossing, a proposed new motorway connecting Essex and Kent through a tunnel beneath the River Thames to provide additional road capacity.  A Supplementary Consultation has been launched following several proposed design changes.  A response to the consultation is proposed and set out in Appendix A.

The Council has prepared a sustainable transport vision to enable the integration of new development planned in the south of the borough.  The area, known as the South Brentwood Growth Corridor in the Brentwood Pre-Submission Local Plan, has several development allocations proposed to meet employment and housing needs.  In order to ensure that the negative transport aspects from development are reduced and sustainable travel choices are made in future, a vision and set of principles have been produced in consultation with stakeholders.  The work has been published as part of submission materials for the Local Development Plan.  Members are provided an update on the work as it progresses, as set out in Appendix B.

Cllr Tumbridge MOVED and Cllr Mrs Hones SECONDED the recommendations in the report.

Members are asked to:

R1       Approve the response to the Lower Thames Crossing supplementary consultation as set out in Appendix A.     

R2       Note the update contained within this report regarding the South Brentwood Growth Corridor Sustainable Transport Vision.

A vote was taken by a show of hands and was RESOLVED UNANIMOUSLY.

REASON FOR RECOMMENDATION

The Council has engaged with Highways England on the Lower Thames Crossing project to date.  A Statement of Common Ground has been prepared by Highways England to list outstanding issues.  It is proposed that issues raised in previous consultation responses are maintained where relevant and/or unresolved.  This includes the role of new highway infrastructure unlocking economic growth in South Essex, and the need for wider transport improvements in Essex linking with the A12.  New issues relating to changes at M25 junction 29 and works access on the B186 are raised in relation to the delivery of new employment land at Brentwood Enterprise Park and linkages to existing employment land at Codham Hall Farm.

It is important that the Local Plan is supported by credible evidence.  The South Brentwood Growth Corridor vision and principles help reduce negative impacts of travel.  The Local Plan examination-in-public will test the assumptions that development can be delivered with the integration of sustainable transport choices and the vision work will help to show a credible roadmap for how this is to be achieved.  The growth corridor work is brought to Members attention as work will continue through the examination process towards finalisation of associated infrastructure costs and funding arrangements.

At 9:00pm in accordance with Rule 10.1 of the Council’s procedural rules, Members RESOLVED to continue the meeting for a further 30 minutes.

This report is in response to a Member’s motion passed at Ordinary council on 8 October 2019

This report therefore considers whether following new legislation introduced in August 2019 there is a need to increase the ‘Blue Badge’ parking bays in our car parks.

That following investigations it appears to indicate that whilst Blue badge bays are well used there is sufficient capacity.

Cllr Tumbridge MOVED and Cllr Mrs Hones SECONDED the recommendations in the report.

1.      Agree that Parking Officers continue to monitor the parking across all Council managed car parks in order that if changes are required these can be brought back before Committee for decision.

2.      Based on the information gathered no change is made to the present number of accessible spaces available. 

3.      Improve the publicity of the availability of accessible spaces in Council owned car parks

A vote was taken by a show of hands and was RESOLVED.

REASONS FOR RECOMMENDATION

There are no statistics or projections available that indicate that the additional badges issued have or will have a significant impact on demand for parking.

It is recommended therefore that the Parking Team continue to monitor and manage the Council owned car parks and to work with ward members to address any issues that arise.

(Cllr Aspinell declared a non-pecuniary interest under Council’s Code of Conduct on the virtue that he is a holder of a Blue Badge). 

A motion was MOVED by Cllr Tumbridge and SECONDED by Cllr Mrs Hones that the public be excluded from the meeting on the items of business (11,12 & 13) on the grounds that the disclosure of exempt information as defined in schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972.

A vote was taken by a show of hands and was RESOLVED UNANIMOUSLY.

The exempt minutes of the Policy, Resource and Economic Development meeting were on 12^th February 2020 were approved as a true record, subject to an amendment to the spelling of Cloke.

Cllr Tumbridge MOVED and Cllr Mrs Hones SECONDED the recommendations in the report.

A vote was taken by a show of hands and it was RESOLVED.

Cllr Tumbridge MOVED and Cllr Mrs Hones SECONDED the recommendations in the report.

A vote was taken by a show of hands and it was RESOLVED UNANIMOUSLY.

The meeting concluded at 21:18