Agenda and minutes

To confirm as a true record the Minutes of the meeting held on 18 November 2021.

RESOLVED:

That the minutes of the meeting held on 25 October 2021 be approved, subject to clarification of the figure of £3 million given in paragraph 18, relating to the Bus Service Improvement Plan.

To invite Members to declare any interest they might have in the matters on the agenda.

Cllr Medland declared a non-pecuniary and non-personal interest in the item relating to electric vehicle charging points, and would not vote on the item as he had been involved with making the policy.

Questions may be asked without notice but to guarantee a full reply at the meeting, a question must be put including the name and address of the questioner by delivery in writing or by electronic mail to Democratic Services at democratic.services@iow.gov.uk, no later than two clear working days before the start of the meeting. Therefore the deadline for written questions will be Friday 31 December.

Members of the public are invited to make representations to the Committee regarding its workplan, either in writing at any time or at a meeting under this item.

There were no Public Questions received.

The Chairman to give an update on progress with outcomes and recommendations from previous meetings.

Cllr Quirk asked for an update on the Housing Strategy to be circulated if and when it became available.

RESOLVED:

The report was noted.

The Managing Director of Visit Isle of Wight to outline the impact of Covid-19 on the 2021 season and plans for 2022.

Will Myles attended and gave an update on the work that had been undertaken by Visit IW over the last 2 years, including changes made during lockdown and help given to businesses when starting back up including pre-opening sessions with the tourism and hospitality industry. The promotion of the island had been more inward-looking and the Love Where You Live campaign had been targeted at the local population. Marketing had continued with TV adverts on Sky which had brought positive results. There had been no brochures issued due to COVID but the website had been the main source of information.

RESOLVED:

The report of the Managing Director on the 2021 season and marketing plans for 2022 was noted.

To consider how the Solent Freeport status would be beneficial to the Island and also to discuss how the work of the LEP assists the Council in the delivery of its Regeneration Strategy.

No representative of the SLEP had been available to attend, therefore this item was deferred to a future meeting.

To consider the scope of the proposed speed limit review.

This was discussed at length with various questions from the Committee, including in relation to increased speeds on the island’s improved roads, and whether these speeds could be designed out in future schemes. The large number of roads without footways or verges becoming too dangerous to use by pedestrians was also highlighted. It was suggested that paint and or signage may be used instead of ‘hard’ engineering to reduce speed to 20mph and therefore encourage more cycling and walking. The possibility of  Town and Parish Councils funding improvements in their areas was raised. It was also suggested that there could be an educational campaign on reducing speed. Councillors queried how ‘hot spots’ would be prioritised, for example, near schools, and whether the Committee could help to refine the criteria for prioritisation of future speed reduction schemes.

The Cabinet Member for Highways PFI, Transport and Infrastructure provided responses to the points raised and explained that any further safety measures outside the PFI contract would come at a cost. Some serious priority decisions would have to be made on which projects were brought forward, depending on resources available. Where 30mph schemes were already in place it was unlikely further measures would be considered. The police seemed reluctant to carry out enforcement to the extent that enough evidence could be gathered to warrant further reduction of speed in some areas. There was no single solution and a mix of measures may be appropriate, depending on the budget available. The Cabinet Member indicated that he would be pleased to engage with Town and Parish Councils where they had asked for appropriate speed reductions. He would provide the Committee with the number of schools that had temporary speed signs for ‘school run’ hours. Infinite resources would allow all measures to be carried out, but the funds were not available.  There was already a priority framework which had followed the DfT guidance and the council’s speed reduction policy but any further help was welcomed.

RESOLVED :

An update would be provided at the Committee’s meeting in October.

The Cabinet Member for Highways PFI, Transport and Infrastructure to outline the proposals due to be reported to the Cabinet on 13 January 2022.

In order to encourage people to invest in electric vehicles it was important to have an adequate supply of charging points and create confidence for people to move to such vehicles. The Committee believed that it should be included in planning policy that charging points be supplied. There were currently 43 charging points on the island including in supermarkets and holiday sites. The council had been approached by commercial companies offering interesting solutions at no cost to the council. In addition, some grant funding had been received for 10 on-road chargers and the next phase was funding to provide a number in council car parks, offers had included solar powered chargers.

It was noted that people living in a conservation zone were not permitted to have private charging points under current planning policy and this would be investigated with the planning department and changes made where possible. Braintree Council had successfully installed a number of fast charging points and were used as a good example.

RESOLVED:

To support the recommendation going to Cabinet.

To consider the draft workplan and identify any additional topics for inclusion based upon the Forward Plan and the Corporate Plan. The relevant key activities from the Corporate Plan coming within the remit of the Policy and Scrutiny Committee is attached.

The Committee had read the workplan and there was nothing further to add at this time.

To guarantee a reply to a question, a question  must be submitted in writing or by electronic mail to democratic.services@iow.gov.uk no later than 5pm on Wednesday 5 January 2022. A question may be asked at the meeting without prior notice but in these circumstances, there is no guarantee that a full reply will be given at the meeting.

A written question had been received from Cllr Ward (MQ – 01-22) in relation to the regeneration of Sandown, in particular the Dinosaur Isle site. A written response had been prepared and was read out by The Cabinet Member for Environment, Heritage and Waste Management.