Agenda and minutes

(Corporate Communications Manager) This meeting is to be webcast and Members are reminded of the need to activate their microphones before speaking. The Chairman will read the following announcement:

“I would like to remind everyone present that this meeting will be broadcast live to the Internet and will be capable of subsequent repeated viewing, with copies of the recording being made available for those that request it.

By being present at this meeting, it is likely that the recording cameras will capture your image and this will result in your image becoming part of the broadcast.

You should be aware that this may infringe your human and data protection rights. If you have any concerns then please speak to the Webcasting Officer.

Please could I also remind Members to activate their microphones before speaking.”

The Chairman reminded everyone present that the meeting would be broadcast live to the Internet and that the Council had adopted a protocol for the webcasting of its meetings.

(Democratic Services Manager) To report the appointment of any substitute members for the meeting.

The Cabinet Committee noted that Councillor S Kane was substituting for Councillor N Avey.

(Monitoring Officer) To declare interests in any items on the agenda.

There were no declarations of interest pursuant to the Council’s Code of Member Conduct.

(Democratic Services Manager) To confirm the minutes of the meeting of the Committee held on 27 June 2019 (previously circulated).

            Resolved:

            (1)        That the minutes of the meeting held on 27 June 2019 be taken as read    and signed by the Chairman as a correct record.

(Service Director – Commercial & Regulatory) To consider the attached report (AMED-003-2019/20).

The Service Director for Commercial & Regulatory Services presented a progress report on a number of major projects that the Council was managing which involved its property assets.

The Service Director highlighted the following points:

(i)         The Epping Forest Shopping Park was now fully let and open for trading, however roof leaks were continuing; the additional Section 278 Highways works had been completed and were awaiting inspection by Essex County Council.

(ii)        Oakwood Hill Industrial Estate was now fully let again, but a structural issue had arisen which was being investigated.

(iii)       Pyrles Lane Nursery was under offer to be sold and an indemnity insurance policy to protect the position over the access road had been procured; the existing Nursery was due to complete its relocation to the Town Mead depot by the end of 2019.

(iv)       Work was progressing with the masterplanning for the St John’s Road development in Epping; an Officer Project Group meeting had been held earlier in the day and the scheme was progressing well.

(v)        For North Weald Airfield: the lease with the Government for a potential freight customs area had been completed; the Essex & East Herts Air Ambulance Trust was currently searching for alternative locations due to the ongoing issue of Natural England not determining any planning applications in the District which might impact upon air quality; masterplanning for various parts of the Airfield had commenced in line with the submission version of the Local Plan dated December 2017; and Saunders were due to make a proposal for the Market at the Airfield.

(vi)       For the Landmark Building at The Broadway in Loughton, the leases for 4 of the units had been completed, terms for one of the leases had now been agreed, interest had been shown in another of the leases and little or no interest in the final lease.

In respect of the Epping Forest Shopping Park, the Service Director informed the Cabinet Committee that the full retention was being retained to investigate the roof leaks. The Council wanted an independent, certified Engineer to examine the roof, and it was intended to undertake the repair works on a phased basis in the next few weeks with the aim to cause the minimum disruption to the tenants. There would be a commission to examine the traffic flows for the site, and investigate whether an additional entrance for the site was required. It was a difficult site and some of the problems were caused by the junction at the top of Langston Road. There would be additional Traffic Marshalls on site to manage the traffic flow in the run-up to Christmas, as this had been successful last year. The Council would also lobby Essex County Council to provide public transport links to and from the Shopping Park by way of a new bus route.

The Cabinet Committee was disappointed to learn that the Essex & East Herts Ambulance Trust was looking to move from its current location at North Weald Airfield. The Service Director  ...  view the full minutes text for item 13.

(Strategic Partnerships Specialist) To consider the attached report (AMED-004-2019/20).

The Strategic Partner Specialist & Economic Lead presented an update report to the Cabinet Committee on a number of projects and issues being explored by the Economic Development Team.

The Economic Development Officer updated the Cabinet Committee with the latest developments on the Economic Strategy. The discussion paper on developing an economic strategy – ‘Nurturing Growth’ – was being revised for a further consultation ending in mid-December. A special Stakeholder Conference had been organised for 13 November 2019 at Theydon Bois Village Hall, to give local partners further opportunity to influence the Strategy. The Conference would be workshop based and focused on the themes contained within the Strategy. One-to-one meetings had also been held with the Epping Forest Chamber of Commerce.

The Strategic Partner Specialist informed the Cabinet Committee that the Herts & Essex Digital Innovation Zone (DIZ) had recently approved a number of changes to better enable it to deliver its Work Programme and the development of a delivery plan for the Digital Innovation Strategy. The Programme Manager for the DIZ was continuing to progress the operational issues with the delivery of the Local Full Fibre Network programme, which would deliver enhanced fibre connectivity within the Zone. The DIZ website was due to be upgraded to enable the promotion of upcoming DIZ events, and this would be supported by the concurrent development of a social media presence for the DIZ.

The Strategic Partner Specialist stated that visits to the Tourism website continued to grow. Officers had continued to lead on cross-border collaboration for tourism development with Broxbourne Borough and Harlow, East Herts and Uttlesford District Councils. A major focus of this cross-border work would be the development of a bid for the new Tourism Zones initiative introduced by the Government. This year’s Tourism Conference had been scheduled for 5 December 2019, and would once again be hosted and sponsored by the Marriot Hotel in Waltham Abbey. Ministerial departments had been contacted to provide a speaker to update the Conference delegates on the Tourism Sector Deal and the launch of Tourism Zones.

Councillor N Bedford, as Chairman of the Green Arc Project, reminded the Cabinet Committee that the Project aimed to promote and co-ordinate investment in green infrastructure running from the Thames to Barnet. The aim of the Project was to increase and protect tree canopy / coverage, develop corridors to allow residents and visitors to enjoy the green areas, and encourage community involvement in planting programmes. The ultimate objective of the project was to plant sufficient trees to offset carbon emissions.

The Strategic Partner Specialist responded to questions from the Cabinet Committee by stating that different types of trees varied in the amount of carbon that they absorbed depending on their location, and certain types of trees assisted with flood alleviation as they could soak up more water than others. The project was looking to unlock the potential of residents to help plant the extra trees, and persuade major employers of their corporate and social responsibility to provide funding for the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 14.

(Democratic Services Manager) Section 100B(4)(b) of the Local Government Act 1972, together with paragraphs 6 and 25 of the Council Procedure Rules contained in the Constitution require that the permission of the Chairman be obtained, after prior notice to the Chief Executive, before urgent business not specified in the agenda (including a supplementary agenda of which the statutory period of notice has been given) may be transacted.

The Cabinet Committee noted that there was no other urgent business for consideration.

Exclusion

To consider whether, under Section 100(A)(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public and press should be excluded from the meeting for the items of business set out below on grounds that they will involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in the following paragraph(s) of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act (as amended) or are confidential under Section 100(A)(2):

The Local Government (Access to Information) (Variation) Order 2006, which came into effect on 1 March 2006, requires the Council to consider whether maintaining the exemption listed above outweighs the potential public interest in disclosing the information. Any member who considers that this test should be applied to any currently exempted matter on this agenda should contact the proper officer at least 24 hours prior to the meeting.

Background Papers

Article 17 - Access to Information, Procedure Rules of the Constitution define background papers as being documents relating to the subject matter of the report which in the Proper Officer's opinion:

(a)        disclose any facts or matters on which the report or an important part of the report is based;  and

(b)        have been relied on to a material extent in preparing the report and does not include published works or those which disclose exempt or confidential information and in respect of executive reports, the advice of any political advisor.

The Council will make available for public inspection for four years after the date of the meeting one copy of each of the documents on the list of background papers.

The Cabinet Committee noted there was no business which necessitated the exclusion of the public and press from the meeting.