Infrastructure, Housing & Economic Development Committee - 22 March 2022

INFRASTRUCTURE, HOUSING AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE

NOTICE AND AGENDA

For a meeting to be held in the Penn Chamber, Three Rivers House, Northway, Rickmansworth, WD3 1RL on Tuesday 22 March 2022 at 7.30pm.

Members of the Infrastructure, Housing and Economic Development Committee:-

Councillors:-

Stephen Giles-Medhurst (Lead Member

Transport and Economic Development)

Matthew Bedford (Lead Member Infrastructure

and Planning Policy)

Andrew Scarth (Lead Member for Housing)

Joanna Clemens

Alex Hayward

Tony Humphreys

Joan King

Paul Rainbow

Reena Ranger

Ciaran Reed

Stephanie Singer

Joanne Wagstaffe, Chief Executive

14 March 2022

Lead Member Responsibilities:

Transport and Economic Development – Community Toilet Schemes, Cycling Policy and Cycleway Provision, Economic Development, Highways, Parking, Public Transport, Rivertech, Town and Village Centre Improvements

Infrastructure and Planning Policy – Brownfield Register, Building Control, Conservation Areas and Local Listing, Community Infrastructure Levy, Development  Management Policy, Heritage, Infrastructure Schemes, Land Charges, Land Drainage, Listed Buildings, Neighbourhood Planning, Right to Build Register, Tree Protection

Housing – Housing Policy, Homelessness and Housing Advice, Housing and Disabled Facilities Grants, Management of Traveller Sites, Private Housing and Houses in Multiple Occupation, Residential Environmental Health, Temporary Accommodation.

The Council welcomes contributions from members of the public to aid discussions on agenda items at the Infrastructure, Housing and Economic Development Committee meetings. Details of the procedure are provided below:

For those wishing to speak:

Members of the public will be entitled to register and identify which item(s) they wish to speak on from the published agenda for the meeting.  Those who wish to register to speak (for or against an item) are asked to please notify the Committee team by e-mail ( CommitteeTeam@threerivers.gov.uk ) 48 hours before the meeting or may come on the night to register to speak from 7pm.

Registering 48 hours before the meeting allows the Committee Team time to prepare the speaker sheet in advance of the meeting.

Please note that contributions will be limited to no more than three minutes.

In the event of registering your interest to speak on an agenda item but not taking up that right because the item is deferred, you will be given the right to speak on that item at the next meeting of the Committee.

Those wishing to observe the meeting are requested to contact the Committee Team by email at CommitteeTeam@threerivers.gov.uk  48 hours in advance of the meeting taking place or can attend the meeting on the night.

In accordance with The Openness of Local Government Bodies Regulations 2014 any matters considered under Part I business only of the meeting may be filmed, recorded, photographed, broadcast or reported via social media by any person.

Recording and reporting the Council’s meetings is subject to the law and it is the responsibility of those doing the recording and reporting to ensure compliance.  This will include the Human Rights Act, the Data Protection Legislation and the laws of libel and defamation.

The Committee meeting will not being broadcast/livestreamed but a recording of the meeting will be made.

1.  APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE

2.  MINUTES

To confirm as a correct record the minutes of the Infrastructure, Housing and Economic Development Committee meeting held 16 November 2022.

3.  NOTICE OF OTHER BUSINESS

Items of other business notified under Council Procedure Rule 30 to be announced, together with the special circumstances that justify their consideration as a matter of urgency. The Chair to rule on the admission of such items.

4.  DECLARATION OF INTERESTS

To receive any declarations of interest.

5 TO RECEIVE A PETITION ON CPZ PARKING IN CROXLEY GREEN

The Committee are asked to receive the following petition signed by 57 residents which states:

'Businesses depend on customers being able to visit and park their cars without hassle. We would like Three Rivers District Council (TRDC) to make changes to the Controlled Parking Zone (CPZ) to better support local businesses.

The short stay parking bays on Watford Road and Frankland Road only allow customers to park for free for one hour, with no return within two hours. This is not long enough for customers who visit cafés, dentists, hairdressers, nail salons and others.

A solution to this is for additional dual-purpose bays to be added, with the first hour free followed by £1 for the second hour. This would make life easier for customers and local business.

Therefore we, the undersigned, request that TRDC undertake the following:

1. For TRDC to find sites for additional dual purpose short stay parking bays near to the parade of shops on Watford Road near Frankland Road and Hazelwood Road;
2. TRDC to undertake a study into the feasibility of the short stay parking bays near to the parade of stops allowing drivers to park for two hours, with the first hour free followed by £1 for the second hour, or something similar.​''

6   BUDGET MONITORING REPORT (PERIOD 10)

This report covers this Committees financial position over the medium term (2021 – 2025) as at Period 10 (end of January).

The Period 10 comprehensive Budget Management report has already been presented to the Policy & Resources Committee at its meeting on 14 March 2022 which sought approval to a change in the Council’s 2021 - 2025 medium-term financial plan

7.  TO RECEIVE THE FOLLOWING SERVICE PLANS 2022-2025 FOR RECOMMENDATION TO COUNCIL

• ECONOMIC AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT (EXCLUDING LOCAL PLAN)

• HOUSING SERVICES

• REGULATORY SERVICES

8   PROPOSALS FOR THE FUTURE OF THE CLOSURE OF RICKMANSWORTH HIGH STREET

The report provides an update of the Rickmansworth High Street road closure and details of a proposal to extend the closure beyond April 2022.

To discuss the recommendation of the Project Board on how the project should proceed, with the proposal to agree that the project should move to a formal trial phase, initially for 6 months with a review at the end of that period and opportunity to trial an alternative closure regime if this is felt appropriate.

To determine Three Rivers DC position on the proposed trial.

9  MOTION UNDER PROCEDURE RULE 11

Under Rule 11(5) of the Council Constitution it was agreed by the Chief Executive and Monitoring Officer in consultation with the Chair of Council and the Motion Proposer that the following motion be referred to the Infrastructure, Housing and Economic Development Committee.  The proposer and seconder of the motion will be invited to the meeting to present the motion under new Rule 11(11).

Councillor Stephen Giles-Medhurst, seconded by Councillor Phil Williams to move under Notice duly given as follows:

Council welcomes the UK Government announcement of £620 million in grants to support more electric vehicles on the UK's roads. The grants will be targeted towards infrastructure, particularly local on-street residential charge points.

Notes that a further £350m is promised to help vehicle manufacturers make the move to build electric vehicles.

Council welcomes the work of the Office for Zero Emission Vehicles (OZEV) to support the transition to zero emission vehicles (ZEVs) and the grants already awarded to support on-road charging points but notes that according to their estimates the country will need 1.5m charging points if we are to meet zero emissions target by 2030 and that currently there are only 24,000 charge points available.

Council notes that Herts County Council, as the Highways Authority, is consulting District Council's on its Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure Strategy but in this consultation its position is to refuse on road charging points and only allow them in exceptional circumstances.

Council believes this is unduly restrictive especially in dense urban areas with no off-road facilities and no available car parks and thus Council endorses a mixed economy approach, as promoted by OZEV, to allow for both on and off road and asks the County Council to adopt such a policy allowing the maximum facilities in local areas and grant permits to District Council's for suitable on-road charging points as covered by the recent budget announcement.

The Chief Executive to so write to the County Council accordingly.

10        Work Programme

To agree the Committee’s work programme.

11        OTHER BUSINESS – if approved under item 3 above.

12        EXCLUSION OF PRESS AND PUBLIC

If the Committee wishes to consider the remaining item in private, it will be appropriate for a resolution to be passed in the following terms:-

“that under Section 100A of the Local Government Act 1972 the press and public be excluded from the meeting for the following item(s) of business on the grounds that it involves the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined under Paragraphs 1 to 7 of Part I of Schedule 12A to the Act. It has been decided by the Council that in all the circumstances, the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information.”

(Note: If other confidential business is approved under item 3, it will also be necessary to specify the class of exempt or confidential information in the additional items.)

13.  OTHER BUSINESS – if approved under item 3 above.

General Enquiries: Please contact the Committee Team at  committeeteam@threerivers.gov.uk