Issue - meetings

The report recommends funding decision on submitted Full Proposal for approval of S106 Tree planting funds 

The Community Resources Manager introduced the report and in discussion the following points were raised:

·         The Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) available to the Area Committee totalled £73,458.19 and it was likely that this sum would increase with a more detailed projection available to Members in November 2021. 

·         A Member noted that a CIL deficit of -£21,545.68 had been reported in the previous minutes. The Community Resources Manager clarified that this was due to an overcommitment of funding at that time and stated that where funds were overcommitted the Committee must await a new influx of funding in order cover the deficit and before committing to new projects. 

·         The Section 106 (S106) available to the Area Committee totalled £120,895.30 of which £34,917.18 was designated specifically for tree planting and tree replacement.

·         Members were asked to note that there were a number of CIL and S106 sums that were awarded by Neighbourhood Partnerships prior to 2018 or by the Area Committee which had not been drawn down and some could potentially be ‘unallocated’.  These funds would be investigated further, and an update brought to the November formal Area Committee.  Decisions could then be taken to identify which projects would not or could not be progressed and to confirm where unallocated monies could be restored to the total CIL or S106 funds available to Committee to fund new projects.

The following points were noted in discussion:

·         That monies allocated for the purposes of Greater Bedminster Park improvements could include the planting of trees for that purpose.

·         That with respect to the Way Out West project there was potential that the £15,000 earmarked for reallocation may have been previously assigned to a feasibility study.  The Community Resources Manager clarified that a feasibility study could not in itself be funded by CIL monies.  However, the cost of a feasibility study could be reimbursed by CIL funding once an infrastructure project had been confirmed.  The initial feasibility study cost and risk would need to be borne by the relevant officer team.

·         That Members needed to be provided with sufficient project management information with clear project timelines to support Members to adequately manage the available funds and the ability to track existing projects and spend.

·         That there were concerns regarding payments being made to contractors where the work was not delivered satisfactorily and regarding Members not being informed when projects were either stalled or not proceeding.

·         That Officers should bring forward a proposal that improves communication between Committee and commissioning officers and inserts a sign-off stage in the project timeline which enables Members to hear from project officers that a scheme has been completed to a satisfactory standard prior to payment being made.

·         That the November project update needed to be clear regarding the status of all legacy schemes so opportunities to reallocate money could be easily identified.

·         Councillor Hopkins raised a proposal that Area Committee 5 could work by pairing neighbouring wards.  Councillor Hopkins would bring a proposal for decision to the next meeting planned for  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6

The report recommends funding decision on submitted Full Proposal for approval of S106 Tree planting funds 

The Community Resources Manager introduced the report and drew attention to the following:

The Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) available to the Area Committee totalled £1,192,617.80.  This was broken down for general AC4 expenditure as follows:

·         For General AC4 expenditure £549,426.30

·         For Old Market ND Plan expenditure £643,191.50

The Section 106 (S106) available to the Area Committee totalled £386,507.54 of which £166,730 was designated specifically for tree planting and tree replacement.

The Tree Officer outlined the ongoing project, working with ‘Trees for Climate’ fund from DEFRA and also how the team linked to funding through private or corporate sponsorship of tree plots.

Bristol City Council and their partners aimed to plant as many trees as possible in the Local Authority Area. Bristol’s One City Action Plan has the

Environmental Objective of doubling the tree canopy in the city by 2046 and becoming carbon neutral by 2030.

Members commented:

·         Concern was expressed that not all the money could be used for tree planting in the Area Committee 4 area and that the 1 mile radius prevented the monies from being used in other parts of Area Committee 4.

·         Consideration needed to be given to creative and innovative solutions such as ‘living walls’ or ‘green walls’ where it was not possible to identify sites for tree planting.

·         Noted that the risk of the S106 monies being subject to clawback by the developer if not spent within the time limit was low.

·         The Area Committee boundaries would not be recognised by residents and it might be preferable to use the monies to plant trees elsewhere rather than risk losing it.

·         Councillors noted that a Tree Plan for the AC4 area would be helpful as a context for making the S106 decisions and to shape how more trees could be planted with sight of all the resources available.  They requested that officers attend the formal meeting in November with an overview. (ACTION)

The requirement was summarised as follows:

The report recommends funding decision on submitted Full Proposal for approval of S106 Tree planting funds 

The Community Resources Manager (CRM) introduced the report and drew attention to the following:

The Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) available to the Area Committee totalled £50,611.64. 

The Community Resources Team had explored unspent CIL allocations which had not been spent and had confirmation that the allocation of £2,197.00 to Sustainable Bishopston in June 2016 was no longer required.  The Councillors agreed that those funds could be un-allocated and allocated elsewhere.  This meant a new total of available CIL funding of £52,808.64

The Section 106 (S106) available to the Area Committee totalled £42,226.39 of which £5,991.51 was designated specifically for tree planting and tree replacement.

The reprt outlined the ongoing project, working with ‘Trees for Climate’ fund from DEFRA and also how the team linked to funding through private or corporate sponsorship of tree plots.

Bristol City Council and their partners aimed to plant as many trees as possible in the Local Authority Area. Bristol’s One City Action Plan has the environmental objective of doubling the tree canopy in the city by 2046 and becoming carbon neutral by 2030.

In response to questions from Councillors, the CRM clarified that accessibility was taken into consideration when choosing locations for plots, along with other relevant factors. 

The requirement was summarised as follows:

The recommendations were moved, seconded and following a vote it was:

RESOLVED that the Committee

1. Noted the proposed update of progress on previously approved projects.

2. Noted the progress of 2021/22 Area Committee process and the decision-making for S106 monies specified for tree planting and replacement

3. Noted the CIL and S106 monies available at 30th June 2021

4. Agreed to ‘unallocate’ £2,197.00 Sustainable Bishopston (June 2016) of CIL which had not been drawn down from pre-2018 awards at 5b

5. Considered the funding for the S106 Tree Proposal submitted and agreed not to add any conditions.

6. Noted the legal information concerning the Public Sector Equality duty in reaching all its decisions.

8. Approved the allocation of the residue of £133.25 from various S106 which cannot be re-combined to fund additional tree plantings.

The report recommends funding decision on submitted Full Proposal for approval of S106 Tree planting funds 

The Community Resources Manager introduced the report and drew attention to the following:

The Committee would receive a update regarding CIL and Transport in August, including some historical project information. CIL increases over time so at the next meeting additional funds will be received and it was confirmed that funds must be spent on approved items generated from the development process.

The Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) available to the Area Committee totalled £77,650.10. 

The Section 106 (S106) available to the Area Committee totalled £77,650.10 of which £26,879.72 was designated specifically for tree planting and tree replacement.

The Tree Officer outlined the ongoing project, working with ‘Trees for Climate’ fund from DEFRA and how the team linked to funding through private or corporate sponsorship of tree plots. There was a delay to some planting in the last period due to suitability of plots. Area Committee 3 had been well serviced for trees, there have been some major planting projects. It was standard practice for tree planting to take place within 1 mile of the development.

Bristol City Council and their partners aimed to plant as many trees as possible in the Local Authority Area. Bristol’s One City Action Plan has the Environmental Objective of doubling the tree canopy in the city by 2046 and becoming carbon neutral by 2030.

In response to questions from Councillors, the Tree Bristol Officer clarified the following points:

·         In Lockleaze there were a lot of fruit trees, but they did not seem to be utilised fully for recent planting. Part of the benefit of fruit trees is that they were feasible for the public to pick, as well as beneficial to wildlife.  There could be suitable locations for fruit trees, such as a community orchard in Gainsborough Square or a project with the new Trinity School. 

·         The Committee would welcome a map of trees in the area which the tree officer agreed to circulate following the meeting. 

·         BCC did not avoid fruit tree planting, but rather planned the right tree for the right location, e.g. replacing individual trees in a group with the same species. was noted however, that some members of the public did not like dropped fruit on paths and roads. They were also less likely to be picked from roadside due to pollution. 

·         There were some excellent community project orchards such as Begbrook Green which had an orchard from trees that were originally in prefab gardens.

·         It was confirmed that the budget was adequate to cover all trees from the appropriate s.106 funding.

The requirement and proposal for tree planting was summarised as follows:

The report The report recommends the funding decision on submitted Full Proposal of S106 Tree planting funds  and the unallocation of some un-drawn-down CIL monies allocated by Neighbourhood Partnerships pre-2018recommends funding decision on submitted Full Proposal for approval of S106 Tree planting funds 

The Community Resources Manager introduced the report and drew attention to the following:

The Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) available to the Area Committee totalled £155,088.82.  This was broken down for general AC6 expenditure and for the Lawrence Weston Neighbourhood Plan Area as follows:

·         For General AC1 expenditure £68,636.58

·         For Lawrence Weston ND Plan expenditure £86,452.24

The following CIL projects were highlighted as projects that could be assessed for chances of future ‘re-allocation’ if pledged funds were not going to be used.

-          Brunel Lock Swing Bridge (Jun 2017) £25k allocated was dependent on other grant funding.  An update had been sought.

-          Avon Crescent Re-routing – Discussion was still ongoing and it would go to planning committee later in the year.

-          Stoke Lodge Dog Bin (pre-2018) – officers were still investigating this allocation and sought more information.

-          Area 1 Parkworks (Jan 2016) – The work had been successfully delivered in the past without accessing the CIL funds allocated.  The Councillors agreed that this could therefore be re-allocated elsewhere.

The Section 106 (S106) available to the Area Committee totalled £168,723.10 of which £164,611.60 was designated specifically for tree planting and tree replacement.

The Tree Officer outlined the ongoing project, working with ‘Trees for Climate’ fund from DEFRA and also how the team linked to funding through private or corporate sponsorship of tree plots.

Bristol City Council and their partners aimed to plant as many trees as possible in the Local Authority Area. Bristol’s One City Action Plan has the Environmental Objective of doubling the tree canopy in the city by 2046 and becoming carbon neutral by 2030.

In response to questions from Councillors, the Tree Bristol Officer clarified the following points:

·         A replacement tree in an established tree plot cost £765.21 per tree.

·         A new tree site would cost approx £3800 per tree.

·         Those highlighted yellow in the report were in the neighbouring ward of Redland and Area Committee AC2.  Councillors were happy for the funds to be assigned to those outlined as they would benefit those residents who lived in the Clifton Down ward as well as those who lived in Redland.

·         With reference to tree 13/05360, there was an error in the location listed and it would not be on Grove Road.  Councillors were happy for the Tree Officer to resolve the error and ascertain the correct placement and carry on.

The recommendation was summarised as follows:

The report recommends funding decision on submitted Full Proposal for approval of S106 Tree planting funds 

The Community Resources Manager introduced the report and drew attention to the following:

The Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) available to the Area Committee totalled £533,172.88.  This broke down for general AC6 expenditure and for the Hengrove Neighbourhood Plan Area as follows:

·         For General AC6 expenditure £215,335.29

·         For Hengrove ND Plan expenditure £337,837.59

The Section 106 (S106) available to the Area Committee totalled £63,508.12 of which £9,546.50 was designated specifically for tree planting and tree replacement.

The Tree Officer outlined the ongoing project, working with ‘Trees for Climate’ fund from DEFRA and also how the team linked to funding through private or corporate sponsorship of tree plots.

Bristol City Council and their partners aimed to plant as many trees as possible in the Local Authority Area. Bristol’s One City Action Plan has the

Environmental Objective of doubling the tree canopy in the city by 2046 and becoming carbon neutral by 2030.

In response to questions from Councillors, the Tree Bristol Officer clarified the following points:

·         Existing plots which had previously held failed trees were identified and reassigned as soon as they were available.

·         Councillor Morris was asked to provide information to officers about the site around the bike track which would be available for a future project.

·         If trees were planted by a contractor (such as the Metrobus project), the responsibility for those trees lay with the contractor for a specified number of years.

·         One Tree Per Child was an ongoing project committed to planting 6000 trees a year around schools and involved school children often of years 4, 5 and 6.  Trees may not be on the site of the school, but nearby, and children would assist in the planting.

The requirement was summarised as follows:

RESOLVED that the Committee:

1. Noted the progress of previously approved projects.

2. Noted the progress of 2021/22 Area Committee process and the decision-making for S106 monies specified for tree planting and replacement.

3. Noted the CIL and S106 monies available at 30th June 2021.

4. Considered the funding for the S106 Tree Proposal submitted and did not attach any conditions.

5. Noted the legal information concerning the Public Sector Equality duty in reaching all its decisions.

6. Considered the project proposal submitted and approved full delivery of the project.

7. Approved the allocation of remaining  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6