Agenda and minutes

RESOLVED: that Councillor Ed Plowden be Chair for this meeting.

The Chair welcomed everyone to the meeting. Apologies received from Councillor Townsend & Councillor Rippington.

RESOLVED: that the Minutes of the previous meeting held on 11 November 2021 be confirmed as a correct record.

None declared.

Members of the public may make a written statement ask a question or present a petition to most meetings.  Your statement or question will be sent to the Committee and be available in the meeting room one hour before the meeting.  Please submit it to democratic.services@bristol.gov.uk or Democratic Services Section, City Hall, College Green, Bristol BS1 5UY.  The following requirements apply:

·       The statement is received no later than 12.00 noon on the working day before the meeting (26 July 2022) and is about a matter which is the responsibility of the committee concerned.

·       The question is received no later than three clear working days before the meeting (21 July 2022). 

Members noted one public forum question and response submitted in advance of the meeting and published on the Council’s website.

The Community Resources Manager (CRM) introduced the report and highlighted specific points for members information. 

Allocation of CIL and Section 106 Funds

The Committee was asked to note that Tree Bristol had held the unit cost of a replacement tree planting at the 2013 rate of £765.21 for the last nine years. Unfortunately, due to rising costs this could not be maintained any longer. By applying the relevant Retail Price Index, the cost of tree replacement would now be £1,041.66 per tree replacement.

This did not include the cost of a new pit for tree planting and a member queried if it was correct that this cost had increased by a further 10%, the Tree Officer undertook to investigate this and inform members after the meeting. Action: Tree Officer

Members were informed that new tree planting was guaranteed for two months but all efforts to replace a failed tree would be made up two years from the date of planting. Concern was expressed that if a tree was planted in November any failure would not become obvious until the spring and be outside the formal guarantee period. Members asked for further clarity on this point, the Tree Officer agreed to investigate this. Action: Tree Officer

The CRM informed members that an ombudsman complaint had been received regarding information discussed at an AC5 informal meeting last year. The member of public thought all aspects of Area Committee meetings should be made public. The Ombudsman had decided that there should be a publicly available record of what the meeting had decided and reasons for it. It was noted that this would be done in future however the current procedure of an informal meeting to effectively decide the trajectory of spend would continue for the current year, as the existing Terms of Reference would need to be updated first.

Members agreed to continue with the existing process but clearly made their views known that they were in favour of more openness and transparency of the whole process going forward. In the meantime, the public would be encouraged to contact their Ward Members to discuss the progress of any application in their local area.

CIL and Section 106 Monies available to Area Committee 5 at 30th June 2022

Members were informed –

CIL available - at the end of June 2022 there was an overall sum of £316,066.11, for general AC5 expenditure available to Area Committee 5.

Section 106 available - at the end of June 2022 there was a total of £91,957.13uncommitted Section 106 agreement monies available for AC5, of which £38,735.73 was designated specifically for tree planting and tree replacement.

It was anticipated that by November 2022 the total spend in the fund would have increased to c£473,000.

Outstanding AC5 issues with previous AC allocations

a. Ashton Vale Community Centre and Children’s Play

Members expressed concern about ongoing unresolved issues regarding Ashton Vale Community Centre and not using funding previously agreed to support the creation of a children’s play area.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 17.