Agenda and minutes

Councillor Helen Holland was elected Chair for the meeting.

Apologies received from Councillors Tim Kent, Barry Clark and Steve Jones.  Councillors Mark Brain and Paul Goggin were not in attendance.

The minutes of the previous meeting on the 10^th September 2018 were agreed as a correct record.

See report at agenda item 6 for Terms of Reference details

The Terms of Reference, as approved by Council on 20 March 2018 and adopted at the Area Committee on 10^th September 2018, were noted.

There were none.

Members of the public may make a written statement. Please submit it to democratic.services@bristol.gov.uk or Democratic Services Section, City Hall, College Green, Bristol BS1 5UY.  The following requirement applies:

·       The statement is received no later than 12.00 noon on the working day before the meetingand is about a matter which is the responsibility of the committee concerned.

None were received

The Committee first considered progress updates on the CIL and S106 funded projects approved at the 2018 Area Committee meeting as follows:

Councillors expressed their frustration that the projects approved had not been completed or had taken longer than they expected.

With reference to Parks projects, funding had been agreed however none of the four projects had been completed.  Officers apologised for the delay which was largely an issue of resources.  Increased resource had been allocated to the Delivery Team however, their team did not have a full complement of staff.  An email would be sent to Councillors once a delivery schedule had been established. (ACTION: Richard Fletcher)

Councillor Morris made the Councillors aware that of the money allocated to each project (for CIL allocations) there would likely be a 20% reduction once costs for management and a contingency fund had been deducted.  For example, the Cottle Road Play Park award of £40,000 amounted to £32,000 following deductions.  

It was noted that section 106 allocations did not require extra funds for delivery.

There was concern that Members of the public considered quotes obtained through Council procedures higher than those acquired by the community.  Members of the public were aware how much equipment costs and were frustrated that they could not affect change themselves.  Officers confirmed that two or three quotes were sought and often the cheapest would be awarded the contract.  Suppliers needed to be on the Council’s approved list and due consideration needed to be given to insurance and maintenance.

With reference to transport items, Councillor Clough asked for an update on the dropped kerbs in her ward that had been allocated funds three years prior.  It was agreed that Councillor Clough would seek further information from officers regarding where the funds currently sat. (ACTION: Mark Sperduty)

Councillor Morris was concerned that S106 projects that were time sensitive could lose their money allocated due to the delay in delivery.  Mowberry Road was highlighted as an allocation of £30,000 and officers were asked to update Councillor Morris with progress (ACTION: Mark Sperduty)

With reference to all types of projects, it was agreed that Communications from officers could be improved, including information about which officer was leading the projects and its current status.  Councillors were often the middle person between the community and the Council and needed the right information in order to communicate effectively.  Officers agreed to send updated information to Members asap (ACTION: Mark  ...  view the full minutes text for item 13.