Agenda and minutes

The Chair welcomed those present and noted apologies from Councillor Sharon Scott and Councillor Carla Denyer.

Councillor Gollop was proposed, seconded and it was:

RESOLVED: That Councillor Gollop be elected Chair of the Committee for the remainder of the municipal year.

To receive any Declarations of Interest from Members of Council that are relevant to any items on the Agenda.

There were no declarations of interest made.

RESOLVED: that the Minutes of the previous Meeting held on 1st December 2021 be agreed as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

Members of the public may make a written statement or ask a question as long as it is about a matter for which this committee has responsibility. Your statement or question will be sent to the Committee and be available in the meeting room one hour before the meeting.

Please submit to democratic.services@bristol.gov.uk. The following requirements apply:

· The statement is received no later than 12.00 noon on the working day before the meeting (Tuesday 19^th July).

· The question is received no later than 5pm three clear working days before the meeting (Thursday 14^th July).

Members noted the three Public Forum Statements that had been received from Martin Rands, Anna Haydock-Wilson and Richard Walker regarding Avon Crescent Re-routing proposal.

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

Replacement Tree Planting

a.      The Committee was asked to note that the cost of replacement tree planting had been increased from the 2013 rate of £765.21 to £1,041.66.

b.      Tree Bristol confirmed that the unit cost of replacement tree planting had been held for the last nine years, but this costing could no longer be maintained, due to rising costs, and the relevant Retail Price Index increase to tree replacement had been applied.

In discussion the following points were raised:

c.       The budget for replacement tree planning was held in a revenue reserve account to cover the cost of a tree for its whole life from planting to end of life. 

d.      Developers were already paying the increased indexed rate so the Area Committee budget was not being adversely impacted.

Ombudsman Complaint

e.      The Committee was advised that a complaint by a Bristol resident to the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman regarding, transparency around funding criteria and decision-making processes had been upheld in part.

f.        The Council agreed to ensure that the reasons for rejecting outline proposals at stage one meetings were clearly recorded and published on the Council’s website.

g.       In discussion, Members considered that the stage one meetings should be held in public and understood that the implications of a proposed change would need to be considered strategically across all Area Committees.

Action: Officers to escalate this as a formal proposal and consider implementation across all Area Committees.

CIL and Section 106 Monies available to Area Committee 1 at 30th June 2022

h.      There was an overall sum of £240,481.47available to Area Committee 1, which breaks down as follows:

·       General AC1 expenditure: £103,346.79.

·       For Lawrence Weston ND Plan expenditure: £137,134.68

·       Section 106 available: a total of £84,764.27uncommitted Section 106 agreement monies, of which £59,062.59 is designated specifically for tree planting and tree replacement.

i.        It was noted that there were no time-limited S106 at risk if not allocated.

Update on Outstanding  AC1 allocations

Brunel Lock Swing Bridge:

j.        Members considered the Brunel Lock Swing Bridge proposal update and clarified that that the current allocation of £25k was still sufficient to complete the project with match funding from Historic England, as this had been confirmed in writing.

RESOLVED: That the Committee approves the allocation of £25,000 of CIL in the light of the match funding by Historic England

Avon Crescent Re-routing:

k.       Members heard from members of the public who had submitted public forum and were in attendance.

In discussion the following points were raised:

l.        There was a great deal of frustration due to what appeared to be a lack of information available to residents and stakeholders about the timescales and requirements to progress the works.

m.    There was significant complexity to the scheme which included questions regarding an outstanding planning condition, the street’s Grade II listed status, additional conditions imposed due to the implementation of the air quality zone, and the Avon Cut  ...  view the full minutes text for item 12.