Agenda and minutes

To receive declarations of interest (if any)

Councillor D Greenhalgh declared a non-prejudicial interest in minute 9/24 as a Deputy/Substitute on the D2 Strategic Leadership Board and the EMCCA Mayoral Cabinet. 

Councillor A Clarke declared a personal interest in minute 10/24 as committee member of the Hayfield Kinder Trespass Group.

To confirm the non-exempt minutes of the meeting of the Improvement and Scrutiny Committee – Places held on 28 February 2024

RESOLVED – to confirm the non-exempt minutes of the meeting of the Improvement and Scrutiny Committee – Places held on 28 February 2024.

(Questions may be submitted to be answered by the Scrutiny Committee, or Council officers who are attending the meeting as witnesses, on any item that is within the scope of the Committee. Please see the procedure for the submission of questions at the end of this agenda)

There were no public questions.

Chris Henning, Executive Director – Place provided Committee with an update on the East Midlands Combined Authority (EMCCA) made up of Derbyshire County Council, Derby City Council, Nottinghamshire County Council and Nottingham City Council following the white paper for a devolution deal.  The presentation slides had been circulated prior to the meeting.

Pre-Mayoral activity included bringing together key components to develop the EMCCA, the first Cabinet meeting in order to administer decisions on governance and procedural issues and a call for projects regarding the Brownfield Housing Fund.  Claire Ward was elected Mayor following local elections on 2 May 2024 with the first Mayoral Cabinet meeting was being held on 17 June 2024.  The first formal D2 Strategic Leadership Board would be held on 16 June and would elect Derbyshire’s district and borough representatives onto the Cabinet.

Mayoral pledges and priorities through the election campaign were listed in the presentation and would form the basis of the Mayor’s vision and ten inclusive growth objectives.  Potential early deliverables included funding opportunities, a joint local transport plan (LTP), investment work and what was best for Derbyshire.  Work had already begun on the joint LTP, and was already with colleagues of the combined authority for realisation.

The decision-making process of the EMCCA was outlined showing which committees and boards would be required to oversee smooth engagement and operation including the two regulatory committees - Overview & Scrutiny and Audit & Governance. 

Committee members were given the opportunity to ask questions throughout the presentation.  Assurance was given that building trust and relationships for a systematic approach across the EMCCA and a network of resilience was required to safeguard resources for highways investment.  Roads in Derbyshire would still be supported by current funding and would benefit in some part from the funding released following the closing of the HS2 project. 

It was confirmed that EMCCA was a local authority and would require a similar management structure to that of other authorities.  Mr Henning was confident there would be few posts being transferred to the new authority and that there would be job opportunities for current DCC staff. 

The visitor economy was not yet clear, with conversations being held around the Visit East Midlands initiative and the requirement to deliver ‘local’ needs. 

The Chairman thanked Mr Henning for the presentation and invited him to provide a further update on the EMCCA sometime in the future.

RESOLVED to –

1)   Note the progress update on the EMCCA; and

2)   To invite the Executive Director – Place to a future meeting for a further update.

Rob Greatorex, Senior Project Engineer presented the two reports on Public Rights of Way in Derbyshire, which had been circulated prior to the meeting providing Committee an update on the work of the service and looked at the processes involved with implementing Public Path Orders (PPO) and the implementation of Temporary Traffic Regulation Orders (TTRO).  The reports were accompanied by a detailed presentation – the slides for which were published following the meeting.

The Service managed and maintained the Public Rights of Way network throughout Derbyshire ensuring paths were safe and reliable for all users under Sections 130 and 41 of the Highways Act 1980.  (Section 43 of The Act also provided powers to Town and Parish Councils to undertake maintenance of any footpaths or bridleways in their boundary with 61 in Derbyshire participating in the scheme.)  It ensured the Definitive Map and Statement was kept under continuous review to incorporate changes made through legal orders and was responsive to enquiries raised by members of the public, landowners and stakeholders.

The Council managed over 5,235 kilometres of public footpaths, bridleways, restricted bridleways and byways open to all traffic.  Management involved numerous issues such as bulls and aggressive animals, hedges and trees adjacent to ways and ploughing and cropping.  Priorities included attending public safety issues, signposting and delivery of the capital programme.  A breakdown of the tasks completed in the last year (5241) together with surface vegetation clearance expected throughout 2024/25 (46.88 hectares) and signposts installed (400) were given.

Committee members were given the opportunity to ask questions.  The budget for 2024/25 was £½ million and some resource challenges were being faced by the service, particularly around legal orders. The amount of glyphosate spraying of vegetation was kept to a minimum and advice was being sought from DEFRA to seek an alternative.

Complaints made by the public tended to drive the programme and all town and parish councils and the public were encouraged to use the portal to report these issues.  DCC does not have a volunteer policy however volunteer groups are welcomed to participate in maintenance work.

The Chairman thanked Mr Greatorex for the reports and presentation.

RESOLVED to note:

1)   How Derbyshire County Council currently process Public Path Orders;

2)   The implications of the De-Regulation Act 2015 following legislation expected before parliament October 2024; and

3)   How Derbyshire County Council currently process Temporary Traffic Regulation Orders affecting the Public Rights of Way network.

Richard Bonner, Countryside Services Manager introduced the presentation, which had been circulated in advance of the meeting, providing an update to Committee on the Countryside Service Business Plan progress and priorities for 2024/25.  The Plan also highlighted successes and challenges for the Service as well as identifying priority work for 2024/25.

The seven policies that supported the Plan were listed and progress against each of these given.  Achievements in 2023/24 were highlighted - the planting of 520,000 trees following the adoption of the Tree and Woodlands Strategy for Derbyshire and recognising gaps in management of countryside assets.  The prioritisation of countryside structures asset management and budget management resulted in some workstreams being paused to enable a saving of £150,000.

The proposed seven work priorities for 2024/25 were listed in detail and accompanied by the key risks of staffing, reservoirs and structures and budget pressures.

Committee members were given the opportunity to ask questions.  It was recognised that a lot of work was required around staffing, particularly long-term sickness and it was hoped there would be no need to consider redundancies.  A new specification for the grounds maintenance contract would be issued with regular review meetings taking place to ensure value for money.

Some woodland was isolated from the DCC sites and were judged to have little more done to them to develop strategy and policy, hence the selling of the land.  Funds from sales go to other sites to uphold best value.  The Council continued to have a role in providing amenities to the public however it lacked resources and expertise might result in changes in the future.  It was hoped the bulk of income would result from tweaking tenancies and leases, investment in properties and increase in fees and charges.

The Chairman thanked Mr Bonner for his full and detailed presentation.

RESOLVED to note the report.

The Committee’s draft work programme for part of the 2024/25 year was presented and Members were invited to suggest possible items for consideration.

The Chairman requested that the PREVENT item, scheduled for the July 2024 meeting be moved to a future meeting due to the number of items already being considered.

RESOLVED to note draft programme and proposed revisions.