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Councillors and democracy

Agenda and minutes

Environment and Sustainability Scrutiny Committee - Monday 20 January 2025 10.00 am

Venue: Conference Room 1 - Herefordshire Council, Plough Lane Offices, Hereford, HR4 0LE. View directions

Contact: Simon Cann, Democratic Services Officer

Link: Watch this meeting live on the Herefordshire Council Youtube Channel

Items
No.	Item
112.	Apologies for absence To receive apologies for absence. Minutes: Apologies had been received from Councillor Rob Owens.
113.	Named substitutes To receive details of members nominated to attend the meeting in place of a member of the committee. Minutes: Councillor Ben Proctor was the named substitute for Councillor Rob Owens.
114.	Declarations of interest To receive declarations of interests from members of the committee in respect of items on the agenda. Minutes: Councillor Ben Proctor declared membership of Herefordshire Wildlife Trust.
115.	Minutes PDF 328 KB To receive the minutes of the meeting held on 18 November 2024. Minutes: The minutes of the previous meeting were received. Resolved: That the minutes of the meeting held on 18 November 2024 be confirmed as a correct record and be signed by the Chairperson.
116.	Questions from members of the public To receive any written questions from members of the public. Minutes: No questions had been received from members of the public.
117.	Questions from members of the council To receive any written questions from members of the council. Minutes: No questions had been received from members of the council.
118.	River Lugg water quality PDF 335 KB To provide an update on water quality within the River Lugg, subcatchment to the River Wye SAC Minutes: The Chair thanked officers for the reports provided, which were taken as read. Four agreed objectives were identified and read out: - Receive an update on the current apportionment of the sources of nutrient overload on the River Lugg. - Understand progress in delivering the special plan for the River Wye. - Update on activity to improve the water quality of the River Lugg and evaluate the progress on developing new wetland areas on river improvement and their impact on housing development. - Further understand the environmental, social and economic impacts of poor water quality and pollution in the River Lugg, including the ability to plan and build new housing. The committee sought clarity on the areas affected by the moratorium. The Representative from the Herefordshire Construction Industry Lobby Group pointed out that there was a map of the impacted area available on the council website, but that in essentially the moratorium covered 40% of the northern area of the county. The committee was keen to understand more about the processes and criteria involved in the moratorium being lifted. The Phosphate Mitigation Lead explained that Natural England set the targets as to what was an acceptable level of nutrient within the watercourse - the targets varied from river to river according to the ecological and geological conditions of the river involved. Natural England assessed river conditions every three years. Current levels within the Lugg exceeded acceptable targets significantly and reports showed no indication of a notable reduction in pollution levels so far. The committee enquired about the monitoring processes involved in assessing river quality and how targets were set. The Phosphate Mitigation Lead explained that monitoring was undertaken by the Environment Agency and that the condition of the rivers was reviewed on a three yearly basis and took into account all of the monitoring figures, which were aligned with the Joint Nature Conservation Committee guidance. The River Wye had been downgraded to unfavourable-declining in its last review, which was because there hadn’t been any sign of improvement, however, monitoring continued in the interim and there had been informal feedback indicating a small level of recovery in the River Wye. The Trustee and Director CPRE pointed out that average readings in the River Lugg were now massively over the targets. All the data and a report from Lancaster University indicated there was no ability to reduce the levels that would allow it to obtain a favourable status. The Director suggested that the only way the moratorium would be lifted in the short term would be through a change in policy rather than a change in targets. The Cabinet Member Environment pointed out that the impact of the ‘Dutch case’ ruling around negative impacts on special areas of conservation would need to be addressed through habitats regulations to determine if changes could be made. It was noted that the housing sector had done its bit in reducing the problem and that 82.37% of the diffuse element was coming from agriculture. The committee ... view the full minutes text for item 118.
119.	Work programme PDF 215 KB To consider the work programme for the committee. Additional documents: Appendix 1 – Environment and Sustainability Scrutiny Committee work programme January 2025 , item 119. PDF 527 KB Appendix 2 – Herefordshire Council Forward Plan 03 January 2025 , item 119. PDF 296 KB Minutes: The chair suggested that a work programme planning meeting - to populate a draft work programme for 2025/26 - be held before the next committee meeting. Members were invited to forward on any proposed subjects they wished to be included for consideration. Resolved: That a work programme planning meeting be held before the next committee meeting.
120.	Date of the next meeting Monday 24 March 2025, 10am Minutes: Monday 24 March 2025, 10am