To receive any written questions.

Councillors may ask questions of Cabinet Members and Chairmen of Committees so long as a copy of the question is deposited with the Head of Legal and Democratic Services at least 24 hours prior to the meeting.  A list of questions, set out in the order in which they had been received, was circulated at the beginning of the meeting.

 

Councillor J. Stone asked:

 

"On Thursday April 20th 2006 a young man was killed in a horrific road accident on the A49 at Ashton.  Does the Cabinet Member for Highways and Transportation welcome the recent report commissioned by the Highways Agency and will he request them to implement the recommendations as a matter of urgency?"

 

Councillor Wilcox, Cabinet Member (Highways and Transportation)  expressed his sadness at learning of yet another death on the A49 at Ashton.  He said that the Council had informed the Highways Agency many times about the need for improvements at this site to safeguard the public.  He referred to a report commissioned by the Highways Agency which recommended a range of safety improvements at Ashton but said that there was, as yet, still no commitment as to when the full range of improvements would be introduced.  The position remained that the Highways Agency would be considering the recommendations in the report as part of its overall “value management” process and could make no commitment as to when and whether all the recommended actions would be delivered.  He said he would continue to make further representations to the Highways Agency to seek assurances that this work would receive priority attention.

 

The recommendations included proposals for a 40mph speed limit, a vehicle activated sign, resurfacing and improved signing and lining.  He reported that, despite the lack of a clear decision on these measures,  the Highways Agency had provided some anti-skid surfacing at the site very recently, but sadly too late for the victim of the latest accident.

 

In response to a further question, Councillor Wilcox said he would continue to press the Highways Authority for a definite timetable for urgent implementation of safety measures.

 

Councillor D.J. Fleet asked three questions:

 

A            "Further to my question in March, is the refurbishment of Eign Gate now complete?  Has the anti-stick surface to the paving been applied, and are the promised final total project costings available yet?"

 

Councillor Wilcox replied that some minor remedial works to the paving at Eign Gate were currently being carried out by the contractor and the protective coating would be laid as soon as those works were finished.   He said that there were some unresolved concerns about the jointing to some of the slabs and, the final costs would not be available until these were resolved. However, there had been no significant change to the costs reported at the last meeting of Council.

 

In response to a further question, Councillor Wilcox said that the problems had been aggravated by the May Fair, but that he had issued instructions for the area to be thoroughly cleaned.  Some paving need to be replaced and jointed before the final "snagging" was undertaken.  The anti-stick surface would be applied once the preparatory work had been completed. 

 

B         "Does the Leader stand by his previous statement that in recognising a reduction of the SLA funding from Hereford City Council:  "There would be no adverse impact on this year's Three Choirs Festival."

 

The Leaderconfirmed that no funding has been provided through the Service Level Agreement in respect of the Three Choirs Festival but that Herefordshire Council continued to support the Festival which he felt would be as successful this year as in previous years.

 

Councillor Fleet was concerned that the budget for the Festival had been reduced from £10,000 to £4,000 and by the suggestion that ticket prices would be increased to make up the shortfall.  He felt that this would discourage those on lower incomes from attending the Festival which would become an occasion solely for the elite.  As the Festival brought in revenue in excess of £500,000 he was disappointed by this reduction in funding.

 

Councillor Phillips said that the grant, over three years, amounted to £24,000 and the reduction followed the trend set by Worcestershire County Council.  He advised that, in addition to direct funding for the Festival, the Council provides additional assistance in a number of different ways.  The Council has ensured that maintenance work was undertaken at the Shire Hall including decoration work and work in the kitchen area and the stage area to ensure that the Shire Hall is clean and tidy and available for use during the Festival.  Arrangements are in place for the cleaning of the yard and additional waste containers will be provided for the duration of the Festival.  The Council has also assisted the Festival by facilitating and ensuring compliance with the new Licensing Act.

He said that the Council should be advising both Members of Parliament of the adverse impact the new licensing laws were having on events such as the Festival.

C         "Is it the policy of this Council to engage in relevant consultation with affected residents and Local Members before the implementation of traffic orders?"

 

Councillor Wilcox, Cabinet Member (Highways and Transportation) replied that he had established a protocol for the processing of traffic regulation orders which provides for local consultation in the preparation of a traffic scheme.

 

In general schemes are introduced using a permanent Traffic Regulation Order (TRO).  The local Member and local Parish or Town Council are consulted during the preparation of the scheme, before the details of the formal TRO are published for public consideration.  Depending on the scale of the scheme, wider consultation may be undertaken with the local community.

 

He advised that there were differences in the case of an Experimental Traffic Scheme.  Where a TRO is to be made for an experimental scheme, the formal right of objection takes place during the first six months of the experimental period of operation. 

 

Councillor Fleet referred to a letter in the Hereford Times regarding yellow lines on Commercial Road, where local residents were not consulted.  He said he had been consulted about this in 2001.  A letter sent by residents on 24 April, 2006 had not been answered.

 

Councillor Wilcox agreed that a delay between 2001 and 2006 was not acceptable and he would ensure a reply to the letter was sent.

 

Question from Councillor Mrs. E.A. Taylor

 

"What is the policy of this Council regarding the kerbside recycling programme in the Tupsley ward?"

 

Councillor P.J. Edwards, Cabinet Member (Environment) advised that Tupsley Ward was included in the kerbside recycling scheme for domestic premises.  Residents of those dwellings, where domestic refuse is presented for collection using the sack system, are provided with the appropriate coloured sacks to facilitate the separation of textiles, paper, plastics and cans. The recycling sacks are then collected on alternate weeks along with the black refuse sacks using a split-bodied vehicle.  He said that the facility was not currently available to those residents whose refuse was presented in bulk containers and any review of the collection service would need to address this anomaly.

 

Councillor Mrs Taylor said that some residents were unable to avail themselves of the recycling service because the areas were inaccessible to the lorries.  As the contract was being extended to include Market Towns - when would the facility be extended to include all residents of Tupsley.

 

Councillor Edwards referred her to a written response that had already been sent to Councillor Mrs. Taylor and said he would be happy to discuss it further with her.

 

Questions from Councillor W.L.S. Bowen

 

"Why is it that Herefordshire Council is not taking advantage of World Environment Day (June 11th) to reinforce the Council's messages on sustainability and care for the environment?

 

Can we be sure that sensible, practical and for reaching measures are being put in place to embody sustainable practices throughout the Council and Herefordshire?

 

Can you please give us some examples?"

 

Councillor P.J. Edwards, Cabinet Member (Environment) replied that very little would be done on 11th June as it fell on a Sunday.  However, World Environment Day (5th June) had not been forgotten.  It had featured at the last Herefordshire Environmental Education Forum and schools were being encouraged to produce a Promise Tree.  Also on the day, the Council would be running an in-house training session on environmental awareness.

 

He advised that the Council was focusing on impacts on the environment through energy and resource use, transport and waste. It would also be looking ahead - at biofuels and potential renewable energy resource for the county.

 

This year the Sustainability Unit would be focusing on working with Council managers to complete a longstanding commitment to roll out certification to ISO 14001, the international environmental management standard, to all Council services.

 

He also said that the Council continued to give a high priority to engaging the public on environmental and sustainable issues through a number of initiatives.

 

In response to a further question Councillor Edwards advised that he would be happy to investigate any suggestions by Councillor Bowen as to how the Council could improve its energy efficiency.

 

Question from Councillor Mrs. M.D. Lloyd-Hayes

 

"Who was responsible for the shoddy work during the refurbishment of Eign Gate resulting in a member of the public and her dog receiving an electric shock? As I understand it the pavement overheated and the coating of a lighting column cable melted when hot aggregate was laid on the lighting cable."

 

Councillor Wilcox, Cabinet Member (Highways and Transportation) said that the Council had been alerted to an incident in Hereford’s High Street earlier in the week after a dog and its owner received an electric shock from the pavement.  It was understood that the dog was checked by a local vet and given a clean bill of health. 

 

Central Networks, the local electricity distribution company, carried out an initial inspection which confirmed that the pavement and the wall of an adjacent shop were discharging an electrical current equivalent to 25 volts.   The inspection identified the cause of the discharge as minor damage to an underground street lighting cable which had combined with heavy rain to cause the discharge of electricity.  The area was made safe by Central Networks and the cable has been repaired.  He stated that the incident had been registered with the Health and Safety Executive and an investigation to establish the causes of the original damage would be carried out, initially by Central Networks.

 

Councillor Mrs. Lloyd-Hayes asked for an assurance that there wouldn't be similar shoddy workmanship in the renovations in High Town.

 

Councillor Wilcox replied that there could not at this stage be any assumption of shoddy workmanship and he would await the results of the report of the investigation.