The Cabinet met on 30 September 2021. Attendances:-
Councillor Glazier (Chair)
Councillors Bennett, Bowdler, Claire Dowling , Maynard, Simmons and Standley
1. Council Monitoring: Quarter 1 2021/22
1.3 The Council Plan 2021/22 and the Portfolio Plans 2021/22 – 2023/24 have been updated with available 2020/21 outturns and performance measure targets. All plans are published on the Council’s website. The Corporate Summary (Appendix 1) contains a forecast of performance against targets. There are five education measures where no targets can be set this year because assessments or exams have been cancelled due to COVID-19. These are for the Early Year’s Foundation Stage, Key Stage 2, and the Average Progress 8 scores and Attainment 8 scores at Key Stage 4. Targets remain for future years.
The Cabinet agreed that targets for two Adult Social Care and Health performance measures be amended:
· Proportion of working age adults and older people receiving direct payments
· The proportion of people who use services who say that those services have made them feel safe and secure
The target is recommended to be amended from ≥87% to ≥83.8% to better reflect the experiences and expectations that people using services reported in the last survey held in 2019/20. People’s responses to this question can also be influenced by wider factors beyond the Council’s control, which limit our ability to fully ensure services make people feel safe and secure. The majority of respondents who said services did not make them feel safe and secure stated in their responses to a separate question that they felt as safe as they wanted or adequately safe (see Appendix 2, ref ii).
1.4 The Strategic Risk Register, Appendix 7, was reviewed and updated to reflect the Council’s risk profile. Risk 14 (Post European Union (EU) Transition) has an updated risk definition and control. Risk 4 (Health), Risk 5 (Reconciling Policy, Performance & Resources), Risk 6 (Local Economic Growth), Risk 7 (Schools), Risk 8 (Capital Programme), Risk 9 (Workforce), Risk 15 (Climate) and Risk 16 (Covid-19) have updated risk controls.
1 .5 The details of revenue over and underspends in each department are set out in the relevant appendices, and show a total forecast overspend of £2.7m. The main headlines are:
· The Adult Social Care (ASC) budget is currently forecast to overspend by £0.4m. This comprises a small underspend of £0.2m in the Independent Sector and an overspend of £0.6m in Directly Provided Services, the latter mainly due to pressures in staffing budgets.
1.6 Within Treasury Management (TM) and other centrally held budgets there is an underspend of £6.1m:
· There is currently an estimated £2.1m underspend on TM, this is based on the position on the capital programme removing the need to borrow externally in 2021/22. In line with normal practice this will be transferred to reserve to offset capital borrowing needs in future years.
· The General Contingency of £4.0m will, in the first instance, be used to offset service overspend. The remaining £1.3m will be transferred to the Financial Management reserves in line with the Council’s Reserves Policy, to facilitate the management of financial risk in future years.
1.7 As a consequence of 2020/21 outturn and carry forward of COVID-19 funding, it was agreed as part of the State of the County discussion at Cabinet in July to review the 2021/22 approved budget. This review has identified £8.855m that is now shown in Centrally Held Budgets. The Cabinet recommends that a reserve of £8.855m be set up within the existing Priority Outcomes and Transformation Reserve and that the Terms of Reference for this reserve will be extended to reference that the reserve can be used to fund “programmes that meet the Council’s priority outcomes” which will include highways and climate change. Proposed changes to the reserves policy are shown at Appendix 8 to this report.
1.8 COVID-19 related costs and income losses have been fully mitigated from general and specific funding. The table below shows the current forecast for use of this funding in 2021/22:
|
COVID-19 Funding 2021/22 (£m) |
||||
|
|
Carried forward |
Expected in-year |
Forecast usage in-year |
Forecast balance remaining |
|
COVID-19 General Funding |
15.132 |
11.999 |
(12.627) |
14.504 |
|
COVID-19 Specific Funding |
15.325 |
19.584 |
(29.297) |
5.612 |
|
Total funding |
30.457 |
31.583 |
(41.924) |
20.116 |
1.9 Planned Capital Programme expenditure for the year is projected to be £94.5m against a budget of £95.2m, a net variation of £0.7m. Of the net variation position, £0.2m relates to Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) schemes being delivered by, or in partnership with, others, where those organisations control the timetable. In addition, there is £0.6m of projected COVID-19 related costs that will be funded from COVID-19 specific or tranche funding, thereby having a net nil impact on the Council’s capital programme.
1.10 Six highway improvement schemes to maintain or improve the condition of the county’s roads were completed in quarter 1. 6,357 potholes were also repaired, 4,690 of these were carriageway potholes, with the remainder primarily footway potholes. The road condition statistics (where a lower outturn indicates a better performance) for 2020/21 have been published: the percentage of Principal roads requiring maintenance reduced to 4%; the percentage of Non-Principal roads requiring maintenance has also reduced, again to 4%; and the percentage of Unclassified roads requiring maintenance has remained the same as the previous year, at 14%. The condition of all three road types met their target for 2020/21 (Appendix 5).
1.11 Eight virtual careers events were held in May, focussing on: construction; Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM); health and social care; and digital careers. The events were filmed and are now available through the Careers East Sussex website. The other resources available through the website have also been developed during quarter 1, including labour market information which can be used both by schools and adults looking to retrain (Appendix 5).
1.12 There are currently 85 new apprentices expected to start by the end of quarter 2, with a large number of these in schools. The new cohort of apprentices includes people starting training in Coaching and Mentoring, Social Work, and Occupational Therapy. The Apprenticeship team are supporting teams in Adult Social Care and Health to access the Government’s apprenticeship incentive scheme, which offers £3,000 to employers taking on apprentices by the end of September 2021. The Council has 19 live vacancies through the Kickstart programme, which provides funding for six-month job placements for young people on universal credit at risk of long-term unemployment, and these are being advertised through Job Centre Plus, with Council managers also promoting them via online information sessions (Appendix 3).
1.13 Businesses were helped by business support programmes to create or safeguard 101 jobs in quarter 1. Locate East Sussex, the local commissioned Inward Investment service, also helped seven businesses to remain within, or relocate to, East Sussex (Appendix 5).
1.14 The Council has spent over £290m with 920 local suppliers over the last 12 months, which equates to 69.4% of total spend. The Procurement team continues to promote contract opportunities to local suppliers, as well as building local supply chain opportunities into our tendering process where possible. The emphasis on spending money within the local economy helps to support the East Sussex Economic Recovery Plan (Appendix 3).
1.15 13 contracts were awarded in quarter 1, of which six were in scope of the Social Value Measurement Charter, which quantifies the economic, social and environmental benefits of Council procurement. The six contracts had a total contract value of £1.3m and secured £322,000 in Social Value commitments, which equates to 25% (Appendix 3).
1.16 In November 2020, the Government announced funding to provide holiday activities and food (HAF) to young people eligible for free school meals (FSM) over the Easter, summer and Christmas holidays in 2021. 34 providers ran provision across the county during Easter, with 1,378 young people attending. Make Good Trouble, a youth-led production company, produced a short film celebrating the Easter provision. The provision was initially targeted in the areas of highest need across the county; however, it has subsequently been developed to support young people right across East Sussex. Provision for the summer holidays includes 70 providers; 7,000 HAF-funded places for young people eligible for FSM; more than 27,000 sessions; and over 85 different locations (Appendix 4).
1.17 The Foundations Project supports people who have had children removed by Children’s Services, over the last four years (based on the 2017/18 cohort) 100% of the women who have engaged with the project have not gone on to have any subsequent children removed (Appendix 4).
1.18 The number of Children in Need reached a high of 1,000 open cases in quarter 3 2020/21, since then we have been undertaking careful audit work which has resulted in the closure of a number of cases, bringing the number down to 822 at quarter 1. There has not been a negative impact on the re-referral rate, which suggests that the process was carried out safely, and the cases were closed appropriately. The rate of children subject to a Child Protection plan has decreased in quarter 1, to 47.9 per 10,000 children (510 children). This reduction is due to targeted work on the safe ending of plans now that more children are in school, so more visible. The rate of Looked After Children (LAC) has increased in quarter 1 to 58.5 per 10,000 children (623 children). More children are being looked after by the Council for longer due to significant delays in the court system. It is currently taking 40 weeks as opposed to the previous 30 week timescale to complete care proceedings with children therefore remaining in care placements for longer (Appendix 4).
1.19 Trading Standards participated in the national Scams Awareness Fortnight in June, highlighting through the media, including social media, the risks associated with various financial scams; with a victim of a scam coming forward to tell her story and emphasise the risks. Trading Standards also attended three locations around the county with displays and information on scams, speaking to a total of 173 people. The team also promoted the Friends Against Scams online training, (www.friendsagainstscams.org.uk), as well as the various call blocking facilities offered to protect residents from telephone scam calls (Appendix 5).
1.20 An East Sussex Violence Reduction Action Plan has been developed, covering current, planned, linked and completed projects and ideas for partnership activity. A presentation on the new Serious Violence Duty 2021 was presented at the Violence Reduction Partnership (VRP) in quarter 1, with partnership work focusing on high-harm hotspot areas to identify local issues and trends which can be addressed or disrupted through multi-agency action (Appendix 2).
1.21 The Domestic Abuse Act came into force in quarter 1, setting out a number of key obligations for the Council. Alongside West Sussex County Council we are setting up a statutory domestic abuse Local Partnership Board, discussions with Brighton and Hove City Council as to their involvement are ongoing. A pan-Sussex Project Team located in the Office of the Sussex Police and Crime Commissioner is leading on a Strategic Needs Assessment for accommodation-based support with help from local councils, specialist providers and people with lived experience (Appendix 2).
1.22 Health and social care integration work has continued in quarter 1, with a focus on putting plans in place to respond to the requirements in the Health and Care Bill, and ensuring the proposed changes are implemented to positively impact and strengthen the Council’s relationship with the local NHS. This includes how we best manage our collective resources under the new arrangements to deliver our shared priorities and objectives for health and social care integration, improving population health and wellbeing and reducing health inequalities, as well as meeting the new duty to collaborate. To support these objectives, the Council’s relationship with, and role in, the Sussex-wide Integrated Care System (ICS), which brings together NHS commissioners and providers with upper tier Local Authorities in Sussex to enable a collaborative approach to the planning and delivery of health and care services has been agreed. We have also agreed the continuing roles and responsibilities of the existing East Sussex Health and Care Partnership within the ICS, which is where shared priorities between social care, public health and the NHS are agreed and delivered. A number of other plans have also been agreed in quarter 1, to: address health inequalities and deliver personalised, integrated and preventative care models; embed joint hospital discharge processes and the hospital discharge hub; and undertake capacity and demand modelling to inform a sustainable model for Discharge to Assess and Home First pathways, which seek to assess and support people at home or in nursing or residential care rather than in acute settings (Appendix 2).
1.23 Five road safety schemes to improve the road safety infrastructure in the county were completed in quarter 1. A further 13 schemes are currently waiting to be scheduled for implementation later in 2021/22. As part of the national Bikeability scheme, which helps to prepare people for cycling safely on today’s roads, we delivered 144 Bikeability courses to 1,358 individuals at participating schools and the Cycling Centre at Eastbourne Sport Park. We also delivered 27 Wheels for All sessions at the sports park, which are aimed at adults and children with disabilities and differing needs and help them to cycle in a safe and structured environment (Appendix 5).
1.24 East Sussex Trailblazers, which includes the Safer East Sussex Team, the Probation Service, the Rough Sleepers Initiative and local housing authorities, has continued to develop resettlement opportunities for people leaving prison in quarter 1. Hastings Borough Council have submitted an application for funding to the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government’s Accommodation for ex-Offenders Scheme to further complement Trailblazers’ work to improve ex-offenders’ access to the private rented sector (Appendix 2).
1.25 A new project to provide skills and employability support those who are furthest from the workplace began in May 2021. The scheme was funded by the Control Outbreak Management Fund (COMF) and led by Public Health and supported ex-rough sleepers to re-plant lawns in Eastbourne to help them gain horticultural skills and experience the therapeutic benefits of gardening. Six attendees are now taking part in regular supported training sessions that can lead to them acquiring a City and Guilds Level 1 qualification in horticulture. There is also the possibility of some of the group taking on a paid apprenticeship. Similar schemes are now being developed for other parks and green spaces across the county, to support more people who have previously been rough sleepers or are homeless and living in temporary accommodation (Appendix 2).
1.26 Quarter 1 saw the first six schools in East Sussex achieve Healthy Schools status, since the launch of the Health Schools Programme in September 2020. The programme supports schools to adopt and embed an evidence-based approach to health and wellbeing, including healthy eating; physical activity; Personal, Social, Health and Economic education; and emotional wellbeing. 80 schools have signed up to participate in the programme (Appendix 2).
1.27 Lobbying has continued in quarter 1, including the Leader meeting with local MPs to discuss local and national issues, including ambitions for use of the Levelling Up Fund in East Sussex. We also undertook lobbying through the County Councils Network (CCN), contributing to the development of an evidence base on Home to School Transport cost pressures and COVID-19 impacts. Through the CCN the Leader also discussed the national Bus Back Better Strategy with Baroness Vere, Minister in the Department for Transport, in quarter 1 (Appendix 6).
1.28 The grant funded Council Decarbonisation of Heat Plan was completed in quarter 1; the plan will underpin and inform our strategy to deliver decarbonisation of our corporate and school buildings. A list of all potential buildings in which decarbonisation works could take place was also compiled. Two Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme grant funded projects are also being progressed to the procurement stage (Appendix 5).
1.29 The County Council elections were held on 6 May with 50 councillors elected to represent the 50 electoral divisions in the county. Election planning, undertaken in conjunction with the District and Borough Councils who administer the election on behalf of the County Council, had added complexity this year due to COVID-19. Election results were published as they were announced on our interactive results map and all candidates elected received a welcome pack from the Council on results day. A comprehensive Member induction programme was delivered in a COVID-19 secure way in quarter 1, to support new and returning Members (Appendix 6).
1.30 During quarter 1, in light of the expiry of temporary regulations which permitted virtual meetings, Governance Services made arrangements to resume physical meetings where legally required, whilst complying with COVID-19 restrictions, enabling Council business to continue in a transparent and open way. Use of video conferencing technology continued where legally permitted, including the use of new hybrid meeting technology in the Council Chamber, which has enabled physical attendance to be minimised during COVID-19 restrictions and for some of the benefits of remote attendance to be maintained (Appendix 6).
1.31 The Property team have been awarded the Outstanding Customer Satisfaction SECBE (South East Centre for the Built Environment) award for the building of Ropemakers’ Academy in Hailsham. Property’s Major Projects team managed the delivery of the £12.5m build to create a new 80 place social, emotional, and mental health facility for children. The team worked with the contractor to put customer engagement at the heart of their delivery (Appendix 3).
1.32 Strategic Property Asset Collaboration in East Sussex (SPACES) is a partnership of public bodies and third sector organisations which aims to improve sharing of the property estate between partners, to save property costs, and to release capital receipts. The SPACES Programme Board approved the first SPACES Strategy (2021 to 2024) in May. The strategy sets out six themes which the partnership will use to continue its work and develop new collaborations. SPACES also submitted a bid to the Brownfield Land Release Fund in June, the bid requested funding for five projects set to deliver a combined 100 homes (Appendix 3).
1.33 The Emergency Planning and Resilience Team have continued to support the multi-agency COVID-19 response and recovery in quarter 1, including supporting safe events and COVID-19 testing programmes, in particular the pan-Sussex Community Testing Programme. The Sussex Resilience Forum has now stood down its Strategic and Tactical Co-ordinating Groups with a view to handing over to the Recovery Co-ordinating Group (Appendix 5).
1.34 The Cabinet recommends the County Council to:
Y approve the transfer of funding for one-off investment to reserves, and the amended reserves policy, as set out in paragraph 1.7 and Appendix 8
2. Annual Progress report on achieving carbon neutrality
2.1 In October 2019 the County Council declared a climate emergency. It set a target of achieving carbon neutrality from its activities as soon as possible and in any event by 2050 and committed to reporting annually to Full Council on its progress towards meeting this target.
2.2 In October 2019 the County Council agreed the following Motion, that the County Council:
(i) supports the aims and implementation of the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
(ii) recognises and declares a Climate Emergency.
(iii) will set a target of achieving carbon neutrality from its activities as soon as possible and in any event by 2050, in line with the new target for the UK agreed by Parliament in 2019.
(iv) will build upon the work we have undertaken to date, will commit resources where possible and will align our policies to address the Climate Emergency.
(v) will set out a clear plan of action to reduce our carbon emissions.
(vi) will report annually at the May County Council Meeting on its progress towards the target.
(vii) will investigate all possible sources of external funding and match funding to support this commitment, as well as writing to central government with respect to the emergency to request funding to implement swift appropriate actions.
(viii) will use our Environment Strategy to provide a strong unified voice in lobbying for support to address this emergency, sharing best practice across East Sussex and more widely through other partners.
2.3 In line with the commitment made in the Motion agreed in 2019, the County Council developed a Climate Emergency Action Plan to set out how the organisation would go about reducing its carbon emissions. The Action Plan was agreed by Cabinet in June 2020 and built on work undertaken since the first Carbon Management Plan was put in place in 2009. The Action Plan set out the scale of the carbon footprint, described the carbon budget that the Council will aim to keep within, and proposed an initial two-year delivery plan for 2020-22.
Assessing the Council’s carbon emissions
2.4 A clear understanding of the carbon emissions generated by our activities is a key foundation for working towards carbon neutrality. The corporate Action Plan set out an initial assessment of the carbon emissions from the Council’s activities using the Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Protocol, an accepted global standard for measuring and reporting on an organisation’s GHG emissions. The Protocol divides GHG emissions into three categories, referred to as Scope 1, 2 and 3. Together, these represent the total GHG emissions related to an organisation and its activities. Each scope covers the following emissions:
· Scope 1 – emissions from the combustion of gas, oil, petrol, diesel, coal, or wood. For the Council this covers buildings and vehicles where the Council is responsible for paying for the fuel.
· Scope 2 – emissions from the electricity purchased by the Council.
· Scope 3 – emissions that result from all other activities of the Council. There are 15 different scope 3 categories defined in the Protocol, some of which do not apply to a local authority (e.g., emissions from manufactured goods). The categories that do apply include emissions from business travel, water usage, waste, procurement and staff commuting. In other words, the County Council’s scope 3 emissions mostly comprise the scope 1 and 2 emissions of other organisations (e.g., contractors).
2.5 The County Council has measured scope 1, 2 and some scope 3 emissions since 2008-9. Data in relation to scope 1 and 2 is of higher quality whereas data in relation to most scope 3 emissions is much more varied in detail and quality. The Action Plan highlights that scope 3 emissions are by far the largest part of the Council’s estimated carbon footprint, notably through the supply chain i.e., the goods and services that are purchased by the County Council in order to deliver its functions. This is typical for a local authority, as most of the Council’s revenue and capital budgets are used to procure goods, services and works from third parties. For an upper tier authority this includes major services such as highways maintenance, waste disposal, and education, as well as social care provision commissioned from a myriad of relatively small independent providers. The Action Plan also highlights that the largest proportion of scope 1 and 2 emissions is from schools. Overall, this means that the majority of carbon emissions generated by the Council’s activities are from sources over which the Council has influence but limited direct control.
2.6 The County Council therefore has a large and complex carbon footprint which is larger than that of all the East Sussex District and Borough Councils combined. Further work is required to quantify most scope 3 emissions before they can begin to be integrated reliably into the Council’s carbon footprint and modelled for future emission reductions, notably from procurement. Consequently, the Action Plan focusses primarily on reducing scope 1 and 2 emissions first, for example carbon emissions from buildings, and investing in more renewable energy. This is a similar approach to that adopted by all the East Sussex District and Borough Councils that have a carbon action plan in place.
Working towards carbon neutrality from our activities
2.7 The approach adopted in the Action Plan is that, in order to make its fair contribution to reducing county-wide emissions, the County Council will aim to cut its own emissions by 13% per year. This is based on a recognised methodology developed by the UK’s Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research for calculating the carbon budget by local authority area. A carbon budget represents the total quantity of greenhouse gases which can be released to the atmosphereif we are to contain temperature rises to a given level – this can be calculated globally and then broken down into national and sub-national budgets. The Tyndall model, based on current scientific understanding, indicates that to stay within a budget based on a rise of no more than 1.5 degrees centigrade above pre-industrial levels (as set out in the UN Paris Agreement on Climate Change) requires cutting emissions from East Sussex by an average of about 13% per year.
2.8 This 13% science-based annual reduction target is what the County Council is working towards, rather than a fixed end date by which it will become carbon neutral. This approach is in line with advice to Councils from the Local Government Association, which has stated that: “There is no science to picking an end year where emissions are zero. Setting a target year by which emissions will be zero can be symbolically important. However, what counts is the trajectory of the commitments to carbon reduction between now and the target zero emissions year. This defines the actual level of emissions reduction being promised over the budget period. This is what matters to climate change”.
2.9 Achieving a reduction target of 13% per year, every year, is extremely challenging. The County Council has had a significant programme of activity in place to cut carbon emissions for a number of years, during which time it has occasionally exceeded a 13% reduction per year in its scope 1 and 2 emissions. In 2020-21 The County Council achieved a 13% reduction in its carbon emissions. A summary of the data is included in appendix 9, including some of the planned work and how we track our progress against the 13% per year reduction target. Appendix 10 sets out the progress, more broadly, that has been made to date against the Action Plan and combines this with the recommendations from the 2020 Scrutiny Review of Becoming a Carbon Neutral Council (see paragraph 2.10). The Action Plan will be reviewed during 2021-22 and an updated 2-year plan will be developed to cover 2022-24.
2.10 It is likely to become more costly and complex to reach this target over time as the ‘quick wins’ – the more cost effective and simpler measures, and those which are within the Council’s direct control - are completed. Officers have successfully bid for additional external funding to increase the County Council’s ability to deliver greater carbon reduction (e.g., £480k in 2021-22 to deliver projects under the Public Sector Decarbonisation Fund). In addition, work is on-going to establish what further resources the County Council could allocate to meeting this ambitious target. This will include modelling of the different scenarios as to how the County Council might get to net zero, by when and the potential range of costs of each scenario. The modelling depends on a number of factors, including the size of the County Council’s buildings estate, and related transport emissions, post-COVID. The work to determine this is currently in progress.
2.11 In 2020-21 the Place Scrutiny Committee undertook a Scrutiny Review of Becoming a Carbon Neutral Council. The review looked at the work underway to progress towards net zero emissions from the Council’s activities and made a number of recommendations which were accepted and are being implemented in line with the agreed action plan. Appendix 10 includes a summary of progress to date against the agreed recommendations and the Climate Emergency Action Plan. Of the combined 37 actions, 5 (13%) have been completed, 28 (76%) are on-going and 4 (11%) have not yet started. This highlights that there is a need for additional resources to help drive the actions forward and that some of the actions will be delivered over a number of years (e.g., behavioural change programmes). Proposals for additional resource capacity are being developed and will be considered through the Reconciling Policy, Performance and Resources (RPPR) process.
2.12 Contracts with external providers make up the largest proportion of our carbon footprint, as part of Scope 3 emissions. The Council can influence emissions from our supply chain by requiring carbon reduction targets when renewing relevant contracts, which is the approach adopted in the re-procurement of the current highway’s maintenance contract. Many smaller contractors and suppliers will not have data on their emissions, or will have relatively small-scale emissions, or do not have the capital funding available to make the significant changes required to reduce their emissions. Addressing the emissions from our large and diverse supply chain is therefore a complex and significant task which will take time. Consequently, the Council will focus on contractors and suppliers where the likely scale of their emissions and the ability of the Council to influence these emissions are greatest, for instance where the Council is a major client.
2.13 Until we are able to measure and report on our scope 3 supply chain emissions more accurately (and therefore know where and how to better influence these emissions), we are measuring and reporting on our performance against a 13% p.a. reduction target for scope 1 and 2 emissions. This is monitored and reported quarterly to the Officer Climate Emergency Board, which has representatives from every department and is co-chaired by the Chief Operating Officer and the Director for Communities, Economy and Transport. Progress is also reported quarterly in the County Council’s strategic risk register, as well as annually to Full Council.
2.13 The Council has recognised the severity of the climate crisis by declaring a climate emergency and setting a clear and evidence-based trajectory towards net zero from its activities. The scale of the Council’s functions and the diversity of providers the Council works with makes this a complex and substantial task. Significant work has already been undertaken to reduce emissions and this has been built upon by the Climate Emergency Action Plan which is driving the next phase and has been further informed by the recent Scrutiny Review. This progress report sets out what has been achieved to date against the agreed Action Plan and the Scrutiny review recommendations.
3. East Sussex, South Downs and Brighton & Hove Waste and Minerals Local Plan Review – Regulation 19 Consultation
3.1 East Sussex County Council work in partnership with the South Downs National Park Authority and Brighton & Hove City Council (the Authorities) in the preparation of minerals and waste planning policy for East Sussex, Brighton & Hove and the area of the National Park within the County and City (the Plan Area). Together, the Authorities have prepared the Waste and Minerals Plan (WMP, 2013), and the Waste and Minerals Sites Plan (WMSP, 2017). These adopted plans form the Waste and Minerals Local Plan (WMLP) which is used by each of the Authorities in the determination of planning applications for waste management activities, and minerals extraction and infrastructure in the Plan Area. The WMLP forms part of the Development Plan and is, therefore, also applicable to the District and Borough Councils as local planning authorities.
3.2 The Authorities are now reviewing parts of the WMLP. The purpose of the review is to update a limited number of policies within the WMLP that are considered out-of-date or require amendments to their wording to ensure their effectiveness. The original need for a review stems from the conclusions of the examining Inspector of the WMSP in 2016, who concluded in his report that a review of the minerals policies within the 2013 WMP would be required, in particular as the supply of aggregate from existing permitted extraction sites is likely to be exhausted prior to the end of the Plan period in 2026. Maintaining a reliable supply of aggregate is important to facilitate construction and economic growth.
3.3 A review of the WMLP commenced with consultation on a Scoping document for the Review along with a ‘Call for Mineral Sites’ in late 2017. Since that time the Authorities have reviewed the responses to that consultation and produced a draft Revised Policies document (DRP) which contained proposed amendments to the WMP and WMSP. The DRP was subject to a twelve week public consultation between 11 May – 3 August 2020. An Equality Impact Assessment has been completed on the Plan and has found no significant disproportionate impacts. This report is now seeking approval for the publication of the Submission version of the DRP to allow for a representation period under Regulation 19 of the Town and Country Planning (Local Planning) (England) Regulations 2012, prior to submission to the Government for Public Examination. It is this version of the DRP that the Authorities consider to be the most appropriate strategy to take forward, defend at Public Examination and subsequently adopt.
3.4 The consultation on the DRP in 2020 received a total sixty nine responses and a petition containing 221 names. The consultation responses have been considered and, where appropriate, the DRP has been amended to accommodate the views submitted. The Authorities’ responses to all comments made have been summarised in a separate document. Full copies of the consultation responses and the Authorities’ responses are available in the Members’ Room.
3.5 The main area of focus in the DRP has been aggregate provision. The Plan Area has always been a low producer of aggregates due to the geology and environmental constraints as well as internationally protected sites. There are currently two permitted quarries located within the Plan Area: Lydd quarry near the Kent border which produces sharp sand and gravel; and Novington Sandpit in the National Park which is permitted to produce soft (builder’s) sand, although there has not been any extraction from this site in recent years.
3.6 In terms of aggregate provision and specific responses to the 2020 consultation on the DRP, the operator of the quarry at Lydd submitted proposals for an extension to the quarry, as it is anticipated that the permitted resource will be exhausted within the next twelve months. However, due to National and International environmental designations, further working to extend the quarry is not considered to be feasible or supportable due to the irreversible harm that would be caused to the interests of the designated sites. Following consideration of advice from Natural England and the known availability of suitable alternative materials, no additional areas for future extraction are therefore proposed at Lydd Quarry.
3.7 Overall, the proposed amendments and revisions to the WMLP seek to improve and strengthen the Policies, but do not change the existing strategy or thrust of the WMLP. The Review identifies a number of matters, and these relate to: (i) clarifying/improving the wording of a small number of policies so that they can more easily/appropriately applied to decisions on planning applications; (ii) the provision of aggregates to the Plan Area; (iii) sustainable use of aggregates; (iv) the safeguarding of minerals resources and minerals infrastructure; (v) adding reference to net-gain in biodiversity to the Environment and Environmental Enhancement policy; (vi) updating the protected landscapes policy to include specific references to the High Weald AONB; and (vii) the future continued provision of specialist clay for Aldershaw Tiles. Full details of the proposed revisions are contained within the DRP in Appendix 11.
3.8 The current Review sets out proposed revisions for specific policies and is not a review of all policies within the WMLP. It is acknowledged that after the Review has been completed, there will be a future, more in depth review of the WMLP, which will look at the WMLP in its entirety.
3.9 The review is not seeking to amend or update all Policies in the WMLP, and those Policies which are not part of the review will remain part of the adopted WMLP and will therefore still be part of the Development Plan as they are considered to be in conformity with national policy, primarily in the form of the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF). The DRP updates, clarifies and strengthens certain existing Policies, including in relation to the future provision and supply of aggregates and their sustainable use.
3.10 The next stage will be publishing the DRP and inviting representations to be made on it under Regulation 19 of the Town and Country Planning (Local Planning) (England) Regulations 2012, following which the draft Revised Policies will be submitted to Government for Public Examination. It is envisaged that the DRP will be published in late Autumn 2021.
3.11 The DRP may, prior to publication, be subject to minor amendments as a result of possible requests by Brighton & Hove City Council and the South Downs National Park Authority. The Cabinet has agreed to authorise the Director of Communities, Economy and Transport to make, if necessary, minor modifications to the DRP prior to publication and to consider the consultation responses and to make any subsequent minor changes arising from the consultation. The Plan will ultimately be submitted to the Cabinet and Full Council as part of the Adoption of the WMLP Review.
3.12 The Cabinet recommends the County Council to:
Y authorise the submission of the Revised Policies document and Sustainability Appraisal to the Secretary of State under Regulation 22 of the Town & Country Planning (Local Planning) (England) Regulations 2012, following the competition of Regulation 19 Consultation.
30 September 2021 KEITH GLAZIER
(Chair)