Agenda and minutes

Confirmation of the minutes of the previous meeting.

The minutes of the meeting held on 5 February 2018 were approved and signed by the Chairman.

The Chairman acknowledged Cllr Prowse’s comment on the work of the media team following the recent disruption to services caused by the snow, that the information shared via social media and other methods had been very informative.

Tony Norton, Head of the Centre for Energy and the Environment, University of Exeter will be making a presentation to Members.

A presentation to Members from Tony Norton, Head of the Centre for Energy & the Environment within the University of Exeter was well received, during the presentation, he made reference to:

·             the diverse energy supply, via national grid, abroad, heat pumps;

·             the UK energy market using more heat than electricity;

·             the Royal Devon & Exeter onsite electricity and heat generation;

·             examples of investment in electricity generation, including photovoltaic on public buildings, Bristol City investing in wind turbines;

·             heat networks;

·             energy business features being investment businesses, key risks included capital cost and energy price;

·             retail businesses for energy supply, key risk: energy volume;

·             Heat Networks – key risks: capital cost, energy price and energy volume.

·             Local authority energy business examples included, Robin Hood Energy; Bristol Energy; Angelic Energy, Liverpool Energy Community Company;

·             Local authority heat networks examples: Pimlico DHU, Thameswey, Bunhill Heat and Power, Gateshead Energy.

Members were recommended to review local authority and community energy companies. 

During discussion, particular reference was made to:

(a)        National grid being at capacity, perhaps with the Council focussing on heat for energy.  In response, it was confirmed as a blow that National Grid was at capacity in the South West and no significant additional renewable energy could be accepted until after Hinckley Point C came on board.

(b)        Whether enough renewable energy was being built within new housing estates, disappointment was voiced that heat from the energy to waste plant was not being used to supply homes in the area.

The Chairman and Members thanked Mr Norton for his presentation.

To consider an update port on the formation of an Energy Services Company.

The Council’s Senior Planning Officer, provided an update on the progress with Energy Services Company (Dextco) and linked Exeter Energy Network Project. 

It was noted that procurement of a private sector partner would take place from July 2018, followed by a need for a commitment in principle, from Teignbridge and the other shareholders, to invest up to £177,000 into the joint venture company.

During discussion, particular reference was made to:

(a)        South West Exeter.  Technical work had been undertaken, the issue related to the viability of the whole project; currently there was a funding shortfall; officers were looking at grant aid, to date they had not been successful in their applications.

(b)        a Member questioned why a greenfield site was not viable, but retrofitting to the RD&E and other public buildings was viable.  In response, the Committee noted that viability was not just about the district heating element, it would be a combination of all factors for new sites.  Sites could be connected if developers paid a connection fee for each home, whereas the city centre network was essentially one main pipe supplying large users, rather than individual homes.

(c)        The Portfolio Holder for Housing advised that if the choice of viability was between affordable homes or district heating, he supported affordable homes.

Resolved

To note the actions being taken as set out in the agenda report.

Verbal update from the Environmental Protection Manager and Waste & Cleansing Manager.

Members were provided with an overview of two of the Teignbridge Ten super projects: Clean Scene and Zero Heroes.

The Waste & Cleansing Manager advised that the waste performance figure of 55.7% (an increase of 1% on the previous year) placed Teignbridge top in Devon, further that it had resulted in the district moving up the national tables by four places.  The performance had also been achieved at £1.96p per household under budget (budget per household per year £42.51). 

An analysis of household waste had been undertaken, disappointingly residual bins on average contained 21.5% of food waste.  Officers would continue with compliance work and a food waste campaign was being rolled out to encourage greater compliance. 

The Environmental Protection Manager updated Members on actions to meet the objective to reduce waste and carbon emissions, making particular mention of:

·       dog questionnaire results informing the public space protection order, it was noted a report would be taken to the Executive in due course;

·       monitoring energy consumption in Council buildings.  Projects included server room electricity consumption work; global desktop resulting in reduced electricity consumption; new printers being energy efficient.

·       audit of council buildings to improve recycling and improving recycling facilities at leisure centres;

·       using technology to reduce the miles travelled by the workforce: encouraging video conferencing, mobile working and GPS tracking;

·       examining the potential for electric vehicles and car parking charging points;

·       promoting work on reducing the Council’s environmental impact and encouraging others to do the same.

During discussion, particular reference was made to:

(a)        the Lido swimming pool, Teignmouth.  It was agreed that officers would investigate the viability of a cover for the pool;

(b)        public liability insurance for litter pickers.  In noting the valuable work of these, it was suggested that Members could approach the local parish or town council as they were likely to already have public liability in place;

(c)        the outturn figures for Clean Scene being below target.  In response to a question Members were advised that the figure was expected to be on target by the end of the financial year.

Council Strategy T10 performance indicators targets and the Q3 2017-18 Council Strategy Performance Report.

Consideration was given to a report which provided performance data for Quarter 3 (1 October to 31 December 2017) on the Teignbridge Ten (T10) programmes.  The report provided detail on actions being taken to rectify performance issues detailed within the agenda report, during discussion, particular reference was made to:-

(a)        CSHAH 5.8 – working days lost due to sickness absence – average per employee.  It was a noted that a meeting of the review group was being held on Wednesday, 14 March an update would be provided within the next performance monitoring report.

(b)        CSIIP 1.3 – planning appeals allowed.  It was agreed that detail on the number of appeals against officer decision and those taken by the Planning Committee would be provided via the Members’ Newsletter.

(c)        CSWE 3.2 - % of telephone enquiries dealt with at first point of contact.  Noting this ‘concern’ indicator, Members were advised that only Revenue & Benefits calls were recorded as a first point of contact.  It was expected by the end of the year that most calls could be measured, the current figure provided a baseline measurement.

Resolved

To note the actions being taken to rectify performance.

To note the contents of the Forward Plan and to raise any items for inclusion on the Committee’s Work Programme.

The Committee noted the Executive Forward Plan.

To identify any areas of work for future meetings of the Committee.

The Chairman advised he would liaise with officers to ensure there were items for future meetings, the work programme for the remainder of the year was noted.