Agenda and minutes

The Chair welcomed all those present.

Apologies were received from Councillor Manuel Abellan with Councillor Joyce Melican attending as substitute and Councillor Adrian Davey.

Draft minutes were unavailable at the time of publication.

The draft minutes were unavailable at the time of publication.

No declarations of interest were declared.

This paper provides information about ultra-low emission vehicles (ULEVs) in Sutton and proposes adoption of a ULEV policy.

Warren Shadbolt, Assistant Director, Safer and Stronger Communities introduced the report relating to Ultra-Low Emission Vehicles (ULEV) in Sutton and proposed that the Committee consider and adopt the recommendations.

The Chair made reference to the item on the agenda being very timely as it was included in the Draft Mayor’s Strategy and was also included in the Chancellor’s budget speech.

Ian Baker, Team Leader - Parking and Sustainable Transport then presented the report relating to Ultra-Low Emission Vehicles (ULEV) in Sutton and highlighted the following -

• The objectives of the report
• The context in light of the Draft Mayor’s Transport Strategy and the Borough
• Supporting the ULEV delivery plan for London
• Provision for future uptake
• Emerging themes
• The Council’s role - it was agreed that the Council should be Scheme Partner rather than an Operator, so that the cost of installation and management of charging points would be borne by the Scheme Operator. As a Scheme Partner, the Council would control the siting of charging points.

Members were in agreement that the policy was timely but that further consideration should be given to the restrictions on the electric car market, battery range limitations, possible future trial areas, accessing the relevant funding sources and inclusion of electric bicycles in the policy.

It was reported that some boroughs were developing electric charging policies together with a lamp column replacement scheme to utilise existing infrastructures. However, it was possible that this technology could become outdated as well as being expensive to provide other than in trial areas. The Council also needed to see what the private sector would provide in terms of new fast and rapid charging technology e.g. petrol station companies.

Members discussed how lessons could be learned from not only other boroughs but other countries that were already advanced in installation and usage for both on-street and off-street charging points. How to set fees for the use of charging points using public spaces was also discussed.

Ian Baker informed the committee that the national grid had already given assurances regarding the resilience of the electricity supply, although there were fears remaining regarding future capacity and ability to meet demand. Additional research had been undertaken by Transport for London (TfL) on these issues and was referenced in the report.

Warren Shadbolt commented that the current lamp-column replacement scheme is funded by the borough and there was no current intention to include charging points in the scheme. He also explained that there was no plan to start charging residents for off-street parking spaces that included electric chargers at the moment, but will monitor the capacity and potential costs of lost income in the future.

RESOLVED: that the Environment and Neighbourhood Committee:

1. Accept the findings of the report and the council’s proposed role in facilitating development of a ULEV network in Sutton.

2. Approve the new ULEV policy as set out in the report.

3. Delegate authority to the Strategic Director, Environment, Housing and Regeneration, in consultation with the chair, Environment and Neighbourhood Committee to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 22.

This report introduces a Policy on Abandoned Vehicles for approval. The Policy sets out how Regulatory Services process and deal with reports of vehicles abandoned in public open spaces, and will apply across the Shared Service between Sutton and Kingston.

David Kingstone, Licensing and Environmental Compliance Team Leader presented the report which set out how regulatory services process and deal with reports of vehicles abandoned in public open spaces.

Members were in agreement with the policy and were pleased with the procedures and processes that would be adopted. The Policy had already been recently adopted by our Shared Highways Service Partner, LB Kingston.  However, concern was raised relating to the lack of a legal definition of abandoned vehicles.

Roy Douglas, Lead Officer, Street Compliance informed the Committee that the policies and procedures were tried and tested and took into account the liability for the council, and the requirements of the Highways Act and other legislation. Fixed penalty notices could be issued to anyone abandoning a vehicle. In excess of 90% of each vehicle was recycled helping to ensure proper disposal. Caravans were included within the abandoned vehicles legislation and action would be taken if certain criteria were met.

RESOLVED: that the Environment and Neighbourhood Committee:

1. Adopt the Policy on Abandoned Vehicles for implementation on 1 December 2017.

There were no urgent items.

The next meeting will be held on 1 February 2018 at the Civic Offices.

The next meeting will be held on 1 February 2018 at the Civic Offices.