Agenda and minutes

            An apology was reported on behalf of Councillor Bell.

            The minutes of the meeting of 5th November were taken as read and signed as correct.  It was reported that the minutes had been adopted by the Council at its meeting on 2nd December.

Several Members, that being, Councillors Black, Bradley, M. Donnelly, I. McLaughlin and Verner, declared interests in respect of item 4a, ‘Community Support Plan’, in that they worked for organisations which were in receipt of revenue funding from the Council in this regard. However, since the report did not refer to any specific organisation and did not become subject to discussion or debate, the Members were not required to leave the meeting whilst the item was under consideration.

Councillor Abernethy declared an interest in respect of item 3b, ‘GLL Single Parent Family Membership Category’, in that he was the holder of such a membership. He did not take part in any discussion or decision-making in the matter. 

Councillor McKeown declared an interest in item 5c, ‘Pitch Partnership Agreements’, in that a relative was a member of Rosario FC. Since there was no discussion in the matter, he was not required to leave the meeting.

            Further to its decision of 5th November, the Committee received a presentation from Ms. K. Fulton, Director of Recycling with Bryson Charitable Group, on the work which that organisation delivered throughout Belfast.

            Ms. Fulton reported that the Bryson Recycling had been working with the Council since 2001 and had been awarded its first recycling contract in 2004. Currently the organisation oversaw 58,000 weekly collections and had been awarded a further recycling contract until 2029. That contract would enable the current kerbside box collection service to be replaced with the introduction of a more efficient ‘wheelie box’ bin service. In addition, Ms. Fulton outlined the social value which the organisation delivered through its work. She referred to several programmes that assisted young people to prepare for employment and other social value initiatives delivered within local communities. She added that the aim of the organisation was to make the greatest difference in those areas where there was the greatest need.

            The Chairperson, on behalf of the Committee, thanked Ms. Fulton for attending the meeting and the Members noted the information which had been provided.

            Further to its decision of 5th November, the Chairperson welcomed Mr. K. Bloomfield, Northern Ireland Houses in Multiple Occupation Manager, based within the Council, who was in attendance to provide a presentation on the work of the HMO Unit.

            Mr. Bloomfield outlined the role and remit of the HMO Unit. He provided the Committee with the current definition of a House in Multiple Occupation, insofar as it related to households and accommodation, as well as how that definition related to individuals and renting arrangements. He outlined the process by which the Council managed applications for properties to be considered as HMOs, which was in accordance with the Houses in Multiple Occupant Act (Northern Ireland) 2016. The Committee was informed of the terms and conditions that were applied in granting a HMO licence, as well as the planning controls applicable to both new and renewal applications. Mr. Bloomfield reviewed the criteria applied in determining an individual as a ‘fit and proper person’ to manage an HMO and gave details on the current number of HMO properties overseen by the Council in the Belfast area. 

            During discussion, Mr. Bloomfield clarified that there were two regulatory processes applied in the granting of HMOs, one of which was related to the planning process, with the other being the granting of an HMO licence by the Council. Should it be ascertained, he pointed out, that a property was operating as an HMO without authority under either of the regulations, then enforcement action would be undertaken by the Council.

            A Member referred to the difficulty which was encountered by members of both the Planning and Licensing committees when considering applications for HMOs, particularly since a range of regulations, legislation and material considerations were applied from both a licensing and planning perspective. He suggested that it would be useful if a workshop, to which the members of the Licensing and Planning committees were invited, be held to receive a detailed overview of the legislative processes and material considerations which were pertinent throughout the full regulatory processes. Given that there existed separate legislative and regulatory processes, such a workshop, the Member added, would assist, particularly those Elected Members who served on both committees, to protect themselves from any suggestion of having expressed a pre-determined view when considering HMO applications.

            The Director of Planning and Building Control clarified a number of matters raised and indicated that she was examining the feasibility of hosting a joint workshop, as outlined, for both the members of the Planning and Licencing committees in the new year.

The Chairperson thanked Mr. Bloomfield for his presentation and the Committee noted the information which had been provided.

            The information contained in the reports associated with the following four items was restricted in accordance with Part 1 of Schedule 6 of the Local Government Act (Northern Ireland) 2014.

      Resolved – That the Committee agrees to exclude the members of the press and public from the meeting during discussion of the following items as, due to the nature of the item, there would be a disclosure of exempt information as described in Section 42 (4) and Schedule 6 of the Local Government Act (Northern Ireland) 2014.

            The Committee was advised that content of restricted reports and any discussion which took place during closed session must be treated as confidential information and no such information should be disclosed to the public as per Paragraph 4.15 of the Code of Conduct.  

            The Committee was reminded that, at the meeting of the Council on 4th November, it had been agreed that the minute of the Committee’s meeting of 8th October, under the above-mentioned heading, be referred back to the Committee for further consideration. That request had been made in order to re-examine a proposed increase to the rate applied for a family membership package for the Leisure Transformation Programme (Phase 4) centres for 2025/26.

            After discussion, the Committee affirmed its decision of 8th October, that being, to note the Schedule of Charges for the Council’s Leisure Centres for 2025/26, subject to the proviso that, in respect of the increase in cost to the family membership for 2025/26, a 5% increase would be applied, as opposed to the proposed 10.4% increase.

            Further to its meeting of 8th October, when the Committee had requested that officers would create a family membership' pricing category for single-adult families which would be set at a lower rate than the current package offering for two-adult families, the Committee considered a report in this regard which had been prepared by the Strategic Director of City and Neighbourhood Services.

            The Committee noted the introduction of a single parent family membership category for 2025/26, under the terms requested at the meeting on 8th October.

            Arising from discussion, it was noted that the Director of Neighbourhood Services would liaise with the Director of Property and Projects in respect of a presentation to the Committee on the planned future capital investment within the Council’s leisure estate.

            The Chairperson reminded the Committee that, at its meeting on 8th October, it had deferred consideration of the above-mentioned survey to enable a more detailed report to be submitted. It was noted that the updated report would provide additional detail on the survey outcomes, scoring matrixes and samples used.  In addition, the report would include further demographic detail and also reflect user experience in a more qualitative and user-friendly manner; and would seek also to incorporate the views of those users who had not partaken in the survey electronically.

            Accordingly, the Committee considered a further report and an associated appendix in this regard. The Strategic Director reported that the data contained therein contained additional information which had broadened the overall citywide survey feedback, together with centre-specific outcomes. The revised survey contained also a cross section of the service improvement plan based on the customer feedback received. He added that the survey had generated 2,983 responses across the leisure estate, with 1,632 qualitative comments recorded.

            The Committee noted the information which had been provided and welcomed the revised format in which the information had been provided.

            Arising from discussion in the aforementioned matters, the Chairperson advised the Committee that Mr. Noel Munnis, the Partnership Manager within the Department, would be retiring from the Council at the end of December. The Chairperson, on behalf of the Committee, conveyed thanks to Mr. Munnis for his long-standing dedication and service to the Council and wished him well on his retirement. Several Members paid tribute to Mr. Munnis for his work with the Committee over the years.

The Strategic Director of City and Neighbourhood Services summarised the contents of the report which gave an overview of the Department’s financial position as of quarter 2 of 2023/24.

            The Committee noted the contents of the report and the financial reporting pack.

            The Committee agreed to defer consideration of the Community Support Plan to enable further examination and discussion to be undertaken between political parties and officers, particularly in respect of the viability of the funding model with a view that the matter be considered also within the wider rate-setting process for 2025/26.

“1.0     Purpose of Report/Summary of Main Issues

1.1To present additional detail on the emerging proposals being brought forward by    Officers in terms of the role of the Council in supporting the implementation of the recently published Strategic Framework to End Violence Against Women and Girls and The Executive Office’s associated two-year delivery plan.

2.0Recommendation

2.1That Members consider the following expanded proposals in relation to implementation of the EVAWG delivery plan in the city including:

i.       Make comments and agree allocation of £110,000 momentum funding to deliver an action plan across 9 thematic areas to support immediate in-year actions while the change fund is being established.

ii.     Approve the open call of a small grants programme to the community and voluntary sector to deliver projects between April 2025 and March 2026.

iii.    Agree to Administer funding which TEO assessed and is in the process of awarding eight leading CVS EVAWG expert organisations under the £1.2m Regional Change Fund to increase delivery and co-ordination of community, school and workplace based programmes and initiatives up to March 2026.

3.0Main Report

3.1At the SP&R Committee of 25^th October 2024, the Director of Neighbourhood Services submitted a report which provided details on the emerging proposals being brought forward by The Executive Office (TEO) in terms of the role of the Council in supporting the implementation of the recently published Strategic Framework to End Violence Against Women and Girls (EVAWG) and associated two-year delivery plan.

3.2The Committee noted the proposal and agreed that Council adopt a lead role for the allocation of Strand 1 funding to support a Belfast wide programme of activities in-year and over 25/26 year; and agreed that the Council also adopt a lead role for the allocation of Strand 2 funding to support a regionally wide programme of activities.

3.3ENDING VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND GIRLS – Belfast Change Fund

      The EVAWG Change Fund is an investment in community-based action over 15 months to March 2026 to support the Prevention Outcomes within the Strategic Framework to End Violence Against Women and Girls, which are:

3.4There are two distinct strands to the Change Fund:

-       Strand 1 – Equip community groups to prevent and respond to violence against women and girls.  This will be supported by a localised grant scheme (£255k) with calls opening in the New Year to support delivery of projects from April 2025 to March 2026.

-       Strand 2 – Resource and mobilise regional community and voluntary sector to drive society wide action so that everyone understands what VAWG is and knows how to prevent it.  A £1.2m fund to increase delivery and co-ordination of community, school and work place based programmes and initiatives by leading CVS EVAWG expert organisations.

3.5While the Change Fund is being established, TEO have agreed to utilise a momentum fund to support immediate action.  The Belfast fund of £110k will enable council to implement emergency responses in the period to March 2025 in order to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6b

            The Committee granted approval for the undertaking of a recruitment exercise to appoint a full complement of members of the Youth Council.

            It was noted that any promotional information in this regard would outline the time commitments associated with serving on the Youth Council and that further utilisation of any reserve list of successful candidates would be examined. In response to a Member’s request, the Director of Neighbourhood Services undertook to circulate information regarding the recruitment exercise to Elected Members for their information as and when the trawl was due to commence.

            The Committee considered the following report:

‘1.0Purpose of Report or Summary of main Issues

1.1   To provide an update to members on waste collections, management and performance.

2.0Recommendations

2.1The Committee is requested to note the contents of this report and to support the proposal to develop and introduce a HWRC Waste Access and Acceptance Policy.

3.0Main report

      Key Issues

      Waste Performance & Recycling Rates 

3.1The most recent waste statistics published by the NIEA are the April to June 2024 quarterly statistics.  The report is a snapshot of the first quarter of the 24/25 financial year versus the same period for the previous year.

3.2The overall picture for NI was one of; an increasing quantity of waste collected (271,500 tonnes collected, up 1.5%), a static municipal reuse and recycling rate (53.8%) combined with a significant decrease in the landfill disposal rate, down to 15.4% the lowest quarterly landfill rate ever recorded.

3.3An examination of the figures for Belfast City Council, indicates the following;

·        Municipal Waste Arisings - the total tonnage of all types of waste collected by the Council was 42,566 tonnes. This is an increase of approximately 825 tonnes (2%) on the same quarter last year.

·        Municipal Waste Recycling Rate – the percentage of all types of waste collected by the Council which was re-used, recycled or composted, increased by 2.8% to 41.5%. This increase was primarily due to increased organic tonnages. 

·        Household Waste Recycling Rate– the percentage of household waste only collected by the Council which was re- used, recycled or composted, increased by 3.6% to 44.9%.

·        Landfill Diversion Rate – the percentage of all Council waste sent to landfill was 0.6%, down from 28% in the previous year.

      For Q1 2024/25 the main contributors to the uplift in these figures were

·        the increased tonnage of organic waste captured and

·        the onboarding of the new arc21, interim residual waste treatment contract, resulting in significant quantities (10,800 tonnes) of waste being diverted from landfill to energy recovery.

3.4As noted within this report and brought to the attention of Members through various consultation responses, there are a number of legislative, strategic and financial drivers which are going to shape future waste management arrangements. The full nature and implications of these policy drivers still remain somewhat unclear and in the absence of sufficient clarity, radical, systemic change aimed at delivering significant improvements in NI environmental targets is unlikely.

3.5Waste Framework Update

      At the People & Communities Committee meeting of June 2017, Members approved the Waste Framework document.  It provides an overview of options on how waste could be managed within the city over the next decade.  It was developed to align with the objectives of the Belfast Agenda and Resourceful Belfast (Circular Economy), designing out waste, improving the quantity and quality of recycling and supporting local jobs.

3.6Inner City Recycling Scheme Update

      On 1 August 2024, the new contract for the delivery of the kerbside recycling in the inner city commenced with service  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7a

            (Mr. J. McConnell, City Services Manager (Resources and Fleet) attended in connection with this item.)

            The Committee considered the following report:

“1.0      Purpose of Report/Summary of Main Issues

1.1The purpose of this report is to update Members on the progress made to date in the planning and launch of three initiatives to improve the service delivery and recycling performance of Waste Collections within Resources and Fleet. These initiatives are

·        Small Streets Pilot with PSNI/DFI (Park With Us in Mind)

·        Introduction of Small Vehicles for Difficult to Access Streets

·        Expansion of Separate Glass Collection Services.

2.0Recommendation

2.1Members are requested to note the contents of the report, in particular

·        The status of the collaborative work with PSNI/DFI

·        the phased introduction of small vehicle routes to difficult to access streets commencing 12th August 2024

·        the update and proposed rollout timelines and streets for Phase 1 of expanded glass collections 

3.0Main Report

3.1Small Streets Pilot in collaboration with PSNI and DFI.

3.2Members will be aware that this pilot was launched on 6th May 2024, with the first area identified as the side streets from the Stranmillis Road in the University area. The plan was envisaged to run as follows. The overall scheme envisages three ‘cycles’ in these areas over a period of approximately 18 months. The first cycle is complete, and the second cycle will take place as follows, each to cover a period of 6 weeks.

3.3Officers are now in a position to provide some analysis and data to compare both crew reports and customer contact levels covering the 6 weeks prior to intervention compared to the 6 weeks of the intervention period for each of the areas. The data comes from two sources

·        Operational crew reports of not being able to access streets or blocked alleyway entrances etc

·        Customer contact data in relation to residents in the relevant streets reporting non collections

3.4Table 1 Reported instances by crews and Customers

3.5Chart 1 Reports by Crews by target area

      Chart 2 Customer contacts from residents for missed collections

3.7From this initial set of data it would seem that there has been some improvements in accessing most areas more frequently.

·        In 5 of the 6 areas crew  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7b

            The Committee considered the following report:

“1.0      Purpose of Report/Summary of Main Issues

1.1       This report is to provide an update on progress on implementation of Pitch Partner Agreements for 1 April 2024 – 31 October 2024.

2.0       Recommendation

2.1       Committee are asked to note the progress to date at Partner Agreement sites and that partner agreements have been extended until 31 March 2025 or until new arrangements are put in place following completion of the Community Asset Transfer Pilot. 

3.0       Main Report

3.1       Legal Agreements

            Council agreed to enter into Partner Agreements at the following sites with the clubs identified below. The Agreements are for a period of 5 years with option to extend for up to a further two years. The department has extended all of the Agreements beyond the initial 5-year period and up to 31 March 2024.

3.2       Agreement Extension

            On 12 March 2024, Committee agreed to extend existing Pitch Partner Agreements until 31 March 2025.

3.3       Partner Agreement Sites

3.4       Regular checks on the necessary Insurance, Health and Safety and Governance have been completed at all sites. The reporting documents were amended in accordance with audit requirements and sent to partners one month in advance of reporting deadlines. All partners are compliant on these matters.

3.5       Financial Support to deliver Sports Development Plans

            All partners submitted their plans in early 2024 to improve sports development outcomes at each site in the 2024 – 2025 financial year.

            Funding of up to £20,000 per annum has been available for each partner to deliver a programme supporting their Sports Development Plan. Letters of offer to all partners are based on approved sports development plans for the financial year. Partners must submit Sports Development plans annually which are aligned to the financial planning calendar for the incoming year.

3.6       Monitoring

            Quarterly monitoring meetings with our delivery partners continue to take place. These meetings include updates on site management and bookings, health and safety, finance and their sports development plan. Action plans are reviewed and agreed with the partners during these discussions to ensure that planned outcomes are achieved, and improvements identified where required.

3.7       Sports Development Impact

            In line with Council objectives, the diversification of use and improved sports development impact are priorities at the partner agreement sites. Programme delivery continues to achieve positive achievements across the sites.

3.8       The table below indicates outputs at the sites as reported by the 7 partners for Quarters 1 & 2 (April-October 2024).

            At its meeting on 5th November, the Committee had requested that a report be submitted which would contain additional detail in relation to the provision of advice services offered by the Council, particularly in respect of the extent of outreach services available across the city.

            Accordingly, the Committee considered a report in this regard which had been prepared by the Director of Neighbourhood Services, together with an associated appendix which outlined the location of advice provision services across Belfast. 

            The Committee noted the contents of the report and its associated appendix.

            The Committee considered the following report:

“1.0      Purpose of Report/Summary of Main Issues

1.1       The Committee will recall that at its meeting of 9th January 2024, it considered a paper concerning monitoring of ambient air quality in the vicinity of a number of primary schools across the city to help to inform Action 22 of the 2021-2026 Belfast City Air Quality Action Plan concerning a pilot scheme for the designation of ‘school streets’.

1.2       A ‘School Street’ is a road or street outside of a school where a temporary restriction on motorised traffic is applied at am ‘drop-off’ and pm ‘pick-up’ times during the school day, resulting in a safer and environmentally improved local environment. The restriction is typically applied to both school and through traffic. This Action Plan measure has been proposed jointly by Sustrans and the Department for Infrastructure. 

1.3       The Committee was advised in the 9th January 2024 report that council Air Quality Officers had liaised with Sustrans in order to identify a selection of primary schools situated throughout the city where transport related ambient air quality monitoring in their localities might be undertaken to help inform the designation of School Streets. Selection criteria applied in the identification of suitable schools included: ? Is there much traffic congestion at the school gates? ? Does the infrastructure / road layout around the school seem suitable for a future intervention such as School Streets? ? Is the school keen to increase active travel among pupils? ? Is the school in the Active School Travel programme?

1.4       Accordingly, eight primary schools were initially suggested by Sustrans, which were then subsequently surveyed by the council officers to identify suitable monitoring and mounting locations, resulting in the council agreeing to install Earthsense Zephyr ambient air quality monitors initially in the vicinity of the following four primary schools;  Rosetta Primary School, Knockbreda Rd; Belvoir Park Primary School, Belvoir Drive; Holy Rosary Primary School, Sunnyside Crescent and; Holy Evangelists’ Primary School and Nursery Unit, Glasvey Drive, Dunmurry.

1.5       The air quality monitors were variously installed from mid-March 2024 onwards and for the purposes of this project, monitoring data has been considered until the end of July 2024, to obtain nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) and particulate matter (PM₁₀ and PM_2.5) air pollution measurements and trends whilst the schools were in operation and by way of comparator, during the July holiday period.

1.6       This paper provides for the Committee’s consideration of summary monitoring data for nitrogen dioxide and particulate matter for the four primary schools, expressed as hourly and monthly means, and weekday and weekend diurnal (24-hour profile) nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) means. The paper also considers exceedances of relevant air quality objectives for nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) and particulate matter (PM₁₀ and PM_2.5).  

2.0       Main Report

2.1       The Committee is advised that council air quality officers installed solar powered Earthsense Zephyr small sensor air quality monitors in the vicinity of the above-mentioned four primary schools from mid-March 2024 onwards.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7e

            The Director of City Services reminded the Committee that, at its meeting on 10th September, it had noted the contents of the Council’s 2024 Updating and Screening Assessment (USA) and had agreed that it be submitted to the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) for independent consideration and appraisal. However, at that meeting, the Committee had agreed, in principle, not to move to revoke the Ormeau Road and Upper Newtownards Road Air Quality Management Areas – which had been recommended by DEARA – but to await DEARA’s independent assessment of the Council’s 2024 report.

            Accordingly, the Committee considered a report, the portion of which in respect of the above matter is set out hereunder:

“1.3      The council has now received a Bureau Veritas technical assessors’ report from DAERA concerning the appraisal of its 2024 USA, which, in addition to accepting the report and publishing it on the DAERA NI Air website recommends that the council should now progress revocation of AQMA No. 3 - Upper Newtownards Road and AQMA No. 4 – Ormeau Road.

1.4       Bureau Veritas have also suggested that the council should liaise with DAERA to consider additionally revoking the Cormac Street and Albertbridge Road AQMA and revoking the M1 Motorway / A12 Westlink corridor AQMA for exceedances of the 1-hour mean objective for nitrogen dioxide. 

1.5       DAERA have asked that Belfast City Council reverts to the Air and Environmental Quality Unit with a timescale for revocation of the AQMAs and any associated planned public communications so that the Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affair’s Minister may be briefed accordingly.

1.6       The formal process for revoking an AQMA is detailed from section ‘3.53 Amendment and Revocation of AQMAs’ of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) Local Air Quality Management Technical Guidance LAQM.TG(22) and within Article 12 Designation of air quality management areas of The Environment (Northern Ireland) Order 2002.

1.7       DAERA and Bureau Veritas have commented that the council’s 2024 USA report has been completed to a high standard, with additional appropriate appendices to show the further work that the Council is undertaking to improve air quality within its area of jurisdiction.”

            A Member outlined his opposition to the recommendation by DEARA that the Council should move to revoke the current Air Quality Management Areas at the Upper Newtownards Road and the Ormeau Road. He pointed out that air quality standards had improved significantly in those two areas and had been sustained over several years. He added that DEARA’s recommendations to revoke the monitors had been based on the fact that both areas now met the UK’s air quality standards. However, he suggested that the Council should continue to monitor the two areas in an attempt to meet the standards for air quality management as recommended by the World Health Organisation, which, it was suggested, was the benchmark which the Council should be working towards.  

            The Committee noted the contents of the report and the independent assessment of the Council’s 2024 Update and  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7f

The Strategic Director of City and Neighbourhood Services reminded the Committee that, at its meeting on 9th January, 2024, it had agreed to enter into a legal agreement with the George Best Belfast City Airport to permit access to Victoria Park to facilitate the management of rook nests. The management of the nests was one of the obligations under the airport’s Wildlife Hazard Assessment and Civil Aviation Authority Licence, which required the airport to identify potential sources of risk to aircrafts using the airport. The Committee was advised that a further request had been submitted by the airport authorities seeking to extend the current agreement to address a reported increase in the number of rooks nesting in the vicinity of Victoria Park. The work, he pointed out, which would include the removal of old nests and the undertaking of nesting site discouragement, was required to be completed by mid-January 2025.

Accordingly, the Strategic Director of City and Neighbourhood Services indicated that, if approved, he would exercise his delegated authority to for the Council to enter into a legal agreement with the airport authorities under the terms as agreed previously. 

The Committee approved the course of action outlined by the Strategic Director and acceded to the request from the George Best Belfast City Airport to grant access under licence to facilitate rook nest management within Victoria Park.

            The Committee considered a request which had been received from a Ms. Sophie Lusby seeking permission to host a ‘Preloved Sale for Gaza’ in the Ormeau Park Bowling Pavilion on Saturday, 1st February, 2025.

            The Committee granted authority for the hosting of the event, subject to the completion of the appropriate event management plans and satisfactory terms being agreed by the Strategic Director of City and Neighbourhood Services and on the following conditions, that the organisers:

·        resolve all operational issues to the Council’s satisfaction;

·        meet all statutory requirements, including Public Liability Insurance cover, Health and Safety, and licensing responsibilities; and

·        consult with adjoining public bodies and local communities as necessary.

            The Committee noted that the above decision was taken as a pre-policy position in advance of the Council agreeing to a more structured framework and policy for events, which was currently being considered in conjunction with the Council’s commercial team.

            The Committee agreed to the erection of a second street nameplates in Irish at Newington Street, Chichester Road, Deerpark Road, Kerrykeel Gardens, Glenties Drive, Ashton Park, Newforge Grange, Ashley Grove, Lagmore Meadows, Riverdale Park West, Credenhill Park, Brooke Drive, Riverdale Park North, Ardmore Park South, Stewartstown Road, Wolfhill Drive and Kansas Avenue.

The Committee approved to the naming of a new street in the city as Lagmore Way.

            With the permission of the Chairperson, Councillor Flynn reminded the Committee that, on 5th February, 2024, it had considered a notice of motion which he had submitted to the Council under the heading ‘Biodiversity in Council Parks and Open Spaces’. At that meeting, the Committee had agreed officers would submit a report to a future meeting to consider how the Council could commission a survey of parks and green spaces to create a list of priority habitats and species therein.

            It was noted that a report in this regard would be submitted for the Committee’s consideration at its meeting in January.