Agenda and minutes

An apology was reported on behalf of Councillor Verner.

            The minutes of the meeting of 11th October were taken as read and signed as correct.  It was reported that the minutes had been adopted by the Council at its meeting on 1st November.

            Following a query, the Members were advised that the report in respect of item 3 (a), Community Provision Grants Update was an update report on previous allocations and that no decisions were required.

            No Declarations were reported. 

            The Committee approved the schedule of meetings for the People and Communities Committee as outlined below and agreed that all meetings would commence at 5.15 pm:

·        Tuesday 10th January at 5.15 pm

·        Tuesday 7th February at 5.15 pm

·        Tuesday 7th March at 5.15 pm

·        Wednesday 22nd March at 5.15 pm – Special - Housing Update

·        Tuesday 4th April at 5.15 pm

·        (No Meeting in May – Local Government Elections)

·        Tuesday 6th June at 5.15 pm

·        Monday 26th June at 5.15 pm - Special - Youth Council

·        Tuesday 8th August at 5.15 pm

·        Wednesday 30th August at 5.15 pm – Special - Housing HIP Update

·        Tuesday 12th September at 5.15 pm

·        Wednesday 27th September at 5.15 pm – Special - Youth Council

·        Tuesday 10th October at 5.15 pm

·        Thursday 2nd November at 5.15 pm – Special – Housing Update

·        Tuesday 7th November at 5.15 pm

·        Tuesday 5th December at 5.15 pm

·        Monday 18th December at 5.15 pm – Special - Youth Council

            The information contained in the reports associated with the following two items is 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 Committee meeting during discussion on the following 2 items as, due to their nature, there would be a disclosure of exempt information as described in Section 42(4) and Section 6 of the Local Government Act (Northern Ireland) 2014.

            The Committee considered requests seeking permission for the use of various parks and facilities during 2023, as follows:

·     Belfast Vital / Emerge - Additional Dates – Boucher Road Playing Fields;

·     Panoramic Wheel – Botanic Gardens; and

·     Fundamania – Boucher Road Playing Fields.

            The Members discussed the requests and stated that, whilst they acknowledged the value of such events to the city, they were keen to ensure that disruption for local residents was mitigated for where possible.

            Following a query, the Director of Neighbourhood Services confirmed that, as agreed at the August meeting, officers were currently liaising with the various stakeholders and Elected Members to arrange a ‘mop up’ meeting to consider the issues that had been raised immediately following this year’s events.

            Several Members welcomed the meeting as they felt that there was learning that could be taken from this year’s events, specifically regarding noise and security.  They stated that they were keen to progress a more collaborative approach with the event organisers and statutory partners to ensure the successful delivery of such events.

            Some discussion ensued regarding areas that could be further improved, this included enhanced disability access and the provision of changing places facilities.

            The Committee granted authority for the aforementioned requests and delegated authority to the Director of Neighbourhood Services to:

·        negotiate a fee where appropriate which recognised the costs to Council and endeavoured to minimise any negative impact on the immediate area and take account of the potential wider benefit to the city economy, in conjunction with the Council’s Commercial Manager; and

·        negotiate satisfactory terms and conditions of use via an appropriate legal agreement to be prepared by the City Solicitor, including managing final booking confirmation dates and flexibility around ‘set up’ and take down’ periods, and booking amendments, subject to:

o   The organisers resolving any operational issues to the Council’s satisfaction;

o   Compliance with Coronavirus restrictions in place at the time of the event;

o   the organisers meeting all the statutory requirements of the Planning and Building Control Service, including the terms and conditions of the Park’s Entertainment Licence.

            The Committee also granted multiple year approval for Fundamania at the Boucher Road Playing Fields and the Panoramic Wheel at Botanic for a three-year period (2023 – 2025), with the provision that all events with a multiple year approval would be subject to an annual review. The Director of Neighbourhood Services was granted authority, under the scheme of delegation, to remove the permission for subsequent years, if necessary, based on findings from annual reviews and upon officer recommendation.

            The Committee noted that the above recommendations were taken as a pre-policy position, in advance of the Council agreeing a more structured framework and policy for ‘Events’, which was currently being taken forward in conjunction with the Council’s Commercial Team.

The Director of Resources and Fleet drew the Members’ attention to a report detailing the findings of the use of Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO) as a replacement for fossil diesel in terms of greenhouse gas and air quality emissions.

            A Member referred to the use of palm oil in the production of HVO, stating that he had grave concerns regarding its use as it was not the sustainable alternative that it was purported to be.

            The Members noted that in the twelve-month period September 2021 – August 2022, the Council Fleet had consumed approximately 1,062,693 litres of diesel of which 936,710 litres had been supplied from the bulk storage at Duncrue Complex.  This represented approximately 88% of diesel usage and would be the figure affected by the transition to HVO.

            The Director also referred to the AECOM fleet strategy report that had been commissioned in 2021.  As a key interim measure, prior to introducing electric powered vehicles, AECOM had recommended that the fleet should be powered by a non-fossil fuel, namely HVO, a low carbon fuel with less pollutants in terms of air quality. 

            The Director advised that, following the recommendation, Resources and Fleet had run a trail on HVO during the summer of 2022 using a small cross section of fleet vehicles and she referred to the results, which included detail in respect of vehicle performance.

            The Director outlined that the proposed transition from diesel to HVO would incur more cost, given the increased fuel costs due to worldwide events, HVO had now been quoted at £1.75 per litre. Extrapolating this cost variance of 30 pence per litre (for diesel) across the current 936,710 litres of bunker fuel would indicate an approximate annual uplift of £281k. She advised that these revised figures would be absorbed under Resources and Fleet Uncontrollable Costs for the financial year 2023/24.

            The Committee noted the intention to transition all bunker fuelled vehicles to Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO) as soon as it could be procured.

            (Mrs. M. Higgins, Lead Officer – Community Provision, attended in connection with this item.)

            The Committee considered the following report:

“1.0      Purpose of Report or Summary of main Issues

1.1             The purpose of this paper is to:

·        Provide information requested by members at P&C committee meeting in October 22.

2.0       Recommendations

2.1       The Committee is asked to:

·        Note the contents of the report.

3.0       Main report

3.1       Background

            At October committee members requested that officers present the following information:

1.     Analysis of how capacity and revenue grants had been allocated on a geographic basis previously.

2.      Identification of capacity issues including potential solutions to this in terms of enhancing/increasing capacity to apply for, and be successful in availing of, these grants.

3.      Further breakdown in relation to community of interest/targeting of section 75 groups.

3.2       Geographic analysis of awards

            Council made the decision to make some level of award to all applications that were received through the last open call for Capacity and Revenue funding in 20/21. Awards were made across 4 bands with the allocation being linked to the score achieved, further detail on the allocations is provided below. The quality threshold was 50%.  Members agreed to include a 4th funding band for groups falling below the quality threshold.

            A breakdown of awards by geographic area and community of interest and the band that they were awarded funding is provided below. The highlighted row indicates the % allocation that each area would receive if the current population/deprivation figures were used.

3.3

Capacity Building Grant

3.4

Revenue Grants for Community Buildings

            (Mr. A. McHaffie, Senior Woodland and Recreation Officer, and Ms. M. McAleer, Performance and Improvement Officer, attended in connection with this item.)

            The Chairperson welcomed to the meeting Mr. K. Rogers from Treeconomics, who joined remotely via Teams.

            Mr. Rogers commenced by providing a brief overview of the key aspects of the work to date on the Belfast Tree Strategy 2022 – 2032, this included detail regarding the consultative process with the various stakeholders, including the public. 

            He referred to the future vision for woodlands, hedges, and tree provision in the city, detailing that the strategy proposed to incorporate the aims of the Council and key city partners and to also be reflective of existing programmes, such as, Belfast One Million Trees, the Belfast Local Development Plan, the Belfast Agenda and to ensure that the final strategy would ultimately link with Belfast’s climate and well-being ambitions.

            He drew the Members’ attention to the vision of the Belfast Tree Strategy and discussed how this vision could be achieved, noting that the strategy would have a 10-year life span from its launch date and would set out a commitment to delivering key priorities and actions through a fully resources action plan which would be reviewed at approximately three yearly intervals. 

            The representative concluded by providing an overview of the targets, priorities and actions that had been identified, along with specific detail regarding how it was proposed that these could be delivered through the strategy.

            The Committee then considered the undernoted report:

“1.0      Purpose of Report or Summary of main Issues

1.1             The purpose of this summary report is to update Members on the outcome of the Belfast Tree Strategy Survey and final steps in the development of the Council’s draft Tree strategy.

2.0       Recommendation

2.1       The Committee is asked to consider the report and: 

1.      Note the results of the tree strategy survey and summary of respondent comments.

2.      Note the draft strategy and the final phase of consultation and engagement on it.

3.0       Main report

            Key Issues

3.1       Following a procurement exercise, Council appointed Treeconomics to work with to produce a Tree Strategy for Belfast.  Company details can be viewed via this link  About - Treeconomics  Treeconomics works internationally with community groups, research organisations, public bodies, municipalities, and private business to complete projects which highlight the value of trees.   They have a wealth of experience in this area of work having worked on similar projects with Birmingham City Council producing The Urban Forest Master Plan  Birmingham's Urban Forest Master Plan - Treeconomics  ,The London Borough of Ealing and a tree study for the Royal Parks in Hyde Park , London. 

3.2       The draft strategy focuses on the maintenance and development of the natural environment. Produced in accordance with national guidance, it is designed to provide robust and objective justification for future tree provision across Belfast.

3.3       In order to produce the draft strategy, we have engaged with key stakeholders through a series of workshops. Details of the stakeholders are acknowledged  ...  view the full minutes text for item 9.

            (Ms. K. Bentley, Director of Planning and Building Control, and Mr. I. Harper, Building Control Manager, attended in connection with this item.)

            The Director of Planning and Place took the Committee through a report which considered the potential to waive Building Regulation inspection fees for applications which included the provision of insulation.

            The Committee agreed to defer consideration of the report to the Strategic Policy and Resources Committee to enable it to be considered as part of the overall rate setting process.

The Director of City Services drew the Members’ attention to the updated Liaison Agreement between Northern Ireland District Councils, the Health and Safety Executive for NI (HSENI), the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) and the Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland (PONI) available here.  She explained that this document enabled the various statutory agencies to work together effectively during investigations of work-related deaths.

            The Members noted that the original document had been signed in 2007 and this revised protocol ensured that the agreement was up to date with current legislation and practice.

            The Committee agreed that the Council sign up to the revised Liaison Agreement for the Investigation of Work-Related Deaths.

            The Committee considered the following report:

“1.0      Purpose of Report or Summary of Main Issues

1.1       The Committee will be aware that the council has appointed Aecom Consultants via a competitive tender process to undertake a detailed ambient air quality assessment for the Belfast City Council area for nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) and fine particulate matter (PM_2.5). The council has declared four Air Quality Management Areas (AQMAs) across the city for a combination of exceedances of annual and 1-hour mean nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) air quality objectives. These exceedances are related principally to road transport emissions and so the AQMAs encompass arterial road routes. No AQMAs are currently declared for particulate matter (PM₁₀). Fine particulate matter (PM_2.5) is not currently in regulation for the purposes of the council’s statutory local air quality management functions but it is nevertheless being addressed as a component of the detailed assessment process.   

1.2       Information concerning progress with the detailed assessment was last formally provided to Committee at its meeting of 9th November 2021 as a component of a wider Air Quality Monitoring Report (Agenda item 9).  

1.3       At the meeting of the People and Communities Committee of 11th October 2022, the Committee requested that a report be brought to the November or December 2022 meeting concerning progress with the detailed assessment. This report serves to address that request.    

2.0       Recommendations

2.1       The Committee is requested to:

·        Note the contents of this report.

·        Consider whether the formal presentation by Aecom for the detailed assessment project can be considered as an agenda item at either the February or March 2023 scheduled meeting of the People and Communities Committee, or whether the Committee would wish to receive the presentation at a special meeting of the Committee.

3.0       Main report

            Key Issues

3.1       The Committee will be aware that the detailed assessment for nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) and fine particulate matter (PM_2.5) is comprised of a number of key components; namely, additional ambient monitoring for nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) and fine particulate matter (PM_2.5); automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) surveys to more accurately characterise the local road fleet and road transport emissions; development of an emission inventory for nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) and fine particulate matter (PM_2.5) for the Belfast City Council area and; detailed atmospheric dispersion modelling studies to identify the location and geographic extent of any exceedances of UK, European or World Health Organisation (WHO) air quality objectives, standards or guideline values. The Committee is advised that the WHO global air quality guideline values have been updated since the detailed assessment project was commenced. 

3.2       In addition to the council’s extensive air quality monitoring network, Aecom had recommended the installation of an additional six Zephyr small scale air quality monitors for NO₂ and PM_2,5, located so as to characterise principal sources of these  ...  view the full minutes text for item 12.

            The Committee considered the following report:

“1.0      Purpose of Report or Summary of main Issues

1.1            The purpose of this report is to update members on the proposed Community Infrastructure Pilot approved by Committee on 9th November 2021.

2.0       Recommendations

2.1       Members are asked to note and approve the update in terms of revised governance and timescales for the Community Infrastructure Pilot projects.

3.0       Main report

3.1       Background

            Community infrastructure is commonly defined as a complex system of facilities, programmes, and social networks that aims to improve people’s quality of life. These services, networks and physical assets work in tandem to form the foundation of a strong neighbourhood.

3.2       During Summer/Autumn 2021, Council commenced their engagement process to update the community plan for Belfast, the Belfast Agenda. The need to build and enhance community infrastructure and to contribute to neighbourhood regeneration across the four quadrants of the city has been identified as a priority and is a key commitment in the draft refreshed Belfast Agenda plan (due to be formally consulted on Jan-Mar 2023).

3.3       Committee (alongside Area Working Groups) previously considered reports in May and November 2021 which agreed the approach proposed within them (namely the development of Community Infrastructure Pilots) to help address weak community infrastructure in targeted localities, with members subsequently deciding that there should be 8 pilot projects developed (2 per area – N, S, E & W, rather than the 4 – one per area of the city initially proposed).

3.4       It was agreed that Neighbourhood Integration Managers, supported by the Neighbourhood Services Manager aligned with community planning and the community provision review, within Neighbourhood Services/CNS would lead on developing and delivering the approach, working alongside identified internal and external stakeholders, and key communities/community groups within the 8 areas selected.  The table below, outlines the NIM for each area, as well as the areas chosen by members for targeting.

3.5       Explanation for delay – resource

            pressures within CNS/Neighbourhood Services

            Planned development and delivery of the initiative has been significantly impacted since committee/council approval was given in late 2021.  In particular, the high level of vacancies which have existed within Neighbourhood Services (95 posts as at October 2022), has adversely impacted on the delivery of business-as-usual activities as well as any new or emerging work. In addition, in early 2022, the departures of both the Neighbourhood Services Director and one of the four Neighbourhood Services Managers, meant that the capacity of the senior team was also reduced by 40% for several months.  These factors, along with the need to reinstate business-as-usual activities which had been de-prioritised  ...  view the full minutes text for item 14.

The Committee noted that this item had been withdrawn from the agenda.

            The Director of Resources and Fleet advised the Members that, during early October 2022, Council officers had met with Councillor Groogan to explore the possibility of launching a pre-loved toys scheme with would aim to ease the financial burden on families during these challenging times.  They were reminded that this suggestion had been raised previously as a Motion. 

            The Director advised that officers had discussed the scheme with their counterparts in neighbouring councils which had operated similar successful initiatives in recent years, to establish good practice and to fast-track the project.

            She reported that it was proposed that the pilot would accept a range of pre-loved toys at the Council’s four recycling centres over a 3–4-week period in November. The toys would be stored in the re-use containers and East Belfast Mission (EBM), the organisation that currently collects re-use materials from the containers, and it had agreed to include the pre-loved toys in their collection round.

            The Members were advised that a social media campaign would inform the public as to which pre-loved toys were suitable for the scheme and the EBM would assess the toys for acceptability for sale and/or onward gifting. The EBM would store the toys and distribute to the distribution partners/charities. The toys would then be sold at a reduced rate by the distribution partners to members of the public or also be gifted by these parties. She reported that the distribution partners who had indicated a willingness to participate had established outlets located on main arterial routes; Newtownards Road (East), Park Centre off Falls Road (West), Antrim Road (North) and Botanic Avenue (South).

            The Director advised that, at the end of the pilot, the scheme would be evaluated to determine its success and to enable any learning points to be captured and considered for any similar future schemes.

            A Member welcomed the scheme and stated that she felt this would be a valuable pilot to study from a learning perspective as other potential schemes, such as a school uniform scheme, could learn from the pilot. 

            A Member raised the fact that other organisations or groups might also wish to be involved with the distribution in their local areas. 

            The Director stated that the proposed distribution partner list was not exclusive and advised the Members that should other groups or organisations be interested they should be asked to contact her, however, she reiterated the extremely tight timescales involved.

            The Committee granted delegated authority to the Director of Resources and Fleet to operate a pre-loved toys scheme in line with the proposal set out in the report and noted that should other groups or organisations be interested in helping with the distribution of the toys that their details should be forwarded to the Director.

            (Mr. A. Curran, Environmental Protection Manager, attended in connection with this item.)

            The Committee considered the undernoted report:

“1.0      Purpose of Report or Summary of Main Issues

1.1       At its hybrid meeting of 9th August 2022, under restricted agenda item 2e, wherein the Committee considered the Belfast City Council 2022 Air Quality Progress Report, as part of the resultant discussion concerning the Progress Report, a member of the Committee asked  for an update on enforcement action within the smokeless zones across the city. This report serves to address that request.

1.2       The Committee is advised that within Northern Ireland, statutory smoke control functions and enforcement are provided for via the Clean Air (Northern Ireland) Order 1981 and so is reflective of common industrial and domestic combustion processes and abatement technologies of that time.

1.3       Under the auspices of the above legislation, Smoke Control Areas were created to control emissions of smoke from industrial premises and homes in the city at a time when there was a greater reliance on coal fired appliances as the primary heating source for domestic premises. A grant was provided to domestic occupiers to assist with the conversion to approved ‘smokeless’ appliances.

1.4       Within Smoke Control Areas, residents are required to use authorised fuels commonly known as ‘smokeless fuels’ unless an exempt appliance has been installed. Businesses and industries are also required to take steps to ensure that dust, fumes grit and gases are minimised.

1.5       Smoke control works were substantially completed for the Belfast City Council area towards the late nineties, with most of the developed areas of the city designated as Smoke Control Areas, with the exception of the mountainous areas to the west / north west of the city, the port area and those areas subsumed from neighbouring councils under the 2015 Local Government Reform that were not designated as Smoke Control Areas by their previous council.

1.6       In view of more recent legislative controls for industrial and commercial activities, combined with consumer preferences for alternative heating systems such gas, oil and renewable technologies, the prevalence of solid fuel appliances in use across the city has declined over recent years. Accordingly, whilst particulate matter (PM₁₀) continues to be monitored at a number of locations across the city, concentrations do not currently warrant action under the Council’s local air quality management processes and objectives. The Committee will be aware that our current Air Quality Management Areas, which have been designated along a number of the city’s arterial routes, combined with our 2021-2026 Air Quality Action Plan, are primarily aimed at addressing the few remaining transport related nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) hotspots.

1.7       The Council continues to use its range of enforcement powers to address ambient air quality issues and complaints using a proportionate and graduated approach.

2.0       Recommendations

2.1       The Committee is requested to

            Note the contents of this report.

3.0       Main report

            Key Issues

3.1       The Committee is advised that the Clean Air (Northern Ireland) Order  ...  view the full minutes text for item 18.