From

To

Subject

1

Councillor Churchill

Councillor Drean

Dawes Lane Cycle Lane

Response: The relevant team had been looking into this and had come up with some alternatives, some of which include going on private land, so negotiations were ongoing. The teams were talking to local cycling groups about the options.

2

Councillor Mrs Aspinall

Councillor Wakeham

Tree Pruning affecting Leaf Litter

Response: The teams were approaching this issue the best they could, they were acting when there is a higher volume with leaf litter.

Supplementary: Tree Pruning of overly large trees

Response: Councillor Wakeham asked for the email to be forwarded and he would look into whether it could be prioritised in the order of pruning works due for Winter 2022/23.

3

Councillor Briars-Delve

Councillor Drean

Pedestrian Safety on busy junctions and school routes

Response: Councillor Drean agreed that pedestrian safety on bus junctions and school routes should be key priorities when allocating funding for highways projects.

Supplementary: The Millbridge Crossroads on Molesworth Road had had eight collisions in recent years and had 5 nearby schools; a pedestrian crossing scheme had been design but cancelled due to budget issues.

Response: Councillor Drean explained that crossings are normally so expensive due to the utilities beneath the surface and the need for special paving. Councillor Drean agreed to a site visit

4

Councillor Coker

Councillor Drean

Ability to deal with heavy rainfall in comparison to 2019

Response: Councillor Drean explained that the biggest challenge was the volume of leaves and he had asked for more letterbox gullies to be put in to help with the issue.

Supplementary: Several drains and areas were repeatedly flooding.

Response: The Council was working with South West Water and the Environmental Agency. Cameras were being put down these drains to see where the physical problems were within.

5

Councillor Poyser

Councillor Drean

Armada Way Trees Consultation

Response: Councillor Drean had met with the group already to explain the situation and he would be talking to the tree experts about the scheme and would be happy to meet with them again if necessary once he had that information.

6

Councillor Singh

Councillor Drean

Dale Road/Beechwood Avenue Flooding Hotspot

Response: Councillor Drean would be happy to attend a site visit with Councillor Singh and members of the Highways team. Councillor Drean further explained that there were sometimes issues for teams with parked cars etc when trying to clear drains.

Supplementary: Do the Highways Team try to visit at times when cars are less likely to be parked at the location?

Response: The Highways team had two reactive vehicles with a third vehicle doing reactive and emergency.

7

Councillor Kelly

The Leader

Councillor Code of Conduct

Response: The same time the previous year The Leader had wanted Councillor Kelly to resign.

8

Councillor Goslin

Councillor Drean

Lessons learnt from consultation on removal of trees on Armada Way

Response: the project had begun in 2018, picked up by Councillor Drean in 2021. He would continue to engage with the public.

Supplementary: 84% agreed with the plans, but how many people were consulted in total?

Response: Councillor Drean agreed to find out the information and send it over to Councillor Goslin outside of the meeting.

9

Councillor Nicholson

Councillor Smith

Housing Associations responded to complaints from tenants and actions taken.

Response: Following the findings in Rochdale, the Council would be ensuring they had all the relevant procedures in place to ensure the same situation never happened in Plymouth. There was a robust complaints procedure and in response to a letter received from the Secretary of State, the Council would be analysing what was going on across the city to ensure that housing associations were doing exactly as they should be to ensure that living in a housing association property was safe.

Supplementary: Briefing Note to all Councillors on the subject

Response: Councillor Smith agreed to provide all Councillors with a briefing note.

10

Councillor Holloway

The Leader

£150 Parking Bay Proposals

Response: The Leader did not agree with local charities who had described the proposed £150 parking bay proposals as a “disability tax”. There was a substantial budget deficit of £37 million and had the Cabinet had looked at various money-raising initiatives and savings which had been sent to scrutiny. Over 300 services across the Council would likely be severely impacted by the savings that had to be made in unprecedented time in terms of finance for local government.

Supplementary: Impact Assessments with disability focus

Response: Equality Impact Assessments are carried out and would cover disabilities. The Leader would review to see if more could be done, but explained he was currently satisfied with the process. The Leader asked Councillor Holloway to get in touch via email about any specific services.

11

Councillor Haydon

Councillor Wakeham

Weston Mill to be opened full time as promised in the manifesto.

Response: Weston Mill would be kept open at its current times, it was running well and local residents were in general very happy.

12

Councillor Hulme

Councillor Patel

Enforcement of illegal parking in Taxi Ranks

Response: Councillor Patel suggested that if taxi drivers find members of the public parked illegally in their ranks that they take the number plate and report it to the Police

13

Councillor Laing

Councillor Patel

Contact Centre Emergency Line

Response: Councillor Patel was not aware of the wait time that morning.

Supplementary: Councillor Laing has been cut off 7 times whilst trying to report flooding on the emergency line – how can residents report emergencies if the number is not working?

Response: Councillor Patel agreed that it was unacceptable and an alternative way of reporting emergency issues was being looked into.

14

Councillor Mrs Aspinall

Councillor Drean

Changes to Bus Routes to be advertised further than online

Response: Councillor Drean had hoped this was going to be done by the bus companies as they had opted not to use Mayflower Street whilst works were underway by he would speak to them to try and rectify this.

15

Councillor Coker

Councillor Wakeham

Leaf Fall prioritisation in residential areas

Response: Areas were being prioritised due to pressures and availability.

Supplementary: Areas had been prioritised, but there had been reports of several residents falling.

Response: The team is doing their best, but leaf fall is persistent. Areas are be prioritised. Councillor Wakeham offered to look into the area Councillor Coker was referring to.

16

Councillor Poyser

Councillor Patel

Blue Badge Application Delays

Response: Councillor Patel confirmed he was aware of the issue but the badges were completed through a Gov.UK website, which is where the delay was.

Supplementary: Awareness of this for residents.

Response: Councillor Patel would provide clarity on the process for Councillors.

17

Councillor Singh

Councillor Drean

Daytime Bus Services being cut but there was a bus serving the night time economy

Response: Councillor Drean clarified that the bus that was being put on Saturday Nights was not funded by the Council, it had been funded through Safer Streets. The difficulties with the budget mean difficult decisions have had to be made and therefore some routes have to be changed and some cancelled. 9 out of 14 routes were kept. Councillor Drean was speaking to bus companies about routes to serve communities who could be isolated by these decisions, but the decision was made based on patronage numbers.

Supplementary: When decisions are taken with regards to cutting services such as bus services could a consultation take place with ward councillors and the community?

Response: Conversations were taking place to help better serve residents with bus routes with bus companies following feedback from the public and Councillors.

18

Councillor Mrs Beer

Councillor Bingley

Apology to Former Lord Mayor following a leaked telephone conversation

Response: Councillor Bingley questioned the date of the event mentioned in the question as it was in the month before the telephone conversation was leaked.

Councillor Beer explained the event in question was at Boringdon Golf Club in approximately March.

19

Councillor Coker

Councillor Drean

Tendered Bus Services withdrawal due to budget savings

Response: Some quotes for tendered services have been double what they have been in the past. There was a benchmark of £2 per passenger on the NCR with new contracts quoting £4-£18. Budget constraints as well as patronage had been considered when making the decision.

Supplementary: Were savings being made that could otherwise be used for concessionary or subsidised bus routes?

Response: The decisions had considered based on budget and patronage and were out for consultation. Councillor Drean offered to share more information when it was available.