Venue: Meetign Room 1, Abbey House, Abingdon, OX14 3JE
Contact: Emily Barry, Democratic Services Tel: 07717272442
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Chair's announcements To receive any announcements from the chair and general housekeeping matters. Minutes: The chair welcomed everyone to the meeting, outlined the procedure to be followed and advised on emergency evacuation arrangements. |
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Apologies for absence To record apologies for absence. Minutes: Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Kiera Bentley, Cheryl Briggs Neil Fawcett, Oliver Forder and Bethia Thomas. |
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To adopt and sign as a correct record the General Licensing Committee minutes of the meeting held on 30 September 2024. Minutes: RESOLVED: to approve the minutes of the meeting held on 30 September 2024 as a correct record and agree that the Chair sign them as such.
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Declarations of interest To receive any declarations of disclosable pecuniary interests and any conflicts of interest in respect of items on the agenda for this meeting. Minutes: There were no declarations of interest.
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Urgent business To receive notification of any matters which the chair determines should be considered as urgent business and the special circumstances which have made the matters urgent. Minutes: There was no urgent business.
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Public participation To receive any questions or statements from members of the public that have registered to speak. Minutes: There were no registered speakers.
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Update to the Joint Contaminated Land Strategy To consider the report of the Head of Housing and Environment in relation to an update to the council’s Joint Contaminated Land Strategy. Additional documents:
Minutes: Scott Williams, the Environmental Services Manager presented the report. The Council has a legal duty to publish a contaminated land strategy. The primary purpose of the report was to seek approval for the adoption of the updated strategy and to propose that future minor changes, such as legislative updates, be managed through an Individual Cabinet Member Decision (ICMD).
The officer outlined that The Council had a legal duty to periodically review this strategy to ensure it remained current. Since its original publication in 2001, there had been significant changes in legislation and statutory guidance. The report aimed to present an updated version of the contaminated land strategy, now simplified to align with current legislative requirements.
The updated strategy ensured compliance with statutory guidance and reflected the Council's current approach to addressing contaminated land primarily through the planning regime. Land contamination was a material planning consideration and had to be considered when determining planning applications. Planning decisions needed to ensure that a site was suitable for its proposed use, taking into account ground conditions and any risks from land contamination. After remediation, as a minimum, land should not be capable of being classified as contaminated under Part 2A of the Environmental Protection Act 1990, which provided a means of identifying and remediating land posing significant risks to health or the environment when no alternative solutions existed.
The production of the Council's updated contaminated land strategy had been completed and was being presented to the Licensing Committee for approval. The Environmental Services Manager was joined by officers from the Environmental Protection team, who were ready to answer any questions the committee had about the newly proposed strategy.
During the members' discussion, a question was raised about the relationship between the Environment Agency (EA) and the district council, specifically regarding any overlap or interaction between the two. Officers clarified that the Environment Agency would be involved in cases concerning special sites, such as those involving controlled water. Whereas the district council would be responsible if just the land itself was contaminated.
RESOLVED: That the Committee: (a) Adopt the updated Joint Contaminated Land Strategy Policy 2024 (b) Agreed that any future minor changes (such as legislation updates) to the Strategy are dealt with under an Individual Cabinet Member Decision (ICMD)
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Revocation of the Abingdon Air Quality Management Area (AQMA) To consider the report of the Head of Housing and Environment in relation to the revocation of the Abingdon Air Quality Management Area (AQMA). Minutes: Scott Williams, the Environmental Services Manager presented the report presented the report. The primary purpose of the report was to inform the committee of the requirement to formally revoke the Abingdon AQMA, in line with the council’s Joint Air Quality Action Plan (AQAP) adopted on 8 February 2024. The Council has a legal duty to assess and manage air quality in the district, declaring Air Quality Management Areas (AQMAs) when national objectives are not being met and revoking them when compliance is achieved. This report seeks formal approval to revoke the Abingdon Air Quality Management Area, which has met national air quality objectives since 2017. The Council is obligated to revoke AQMAs, and by approving this revocation, it will comply with DEFRA's guidance, reflecting the sustained improvements achieved in Abingdon.
Members asked about the historical context and rationale behind the establishment of the Abingdon Air Quality Management Area (AQMA), and whether the improvements in air quality were sudden or gradual. The officer explained that the monitoring network was set up around 2005 due to regulatory requirements to assess local air quality across the district. Abingdon was identified as having potential air quality issues, which were confirmed through monitoring. The improvements in air quality were gradual, influenced by factors such as changes in work habits, the update of electric vehicles and cleaner petrol/diesel vehicles. The officer also noted that monitoring would continue for at least the next 2-3 years to ensure sustained compliance with national air quality standards.
RESOLVED: That the Committee formally revoke the Abingdon Air Quality Management Area.
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01235 422520
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Vale of White Horse District Council
Abbey House, Abbey Close,
Abingdon
OX14 3JE