Agenda for Overview & Scrutiny Committee on Thursday, 24th November, 2022, 7.00 pm

Agenda and minutes

Venue: Conference Room, Civic Centre, Silver Street, Enfield, EN1 3XA. View directions

Contact: Marie Lowe, Governance and Scrutiny Officer, 020 8132 1558 Email: Democracy@enfield.gov.uk 

Items
No. Item

1.

WELCOME & APOLOGIES

Minutes:

The Chair welcomed everyone to the meeting and described the purpose and format of the meeting, which was to review the decision taken by the Leader of the Council with regards to the amendments to existing permanent Quieter Neighbourhoods (KD 5512) taken on 27 October 2022 (Publication of Decision List Number 22/22-23).

 

Apologises for absence had been received from Councillor Elif Erbil, who was substituted by Eylem Yuruk.

 

Councillor Elisa Morreale was substituting Councillor Maria Alexandrou, who was present at the meeting as the Call-in Lead.

 

The Leader of the Council, Nesil Caliskan, was present as the decision maker, with the following officers in attendance Director of Environment and Operational Services, Doug Wilkinson and Healthy Streets Programme Director, Richard Eason.

2.

DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

Members of the Council are invited to identify any disclosable pecuniary, other pecuniary or non-pecuniary interests relevant to the items on the agenda.

 

Minutes:

No declarations of interest were received.

3.

MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETING pdf icon PDF 87 KB

To agree the minutes of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee meeting held on 11 October 2022.

Minutes:

AGREED that the minutes of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee meeting held on 11 October 2022 be confirmed as a correct record.

4.

CALL-IN - KD 5512 - AMENDMENTS TO EXISTING PERMANENT QUIETER NEIGHBOURHOODS pdf icon PDF 218 KB

To review the decision of the Leader of the Council taken on 28 October 2022 as a result of the matter having been called-in.

Minutes:

The report of officers setting out the purpose of the meeting was NOTED.

5.

REASONS FOR CALL-IN pdf icon PDF 195 KB

The reasons for call-in received from eight members of the Council.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The reasons for the call-in were presented by Councillor Maria Alexandrou as the Lead Member for the call-in of the decision, which was NOTED.

6.

RESPONSE TO REASONS FOR CALL-IN pdf icon PDF 108 KB

The response to the reasons for call-in.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

In accordance with the Council’s Constitution, the Overview and Scrutiny Committee considered the report of Officers which detailed the call-in submitted in relation to the decision taken by the Leader of the Council in relation to the amendments to existing permanent Quieter Neighbourhoods (KD 5512).

 

Details of the decision taken on 27 October 2022 and listed on the Publication of Decision List Number 22/22-23 published on 28 October 2022. The report also set out the officer responses to the reasons for call-in.

 

The decision had been called-in for review by eight members of the Council: Councillors Maria Alexandrou (Lead), Chris Joannides, Lee Chamberlain, Paul Pratt, Tom O’Halloran, Andrew Thorp, Alessandro Georgiou, Chris Dey.

 

The Leader of the Council, Councillor Nesil Caliskan, responding to the reasons for call-in, stated that the reasons behind the most recent decision was to make the necessary amendments to the original decision to implement the two Quieter Neighbourhoods (QNs) taken in summer 2020.  Following a period of community feedback and monitoring, each QN was made permanent early in 2022.  During the trial periods, some enhancements and associated activities had been identified.  The Council had been progressing these and were now seeking to provide an overview of the proposed changes and the appropriate approval to proceed.

 

Subsequent to the review, the main objectives of the scheme were to provide safer, healthier neighbourhoods for residents in the Borough, remained the same.  The call-in decision was for the implementation and operation to provide increased permeability for all exempt vehicles, including Blue Badge holders and the emergency services.  This had been informed by feedback from residents and the emergency services, together with the equalities impact assessment process.  Activities, such as monitoring and small-scale improvements, were proposed to complement and enhance the Quieter Neighbourhoods in response to feedback received and provide mitigation where measures had been identified.

 

The Leader informed the Committee that the High Court had ruled that the Council had followed procedures and the implementation of Quieter Neighbourhoods was lawful.

 

The Healthy Streets Programme Director, Richard Eason, stated that the data used in the analysis, on which the decision was based, was not false.  Officers had not lied. 

 

The Leader accepted that some of the signage could be clearer, and Officers had full authority to make the necessary changes swiftly.  It was not the Council’s intention that poor signage be used to increase income from the schemes or restricted areas.                                                                   ACTION

 

The Director of Environment and Operational Services, Doug Wilkinson, stated categorically that the road traffic signage erected by the Council was fully compliant.  If drivers, using these routes, were more observant they would not break the law and incur the appropriate fine.

 

The Healthy Streets Programme Director assured the Committee that the Council had written to all blue badge holders who lived in the Fox Lane QN area to ensure that all those who were eligible had taken up the exemptions.  This exercise would be carried out in the Bowes QN.  Increased filters would provide more flexibility for  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

7.

ORIGINAL DECISION pdf icon PDF 89 KB

The original decision documents.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The report and appendices setting out the original decision was NOTED.

8.

DATES OF FUTURE MEETINGS

To note that the date of the next business meeting is at 7pm on Monday, 16 January 2023.

Minutes:

NOTED that the date of the next business meeting was at 7pm on Monday, 16 January 2023.

 

An additional meeting of the Committee would be held at 7pm on Thursday, 15 December 2022 in the Civic Centre to consider the call-in of decision Changes to Controlled Parking Zone Permit Charges (KD 5546).