Agenda item

Seven valid question has been received from a member of the public for this meeting.

 

1. Question to the Elected Mayor from Mr Turner of Wallsend

Please can I ask why there seems to be less investment in Wallsend aimed at footfall increase.

There has been a mention of artwork relating to Segedunum & new shop fronts for those that have aged.

But primarily there already is not enough footfall in and around Wallsend it’s merely became like ghost town.

Yet I know personally when we have arranged events or I have been part of events in Wallsend that people come out in great numbers.

So surely some of the allocated finance needs to be aimed more at holding more events ie a music concert in Wallsend park would be an ideal event which can be done with relative ease I’m sure or maybe something similar at Segedunum fort.

Please can we find a way to hold discussions with someone who may be able to make such ideas a reality and in turn bring Wallsend back to life.

Councillor C Johnson responded on behalf of the Elected Mayor as follows:

The Our North Tyneside Plan sets out our bold and ambitious plans to make North Tyneside an even greater place to live, work and visit by 2025. As part of this plan Wallsend has been identified as a place for investment as a result of a key component of our ambition and regeneration strategy. To date the Council has worked alongside partners to look at facilities to bring back vacant buildings into use to increase footfall into the town centre.

Hadrian Health Centre has been developed alongside the NHS and the department is now open. The Customer First Centre located on the high street provides a library facility, the Spirit of North Tyneside wing and a home for VODA.

Private sector contributions have delivered an Aldi, Wetherspoons and Burger King, the conversion of 11 derelict properties in Charlotte Street into new homes. TEDCO now occupies space in the Town Hall and provides a drop in venue for startup businesses and social enterprises’ looking for guidance.

In addition, the Council organised an number of exciting events to drive footfall in the town to increase dwell time and attract new and repeat visitors.

In 2022, Wallsend CFC hosted the premiere of The World of Peter Storytime Trail which ran for 5 weeks and attracted nearly 4,000 visitors.

 

Families flocked to the Under the Stars event in Richardson Dees Park in February to see a beautiful fire installation, evocative soundtrack and the appearance of a larger-than-life mythical being made of stars.

 

In June, Wallsend was chosen to host a beacon lighting ceremony to mark the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, attracting large crowds.

 

A visit from Raymond Briggs’ Father Christmas to the Forum in December kicked off the festive season which also saw Christmas lights along the High Street.

 

New technology is being embraced to encourage people to explore the town and its attractions. The Roaming Romans Augmented Reality trail app was launched at the end of 2022 and has been used over 500 times since then with plans to expand the concept further in 2023.

 

This was in addition to a programme of organised events by the Council’s Skills and Employability Team that support people back into work and a programme of Adult Community Learning to help digital and language skills.

 

The Council has placed footfall monitors in four locations in the town, to monitor footfall patterns as well as monitoring vacancies from the town for retail premises too.

Positively, the vacancies rate is well below the natural average of 40% and operates at a healthy 11 % in line to policy objectives for the town. The Council has been successful in securing £1.94m funding from North Tyneside Combined Authority. The robust work programme that includes the key objectives to maintain and increase footfall visits that records numbers and spend that can be seen in town centres and high streets.

The work package is currently in development and is set to launch before spring includes a dedicated and sport business support resource for startup SME’s including free incubator programmes and the appointment of a Business Liaison Officer.

A shop front improvement scheme fund for a total of £100k in grants for business to improve the external façade of properties. Animation programme that builds on the successful event particularly the augmented reality trail that brings Segedunum into the town centre., strengthening the connectivity between Segedunum and the town centre and creating an improve route which will enable also the use of Hadrian Wall cycle route to provide access to the rest of the towns assets to increase footfall including animated trails.

As a result of the High Street Partnership Board including representatives from local businesses and the Council has also been established and provides a forum for key stakeholders in the town to get together to ensure innovations and contributions to the objectives of the project. Increased footfall being the key one.

In addition, the Government’s High Street Task Force, who are also providing advice and support to building capacity of businesses to become more involved in their town. Building a successful work and well hub in North Shields, the Council is also planning to restore one in Wallsend which would generate footfall.

Work continues to prepare the Wallsend Master Plan which was approved by Cabinet in November 2022, which should be in public engagement in January and February 2023. This looks at improvements in the town in terms of roads and footpaths in High Street East and West, Station Road. Improvements to the Segedunum museum, increased cycling provision, business support events and further partnership working and the owners of the former shopping centre to support further investment from them. All contributing to improve the environment for the visitors and residents that come and enjoy the town.

Sadly, we also submitted to the levelling up fund application in June 2022 for £20m of much needed funds for Wallsend. Sadly, the Conservative Government chose to give this money to leafy Richmond and Rishi Sunak’s constituency instead of the much needed work in Wallsend.

 

2. Question to the Elected Mayor from Mr Thorn of Monkseaton

 

I am very interested to understand why, since March 2020, very little if no work has been done to ensure that road signs in the Borough are clear from the foliage or overgrowth of nearby trees and bushes? The situation is frankly ridiculous and, in my opinion, will lead to a serious incident with potential harm to person(s) as a direct result. It is particularly noticeable on the approaches at Holystone roundabout.

 

Councillor S Graham responded on behalf of the Elected Mayor as follows:

We take the management of our highway network very seriously and road safety is a vital part of this. Each ear we undertake a substantial program of maintenance and management works on the highway network, including extensive vegetation management work.

As part of this the Authorities highway inspectors undertake periodic inspections of all streets in the borough, which includes road signs and where vegetation cutbacks are identified they will be added to our works program. Landowners are also notified of their obligations to cutback foliage where appropriate. We also take routine management works on our highway network such as gully cleansing, litter removal sweeping and vegetation clearance. This included for example the A1058 Coast Road and the A188/A189 Salters Lane corridor, where management works are carried out twice a year.

One-off works such as thorough vegetation cutback are also undertaken as and when required. Our vegetation management program includes works in the vicinity of highway junctions to maintain visibility and support road safety.

 

We will continue to work to ensure our highways are managed and maintained to support road safety and to the benefit of residents and visitors.

 

3. Question to the Elected Mayor from Mr Cadman of North Shields

A number of Ash trees around the region have been removed from residential streets after suffering from Ash Dieback. The current NTC tree policy is to replace each removed tree with at least one other. What is the action plan to assess and remove Ash trees in the region and when will replacement trees be re-instated to the residential streets in their place?

 

Councillor S Graham responded on behalf of the Elected Mayor as follows:

Thank you, Mr Cadman, for your question.

Whilst there is not a regional action plan to assess and remove Ash trees I would like to explain our planned approach within North Tyneside. Our inspection regime takes place between April and September when the trees are in leaf.

The first phase of Ash tree inspections began in July 2022 where we assessed the severity of the disease in each tree following nationally recognised guidance, which categorise trees into bands 1 to 4.

Any tree categorised as either 3 or 4 has been identified for removal. I’m pleased to report that the work fell to Ash trees identified in phase one of the inspection program began in October last year and will be completed by the end of March this year.

The inspection of Ash trees will continue to take place annually and will commence again in April this year and any further trees identified for removal will be added to the work program.

With regards to tree planting, I can confirm the list of locations has been agreed for this current season where a further 280 trees will be planted. Planting of these trees commenced in November 2022 and will be completed by March this year. This will include replacements in some residential streets, where residents have asked for them to be replaced.

As part of our ongoing commitment to annual tree planting across the borough, members of the public can suggest new locations, which will be considered in line with our strategy. I hope this demonstrates the Council’s commitment to the management of trees across the borough. Thank you once again for your question

 

4. Question to the Elected Mayor from Mrs Harrison of North Shields

 

My question is in regard to disability accessibility in my vicinity. I use a mobility scooter which is invaluable but being able to get around my area is a challenge. A lot of streets don’t have disability pavement slopes which means having to use driveway ramps which are steep.

 

Beachcroft Ave, Beach Road slip road, which I have to use to get to Morrisons in order to use the controlled crossing point. There are many areas that need re-assessed. Some streets have a ramp on one side but no ramp on the opposite side.

 

Councillor S Graham responded on behalf of the Elected Mayor as follows

 

The Council’s Transport Strategy and Highway Asset Management Plan aims to have a well-maintained highway network for the enjoyment of all highway users including members of the public who may have mobility issues.

 

As such we allocate funding every year for a rolling programme of work to install dropped kerbs at junctions and other key locations in order to make routes more viable for mobility scooters.

 

The Council’s highways team have made an assessment of the dropped kerb requirements at Beach Croft Avenue and the Beach Road route to the Morrisons pedestrian crossing. I am pleased to confirm that the improvements will be included in the next phase of dropped kerb work which will commence later this year.

 

5. Question to the Elected Mayor from Mr Cummings of Whitley Bay

 

My understanding is that local authorities have a legal duty to remove graffiti from public buildings and structures but (unless the graffiti is offensive) there is no legal time limit to do so.

 

As a matter of good practice and consistent with making North Tyneside a great place to live, work and visit, will the council put a policy in place to set their own internal targets for graffiti removal and report performance back to residents (say) annually?

 

My reasons for asking:-

 

I have lived in North Tyneside for over 34 years. In that time, there has been a steady increase in the levels of criminal damage (especially graffiti) affecting high profile locations such as road signs, transport infrastructure, coastal leisure facilities (sea walls, seats, shelters) as well as many other public structures. It’s easy to report such instances.

 

I have done so and, to their great credit, North Tyneside Council are generally responsive (certainly compared to Newcastle for example). But there are still many very obvious ugly examples of graffiti in the Borough. Visual impressions make a big impact on residents’ perceptions of safety, wellbeing Page 4 and in their opinions of ‘what their council does for them’. In addition, there’s little point spending public money to attract visitors to coastal areas if we allow graffiti to spoil the visitors’ experience.

I appreciate that there are many demands on council resources and that any commitment would probably require some zoning or area prioritisation- but surely, good councils should target and measure their performance in these aspects and report back.

 

If this is already being done, thank you and please pass on the details. However, I cannot find a record of any such commitment and having reported several things over recent months and spoken to councillors about specifics, I can see that there is a positive response but it appears to be without policy or plan.

 

Councillor S Graham responded on behalf of the Elected Mayor as follows:

 

Thank you for your question.

I can confirm that the Authority does have a statutory obligation to remove graffiti, and to help us meet these obligations, we have a set of environmental maintenance standards in place which includes graffiti removal. These standards are published on the council’s website. I am pleased to confirm that the Authority does have response targets in place.

For example, we aim to respond to any reports of graffiti within 3 working days. However, for reports of offensive graffiti the response target is much quicker where we aim to remove graffiti within an hour of receiving a report.

 

The majority of the graffiti reports received are removed by our dedicated graffiti removal team however, on some occasions, external specialist removal is required to avoid causing damage to property, structures and road signs.

 

We manage performance against our graffiti removal targets internally and report our performance to the Association of Public Service Excellence.

 

I hope the information that I have provided provides reassurance of the council’s commitment and approach to the removal of graffiti from across the borough, to ensure that North Tyneside remains a great place to live, work and visit. Thank you once again for your question.

 

6. Question to the Elected Mayor from Mr Steele of Tynemouth

 

I read with interest the claim that the council ‘cuts carbon’ by 53% and is ‘ahead of schedule’ for its 100% target. I note that the council’s emissions represent less than 2% of the borough’s emissions and this figure is derived from a base line set in 2010. Can you report on carbon emission reduction since the declaration of a climate emergency in 2019?

 

Councillor S Graham responded on behalf of the Elected Mayor as follows:

 

Thank you for your question. Responding to the climate emergency is a top policy priority for this Council and I am proud of the work we are doing.

The statements we make about our action to tackle the climate emergency rather than claims are measured impacts in line with national and international methods such as the Greenhouse gas reporting protocol and I am confident in our numbers.

 

When a climate emergency was declared at full Council in July 2019, the Council’s carbon footprint was already down by 45%. The declaration of a climate emergency was not the start of our ambitious programme of work, and we had already made significant achievements.

 

The Council’s most recently reported carbon footprint for the year 2021/22 is 53% down and we are projecting a further reduction to 55% at the end of this financial year.

 

Over the next 12 to 18 months, we will see further significant reductions as we convert more streetlights to LED, enjoy full year benefits of our Solar PV scheme at Killingworth depot and our air source heat pumps ‘go live’ at four leisure centres. An annual data set is provided to the Authority by Central Government detailing the carbon footprint of the Borough.

 

This is usually 18 months after the end of the reporting period. At the time of declaring the climate emergency in July 2019, Borough-wide carbon emissions had decreased by 39% in real terms and by 42% per head of population. The most recent data set available to us is for the calendar year 2020 and shows that the carbon footprint of the Borough has decreased by 47% in real terms and by 51% per head of population.

 

The Council publishes an annual performance report on its website that details the year-on-year measurement of the Authority’s and Borough’s respective carbon footprints. You can also find our Carbon Net-Zero 2030 Action plan on our website. Thank you again for your question.

 

Mr Steele asked the following supplementary question.

 

What other targets do you have, and challenges do you see to get to the ambitious target to 2030?

 

Councillor S Graham responded as follows:

 

We have a climate emergency board both internally with the Council and externally.

 

We have 158 actions on our Carbon 2030 action plan. If you look at the plan Mr Steele, you will find there is a huge ambitious target this authority has on every front. There is nothing that we do in this local authority that does not involve climate change it’s at the back of our minds at every juncture, every decision we make we consider climate change. 

 

7. Question to the Elected Mayor from Ms Remfry of Whitley Bay

 

Has North Tyneside Council considered, as part of its zero-carbon Transport Strategy, a partnership with a local Car Club to enable its staff to have access to a car without having to have one of their own, thereby reducing borough carbon emissions and improving air quality?

 

Councillor C Johnson responded on behalf of the Elected Mayor as follows:

The Authority has considered the option to seeking an arrangement of a car club in relation to staff travel. We firstly support our employees to travel to work by walking, cycling and public transport in accordance with the approach taken in North Tyneside Transport Strategy and wider North East Transport Plan.

 

We have a number of initiatives in place to make it easier and more affordable for staff to use more sustainable modes of transport for their journey to work, and as part of work. These include a Cycle to Work salary sacrifice scheme, and options for employees to purchase public transport season tickets. Car sharing the journey to work is a further option to reduce costs and carbon emissions and many of our employees can take part in this through the Cobalt Park car sharing scheme.

 

When our employees need to travel as part of their work they do, we are increasingly converting our fleet used to electric vehicles and they also pool vehicles arrangements in place to support the operational requirements of service areas within the authority and its partners.

 

In addition, our employee team have access to car leasing via salary sacrifice arrangement that helps employees to obtain more modern vehicles which are likely to be lower emission than older cars. As part of our Carbon Net-Zero 2030 Action Plan, we will be looking at options to increase the take-up of zero-emission vehicles through this scheme.

 

On Cobalt we have two car club providers in operation and right around the borough both Co-Wheels and Enterprise have car clubs’ operations that not just North Tyneside staff but any member of the public can sign up to and we would encourage them to do so.

 

The measures which I have discussed will complement the wider measures set out in our Carbon Net-Zero 2030 Action Plan to deliver carbon reduction and support improved local air quality in the borough.