O&S.23/22
Following the Council’s
adoption of the Better Lives for All Strategy in September 2021,
the Committee was provided with an update on the Built and Natural
Environment strand of the Better Lives for All Strategy.
In discussion, the following
points were raised:
(a)
The Build projects in
Salcombe were slightly behind schedule
but the completion date was expected to be before the end of the
year with the Business Units currently being out to Tender. Whilst
not in a position to predict the tendering process, the local wish
(and demand) for these Units to be secured by businesses connected
to the marine industry was recognised;
(b)
With regard to Action BN1.1
(Supporting the Delivery of Neighbourhood Plans), it was confirmed
that the Council was doing all it could to resolve the issue with
the wish to modify the Salcombe
Neighbourhood Plan, however the delay lie with the Planning
Inspector. In response to a further
question regarding whether the Committee could be advised of the
Towns/Parishes that had not yet or were not intending to develop
Neighbourhood Plans, it was confirmed that developing such plans
was a matter for each Town or Parish Council (T&PC) to decide
upon. As a result, the Council was
always happy to encourage and facilitate the creation of
Neighbourhood Plans, but could not insist that a T&PC develop
one;
(c) In respect of Action
BN1.2 (Facilitate Urban Tree Planting), officers advised that the
Tree Planting Plan extended into the 2023/24 Year and that officers
would be asked to liaise with local Ward Members about potential
planting sites in their Wards;
(d)
Referencing Action BN1.5
(Commission Work Leading to Delivery of Priority Cycle Routes and a
Twenty Year Vision for the Cycle Network in the South Hams),
officers informed that the Tender exercise to select the
Consultants to produce the report to identify and prioritise
potential cycle routes in the district would be circulated by
January 2023 with a view to receiving the final report in
mid 2023.
This exercise was to be funded through the UK Shared Prosperity
Fund monies. It was further confirmed that the consultation
exercise with the public, Town and Parish Councils and with other
parties, such as the Dartmoor National Park, would be fundamental
to the report and the development of the Local Cycling and Walking
Infrastructure Plan (LCWIP).
In
response to a question about whether or not the LCWIP work would
continue should the Council’s latest bid to the Government
for investment not be successful, it was confirmed that Devon
County Council could still undertake a high level exercise which
would likely result in a lower level of local engagement, but that
it would still be a matter for this Council to decide whether it
wished to make the funding available for the exercise as part of
its Better Lives for All Corporate Strategy;
(e) On the matter of Action
BN1.6 (Work to Facilitate the Delivery of Broadband Connectivity
Where it is Needed – Supporting Digital ...
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