Agenda and minutes

The evacuation procedure was noted.

There were no interests declared.

To approve the minutes of the last meetings held on 9 January 2025 and 23 January 2025.

Consideration was given to the minutes of the Community Safety Select Committee meetings which were held on 9 January 2025 and 23 January 2025 for approval and signature.

AGREED that the minutes of the Committee meetings held on 9 January 2025 and 23 January 2025 be approved as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

To consider and agree the draft final report.

Consideration was given to the draft final report for the Committee’s Scrutiny Review of Welcoming and Safe Town Centres.  Specific attention was drawn to the following:

·         Format: A new Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council (SBC) corporate template was now being used for scrutiny final reports, though the content structure remained the same as in previously published reports.

·         Recommendations: Further to Committee discussions at the informal ‘summary of evidence’ session in February 2025, and the subsequent end-of-review tri-partite meeting in March 2025, the wording for the proposed recommendations had been refined.  Themes had also been identified and used to group the recommendations.

With reference to recommendation 7 (SBC provides the Committee with an assessment of how the 2025 implementation of new / increased parking charges in Stockton and Yarm had impacted access (footfall / dwell time) to these town centre spaces, clearly demonstrating views from / experiences of local businesses), the Committee felt it would be prudent to add a timeframe to this so there was clarity around when an assessment would be expected.

Reflecting on the review as a whole, the Committee Chair spoke of the desire to ensure the recommendations acknowledged the individuality of the Borough’s six town centres.  Following up on themes such as accessibility, the events / markets programme, and engagement with young people was also important, as was recognising that these spaces had challenges which needed to be addressed.  Members welcomed the recent positive communications on town centre activity and were assured by the SBC Cabinet Member for Access, Communities and Community Safety that further press / comms was intended.

The Committee Chair thanked Members for their efforts during the course of what had been a lengthy review – this was echoed by both the SBC Cabinet Member for Access, Communities and Community Safety, and the SBC Assistant Director – Regulated Services and Transformation (the latter noting that this scrutiny topic was a key focus for the SBC Community Safety department moving forward, with the Committee’s recommendations reflecting ongoing work and also providing future direction).  The SBC Service Manager – Public Protection added that several of the review’s recommendations would be addressed through Operation Shield which aimed to improve safety and perceptions of safety in town centre spaces.

The Committee approved the draft final report, subject to the minor amendment to recommendation 7.  The updated version would be presented to Cabinet in April 2025.

AGREED that the Scrutiny Review of Welcoming and Safe Town Centres final report, incorporating the identified amendment, be approved for submission to Cabinet.

Progress report for the previously completed Tree Asset Management review.

Consideration was given to the assessments of progress on the implementation of the recommendations from the Committee’s previously completed review of Tree Asset Management.  This was the third progress update following the Committee’s approval of the Action Plan in March 2023, with developments in relation to the outstanding agreed actions noted as follows:

·         Recommendation 1 (Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council (SBC) refreshes its tree and woodland management policy and procedures…): Following Committee discussions on an initial draft of the revised policy as part of the previous progress update which was considered in June 2024, a final draft version was presented and approved by SBC Cabinet earlier in March 2025.  As recommended by the Committee, the refreshed policy reaffirmed the Council’s mandatory (minimum) service requirements and where work would be prioritised by the Arbor Team (recommendation 1a), reflected the realistic cycle of essential maintenance and timescales on when works would be actioned on the Borough’s tree stock (recommendation 1b), and emphasised planting the correct species of tree in the right places (recommendation 1c), including fruit and nut trees.

In relation to the communication of this refreshed document (recommendation 1d and 1e), work had started with the SBC Communications Team to disseminate the revised policy and key messages.  Included within the Cabinet report was an action to organise a Members Briefing to ensure all Councillors were aware of the key elements.  An easy-read summary was also being drafted.

·         Recommendation 2 (Tree Preservation Order (TPO) planning procedures be reiterated to all SBC Ward Councillors and relayed to residents periodically via the Council’s multiple communication mechanisms (emphasising the enforcement action that can be taken if processes are not followed)): Further to the previous progress update in June 2024 (where a draft of the easy-read TPO document was shared and discussed with the Committee), the TPO information would be shared and discussed at the Members Briefing session outlined above.  The policy highlighted the TPO responsibility of the landowner and Council – information was also provided on how maintenance requests could be made, as well as details on potential enforcement action if a tree with a TPO was not managed correctly.

Noting the recent media around the approval of the revised policy by Cabinet earlier this month, the Committee thanked SBC officers for this latest update and the work in refreshing this key document.  Members agreed that the remaining elements of the Action Plan had now been achieved and could be signed off as complete.

AGREED that the Tree Asset Management progress update be noted, the assessments for progress be confirmed, and the Action Plan be signed off as complete (no further updates required).

Consideration was given to the minutes of previous Safer Stockton Partnership (SSP) meetings which took place in November 2024 and January 2025.  Attention was drawn to the following:

·         27 November 2024: Included an ‘Operation Autumnus Update’ (bonfire-related) which the Committee may be particularly interested in following its Scrutiny Review of Bonfires on Public Land in 2021-2022.

·         22 January 2025: The ‘Update on DHRs’ item included a reference to the local Community Safety Plan being reviewed – the Committee may wish to seek assurance over how it will be involved / engaged with during this process (including timelines for publication of the final document).

AGREED that the minutes of Safer Stockton Partnership (SSP) meetings which took place in November 2024 and January 2025 be noted.

CHAIR’S UPDATE

The Chair had no further updates.

WORK PROGRAMMES 2024-2025 & 2025-2026

Consideration was given to the Committee’s current work programme (2024-2025) and the early version for the next municipal year (2025-2026).  The next meeting was due to take place on 1 May 2025.

It was noted that the SBC Executive Scrutiny Committee meeting earlier in March 2025 had seen the approval of the scrutiny work programme for 2025-2026.  The in-depth reviews allocated for the Community Safety Select Committee were ‘Children affected by Domestic Abuse’ and ‘Community Participation Budget and Ward Transport Budgets’.

AGREED that the Chair’s Update and Community Safety Select Committee Work Programmes 2024-2025 and 2025-2026 be noted.