Agenda and minutes

            An apology for inability to attend was reported on behalf of Councillor Cobain.

            The minutes of the meeting of 9th February were taken as read and signed as correct.

            It was reported that the minutes had been adopted by the Council at its meeting on 1st March with the following amendments:

Request for Matter to be Taken Back for Further

Consideration - Knockbreda Road entrance to

Cherryfield Playing Fields

            The Council agreed that the minute of the meeting of 9th February, under the heading “Knockbreda Road entrance to Cherryfield Playing Fields”, be taken back to the Committee for further consideration. 

Update on Responsible Dog Ownership

            At the request of Councillor McMullan, the Council agreed to write the DAERA Minister to advise that the Council was supportive of the proposed approach in relation to the use of DNA testing to assist dog fouling detections but stating that a Northern Ireland wide approach should be adopted. 

Affordable Warmth Scheme update

            At the request of Councillor Heading, the Council agreed to write to the Minister for Communities to request that the underspend for the Affordable Warmth Scheme in 2020/21 be rolled over to the next financial year.

Update on development of the Belfast City

Air Quality Action Plan 2021 – 2026

            At the request of Councillor McAteer, it was agreed that the Strategic Group overseeing the development of the Action Plan be asked to take submissions from Community Groups during the consultation in regard to the preparation of the five year plan.   

DAERA - A Clean Air Strategy for Northern Ireland

            At the request of Councillor Gormley, the Council agreed to write to DAERA to highlight the need for it to support the accelerated improvement of air quality within Belfast and specifically within the Council’s four Air Quality Management Areas.  It would also seek clarity from DAERA as to what actions it planned to take, through the strategy, to tackle the persistent hot-spots. 

            No Declarations of Interest were recorded.

            The information contained in the reports associated with the following 2 items is restricted in accordance with Part 1 of Schedule 6 of the Local Government Act (Northern Ireland) 2014.

      Resolved – That the Committee agrees to exclude the Members of the Press and public from the Committee meeting during discussion on the following 5 items as, due to their nature, there would be a disclosure of exempt information as described in Section 42(4) and Section 6 of the Local Government Act (Northern Ireland) 2014.

            The Committee was reminded that the Strategic Policy and Resources, at its meeting on 31st July, had received an update on the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the Council’s financial position and a strategy to address the forecast deficit and the mitigation measures, which had and would be taken as the situation evolved.  It had agreed to continue to provide Members with a monthly update on the financial position and that the same report would be presented to the subsequent standing Committees for noting and to provide further information on ongoing work and the Members’ attention was drawn to the associated report.  The Committee was advised that, given that the Council had put in place mitigation measures for 2021/22, it was being suggested that the Council would once again revert to the normal financial reporting process as per G.12 of the Financial Regulations. This would free up officer time to focus on monitoring the financial position on a daily basis and the development of a revised finance strategy.

            The Committee also noted the contents of a report which summarised the Quarter 3financial position for the People and Communities Committee, including a forecast of the year end outturn.  It noted that the revenue outturn at Quarter 3 was an underspend of £3.1m representing 2.8% of the net expenditure budget for the quarter. Income losses from closure of facilities and services continued to be offset by reduced costs resulting from event cancellation, premise related savings and employee savings from the moratorium on recruitments with the exception ofbusiness critical posts.

            The Committee noted the February 2021 financial update, Quarter 3 financial position and agreed to revert to the normal financial reporting process as per G.12 of the Financial Regulations

            The Committee was asked to note that Aiken Promotions had submitted a contingency request in regard to the hire of Botanic Gardens from 1st – 20th September, 2021.  The Members were reminded that, at the People and Communities Committee meeting held in February 2020, the Committee had granted authority to Aiken Promotions for the hire of the great lawn at Botanic Gardens for a series of music events with attendances under 5,000 persons in the years 2021 and 2022 to include set up and take down.  In light of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic the Promoter had submitted a contingency request, should the NI Executive Roadmap prevent the June 2021 dates from going ahead as planned. If the current restrictions were to be lifted, the September contingency would not be required.

            Following a query from Councillor Smyth in regard to the potential of offering environmental assessment awareness training, the Director of City Services undertook to investigate and to liaise with the Member directly. 

            The Committee approved the contingency request from Aiken for the hire of Botanic Gardens from 1st until 20th September 2021 and to delegate authority to officers to work with both promoters to agree different dates for the events should public health and other operational restrictions require further adjustments and contingency measures to be agreed.

            The Committee was reminded that, at the Council meeting on 1st March, the following motion, which had been proposed by Councillor Matt Collins and seconded by Councillor O’Hara, had, in accordance with Standing Order 13(f), been referred to the Committee for consideration:

“Council welcomes and endorses the publication of the new report, Access to the Belfast Hills –Promises, Betrayals and a Call to Action, prepared by the Belfast Hills Access Campaign. Council also welcomes the recent decision by the People and Communities Committee to request a report on improving access to the Belfast Hills. Council requests that the aforementioned report is incorporated into this process in order to best compliment this effort. Council wishes to see a comprehensive resolution of the access problem which requires more specific measures and the opening of the following routes;

1    Black Mountain and Divis from Glencairn/Ligoniel.

2.   Black Mountain and Divis from Whiterock.

3.   From the top of Collin Glen to Black Mountain and Divis.

4.   Completion of the key spinal route (the Ulster Way) by securing

      access to its central section from Wolf Hill to Squires Hill.

Council recognises the difficulties caused to officers by the pandemic but also wishes the question of access to the Belfast Hills to be given higher priority than has been the case in recent years. In doing so, Council recommends that officers take account of the, Access to the Belfast Hills –Promises, Betrayals and a Call to Action. Following this, Council requests that officers prepare an indicative plan and timescale for addressing these issues.”

            Councillor Matt Collins addressed the Committee and outlined the context of the motion.  He referred to Mr. Gray from the Belfast Hills Access Campaign and his presentation to the March meeting of the Council in regard to the report ‘Access to the Belfast Hills – Promises, Betrayals and a Call to Action’ and he commended the report.  He suggested that when the matter was being considered further by the Committee that Mr. Gray be invited to attend to enable him to answer any queries that the Members might have. 

            A number of Members also spoke in support of the motion

            The Committee adopted the motion and agreed that a report on how this would be facilitated, resourced and managed would be submitted to a future meeting of the Committee.  It was further agreed that the report would consider any potential external funding opportunities that might exist and that Mr. J. Gray, representing the Belfast Hills Access Campaign would be invited to present to the Committee. 

            The Democratic Services Officer reminded the Members that, at its meeting on 12th January, it had agreed that it would write to the Department for Infrastructure regarding the motion passed by Council to create better access to the Belfast Hills which had been proposed by Councillor Donnelly and seconded by Councillor Garrett.  She drew the Members’ attention to the response that had been received from Minister Mallon.

            In the correspondence, Minister Mallon advised that she was keen on improving access for walking and cycling and encouraging people to move away from driving. She stated that she was aware of the popularity of the Belfast Hills for many but unfortunately most people arrived there by car. She would like to see better active travel access to this destination, particularly for the benefit of the 33% of Belfast residents who did not have access to a car.

            The Minister outlined that she believed that greenways and similar community paths would ultimately create public spaces that would enhance people’s quality of life and leave an enduring legacy to be enjoyed by future generations. She noted that the actual development of greenway projects was, in general terms, the responsibility of local Councils rather than the Department, however, the Department were keen to work closely with local Councils and other stakeholders to support the development of active travel routes.

            The Minister noted that her Department had committed £20 million for blue / green infrastructure and to working with Councils and other partners in identifying and delivering

active travel and greenway projects and advised that £750,000 from that fund had already been allocated for the development of the Forth Meadow Community Greenway, which would provide part of an important active travel link to the Belfast Hills.

            She further advised that, in addition, in January, the Walking and Cycling Champion, Ms. L.  Loughran, had held initial discussions with the National Trust and Belfast City Council regarding the potential for developing better walking and cycling access to this area, particularly for the benefit of the nearby communities of North and West Belfast.

            She referred to the parking situation on the Divis Road and stated that she felt that this highlighted the importance of developing better ways of travelling to the Belfast Hills.  She concluded by stating that the Department would continue to work with the National Trust and other partners to try to address the congestion difficulties.

            The Committee noted the response.  

            The Democratic Services Officer reminded the Members that, at its meeting on 12th January, it had agreed that it would write to the Department for Infrastructure regarding the lack of gritting of Greenways and minor roads throughout the City.  She drew the Members’ attention to the response that had been received from Minister Mallon.

            The Minister advised that to assist the safe movement of traffic in wintry conditions, the Department for Infrastructure (DfI) set aside sufficient funding to salt the main through routes across Northern Ireland, however, it was not possible to salt all of the roads given the competing demands on DfI’s finite resources, many of which were safety related. She added that footways were not included in the gritting schedule.

            The Minister advised that in periods of extreme conditions, following heavy snowfall or prolonged freezing conditions, the Department worked in partnership with local Councils to remove snow and ice from footways and pedestrian areas.

            In respect of greenways specifically, she advised that the majority of greenway type paths throughout Northern Ireland were owned by local Councils and she stated that the responsibility for maintenance of those paths was that of the local Councils. The small number of greenways owned by the Department did not currently meet the criteria for inclusion in the salted network. She advised that although she would like to be able to expand the gritting service to these greenways and many other routes, unfortunately it was simply not practicable to do so at present, due to the severe budget constraints and many other pressures being faced by the Department.

            Councillor McReynolds expressed disappointment at the response.

            The Committee noted the correspondence.

            The Committee was reminded that, as advised earlier in the meeting, the Council at its meeting on 1st March, had agreed that the minute of the meeting of 9th February, under the heading “Knockbreda Road entrance to Cherryfield Playing Fields”, be taken back to the Committee for further consideration. 

            The Committee then considered further the minute of the meeting of 9th February, an extract of the minutes is set hereunder:

“The Committee considered the report, during which a number of Members expressed concern at the potential road safety concerns should the gate be re-opened, following which it was:

Moved by Councillor Baker,

Seconded by Councillor Garrett,

“This Committee agrees in principle to the opening of the gate, subject to internal financing being secured. This agreement will also be subject to safe road crossing/road safety measures being considered and agreed in advance by the Department for Infrastructure and approved through a statutory public consultation.”

Amendment

Moved by Councillor de Faoite,

Seconded by Councillor Smyth,

“In order to adequately address the road safety concerns expressed in the survey responses, Belfast City Council will write to the Department for Infrastructure requesting that a pedestrian crossing adjacent to the Knockbreda Road and Ravenhill Road gates to Cherryvale be funded as part of the blue and green Infrastructure fund.

Pedestrian crossings at this location, along with the opening of the gate, would help to link pedestrian and cyclist routes from Cregagh Glen to the Lagan Gateway greenway, across the planned crossing on the A55, through Rosetta, Knockbreda Road, Cherryvale Playing Fields, Ravenhill Road, Ormeau Road, Sunnyside Street, Annadale Embankment, Governors Bridge, Stranmillis Embankment, Lockview Road to the Lagan Towpath.”

            The Proposer of the motion advised that he was content to accept the amendment but the proposer of the amendment stated that he wished for it to be taken as a separate proposal and requested a recorded vote:

            On a recorded vote, six Members voted for the proposal and twelve against and it was declared lost.

            A further Member requested that a site visit to the location be organised with DfI representatives to enable further consideration of the road safety concerns.

            The Proposer of the original Motion, Councillor Baker, advised that he was content to accept the aforementioned amendments, as proposed by Councillor de Faoite, and also acceded to the request to convene a site visit and the Committee unanimously agreed:  

·        in principle to the opening of the gate, as outlined in Option 2 of the report, subject to internal financing being secured;

·        that the agreement would be subject to safe road crossing/road safety measures being agreed in advance by the DfI and approved through a statutory public consultation;

·        that the Committee would write to the Infrastructure Minister to outline the position and to stress that, whilst the survey was positive, road safety  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

            The Committee considered the following report:

“1.0      Purpose of Report or Summary of main Issues

1.1       To further update on the progress of Phase 1 and the Phase 2 Department of Justice offer of funding to Belfast City Council to undertake a multi-agency demonstration project supporting those at risk of paramilitary attacks in West Belfast and their families.

2.0       Recommendations

2.1       The Committee is asked to:

·        Note the Phase 1 update and support the extension of this demonstrator as detailed in the report.

3.0       Main report

            Background

3.1       A number of years ago the Northern Ireland Commissioner for Children and Young People (NICCY) requested Belfast City Council (BCC) to act as Lead co-ordinating agency for organisations who had a role in addressing the systemic issues associated with paramilitary style assaults in the Lower Falls geographical area of Belfast.

3.2       It was hoped that the sharing of such information would provide an opportunity for early intervention by the organisations to protect victims, their families and improve how organisations involved could react and provide an adequate co-ordinated service and the following work has been undertaken in progressing this.

3.3       As the Tackling Paramilitarism work (arising from the Fresh Start Agreement) developed in central government they met regularly with Belfast to better understand if the work in the city adds value and the Department of Justice subsequently asked Belfast City Council to make an application for funding to further develop this work as they believed there were important lessons to be learned from it.

3.4       DoJ allocated £69,000 for this work to be undertaken in Belfast in the 20/21 financial year and Members were updated in February 2020 through Strategic Policy and Resources Committee on the Phase 1 approach.

3.5       No funding is used to cover the support from existing statutory services, but to bolster the support needed from the community. Additionally, all funding is conditional on working only with accredited (by DoJ) restorative justice schemes as there are high degrees of vulnerability and safeguarding/legal issues with individuals at risk and their families and the appropriate levels of assurance need to be in place.

3.6       The agreed objectives of the DoJ funded programme are to:

            Deliver a targeted, co-ordinated piece of work to address the needs of those under or at risk of threat from paramilitary groups with a particular focus on:-

1.      Improve communication, co-ordination amongst service providers creating a process, which allows the sharing of information, whilst meeting all legislative requirements. 

2.      Improve the management and flow of information between agencies, administer, monitor and measure threat levels and support for individuals and their families. Update and liaise with all statutory partners recording actions and progress.

3.      Gather the required data and statistics to demonstrate the impact of the PSA multi-agency group.

3.7       Phase 1 Progress to Date (April 2020 – March 2021)

·        Memorandum of Understanding developed and signed by all relevant statutory partners clarifying roles and responsibilities and information sharing arrangements agreed

·        Inclusion of Community Restorative Justice Ireland (  ...  view the full minutes text for item 10.

            The Committee was reminded that, at its meeting on 8th September 2020, it had agreed to extend the current partnership agreement with Belfast Healthy Cities until 31st March 2021, to allow for the submission of the application for Phase VII of the WHO European Healthy Cities Network and the completion of a value for money review of partnership arrangements with Belfast Healthy Cities, which facilitated the City’s membership of the WHO European Healthy Cities Network.

            The Director of Neighbourhood Services reported that good progress had been made on the review of the partnership arrangements, with a comprehensive research, review and engagement plan having been developed and agreed across funding partners.  In addition, a wide ranging consultation process was currently underway. However, the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and associated mitigating restrictions had resulted in slower than anticipated progress and had negatively impacted the timescale for the work to be completed.

            He advised that it was now envisaged that the review would be completed by late March 2021, with a report due to be submitted to the both the People and Communities Committee and Strategic Policy and Resources Committee in May 2021, which would detail the outcome of the review, recommended actions and proposed implementation timescales.

            Permission from the Committe was therefore sought to approve an extension of the current partnership agreement with Belfast Healthy Cities, until 30th September 2021, which would enable the completion of the review and also provide an initial period for transition and implementation of the potential review recommendations.  The Director advised that all other partners had also agreed to extend their funding agreements to end September 2021.

            The Committee agreed to extend the current Partnership agreement with Belfast Healthy Cities to 30th September, 2021.

            The Committee considered the undernoted report:

“1.0      Purpose of Report or Summary of main Issues

1.1       To seek Members consideration of a citywide pre-policy position in relation to the programming of new transferring open space assets to inform future policy positions on how to effectively programme those assets in partnership with the stakeholders and communities.

2.0       Recommendations

2.1       The Committee is asked to:

-       Agree the proposed citywide pre-policy position for programming new transferring open space assets using the approach detailed in the report; and

-       Agree the maximum budget of £15K per asset, up to a maximum of £45K per annum for animation and programming;

-       Note this pre-policy position and budget is only proposed until a formal policy position is developed and agreed by Council on the management of community based assets.

3.0       Main report

                        Background

3.1       Members will be aware our assets play a significant role in supporting meaningful outcomes for individuals, families and communities at a local level, in particular the role our community based assets have played throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.

3.2       Members will also be aware through a range of central government grants (Building Successful Communities, Urban Villages etc.) and private funds like The Heritage Lottery, Council has secured significant amounts of capital investment in our community based assets and has taken ownership of strategically important community based assets previously owned by DfC, DfI, NIHE, etc.

3.3       Officers recognise the importance of developing a more coherent policy approach to how Council assets are used to support meaningful outcomes for communities, particularly taking in to account the rich partnership arrangements we have in place with a number of community and voluntary partners who play significant roles in managing and positively programming our assets across the city.

3.4       However, it is also recognised the development of a future policy position will take time, particularly given our strong commitments to co-design and the genuine participation of communities in our work but that operational pressures in relation to COVID-19 may also delay the commencement of this work.

3.5       Taking all of the above in to account, however, there remains a number of new community based assets and investments transferring to Council as a result of external funding in 21/22 and 22/23.  Experience has demonstrated the importance of ensuring those spaces are animated and programmed from day one.  This ensures they are well used by local people to reduce the anti-social behaviour and vandalism, but many of these assets and investments are coming on board without additional external revenue funding to support animation and programming.

            Proposed Pre-Policy Position

3.6       Given all of the above, the following is proposed as the citywide pre-policy position in relation to new open space assets coming in to the ownership/responsibility of Council and/or where significant investments are being made to enhance existing Council assets.

1)     That every new community based asset or significant investment in an existing community based asset would require an initial one year animation plan

2)     Where existing external revenue  ...  view the full minutes text for item 11a

            The Committee approved the application for naming a new street in the City as set out below:

            The Committee considered the following report:

“1.0      Purpose of Report or Summary of main Issues

1.1             This report is to provide an update on progress on implementation of Belfast Boxing Strategy for October to December 2020 (Quarter 3).

2.0       Recommendations

2.1       The Committee is asked to:

(i)     Note Quarter 3 progress report and the impacts of Covid-19 restrictions on agreed KPIs.

(ii)   Approve the 2021 – 2022 action plan and budget.

3.0       Main report

            Background

3.1       Council agreed, through the January 2018 Strategic Policy and Resources Committee, to provide £200,000 to the Irish Athletic Boxing Association Ulster Branch (IABA) for delivery of an agreed annual action plan supporting the Belfast Boxing Strategy.

3.2       The IABA provided SP&R with a detailed breakdown of programmes to be delivered under six main areas. Salary – Development Officer and Coaches, Pathways, Events, Coach Education, Club Support, Governance.

3.3       Following this decision the Belfast Boxing Strategy Steering Group has met quarterly, with the most recent meetings held online due to Covid-19 and associated regulations. This Steering Group is chaired by the Director of Neighbourhood Services with Council Officers, IABA Officers and Officials and Co. Antrim Board Officials attending. Small variations to the budget across the six areas have been agreed to assist prioritisation in line with the agreed annual action plan.

            Monitoring

3.4       The Leisure Development Unit works directly with IABA officials to verify reporting on performance and finance and provides detailed reports for discussion at the Steering Group.

            Performance

3.5       Council agreed a total of 37 Indicators with IABA to monitor delivery of the programmes. IABA have complied with reporting requirements and their performance report 20/21 Q3 is at Appendix 1. As can be noted, achievement of targets in-year to date (Qtrs 1-3) has been significantly impacted by Covid-19 regulations and restrictions as imposed by NI Executive with many previously deferred to take place within Qtr 4. IABA have provided narrative against each of the KPIs to describe progress against each indicator and have advised that current restrictions will prevent most targets from being achieved at year end.

3.6       Much of the focus has therefore been on availing of online training and workshops for both committee members and coaches, as well as delivering online workout sessions, supporting clubs with accreditation or reaccreditation, as well as with funding applications and providing ongoing advice and support.

            21/22 Action Plan

3.7       In line with normal process the IABA have developed their programme action plan relating to 21/22 (copy attached) which outlines the key programmes, initiatives and planned targets.   The group have also take coginsance of the support that will be required in terms of recovery from COVID 19 and have plans to introduce a new grants scheme for Belfast Club to support with member retention and re-engagement through support for online coaching and resources.

            Financial and Resource Implications

3.8       A total of £200,000 is available within the current financial year to support the Action Plan. It is likely that up to approximately £124,000 will  ...  view the full minutes text for item 14.

Councillor Pankhurst addressed the Committee and outlined the difficulties that home owners were experiencing with pest control issues and sought clarity as to when home visits and the overall reintroduction of the pest control service was likely to resume. 

            The Committee was updated by the Director of City Services that, in line with the Council’s health and safety responsibilities and creating COVID secure working environments and services, internal household pest control visits were still unable to take place.  She undertook to submit to a future meeting an update regarding when internal Pest Control services might resume.

            Councillor McReynolds addressed the Committee and sought information in regard to the current legislation that existed around cat fouling.

            The Director of City Services undertook to liaise directly with Councillor McReynolds to provide an update on the current legislation that existed.