Agenda and minutes

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There were no members of the public registered to speak.

RESOLVED

The Minutes of the SEDHREC held on 3 March 2022 are confirmed as a true record and be signed by the Chair.

Guidance is available online to Councillors and co-opted members on making declarations of interest

Cllr Martin Wrigley: personal interest - his property overlooks the estuary, and he is a member and Treasurer of Cockwood Boat Club.

Cllr Geoff Jung: personal interest- he is a Board member of the Pebblebed Heaths NNR Advisory Board and also a member of Woodbury Parish Council, the area of which includes part of the pebblebed heath and marsh.

Information on matters of urgency is available online

There were no matters of urgency.

The agenda report set out the principles for the projects which had been recommended as a priority for delivery over the next 12 months by the Habitat Regulations Delivery Manager. The recommendations had been reviewed and agreed by the respective organisations which constitute the Officer Working Group. The projects were contained within Appendix A to the agenda report, as the Annual Business Plan.

It was considered that further justification was required in relation to: the proposed expenditure for the car parks and what this would achieve; and clarification on drones and the code of conduct and avoidance of disturbance to wildlife. 

           It was unanimously

          Resolved that the Executive Committee:

1.         Approves the 2022-23 Annual Business Plan (Appendix A) and the commitments and actions set out therein, subject to:

    Delegated authority be granted to the Principal Projects Manager, Growth, Development and Prosperity in consultation with all members of the Executive Committee for approval following clarification on drones and justification for expenditure for the car park.

2.         Notes the updated 5 Year Delivery Plan also shown in Appendix A.

3.         Receives a further report relating to any proposed changes to the mitigation strategy regarding Dawlish Warren and the Exe estuary in relation to the Dawlish Warren Beach Management Scheme. Timing dependent on completion of a review by the Environment Agency.

The report updated the Executive Committee on the overall financial position of developer contributions received by the partner authorities as mitigation payments towards measures identified in the South East Devon European Site Mitigation Strategy. This included details of the contributions received from inception to date and anticipated income from contributions where planning permission had been granted but the contribution has not yet been paid. Details of expenditure against the 2020/21 Annual Business Plan, as well as total expenditure to date were also provided.

It was unanimously

Resolved that the Executive Committee:

1.         Notes the update on the overall financial position including contributions   received, expenditure and anticipated contributions (from signed S106 and CIL).;

2.         Notes the expenditure against budget for the 2021-22 Annual Business Plan and reasons given for any variance.

Consideration was given to the agenda report which informed the results of the first South East Devon Visitor Survey monitoring programme undertaken as part of the mitigation Strategy and compared them with the initial visitor surveys carried out to establish the original evidence base for the Strategy. The objective is to determine the efficacy of the approach to preventing recreational disturbance across the protected sites. This is important because without robust and effective mitigation which enables the partner authorities to be certain of no net impact to protected sites, continued development as outlined in respective local plans and within 10km of the estuary is at risk of legal challenge. The 10km “zone of influence” within which new residential dwellings are considered likely to cause a likely significant effect as a result of increasing recreational demand. The zone of influence identifies an increase of approximately 30,000 dwellings from the respective Local Plans.

Members commended the work and acknowledged the achievements with the current resources.

It was unanimously

Resolved that the Executive Committee:

1. Notes the results from the South East Devon Visitor Survey 2020-21 report.
2. Notes the interpretation and discussion relating to proposed operational changes in light of the report.
3. A review is undertaken as part of the strategy process within 24 months.
4. A post meeting is held for an explanation of differences.

The Committee commended the Plan which outlined the delivery of ongoing measures established in previous ABPs as well as a range of additional measures. In total, the plan released funding for projects estimated at £369,954.

It was unanimously

Resolved that the Executive Committee:

1. Notes the progress made in delivering the 2021/22 annual business plan.
2. Notes the status of mitigation measures from each of the plans, as well as explanations given for measures subject to delay and revised completion dates.

The chair referred to the agenda report which updated Members on the initiatives, partnership working and day to day activities of the public-facing staff. Continued and effective delivery of the Strategy and the development this enables remains of very high importance to all partners.

It was unanimously

Resolved that the Executive Committee:

1. Notes the updates provided by the Wildlife Warden and Devon Loves Dogs project co-ordinator.
2. Receives a further update at the next meeting of the Executive.

The agenda report updated Members on the status of the risk management register, which was set out in Appendix A to the report, and the status of risk management across the partner authorities at this time.

It was unanimously

Resolved that the Executive Committee:

1. Notes the identification, categorisation and prioritisation of risks as recorded in the accompanying Risk Register, associated with delivery of the South-east Devon European Site Mitigation Strategy.
2. Notes the control measures in place to mitigate the risks identified.
3. Receives an updated Risk Register report in 12 months.

The report provides the results of the communications report for August 2021 – February 2022. It provided useful and interesting information on the current and new website and impact of work before the launch of the new website, South East Devon Wildlife (SEDW), the public facing brand for the South East Devon Habitat Regulations Partnership. 

It was unanimously

Resolved that the Executive Committee:

1. Notes the results of the communications report for the period August 2021 – February 2022, further to earlier communications report for this period.
2. Will receive future communications reports on an annual basis with the next report due in March 2023.

It was noted that the wardens’ vehicle was recently involved in an accident. Fortunately, the warden suffered only minor injuries, but the vehicle would not be repaired, and a replacement vehicle was required.

It was unanimously

Resolved that the Executive Committee:

1.            Approves funding for the temporary hire of a work van, preferably an electric vehicle (Citroen eBerlingo or similar) for a period of up to 26 weeks or until a replacement vehicle is available to purchase.

2.            Approves funding for outright purchase of a replacement work van (Electric Vehicle, Citroen eBerlingo or similar), with associated livery, vehicle tracker and dashcam.

3.            Approves funding for replacement of equipment (telescope, gazebo, body cameras, etc.) held in the storage compartment of the damaged vehicle – if required.

4.            Receives an update at a future meeting relating to the insurance settlement and actual costs of replacing the vehicle and/or equipment.

5.            A review of the insurance cover be undertaken to ensure it covers the three authorities.