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MINUTES OF A SPECIAL MEETING OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL LICENSING COMMITTEE HELD AT THE GUILDHALL, WREXHAM

ON MONDAY, 6 SEPTEMBER 2004

MEMBERS

*Councillor D.J. Griffiths, Chair

Councillor R. Mark Davies, Vice-Chair

Councillor / David A. Bithell / Councillor / A.G. Jones
“ / J.J. Colbert / “ / J.A. Kelly, KSG
“ / Nick Colbourne / “ / Geoff Lowe
“ / J.W. Coleman, OBE / “ / * / Mrs. Gwyneth Roberts
“ / T. Alan Edwards / “ / Mrs. J.M.B. Roberts
“ / Mrs. June Fearnall / “ / * / J.R. Skelland

* Absent

Also present – Councillors Terry Evans and I. Roberts.

12APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE

Apologies for absence were submitted on behalf of Councillors D.J. Griffiths and J.R. Skelland.

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MINUTES

RESOLVED – That the Minutes of the Meeting of the Environmental Licensing Committee held on 26 July 2004 be received and confirmed as a correct record.

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EXCLUSION OF PRESS AND PUBLIC

RESOLVED - That the press and public be excluded from the Meeting during consideration of the following item as it was likely that, if they were present, there would be disclosure to them of exempt information as defined in Paragraphs 4, 7 and 14 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act 1972 (as amended).

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COMPLAINT REGARDING THE CONDUCT OF A PRIVATE HIRE DRIVER/BREACH OF LICENCE CONDITIONS

The Chief Public Protection Officer submitted a report (CPPO/52/04) informing Members of a complaint regarding the conduct of a Private Hire Driver and breach of Licence Conditions. Members considered the report and the representations of two witnesses, the Private Hire Driver and his representative.

RESOLVED – That the Chief Public Protection Officer write to the Private Hire Driver referred to in report CPPO/52/04 expressing the concern of the Committee with regard to his conduct as outlined in the report, and issue a severe warning as to his future conduct.

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EXCLUSION OF PRESS AND PUBLIC

RESOLVED - That the press and public be not excluded from the Meeting during consideration of the following items of business.

(Councillor T. Alan Edwards joined the Meeting at this point)

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APPLICATION FOR PPC PERMIT TO OPERATE A WOOD PARTICLE BOARD/WOOD FIBREBOARD PROCESS

The Chief Public Protection Officer submitted a report (CPPO/55/04) seeking approval for the issue of a Pollution Prevention and Control Permit to operate a particle board factory at Kronospan Ltd, Chirk.

The Senior Environmental Health Officer gave a short presentation that included the following points:-

-The Pollution Prevention and Control Regulations 2000 (PPC) would replace, under a phased timetable to be completed by 2007, the Integrated Pollution Control IPC Regulations set up under Part 1 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990.

-Under the direction of the Secretary of State the site would be co-regulated by the Environment Agency and the Authority.

-The PPC Regime required operators of certain industrial processes to obtain a permit to operate with conditions that must be adhered to.

-A fundamental difference of the new regime would be the regulation of the impact the industrial processes had on all aspects of the environment.

-The application procedure for the permit required certain information to be provided including a site report, an account of emissions, a description of abatement techniques and monitoring proposals. This information, in conjunction with input from external consultees, would be fully assessed by the regulator to determine whether the permit should be granted.

-The permit conditions required operators to use Best Available Techniques (BAT) to protect the environment, balancing the benefit to the environment against the cost to the operator.

-The conditions of the Kronospan permit recognised and aimed to reduce the environmental impact of the factory process upon local residents given the close proximity of the Kronospan site to a large residential area. In particular emissions such as noise, dust and odour had been addressed.

-The Kronospan permit contained an Improvement Programme in addition to the conditions set in the permit. The permit followed the Secretary of State’s Guidance Note (IPPC SG1) but imposed stricter conditions on the basis of locality.

-The permit was a key document in terms of partnership working between the local community, the Environment Agency and the Authority.

The Vice-Chair thanked the Senior Environmental Health Officer for her presentation and invited comments from local members, Councillors I. Roberts and Terry Evans. He also welcomed Mr Mick Ramsey, Kronospan Work Director to the Meeting.

The Local Member (Councillor I. Roberts) thanked the Senior Environmental Health Officer and the relevant staff of the Public Protection Department for their work in preparing the permit. He then raised concerns in relation to plume grounding and noise pollution at sensitive hours, believed to be caused by reversing forklift trucks.

In the discussion that followed the Senior Environmental Health Officer acknowledged the concerns of the local Member advising that the new regulations would attempt to monitor plume grounding and aim to bring about significant environmental improvements. Mr Ramsey informed the local Member that the introduction of new technology in conjunction with the requirements of the permit should, in his opinion, bring about improvements for the local area. Members were assured that the transfer from the existing WESP to the new SEKA WESP would not result in unabated emissions for any period.

In terms of noise pollution, Mr Ramsey advised Committee Members of current and future plans to address the issue. He affirmed that reversing bleepers on forklift trucks were a Health and Safety requirement, but informed Members that ambient sensitive bleepers were being phased in during the next 4 – 5 weeks and felt optimistic that there should be an improvement as a result. Members queried the necessity for frequent movement of such vehicles during sensitive hours but were advised that this was a key part of the process.

The Senior Environmental Health Officer reminded Members that the request for a permit for the new SEKA WESP would be brought to this Committee at a future Meeting. Members requested that the Committee be kept informed of the success of the Improvement Programme at a future Meeting.

RESOLVED –

(i)That the application for a permit and accompanying Conditions under the Pollution Prevention and Control (England and Wales) Regulations 2000 (S.I. 2000 No. 1973), as amended be approved.

(ii)That the Chief Public Protection Officer inform the Committee at a future Meeting of the progress made by Kronospan in relation to the Improvement Programme.

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FREQUENCY OF CRIMINAL RECORDS CHECKS FOR HACKNEY/PRIVATE HIRE AND OPERATORS LICENCE

The Chief Public Protection Officer submitted a report (CPPO/51/04) to enable Members to review the current requirement for Criminal Records Checks for Hackney/Private Hire and Operators Licences to be made annually.

Members were informed that representatives from the Private Hire Industry had requested that the period between Criminal Records Checks for renewed applications be extended to three years as the charge levied by the Criminal Records Bureau had increased significantly since May 2001.

In considering the report, Members acknowledged the financial burden placed upon the Private Hire Industry under current arrangements. Concern was raised over the number of convictions that had gone unreported during an examination of information provided to the Authority in the past 3 years, as indicated in the report (CPPO/51/04). There was a general consensus that, provided a substantial improvement in the number of convictions reported to the Authority be seen, the frequency of criminal records checks for Hackney/Private Hire and Operators Licences could be reconsidered at a future Meeting of the Committee.

RESOLVED – That the Chief Public Protection Officer monitor the disclosure of convictions, or any other relevant information, to the Authority by Hackney/Private Hire Drivers and Operators during the next twelve months and report such findings to the Environmental Licensing Committee at a future Meeting in order that the matter may be reconsidered.

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CHANGE OF PRIVATE HIRE DRIVER’S LICENCE CONDITIONS

The Chief Public Protection Officer submitted a report (CPPO/53/04) informing Members of the requirement to amend Private Hire Driver’s Licence Condition Number 12.

Members were advised that the current Private Hire Driver’s Licence Conditions did not require Private Hire Drivers to inform the Authority of any Cautions they received or Fixed Penalty Notices for non-traffic related offences.

A further amendment to Condition 12 as outlined in section 4 of report CPPO/53/04 was also agreed.

RESOLVED – That Condition Number 12 of the Private Hire Driver’s Licence be amended to read as follows:

The Driver shall within seven days disclose to the Chief Public Protection Officer in writing details of any conviction (including cautions, fixed penalty notices and fixed penalty notices in relation to traffic violations) imposed on him/her.

Councillor R. Mark Davies

Vice-Chair

CLJ/MIN2004/ENVLIC-6904