Members Code of Conduct – Part 4A of the Constitution)

To receive disclosures of interests from members and co-opted members on matters to be considered at the meeting. The disclosure must include the nature of the interest.

An interest must also be disclosed in the meeting when it becomes apparent to the member during the meeting.

Notes:

(1)      Members must consider their interests, and act according to the following:

(2)      Disclosable pecuniary interests relate to the Member concerned or their spouse/partner.

(3)      Members in arrears of Council Tax by more than two months must not vote in decisions on, or which might affect, budget calculations, and must disclose at the meeting that this restriction applies to them.  A failure to comply with these requirements is a criminal offence under section 106 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992. 

(4)      Officers must disclose interests in accordance with Council Standing Order 44.

In the interests of transparency, Cllr K Hussain declared that he was employed in the office of Imran Hussain, MP but had no pecuniary interest in the matter under consideration.

To be actioned by:  Interim Director of Legal and Governance

Any referrals that have been made to this Committee up to and including the date of publication of this agenda will be reported at the meeting.

There were no referrals made.

(Access to Information Procedure Rules – Part 3B of the Constitution)

Reports and background papers for agenda items may be inspected by contacting the person shown after each agenda item.  Certain reports and background papers may be restricted. 

Any request to remove the restriction on a report or background paper should be made to the relevant Strategic Director or Assistant Director whose name is shown on the front page of the report. 

If that request is refused, there is a right of appeal to this meeting. 

Please contact the officer shown below in advance of the meeting if you wish to appeal. 

(Su Booth / Louis Kingdom – 07814 073884 / 07890 416570)

No requests to view documents were received.

The report of the Strategic Director, Place (Document “AF”) will be presented to a joint Committee meeting of the Regeneration and Environment and the Health and Social Care Overview and Scrutiny Committees.

Bradford Councilis responsible for the regulatory control of emissions to the environment from this animal by-product processing facility.  This report will explain the legislative background and how the Environmental Health Service delivers this regulatory function. 

Recommended –

1      That the basis of how Environmental Health regulate emissions from the ABP facility be recognised.

2      That the limitations that are presented by the legislation and associated Secretary State guidance when dealing with odour complaints be recognised.

3      That the guidance used by Councils when drafting permits is currently the subject of a national review and that Environmental Health are directing resource to support that review, be recognised.

(Jeff Lawrence – 01274 431299)

The report of the Strategic Director, Place (Document “AF”) was presented to the joint Scrutiny Committees of Regeneration and Environment and Health and Social Care Scrutiny Committees as part of the Council’s obligation for the regulation of environmental emissions.  The company was involved in processing animal by-products (ABP) and had occupied the site for a number of years both in previous and current ownership.

The report provided the legislative background and how the regulatory function was delivered by the Council’s Environmental Health Service.

The nature of the work carried out gave rise to complaints from local residents over a significant period of time and it was also requested that the Scrutiny function at Bradford Council look into the situation to provide clarity and transparency for local residents, businesses plus local and nationally elected Members alike.

The number of similar ABP category facilities in the UK was very small with 2 of the 8 plants located in the Bradford district.

The main issue contained in complaints received related to the smells emitted that impacted the adjacent neighbourhoods with a rise in the number of reports during the previous 2 years.

The business was a long-standing operation and was located on the site of a formal municipal slaughterhouse, but the current activity consisted of processing material from slaughterhouses and fallen stock as well as wild animals, deceased zoo animals and road kill casualties.  The material processed was frequently decomposed and odorous, particularly in the summer but no slaughtering of animals was carried out on this site.

The operations at the facility were subject to legislation under the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2016 and the company was required to hold a permit containing legally enforceable conditions.  These served to minimise air, land and water pollution, including noise and odour.  Permit conditions were derived from statutory guidance notes by the Secretary of State and were not determined at Council level.

Officers from the Environmental Health team attended the meeting as well as 2 representatives from JG Pears who were the current operators (the business was known locally as Waddington’s, relating to the former owner who had sold the operation to JG Pears in 2020).

It was explained that there were only limited environmental controls relating to odour control on vehicles, but specially designed vehicles were the type usually delivering to this site.  Vehicles were not hermetically sealed as this was not possible due to the gases from decomposition that were given off and could, therefore give off odours during transportation.  These odours had the potential to linger in still climatic conditions.

An explanation of the process was given to inform Members and the residents who were also present at the meeting to explain how materials were treated and how odours were controlled as a result of the processes carried out.

The representatives from JG Pears gave an overview of the process and what was produced, these frequently would be used as feedstock for other industries as a fuel (MBM) or sustainable liquid  ...  view the full minutes text for item 67.