Agenda and minutes

Communities Scrutiny Committee - Tuesday 8 July 2025 6.00 pm

Venue: Council Chamber, Third Floor, Southwater One, Telford, TF3 4JG

Contact: Paige Starkey  01952 380110

Items
No. Item

COMSC1

Declarations of Interest

Minutes:

None.

COMSC2

Minutes of the Previous Meeting pdf icon PDF 237 KB

To confirm the minutes of the previous meeting held on 12 March 2025.

 

Minutes:

RESOLVED, that the minutes of the previous meeting, held on 12 March 2025, be approved as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

 

COMSC3

Terms of Reference 2025/26 pdf icon PDF 153 KB

To review and reconfirm the Terms of Reference for the Communities Scrutiny Committee for the 2025/26 municipal year.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Service Delivery Manager for Registrars, Public Protection, Legal and Democracy introduced the report, which set out for review and agreement, the Terms of Reference for the Committee, as set out at Appendix A to the report.

 

RESOLVED, that the Committee’s Terms of Reference, as set out at Appendix A to the report, be reconfirmed and approved.

 

COMSC4

Communities Scrutiny Work Programme 2025/25 pdf icon PDF 155 KB

To approve the work programme for the 2025/26 municipal year.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Service Delivery Manager for Registrars, Public Protection, Legal and Democracy introduced the report, which set the work programme for the Committee for 2025/26, as set out at Appendix A to the report.

 

RESOLVED, that the Committee’s work programme for 2025/26, as set out at Appendix A to the report, be approved.

 

COMSC5

Traffic Regulation Orders in Telford and Wrekin pdf icon PDF 332 KB

To review the process and procedure for developing and delivering Traffic Regulation Orders.

Minutes:

By way of introduction, Councillor Overton, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Highways, Housing and Enforcement said that with regard to Traffic Regulation Orders (TROs), the Council looked at all the work and comments made on certain proposals to ensure that these were legally compliant before consulting with Town and Parish Councils.

 

The Service Delivery Manager for Highways, Engineering and Project Delivery, delivered a presentation to assist members in their understanding of the Council’s processes and procedures for developing and delivering TROs within the Borough.

 

The presentation also provided clarification as to what a TRO was and how much had been invested by the Council (£7m+) to deliver 20mph zones, safer school routes and behaviour change campaigns.

 

It went on to describe how consultations were carried out, the production of resultant public notices, managing objections and the periods involved in making TROs.

 

The presentation highlighted effectiveness risk; post implementation review; limited consultation engagement; improving public involvement and ongoing mitigation all as key risks.

 

With regard to improving public engagement, members were advised of the use of a modern, digitised TRO Process, which allowed access to all and current TROs online, and which would improve transparency as it enhanced the visibility of TRO activity.  Additionally, in terms of boosting engagement, it was stated that local consultation was complemented by digital tools, which encouraged greater community involvement in shaping road safety measures.

 

From a community focused approach perspective, annual Traffic and Road Safety Reports were produced to include known enquiries, current works and future schemes.  These reports were shared annually with ward members and Town and Parish Councils to guide decision-making and raise new priorities. 

 

It went on to talk about supporting the development of future highways investment programmes; ensuring the Council remained responsive to community needs and delivered on locally identified priorities and that regular updates would maintain transparency and progress tracking for all stakeholders.

 

In response to a member’s question raised during the meeting with regard to enforcement, officers welcomed working closer with the Council’s Enforcement Team despite all TROs in place stating quite clearly what they could and could not permit.

 

Officers said that speed restrictions, for example, were enforced by the Police and that the Council could not amend these on its own authority.  In terms of capacity with the team to manage its workload, officers confirmed that there was currently a vacancy within the team and that this would be advertised shortly.

 

In response to a member’s question raised during the meeting with regard to updates on current TROs, officers said they would look into how this might be provided in future.

 

In response to a member’s question raised during the meeting with regard to the use of social media in this area of work, and what could be done to share what a TRO was and the process around it, officers said there was currently engagement at a local level and were looking at social media templates, however this was a little way off at present.  ...  view the full minutes text for item COMSC5

COMSC6

Chair's Update

Minutes:

None.