Agenda and draft minutes

Apologies of absence were received from Councillor Mrs P Hayre, and Mr Jonathan Butts.

To confirm as a correct record the Minutes of the Daedalus Scrutiny Panel meeting held on 18 January 2024.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the Daedalus Scrutiny Panel meeting held on 18 January 2024 be confirmed and signed as a correct record.

There were no Chairman’s announcements made at this meeting.

To receive any declarations of interest from Members in accordance with the Standing Orders and the Council’s Code of Conduct and disclosures of advice or directions received from Group Leaders or Political Groups, in accordance with the Council’s Constitution.

There were no declarations of interest made at this meeting.

To receive any deputations of which notice has been lodged.

There were no deputations made at this meeting.

To consider a report by the Director of Planning and Regeneration which reviews the continued progress made at Daedalus and identifies the next steps, with a 2024 Daedalus Update proposed for publication.

The Panel considered a report by the Director of Planning and Regeneration on the Daedalus Vision and Outline Strategy, which provided an update on progress made to date, and the next steps for the strategy.

Members all agreed that the Daedalus 2024 Update was a fantastic ‘brochure’ document which highlighted the positive progress that has been made at Daedalus to date. They were keen for Officers to ensure that this is well publicised as they felt that there is a lack of public knowledge of all of the facilities that are available on the site.

The Chairman addressed the Panel and suggested that a recommendation is made to the Executive that reference is made in the Next Steps section of the Daedalus 2024 Update which highlights the key continued role of the general aviation sector at Solent Airport, alongside work to attract other aviation sectors. In particular the published Government policy on Flightpath to the Future; a Strategic Framework for the Aviation Sector was seen as highly relevant to Solent Airport as the policy focuses on how local government and industry can work together to deliver a successful aviation for the future.

At the invitation of the Chairman, Councillor S D T Woodward, Executive Member for Policy and Resources, addressed the Panel on this item. He informed members that the Council is a member of the Strategic Aviation Special Interest Group which is made up of local authorities and is a forum for them to discuss strategic aviation policies and major issues.

Councillor Needham enquired as to whether there are any opportunities for commercial flights at Daedalus in the future. Councillor Woodward addressed the Panel to confirm that this could be possible in the future, firstly however they need to install both the Aeronautical Ground Lighting and the Performance Based Navigation system, which will allow pilots to be able to see where to land their aircrafts and will provide certainty that they will always be able to land despite poor weather conditions.

RESOLVED that: -

(i)            The Panel recommends that the Executive add an additional reference in the Next Steps section of the Daedalus 2024 Update which highlights the key continued role of the general aviation sector at Solent Airport.; and

(ii)          Recommends that the Executive endorse the recommendations set out in its report at its meeting on 4 March 2024.

To consider any items of business dealt with by the Executive that falls under the remit of the Daedalus Scrutiny Panel. This will include decisions taken by the individual members during the same period.

There were no Executive items of business to consider.

To provide an opportunity for Members to consider the scrutiny priorities for the Daedalus Scrutiny Panel.

The Chairman provided members with an update on this item, following Councillor Ford’s suggestion at the last meeting for a map of the Daedalus site be provided to members, setting out where projects are taking place, and identifying that which is air-side and that which is non-aside, this is currently being worked on and it is hoped that this will be provided to members before the next meeting of the Panel in June 2024.

Councillor Englefield asked if they could be provided with more information regarding wildlife preservation and how this is managed on the site. The Head of Asset Management addressed the Panel on this point and confirmed that managing wildlife on the site is difficult due to the nature of the site, and the dangers that the wildlife and aircrafts can pose to one another. He explained that the purchase of the land at Mill Lane, was part of this mitigation as they looked for areas of land where the displaced wildlife could use instead.

There were no further suggestions put forward for this item.