Agenda and minutes

There were no apologies of absence.

To confirm as a correct record the minutes of the meeting of the Streetscene Policy Development and Review Panel held on 16 July 2015.

It was AGREED that the minutes of the Streetscene Policy Development and Review Panel held on 16 July 2015 be confirmed and signed as a correct record.

The Chairman made the following announcement:

As some Members may be aware the Safer Lorry Scheme London came into effect from 1 September 2015.

Under the scheme, vehicles over 3.5 tonnes will be required to:

·         Be fitted with specific mirrors giving the driver a better view of cyclists and pedestrians around their vehicles

·         Be fitted with side guards to protect cyclists from being dragged under the wheels in the event of a collision.

The scheme will operate across London, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, covering the same area as the Low Emission Zone.

In 2014, 13 cyclists were killed and 419 were seriously injured on London roads. Across the UK over 19,000 people are killed or injured whilst cycling.

Fareham Borough Council is being proactive with its approach to cyclist safety as it is understood that the legislation for London will become national in the coming years. The Transport Repair Unit is currently in the process of retrofitting safeguards to the sides of all refuse vehicles and is also trialling a cyclist warning system with illuminated signs and alarms to alert cyclists to when a vehicle is turning left, which is when cyclists are the most vulnerable.

To receive any declarations of interest from members in accordance with 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 Environmental Services on a review of the Work Programme 2015/16.

The Panel considered a report by the Director of Environmental Services which reviewed the Panel’s work programme for 2015/16.

At the Invitation of the Chairman, Councillor Miss Harper, Executive Member for Streetscene addressed the Panel on this item.

 Councillor Bryant requested that a report providing an update on Project Integra be added to the work programme. It was agreed that a report on Project Integra would be added to the work programme for the 3 March 2016 meeting.

The Director of Environmental Services addressed the Panel to explain that the item on Review of Bin Charging Policy may have to be moved to next year’s work programme due to the Vanguard Intervention that has just started in Streetscene, as there will be no new policy changes until the Vanguard Intervention has been completed.

It was AGREED that, subject to the addition of a report on Project Integra being added to the 3 March 2016 meeting, the work programme for 2015/16 be approved.

To consider a report by the Director of Environmental Services on the refuse and recycling route risk assessments.

The Panel considered a report by the Director of Environmental Services on the refuse and recycling route risk assessments.

The Chairman enquired as to how long it takes to complete an assessment. The Refuse Recycling and Transport Manager explained that to complete the assessment form takes approximately 25 minutes, however that is after several visits have been made to the route to ensure that all of the information has been recorded correctly.

Several members referred to the incident that occurred in Glasgow in 2014, and asked if there have been any changes made as a result of that. The Refuse Recycling and Transport Manager explained that on the Council’s refuse trucks there are 7 emergency stop buttons, all crews are given training on what to do in an emergency situation. In addition to that all drivers over the age of 45 have to undertake an annual health check, and all drivers are required to complete an annual medical declaration.

It was AGREED that the content of the report be noted.

To consider a report by the Director of Environmental Services on a review of the play area inspections.

The Panel considered a report by the Director of Environmental Services which outlines the recent review undertaken for Play Area Inspections.

The Operations Manager addressed the Panel and explained that the new regime will be implemented in November 2015.

Councillor Whittingham asked if Officers knew what the estimated cost of the repairing the defects were. The Operations Manager stated that at present this information is not something that is recorded, and the cost will vary depending on the type of defect. However this type of information is something that is being looked into collecting in the future once the new regime is in place.

It was AGREED that the Panel note the content of the report.

To consider whether it is in the public interest to exclude the public and representatives of the press from the remainder of the meeting in accordance with the Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, on the grounds that the matter to be dealt with involves the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act.

It was AGREED that in accordance with Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public and representatives of the Press be excluded from the remainder of the meeting as the Panel considered it was not in the public interest to consider the matter in public on the grounds that it involved the disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraph 3 of Part 1 of schedule 12A of the Act.

To consider a report by the Director of Environmental Services on the hedge cutting contract performance report.

The Panel considered a report by the Director of Environmental Services on the performance of the Hedge Cutting contract.

It was AGREED that the content of the report be noted.

To allow Members to ask questions on any Streetscene related topic.

At the invitation of the Chairman, Councillors Mrs Trott and Miss Harper, Executive Member for Streetscene joined the Panel for this item.

The Director of Environmental Services addressed the Panel and informed them that Councillor Whittle, JP had contacted him and had asked him to present a question on his behalf as he was unable to attend the meeting. The question stated:

“In response to further repeated questions from residents, would the Panel please provide an update on the position in relation to weekly refuse collections following the last review that was carried out in January 2014. Could the Panel also indicate if there is any intention to review the collection of other materials such as the kerbside collection of glass.”

The Chairman then provided the following response:

“In response to the question of whether it is appropriate to conduct a further review and public consultation on amendments to the collection cycle for domestic household waste, a report was brought to the Streetscene Panel in January 2014 on the Impact of Weekly Refuse Collections.

This report highlighted the financial implications of changing to weekly refuse collections, which included a capital investment of £638,000 and annual revenue costs of £369,000. These figures have now been updated for 2015 and are now £700,000 for capital expenditure with £385,000 annual revenue costs.

In this report it was highlighted that between 2011 and 2014 the Streetscene department received 3 recorded requests to return to weekly refuse collections. In 2015 we have not received any requests from residents to change our current collection regime.

Increasing the refuse capacity available to residents would result in a reduction in the amount of recyclables collected and therefore have a direct impact on the Council’s recycling rate.

Due to the low demand from residents and the significant cost involved it is not proposed to conduct a further review or public consultation on amending refuse collections.

With regards to the request to investigate kerbside glass collections, this has been reviewed by officers as part of the TEEP report brought to the Panel in October 2014 which outlined the changes to the Waste Regulations (England and Wales) 2011 that require waste collection authorities to collect recycled waste paper, metals, plastic and glass separately from 1 January 2015. This report concluded that no change to current collections was necessary and the recommendation was referred to the Executive on 1 December 2014 where it was approved.

Currently FBC collects around 2000 tonnes of glass per year from 35 bring bank sites across the Borough. This accounts for approximately 60% of all glass in the waste stream. Research from across the UK suggests that moving to kerbside glass collections will only collect up to 80% of glass in the waste stream and only if the bring bank sites are also maintained.

Indicative costs to introduce kerbside glass recycling include £300,000 capital costs for bespoke glass vehicles and collection boxes. Approximately 500 tonnes of additional glass would be collected which at the current rate of £15 per tonne would provide £7,500 of additional income, making the net annual revenue costs £162,500 to provide a monthly glass collection across the Borough.

Income received from glass has dropped significantly over the past few years in what is a difficult and fluctuating market. Based on this initial research and no demand from residents in the past two years, further review and consultation is not planned currently.”

The Chairman invited Councillor Mrs Trott to address the Panel as she also had a question to ask. Her question was “Residents have often asked Councillor Whittle and myself why there are no public lavatories at Bath Lane Recreation Ground and I feel sure Panel Members will be aware of the letter to ‘The News’ decrying the fact. Can the reasons why this facility is not provided in the beautiful park be explained and recorded please? It is a long walk to the town centre or ‘The Castle in the Air’ public house at Lower Quay, where the nearest facilities are. The Cricket Pavilion is not open all the time and older residents in particular would benefit from this facility, which I understand could possibly be provided for less than £100,00 pounds”.

The Chairman provided the following response:

“The toilet facility at Bath Lane was part of the old pavilion building and the facility was closed in December 2005 after suffering many bouts of vandalism.

As part of a committee report to the Streetscene Panel, that considered options for repair and improvement of all public conveniences, it was suggested that this facility along with a few others were closed. This was approved by the Executive on 9 Oct 2006.

The reasons to justify this closure apart from vandalism attacks, were that there weren’t any facilities for people with disabilities, generally low usage, very few complaints that the toilets had been closed for almost 18 months prior to decision to close.

Over the last ten years there has virtually been no call for the reopening of this facility.

If consideration were to be given to provide a new facility now it would be likely to cost in the region of £100-125k to build with an ongoing annual revenue cost for cleaning and repairs of approximately £4.5K.

Due to the potential costs and low demand, it is recommended that a new facility at Bath Lane Recreation Ground is not pursued.

The Chairman thanked officers and members for their participation in the Members Open Forum.