Agenda item

Street Cleansing Review 2020-21

To consider a review of the operation of the Street Cleansing service for 2020-21.

Minutes:

The Committee considered a report, set out at Agenda pages 27 to 44, which gave details of a review of the work of the newly appointed street cleansing contractor (Urbasser) for 2020/21 to date.

 

Peter Baveystock, Consultant Specialist, Place and Clienting, attended the meeting to present the report and answer Member questions.

 

The report set out details of the overall performance of the contract which delivered street sweeping, litter picking, fly-tip removal, herbicide treatments, graffiti removal and litter bin emptying. The report included details of the key performance indicators for the service and performance levels for the period April – October 2020. Two of the KPIs, sweeping and litter picking on schedule and removal of fly tipping, had not met the target, largely as a result of the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. The impacts included the closure of the household waste and recycling sites, increased usage/littering on public open spaces and an increase in glass taken to recycling sites (due to the closure of pubs).

 

The report stated that, in order to drive efficiencies discussions would be held with the contractor about moving to an output-based service, allowing resources to be concentrated on areas of greatest need. A partnership approach was also being developed to tackle areas of footway encroachment.

 

In the ensuing discussion, Members made the following points:

 

The report referred to sweeping and litter picking to Grade ‘A’ – what was the definition of Grade ‘A’? It was confirmed that Grade A resulted in a situation with no remaining litter or detritus. If residents were dissatisfied with the sweeping and litter picking standards being achieved, it was important to report any issues to WBC. This would enable remedial action to be taken in line with the contract. Similarly, if the contractors did not appear in line with the published schedules, this should be reported using the HIMs system.

 

In relation to bins, was there a process for redeploying under-utilised bins to areas with greater demand? It was confirmed that there were currently 1,250 litter bins in use across the Borough. Any concerns about bin placement would be reviewed. The first issue to be considered in these cases was: Is there a litter problem in the vicinity?

 

In relation to fly-tipping, was it possible to report fly-tipping on areas away from roads, for example on bridleways and public footpaths? It was confirmed that this would be investigated and confirmed. Paul Fishwick confirmed that he had used the HIMS system to identify fly-tipping away from the road network.

 

Whilst there was data on the number of fly-tips and fixed penalty notices (45 since April 2020) was there data on the number of prosecutions and the outcomes? Parry Batth confirmed that there was a cross-party working group which was currently looking at a range of issues around fly-tipping. This included the scope for the use of bigger fines – the maximum penalty stood at a £50k fine or two years in prison.

 

RESOLVED That:

 

1)     Peter Baveystock be thanked for attending the meeting to present the report and answer Member questions;

 

2)     the update report on the performance of the street cleansing contract during 2020/21, be noted.

Supporting documents: