Agenda item

To consider an update from the following Cabinet Portfolio Holder on current and proposed priorities within the remit of the Portfolio, including risks, challenges and opportunities:

·       Cllr Mark Anderson, Deputy Leader of the Council and Portfolio Holder for Environment, Cleansing and Waste

Questions to the Portfolio Holder are invited in advance from all non-Executive councillors to inform the Portfolio Holder’s discussions with the Board, please submit questions by Monday 25 January 2021.

Please note that the areas of the Council covered by this Portfolio are:

   Waste Collection - Household & Public Bins,

   Streets – Resurfacing, Potholes, Sweeping,

   Litter and Fly Tipping,

   Beaches and Seafront,

   Paddling Pools, Cleaning and Maintenance,

   Flood Resilience,

   Parks & Bereavement,

   Conservation – AONB, SSSI

   Cemeteries / Crematorium

A briefing report from the Portfolio Holder is attached to this agenda for consideration by the Overview and Scrutiny Board

The Chairman advised the Board that this was the second Cabinet Member report which was being considered by the Overview and Scrutiny Board. A copy of the report had been circulated to the Board members and a copy of which appears as Appendix 'A' to these minutes in the Minute Book. The Chairman advised the Board that the purpose of the item was to help generate ideas for the future and consider those issues which the Overview and Scrutiny Board would want to get involved in or consider further. 

The Portfolio Holder for Environment, Cleansing and Waste outlined the key points from the Portfolio, the future projects which were coming forward and areas where the Overview and Scrutiny Board may become involved and add value. The Portfolio Holder also provided a response to the questions which had been submitted by other Councillors in advance of the meeting a copy of the questions and responses had been circulated to the Board members and a copy of which appears as Appendix ‘B’ to these minutes in the Minute Book. A number of issues were raised in the subsequent discussion including:

·     The provision of bins and whether there was an intention to increase or reduce the number of bins and what information did the Council have on the numbers, types and locations of bins. It was noted that a full review of the provision of bins was needed. Whilst the Council was broadly aware of the location of bins because there was a cleansing schedule there were over 3200 bins across the conurbation. In some areas there may be a need to remove bins and declutter the area but in others there may be a need to increase the number of bins but that this would need to be part of a significant piece of work.

·     Whether street cleansing was taking place at weekends and whether there was a specific schedule in place which covered the minor roads. It was noted that the street cleansing schedule was monitored closely and took into factors such as storms and whether impacts. The teams worked at different times throughout the day to attempt to mitigate various impacting factors such as parked cars. Where possible the team would try to get parked cars removed. Teams also coordinated to try to undertake other works during the same time, such as line painting. There were schedules in place for Bournemouth and Poole but Christchurch didn’t previously have a schedule and these were being reviewed. A Councillor asked about tying the street cleansing programme in with rubbish collection but it was explained that both areas operated very differently, the rubbish collection by necessity had to cover a large number of bins and was done on a repetitive basis but street cleansing had to react to a number of different factors at different times of year and different areas would have different requirements depending on the environment. In response to a suggestion regarding having bin crews monitoring areas for street cleansing the Board was advised that this was a possibility but would be difficult due to the speed of bin collections and difficult for the person in the cab as they were responsible for health and safety.

·     In response to an enquiry the Portfolio Holder advised that he would check and confirm the dates for the all member briefing sessions he was scheduling for a number of areas within his portfolio.

·     In response to one of the questions previously submitted the Portfolio Holder was able to confirm that temporary toilets would be put in place at the beach around the East Cliff for the summer season.

·     In response to a question regarding the large areas of the seafront set aside for storage and what was being done with these as they seemed to increase in size. The Portfolio Holder advised that he was meeting with the Director of Destination and Culture Chair and would raise this issue and provide a response. On the same issue a Councillor asked if work could be undertaken to make the storage compounds look more attractive. The Portfolio Holder agreed to also feedback on this

·      In response to a question regarding the increase in demand for cardboard products the Board was advised that anything would have to go through the existing contracts.

·     The Portfolio Holder explained to the Board about the different types of surveys which were undertaken to measure various aspects of highway conditions, the different maintenance process and inspection processes over various different types of roads. The Portfolio Holder also outlined the differing options for resurfacing roads. In response to an enquiry by a Board member it was explained that maintenance on dropped kerbs would be included with this Portfolio but the installation was a matter for the Transport Portfolio, although it was believed that there was currently a long waiting list.

·     In response to an enquiry about sewage getting into the sea and to waterways the Board was advised that this was not a regulatory task for the council and it therefore could not enforce issues from sewage works. However under planning rules the Council could ensure that more permeable surfaces were introduce which should help reduce the amount of waste water. The Portfolio Holder had written to all local MPs on this issue to urge them to support the inland waterways bill which was being introduced. This was a problem for Poole Bay, Christchurch Harbour and also the River Stour. Wessex Water had storm drains which fed into the sea. The AI in Poole Harbour could be useful in the long term in providing a live feed which would show a spike in E.coli and indicate where it came from. This was however probably approximately 18 months away. The Portfolio Holder thanked Councillor Hadley and Councillor Miles for raising these issues and advised that this was something he was very much pushing on at present. A Councillor commented on the previous Flood Committee held in Bournemouth and that this was a useful forum for raising these particular types of issues as it also included external partners.

·     In response to a question regarding vehicle traffic using Poole Park during rush hour the Portfolio Holder advised that he was happy to take on Board the opinion of the local ward Councillor who were happy with the situation and he supported their decision.

·     A Board member enquired about increasing the number of grass meadow patches and the Portfolio Holder advised that this would form part of a biodiversity paper which will be coming would be coming forward in the next few months.

·     The Portfolio Holder advised that the team was looking into issues concerning surface water flooding in low lying suburban areas, particular Creekmoor.

·     In response to an enquiry about the use of unrecyclable plastic waste in resurfacing roads and concerns about the effect of this, particularly on devaluing plastic and discouraging the use of recyclable plastics but more importantly introducing a new source of microplastics. The Portfolio Holder advised that these were being used in the manufacture of a road surface and were products which were otherwise unrecyclable.

·     A Councillor commented that fly tipping had increased since tips closed at the beginning of the pandemic and it didn’t appear to have reduced. Over 100 bags of waste had been dumped in Queens Park. It was noted that planning was underway on this issue for the summer and a fly tipping policy was being set up. Officers were also working through some fairly detailed plans to deal with the expected influx of tourists from easter onwards.

·     In relation to the provision of Suitable Alternative Natural Green Space and the requirement to provide 15,000 homes a Councillor asked if there was an option for part of Queens Park to be rewilded. The Portfolio Holder advised that the deputy Leader was meeting on this tomorrow but that he was not in favour of this option as income from golf helped to fund the park.

·     A Councillor commented that they were extremely worried about the provision of neighbourhood play parks when they would only be funded through the Community Infrastructure Levy, particularly if this was limited. Older children were particularly poorly provided for in this regard. The Portfolio Holder advised that there was an aim to make parks revenue neutral and was trying to establish a parks foundation which could be used to fund the development of play parks. However, it was suggested that this was limited, and Councillors asked if there were other strategic means of dealing with informal play.

The Chairman asked the Portfolio Holder to give consideration to any areas that would be useful to put to O&S for any policy development, the Portfolio Holder initially suggested that O&S involvement would be welcome on a service plan on public toilets and he would take this away to consider any further issues. It was also suggested that an important current issue was ensuring the safety of refuse workers who were doing a fantastic job in sometimes challenging circumstances. The Chairman commented that it had been extremely interesting discussion and thanked the Portfolio Holder for his report and his responses to questions.