The Committee will receive a presentation on the areas covered within its remit from the Head of Streetcare.
Minutes:
The Committee received a presentation on the services within the remit of committee. These included all services covered by Streetcare, Public Protection and Energy Strategy. Officers set out the Streetcare Objectives and how the service operated in order to meet these objectives.
Street Cleaning and Street Scene
The Committee was shown examples of street cleansing around the borough. Officers explained that the public litter bins now have clear sacks and more bins had been introduced over the last 5-6 years. By having clear sacks it was easier to identify the black bags that were residents waste or flytipping. The service worked with the 6th Form College, the Utilities companies and the Probation Services, on a non-paid service to assist with the cleaning of graffiti. Flytipping was one of the biggest problems for the enforcement team. The enforcement team consisted of 6 officers, which given the size of the borough was a relatively small team.
Waste and Recycling
Officers explained that the biggest area within Streetcare was around waste and recycling. Year on year improvements in recycling had been seen from 17% in 2005/06 up to 35% in 2013/14. Havering had the lowest cost of collection in London of £4.2 million.
The Committee were shown details of the Waste Disposal Unit at Frog Island. This was an established disposal facilities in place until 2027 with an additional 5 years should the contract wish to be extended. The contract was held with East London Waste Authority (ELWA) which included Havering, Barking and Dagenham, Newham and Redbridge.
There were a number of waste prevention events, the latest one was “Love Food, Hate Waste”. This had been attended by over 4,500 people. Customer satisfaction had increased from 63% in 2008 to 85% in 2012.
Rivers and Water Courses
The Committee noted that following the Flood and Water Management Act 2010 the duty to maintain the water courses in the borough fell to the Council. This included the flood prevention as well as maintaining areas of natural beauty, conservation areas and wildlife habitats. Officers stated that there had been a lot of work on the River Ingrebourne around Hacton ward where ecological improvements had been made to reduce the risk of flooding. There were a number of flood plains in the borough, however the maintenance can only be carried out in the spring and summer months so it was short term work. Not all water courses can be dredged, as there are some sensitive sites in the borough with wildlife.
The Committee noted that when the Thames Barrier is closed the water backs up and it is often the water courses in the borough that then burst their banks and flood.
Highways
The Committee was informed that there was an inspection regime which was a rolling programme. Over the last 4 years there was a capital spend of £25 million. (£4.19 million spent by LBH on Carriageway & Footway works and £1.79 million spent by TfL on principal roads). There were often joint initiatives between Regeneration, Community Safety and the Police.
The inspection regimes looked at trip hazards of 25mm or over and potholes of 50mm and over. All the Area Liaison Officer adhered to this regime, given that Havering was the third largest borough in London there are a lot of roads and footpaths to assess and maintain.
The Committee noted that within the remit of Highways was the gritting of the roads in the severe weather conditions. There was a winter plan in place, and the new Central Depot which was built in 2010, had a new salt storage facility constructed in 2012 which held 2500 tonnes of salt. Each truck that went out in the winter months held approximately 5 tonnes of gritting salt. If the snow continued to fall, the services runs 24 hours, 7 days a week to ensure that each refuse run is clear. However some roads (cul-de-sacs) cannot be gritted as the lorry is unable to get down the roads. The team also have the obligation of ensuring that all schools are safe for the children to get into school.
Street Lighting
The Committee were informed of the inventory of street lights in the borough. These included:
· Cast Iron Column = approximately 524 (3%)
· Concrete Column = approximately 2350 (11%)
· Steel Column = approximately 14030 (69%)
· Belisha Beacons = approximately 200 (1%)
· Illuminated Signs = approximately 2200 (11%)
· Illuminated Bollards = approximately 900 (4%)
· Unlit Bollards = approximately 200 (1%)
· Housing Lamp Columns = approximately 2500
The structural testing of all columns is carried out over a 6 year rolling programme. If a column is found to be unsafe it is removed and a new one installed. However the utilities companies have to transfer the electricity, so it is often the case that there will be a new column and an old column next to each other until the power is transferred. Once the power is transferred then the old column can be removed.
All lighting is moving to LED lighting. This is better for safety and the fear of crime. There are already 6000 LEDs in place, with 8000 to be done and a further 4000 over the next 4-5 years. Overall this is a total saving of £150,000-£200,000. Members were shown photos of the difference in lighting with the new LED replacement lights.
Traffic and Parking Control
The Committee were informed that there were 6000 on-street parking place, and 2000 parking spaces in public car parks. 7 of the car parks in Havering had Park Mark status, a Police accreditation which recognises safe car parking facilities which are reviewed annually. There were a number of parking permits which were monitored as well as parking enforcement and challenges.
Members were reminded that all enquiries and reporting should be done through the Self Service section on the internet, or on the Members Portal. This way a reference number can be assigned and the enquiry can then be tracked.
Energy Strategy Team
The Energy Strategy Team was a team of three which was within the Corporate Policy Team. They were responsible for:
· Managing the Council’s energy use.
· Delivering energy saving projects in Council buildings, fleet vehicles and street lighting.
· Delivering energy efficiency measures in Council housing.
· Securing grants for insulation and boiler replacements for Havering residents.
· Helping residents lower their energy costs, particularly those who struggled in the winter with their fuel bills.
The Energy Strategy Achievements were saving £1.3 million off the Council’s energy bills over the past three years through heating, lighting and insulation upgrade; securing £4.5 million in grants for heating and insulation measures for Havering residents since 2010. They had provided assistance to over 2500 vulnerable residents facing fuel poverty over the past three winters by providing emergency assistance by way of food pack or warm packs.
Public Protection
The Committee were informed of the main functions covered by Public Protection, these included:
· Food safety (The testing of foods for quality and contamination. The service delivery was closely controlled by the Food Standards Agency. Animal feeding stuffs were also monitored to prevent disease spreading between animals and to humans e.g. Foot and Mouth Disease.)
· Health and Safety enforcement (The inspection of all non-manufacturing outlets in the borough. There now had to be a valid reason for an inspection to be carried out, and these were now more topic based i.e. legionella.)
· Licensing (This came under the remit of Towns and Communities OSC)
· Trading standards (This was a very broad area, and was about protecting the consumer and vulnerable people in the community)
· Metrology service (A weights and measures service based at Langtons)
· Consumer Landscape Project with Havering CAB (The national CAB can refer to this service who can give more detailed advice to consumers.)
· Private sector housing (dealing with overcrowding, disrepair, houses in multiple occupation and illegal evictions/ harassment)
· Air quality (The service monitors air quality in the borough and works alongside the Energy Strategy Team to improve air quality for which the Mayor of London and TfL have granted funding. Officers explained that there was an “AirText” service which gave free air pollution forecasts on request using SMS for vulnerable people e.g.asthmatics.)
· Contaminated land (There were some 400 uncontrolled sites where waste has been deposited, largely uncontrolled, mainly in the south of the borough. Investigations were carried out on the land, as many had now been developed and had residential properties on them.)
· Noise, odour, light and other statutory nuisances. (Particularly for large works that were carried out, including the replacement of a railway bridge on the A127 at Ardleigh Green. There would need to be traffic diversions, and the trains would still have to operate.)
· Pest control advice (The council service for this ended some 8-10 years ago, however there are a number of private services who are members of the Trading Standards approved Buy With Confidence scheme that residents can be signposted to.)
· Financial investigations – into proceeds of crime.
· Stray Dogs service. (This service transferred from the police approximately 6-7 year ago. Officers stated that a dog is never put down, unless it has to be, they are either rehomed or returned to the owner.)
The officer outlined a number of achievements from Trading Standards, these included a major investigation into an international conspiracy to import and distribute counterfeit golf clubs and equipment which began in 2008. Although nine of the twelve conspirators were brought to trial in 2009, three were based in Thailand and opted to try and say there. They were finally brought to justice in 2013. As a result of this the authority had been nominated by Acushnet Golf, for the “Excellence in Anti-Counterfeiting Award” in recognition of the high level of success and commitment demonstrated by the authority.
Another successful scheme was the Banking Protocol Scheme, which had 30 local members and was about to sign up local post offices, the scheme so far had saved residents over £600,000. The Halifax bank in Romford had won a Trading Standards Institute ‘Hero’ award in 2014 for their work with the Banking Protocol.
The Committee were informed of the priorities for Trading Standards under the National Intelligence Model. This included the control of doorstep crime (including the Banking Protocol) counterfeit goods, (especially, increasingly, electrical goods posing safety concerns) unsafe consumer goods (especially aimed at babies and young children), the sale of illicit alcohol and tobacco products, scam mail, business scams and underage sales.
Parks and Transport
The Committee was informed that there were 100+ Parks and Open Spaces within the borough. Seven of the parks had Green Flag Award status. The grounds maintenance for all these areas was in-house. There was a parks enforcement regime in place whereby patrols were done of the parks.
The Council owned a fleet of approximately 300 vehicles, these ranged from small van, mobility buses up to gritting lorries. The fleet is managed and maintained in-house and all driver and operators are training in the use of the equipment (cranes /tail-lifts). Most vehicles are fitted with a tracking device.
Waste and Recycling Collections Contract
The Committee were informed that from 4th August 2014, there would be a new waste and recycling collection contract with Serco Direct. Currently there were two vehicles that collected household refuse, one for the black bags and one for the orange bags. The new contract would be a new vehicle with two compartments. The contract runs for 7 years plus 3, this covers the cost of the 16 new vehicles. The vehicles would be a 65% /35% split, and this had been calculated on the refuse collected throughout the borough. The new service is being advertised in the “Living” in Havering publication that goes to all households, and a members briefing will be taking place on 27 and 28 July 2014. New doorstep collections will be introduced including the collection of batteries, textiles and small electrical appliances within the early stages of the contract. Collections in flats will remain the same, and will continue to have separate collections for black and orange bags.
Members asked questions about prosecutions in relation to littering and flytipping. Officers explained that it was very difficult to control, as you could not follow someone as this was very time intensive. The key was to educate residents and young children. If littering was occurring every day and residents could pinpoint exactly when and where it was happening, an enforcement officer could be in the area at that time.
Members felt that if prosecutions were made public this may prevent any offences.
The Committee thanked officers for a very full and interesting presentation.