Issue - meetings

Further to Minute No. 204 of the meeting of the Cabinet held on 24th April, 2013, consideration was given to a report, presented by the Streetpride Community Delivery Manager, outlining the response to the Scrutiny Review of Grounds Maintenance and Street Cleansing services.

Members noted that a report on the effects of budget savings on the Grounds Maintenance and Street Cleansing schedules had been presented to the Improving Places Select Commission on 25^th July 2012, where it was agreed that a review of the services be carried out.  The review was conducted over three separate meetings during November and December 2012 with the following objectives:-

: to analyse the impact of budget cuts to the service;

: to ensure that risk and impact assessments have been fully considered and are in place for the future;

: to develop practical suggestions for improvement of the service within budget; and

: to consider invest to save options.

The recommendations of the scrutiny review were included as an appendix to the submitted report. The review by the Improving Places Select Commission largely aligns with the work undertaken by Council officers to identify actions which mitigate the effects of the reductions in service budgets.

Members’ discussion of this issue included the following salient issues:-

: grounds maintenance, grass cutting and the use of the ‘grass retardant’ and weed killer; it was noted that the original trial of the use of the ‘grass retardant’ had occurred during the later 1990s;

: cutting back vegetation at the junctions of rural roads, so as to maintain sight lines;

: the Council’s procurement and use of specialist grass-cutting equipment;

: street cleansing and the review of the provision of litter bins;

: the recording of contacts with geographical information to gather intelligence on trends and patterns;

: large-scale works alongside the highway, which sometimes require temporary road (or lane) closures and traffic diversions;

: maintenance works which encourage the growth of wild flowers, especially in central reservations and alongside many of the principal routes into Rotherham;

: the various comments, criticisms and feedback received from members of the public;

: the proposal to establish a Town and Village Centre Standard for grounds maintenance and street cleansing throughout the Rotherham Borough area;

: future monitoring of the recommendations of this scrutiny review.

Resolved:- (1) That the report be received and its contents noted.

(2) That the Improving Places Select Commission be asked to establish arrangements for the monitoring of the implementation of the recommendations of the Scrutiny Review of Grounds Maintenance and Street Cleansing services.

-           Strategic Director of Environment and Development Services to report.

Councillor R. S. Russell, Cabinet Member for Waste and Emergency Planning, introduced a report which detailed the response to the recommendations made by the Improving Places Select Commission following its review of the Grounds Maintenance and Street Cleansing services.

The recommendations of the Select Commission have been considered by officers, and a detailed response was detailed as part of the report.  There were four recommendations that had been rejected, three due to other issues and one which had already been completed.

The review by the Improving Places Select Commission largely aligned with the work undertaken by officers to identify actions which mitigated the effects of the reductions in service budgets.

Resolved:-  (1)  That the response to the Scrutiny review be approved.

(2)  That the detailed response to the Scrutiny review of Grounds Maintenance and Street Cleansing Services be submitted to the Overview and Scrutiny Management Board in due course.