Agenda item

Questions from Members of the Public and the Press

 

To receive questions relating to items of business on the agenda from members of the public or press who are present at the meeting.

Minutes:

1)    Councillor Jones noted the difficulties that the operation of the site was causing due to the large lorries using the access road and stated that residents were being harassed for parking legally near the site on land not owned by the operator. Councillor Jones asked what action the Council was taking in regard to these concerns.

The Chair requested that the Assistant Director – Community Safety and Streetscene responded to the question.

 

In response the Assistant Director Community Safety and Streetscene stated that the operator had no right to prevent access to the green space adjacent to the site, or to stop others using the road used to access the site and advised that the operator had been reminded of this. The Assistant Director advised that the while the operator was able to take measures to ensure that they had access to the site, they were not allowed to prevent access to the road or adjacent green space. The Assistant Director advised that issue of weight and other restrictions on the surrounding roads was being looked at, but noted that the enforcement of weight limits and other restrictins would be the responsibility of the police, and as such the public should report any related concerns to the police.

 

As a supplementary question Councillor Jones asked who had been responsible for consulting with local residents and Millmoor Juniors regarding the use of the road and about the inactivity of the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), in carrying out there role in ensuring vehicles accessed the site safely, as local residents had advised that they had not received any contact about this matter.

 

In response the Cabinet Member for Waste, Roads and Community Safety advised that the Assistant Director – Streetscene and Community Safety had been in regular contact with the HSE and that the Assistant Director as well as other officers had been in contact with Millmoor Juniors.

 

The Assistant Director noted that he had been working since operations at the site had recommenced in February with those responsible for safety at the site and advised that he had expressed concerns to the HSE regarding how vehicles were accessing the site. The Assistant Director confirmed that the HSE had spoken to the operator regarding road safety at the site and as a result, vehicles had ceased reversing into the site.

 

The Assistant Director noted that the operator had committed to the HSE to discuss areas of concern with Millmoor Juniors, but as this discussion had not yet taken place this non-compliance with an agreed action had been raised with the HSE. The Assistant Director advised he had an upcoming meeting with the Board of Millmoor Juniors to discuss their concerns. The Assistant Director concluded in noting that ultimately it was the responsibility of the HSE to ensure the safe operation of the site.

 

2)    Mr Steve McKenna asked why the Council had misled the residents of Kimberworrth regarding the communication with the Secretary of State regarding the Council’s ability to issue a discontinuation order.

The Chair requested that the Cabinet Member for Waste, Roads and Community Safety and the officers present responded to the question.

In response the Cabinet Member for Waste, Roads and Community Safety stated it was very difficult to respond to such a vague accusation and noted that local residents had been kept informed on activity surrounding the site with the Council was having ongoing discussions with the Government on the matter. The Cabinet Member noted that the latest position regarding the site was detailed in the report that had been included in the agenda for the meeting.

 

The Chair asked Mr McKenna to clarify his question.

 

Mr McKenna stated that he and the Droppingwell Action Group had been told by Councillors that up until January 2021 there had been no response from the Secretary of State regarding a discontinuation order, however an FOI request that they had submitted had shown that responses had been received in July and December 2020. Mr McKenna stated that the Council had not made it known that the ability to issue a discontinuation order was theirs, and not the responsibility of the Secretary of State.

 

In response the Cabinet Member noted that the responses to Council correspondence with the Secretary of State were freely available. The Cabinet Member stated that the Council was not concealing anything, and that work was continuing to reach a solution for a very complex and unique problem.

 

As a supplementary question Mr McKenna asked why the Council had further misled the residents of Kimberworth by declaring at a meeting of Full Council in 2017 that no waste from Rotherham would end up at the landfill site, for waste from a Council development on Westgate to be subsequently dumped at the site.

 

In response the Cabinet Member noted her disappointment at the accusations of the Council misleading residents and covering up activity regarding the landfill site. The Cabinet Member advised that she had been infuriated when a contractor working for the Council had dumped one load of waste, on one day at the Grange landfill site and that the Assistant Director had subsequently taken the appropriate action to stop any further waste being dumped. The Cabinet Member stated that contractors must work to and uphold Council policies and stated that the incident should not have happened and would not happen again.

 

The Assistant Director detailed the actions that had been taken to resolve the matter and assured the meeting that such an incident would not happen again. The Assistant Director advised that a full investigation into the incident would take place.