6 STREET CLEANLINESS. PDF 279 KB
To present
information on ensuring clean and tidy communities.
Additional documents:
Decision:
To accept the report, noting the observations made during the
discussion.
Minutes:
The
report was presented by the Cabinet Member for Highways, Engineering and
Gwynedd Consultancy, the Head of Highways, Engineering and Gwynedd Consultancy
and the Assistant Head. Attention was drawn briefly to the following principal
points:
-
It was explained that the street cleaning
service covered all the public and adopted roads managed by the Council. These
have been split into zones in accordance with their use:
o
High-use
zones - town centres mainly
o
Medium-use
zones - comprise residential areas mainly
o
Low-use
zones - comprise the less intensive areas which include rural county
roads.
-
It
was confirmed that the waste and recycling collection service had recently been
transferred to the Environment Department and this had given officers an
opportunity to re-visit how the provision was delivered. The tidying-up service
continued to be under the management of the Highways, Engineering and Gwynedd
Consultancy Department.
-
It was explained that a review of the service
had been undertaken. Generally, it was
recognised that the work of the service was very good, however, there were
financial and health and safety matters to be addressed. It was reported that a timetable had been set
to address the routes in the most efficient way by the end of the summer.
-
Details
were given that Keep Wales Tidy held an annual independent survey on street
cleanliness.
-
It
was explained that the department was undertaking trials of 'Brighter
Bins'. Five bins were part of the trial,
and they use solar power and modern technology to make an automatic request to
the department to be emptied when they are full.
-
It
was discussed that teaching children and the people of Gwynedd, as well as
raising awareness of the effects of litter, was part of a process of changing
behaviour to achieve long-term environmental benefits.
-
It was reported on the Department's intention
to combine street cleaning, enforcement elements and the tidying-up teams as
one new Street Scene service.
Members were given an
opportunity to ask questions and offer observations. During the discussion, the
following matters were raised:
In
response to enquiries by members, the Head of the Highways, Engineering and
Gwynedd Consultancy confirmed that enforcement teams currently faced capacity
difficulties that led to a delay in the installation of new dog excrement bins
after the department had received requests.
However, it was confirmed that the Tidying-up Teams aimed to distribute
bins as soon as possible and confirmed that only a limited number of bins were
stored in the Council's possession.
A
member noted that some individuals threw litter out of their cars. The member
asked would it be possible to be more pro-active in the places where this was a
regular problem e.g. lay-bys. In response, the Head of Department noted
that the location mentioned by the member could be looked at to trial such an
arrangement.
A member asked if there was a comparison of the costs linked to litter clearance and emptying bins. In response, the Head of Department noted that ... view the full minutes text for item 6