Agenda item

An opportunity for Members to discuss and scrutinise the Departmnet’s improvement priorities and measures.

To accept the report, noting the observations made during the discussion.⁠

The report was presented by the Cabinet Member for Highways, Engineering and YGC, along with the Head and Assistant Head of the Highways, Engineering and YGC Department.

It was reported that the Department was leading on three projects in the Council Plan 2023-2028, namely 'Extending opportunities for play and socialising for the county's children and young people' as part of the Tomorrow's Gwynedd priority as well as 'Acting on Flood Risks' and 'Clean and Tidy Communities' as part of the Green Gwynedd priority. It was elaborated that the information presented for this meeting set out the Department's progress against the projects' milestones for 2024-2025 as well as data on the Department's services' performance measures.

During the debate, the following comments were made by Members:

Highway Maintenance - Condition of Roads

The Department was thanked for submitting data on pothole inspections and were asked for more information on response times to public enquiries about the condition of roads. In response, the Head of Department apologised that this data on response time statistics had not been included in the Report, explaining that this was due to a problem with the software. It was explained that this data would be included when reporting to this Committee in the future. It was explained that inspectors immediately assessed calls concerning the condition of roads and it was noted that work was carried out on a road within two hours if it was assessed to be a critical problem. It was reported that other enquiries were resolved by the end of the following working day in order to be able to schedule and package work effectively. Confidence was expressed by the Department that it was able to meet these timetables.

Some Members expressed frustration that road resurfacing after reporting a pothole did not last in the long term. In response, the Head of Department explained that every effort was made to cut out a larger section of the road in order to be able to better fill the hole and to a high standard, but this was not possible on all occasions, therefore staff resurfaced the road using tar from buckets. It was recognised that this could have an impact on the quality of the road and the Department would consider the comments further. It was elaborated that the Department had received grant funding of £8 million over a two-year period to deal with road condition issues, noting that reporting on response rates to reports of potholes and finding ways to prevent them from appearing was key to the application.

Street Services

It was pointed out that only 23 Fixed Penalty Notices were paid during 2023-24 for cases of dog owners not clearing up after their dog. In response, the Head of Department shared his frustration with this challenge, explaining that these figures were low because enforcement officers had to witness the dog fouling and the owner not clearing it up. He explained that this was very challenging and added that there were not a lot of enforcement officers employed within the service. However, it was emphasised that the Department did target areas of concern and worked to educate dog owners about the importance of safely disposing of the mess. It was elaborated that patterns indicated that this was not such a big problem during the summer season but that more reports of dog fouling were received during the winter.

A case in the Dolgellau area was described where defects had been seen on a narrow pavement for some time, causing a risk to the public and visitors as they had to step into the road instead of using the pavement. The Cabinet Member and Head of Department confirmed that they would be contacting the Member further to endeavour to find a solution to this situation.

Project: Extending opportunities for play and socialising for the county's children and young people

The Department was praised for introducing improvements to playgrounds, asking what work was underway to ensure funding was allocated to playgrounds outside the County's main towns. In response, the Head of Department confirmed that work was underway to ensure that the funds were allocated in line with the use made of the playgrounds. Council Members were urged to work with the Department to ensure that investment in the playgrounds was prioritised to the right locations. It was explained that there was only one playgrounds officer in the Department and that he went around the playgrounds to assess their condition and assess the use made of them.

Ardal Ni Tidying-up Team

Members expressed their gratitude for the work of this Team, reporting that they responded to incidents and enquiries quickly and effectively. They were thanked for their ongoing work.

Fleet Service

It was asked if there was a reason why 38 diesel and petrol vehicles remained part of the fleet when electric or hybrid vehicles had been purchased in their place. In response, the Head of Department confirmed that a large part of the fleet now consisted of electric or hybrid cars. However, it was noted that the Department received comments expressing concern that electric vehicles were still not fit for purpose because it was necessary to travel far within the county and then drive extra miles in order to complete services, posing a risk that a convenient charging point was not available on all occasions, and therefore diesel and petrol vehicles continued to be used in some cases rather than accumulating vehicle hire costs. However, it was emphasised that the confidence of the workforce in the fleet of electric and hybrid cars was growing and the introduction of more charging points in the future would also lead to resolving this problem.

It was challenged that the number of miles the electric and hybrid vehicles could travel before having to recharge should not be a problem if the right vehicles were purchased. It was also considered whether the charging points were in the correct locations if they were not suitable for Council services. In response, the Head of Department gave assurance that the Council was purchasing the right vehicles following thorough research. It was explained that electric and hybrid vehicle developments remained relatively new, especially for vans and other industrial vehicles, and that the range of miles they could travel before recharging remained low. However, it was confirmed that newer cars were able to travel more miles before recharging and it was thought that the vehicles would continue to develop in this way in the future. It was elaborated that the Department was also working to introduce rapid charging points across the County to support staff until they were confident to use electric and hybrid cars without worrying excessively about the need to recharge.

It was noted that the Council's new strategy stated that officers had to have a manager's support before purchasing a new vehicle for the fleet and that the Fleet Manager had the final say on the matter. The Department was asked if the other Departments worked together to ensure that this was the relevant arrangement. In response, the Head of Department explained that the Departments' fleet budgets remained within the control of the individual Departments rather than within an independent fleet budget. It was emphasised that discussions were taking place within the Council to find the best system to budget the fleet for the future.

Structure Maintenance Service

It was pointed out that the report stated that there were 22 bridges in Gwynedd which had a 'poor' BCI (Bridge Condition Indicator) and another 10 bridges with a 'very poor' BCI. The Head of Department explained that inspectors conducted inspections of bridges (whether steel, concrete or stone) and assessed different parts of them in order to achieve a BCI score. It was elaborated that the BCIs of all parts of the bridges were combined to produce an average before prioritising which bridges needed to be worked on within the strategy for the coming year.

RESOLVED

To accept the report, noting the observations made during the discussion.