Issue - meetings

 To consider the recommendations of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee.

That the Grass Cutting Scrutiny Review Report, attached to the report at Appendix A, including recommendations 1-6 as set out in Paragraph 3.1 of the covering report, be APPROVED.  

84.1           The report of the Head of Community Services, circulated at Pages No. 51-72, attached the report of the Grass Cutting Improvement Plan Working Group, as adopted by the Overview and Scrutiny Committee, and the Executive Committee was asked to consider and approve that report and its recommendations.

84.2           The Chair of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee advised that the Grass Cutting Improvement Plan Working Group had been set up to look at how grass cutting took place within the Borough. The Group had had three very productive meetings in quick succession, chaired by Councillor Cromwell. The meetings had heard from Tewkesbury Borough Council Officers and partners in Ubico about how grass cutting was carried out in Tewkesbury – it had also heard how grass cutting and grounds maintenance was carried out at West Oxfordshire which had given the Group some ideas that helped in devising the recommendations to improve the service. The Working Group felt confident that improvements had been made and that the Council’s Officers and Ubico were committed to making sure the problems faced in the previous year were minimised going forward. The Chair thanked the Members and Officers that had been involved with the Working Group for the considerable amount of effort they had put into making it a success.

84.3           The Head of Community Services drew attention to Page No. 61 of the report which set out the recommendations of the Working Group. He explained that some had already been actioned and others were underway. In terms of the specific actions he advised that:

1.  Ubico had already undertaken an audit of all equipment to ensure it was fit for purpose and had identified the equipment that would need to be purchased by year-end. In addition, the rounds had been reorganised in a more logical way which meant better use of staffing/resources to ensure the workforce was being used to its full capacity.

2.  Tablets were being purchased for electronic mapping.

3.  A small piece of land, currently maintained by Tewkesbury Borough Council on behalf of Gloucestershire County Council, had been identified for cutting twice-yearly. This would be closely monitored to see what the impact was in respect of that cutting regime, as opposed to the current eight to ten times a year that the rest of the Borough was cut. This would then inform the likely impact of a possible reduction in the number of cuts on highways land in the future.

4.  The grounds maintenance service for 2019/20 would continue to be provided on the same basis as the current year and delivery would be closely monitored to ensure it was fit for purpose.

5.  It was felt that there was still work to be done with partners and therefore it was recommended that a Member Group be established from the start of the new Council term to continue the work which had begun.

6.  Over the years, the Council had adopted extra land but the Ubico budget had not been uplifted at  ...  view the full minutes text for item 84