Agenda item

To consider the progress made by the Working Group in 2023/24. 

81.1          The report of the Head of Service: Waste and Recycling outlined the progress made by the Depot Services Working Group during 2023/24.  Members were asked to consider the report. 

81.2          The Lead Member for Clean and Green Environment advised that, in July 2019, the Overview and Scrutiny Committee agreed to establish the Depot Services Working Group in order to facilitate a better understanding of the operational, financial and governance aspects of Ubico and its relationship with the Council.  The Terms of Reference for the Working Group stated that it would continue to meet in line with the Ubico contract extension to March 2027.  Following the Ubico annual report at the 11 July 2023 Overview and Scrutiny meeting, several items were passed to the Depot Services Working Group for a more in depth assessment.  The Working Group had met on three occasions in 2023/24 and considered a wide range of subjects as set out within the report including the projects listed in section two.  The future of the Depot Services Working Group would be considered going forward as part of the discussions regarding the Overview and Scrutiny Committee Work Programme.

81.3          A Member drew attention to Page No. 145, Paragraph 2.8.3 of the report and asked if there was a timeframe for the decision in relation to whether Tewkesbury Borough Council continued to cut County Council owned land.  In response, the Head of Service: Waste and Recycling advised there had been a recent development with the County Council making clear it intended to take back responsibility for maintaining the highways land which Tewkesbury Borough Council currently cut on its behalf, although, formal notification was still awaited.  The Director: Communities explained that there would be a level of risk associated with this as Tewkesbury Borough Council currently cut the land 10-12 times per year, significantly more than the required two cuts per year – when this had been trialled in 2018 there had been considerable complaints from members of the public.  A Member indicated that part of the problem was the lack of clarity in terms of who owned the land and she asked if it was possible to create a map plotting ownership which included the County Council land.  In response, the Associate Director: IT, Cyber and Digital advised it may be possible to create an internal map for Councillors to look up land ownership but there was a discussion to be had as to whether that should be made publicly available.  In response to a query as to whether the map could include Parish Council owned land, he advised that parish data was not currently available to Tewkesbury Borough Council – it would be helpful to build a data set with Parish Councils but that would be a significant piece of work.

81.4          A Member noted that the report made no reference to street cleansing and advised that residents wanted to know which roads would be swept and when.  The Director: Communities advised that a sweeper schedule was being implemented as part of the in-cab technology project which could be made available.

81.5          It was

RESOLVED           That the Depot Services Working Group update be NOTED.