Agenda and minutes

To receive details of any Members appointed to attend the meeting instead of a Member of the Committee.

Councillor Stephen Hodgson for Councillor Roberts, Councillor Riaz for Councillor Norfolk and Councillor Allah Ditta for Councillor Hassan.

To receive any declarations of interest.

None.

Up to a total of fifteen minutes can be allowed, each speaker being allocated a maximum of five minutes, for members of the public to present a petition, ask a question or comment on any matter on the Agenda or within the remit of the Committee.

None.

Of the meeting held on 19^th July 2022 to be approved and signed.

RESOLVED: That the minutes of the meeting held on 19^th July 2022 be approved as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

That the Committee –

1.1    Notes the work undertaken during 2022;

1.2    Endorse the proposed Gull Control work programme for 2023 as detailed in Section 3 of the report;

1.3    Endorse the proposed additional gull proofing work for 2023 as detailed in section 4.2-4.4;

1.4    Recommend to Policy and Resources Committee the additional budget of £21,300 for additional gull proofing work;

1.5    Endorse the Proposed deterrent hawking programme for 2023 as detailed in section 4.5-4.6; and

1.6    Recommend to Policy and Resources Committee the additional budget of £14,000 for deterrent hawking.

The Committee considered a report on gull control activities undertaken by the Council during 2022 and feedback received, together with a work programme for 2023. The Technical Services Manager, Worcestershire Regulatory Services, presented the report and commented in detail on the various aspects.

A programme of gull control activities undertaken by the Council during 2022 was approved at the Environment Committee on 2^nd November 2021.  This report provided an update on the gull control work undertaken and proposed actions for next year’s breeding season based on experiences and evidence.

The proposals for 2023 have been prioritised based on the ability to maintain the success of 2022.  This includes proactive and reactive nest, egg and chick removal; subsidies gull proofing scheme and gull deterrent work at Weir Lane as detailed in section 3 of the report. 

The gull control programme will be delivered within the existing budget, although the Committee were informed that they could add additional elements to support the gull control work proposed during 2023 should funding be available, namely a wider subsidised gull-proofing programme which would require an additional £21,300 budget uplift and deterrent hawking which would require an additional £14,000 budget uplift.  If these additional amounts are agreed, they will be subject to approval by the Policy and Resources Committee and Council.

The Technical Services Manager responded to questions and comments from Committee Members on detailed aspects of the report.

The Committee thanked the Technical Services Manager for an excellent report and welcomed the proposals.

RESOLVED: That the Committee:

1.      notes the work undertaken during 2022;

2.      endorse the proposed Gull Control work programme for 2023 as detailed in Section 3 of the report;

3.      endorse the proposed additional gull proofing work for 2023 as detailed in section 4.2-4.4;

4.      recommend to Policy and Resources Committee the additional budget of £21,300 for additional gull proofing work;

5.      endorse the Proposed deterrent hawking programme for 2023 as detailed in section 4.5-4.6; and

6.      recommend to Policy and Resources Committee the additional budget of £14,000 for deterrent hawking.

That the Committee delegates authority to the Corporate Director - Finance and Resources and the Corporate Director – Operations, Homes and Communities to make a direct award of contract to Dennis Eagle, for the purchase of 7 Refuse Collection Vehicles for a total price of £1.65m.

The Committee considered a report on the early replacement of refuse collection vehicles.   As part of the vehicle replacement capital programme, a programme for replacing vehicles across Worcester City Council has been drawn up until 2036 with subsequent replacements year-on-year, depending on type of vehicle and usage.

In years 2023/24 and 2024/25 Environmental Operations are due to replace seven refuse collection vehicles.  Capital budgets of £1,611,090 have previously been agreed by Council for their replacement.

The report was requesting to bring forward the procurement of all seven vehicles from Dennis Eagle as a one-off procurement exercise, due to the lead in time from purchase to delivery.  A quote had been received from Dennis Eagle to directly purchase the vehicles and a considerable discount has been offered for being a previous customer, and, if the contract is secured earlier than the Council had originally programmed.

The Corporate Director – Operations, Homes and Communities in presenting the report reassured Members of the Committee that work is underway to plan for procuring electric refuse collection vehicles from 2025/26 rather than continuing to use diesel vehicles as detailed in paragraph 4.4 of the report.  The Committee’s attention was drawn to the financial implications at paragraph 5.1 and the table identifying maintenance costs if early replacement of vehicles is not sought.

Committee Members debated the report and some raised concerns over spending such a large amount of money and preferred to defer the decision and set up a task and finish group to look at the current condition of the fleet and whether the cost of borrowing is more than the maintenance.  This would allow costs to be examined and alternatives considered.  Other Members agreed that recommendation in the report this was the right decision to make as a delay in procurement will impact on service delivery within the current fleet and vehicle maintenance costs and downtime will increase.

Officers responded to questions and comments from Committee Members on various aspects of the proposal.

RESOLVED:  That the Committee delegates authority to the Corporate Director – Finance and Resources and the Corporate Director – Operations, Homes and Communities to make a direct award of contract to Dennis Eagle for the purchase of 7 Refuse Collection Vehicles for a total price of £1.65m.

That the Committee

1.1    notes the City Council’s carbon footprint for 2021-22;

1.2    approves the proposed Action Plan for 2023-24 to deliver the adopted Environmental Sustainability Strategy 2020-2030;

1.3    recommends to Policy and Resources Committee that a one-off enabling budget of £150K is allocated in next year’s budget to support delivery of the actions set out in this plan; and

1.4    delegates authority to the Chair and Vice Chair to approve any subsequent amendments to the Action Plan that due to urgency may not be able to be brought to this Committee.

The Deputy Director – Corporate Policy and Strategy presented the report and highlighted the main points in the Action Plan, which is a draft document and subject to approval by the Committee.

The City Council’s direct carbon emissions for 2021-22 were set out in Appendix 1 attached to the report, the Action Plan for 2023-24, which is a revision of the Plan for 2020-22 and proposes the addition of several new actions, was attached as Appendix 2.

An enabling budget of £100k was previously allocated to support delivery of the plan.  The budget has now been fully allocated as shown in Table 1 at paragraph 2.4 of the report and was forecast to be fully spent by the end of 2022-23.

With regard to funding a budget of £150k is proposed to support the City Council’s sustainability action programme, which will be subject to approval by the Policy and Resources Committee and Council.

Officers responded to questions and comments from Committee Members on various aspects of the report.  In particular reference was made to progress reports being a standard item on the Committee agenda as opposed to twice yearly, officers indicated that this may be repetitive but would look at potential ways to keep Members informed, noting that a Member steering group oversees the delivery of the sustainability strategy.

The Deputy Director – Corporate Policy and Strategy in response to a request for a feasibility study on the potential to produce power from the river, stated that this would require external specialist resource to be procured and would be a costly piece of work but officers could bring a basic information paper to a future Committee.

Committee Members acknowledged the time and effort that has gone into the Action Plan by officers and that much progress has been made, although still more to do.  Officers also thanked Members who are part of the Steering Group assisting officers on this work.

RESOLVED: That the Committee:

1.      notes the City Council’s carbon footprint for 2021-22;

2.      approves the proposed Action Plan for 2023-24 to deliver the adopted Environmental Sustainability Strategy 2020-2030;

3.      recommends to Policy and Resources Committee that a one-off enabling budget of £150K is allocated in next year’s budget to support delivery of the actions set out in this plan; and

4.      delegates authority to the Chair and Vice Chair to approve any subsequent amendments to the Action Plan that due to urgency may not be able to be brought to this Committee.

That the Committee

1.1        approves the core proposal to install electric vehicle charge points as outlined in this report and agrees to receive further reports of the detailed business case.;

1.2        delegates authority to agree an extension of these works to the Corporate Director – Resources, in consultation with the Chair and Vice chair of this Committee; and

1.3        authorises Officers to submit a bid for additional external funding as outlined in this report.

The Committee considered a report on further investment in electric vehicle charge points.

The City Council’s Policy and Resources Committee agreed on 8^th February 2022 to make an allowance within the capital programme of £200k to install more EV charge points in the Council’s car parks.  This was agreed by Council and included in the capital programme, subject to a detailed report setting out the proposed business case.

The Deputy Director – Corporate Policy and Strategy in presenting the report informed Committee Members that there were two main issues to be considered when deciding upon investment in new charging points, location and technical specification, as detailed in sections 3 and 4 of the report respectively.

Utilising the Council’s £200k allocation works were recommended as set out in paragraphs 5.1-5.6 of the report. Subject to Committee approval, officers will submit a bid for On-Street Residential Chargepoint Scheme (ORCS) funding for the works referred to.

Following procurement, the target installation period for King Street and Tallow Hill car parks would be during Summer 2023.

Officers responded to questions and comments from Committee Members on various aspects of the proposal. 

RESOLVED: That the Committee:

1       approves the core proposal to install electric vehicle charge points as outlined in this report and agrees to receive further reports of the detailed business case;

2.      delegates authority to agree an extension of these works to the Corporate Director – Finance and Resources, in consultation with the Chair and Vice chair of the Committee; and

3.      authorises Officers to submit a bid for additional external funding as outlined in this report.

1.1        That the Committee note the Budgets for the various services identified for 2022/23;

1.2        That the Committee note the progress made in delivering the projects included in the City Plan and City Delivery Fund that are relevant to this Committee and confirms the programme of work resourced.

The Committee considered a report on the Budgets for the various services for 2023/24. The Corporate Director – Finance and Resources presented the report and summarised the main points, including with budgets for various services for 2022/23 and progress made in delivering the projects included in the City Plan and City Delivery Fund that are relevant to this Committee.

Members were invited to submit suggestions of potential service improvements and/or re-prioritisation of budgets in order to continue to achieve service objectives and to deliver the aims of the City Plan relevant to this Committee, so as to be able to feed proposals into the Committee’s consideration of the 2023/24 budget at its meeting in January.

RESOLVED: That the Committee note:

1.    the Budgets for the various services identified for 2022/23; and

2.  the progress made in delivering the projects included in the City Plan and City Delivery Fund that are relevant to this Committee and confirms the programme of work resourced.

RESOLVED: That the Committee note:

2.    the Budgets for the various services identified for 2022/23; and

2.  the progress made in delivering the projects included in the City Plan and City Delivery Fund that are relevant to this Committee and confirms the programme of work resourced.

That the Environment Committee notes the Council’s quarter 2 performance for 2022/23.

The Committee considered a report on the Council’s Quarter 2 performance for Environment Committee for 2022/23. The Corporate Director – Operations, Homes and Communities presented the report and highlighted the main points.

There were no questions from Committee Members.

RESOLVED: That the Committee note the Council’s quarter 2 performance for 2022/23.

Which in the opinion of the Chair is of sufficient urgency as to warrant consideration.

None.