21 07 2003

 

 

Apologies for inability to attend the meeting were received on behalf of Councillors Bone and Kimber.

 

 

 

 

The  Leisure and Amenities Manager submitted a report advising the Board that the Council had been working with Rowner Environmental Forum on many issues to try and improve the environment of the Rowner area.

 

The forum had identified a problem with the removal of abandoned vehicles on land that was not owned by the Council. The main issue was identifying the ownership of the land on which the vehicle had been abandoned and, secondly, receiving permission from that land owner to remove the vehicle concerned.

 

As a consequence, the Forum felt that it would be beneficial if one agency had the responsibility for co-ordinating the inspection and removal of abandoned vehicles, which would prevent known abusers of the current system from moving vehicles to the various land owner areas, and thereby reducing the amount of time and effort needed to legally remove vehicles.

 

A protocol and agreement had been agreed with the Borough Solicitor and was between Gosport Borough Council, Portsmouth Housing Association and Warden Housing Association. It was intended that those were the first three partners to sign up to the agreement and that other agencies within the Rowner area would follow suit once the protocol was established.

 

Members welcomed the initiative for dealing with abandoned vehicles in the Rowner area and suggested that officers explore the possibility of extending the arrangements to other areas of the Borough, such as Mill Pond Estate.

 

The Board acknowledged the amount of time that the Head of Contract and Amenities had spent on negotiations towards the protocol and agreement and thanked him and his staff for achieving a successful outcome.

 

RESOLVED:  That

 

(i)   the Board approve the Rowner protocol and agreement, as set out in Appendix 1 to the Leisure and Amenities Manager's report, for dealing with abandoned vehicles;

 

(ii)  officers be requested to investigate the possibility of developing a protocol and agreement in other areas of the Borough.

 

 

 

 

The Leisure and Amenities Manager submitted a report informing the Board of the results of the recent recycling trial, together with an analysis of the responses to the questionnaire that had been sent to all those residents and Councillors who were currently participating in the alternate weekly collection of dry mixed recyclables.

 

The ongoing feedback that had been received indicated that the trial had been well received by the majority of residents and the survey had identified that 63% of those who responded were either 'very satisfied' or 'satisfied' with the scheme. At their meeting on 2 July, the cross party Recycling Working Group had agreed to support the alternate weekly collection of household waste and dry mixed recyclable materials and recommended that the scheme be expanded on a phased timetable to the remaining collection rounds of the Borough.

 

To enable a smooth implementation to take place for the next phases of the alternate weekly collection method, a revised action plan had been identified.  The proposal in the action plan was to extend the scheme to the Bridgemary collection round in early October with other rounds being included during the course of the remainder of the financial year. The Board were advised that to commence the operation any earlier had been restricted as the current market for the purchase of wheeled bins was oversubscribed.  The problem in obtaining bins was one that most local authorities, who had received DEFRA funding this year, were experiencing.

 

Some Members felt that the weekly household waste collection should be retained until all residents of the Borough had been consulted regarding the expansion of the alternate weekly collection of household waste and dry mixed recyclables.  However, the additional cost of that exercise would be in the region of £465,000, which could result in an increase in council tax.  'Money Matters' survey had shown that the majority of residents would only support increases in council tax in line with inflation.

 

Most Members of the Board considered that the scheme was working well, there had been very few complaints that officers and recycling inspectors had been unable to resolve and any problems experienced during the trial round would be addressed with clearer information being available for the next phases, should members agree to the expansion of the scheme.  It was generally felt that the scheme offered value for money.

 

Following a full debate, the Board were requested to consider supporting the phased expansion of the alternate weekly collection method and approve the proposed timetable for its implementation.  A vote was taken, the outcome of which was that the majority of the Board supported the officers' recommendations.

 

RESOLVED: That

(iii)  the timetable for the implementations of the alternate weekly collection of household waste and dry mixed recyclables to the remaining collection rounds in the Borough be approved.

 

 

RESOLVED:  That under Section 100 (A) (4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public be excluded from the meeting for the under-mentioned items of business on the grounds that they involved the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraphs 8 and 9 of Part 1 of Schedule 12 A of the Act.

 

 

Consideration was given to an exempt report by the Leisure and Amenities Manager informing the Board of the results of the recent tender exercise for the procurement of wheeled bins and seeking the Board's approval to award the contract for the supply of wheeled bins.

 

RESOLVED: That the award of the contract for the supply of wheeled bins to Otto (UK) Ltd be approved.

 

 

As this was the Head of Contracts and Amenities last meeting of the Board before taking up an appointment with another local authority, the Chairman thanked him for his hard work and, on behalf of the Board, extended best wishes for the future.