Agenda item

(a)       That the report be noted; and          

(b)       That the comments/observations of the Committee be fed back to the Corporate Resources Overview & Scrutiny Committee who are responsible for the overview and monitoring of improvement targets. 

The Chairman introduced a report to request that the Committee consider the 2012/13 Quarter 4/Year End service performance reports, note the draft year end position of the Strategic Assessment of Risks and Challenges (SARC) and note the performance made against the Improvement Targets contained within the performance report. 

Streetscene

            The Head of Streetscene gave a short presentation on the performance within Streetscene, outlining work which had been undertaken to improve performance and areas where improvement was needed, as outlined within the report. 

Councillor Paul Shotton referred to the benefits of Saturday collections and asked whether the number of missed collections had reduced.  He welcomed the work on the resurfacing programme.  He also referred to Environment Visual Audits (EVA) and in explaining that he had attended two in his ward, queried whether all wards were participating in EVAs.  The Head of Streetscene responded that missed collection rates had improved dramatically and the rate was now 30 to 40 per 100,000 collections which was less than half the national average.  On the issue of EVAs, he said that most wards had had at least one and that he would provide information on where EVAs had occurred and where they had not. 

Councillor Ian Dunbar said that his residents had asked for their thanks to be passed on for the reduction in missed collections.  He also welcomed the improvement in the answering of calls to the contact centre.  In response to a query from Councillor Dunbar on whether Community Payback was a new initiative, the Head of Streetscene said that work on graffiti cleaning had always been undertaken as part of the scheme but it had been extended to cover other areas such as cleaning unadopted roads.  Councillor Derek Butler asked if consideration could be given to using people on Community Payback to clear the gardens of elderly Council tenants.   

Councillor Chris Dolphin asked that his thanks be passed on to Dan Arden, Harvey Mitchell and Ian Williams for their work.  He raised concern about the lack of resurfacing in Whitford and the problems faced by the residents of Holywell due to the change of day in their recycling collections to a Saturday.  He also felt that some areas required additional gully cleaning as problems had occurred when they overflowed.  In response, the Head of Streetscene explained that all roads in Flintshire were inspected for required resurfacing works to ensure that the worst affected areas were resurfaced first and added that a further review would be undertaken in September or October 2013.  On the issue of gullycleaning, he said that all gullies were cleaned on an annual basis but asked that Members let him know of any specific areas that they felt were a problem.  The number of areas having Saturday collections was increasing but it would be managed and would be phased to enable it to be reviewed following its implementation.  Maps detailing collections for all areas of Flintshire were on display at Alltami Depot and the Head of Streetscene explained that if Members wanted to see them they could call to arrange a visit. 

Councillor George Hardcastle welcomed the report and the reduction in the number of missed collections in his ward.  In response to a query from Councillor Hardcastle, the Head of Streetscene said that a demonstration of devices to identify assisted collections had been carried out at the previous meeting of the Committee.  He asked Members to let him know if problems were still being experienced by residents.  Councillor Hardcastle also asked why the risks for CD07 (Depot Review) and CD27a (Waste Management Targets not met) had increased.  The Head of Streetscene explained that the risk was still amber but the completion date for the depot review had changed to December 2013 from October 2013.  For CD27a, he explained that waste management was an ongoing piece of work but the risk was still reported as amber.  Councillor Hardcastle asked that his thanks be passed on to Harvey Mitchell and Kevin Edwards for their assistance with an issue in his ward. 

In response to a query from Councillor Nancy Matthews about whether residents could collect recycling bags from Alltami Depot, the Head of Streetscene said that the depot was not a public building but it was the intention to make bags available at Household Recycling Centre sites and the Flintshire Connect Centres. 

Councillor Peter Curtis felt that the Saturday collections had been successful and that any initial problems had been overcome.  He said that a gully in Pen y Ball Hill was a concern and asked that it be cleaned more often.  The Chairman asked that Members let officers know of any areas in their ward where they felt that gully cleaning should be undertaken more frequently.  Councillor Curtis also raised concern about the amount of fly-posting being undertaken in Flintshire.  The Head of Streetscene explained that guidance on the Enforcement Policy for issues such as fly-posting would be submitted to the September meeting of the Committee. 

Councillor Veronica Gay referred to areas in her ward where footpaths were not cleaned and grass was not cut and added that she had reported the problems in the past.  Councillor Butler said that it was important for Members to discuss any concerns or problems in their ward with their local officers.  Councillor Chris Dolphin requested a copy of the gully cleaning schedule.    

Planning

            The Head of Planning gave a short presentation on the performance within Planning, outlining work which had been undertaken to improve performance and areas where improvement was needed, as outlined within the report. 

            The Head of Planning also advised that the performance indicators for determination of Householder applications and other applications and resolving enforcement cases had improved significantly in quarter 1 2013/14 when compared with the reported quarter 4 information. 

            The Chairman welcomed the improvements and reminded Members that Planning would be the subject of a report to the 23 July 2013 meeting of the Committee.  He said that it was important to sustain the improvements and queried how staff changes were being addressed.  The Head of Planning responded that the structure that was being considered would allow staff to move around the department when required but said that it was important to have the correct processes in place and have the right culture.  The Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Environment said that he received monthly updates from the Head of Planning on caseload and he was confident that processes were being put in place. 

            In response to a query from Councillor Paul Shotton about the opposition from the House Builders Federation to the identification of adequate land supply in the County, the Head of Planning said that this was due to how the land availability was calculated and he explained about the two methods of calculation.  The Council had to provide a five years supply but the method used by the Inspector had resulted in a calculation of 4.5 years supply.  It was felt that the calculations had not been applied consistently and officers had raised the issue with Welsh Government (WG).  It was hoped that a meeting with WG could be arranged before 18 July 2013. 

            Councillor Ian Dunbar welcomed the work being undertaken to look at Section 106 agreements in detail and also the amalgamation of the Development Plans Panel and Planning Protocol Working Group to form the Planning Strategy Group.  He said that it was important to keep Town & Community Councils involved in the Local Development Plan.  In response to a query from Councillor Dunbar about whether any progress had been made on mobile working within the Planning Department, the Head of Planning explained that work was progressing.  An audit of section 106 agreements was being worked through on an area by area basis and the Head of Planning explained to Members that reports to Planning & Development Control Committee had recently been amended to advise that if an application was granted subject to a section 106 agreement and it was not signed within six months, then an option was included to refuse the application. 

            Councillor Cindy Hinds raised concern about the lack of feedback for issues of enforcement and said that she had not seen the design of the plan for the areas of Penyffordd and Penymynydd.  The Head of Planning said that matters of enforcement could take several months to complete but appreciated that Members needed to be kept informed.  On the issue of design, he said that the Design Commission had contributed to the scheme but that the issues raised by Councillor Hinds were ongoing. 

            In response to a query from Councillor Derek Butler about the downturn in performance in Enforcement, the Head of Planning said that earlier in the 2012/13 year officers were concentrating on the backlog of cases, but in quarter 4 they concentrated on current cases. 

            On the issue of mobile working, Councillor Nancy Matthews felt that broadband strength was of concern across the county.  The Chairman suggested that it could be an item for consideration at a future meeting

Public Protection

            On the issue of dog fouling, the Director of Environment said that Neighbourhood Wardens, Enforcement Officers and Police Community Support Officers would increase patrols of ‘hotspot’ areas during the school holidays.  He asked Members to advise of any problem areas in their wards. 

Regeneration

            Councillor Veronica Gay asked for an update on the One-stop shop in Saltney.  The Chairman suggested that a formal response be provided to Councillor Gay following the meeting. 

RESOLVED:

(a)       That the report be noted; and          

(b)       That the comments/observations of the Committee be fed back to the Corporate Resources Overview & Scrutiny Committee who are responsible for the overview and monitoring of improvement targets.