Decision details

Report ES14008

The contract for frontline street environment services (incorporating street cleansing, graffiti removal, cleansing of public conveniences, and highway drainage cleaning) was let on 29^th March 2012 for a period of five years with an option of a two year extension. The report outlined contract performance against key issues raised by Members, taking account of resident perceptions of street cleanliness and satisfaction with the service.

Mr Terry Allen, Regional General Manager of Kier Environmental Service and Mr Darren Retour, Contract Manager of Kier Environmental Service attended the meeting to answer Member questions.

A weekday programme of deep cleansing was provided for tightly parked streets along with a weekend programme of road channel cleaning for streets with heavy weekday parking. A particular street could be considered for one of the programmes if requested by Members. Adjustments had been made to the programme since its introduction in  the first year of the current contract. Increasing the number of roads for programme adjustments (e.g. late night/weekend cleans or alternating some roads on weekdays with some at weekends) could be considered but there were limitations in view of financial constraints and the number of streets to clean (some 3,000).

Difficulties clearing leaf fall had been experienced following recent prolonged rainfall; heavy mechanical sweeping machines have been used to clear gutters and road gullies. It has sometimes been difficult to keep pace with the volume of fallen tree debris; and the extra staff and machines used for the autumn leafing programme were withdrawn at the beginning of January. Removing material from channels has been as efficient as possible with the machinery available – no further machinery is available on the market to clean channels more efficiently. Leaf mulch left in a drain grate required manual removal. The contractor was required to prioritise areas at risk of flooding to ensure gullies remained free of debris (there are some 35,000 gullies in the borough). The contractor expected to clear all residual leaf fall waste within the following two to four weeks. Councillor Rideout commended work of the street cleaning service given the current volume of waste.

Councillor Grainger referred to debris at Windsor Drive, Woodside and Warren Road where cars would normally be parked mid-week, close to Chelsfield Station. These roads were included in the weekend road sweeping programme due to the volume of commuters. He also highlighted two corner locations where mechanical sweepers appeared unable to sweep, the locations not having been attended to since Christmas. Councillor Grainger advocated more focused and effective sweeping with fewer routine sweeps; he considered deep cleans effective, wishing to see more of them. 

The Portfolio Holder supported more weekend cleaning, encouraging Members to nominate roads and recommend the best times to clean; such communication would help adjust the balance of cleaning in an area. Reporting via the Council website would also help. Within a limited budget, more communication would assist in further improving cleaning standards. 

Officers offered to work with Councillor Fookes to address his concerns over street cleanliness in Penge, targeting the remaining leaf clearance in the north of the borough. Residents were encouraged to report problems via the Council website. It was confirmed that the contractor had 73 staff (including administrative staff) working on street cleansing in the borough.

Concerning bagged waste, and in view of the contractor’s use of some 0.5m black bags annually, storage and collection options for green bags were being reviewed to ensure bags would not be left on the highway for extended periods. The Chairman had looked at finding improved locations for such bags in his ward and encouraged Members to be similarly involved.

In regard to surface water on the carriageway during heavy rainfall, the Chairman identified a capacity problem with the Thames Water sewerage system. The Portfolio Holder referred to leaves accumulating around drains, emphasising the need to report problem locations. Although flood related requests had been received, the Head of Area Management indicated that those requests were in addition to cyclical cleaning of gullies which continued on schedule. The street cleaning contractor had used mechanical sweepers to assist with removal of excess water from flooded road surfaces. It was acknowledged that the drainage contractor (Veolia), had attended several reported flooding incidents and attended many callouts of a night-time and over the Christmas period.

Concerned that some residents were known to deflect leaves on to the highway with leaf blowers, the Vice-Chairman suggested working with Friends Groups to discourage the practice. In response, it was explained that press releases last autumn highlighted the problem and a letter had been provided to residents known to be doing this. 

The satisfaction survey of street cleansing comprised a major survey of Bromley town centre and a postal survey across the borough, carried out in August 2013. Councillor Milner drew attention to the fact that there could have been less litter during the holiday season and leaf fall would not have started. It was confirmed that timing of the survey would be considered.

On improving links between the Council and Resident Associations (RA) to improve local environments, Councillor Jefferys updated Members on the ‘linkage’ pilot scheme involving the Park Langley RA and Shortlands RA. Meetings had been held to share knowledge on service delivery and identify local issues and ‘hot spots’. Sharing local intelligence was working well and residents were able to highlight street sweeping issues. RAs could also encourage vehicle owners to park on one side of a street (or away from the street) during periods of cleaning. Councillor Jefferys highlighted a need to be specific when targeting cleaning. Residents were understanding of the contractor’s difficulties and vice-versa. There were advantages in having street cleaning the day after refuse collection. Suggestions were made to achieve maximum gains and a trend analysis carried out by officers would assist with further identification of local issues. Residents also wanted to take forward the purple bag scheme next autumn (used by Friends and voluntary groups to collect litter).

RESOLVED that:

(1)  the positive results of the independent resident satisfaction survey of street cleansing standards be noted with attention given to highlighted areas of concern;

(2) the reduced levels of public enquiries regarding street environment contracts be noted since the last report to the Committee; and

(3) the frequency of sweeping will continue to be monitored and adjusted where required to ensure cleanliness standards are achieved; and that additional programmes of work, including deep cleaning of streets and weekend road cleaning, will continue.