Agenda item

Report ES14089

Members considered progress against commitments in the 2014/15 Environment Portfolio Plan.

Progress was being made against the Portfolio Plan objectives although a slight increase in litter was noted from Tranche 1 data for 2014/15. An increase in fly-tipping was also noted and advice sought on whether covert work with local police had produced positive developments/successes.

Councillor Brooks enquired whether further measures could be introduced to ensure the cleanliness of high streets. He suggested closed top bins for non householders and CCTV camera use to identify individuals depositing bags of waste on high street pavements. Councillor Brooks also referred to material often dropped during collections and not retrieved.  

The Portfolio Holder confirmed that as much resource as the budget would allow is given to High Street cleaning, including Penge High Street. To supplement the Council’s work, businesses in Penge might wish to consider creating a Business Improvement District for the area. The Portfolio Holder also hoped that it might be possible to obtain extra resource from any future funding possibility. Reference was made to the reply to Councillor Brooks’ formal question related to refuse bags left on high street pavements and, where possible, officers from the Council’s Waste team could assist in dealing with a particular local problem. 

The Portfolio Holder further highlighted a programme to replace open top litter bins with closed or “hooded” bins to help prevent household waste being deposited. The use of CCTV technology was subject to restrictions outlined in legislation; however, if it was possible to report incidents of bagged waste on highway land, officers could respond to specific problems. The Council’s street cleansing contractors should retrieve dropped material during waste and recycling collections; residents could also place any dropped waste in an appropriate bin and report the incident. This approach already worked well in areas with a strong residents association. The Chairman reminded that street cleansing performance would be reviewed at the Committee’s next meeting when representatives of the Council’s street cleansing contractors would be in attendance to answer questions.

On other Portfolio areas, it was necessary to try to maintain current service levels with less budget provision in future. Measures would be taken to address increased fly-tipping along rural roads, one approach involving the tracking of waste via transmitters implanted into material likely to be fly-tipped. The level of recycling was good but there was also concern for reduced paper tonnages. On transport, the borough’s road safety record has been good for the previous ten years. Extending the Docklands Light Railway to Bromley North and Bromley South remained the Council’s preferred route for a new transport link into the borough; any future Crystal Palace development would also need improved transport links. However, any extension of the Bakerloo line to Hayes was opposed.

As it was no longer necessary to display a vehicle excise licence (tax disc), a Member suggested that it was difficult for residents to identify a potentially abandoned vehicle. If there was any suspicion a vehicle might be abandoned, it was suggested that details should be reported to the Council and officers could investigate further. It was also possible for residents to check whether a vehicle is currently taxed via the GOV.UK website. The Council’s own website (http://www.bromley.gov.uk/info/200089/street_care_and_cleaning/190/dumped_cars) provided a link to the GOV.UK website (https://www.gov.uk/check-vehicle-tax).

RESOLVED that progress against commitments in the 2014/15 Environment Portfolio Plan be noted.