Agenda item

To consider any statements that may be made by the Leader of the Council, Portfolio Holders or Chairmen of Committees.

Minutes:

A statement was made by Councillor Aisha Cuthbert, Portfolio Holder for Sustainability, Green Services and Open Spaces, on the temporary closure of the Churchfields Waste and Recycling Depot and the timetable for its re-opening at the request of Councillors Josh King, Jeremy Adams, Rebecca Arnold, Ryan Thomson and Kevin Kennedy-Brooks.

 

Councillor Cuthbert explained that she was working hard with officers to ensure that the Centre was re-opened as quickly as possible, but safety for everyone using or working at the site was an absolute priority. The Centre had been closed on 12th September following the collapse of three side-walls. A structural survey had been carried on 22nd September and the Council had received a report on 7th October. The report recommended that eight of the eleven bay walls should be re-constructed and officers were working with a contractor to arrange this. With the complexity of the issues and the potential problems with global supply chains the current estimate was that the Centre could re-open around Christmas. As soon as a more defined timeline was available this would be shared with residents.

 

Services for trade-waste customers were continuing from Churchfields using a part of the site that had not been damaged, and trade waste customers were encouraged to use Churchfields to relieve the pressure on Waldo Road. Whilst the repairs were being made residents were asked to use the bulky waste and garden waste services, and to use the Waldo Road Centre.

 

The Portfolio Holder stated that she had visited the Centre and recorded a video for sharing on social media. She added that shouting, swearing or abuse of staff at Churchfields was completely inappropriate, and stated that she would ask officers to check that permits were still being checked by Veolia staff at the depots.

 

In response to questions, Councillor Cuthbert confirmed that there was a small increase in customers using Waldo Road. There were concerns about congestion and road safety, particularly during the spike of activity at the weekend, that she had asked officers to look at, but she anticipated that the closure would be for a relatively short period and going back to the booking system used during the lockdown was likely to cause more confusion. She also agreed that action was needed to prevent fly-tipping.

 

Councillor Cuthbert agreed that there needed to be more prominent communication with residents – she would ensure that there was an update every Friday, new signs were being prepared to display at the site itself and there would be more use of social media. She welcomed suggestions that better use should be made of the Residents Associations and MyBromley accounts to inform residents about issues like this, and to encourage use of the webcam to establish whether the Centre was busy or not. She did not accept that maintenance of the facilities at Churchfields had been neglected. Given the current budget pressures, there would not be a temporary waiver or reduction of charges for bulky waste collection or garden waste collection