Agenda and minutes

The Chairman will read the following announcement:

“I would like to remind everyone present that this meeting will be broadcast live to the internet (or filmed) and will be capable of repeated viewing  (or another use by such third parties).

Therefore, by entering the Council Chamber and using the seating area, you are consenting to being filmed and to the possible use of those images and sound recordings for webcasting and/or training purposes.”

The Chairman reminded everyone present that the meeting would be broadcast live to the Internet, and that the Council had adopted a protocol for the webcasting of its meetings.

To report the appointment of any substitute members for the meeting.

The Committee noted that Councillor Lion had been appointed as substitute for Councillor Burrows.

To declare interests in any item on this agenda.

To agree the notes of the last meeting of Place Scrutiny Committee held on 2 July 2024.

RESOLVED:

That the minutes of the Place Scrutiny Committee held on 21 October 2024 be taken as read and signed by the Chairman as a correct record.

To consider, comment and propose any amendments to the Work Programme, for consideration and approval by The Overview and Scrutiny Committee.

The Place Scrutiny Committee noted the work programme.

To consider the progress of the Epping Leisure Centre.

Amelia Hoke, Team Manager – Leisure and Parking, updated the Committee on the progress of the new Epping Leisure Centre, which was being delivered by the Council in partnership with Places Leisure, the leisure operator and Pellikaan Construction. The project was progressing well, and several key milestones had been achieved this included: the completion of the groundworks; significant progress with structural steel work; cladding; roof installation; and the pool had been filled for testing purposes to ensure that it was watertight. Progress was as planned and in line with the budget, completion was anticipated by the end of the year. There had been active stakeholder management and there was a dedicated webpage, with timelapse photography so that progress could be seen. Members of the Committee had attended a site visit on 16 January 2025.

·        Members commented that the site visit had been valuable, and acknowledged that progress could be viewed online through the dedicated webpage

·        The Committee raised several queries and were advised that

·        The project was on time and on budget and key changes or discrepancies would be reported.

·        The new leisure centre would have 80 staff in total, this would include existing staff.

·        The pricing structure was anticipated to be in line with other leisure centres in the district.

·        The project costs included all equipment and internal fits, there was a contingency within the budget.

The Committee thanked officers for the commitment and work in ensuring the delivery of the project.

Resolved

The Committee noted the progress on the Epping Leisure Centre.

To consider the waste collection service update.

James Warwick, Service Director-Contracts Partnership and Procurement, provided an update on the delivery of the waste contract by TVS which went live on 4 November 2024. The Committee were advised that most of the staff transferred and there had been successful training dates. The current performance for first time collection rate was 99.98%, this included the Christmas figures, all rounds had been completed, although the timings associated with some rounds had been changed. There had been no issues when the service operated on a Saturday when the market was held.

The waster operation hub was a temporary facility at North Weald airfield, which included a maintenance workshop, washdown facilities for vehicles and office and welfare facilities. Barnes Construction had been appointed to design and construct the permanent facilities on the site.

The new fleet was being services by a specialist contractor SFS, tracking with GIS, and cameras were on all vehicles and staff used PDAs this was regarded as good practice. There had been a collaborative approach between all parties, and this had been effective in the smooth transitioning of the services.

Members of the Committee commented that they had not received any complaints of missed collections and commended the officers and staff for their effort in ensuring the continuity and delivery of an important service to residents

Members of the Committees raised queries and were advised:

·        That contamination of waste was an issue, work carried out on contamination by Essex County Council had shown food contamination at approximately 30%, further educational awareness and behavioural change was required.

·        There was an overarching governance agreement with TVS, with an outcome-based specification. Waste needed to be collected in a safe and efficient manner and the street needed to be kept clean. There were regular operational meetings between all parties.

·        Bin stores could create issues, a collaborative approach with TVS and management agents could provide solution, and enforcement was possible. The team worked collaboratively with housing staff on the Council’s estates to find a resolution. Contaminated recycling could not be collected by the recycling crews and had to be left to be picked up by the refuse teams, signage and enclosed bins stores could help to address the issue. It was recognised that in some instance fly tipping may exacerbate the problems in and around bin stores.

·        Recrutiment and retention had not created any issues and was being effectively managed,

Officers were commended for their commitment and work in ensuring the smooth transition of the waste services.

Resolved:

The Committee noted the update.

To consider and provide comment on the recycling collection report.

James Warwick, Service Director - Contracts, Partnerships and Procurement, advised the Committee that recycling was currently collected on a fortnightly basis via clear plastic sacks with glass collected in a blue box.  Residents used more than 9 million single use plastics sacks per year at minimum cost of £405,000 per year, with an additional £28,512 per year on replacement blue boxes. The disadvantages of the current collection regime were as detailed in the report and the suggested proposal was that the clear plastic sacks and blue boxes were replaced with blue lidded wheeled bins.  This would result in higher levels of recycling, lower rates of injuries, less street litter form sack spillage and more efficient collection rounds.

There had been a successful trial of the blue bin collections in Theydon Bois, this had spread across the district and there had been a high level of demand from residents. The anticipated timeline for rollout would be June 2025 to allow time for effective communication with residents.

The Committee raised several queries and were advised that:

·        Managing agents of communal building had to provide the opportunity for residents to recycle, blue bins should not be an issue where there are bin stores and blue hessian sacks would be provided when space was restricted. Staff had started work to liaise with managing agents on this issue.

·        Blue hessian sacks were not part of the trial, the design had not been finalised. The sacks would be used inside a flat to collect the recycling.

·        The Environment Bill required recycling to be collected at the kerbside and this may result in bring banks being reduced. Bring sites did attract rubbish and had high levels of contamination.

·        The Council already collected the recycling materials mandated for collection by local authorities.

·        The Committee acknowledged the changes to Local Government may have a future impact on the branding of wheeled bins.

·        The exemptions policy would be revisited if the proposals were approved by Cabinet, and this could consider smaller properties and conservation areas, the service would link with residents to find appropriate solutions.

·        It was possible to have a larger recycling bin.

·        All types of bins were interchangeable across the different waste streams, and were differentiate by the colour of the lid.

·        The service would continue to work with planning, and the planning guidance would be updated as there would be an additional bin to be accommodated.

·        Confirmed that there would be a revenue saving of £100,000 although a capital cost of £1.3 million.

·        Operational considerations and excess waste would be considered around the Christmas period.

·        The service would consider expanding types of recyclate, but this was dependant on what materials the recycling facility could deal with.

·        Co-mingled waste could be dealt with effectively by the vehicles and at the recycling facilities.

The Committee supported the roll out of the blue bins for recycling.

Resolved:

The Committee commended the report for approval by Cabinet.

To note that the next meeting of the Place Scrutiny Committee will be held at 7.00pm on 25 February 2025.

The date of the next meeting was noted as 25 February 2025 at 7pm.