To question the Cabinet Member for Environment, Councillor Peray Ahmet, on current issues and plans arising for her portfolio.
Minutes:
The Panel received an update from Councillor Peray Ahmet, the Cabinet Member for Environment, on key issues within her portfolio as follows;
· She welcomed the proposed reviews by the Panel on street sweeping and parks. She reported that a workshop had been arranged with, amongst others, friends of parks and regeneration partners to consider the protection of green spaces and opportunities for enhancing them. Litter was a particular issue in some of the borough’s parks and work would be undertaken to see what could be done to address this.
· There were shortly to be two large events, including Wireless, at Finsbury Park. Action was being taken to taken to reassure residents and regular meetings were taking place with the Police. In addition, letters had also been sent to local MPs and ward Councillors. There had been improvement in how Wireless were working with the local community and, in particular, they had involved local schools.
· The Council’s Transport Strategy was currently being developed and this would include a section on walking and cycling. She felt that there was a need for greater progress to be made in respect of these. In addition, strategies were also being developed on air quality and fly tipping, which was shortly to be circulated to Councillors. She reported that the service was aware of where fly tipping hotspots were. The two electoral wards with the highest levels were Northumberland Park and Woodside.
· The Sustainable Transport works plan had now been agreed and details of this would shortly be circulated. In respect of parking, six new Controlled Parking Zones (CPZs) had been implemented. These had proven to be popular and residents had asked for extensions for some. Their introduction could be of benefit to neighbourhoods and often led to reductions in fly tipping.
· The changes that to charging policy that had been approved as part of the Medium Term Financial Strategy were shortly to be implemented. The on-the-spot enforcement process that was undertaken by Kingdom was due to be reviewed. There was now a new operational structure for tactical and strategic enforcement. Finally, the new landlord licensing scheme was due to be launched shortly and details of it had been sent to the Department for Communities and Local Government, as required.
In response to questions about the work being undertaken by Kingdom, the Cabinet Member stated that the scheme was a pilot and was therefore subject to review. Most of the fines that had been levied so far had been for low level issues and it was hoped that there would be a greater focus on more serious issues in the future, such a fly tipping. It was nevertheless acknowledged that catching offenders for more serious offences was more difficult. A greater perception of risk could help deter people from offending. There needed to be a balance between enforcement and education though.
The Panel noted that the Council’s enforcement officers were not paid any bonuses for levying fines. Some had been subject to assault and there some streets that it was considered too dangerous for enforcement officers to operate in. They felt that this was unacceptable but noted that work was taking place with the Police to address this issue. It was noted that approximately 80% of fly tipping came from homes, with a significant percentage from houses in multiple occupation.
In answer to a question regarding cycling, the Cabinet Member stated that she felt that more needed to be done and that a bolder approach might be appropriate. She noted that measures to promote cycling in neighbouring boroughs had not met with universal support from residents but it was not always possible to please everyone.
In response to a question about ward walkabouts, it was noted that one of its main aims was to ensure that ward Councillors knew who their Village Managers were. Ward Councillors normally had a good knowledge of issues within areas and were therefore a very useful source of information.
In respect of the introduction of the new charging regime for services, it was noted that short notice had deliberately been given. Other authorities that had introduced new charges had found themselves flooded with enquiries prior to the implementation date. Charging for green waste would start in October as less waste was likely to be collected from the autumn onwards. There would be an introductory offer that would allow people to get the remainder of this year and next year for the price of one year. There would be a range of options available for people to use including refuse sacks. Payment would be through the Veolia call centre and waste collected would be composted. The Cabinet Member acknowledged that there were likely to be teething problems but a lot of other authorities were now charging for collecting green waste. Collections would continue as normal until October.