The Local Services Director and Local Services and
Neighbourhood Services Divisional
Manager were in attendance to provide verbal updates about any key
recent, ongoing and/or future planned Local Services work and to
respond to issues raised by members.
Neighbourhood
Services
R. Wealleans, Neighbourhood Services Area Manager, provided an
update as follows:
Grounds Maintenance
Grass Cutting:?
- Grass cutting?is now
under continuous review, we will keep cutting
until?the?surface?becomes too wet. The aim being to stop just
before surface?damage,?caused by our machines,?is
visible.?
- We have seen some
challenging periods this year due to?near perfect?growing
conditions, we had a spell of very warm then wet conditions. The
teams?recovered?well and ended the season?with?the grass at the
standard we would expect.?
- Finished?the
season?on?cut?11 in Ashington and?14/15?in Blyth?
- Core cuts?were
achieved in all?areas,?and?we were short in the?additional?cuts?for
Blyth by 2/3 in some areas?due to weather conditions at the start
of the season and?requested?to carry?out?other work in
June/July?with Grass cutting stood down at the?bequest?of the Town
Council?to carry out other works for the partnership?which hindered
progress.?
Weeds:?
- We continue to react
to?identified?areas where needed and are currently attending to
various?Traffic Islands and Roundabouts within the district, please
let us know of any locations you would like us to attend when
resources allow during the winter period.??
?
Street
Sweeping:?
- We are
currently?working on leaf hotspot areas?to?prevent localised
flooding.?
- Please bring any
areas in need of sweeping to our attention.?
Winter
Works?
- Our winter works
programme?is about?has started, please come forward with any
requests at your earliest convenience?(in some areas Cllr
walkabouts?and meetings?have taken place – we will?work
through lists agreed with?Cllrs?during recent
walkabouts).?
- As always, we will
carry out core?works?first then?move?onto?our prioritised list of
requests and make every attempt to?see what we can get
through.?
Waste
Services
- Other than a few
minor vehicle breakdowns,?staffing shortages?and covid
restrictions,?Residual, Recycling and Garden waste collection
services are?all?operating well.?
- Residual waste
tonnage is still above the norm by around 20/30 tonnes per
collection week.?
- Garden Waste
collections will come to an end soon -
ends?November/December.?
- Income from?garden
waste?exceeded?target.?
- Income from
commercial waste and bulk collections?are?exceeding?targets?to
date?due?to an excellent recovery following the?initial impact
caused by?covid restrictions.??
- Teams will continue
to review existing collection rounds in order
to cope with ongoing housing growth as well as continued
growth in?take up of?the garden waste service.?
Additional
Information
- The?kerbside glass
recycling scheme?trial has been extended by a further 12 months
to?help us gather more data on?volumes collected, servicing
efficiency and participation rates etc.??
- A small number of
additional properties have been added to the scheme in each area
to?improve the data we are analysing.?
- The
scheme?is?operating?in?Bedlington, Alnwick &?Lesbury, Hexham and Morpeth?and residents?are being
asked to present the glass bin for?collection?monthly. The scheme
is for glass bottles and jars only.?
- Our?NEAT teams
will?attend?all?the usual?war memorial?locations to?bring them up
to the highest standard possible for the remembrance
services.?
- Excellent news,
Northumberland gained 11 Green Flag awards for our parks.?A superb
effort by all involved in a particularly difficult
year.?
- It this area?Ridley
Park?and?Hirst Park?gained Green Flag status.?
Highways Services
M
Carle, Lead Highways Delivery manager?provided an update as
follows:?
All Highways Inspectors and
maintenance crews continue to work Inspecting, fixing carriageway
defects, making repairs and making safe
category one defects across the South East area.??
?
Gully emptier is fully deployed
dealing with reported issues and cyclic?maintenenace.??
?
?
Larger Tarmac
Patching?
?
?Larger Tarmac Patching has
been carried out in the following locations;?
?
- Bohemia Terrace,
Blyth?
- Falston?Road,
Blyth?
- Beadnell Road,
Blyth?
- Woodhorn Road,
Ashington?
- Wansbeck Road,
Ashington?
?
?
Drainage
Improvements:?
?
Drainage Improvements have been
carried out in the following areas:?
?
- A192 Woodhorn,
Ashington?
- North Seaton Road,
Newbiggin?
- Duke Street,
Ashington?
- Ennerdale Road,
Blyth?
- Park Road,
Ashington?
?
The area teams are continuously
looking at and programming future works both patching and drainage
improvements.?
?
LTP - Carriageway
Resurfacing?
?
LTP Carriageway Resurfacing
schemes have been carried out in the following
areas:?
?
- Laverock Hall Road,
Blyth?
- Briardene?R/A,
Ashington?
- Maple Crescent,
Blyth?
- Duridge?Crescent,
Blyth?
?
Footway and Carriageway LTP
Resurfacing have been identified and programmed for the following
areas:?
?
- Newsham Road,
Blyth?
- Newcastle Road,
Blyth?
- Norham?Road,
Ashington?
- Bothal Cottages,
Ashington?
?
?
Winter
Maintenance?
?
A Winter Services Preparedness
Report has been submitted as an information item.?
Happy to answer any questions
relating to that item at that time
The following responses were made in response to questions
and comments
from members:
- There were only four gully emptiers to carry out work throughout the County.
These were deployed in four areas;
North, West, Central and South East. A plan was being drawn up to
create a programme of work which would
be hierarchal.
- They were working closely with R. Wealleans team to draw up the plan. There were new
tests being carried out using carbon depth analysis to record the
depth and effectiveness of the cleaning.
- Changes in policy had resulted in the reduction of
gully emptiers. The service had always
asked for more resources when possible.
- M. Carle was going to raise concerns regarding a
zebra crossing light on Newbiggin Road and ensure that the
appropriate action was taken.
- It was confirmed that any revenue made from
additional services such as glass recycling collection went back
into a general pot and wasn’t given automatically to Local
Services.