Agenda item

To receive a verbal update from the Area Managers from Technical Services and Neighbourhood Services in attendance about any key recent, ongoing and/or future planned Local Services work for the attention of members of the Local Area Council, who will also then have the opportunity to raise issues with the Area Managers.

The Area Managers have principal responsibility for highway services and environmental services, such as refuse collection, street cleansing and grounds maintenance, within the geographic boundaries of the Local Area Council.

M King, Highways Delivery Area Manager provided an update which included the following information:

·       There was still a backlog in category 1 repairs following the winter storms, however routine work was now on schedule.  Reactive third party requests continued to rise in the Castle Morpeth area and the reason for this would be investigated as it impacted on the category 1 work.

·       A  new hot box was now in use for the Castle Morpeth area and the impact on the backlog would be seen shortly.

·       A large amount of work in relation to drainage had been identified and it was hoped that work would commence in August.

·       New gulley maintenance vehicles had arrived and a review of systems and new routes would be created.

·       Minor patching work was ongoing with schemes being extended if possible.

·       A large patching scheme was being undertaken at Lancaster Park in Morpeth. 

·       Other work being undertaken included footpath work in Heddon, signage repaired or removed and verge safety work. It was hoped to commence work on the footpath in Lynemouth the following week.

·       Work at Goosehill car park was going well, however there was an issue with a change of sub-contractor and it was likely the completion date would need to be extended with Members kept advised of any changes. 

·       There had been new staff recruited to join the Castle Morpeth team but difficulties in recruiting the right staff to deliver the best service were highlighted.

In response to questions from Members, the following information was provided:-

·       Temporary lighting at the Goosehill site would be looked at.

·       It was not thought there would be any impact on road surfaces in the County due to the level of heat expected, however if the level was raised to three, then there may be some impact on materials and the situation would be monitored.  Staff who had to wear full protective equipment had been advised to take extra breaks, wear sun-tan lotion and keep hydrated and therefore a small dip in output might occur.

·       N Snowdon would check the progress of the junction of Thornhill Road and North Road in Ponteland and report back to Councillor Dodd.

·       In relation to the speed signs for Belsay guidance would be provided on what assistance the Parish Council could provide.

·       In respect of signage requested for the roundabout at the junction beside the A69 requested by Councillor Dodd, this would be looked at again to determine if it was within Northumberland or Newcastle.

·       N Snowdon advised that an update would be provided to Councillor Foster regarding the possibility of lighting being installed at the chicane on the C403 which had been replaced the previous week, and the team would also report back on whether works on Riverbank had been included in the U-roads schemes.

·       The reporting process for the LTP schemes was currently being looked at in relation to how information was to be presented and how often, including the dates of any planned schemes.

·       Councillor Dodd advised that a long term plan for the management of, or removal of Ash trees in the County was required as a number of these were dying and could impact powerlines and roads if they fell during storms.  He would also raise this at Council.

Paul Lowes, Neighbourhood Services Area Manager provided the following information:-

• Residual, Recycling and bulky waste collection services continued to perform well with the garden waste service also performing well with over 7000 customers signed up so far this year.

• Grass Cutting was now on cut 7.  There had been some staffing issues recently but work had been undertaken to keep any disruption to a minimum. The first application of weed treatment was also complete.  Members should report any areas of concern.

• Verge Cutting works started on schedule again this year with 6.8 million sq. metres of verge to cut in the county. For some of this local farmers had been engaged to help get through the significant workload and some was done in-house. Despite some issues with equipment in the Coopies Lane Depot, all works were on target to be completed by the end of July. If members or residents had any safety concerns please report them and they would be looked at as a priority.

• The glass trial extension was ongoing. There had been almost 300 tonnes collected in the initial trial period and over 200 tonnes collected in the extension period so far.

• Some delays had been experienced with the implementation of the food waste trial in terms of securing the required equipment but this was being progressed as quickly as possible.