Agenda item

To receive the report of Martin Greenway, Head of Repairs & Estate Services.

RECEIVED the report of Martin Greenway, Head of Repairs & Estate Services.

NOTED

1.    Councillor Gina Needs, Cabinet Member for Social Housing introduced the report and gave credit to Officers for their achievements.

2.    Key points of the report highlighted by Martin Greenway, Head of Repairs & Estate Services.

3.    Estate Services & Repairs are now located in the same building so all responsible for communal repairs, tracing and tracking.

4.    Continually looking at ways in which recycling can be improved, including educating residents on how best to recycle.

5.    Fly tipping remains a national issue, therefore Enforcement Officers are working collaboratively with estate staff. Two posts have been created dedicated to waste enforcement on council land.

6.    A wider remit is in place to manage anti-social behaviour on estates. This includes looking at the design of estates, the possibility of better lighting and working closely with the Council’s First Response Team.

7.    Through its resident engagement service, the council seeks to involve a wide range of tenants, leaseholders and other residents, not only in housing issues but also in the context of place shaping in the borough.

8.    In response to Members’ queries regarding estate walk abouts and the need for these to be more flexible and to involve closer liaison with Councillors, it was confirmed that future calendar dates for appointments were now being looked at and it was agreed that these could be more flexible as these walk abouts are very important.

9.    In response to a question regarding a new abseiling cleaning service for high rise buildings it was confirmed that as communal windows in tower blocks were not currently cleaned an enhancement to this service was being looked at with a view to instructing companies to carry out this task

10. Officers provided more information on bulk waste collection points, the action taking place to prevent these areas from becoming dumping grounds, and how this would be reviewed and monitored.

11. Regarding fly tipping, Officers advised that the inhouse team will respond quickly and efficiently to remove it and the enforcement team will work closely with the estate caretakers and seek intelligence from on the ground to identify the source of each item.

12. In response to Members’ concerns regarding bulk waste items being dumped on estates from people outside it was advised that if this was a particular problem then in an attempt to tackle this issue, rapid measures could be considered such as the installation of CCTV. Members felt that a strategy to deal with this matter needed to be developed and Officers took this point on board.

13. The Chair, Councillor Erbil expressed concerns regarding the location of cycle storage units as, although these had been successfully delivered, residents were reluctant to use them due to theft. It was agreed that the location and take up of these units would be looked at.

14. Discussions took place regarding car parking on estates and how this was often abused by residents from adjoining roads. Councillor Needs confirmed that she had been meeting with Officers to discuss the possible introduction of Controlled Parking Zones (CPZs)/permits. She emphasised however that any such measures would need to be affordable to everyone.

The Cabinet Member and Officers were thanked for attending and presenting the report.