Agenda item

The Portfolio Holder for Front Line Services will attend the meeting to give account of his performance against Council targets in his portfolio within the remit of this committee. 

Discussion:

The Portfolio Holder for Front Line Services addressed the committee outlining the main achievements within areas of his portfolio, including:

·        The new waste contract had begun in 2010 and a recent survey had shown that resident satisfaction levels were high. There had been the introduction for disposal of waste food into the brown bins and 3,000 additional new brown bins had been distributed. The Council was working with local charities to divert furniture for re-use, resulting in approximately 10 tonnes per month being recycled and bringing the Council around £1,000 in revenue

·        A new street lighting contract had begun in April 2011 and energy saving LED systems would be used wherever possible. The first of these was to be installed in Corporation Street, Rochester

·        There were 31 road surface schemes and 27 pavement schemes being carried out throughout 2011/2012 – all funded through the Local Transport Plan (LTP) – with the annual list of schemes published at the beginning of the year and sent to all Members

·        Winter Services – Councillor Filmer gave his thanks to all the staff who ensured that Medway’s roads had remained open and moving, the town centres had been gritted and the stocks of salt and sand had been maintained throughout the previous winter

·        There was on-going maintenance in the Medway Tunnel to bring it up to modern standards

·        The road safety team had performed well again and ‘exceeded’ the target on the number of people ‘Killed and Seriously Injured’ (KSI) on Medway’s roads (by being 8% down on the target). Several initiatives had been carried out including the “Seatbelt Sled” where 1,200 children had experienced the impact of a slow speed collision

·        When statutory undertakers (electricity, gas, water, telephone companies etc.) carried out work on Medway roads, officers would now carry out “coring tests” to ensure the quality of the replacement road materials are up to standard

·        Integrated transport – the Council was aiming to improve the quality and offer of bus services. The Chatham bus facility would be completed by the end of the year. The Strood Riverside bus link had been launched on 8 August and this ran through the Medway City Estate and on to Chatham town centre - which was a welcome addition to current services

·        The Council was working with Network Rail on improvements to railway stations in Medway and a proposed design for Rochester station would be finalised shortly.

Members asked the Portfolio Holder about and commented on the following:

·        money being set aside in next year’s budget for individual road parking reviews

·        Gillingham High Street – problem of rubbish left out on market day

·        Council powers of enforcement for rubbish put out too early

·        Bank holiday bin collection service

·        Medway Tunnel money used for the Members Priority Fund

·        new waste contract – continued provision of white recycling bags

·        congratulations for the new Riverside bus link service

·        overspend of budget for Chatham bus facility

·        LED street lights and other energy saving schemes in Medway

·        Clarity on use of sacks for recycling and continued improvement for waste collection from flats and gated communities

·        Parking machines that did not issue change

·        Commercial loading/unloading on double yellow lines

·        Future budgets for Winter Services.

Decision:

The Committee thanked Councillor Filmer for attending the meeting and the information and answers he had provided.