Adrian Russell, Service Director, Environmental Services will give a presentation on the Environmental Services work carried out in the Castle Ward and will invite suggestions for the 10,000 trees project.
Minutes:
The meeting received a presentation from Malcolm Grange, Head of Street Scene Enforcement about the Environmental Services which were provided in the Castle Ward.
He gave details on the following areas of work undertaken in the ward:-
- Waste and Recycling – There was still a weekly collection of waste in Leicester, also free collection of 5 bulky items and the city achieved a 33% recycling rate.
- Street Cleaning – the Council undertook area based street cleaning. As part of this matters such as fly tipping, abandoned vehicles, discarded needles and graffiti were also dealt with. The Castle ward had higher than average incidents of flytipping, discarded needles and graffiti, however this was due to the inclusion of the city centre in the ward. The ward did however perform well when it was inspected for cleanliness.
- Other Street Scene Matters – these included cleaning of chewing gum in the city centre, graffiti removal from Virgin Media equipment boxes and the bins on streets pilot initiative, where efforts were made to get residents to remove their bins from the street outside their houses.
- City Wardens - Malcolm informed the meeting that the Castle Ward would be having three City Wardens working in the ward from October, looking to tackle a range of environmental crime issues and improve the local environment.
- Pest Control Services - it was noted that there were high levels of call outs to deal with mice problems in the ward, which it was felt were probably due to the high levels of fast food outlets and the nature of the housing.
- Dog Control Orders – A range of new powers were being introduced. For example, dogs would be restricted from certain areas such as children’s play areas and fixed penalty notices could be levied against irresponsible owners for not cleaning up mess.
- Noisy Neighbours – information was provided on the services provided by the Noise Control Team, who provided a call-out service until 2.00am seven days a week. This team had been dealing particularly with loud music being played in domestic settings.
- SmileSafe Scheme – this was where businesses selling food and drink were inspected and given a rating for their food hygiene. He outlined businesses which were rated good eg, Greggs on Market Street, McIndians and Jack’s Potato Bar and those that were rated bad, Temptations on Churchgate, Olive Tree on Belgrave Gate and Shanghai Moon on High Street. He also noted that some businesses had been closed as a result of mice infestations such as Flame on Granby Street.
- Licensing – the Licensing Team was responsible for granting of alcohol licenses. They had taken action at three premises where it was felt that they had contravened their license. One of these venues had their license suspended for three months. They also oversaw the ‘Best Bar None’ scheme which promoted good practice amongst the city’s licensees.
- Building Control – Officers had been responsible for checking the safety of major recent building projects in the city such as the Curve theatre and the Highcross centre. Officers had also undertaken a great deal of work checking buildings in the aftermath of the earth tremor in February.
- 10,000 Trees Project – Malcolm provided details of this project which intended to plant 10,000 trees in the city over the next three years. There was a stall as part of the Carousel and people were welcome to give suggestions as to where they should be planted.
The Chair thanked Malcolm for the presentation, he then invited the meeting to put forward any points or ask questions.
Trees - A resident suggested that mature trees around the city be felled, so they could be replaced and a profit could be generated.
Chewing Gum – whilst cleaning was welcomed, it was recommended that preventive action was better, for example were there going to be signs at the Highcross Centre. Malcolm commented that businesses were being consulted on enhanced cleaning services. Councillor Kitterick also commented that a form of ‘City Centre Management’ was being looked at where retailers were brought together to make improvements.
Aggressive Begging – A resident felt that this was a problem in the city centre. The Police Community Support Officer and Councillor Kitterick both strongly recommended that this should be reported as it couldn’t be addressed if it wasn’t.
Recycling – Councillor Follett felt that there should be more recycling points.
Ward Monitoring of Environmental Incidents – Councillor Follett commented that the city centre skewed the figures for the castle ward. It was queried whether the city centre could be monitored separately? Malcolm undertook to look into whether this was possible.
Graffiti Monitoring – Councillor Follett queried how this was undertaken as he felt 100% satisfaction as mentioned in the presentation was unrealistic. Malcolm commented that levels of cleanliness were monitored in line with national guidelines.
Overpainting of Virgin Media Equipment Boxes – Councillor Follett felt that this should be paid entirely by Virgin Media and queried whether it was. Malcolm responded by saying that this was being monitored but it was expected that the funding wouldn’t cover the costs of painting.
Dog Exclusion Zone – Councillor Follett expressed concern that these rules would be enforced too harshly. Malcolm explained that it was intended to be pragmatic, parks officers would be doing the enforcement but would apply common sense.
Adverts on lampposts and fly posting – A resident queried what could be done about this. Malcolm explained that officers could remove this and prosecute where appropriate. Another view was however expressed, claiming that there was nowhere for up and coming bands to advertise themselves without flyposting.