Adrian Russell, Service Director, Environmental Services to present Ward facts relating to Environmental Services provided in the area. He will also introduce the new Street Warden.
Councillor Palmer will also give a brief update on progress with preparing the Ward Action Plan.
Minutes:
Adrian Russell, Service Director, Environmental Services, gave a presentation on Environmental Services work in the Eyres Monsell Ward for January to June 2008. He explained the position in Eyres Monsell compared to the city-wide average in various areas of performance, such as waste collection, recycling, missed bins, graffiti removal (including an arrangement with Virgin to overpaint the equipment boxes), abandoned vehicles, street cleaning, pest control, noisy neighbours and dog fouling. He also mentioned local food and licensed premises.
Adrian introduced Jessica Phillips, the new Street Warden for the Ward, who would be working locally to deal with environmental services issues. Jessica was to regularly attend the Community Meetings.
Members of the public asked the following questions, and Adrian responded as below:
1) Is there any possibility of introducing a street drinking ban in Eyres Monsell? There are problems on The Exchange, Swinford Avenue, Howden Road and Lawford Road.
The Council could consider this if the police felt there was a need for it.
2) Can someone come and look at the state of the roads immediately after the bins are emptied? They leave a mess, and the refuse collectors are rude when they are told about it.
The collectors are encouraged to not leave a mess. Problems can occur when it is windy. Any incidents of rudeness should be reported to Adrian who will investigate.
3) Is Leicester’s waste still being sent to India?
Leicester’s waste has never been sent to India. The report of a Leicester Mercury being found in an Indian tip did not indicate that the Council were sending waste there – there are many ways it could have got there, including business waste.
4) Why can’t we recycle cardboard and tin cans? Blaby Council do.
Cardboard and cans are recycled at the Biffa site – it is automatically separated and recycled. Card is turned into a fertilizer. It is a common misconception that things aren’t recycled, but Leicester just has a different way of doing it.
5) Can garden waste bins be introduced? The waste collected could be used for the Council’s composting scheme.
We are looking into providing this service. Most of what goes in the wheelie bins is already composted, but some people generate a lot of garden waste and could benefit from a separate bin. Introduction of this scheme may take some time, as Biffa would have to invest in extra collection vehicles and facilities.
6) It costs £60 to have a wasp nest removed. This is a lot of money for people on pensions and limited incomes. Can something be done for these people?
Ideally, the Council would like to provide these services free of charge, but there is a limited budget each year. Councillors make decisions on how the budget is to be spent and have decided that we need to charge for wasp nest removal. Wasps are a nuisance, but they don’t cause any actual damage or disease. We have to focus on pests that carry disease, such as rats, which could kill people.
The Chair thanked Adrian and Jessica, and said that Councillors had noted the discussions. He said that it was good for Eyres Monsell that they had been chosen to have a Street Warden, and that Jessica would be of great benefit to the area. He said that the Ward Action Plan aimed to tackle the priority issues for people in the ward, and showed that Councillors were taking action on what people wanted.