Agenda item

This report sets out the Council's progress in delivering the corporate objectives.

Members considered the Progress of Corporate Priority – Environment

presented by Councillor Mrs French, Councillor Murphy, Councillor Wallwork, Councillor Tierney and Carol Pilson.

Members made comments, asked questions, and received responses as follows:

1.     Councillor Carney stated Fenland District Council Waste and Recycling still seems to be going great guns and it is interesting to see how the cost-of-living crisis has affected recyclable materials collected. Is the payment made to Fenland District Council per tonne of waste governed by market forces? In other words, who pays for or sets the rate per tonne? Councillor Murphy responded that the rate of tonnage comes through Cambridgeshire County Council and Thalia which is a recycling plant in Water beach Fenland District Council negotiate every year a certain price this can fluctuate throughout the year as the value of paper and aluminium prices can change, Thalia pays Cambridgeshire County Council and Fenland District Council get paid the surplus.

2.     Councillor Gerstner stated on the brown bin charge, there is an income of £968,000 but how is the fee calculated? Is it on last year’s costs considering what is received on recycling as there should not be a profit and should be a break even service. Councillor Murphy responded that the price is looked at from last year and Fenland District Council raise the price up by a few percent to cover the outgoings. He advised that this year the prices will have to raise due to the cost of living as this is a non-profit making service, so the cost must be weighted up every year against prices to get the balance right.  Councillor Gerstner asked if the cost is put up is there a risk of encouraging fly tipping? Councillor Murphy stated it is hard to control fly tipping and he does not feel changing the cost will made a difference to the situation of fly tipping.

3.     Councillor Gerstner congratulated Fenland District Council for a comprehensive website and the rapid response team who act quickly and efficiently to clear the fly tipping once it has been reported. Councillor Murphy stated all the fly tipping is searched once at the depot and if a contact is found that person will be fined. Councillor Tierney added that Fenland District Council benchmarks themselves against other councils and Fenland District Council are the cheapest for bin collection.

4.     Councillor Booth stated the rate of the recycling is at 26% in Fenland which is one of the lowest in the County according to the Defra figures and asked if there are there any plans to improve this recycling rate for the future. Councillor Murphy stated Defra count the figures in a different way to how the Council does. Councillor Booth stated that all the councils would be counted in the same way and he would like to know how this figure can be improved for next year. Councillor Murphy begged to differ. Councillor Tierney suggested that Overview and Scrutiny may wish to consider ways to improve the figures for recycling.

5.     Councillor Booth commented on the 20% of commercial waste that is recycled and asked is there a plan in place to work with the business and improve recycling? Councillor Murphy could not give a definitive answer as he stated unfortunately the Council cannot control what waste businesses put in their commercial bins as contaminated waste is sometimes added.

6.     Councillor Gowler asked what the liaison is between Fenland District Council and Cambridgeshire County Council around combatting fly tipping? Councillor Murphy replied fly-tipping is a big issue and Fenland District Council do clear up as much as possible.

7.     Councillor Gowler stated would it be possible to influence changes with Cambridgeshire County Council around the rule of 10-12 drops to the recycling centres per van driver as this would elevate the fly-tipping issue. Councillor Murphy responded this is Cambridgeshire County Councils responsibility and Fenland District Council does not have any influence.

8.     Councillor Hay stated that the report shows that 500 incidents were detected using Council CCTV and asked is the Council still pursuing funding for the CCTV camera from the Police? Councillor Wallwork responded the Police do help run St Martins House and Fenland District Council are happy with the relationship that is in place with the Police, so no funds have been asked for.

9.     Councillor Roy stated not all households have a brown bin subscription and has there ever been a suggestion of there being a community brown bin for housing estates who struggle to afford a single subscription, and could this be looked at as a lower combined rate? Councillor Murphy stated this is something that can be investigated.

10. Councillor Booth commented the report states 451 removal fly tips of this 249 were investigated and asked is there a separate team to investigate those who are responsible or is this undertaken by the rapid response team? Councillor Murphy stated the fly tipping comes back to the recycling centre and is checked by the team to look for evidence of who are responsible.

11. Councillor Gerstner asked what is the process with an abandoned vehicle in Fenland District Council car parks? Councillor Murphy stated the cars are checked for tax and insurance and if this is in place the cars cannot be removed. Councillor Tierney added Street Scene will have the vehicle removed if the car has been abandoned for a period of time.

12. Councillor Nawaz asked what is the process for cars that are advertising their business on the side of the road without permission? Councillor Mrs French responded when this happens Cambridgeshire County Council can take the business owner to court as this can act as a road hazard for other drivers.

13. Councillor Nawaz commented on a piece in the report referring to diversity in communities and the phrase used ‘fractures in society’ asked what thhis mean? Councillor Wallwork stated when looking a diversity among the community Fenland District Council is lucky as there are no issues to report but it is something that is kept on the agenda and to be mindful of when dealing with planning and a mixed cultural society.

14. Councillor Nawaz commented on the quarterly figure for settled status of 18,640 people in Fenland of mixed cultures. Councillor Wallwork stated that Fenland has become an attractive place to live, and these figures show what a good job Fenland District Council is doing to integrate these mixed cultures. Councillor Nawaz asked if the culture community pays for the ESOL service or is it provided for free and if they do not pay why not? Councillor Wallwork responded English is a second language and across Fenland there are multiple providers where courses are run for free, some are paid for, and it is Fenland District Council’s job to support people to settle into the community and gain employment plus support the children with education. She added that the cost to Fenland District Council is zero as this comes under the remit of Cambridgeshire County Council.

15. Councillor Gowler commented on the figures for settled status and asked the date this started to be recorded. Councillor Wallwork responded these dates go back to 2020 when the settled status started to be recorded. Councillor Gowler stated he would like to know where these individuals have been placed and how much strain this has add to housing and the Council’s resources. Councillor Wallwork replied 18,000 people have applies for states, yes there is a strain, but the Council has a duty of care to the whole community. Councillor Hoy added these are people who have been in the area for a while and some of these are now homeowners. She made the point that Wisbech is a popular area for mixed cultures due to the factory work and yes this can add a strain on the area as there is a large gap in the market for social housing and something the Council is looking at.

16. Councillor Booth stated these figures for settled status are calculated over a period of years and some people have been here pre-Brexit. He added this is not an overnight problem.

17. Councillor Nawaz asked giving these extra numbers what sort of impact is it having on schools? Councillor Wallwork replied, the strain on the services is huge and services now supply translators to help but this takes extra time and resources to understand the different cultures, but it is part of the duty of care the Council has. Councillor Mrs Davis intervened stating that these questions would best be suited for a different meeting.

18. Councillor Mrs Davis referred to the 60-year lease on Chapel Road Car Park in Wisbech coming to an end and asked, how are the negotiations going with the National Trust? Councillor Mrs French responded the National Trust have stated they do not want the fair to return to the carpark plus there are significant repairs to be done. Gary Edwards added that negotiations are still on going with the National Trust with part of this being a ten-year lease with the condition the fair does not return to the carpark. He stated that officers are compiling a paper looking into the cost of the repairs to the carpark for the Council to consider over the next ten years plus the future of the fair.

19. Councillor Imafidon stated that he would like to know more about Street Pride and litter picking as when he has been out litter picking, he has found the Council lawnmowers have shredded cans and plastic bottles and asked is there a way the area could be litter picked first before the Council cut the lawns? Councillor Murphy responded that Cambridgeshire County Council are responsible for the lawn cutting and Fenland District Council does not always know when this will be happening so does not get a chance to litter pick beforehand, he added he will investigate this and see if both Councils can work more effectively together in the future.

Members noted the progress of Corporate Priority for Environment.