Agenda item

Report No: OAS/FH/17/025

The Committee was reminded that on 10 November 2016, it had received a presentation from the Cabinet Member for Operations, setting out this responsibilities covered under his portfolio.

At this meeting, the Cabinet Member had been invited back to provide his annual update.  Report No: OAS/FH/17/025 set out the focus of the update.

The Cabinet Member was provided in advance  of the meeting with some key questions identified by Scrutiny Members on areas they wished to be appraised on during the annual update, which were included in the report along with responses, specifically:

1)    Newmarket Market: Update on the re-development of the market.

2)    Civil Parking Enforcement: Progress update.

3)   West Suffolk Operational Hub: What have the implications been in the projects delay, and what are the high risk areas?

Councillor David Bowman opened his presentation by thanking the Committee for the invitation to address the Committee on progress made within his Portfolio since November 2017, which included an outline of main challenges; key successes/failures and the vision moving forward.  He also welcomed the new format in providing questions in advance.

The Committee asked follow-up questions relating to the Newmarket Market; Civil Parking Enforcement and the West Suffolk Operational Hub, to which comprehensive responses were provided.

The Committee acknowledged the ambition project in relocating the market to the High Street, which included improving the overall look of the market for up to 24 pitches with appropriate gazebo’s, as well as working closely with market traders, local retailers, Newmarket Town Council, the Newmarket Business Improvement District (BID) and the Jockey Club, with the proposed launch taking place in April 2018. 

In response to a question raised, the Cabinet Member informed the Committee that if the improvements proposed for Newmarket market were successful, subject to resources they could potentially be rolled out to other market towns in West Suffolk.

Members were informed that the formal application (Order) to apply for the transfer of Civil Parking Enforcement from the Police to Forest Heath District Council had now been submitted to the Department of Transport, with a planned implementation date of 1 April 2019.  Work would soon begin in developing area parking plans for West Suffolk, which would be discussed further with members and partners. 

Members were also advised that the Police were still responsible for parking enforcement until it was devolved to the Council. 

In response to a question raised regarding people parking on double-yellow lines in Brandon due to insufficient parking capacity, the Cabinet Member agreed to look into this further with the Ward Member and officers.

Members discussed the West Suffolk Operational Hub; whether Suffolk County Council was still fully committed to the project; the estimated cost in the delay of the project, and the land which was held under an Options Agreement (legal agreement).  Officers advised that following the Development Control Committee on 2 November 2017 the matter had now been referred to the Secretary of State (SoS).  Once a decision was made by the SoS whether or not to call in the planning decision for his determination, the Council would start re-engaging with the community in moving forward with the next phase of the project.  All partners as a whole were bearing the additional costs in the delay. 

The Committee noted the challenge of supporting large projects along-side the day job of delivering frontline services; the recruitment of frontline waste operatives and property staff; developing our markets and working towards Civil Parking Enforcement in Suffolk with partners across the county.  Members discussed the Bar-tec back office technology which originally introduced with the brown bins service, which held information such as backdoor collections, who subscribed to the service and contamination issues.  This had now been rolled out to the black and blue bin collections and was currently being extended to the trade waste and street cleaning services.

The Chairman on behalf of the Committee thanked the Cabinet Member for Operations and officers for their attendance and noted the update.