Item 7
Appendix A
PUBLIC REALM PARTNERSHIP – SUMMARY OF ACTION PLANS 2006/7
Enforcement
On 7th April 2005 the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Bill received Royal Assent following a successful passage through Parliament to
become the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2005 (CNEA).
The Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act deals with many of the problems affecting the quality of our local environment - which forms
part of a continuum with anti-social behaviour, vandalism, disorder and levels of crime.
The Act provides local authorities, parish and community councils and the Environment Agency with more effective powers and tools (including
wider use of Fixed Penalty Notices – FPNs) to tackle poor environmental quality and anti-social behaviour. In particular the Act includes
sections on nuisance and abandoned vehicles, litter, graffiti, waste, noise and dogs.
Background & Objective
Fully implement CNEA & other
Environmental legislation
Action
Improve staff knowledge of powers and processes for
evidence etc.
Increase awareness of communities and other
agencies/partners for information sharing and intelligence
gathering
Maintain and update website information and printed media
to publicise and advertise service to encourage compliance
and greater reporting
Increase the number of field staff with specific CNEA
enforcement roles.
Publicise activity and success in CNEA enforcement
Agree increase fine and fixed penalty notice structure
Introduce more warning signs in key areas
Arrange replacement Dog Control Order to equalise fine
levels with litter offences and apply to wider areas
Establish dialogue with Community Groups, Parish Councils
and Members on a regular basis to explore the need for
further orders, area designation or different activity
1
Responsible Officer(s)
David Baxendale
Target Date
Started/Ongoing
David Baxendale
CDO (Environment)
Started/Ongoing
David Baxendale
Karen Barrow
Started/Ongoing
David Baxendale
Started/Ongoing
David Baxendale
Karen Barrow
David Baxendale
David Baxendale
David Baxendale
As appropriate
David Baxendale
CDO (Environment)
5th June, 2006
October 2006
5th June 2006 –
for consultation
Started/Ongoing
Widen Enforcement base
across officer groups and
agencies
Use new FPNs for abandoned vehicles and ‘area’ litter
powers etc. for grot spots where appropriate
Develop professional networks to remain aware of best
practice and to ‘become’ a best practice authority
Keep the use of CCTV and other technology under review
Be proactive with waste producers, transport and disposal
companies and householders under extension of Duty of
Care legislation
Implement “Look and Tell” multi-agency approach: all DSO
staff, NWBC and WCC officers, contractors, Councillors,
PCSOs etc. to report public realm issues
All officers to be encouraged to remove fly-posting and send
on to DB for further enforcement
Investigate introduction of guidance and support on
promoting local events to avoid illegal fly-posting etc.
Draw up priority action area list for Grot Spot improvements
Clamp down on littering from cars – all officers and
Members to be encouraged to report details incl. registration
numbers to DB for action
David Baxendale
As appropriate
David Baxendale
Started/Ongoing
David Baxendale
David Baxendale
Started/Ongoing
October 2006
All
Ongoing
All
Ongoing
CDO (Environment)
August 2006
Richard Thomas
CDO (Environment)
All
August 2006
Ongoing
Highways & Amenity Cleaning & Maintenance
The public highway network of North Warwickshire is vast, containing 192km of urban road and 380km of rural road as well as countless public
open spaces. In addition, the Highways Agency (through contractors Optima and Amey Mouchel) maintains a road network which includes the
M6 and M42 motorways and the A446, A452, A38 and A5 trunk roads as well as the M6 Toll which is privately maintained by Midlands
Expressway Ltd.
Background & Objective
Action
Responsible Officer(s)
Target Date
Develop a broad based
Long term maintenance contracts agreed with both Carillion
WCC (Bryn Patefield)
Completed
partnership to improve the
and Enterprise
network and public spaces
NWBC (Adrian Allen)
through greater integration and
joint working
2
To enable safer, more efficient
work practices
Grot Spots
Operators and Supervisors from both Carilion and
Enterprise to receive induction and H&S training to work on
the County’s network
Trial on A4091 Middleton dual carriageway involving WCC,
NWBC, Carillion and Enterprise working in partnership
under the same road closure and tackling a wide variety of
cleaning and maintenance issues at once
Extend the trial to address similar issues at other locations
across the Borough, including planned maintenance,
structural renewal and accident reduction measures
Investigate whether Streetpride and Public Realm budgets
from WCC and NWBC can be combined in future to achieve
better value for money.
Extra street cleaning operatives and vehicle to tackle rural
and main roads
Sites identified for one-off clean up operations
Green Spaces
Develop a Green Space Strategy
Focus on improving the
Gateways to North
Warwickshire
Pool resources
Increase resource levels
Bryn Patefield
Completed
All agencies
Completed April
2006
All agencies
Ongoing
Bryn Patefield
Adrian Allen
Richard Thomas
Richard Thomas
October 2006
Richard Thomas
CDO (Environment)
Alethea Wilson
July 2006
Ongoing
March 2007
Grass Cutting & Weed Control
Public consultation has highlighted a number of issues around grass cutting in the Borough, namely:
1.
2.
3.
4.
The untidy appearance of the grass when it is cut, especially early in the growing season
Grass cuttings lying on the pavements and roads after grass cutting has occurred
Verges and splays not cut frequently and causing a hazard to traffic
Weeds in gutters and paved edges
Actions to be taken to address these concerns:
Background & Objective
Coordinate activities
Action
Annual programme of verge cutting to be supplied to NWBC
to allow integration with litter picking and sweeping
programmes
3
Responsible Officer(s)
Bryn Patefield
Adrian Allen
Richard Thomas
Target Date
Ongoing
Trial new machinery
Pilot different techniques
Monitor performance
Analyse results
Weed-spraying programme to be shared between NWBC
and WCC to enable up to three treatments over the course
of the growing season
Two new flail decks put in service by the end of March
ready for trials.
Selected trial areas to be covered by the crews operating in
and around Polesworth, Water Orton and Coleshill. New
grass cutting season due to start end of March, beginning of
April dependent on prevailing weather conditions. At the
same time, box mowing trials will begin at Alexander Court,
Atherstone (Housing). Over all areas, greater cooperation
and coordination between street cleaning and grass cutting
crews is being encouraged to improve site tidiness. New
Johnson precinct sweeper will also be utilised when
available to reduce impact of cut grass.
In order to monitor the trial areas, before and after
photographs will be taken at both the test sites and control
sites in Atherstone. Residents who have complained
previously in the trial areas will be contacted to seek their
views on the outcomes of the new cutting methods
employed and feedback taken to the next Service Review or
Task & Finish Group, followed up by a Member site visit in
May/June.
The initial results of the trial published (and fed into the
emerging Green Space Strategy).
Policing, Crime and Anti-Social Behaviour
To follow…
4
Bryn Patefield
Adrian Allen
Richard Thomas
Richard Thomas
Alethea Wilson
Richard Thomas
Alethea Wilson
May 2006
July 2006
September 2006
Completed
Richard Thomas
Alethea Wilson
Site visit
May/June
Richard Thomas
Alethea Wilson
Initial results
July/August
Trial starts
March/April