COUNCIL 14 December 2011 ENVIRONMENT PORTFOLIO COUNCILLOR S HEPTINSTALL MBE Report to Council 14 December 2011

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1 COUNCIL 14 December 2011 ENVIRONMENT PORTFOLIO COUNCILLOR S HEPTINSTALL MBE Report to Council 14 December 2011 Built Environment Bereavement Last month another phase of the major capital investment programme at the crematorium was completed. This saw the construction of new waiting, book room and flower viewing facilities. Work continues to integrate and remodel the burial functions of both Broxtowe and Erewash Borough Councils, based at Bramcote Crematorium. Staffing changes were made on 1 September 2011 and all the vacant posts have now been filled. Both councils are moving towards fully integrated charges from 1 April It is expected that Beeston Cemetery will be closed to new graves by March 2013, although it is planned to offer ash plots and ash scatterings for some years after this. Thereafter, major investment will be required at Chilwell Cemetery in two to four years time to accommodate the expected increase in demand once Beeston Cemetery is full. Capital Works (excluding housing and leisure projects) 1. Coronation Park Designs for the refurbishment of the pavilion have been completed and the project has been

2 tendered. Work will commence shortly to improve the facilities with the successful contractor, P Waller Ltd. 2. Beeston Railway Station DDA access, platform 2 A survey has been completed and budget costs have been prepared. Following a successful meeting with East Midlands Trains, the work was agreed and we are now seeking permission from the land owners for access to carry out the work. Appropriate land and legal agreements are currently being prepared Devonshire Avenue A scheme to remove the temporary building attached to this property is being considered and budget costs have been prepared to isolate it from the existing car park. 4. Chilwell Cemetery A scheme to extend the cemetery is being considered and the potential costs of the proposal have been prepared. 5. Additional Schemes We have been asked to prepare outline planning permission for a number of potential residential development schemes for our Estates Team. Some of these have been submitted to the planners for comment. Car Parking The Borough Council is still awaiting the outcome from the final County Council consultations on proposals for new and amended resident parking schemes in Stapleford. The Borough Council is also seeking to work with the County Council to introduce new and extended parking restrictions in various parts of Beeston, including the Dovecote Lane and Devonshire Avenue areas.

3 Car park charges are currently being reviewed by the Overview and Scrutiny Committee. A new Borough Council 10 space car park near to Beeston railway station was opened last month. This also makes provision for motorcycle and pedal cycle parking. Discussions have also been started with NET regarding the impact that phase 2 of the tram will have on the Beeston multi-storey car park. Energy and Climate Change The Broxtowe Warm Zone project is well underway and gaining pace. It is helping owner-occupiers and private tenants to obtain impartial energy advice and discounted loft and wall insulation. So far around 2,000 properties have benefitted from additional insulation measures and it is hoped to reach over 3,000 by the time the project finishes in March next year. Energy prices are now rising significantly again and this further emphasises the need for this Council, and its citizens, to reduce energy consumption (and associated carbon emissions). Environment Waste and Recycling Educational Work We are all very aware of the difficult times our youth are experiencing with employment prospects, so I am particularly pleased to submit this report to members regarding this Council's commitment to waste and recycling

4 education. This year our Waste and Recycling team has been offering a new presentation for Key Stage 2 pupils (7-11 year olds) involving the national campaign promoted by Tidy Britain "Love Where You Live". This campaign has also been picked up and included in the latest edition of Broxtowe Matters where it has been used to promote the Council's corporate priorities such as housing, place shaping, green issues, etc. To support this campaign our Waste and Recycling Assistant, Jane Hutchinson, has been visiting schools and speaking to pupils about the work the Council does to keep the streets clean, how this relates to recycling and how we can all help by doing our bit. This presentation was initially presented at Albany Junior School in May with further presentations planned in December at Lynncroft Primary, Eastwood. Since the start of the financial year the team has visited 13 schools and spoken to more than 2,500 pupils, with more events planned for the remainder of the autumn and forthcoming spring terms. In addition to the Love where you Live Campaign, our Environment team has also been addressing the issue of wasted food through the Love Food Hate Waste campaign. The team has attended 7 event meetings with residents to promote the benefits of reducing food waste. In doing this we have not forgotten our own staff and, as part of the Green Buddies Week, the team has shown how savings on the food bill can be made and at the same time demonstrated how to produce healthy meals from leftovers.

5 Family First I would like to make my fellow members aware of an initiative that our Environment Team are currently working on involving the reuse of bulky goods that are collected for disposal but which on inspection retain the potential for reuse. The proposal has been in consideration for some time and at the last Joint Waste Management Committee meeting held at County Hall this issue was one of the items on the agenda. Nottingham City members and officers who also attended the meeting identified that they had been involved with this type of venture for nearly a year with Family First, a charitable reuse organisation. As an outcome of the meeting I asked my officers to visit the City's operation at Eastcroft Depot for the purpose of viewing how their scheme works and consider how such a scheme could be implemented at Broxtowe. Members should be aware that annually we perform approximately 1,000 paid for bulky collections, raising 47,000 in 2010/11. The material collected varies from three piece suites to discarded electronic equipment, with charges based on a cost per unit. The current base charge for single items collected is Family First is an Industrial and Provident Society which holds charitable status and works in Nottingham and Leicestershire. It utilises discarded collected items for assisting low income families and tenants in social housing. In Nottingham Family First operate a shop at Alfred Street North where essential household items can be purchased at minimal cost, never greater than As a result of the visit my officers have designed a scheme

6 to be implemented at Broxtowe. The process involves initial enquiries from the public for bulky collections of suitable reusable goods being referred to Family First for collection. Family First operate their own doorstep collection vehicle and once details have been passed to the charity Broxtowe has no further involvement. This model will allow itself to be applied to other charitable organisations that may wish to participate. Nottingham City, as well as Family First, has 5 other charities involved in this scheme. It is anticipated that the scheme at Broxtowe will be operational by early The principal benefits of the scheme are that it provides a free collection service to residents, it allows suitable bulky goods to be made available for reuse, it helps families with low incomes to access essential items and assists this Council by diverting waste that would otherwise be disposed of by landfill Waste Data One of the primary tasks for the Environment team is the collection of waste data related to the work of the refuse teams. This information is utilised for local monitoring and national government purposes and assists in waste planning. Members will be well aware that when meeting residents it is a subject that every householder has an opinion on and, as well as assisting with waste planning, the data provides an indication of levels of local economic activity. Garden waste statistics show a clear link to weather patterns and in the last six months everyone will have noticed the dry weather being experienced. I am pleased to present below the six monthly figures for

7 waste and recycling: Dry recycling. The tonnage collected shows a slight decrease year on year. This would indicate that the public are continuing to support the Council s efforts with regards to recycling. Also, it highlights the work of manufacturers in reducing packaging (10/ tonnes, 11/ tonnes). Garden Waste. The garden tonnages are showing a slight decrease (10/ tonnes, 11/ tonnes). Residual Waste. Residual waste data is encouraging, showing a year on year reduction. This would indicate both a slowing down of economic activity and also effective participation by residents in all aspects of waste management, including reduction, reuse and recycling (10/11 11,188 tonnes, 11/ tonnes). Glass In the past six months glass tonnages have shown a slight increase. My Environment team have been working on re-tendering the contract for "Disposal of the Collected Glass" and I will be reporting on the outcome of this process in my next report (10/ tonnes, 11/ tonnes). Collection Information. Members should be aware that collection calendars for the new year have recently been delivered to households. For operational reasons it has been necessary to change the collection arrangements for some residents. Should members receive any queries about the changes, please refer residents to the Waste and Recycling Team. Street Cleansing The illegal depositing of waste is not only unsightly but is extremely costly to remove. I am glad to report that the

8 Council positively investigates any incidents of fly tipping and has seen a reduction in the number of offences. In 2010/11, for the first half of the year, the street cleansing team removed 264 incidents of fly tipping as compared to 222 incidents for this year. At this time of year the leaf fall is in full swing and the street cleansing section has been concentrating its sweeping efforts on known leaf fall hot spot areas. Around 5 tonnes of leaves are collected each day and these are delivered to the transfer station at Giltbrook for recycling. It is estimated that well over 200 tonnes of leaves will be collected in total throughout the leaf clearing season. Parks and Environment Bramcote Hills Park Works have now started on refurbishment of the Bramcote Hills Park car park. This project will maximise the parking space available by marking spaces and adjusting the layout, while retaining a rural feel to the park area. The work will provide a quality facility worthy of this popular Green Flag site. The car park will remain open throughout the works and completion is expected in February. Attenborough Nature Reserve Attenborough Nature Reserve has made the news again with the sighting of the rare Squacco Heron, showing once more the special value of this site as a haven for wildlife. The site is also a fantastic resource for local people and the Council is proud to be core partners with CEMEX and Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust in managing the site. The Council is involved in many amenity issues at Attenborough and is supporting an HLF bid to undertake a range of visitor improvements, including an underground hide to view Sand

9 Martins. The outcome of the bid will be known in December and, if successful, it will involve an outreach project to encourage visitors to explore sites away from Attenborough such as the Erewash Valley and the Council s Local Nature Reserves. Erewash Valley Trail The momentum of the Erewash Valley Trail project continues with the Council hosting a successful landowners event on 28 November Guest speakers offered advice and information on grants, sustainable energy and the wildlife of the valley, which was well received. An access and wildlife forum for the valley will help to continue to improve the biodiversity and amenity value of the area and the group is already starting to look at issues such as mink control to maintain the valley as a haven for the endangered water vole. The Council led the Erewash Valley Trail partnership and I am pleased to report that this group was shortlisted for a Green Guardians Award from the Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust, which reflects the efforts of the team which delivered this exciting project. They were runners up in the award category of "Environmental Community of the Year". Tree Planting The winter tree planting season is well underway as the Council continues to work towards its ambitious target of seeing 100,000 new trees planted throughout the borough. The Parks and Environment Team are hoping to reach the half way point of 50,000 trees this season and, together with partners, Groundwork Greater Nottingham has already undertaken three planting events with local schools. Pupils from Brookhill Leys Primary School in Eastwood took

10 part in the first event at Jubilee Park, Eastwood on the 21 November 2011 and, as well as trees, they planted bluebells and snowdrops. The second event took place with pupils from Chetwynd Primary School on Tuesday 22 November at Manor Farm Recreation Ground, Toton. Bluebells, trees and hedgerows were planted by the children. A further event took place during National Tree Week on 29 November at Sherman Drive open space in Chilwell. This time children from Chilwell school helped with the planting of large ornamental park trees, spring crocus and daffodils. Further projects have already taken place and will continue over the coming months, working with different partners and friends groups.