Issue - meetings

To consider and endorse, or make recommendations to the Cabinet Member for Planning, Highways, Transport and Waste on the proposed decision for Highways, Transportation and Waste to continue supporting local councils and ensure that opportunities remain available for the delivery of soft landscape services at a local level.  

Roger Wilkin (Director of Highways, Transportation and Waste) and (Andrew Loosemore (Head of Highways Asset Management) were in attendance for this item.

1.    Andrew Loosemore (Head of Highways Asset Management) introduced the report that looked at the work carried out by the Task and Finish Group that reviewed the future commissioning of the soft landscape works service. The Task and Finish Group explored the possible devolution of discretionary services to local councils; in particular those in relation to the urban grass, shrubs and hedges contract. In 2016 Highways Transport and Waste held a series of workshops with the local town and parish to councils; of the 49 parish Councils that initially expressed an interest, only 7 had agreed to undertake the work on behalf of Kent County Council. As a result Kent County Council was only able to devolve £11.7k and had £160k worth of work handed back. The recommendation of the report highlighted the closure of the Task and Finish Group however the opportunity would remain open to local councils to adopt work on behalf of Kent County Council.

2.    Roger Wilkin (Director of Highways, Transportation and Waste) said that most parishes did not wish to extend the line of communication; the benefit of work carried out at local levels was that parishes responded very quickly to the work required. In regards to financial benefits, due to the economic constraints, Kent County Council could not offer additional money to the parish or town councils. 

3.    The Chairman invited Mr Rayner to speak. He said that the parish prepared its budget in December and this did not correlate with the seminars held by Kent County Council and therefore the parishes did not know what was expected of them and did not have information regarding the quantum cuts.

4.    Mr Loosemore said that timetable was set around the completion of the Task and Finish Group and agreed that the proposition to parishes did not sit comfortably in line with the parish’s schedule. However the offer was open to all local councils over an extensive period of time and there were no expressions of interest made. Those that did come forward were given a quote for the amount of work required and the funding they would receive from the contract for undertaking that piece of work.

5.    RESOLVED that the Cabinet Member for Planning, Highways, Transport and Waste endorse the proposed decision for the Highways, Transportation and Waste team to continue supporting individual local councils who express an interest and to ensure that opportunities continue to remain available for the delivery of soft landscape service at local level.