Issue - meetings

To consider and endorse, or make recommendations to the Cabinet Member for Planning Highways Transport & Waste on the proposed decision to procure and delegate authority to the Director of Highways, Transportation and Waste to award contract/s for the urban grass, shrubs & hedges service.

Andrew Loosemore (Head of Highways Asset Management) was in attendance for this item.

1. Mr M Whiting (Cabinet Member for Planning, Highways, Transport and Waste) introduced the report that set out the proposed decision to re-procure the Urban Grass, Shrubs and Hedges contract.

2. In response to questions the officer provided further information:

a.    Andrew Loosemore (Head of Highways Asset Management) said that there would be no further reduction in the level of service. The Medium Term Financial Plan (MTFP) indicated a saving of £385,000 and the documentation for procurement took that saving into account with the reduction of services delivered through the new contracts.

b.    There was over twenty Expressions of Interest and nine of those were in the process of evaluation. Once the evaluation had taken place the Director of Highways, Transportation and Waste would then then be able to award contract/s for the Urban grass, shrubs and hedges service.

c.    Andrew Loosemore informed Members that the district councils had withdrawn from providing the service on behalf of the Council. If the Districts expressed an interest in delivering the service at a local level, then Kent County Council would provide them with contract rates that KCC had secured and the Districts would be paid per square metre, against the rates within that contract. Andrew Loosemore said that a top-up service was also available for increased number of cuts however the impact of reduced services meant that many district councils had to withdraw their interest and hand the work back to KCC. Andrew Loosemore referred to the report that was presented to the Environment and Transport Cabinet Committee on 30 November 2017 that highlighted the implications and said that the opportunity remained open to local councils to adopt the work on behalf on the Council.

3. RESOLVED that the Committee endorsed the proposed decision for the Cabinet Member of Planning, Highways, Transport and Waste to re-procure and delegate authority to the Director of Highways, Transportation and Waste to award contract/s for the urban, grass, shrubs and hedges service.