Agenda item

Presentation Title is on "Our Vision for the Future of our Parks, Gardens & Playgrounds."

The specific question for the presentation is "What plans does Cabinet have to address issues raised by residents regarding planned maintenance of our open spaces and flower beds?"

In her presentation to the Panel Councillor Brimm reported that currently staff working in the parks, grounds and playgrounds were carrying out the following key activities:

·  Grass cutting of parks and other grounds owned by the Council;

·  Sports ground maintenance through the Your Leisure Partnership;

·  Management of shrubs, beds and hedges in parks and other grounds owned by TDC;

·  Tree Management including East Kent Housing;

·  Provision of Allotments;

·  Development, maintenance and safety inspections of Play Areas and Skate Parks including East Kent Housing;

·  Grounds maintenance for East Kent Housing through a Service Level Agreement;

·  Grave digging and maintenance of Cemeteries;

·  Weed control to all parks, open spaces and foreshores (typically three times per annum);

·  Minor works including planned and reactive works in parks, open spaces, toilets, car parks and the installation of parking meters.

The portfolio holder said that not all the staff employed within the service were focussed on planned maintenance. To put this into perspective, in 2010 the Operational Services employed 63 full time staff and last year this had been reduced to 40 full time equivalents, a reduction of 37%. Furthermore, staff do not work on weekends.

Although there had been a significant reduction in the number of staff, the Service had worked hard to maintain service levels. Understandably, there had been reductions in the frequencies of most operations with most routine operations (grass cutting, hedges, shrub and flower bed maintenance) being affected. Council was no longer carrying out in-house high level tree care as was previously the case.

Over the last 5 years, the public, visitors and members’ expectations had remained high. In relation unfortunately, Council no longer had the resources to fulfil these expectations. However Members should note that there were only 10 formal complaints received in 2014/15.

Councillor Brimm explained that Council parks and open spaces were important to the people who live and visit Thanet and were therefore priority for the current Cabinet administration, as demonstrated in the corporate priority one statement which aims to ‘creating a welcoming environment’. Cabinet was working on an Open Spaces and Parks Strategy for the next 20 years. Councillors and residents would be fully engaged during this process in order to inform the strategy, but it is likely that some hard choices would need to be made around the number of parks and open spaces that the Council can support as funding would clearly be limited.

Councillor Brimm said that the Strategy would need to decide on such options as, ‘does the Council maintain all current parks and flower beds to the same standard or a smaller number but to a higher quality.’ Given the significant works required to produce this strategy, delivery is not anticipated until late 2016 / early 2017. Currently, the team was working with over twenty voluntary organisations and the intention was to develop the relationships between Council and community groups to the benefit of the local communities that were served by Council.

The current support activities being offered to volunteer groups by Council including the following;

•  Enabling volunteers, user groups and other stakeholders to take ownership and help maintain open spaces;

•  Train volunteers in horticultural techniques to make them more effective;

•  Develop and enhance volunteer networks across the District;

•  Ensure Health and Safety compliance;

•  Liaising with groups to ensure tasks and output delivered at optimal times for maximum benefit;

•  Develop formal agreements to ensure work is undertaken to a required frequency and standard.

In conclusion Councillor Brimm said that the staff Operational Service remained committed to delivering the best service within the existing budgets and would continue to look at all opportunities where possible to improve and enhance the service they provide to the public.

The Chairman then opened the discussion to all Panel Members and Councillor Brimm responded to Member questions. It was pointed out by Panel members that Thanet attracted the more mature visitors whose high points for visiting the area would include the site of beautiful and well maintained and blooming flowers in the area. They noted with concern the procurement problems for flower plants that had been experienced in the past for Albion Road in Ramsgate and other parts of Broadstairs. Trimming of plants was not carried out until after major events (like the Dickens Week) had taken place in the district.

Speaking under Council Procedure 24.1, one Member said that street cleansing and waste collection should be done in liaison with flowerbeds clearance. This would offer a holistic approach to keeping the public spaces clean and in a welcoming condition. They suggested that this approach should be included in the proposed twenty year strategy that Cabinet was working on.

Officers were requested to look into the issue regarding grounds at St Johns Church in Margate Central, which appear to have gone for a long time without grounds maintenance except for intermittent volunteers who cut the grass. Gavin Waite agreed to look into the matter. Gavin Waite further explained that the purchase of replacement vehicles for Operational Services had been approved. This was expected to improve the performance of the grounds maintenance team. Members suggested that TDC consults Parish and Town Councils as part of the process of drafting the twenty year Strategy.

The Chairman thanked Councillor Brimm for the presentation.