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Environmental Report WCAC

Meeting: 20/09/2018 - West Central Area Committee (Item 24)

24 Environmental Report WCAC pdf icon PDF 1 MB

Minutes:

The Committee received a report from the Enforcement Officer.

 

The following were suggestions for Members on what action could be considered for priority within the West Area for the upcoming period.

 

Continuing priorities

 

Number

Priority details

1

Enforcement patrols in the City Centre to address issues of illegally deposited trade waste and littering.

This priority has been included as a continuation to balance the high standard of trade waste management and litter patrols already existing in the West/Central area and to continue to build upon this work further.

2

Dog warden patrols to target irresponsible dog owners on Midsummer Common patrols are planned to focus on this area at key times and to gather intelligence / speak to dog owners about the issues in the area, dog fouling continues to be an issue in this area and officers recommend further works are done on the open space.

 

New priorities

 

Number

Priority details

3

Enforcement patrols to address abandoned vehicles in the Castle Ward.

  

 

In response to Members’ questions the Enforcement Officer said the following:

       i.          Undertook to investigate why no action had followed when graffiti had been reported via the on-line portal.

     ii.          Agreed that needle finds continued to be a problem. It was suggested that more accurate reporting would lead to more efficient removal of any finds.

   iii.          ‘A’ boards were an on-going problem. Enforcement staff would address these matters but had limited resources and had to prioritise the most pressing demands when managing the City Centre.

   iv.          Stated that it was difficult to address the problem of dog fouling in public places as officers needed to see incident happen in order to take action.

 

A member of the public reported difficulties with the on-line process for reporting derelict bicycles. The Enforcement Officer undertook to look into this.

 

Councillor Scutt stated that prompt action had been taken to address bins left in the street. However, the bins in question belonged to properties in an adjoining street and the letters had caused considerable distress. The Enforcement Officer confirmed that the letters were based on the civil law and were written in formal terms. It was not possible to send softer initial letters.

 

A member of the public asked if a review could be carried out regarding the number of and location of bins in Garret hostel Lane. There appeared to unwanted and underused bins in the area. The Enforcement Officers undertook to look into this.

 

Members discussed the proposed priorities. Abandoned vehicles were not seen as a high priority for limited resources.

 

Following discussion, Members unanimously resolved to approve priorities for action as below (amended in bold/struck through text):

       i.          Enforcement and City Ranger patrols in the City Centre

·       Also to include A Boards

     ii.          Dog warden patrols

   iii.          Enforcement patrols to address abandoned vehicles in the Castle Ward.