Agenda item

For a period of up to thirty minutes, a Member of the Council who has given prior notice in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 15, may ask (a) the Mayor, (b) the Leader of the Council or (c) a Member of the Cabinet a question on any matter in relation to which the Council has powers or duties or which affects the Borough.

The questions received for this meeting are attached.  A Member asking a question may ask, without giving notice, one supplementary question of the Member to whom the first question was asked.  The supplementary question must arise directly out of the reply.

Councillor Kingsbury asked the following question of the Executive Member for Environment:

“During May and June this year, and for several locations into July, the grass across the Borough remained uncut, leading to numerous complaints from residents. This has been noted by many as the worst period of uncut grass anyone can remember. Could the Cabinet member explain how this has been allowed to happen and outline the measures being taken to restore the previous standards of grass maintenance?”

Answer

Thank you Cllr Kingsbury for your question as well as giving me the opportunity to inform both yourself and the public about the grass cutting situation. 

First of all, I would like to express my disappointment in the grass cutting that has taken place over the last months. I made it a point to work extensively with the grass cutting during my first year in this position. I saw how long the grass gets during this time of year and I was determined to make sure we would tackle this effectively this year. I will continue to work with the grass cutters to make sure we get the quality and consistency of grass cutting expected by the public.

The primary issue causing the state of the grass cutting was predominately due to a period of alternate days and nights of significantly more than usual rainfall for this period (the wettest Spring since 1986) and higher temperatures than the seasonal norm (the warmest Spring on record). This combination led to a significant increase in grass growth over this period. Welwyn Hatfield is of course not alone in this as several authorities in Hertfordshire and beyond, including Hertfordshire County Council, have expressed their difficulties with the grass cutting during this period as well.

Grass was cut during these months. However, the long grass produced by the weather coupled with periods of extensive rain and wet ground conditions make this very challenging, meaning having to cut at a slower speed and causing some machinery breakdowns. I am pleased to say that the situation is recovered, and the 4th scheduled cut commenced over 2 weeks ago and is on schedule. Nevertheless, residents may still be aggrieved upon encountering areas of the borough overgrown - unfortunately these are not areas covered by this contract or indeed this Council. Given the widespread concerns regarding this issue, this Council will seek to make clearer to the public what areas this Council is responsible for. 

Despite this natural phenomenon, myself and officers engaged early with the contractor to ensure that this issue was being addressed. As a result, CLL brought in additional measures and resources at their expense including:

·         Additional machinery

·         Additional staff

·         Increased working into the evenings and on Saturdays

·         Additional management support

Myself and Cabinet have also met with CLL and we have already started discussions with CLL about planning for the grass cutting season for next year.

I regret that I was not able to effectively communicate during this period. The announcement of a general election earlier this month caused us to be put under the pre-election period, and thus hampered the effective communication of these realities at the worst possible time. 

It should also be clear to the public that the quality and consistency of the grass cutting has been entirely in line with the contract signed by the previous Conservative administration. I will be working with CLL to ensure that where possible, we adapt the contract to focus more on the priorities of the Joint Administration such as quality as well as delivery of the number of scheduled cuts. We will also look at other ways we can work with CLL to ensure that, despite changing weather patterns, we avoid the issues of this summer.

Supplementary question

“You say that the cut is in line with the contract but it is still the worst cut it has ever been ever since we had that contract, and ran the Council. You say we're up to the fourth cut at the moment that's underway, but I understand we should be at 5 or 6 now, is that correct?”

Answer

“For the first part to say that “it’s been the worst cut” is a very subjective response. I would encourage you to provide more quantitative evidence for that and I would definitely look into that.

My understanding is you're suggesting we should be on the 5^th or 6th cut. I have no reason to believe that is the case. If you can prove that is the case it would be very helpful information, I do hope we can work together on this situation.”