Issue - meetings

A.  Question from Cllr. A McGuinness

‘What are the Council’s plans to address the significant backlog in parking restriction and yellow line requests?’

B. Question from Cllr. R Parker C.C.

‘Why did SBC suffer unacceptable failures earlier this spring/summer with its grass cutting, resulting in many complaints from local residents, when other nearby local authorities did not, and what steps have been taken to make sure this failure is not repeated?’

C. Question from Cllr. G Snell

‘What assessment has the Council undertaken on the potential cost and benefits of introducing co-mingled dry household recycling and what plans are in place to increase recycling rates across Stevenage?’

D. Question from Cllr. T Wren

‘What assessment has been undertaken by the Council to ascertain the value of the introduction of Neighbourhood Wardens?’

Council received four questions.  Details of the draft responses given to the original questions are appended to this Summary of Decisions and responses given to the supplementary questions are set out below.

A         In response to a supplementary question regarding the employment of more Parking Enforcement Officers, the Portfolio Holder for Economy, Enterprise and Transport advised that consideration would be given in the near future to a new contract for parking enforcement and that Members would be advised once a new contract was let.

B         In response to a supplementary question as to action on the cases of junctions that had become dangerous due to difficulty with sight lines due to overgrown grass verges that had been reported but had not been addressed, the Portfolio Holder for Environment and Regeneration stated that he would arrange for the Assistant Director (Stevenage Direct Services) to provide a written reply on this matter.

C         In response to a supplementary question in respect of whether or not the Council had ever asked residents if they preferred co-mingled or separate waste bin collections, the Portfolio Holder for Environment and Regeneration commented that the Council complied with Waste Management Regulations which currently required local authorities to ensure that collections of waste paper, plastic, metal or glass were by way of separate collection arrangements.

D         In response to a supplementary question regarding whether or not there were any plans to extend the Neighbourhood Wardens scheme across the town, the Portfolio Holder for Neighbourhood and Co-operative Working advised that a fourth Warden would shortly be commencing employment with the Council and that it was a continued aspiration to extend the scheme to cover the whole town.