REPORT TO COMMUNITIES PDG REPORT OF: Operations Director – Environmental Services REPORT NO: ODES02 DATE : 4th September 2014 TITLE: Street Scene KEY DECISION OR N/A POLICY FRAMEWORK PROPOSAL: PORTFOLIO HOLDER : Cllr John Smith NAME AND Healthy Environment DESIGNATION: CONTACT OFFICER: Ian Yates 01476 406 [email protected] INITIAL IMP ACT Referred to in Full impact assessment ANALYSIS: paragraph (9) below Required: Equality and Diversity FREEDOM OF This report is publicly available via the Your Council INFORMATION ACT: and Democracy link on the Council’s website: www.southkesteven.gov.uk BACKGROUND PAPERS Page 1 1. RECOMMENDATIONS 1.1 That members of the Policy Development Group note the contents of this report and the accompanying presentation 2. PURPOSE OF THE REPORT 2.1 The purpose of this report is to give members an overview of service standards in relation to street scene and update them on public campaign initiatives, enforcement and relevant new tools being introduced as part of the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014. 3. DETAILS OF REPORT 3.1 Environmental Protection Act 3.2 The Environmental Protection Act 1990 (EPA) imposes duties under section 89 on local authorities to “keep clean public highways for which they are responsible”. 3.3 In April 2013 the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) published a Code of Practice on Litter and Refuse. This document provides a practical guide to the discharge of these duties. 3.4 The Code of Practice seeks to encourage duty bodies to maintain their area of responsibility within acceptable cleanliness standards. The emphasis is on the consistent and appropriate management of an area to keep it clean, not on how often it is cleaned. 3.5 Maintaining an accepted street scene standard for South Kesteven is of great importance as the District’s appearance will impact on the Council’s inspirations for growth of the built environment and economy. Clean streets obviously impact on: • How places look and are perceived • How safe and happy people feel about living in an area • How attractive areas are to workers, visitors and existing and new business investors 3.6 The Council’s Street Scene functions operate within the Code which determines the level of service using the graded standards as defined in the EPA. These are: For litter and refuse: Grade A: No litter or refuse Grade B: Predominately free of litter and refuse apart from some small items Grade C: Widespread distribution of litter and/or refuse with minor accumulations Grade D: Heavily affected by litter and/or refuse with significant accumulations Page 2 For detritus : Grade A: No detritus Grade B: Predominately free of detritus except for some light scattering Grade C: Widespread distribution of detritus with minor accumulations Grade D: Heavily affected by detritus with significant accumulations 3.7 Government does not expect that implementation of this Code will demand additional expenditure on the part of a responsible body but believes that better standards can be achieved within existing levels of expenditure by deploying suitable resources at appropriate times and combining this with education and enforcement. 3.8 Public opinion tends to be shaped by a minority of sights – unsightly niches and areas where litter may be trapped due to the nature of the environment itself. For most responsible bodies, good management is therefore simply about managing the minority of locations for short periods of time, as well as maintaining a consistent overall cleansing strategy. 4 Public Campaign 4.1 In order to better engage with the public and ensure awareness is raised as to where responsibility lies for causing this antisocial behaviour, it was felt appropriate to better engage with the public. Whilst South Kesteven DC is responsible for cleansing public spaces it is certainly not the cause and if we are to improve the situation community engagement is key alongside appropriate enforcement. 4.2 In early 2014, South Kesteven District Council began engaging with local communities through a joint “Keep Grantham Clean and Green” campaign with the Grantham Journal. Their support has been very positive and greatly appreciated. The campaign provided a mechanism through which the Council could identify local concerns and be more proactive in finding solutions for frequently reported problems. Residents’ feedback on a weekly clean and green news item in the Grantham Journal has been very positive, as has feedback on wider media articles that explain how the Council is tackling local concerns including litter, fly-tipping and dog-fouling. The articles provide an opportunity for the Council to educate, warn and inform residents of key environmental issues in their neighbourhoods, streets and open spaces. 4.3 The benefits of working with the media were highlighted in May 2014, when a campaign targeting fly-tipping led to enforcement action. A resident was issued with a warning after a bogus waste collector illegally tipped household waste that included personal information. The resident’s experience highlighted the importance of checking a company’s legitimacy before employing them to dispose of waste. This is a key issue in the fight against illegal tippers. 4.4 After the initial trial of the PR campaigns further ideas are being considered to constantly refresh our approach. The Communities PDG put forward the idea that businesses who maintain aesthetically pleasing standards should be acknowledged for their mindfulness of the environment and those who did not clear away litter left by customers e.g. cigarette ends should be held to account. This proposal has received positive support from the Grantham Journal which is willing to assist in the campaign. Page 3 5. Enforcement 5.1 Street Scene enforcement can be categorised into the following activities: • Fly tipping • Litter • Trade Waste • Scrap Metal • Dog Fouling • Abandoned Vehicles • Graffiti • Fly posting 5.2 The legislation that provides enforcement powers resides with the Environmental Protection Act 1990 and the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2005. There are 3 options available for enforcement depending on the crime and severity of the incident: • Prosecutions – (fly tipping is a fine up to £50,000) • Issue a Fixed Penalty Notice • Issue a Simple Caution 5.5 As well as enforcement powers the Council has undertaken a number of initiatives to be proactive in resolving street crime, including: • The Clean & Green Publicity campaign with Grantham Journal • Targeted patrols for dog fouling and litter based on customer requests • Simplified web site report options for customers with street scene issues • Co-ordinated Street Scene action plans for areas with repeat incidents, these include: University Square, Grantham; Green Lane, Welby; Swaton Layby, Swaton; Grantham Canal • Joint Police Patrols for Scrap Metal Enforcement • Officer/Customer interactions during Patrols to encourage Clean and Green Policy • CCTV projects in known hotspot areas. 5.6 Targeted patrols in 29 areas of the district have resulted in over 300 customer interactions. Officers are encouraged to not only patrol areas where our public have reported street crime, but to actively engage with residents to offer advice, guidance and wherever possible obtain information for seeking enforcement. 5.7 Wider information gathering and officer presence in known areas associated with street scene issues are also undertaken. University Square in Grantham is one such example. Officers have visited each household to inform residents of how to present their waste and what items can be placed in either the household or recycling waste receptacle. We have also gathered information on owner details so we can write to each owner and tenant where applicable to re-enforce the Clean & Green priority. CCTV cameras have also been installed in problematic alleyways to deter and where possible gather evidence to take enforcement action. Camera images have been shared with the Police and Anti Social Behaviour teams. 5.8 22 Scrap Metal collectors have now been licensed and we have undertaken joint operations with Lincolnshire Police for Scrap Metal enforcement. 5.9 Use of CCTV in known hotspot areas to deter fly tipping and littering are also utilised. An example where this has been especially successful is Green Lane, Welby which Page 4 was a known fly tipping hotspot area. CCTV has been installed on the entrance to the lane and since the introduction of cameras there has been no tipping reported. 6. New Tools and Powers 6.1 The Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 commences on the 20 th October 2014. This PDG received a presentation on the new tools. Whilst quite wide ranging there are two new powers which will assist in the enforcement of street scene issues:- • Community Protection Notices, and • Public Space protection Orders A Community Protection Notice may be used in cases where litter is an issue and associated with business activities eg smoking related litter not being cleared. Public Space Protection Notices could be utilised to assist with street drinking, urinating in streets and general littering enforcement. 7. RESOURCE IMPLICATIONS 7.1 All campaigns and enforcement requirements are resourced from individual service areas and are accounted for within existing budget provision. 8. ISSUES ARISING FROM IMPACT ANALYSIS 8.1 Equality impact analysis is not applicable to this report 9. CRIME AND DISORDER IMPLICATIONS 9.1 Any crime and disorder implications would be addressed by means of the Council’s powers of enforcement. 10. COMMENTS OF FINANCIAL SERVICES 10.1 Will be addressed at the meeting 11. COMMENTS OF LEGAL AND DEMOCRATIC SERVICES 11.1 Will be addressed at the meeting 12. COMMENTS OF OTHER RELEVANT SERVICES 12.1 Information contained within this report has been contributed by Waste and Recycling, Environmental Health, Communications and Reputation service areas Page 5.