Agenda item

Purpose of the report: Scrutiny of Services and Budgets

To update the Select Committee on highway gully cleaning.

Witnesses:

Lucy Monie (Network & Asset Planning Group Manager)

Jason Russell (Assistant Director, Environment & Infrastructure)

Key points raised during the discussion:

1.    The report was introduced by the Network & Asset Planning Group Manager who gave an update on the highway gulley cleaning programme to date.

2.    Some of the members commented on how gulleys in their division had not been cleaned or emptied for years. This had led to many complaints from residents and local councils.

3.    Some members recognised that the figures included as part of the targeted cleaning programme would seem unacceptable to residents.

4.    The Network & Asset Planning Group Manager explained that 129,000 gulleys were planned to be cleaned as part of the 2014/15 programme. If gulleys had not been cleaned this could be due to a number of reasons including parked cars blocking gulleys and gulleys being incorrectly mapped.

5.    It was explained that the contractor Conway had been undertaking gulley cleaning work for a year now and relied on Surrey’s data to complete this work correctly.

6.    District and Boroughs had been approached with regards to gulley cleaning. It was recognised that each district and borough operated differently.

7.    Members queried whether a map of all the gulleys in Surrey was available. The Network & Asset Planning Group Manager explained that this data was mapped and available but work was being done to ensure a stable ICT solution was in place so mapping was available to the public.  

8.    Members recognised that schedules and maps for gulley cleaning were not easily accessible on the public website. It was explained that this information was available on the public website but conversations could take place after the meeting to find out what specific details members were after. 

9.    It was queried whether roads could be booked for gulley cleaning. The Network & Asset Planning Group Manager stated that gulleys were cleaned road by road and conversations were ongoing with district and boughs around how best to deal with parked cars.

10.  The Chairman asked for the Network & Asset Planning Group Manager to provide a one page summary on what information is available to members around gulley cleaning. Members can then include their input on what other information they think should be made available. 

11.  The Assistant Director, Environment & Infrastructure explained that gulley’s were part of the wider highway network and had been affected by recent flooding.

12.  It was recognised that the reporting system in place for public who wanted to report a gulley was inadequate. It was stated that work was being done with local area teams to look for ways to deal with the communication issues at hand.

13.  The Chairman asked that the Network & Asset Planning Group Manager report back to local committees on what was happening to the flow of gulley related information held in the reporting system.

Recommendations:

The Select Committee noted and commented on the progress of the gulley cleaning programme.

Actions/Further information to be provided:

The Chairman asked for the Network & Asset Planning Group Manager to provide a one page summary on what information was currently available to members around gulley cleaning.

Committee Next Steps:

None.