Operational Performance Report November 2022
Renfrewshire Council · 9 November 2022
Back to Infrastructure, Land and Environment Policy Board — 9 November 2022 and its agenda
Text extracted from the council's PDF. Layout and reading order may differ from the original.
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0 To: Infrastructure, Land and Environment Policy Board On: 9 November 2022 Report by: Director of Environment & Infrastructure Heading: Operational Performance Report 1. Summary 1.1 This report provides an overview of key service activities since the last Policy Board report on 31 August 2022 and an operational performance update on the services and key projects delivered during this period. 1.2 Operational Services have continued a ‘business as usual’ basis while working within Covid-19 restrictions. All required safety measures are in place and are now well established. 2. Recommendations It is recommended that the Infrastructure, Land and Environment Policy Board: 2.1 Approves the operational performance update detailed within this report. 3. Background 3.1 Environment & Infrastructure provides essential services to every household in Renfrewshire and works in partnership with the local community, other service areas and Community Planning Partners, to deliver key Council priorities and initiatives. A progress update on the main activities delivered by the services within Environment & Infrastructure, in respect of the areas of activity delegated to this Policy Board, is detailed below.
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2 3.2 For Operational Services while most of the COVID-19 restrictions have now been removed, Covid related absences continue to be a challenge to service delivery. In addition, whilst assisting the services to continue to operate last year, staff accrued annual leave which they have now been using this year. Updates for Infrastructure Land and Environment Policy Board 4. Fleet, Roads and Transportation 4.1 Roads Capital Investment Programme The programme for 2022/23 continues with 69 of the programmed 90 carriageways complete. 10 footway resurfacing schemes have been completed to date, however, the remainder of the footway programme is delayed due to the significant increase in contractor costs (a result of global bitumen prices) within the Roads Framework. The service is currently reviewing the approach to delivering the footways investment program for 2023/24 which will include those schemes delayed in 2022/23. The surface treatment programme is now complete with all of 18 micro-surfacing dressing schemes complete and 13 of the programmed 14 surface dressing schemes are complete (one scheme required to be cancelled due to Scottish Water works on that particular carriageway). The large area patching programme is around 80% complete and will complete in February and the pre-patching in advance of next year’s surface dressing contract is 80% complete completing early November. 4.2 Winter Maintenance Environment and Infrastructure are fully prepared for winter maintenance. Nine gritting vehicles are ready for work and we have around 4000t of salt in stock ready to apply to the public road network as the winter requires. The on-call rota for Winter Controllers / supervisors has been produced and all relevant staff have completed their annual winter training. As of the 21st October we have not required to grit the network, however, we have used this period to stock up our 540 grit bins located throughout Renfrewshire. 4.3 Paisley Town Centre Car Parking Officers have been looking at a range of methods to introduce technology to simplify parking in Paisley Town Centre. After a procurement process a 6-month trial period of RingGo, a cashless parking solution, has been introduced in on and off-street parking in Paisley. The pilot will then be evaluated before a decision made on any conversion to a more permanent arrangement. 4.4 Fleet Sustainable Travel - Diester Box The automated key system for the sustainable vehicles in the pool car fleet has been established allowing employees to book pool vehicles on-line and uplift the keys from the facility in the car park. There are now 21 vehicles, 11 cars and 10 vans, aligned to 87 colleagues having remote access to the system. The provision of the service will continue to increase steadily. Currently there are an average of 80 bookings a day for sustainable pool fleet vehicles.
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3 As part of the depot improvements and security arrangements, the gates at the depot / Paisley HWRC will now close between 6.30pm and 6.30am. 4.5 #YouDecide 4.5.1 The engagement with the communities has been a positive experience with communities and individuals contributing 2,843 ideas. This initial list has been shortlisted to 117 ideas. 4.5.2 Phase 2 will commence with extensive community engagement programme throughout Renfrewshire, the voting period will launch on 11th November and run for four weeks. Residents will be able to vote online and will only be able to vote for projects in their local area. Officers will be available to assist anyone requiring additional support to ensure no one is excluded from the voting process. Prior to the engagement process commencing Elected Member drop in sessions will take place on 10th & 11th November. 4.5.3 The successful projects will be announced in January with works then taking place throughout 2023. 4.6 Active Travel Update 4.6.1 Phase two of the Paisley to Renfrew active travel route from Turner Drive connection southwards to the Paisley Central Retail Park off Renfrew Road is nearing completion. The project will provide an important active travel link from Paisley Gilmour Street Station all the way to the river Clyde. 4.6.2 The consultation phase of the Causeyside Street regeneration and active travel route concluded in August. The project will improve infrastructure and connections between Gilmour Street and Canal Street train stations, providing cycling infrastructure, formalising car parking arrangements to remove illegal parking activities and to improve the streetscape and connections to amenity areas such as Dunn Square. The consultation identified some improvements that have now been incorporated into the design. We will provide an update to the Elected Members, Businesses, Residents and the public as a result of the consultation and outline next steps in early November. 4.6.3 Members will be aware of the Council successfully being awarded £2million from Transport Scotland’s Bus Partnership Fund for improvements to public transport infrastructure in Paisley Town Centre. Officers have been working up design proposals that will be taken through a public consultation process in November 2022. The designs will be shared with elected members prior to the consultation process taking place. 4.6.4 Beat the Street has been completed in Paisley after a 6-week programme from August to October. The project aimed to increase people’s activity levels, improve health and promote behavioral change. The service worked in partnership with OneRen to promote the project in schools and local communities. Overall, we had 9,543 players take part covering 81,330 miles.
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4 This included schools and community groups who benefitted from being encouraged to travel actively, therefore feel fitter and being rewarded through vouchers for local businesses. 4.6.5 Todholm Primary were overall school winners on total points and St Paul’s were the top based on average points. Mary Russell took top spot for Empowered Schools. 4.6.6 The pilot feasibility traffic reduction studies in villages of Howwood, Kilbarchan and Houston has been completed. A series of engagement sessions with local stakeholders along with assessments of traffic volumes, speeds and travel patterns took place over several months. The draft proposals will then be shared with local elected members and the communities involved in the engagement for feedback prior to a final report being prepared. 4.6.7 New traffic calming measures have been installed on Glenburn Road and Dean Park Road following engagement with local stakeholders to support a reduction in speeding vehicles. 4.6.8 The tender process for design / construction of Linburn Bus Turning Loop in Erskine concluded in September with bids significantly over the original budget estimates. The tender has been subsequently revised to go out to market as design only in 2022 with the intention to construct during 2023. 4.6.9 New Pedestrian Crossings on Barrhead Road and Bridge of Weir Road and junction with Greenfarm Road have been installed. These crossings are part of a Council and SPT funded programme to address concerns over crossing safety and speeding at locations around schools, nurseries and key junctions in towns and villages. 4.6.10 The contract for the refurbishments of five signalised junctions from “old” technology to more efficient LED systems has been awarded with installations at Main Street/Torr Road Bridge of Weir, Beith Road/Hallhill Road Johnstone, Main Road / Glenpatrick Road Elderslie, Paisley Road / Wright Street Renfrew and Kings Inch Road / Ikea Renfrew. This project is fully funded by SPT. 4.7 Road Works Commissioner Annual Report 4.7.1 The Office of the Scottish Road Works Commissioner (OSRWC) is the body responsible for monitoring performance of Local Authorities and Utilities with regards to good road works practice. The OSRWC published the Road Works Monitoring Report for 2021/22 this month. Renfrewshire Council were one of only eleven Roads Authorities to receive the highest performance rating of ‘well managed’ for our coordination of road works indicating a good performance across all the Commissioner’s indicators. Renfrewshire Council also recorded a very low percentage of noticing faults for this period (1.2%). This was the joint second lowest figure for any Authority and confirms our commitment to ensuring that works on our network are completed in a controlled manner with appropriate noticing provided on the Road Works Register.
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5 5. Parks Investment 5.1 The play area renewal works at East End Park were successfully completed at the end of August and the play area reopened to the public. 5.2 The next 6 play area renewals were all set to commence late October but at least one will now start early in 2023. The limited availability of specialist play area installers, combined with additional Scottish Government funding, is putting enormous pressure on the supply chain. Some renewals will now need to be installed sequentially by a single specialist installer. This includes: • Campbell Street, Renfrew • Crags Park, Paisley • Elm Drive & Sycamore Avenue, Johnstone • Ardgryffe Park, Houston • Churchill Drive, Bishopton • Dunvegan Avenue, Elderslie 5.3 Work continues specifying refurbishment requirements for Howwood Park Toddler / Junior, Houston Public Park, Moss Road Park and Inchinnan Playing Field play areas. 5.4 Due to the deterioration of the rubber safer surfacing at Moss Road Park play area, some advance refurbishment works were successfully completed in late August to overlay and rejuvenate the damaged surfaces. 5.5 Work at Barshaw Park Pond work was complete by the date of the last Board, but water levels remained low. Water levels have now returned to maximum capacity and the Model Yacht Club has been able to enjoy sailing on the pond once again. The Friends of Barshaw Park works on the community garden has also been completed. 6. Climate Change 6.1 Electric Vehicle Charge Points EV Charging Hubs at Stow Street and Maxwell Street car parks are complete and ready for use, with Bridge Street Car Park expected to be completed in November, this will provide an addition of 26 charging bays for public use. Renfrewshire Council have been awarded £60,000 and partnered up with Glasgow City Region to establish a regional feasibility study on the future EV charging requirements over the next 5-10 years. A successful bid to Energy Savings Trust of £77,000 has been received for Fleet EV charging infrastructure to further decarbonise our fleet vehicles. 6.2 Biodiversity Wildflower corridors/areas at the following areas have bloomed and we have cut these back and removed the cuttings to reduce the nutrients and provide the best medium for the perennial wildflowers to flourish next year.
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6 • Paisley - Linwood Road • Paisley, St James's - Greenock Road • Erskine - A726 • Paisley - Glenburn Road • Johnstone - Spateston We have commenced planning and preparation on the next tranche of sites at the following locations as agreed through the Climate Change Board: • Mill Lade, Linwood • Shaw Place, Linwood • Knockhill Park, Renfrew • Cunningham Road, Johnstone • Woodside Park, Paisley • Nursery Area at Oldhall Road, Ralston • Station Road Playing Fields, Langbank • Erskine Pool Area (rear of), Erskine • Auchenlodment Road, Johnstone • Barscube Terrace to Ladykirk Crescent, Paisley • Arkleston Road, Renfrew 7. Team Up to Clean Up 7.1 Spotless September, despite less group events, saw 1,226 volunteers remove 2,112 bags of litter from Renfrewshire’s communities and open spaces. World Clean Up day was celebrated during the Campaign (16 September) which brought over 50 volunteers from Decathlon, Braehead, to clean up Durrockstock Park in Foxbar together with Team Up to Clean Up volunteers. 7.2 Five secondary schools (S1, 2- and 3 year group assemblies) learned about the impact of litter on their community, local wildlife, and the links between their litter and climate change. Hard hitting images and messages were presented to around 2,000 pupils, explaining disposal options and consequences of irresponsible single use plastic disposal. Further presentations are planned with the remaining secondaries. “The Sea Starts Here” stencils have been sprayed on known school lunch time route gulley’s to re- enforce key messages. Fourteen schools received a lighter touch, interactive presentation encouraging responsible litter disposal. In total 23 school litter picks took place across the Spotless September. 7.3 October saw a further 1,417 bags of litter removed from Renfrewshire’s communities and open spaces across 218 events. 8. Waste and Recycling Services 8.1 The projects to implement a co-mingled garden and food waste service to 16,000 households across Renfrewshire and the role out of new internal and external recycling infrastructure across the school estate are both complete. These will see a reduction in kilometers travelled and an improvement in recycling within these areas.
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7 8.2 Orders have been placed with suppliers for the new compactors, roller packers and skips which will be sited at Household Waste Recycling Centre’s. This is funded through the Scottish Government’s Recycling Improvement Fund with the aim being to recycle more materials from this source which will further enhance the Council’s recycling performance and carbon reduction targets. 8.3 The festive collection arrangements are in place for the forth coming year. This year the brown bin collection will not take place between the 22nd of December and the 4th of January. These arrangements will be set out in the annual recycling & waste collection calendars which will be arriving with households in November. 8.4 The new waste management system (Webaspx) has been launched. The technology has improved work instruction capabilities and has functionality for same day allocation of missed collections. This has improved response times through the real time allocation to in-cab system and optimization of routing. This has enhanced service delivery and will positively impact fuel usage and milage resulting in the reduction of the carbon footprint relating to waste collection. 9. Street Scene 9.1 Street Scene have completed the rural verge cutting this year with 2 cuts to all verges on the program and are completing the second round of path maintenance before winter. 9.2 The Service has concluded the fortnightly grass cutting for the season although are carrying out additional works on behalf of Communities and Housing Services, this involves tidying gardens of the Council’s void properties to improve estate management and appearance. 9.3 To help tackle the issues that the autumnal leaf fall causes, the service is liaising with the roads department to utilise the nightshift winter maintenance team to increase road sweeping activities during milder spells of weather. This is aimed at preventing leaves blocking the gullies and drainage systems. 9.4 In addition, the service is undertaking an edging, weed scraping and winter shrub cutting tasks over the winter period across Renfrewshire. They will also support the roads winter maintenance program. Implications of the Report 1. Financial – There are ongoing challenges with the impact of COVID and cost of living pressures, these are captured in the financial outturn report presented in a separate paper to this policy board. 2. HR & Organisational Development – None 3. Community & Council Planning Our Renfrewshire is thriving / Reshaping our place, our economy and our future - the service is actively involved in the Invest in Renfrewshire scheme and
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8 investing in road network to support and facilitate economic growth. Creating a sustainable Renfrewshire for all to enjoy - working in partnership with the community to deliver a cleaner Renfrewshire. Promoting and encouraging waste minimisation through reducing, reusing and recycling. Reducing carbon emissions, through LED streetlights and electric and low emission vehicles within the Council fleet. Our Renfrewshire is well - the service encourages use of our parks and open spaces to promote a healthy and active lifestyle. 4. Legal – None 5. Property/Assets – The Council’s roads, fleet and open space infrastructure is maintained and enhanced. 6. Information Technology – None 7. Equality & Human Rights - The recommendations contained within this report have been assessed in relation to their impact on equalities and human rights. No negative impacts on equality groups or potential for infringement of individuals’ human rights have been identified arising from the recommendations contained in the report. If required following implementation, the actual impact of the recommendations and the mitigating actions will be reviewed and monitored, and the results of the assessment will be published on the Council’s website 8. Health & Safety – None 9. Procurement – None 10. Risk – CRMG are continuing to review the Council’s risk profile in light of the coronavirus pandemic. 11. Privacy Impact – None 12. CoSLA Policy Position – None 13. Climate Risk – The Council continues to explore opportunities to secure external funding to deliver sustainable, green infrastructure projects. List of Background Papers: none Author: Gordon McNeil, Director of Environment & Infrastructure e-mail: gordon.mcneil@renfrewshire.gov.uk