(a)

the Living Streets programme was started in 2013 as a pilot project to give Ward Councillors greater involvement in local highways improvements; funding relating to general neighbourhood schemes, safer school journeys and disabled driver parking spaces was previously managed by officers of the Council however it was considered that Members had a better awareness of work required relating to the schemes in their own wards. The budget was ring-fenced aimed at highways work involving safety, sustainable travel and quality of life interventions;

(b)

the Living Streets budget was shared equally with each ward being allocated £4000; the safer school journeys funding was added to the Living Streets money and was allocated based on the size and number of schools in each ward;

(c)

it had previously been brought to the attention of Officers that there was a limited amount of funding for the Living Streets programme and as a result Officers introduced the ability to roll-over funding so that bigger projects, within the remit of the programme, could be undertaken;

(d)

lessons had been learned as a result of the Living Streets pilot whereby Officer engagement had increased along with an improved record of information sharing;

(e)

an update on Living Streets was provided to Members of the Working Plymouth scrutiny panel in July 2015; as a result of concerns raised by Members at the meeting, Officers had taken several steps to improve the process. Information provided to Ward Members would now be in an updated format whereby more information was detailed on specific projects including final costings, remaining balances and a financial summary. The process for undertaking estimates was also now the responsibility of the Operations Team other than the Commercial Team and the difference between original estimates and final costs seemed to have reduced as a result of this change;

(f)

Officers were aware of the financial pressures facing local authorities as well as the difficulty in justifying costs for projects within the Living Streets scheme to their constituents however confirmed that they were committed to value for money and the requirement to ‘deliver more for less’.

(g)

the price of some of the Living Street’s projects could initially seem to be costly however other factors needed to be considered with each project including the cost of materials, implementation, advertising (if required) and maintenance. With a particular focus upon the cost for installing a new grit bin estimated at £550, Members were advised that the cost linked to the price of the bin itself, for the bin to be filled three times, for seasonal checks and installation. Grit bins were reviewed on an annual basis and would be re-filled by the Council, as  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3a

(a)

cultural shift. An acknowledgement that the costing estimates undertaken by Amey’s Commercial team( quantity surveyors) were resulting in higher than necessary figures. These will now be undertaken by Amey’s Operations team, with site visits with supervisors;

(b)

all new requests from residents will be discussed with Members first before any response (other than a holding response) is sent;

(c)

Ward Packs have been amended to include more detail;

(d)

Officers to send updated Ward Packs to Members and arrange a Ward meeting as soon as possible to go through the historical requests on the spreadsheet;

(e)

Officers to ensure more proactive contact with Members and arrange for monthly on site meetings;

(f)

Officers to work with Members to explain what is regarded as in scope for Living Streets rather than classified as day to day highways maintenance;

(g)

Officers to provide some examples of the impact of the costing regime from Commercial team to Operations team, comparing some past and present estimates;

(h)

Officers to ensure that the actual end cost of works is notified to them and added to the Ward Pack spreadsheet;

(i)

Officers to ensure that at site meetings, options are considered to reduce costs and achieve greater value for money e.g. shrubs instead of bollards to prevent pavement and verge parking;

(j)

Officers to challenge the media advertising rates to ensure that they are getting the best deal possible as it is difficult to defend the costs of a scheme to residents;

(k)

Officers to investigate reasons for delays and implement continuous improvement through lessons learned;

(l)

all ward Councillors to receive their updated ward pack and arrange to meet to go through the historical requests at the next meeting;

(m)

the Ward pack to be amended to include columns for actual costs, actual approval dates, target completion dates and actual completion dates;

(n)

Amey’s Ward Pack to give explanation for approved schemes not being completed by target dates with follow up discussion with PCC Officers around accountability;

(o)

if Amey made any mistakes during the Living Streets process they would be rectified by them at no cost to PCC;

(p)

a penalty charge would be incurred if Amey  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.