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Agenda item

Report of the Overview and Committee's Public Conveniences Review Group

Purpose

To present to Cabinet the recommendations of the Public Conveniences Review Group.

 

Recommendation

That Cabinet resolves to agree its response to the 11 recommendations set out in the body of this report (the response will be tabled at the Cabinet meeting).

Minutes:

The purpose of the report was to present to Cabinet the recommendations of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee’s Public Conveniences Review Group.

 

The Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Finance, Councillor Evemy, introduced the report and made the following points:

 

  • Following a request from the Deputy Leader, the Overview and Scrutiny Committee set up the Public Conveniences Review Group on 26 September 2023 to look at the future provision of public conveniences within the District.
  • The Deputy Leader highlighted the work done by the Review Group and thanked the group and the lead officer, Claire Locke - Assistant Director for Property and Regeneration, for their work.
  • It was noted that the current contract for the maintenance of public conveniences with Danfo was in place until 30 September 2024. It was noted that in the lead up to this, the purpose of the review was to examine options for the future provision of public conveniences as a discretionary service.
  • Following the recommendations from the Overview and Scrutiny Committee to Cabinet, Councillor Evemy tabled the responses to each recommendation (as listed in Cabinet response published).

 

During the tabling of the recommendations, the following points were noted:

  • It was noted that the view of the group which the Cabinet shared was that a public convenience service should be continued across the District.
  • It was recognised that the financial pressures of the service faced by the Council would need to be reduced but that a nil-cost option for taxpayers would not be achievable. Therefore a reduction in the number of facilities where there were multiple facilities in a town or village would be required.
  • It was noted that any closures would be done in consultation with Town and Parish Councils who would have the opportunity to take on responsibility for continuing to run the facilities should they wish to do so.
  • It was noted at recommendation 5 that whilst it was agreed that the current system of charging needed to be made consistent across all facilities, it was proposed that the capital programme was not changed at this time but that proposals would come forward in a separate report to Cabinet as required.
  • In regard to recommendation 8, it was noted that with the recent introduction of card readers, there currently wasn’t sufficient data available to accurately forecast revenue. It was proposed that Cabinet maintain the current charge and review it when the contract is retendered and there is a minimum of 6 months of usage data.

 

Councillor Spivey in seconding the Cabinet response also wished to thank the Review Group for their work, and wished to propose a further response about looking at additional ways to commercialise the public convenience facilities to seek any additional revenue that can be raised such as through advertising. Councillor Evemy accepted this additional response to ask officers to investigate opportunities for generating further commercial revenues from the public convenience facilities.

 

Councillor Evemy also noted that the Equality and Rurality Impact Assessment tabled at the meeting would be published to the meeting page online.

 

The Cabinet response was tabled and proposed by Councillor Evemy and seconded by Councillor Spivey.

 

RESOLVED: That Cabinet considered and AGREED its response to the recommendations from the Overview and Scrutiny Committee.

 

Voting Record

 

6 For, 0 Against, 0 Abstention, 2 Absent/Did not vote

 

For

Against

Abstention

Absent/Did not vote

Claire Bloomer

 

 

Mike McKeown

Joe Harris

 

 

Tony Dale

Juliet Layton

 

 

Lisa Spivey

 

 

 

Mike Evemy

 

 

 

Paul Hodgkinson

 

 

 

 

Supporting documents:

 

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