Open Meeting on ‘The Environment’

Some 30 members and guests came along to hear speaker David Quirk, Head of Environmental Services at Rushmoor Borough Council, give a thoroughly comprehensive presentation on his department’s activities and responsibilities.

Responding to many of the suggestions made in advance by The Farnborough Society’s Executive Committee, David addressed the topics of: waste and recycling, street cleansing, ground maintenance, air quality and noise.  Also, by special request, he spoke about plans for the Victoria Road cemetery chapel.

With regard to waste and recycling, David stated that RBC spends £2m pa on residential collection (excluding disposal) of 32,000 tonnes of rubbish, of which 60% could potentially be recycled, though at present the figure is only 30%.  Acknowledging that more needs to be done, RBC aims to achieve 40% in 2010. David believes that alternate week collection would increase recycling.

Having shown photographic evidence that recycling is by no means new to Farnborough, David outlined the services currently available in Farnborough: residual waste collection, weekly; blue bin collection, fortnightly; glass, fortnightly, garden waste, fortnightly; and bring sites for items such as shoes, textiles, etc.

Veolia’s new vehicles, divided into two compartments, mean that glass and recycling waste can now be collected simultaneously.

The waste goes to the transfer centre at Eelmoor Road. Garden waste is sent on to Little Bushey Warren, where it is composted for sale. Other waste goes to the Material Recovery Facility in Alton, and unrecoverable waste is sent to Chineham for incineration.  Hampshire leads to country in landfill avoidance.

Moving to the subject of street cleansing, David told us that a staff of 25 cleans 1800 tonnes of rubbish pa, at a cost of £1m, with monthly manual sweeping, quarterly mechanical, and the town centres performance-based. There are 62 cone-offs each year, clearing parked cars to facilitate cleaning. Also, gum boards have been installed at 20 town centre locations, at a cost of £2000 pa. There are 800 litter bins of various designs, with rat traps incorporated into the base of some newer ones, and they are emptied as necessary, with the aim that no bin in the town centres should be more than 80% full. New dual purpose bins make provision for disposal of dog waste, and another style of bin will encourage recycling outside the home. A programme of bin replacement, at a cost of £70k, will take place over the next two years, with priority given to the town centres, especially Farnborough.

For the problem of leaf-drop, three dedicated crews, two for Farnborough and one for Aldershot, collect 130 tonnes pa, concentrating on those streets with the most trees, and the leaves are taken to Little Bushey Warren for composting.

However, the problem of weeds is less easily resolved, since live weeds are the responsibility of RBC and dead ones of HCC.

Regarding environmental crime, David listed the following incidents since April:
Fly-posting:                 353
Fly-tipping:                 555
Graffiti:                       230     
Abandoned trolleys:   239 (cost stores £85 each and have raised £14k)
Stray dogs:                  83
Fixed penalty notices: 29
There is an average of 250 incidents a month

Performance is measured by:

• a citizens’ panel survey
• a national indicator (195) RBC’s 4% is very good.
• post-cleaning satisfaction cards (showing 80% of respondents are happy)

RBC’s Environment Crime and Grime Strategy aims to tackle the problems with a three-pronged approach: education and promotion; enforcement, through Community Patrol Officers issuing fixed penalty notices: and cleaning up, under contract, but using offenders where appropriate.  Grot spots have been identified, gum boards put up and there has been a ‘no ifs or butts’ campaign, all with the general purpose of promoting pride in Rushmoor.

A staff of 25, under contact, undertakes grounds maintenance at an annual cost of £1.1m. This covers grass-cutting, weeding shrub-beds, planting spring and summer bedding at 19 sites, and maintaining cemeteries. The four-member Rushmoor in Bloom group is removing the borough’s carpet bedding and replacing it with herbaceous and drought-tolerant plants, at a cost of £10k.

Addressing air quality, David stated that RBC has a statutory duty to monitor it, and that it must comply with EU air quality standards. Our air quality is generally good, with the exception of areas near the M3. The airport has two continuously scrutinised monitors, plus 13 passive monitors, and the proposed increase in flying should only minimally affect air quality.

As for noise, RBC receives 850 complaints annually, some domestic, some commercial and some in connection with entertainment.  There are statutory nuisance provisions, planning applications can be used to head off potential problems, and RBC has an out-of-hours service to deal with noise problems.

And finally, regarding Victoria Road cemetery chapel, David told us that suggestions have been received to use it as a museum, a workshop, a dwelling and a music studio, all of which were discounted as unsuitable because of the chapel’s location within the cemetery. He laid out the three options that are being considered:

• Demolition  (David’s preference, which was approved in 2002)
• Partial demolition (Arthur Lunn’s suggestion for a garden of remembrance)
• Use as columbaria for the storage of cremated remains (the suggestion of Mary Lyons Glench, which would cost £90k. The business case is under consideration, though the 15-year payback is a disadvantage. Grant funding may be available)

David invited the audience to put questions throughout presentation and, typically, the members had plenty, contributing to a very stimulating meeting and leaving David with a long list of things to consider.