06
The Chair welcomed Chris Silverwood, Managing Director of GYS Limited to the meeting.
The Managing Director gave an overview of the operational timetable for grass cutting in the borough. Grass cutting had commenced on 2 April 2024, however, due to a warm and wet spring flush, the grass had grown exponentially from February onwards and could not be cut properly by the mowers. The third cut would finish by 5 July 2024.
The long and wet condition of grassed areas has meant that GYS had been affected by machinery issues (loss of drive belts and breakage of cutting blades). Some staff have also left due to retirement. Recruitment has been an issue as the salaries offered by GYS Limited did not match up to salaries offered by the private sector.
The Managing Director reported that staff had been re-deployed over the last 2 to 3 weeks to get on top of the grass cutting situation. The GYS Hit Squad were also out and about and on track. Additionally, the GYS company board had sanctioned some overtime to respond to the Council's complaints about the length of grass in play areas and recreational/open spaces. QC checks were underway and KPI's were being reviewed. A dedicated GYS email has been set up for exclusive use by elected Members to report any concerns directly. An immediate resolution action plan was being worked up which could be shared with the Committee on request. The Managing Director assured the Committee that lessons had been learned as a result of the change in unseasonal weather conditions and members' expectations and will be part of the 2025-26 plan.
The Chair highlighted the play area at Station Road in Ormesby, the grass was waist high which made the site unusable for children. He further cited Crab Lane, Gorleston which was the only open space in the area and the grass was at least 40 cm high.
Councillor Annison reported that he felt totally embarrassed by the state of his Bradwell South Ward. He felt that as a company, GYS were reactive not proactive. Councillor Annison reiterated the Chair's comment that Crab Lane was a disgrace and that grass cutting across the borough was shambolic. The area around the war memorial in Bradwell was a no go area which was disrespectful to those who had given their lives in the service of this country.
Councillor Wainwright had concerns in regard to the re-wilding policy and to the best of his knowledge, Members had not agreed to the inclusion of Crab Line. The Head of Service reported that Crab Lane had been put forward by the Tenancy Services Manager. Councillor Wainwright reported that it would be helpful if ward councillors were kept in the loop and it was disappointing that officers, and not Members, had made this decision in silo. Councillor Wainwright also cited poor signage in the re-wilding areas. The Head of Service reported he would come back to Members in regard to the re-wilding policy with better maps and consult with them moving forwards.
The Head of Service reported as part of the Open Spaces Review, play areas would be looked at to identify priority sites and that the results of the review would be reported back to Members.
Councillor Robinson-Payne raised the issue of the state of the grass in the cemeteries. Family members had visited recently and they were unable to access the grave of a family member and had to return the following day with a pair of shears to cut a path to lay flowers. This had been a really embarrassing situation for her to deal with and had been the source of much upset.
The Head of Service reiterated that cemeteries would be looked at as part of the Open Spaces Review.
Councillor P Carpenter raised her concerns that staff retention was poor at GYS as grass cutting teams could only be offered seasonal employment and did not enjoy the security of a FT contract so these positions were not attractive to the workforce. GYS also needed the services of a Park Superintendent to over see the work as had been the case in the past when the Council had not encountered these problems.
The Executive Director - People introduced the GYS staff present at the meeting and that GYS had a limited budget to undertake an ever increasing remit and assured the Committee that they were doing their utmost to deliver a good level of service.
Councillor Freeman reported that he agreed with Councillor Carpenter that GYS appeared to be firefighting at the moment and desperately needed a supervisory post to ensure grass cutting standards were met at all times.
Councillor Grant reported that priority sites should not be identified as the whole borough was a priority. Grass should be cut regularly on all play parks. GYS should look after their staff to help with staff retention and pay them a competitive wage. The Council needed to look again at its rewilding policy and those areas should be seeded with wild flower seed and not just left to grass. Councillor Grant asked how long the Open Spaces Review would take. The growing season issues with warmer wetter weather would not go away any time soon due to global warming and the Council needed to adapt to encompass this.
Councillor Jeal reported that the main reason for the state of the borough was a loss of £90m of revenue to the Council from Central Government over the last 10 years.
The Director reported that staff training, development and behaviours was a top priority for GYS and this would be addressed in the Open Spaces Review report. Members would receive all the information and data in a forthcoming report to Cabinet which would help to modernise the service and make it fit for purpose for the future.
The Open Spaces Manager gave an overview of how the service had changed since he had been employed as an Apprentice gardener by the Council in 1982 when 120 gardeners had been employed. The work remit had remained the same but the number of staff had been reduced to 60 and they were unable to deliver the same level of service. Change could be implemented but this would come at a cost to the Council. The Seafront was cut differently to the verges as it had been identified as being a priority area. Unfortunately, gardeners were very hard to come by and GYS was not in a position to offer apprentices. When the post of Supervisor was recently advertised, there had been one applicant, a bricklayer with no gardening experience which highlighted the difficulty of securing qualified staff.
The Chair suggested that GYS needed to address the following areas:-
(1) That the Committee requested a GYS Strategy & Schedule for Grass Cutting and Detritus (including detritus in gutters).
(2) That the Committee requested a GYS Strategy for Staff Training & Behaviours; and
(3) That the Committee requested a GYS Schedule (including mapping) for Grass Cutting & Re-Wilding areas across the borough.
The Chair requested a one page report on the above 3 areas. The Head of Service confirmed that on completion of the Open Spaces Review, an Action Plan would be drawn up and a full list of Council assets would be put together with mapping to show GYS all the areas across the borough which required cutting.
Councillor Grant requested that if there were a breakdown of the true costs for each cut, this would give Cabinet the true cost, be transparent and allow the Council to set an appropriate budget to receive the necessary level of service to keep the borough looking presentable to local residents and visitors alike. The Managing Director confirmed that all services were costed to this level and transparent.
RESOLVED:-
That the Committee request a report on the following:-
1) That the Committee requested a GYS Strategy & Schedule for Grass Cutting and Detritus (including detritus in gutters),
(2) That the Committee requested a GYS Strategy for Staff Training & Behaviours; and
(3) That the Committee requested a GYS Schedule (including mapping) for Grass Cutting & Re-Wilding areas across the borough.