Agenda item

Councillor Long presented his report.  Councillor A Tyler referred to the fly tipping in the  Bawsey drain within his ward which he had raised at the last meeting and which had improved since that time, he asked for Councillor Long’s observations on it from his recent visit.  Councillor Long confirmed he had looked at the site and spoken to the Internal Drainage Board (IDB) about the fly tipping.  He drew attention to the importance of keeping the drain clear to help prevent flooding to the surrounding houses, the IDB had not changed their maintenance regime, but the incidences of fly tipping had increased.  He also drew attention to the fact that the alleyways in North End had an ongoing issue with people leaving rubbish in them.  He informed Members that as the soft approach had not worked he was working with officers to  look to take enforcement action on those responsible, which was often the householder in the vicinity.

Councillor Bird asked if information could be provided on the complex issue of the funding of flood defence and water matters and the fact that the Government rarely fully funded flood defence programmes because he had been present when some misleading information had been given on the issue.  Councillor Long responded that there was often misunderstanding about how the finances worked.  Grant in aid was utilised across Norfolk whilst working with the Environment Agency on a 6 year capital programme for schemes coming forward.  He offered to request officers to brief Members at a Panel meeting or such like should Members wish him to do so.

Councillor Mrs Collop asked if food waste bags would continue to be sold at the Council offices, if so would there be an increase in price, and if so by how much.  Councillor Long confirmed that it was the intention that a variety of outlets would continue to sell food waste bags, which were sold at cost and would continue to be sold on that basis.  Councillor J Collop made reference to a recent meeting where it had been said they would be sold with the cost of selling them included and asked how much they would go up by.  Councillor Long confirmed “at cost”  included the cost of selling them and the price should reflect that, but market prices determined the cost of the bags which were much higher priced in the supermarkets. 

In relation to the fly tipping in North Lynn, Councillor J Collop asked what was meant by direct enforcement, to which Councillor Long explained that it was the last course of action where people were causing their neighbours to experience conditions which were unacceptable, and it meant fining people when they dumped rubbish where they shouldn’t by way of a fixed penalty fine once evidence was collected to prove who was responsible.

Councillor Smith asked for an update on the County Council proposal to close the Docking Recycling Centre.  Councillor Long made reference to the meeting which had taken place at the County Council the previous month which agreed to close the centre.  He informed Members that the overall proposals included reducing the hours of all centres except Mile Cross in Norwich.  He considered this unfair to the rural areas as people generally had to travel a distance to reach the recycling centre, which would be considerable distance further if Docking was closed.  He proposed to object to the proposal when it came before the County Full Council meeting in the budget.