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Agenda item
Agreeing the way forward for future of the Grounds Maintenance service
Decision:
1. Following our successful experience with the street cleansing service, a comprehensive business case is prepared for consideration by Full Council, for the option of providing an in-house grounds maintenance service. Thereby creating an innovative service fit for the future. Better able to maximise the opportunities presented by the council’s commitment to addressing climate change and bio-diversity concerns, and for adding value to projects such as the Town Deal.
2. A budget of up to £50,000 from the council’s invest to save fund is allocated, for specialist external support to develop the service specification and comprehensive business case.
Minutes:
The Assistant Director, Environment and Place, presented a report to agree the way forward for the Grounds Maintenance Service from November 2022.
The Grounds Maintenance Service delivers the basic maintenance required to keep the council’s parks and open spaces attractive, safe, and clean. Work already undertaken suggests that bringing the service in-house is likely to improve flexibility for the council in meeting challenges such as climate change. An in-house service will also maximise opportunities arising from the Town Deal and help the council improve local biodiversity.
As resources have been diverted to support the pandemic response a business plan for an in-house service has been delayed. It has also become clear that expert external support will be required to review the in-house service option and develop a comprehensive business plan.
Therefore, the existing grounds maintenance contract has been extended for a further year to November 2023.
Councillor Evans proposed approval of the recommendations, seconded by Councillor Batsford.
RESOLVED (unanimously):
1. Following our successful experience with the street cleansing service, a comprehensive business case is prepared for consideration by Full Council, for the option of providing an in-house grounds maintenance service. Thereby creating an innovative service fit for the future. Better able to maximise the opportunities presented by the council’s commitment to addressing climate change and bio-diversity concerns, and for adding value to projects such as the Town Deal.
2. A budget of up to £50,000 from the council’s invest to save fund is allocated, for specialist external support to develop the service specification and comprehensive business case.
Reasons:1. The Council’s corporate plan commitments include:
· preparing and implementing delivery of succession arrangements following the end of the ground’s maintenance, and building cleaning, and public convenience cleaning contracts ending in 2022.
· Scope options to bring services back in house as part of contract reviews and renewals e.g. reviewing grounds maintenance
· Review in-house staffing capacity and skill sets as a basis for progressing inhouse delivery opportunities
2. Following a preliminary (but detailed) options analysis, which included soft market testing, initial officer conclusions are that an in-house grounds maintenance service is more likely to provide the flexibility needed to respond to the challenges of climate change mitigation, improving local bio-diversity, and the ‘greening’ of Hastings through closer alignment with initiatives such as the Town Deal over the next 10 years, and that these opportunities need to be developed into a detailed specification and method statement, and detailed business case for Council to base its final decision.
3. As with the successful Street Cleansing DSO project, sufficient officer capacity and expertise is required to support the existing officer team to undertake the work to develop the new specification, and an operational ‘method statement’ together with the comprehensive business case. The costs of this are estimated at circa £50k.
4. That to capitalise on the opportunities presented in developing an in-house service option, and to provide time for mobilisation of a new service, the option to extend the current grounds maintenance contract by a year has been exercised.
Supporting documents:
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