Agenda item

5.1

Number 66 Bus Route/Bin Collection – Angram Bank

5.2

Mr Barry Bellamy asked why his questions asked at the last Cabinet meeting held on 22^nd August 2012 in respect of proposed changes to the Number 66 Bus Route had not been answered. The response provided by Roy Mitchell of the South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive (SYPTE) he believed had been wholly inadequate.

5.3

He further commented that a response to his questions from Councillor Leigh Bramall (Cabinet Member for Business, Skills and Development (including Transport)) had told him what he already knew. A request for a private meeting with Councillor Bramall had not yet been responded to.

5.4

Mr Bellamy believed that, as a 2000 signature petition had been submitted by the residents of High Green in respect of changes to the No. 66 route, residents deserved a fair hearing and this was not the case thus far.

5.5

Mr Bellamy asked a further question regarding bin collections on Angram Bank. He commented that for the last two weeks and as of 12.30pm on the day of this meeting the bins had not be collected on Angram Bank. He therefore asked whether they would be collected on their due date in the future or if the date would be changed and would this be communicated to local residents?

5.6

In response Councillor Leigh Bramall apologised that no response had been given to a request for a private meeting. This had been because he had been on holiday but he would follow this up now he had returned. Following the last Cabinet meeting he had spoken to the Integrated Transport Authority in attempt to resolve the issue. The issue in relation to access to educational opportunities in Rotherham he believed had now been resolved. He understood that, as a result of the changes, the High Green Action Group were concerned about students having access to Hillsborough College. However, he believed that the changes would result in students only having to walk a few minutes further and would not be a significant hardship.

5.7

In response to the question about the bin collection on Angram Bank, Councillor Jack Scott (Cabinet Member for Environment, Waste and Streetscene) reported that local Ward Members had contacted him to inform him of the problems. Following his investigations he had established that one of the collection wagons had broken down on the due date of collection which had caused the problem. He believed that the problems had now been resolved and requested that Mr Bellamy contact him if this wasn’t the case.

5.8

Community Heating Metering Project – Tendering Process

Mr Nigel Slack referred to the report on the Community Heating Metering Project, on the agenda for the meeting, and commented that the report seemed to suggest that the decision to outsource the project had already been taken. As the foundations for the project had been underway for around six years, this had allowed a significant amount of time to examine the possibility of looking at an in house solution. He therefore asked whether the decision to outsource the project had been taken, or whether there was still the possibility of decision to keep the project in house? He also asked which companies had been identified to undertake the project and whether they would be making a profit on the fuel costs?

5.9

In response, Councillor Harry Harpham (Cabinet Member for Homes and Neighbourhoods) reported that such a decision had not yet been taken. As was usual with similar tendering processes he expected between 6-8 companies would tender for the project if a decision was taken to outsource. He also confirmed that any company who undertook the project would not make a profit on the billing of fuel.

5.10

Community Heating Metering Project - Consultation

5.11

Mick Watts asked, in reference to the Community Heating Metering Project, when meaningful consultation would take place with tenants to ensure a fair and reasonable outcome. He further referred to the consultation on target rents for re-let properties and commented that he was surprised that in the current tough economic times Members were consulting on such a proposal which he believed would negatively impact on some tenants.

5.12

In conclusion, Mr Watts highlighted the underspend on the capital programme and commented that Members needed to reach a decision on how to spend that money soon or risk the Government attempting to claw back the money.

5.13

Councillor Harry Harpham acknowledged that it would be advantageous to have extra money in the Housing Revenue Account. However, it was important to gain an understanding on tenants’ views on proposals for target rents for re-let properties. Initial conversations that he had had with tenants had been mixed. At the present time tenants could be paying different levels of rents for houses with the same amount of bedrooms depending on a number of factors. If the tenant response was that they did not approve of the idea then that would be dropped. Cabinet were trying to involve tenants more in the decision making process and higher levels of consultation would be a way of achieving that.