Issue - meetings

This report details the decision by Surrey County Council to review the current agreements for highways horticulture.  The Committee is asked to consider proposals for future arrangements and agree to the implementation of one of three options set out in the report.

The Committee considered three service options for highways horticulture in 2018/19 and determined that the most appropriate service option for the Council was Option 1 which would require provision to be made in the 2018/19 budget to fund the £35,776 shortfall.

The Committee received and considered a report which set out three service options for highways horticulture in 2018/19 following the decision by Surrey County Council to review its current arrangements.

This authority currently topped up the number of urban verge cuts undertaken by the County from seven to twelve. In March this year, the County Council had advised this authority that, where it managed the service directly, it would be reducing the service level to four urban verge cuts, two rural verge cuts and one weed spraying treatment.  The question before the Committee was whether it wished to find additional resources to maintain the current level of service or consider some other level of provision.

The three options before the Committee were to:

(1)          continue with the current level of service provision and request that provision be made in the budget for 2018/19 to fund the shortfall;

(2)          accept the reduction in the level of service from the County and revise operations to reduce the number of urban verge cuts to eight with no change in other elements of the service; or

(3)          to allow the current agency agreement to end with effect from 31 March 2018 and hand back the highways horticulture responsibilities to Surrey County Council and retain one verge team for land owned by this Council.

The report set out the pros and cons of each option.  In particular, the report highlighted the financial implications of these.  Option 1 would result in an additional estimated cost to the Council of £35,776.  There was no provision in the 2017/18 budget for these additional costs and therefore funding would need to be identified for this additional expenditure if members were minded to go with this option.  Option 2 would result in a small estimated saving to the Council of £8,932 and Option 3 would result in an estimated saving of £40,776 before any penalty costs arising from handing back vehicles and plant.

The Committee considered these three service options for highways horticulture in 2018/19 and, upon a vote on each option, a majority was in favour of Option 1 as the most appropriate service option for the Council, noting the financial implications of agreeing this approach i.e. that it would require provision to be made in the 2018/19 budget to fund the £35,776 shortfall.