Agenda, decisions and minutes

To take any questions from members of the Public.

No questions were asked by members of the public.

No questions were asked by members of the public.

Members are asked to declare the existence and nature of any Disclosable Pecuniary Interests in respect of any item of business to be considered at the meeting.

The following declaration was made by a Councillor in respect of an item on the agenda:

Tree Maintenance and Inspection Programme; Contract Award

Councillor Steven McCormick, Other Interest: In the interests of openness and transparency, Councillor Steven McCormick declared that he is a member of the Epsom and Ewell Tree Advisory Board and Chairman of the Surrey Tree Warden Network.

This report considers a formal request from a local charity for the Council to exercise its compulsory purchase powers to acquire Horton Cemetery.

This item was withdrawn from the agenda and was not considered at the meeting.

The Chair informed the Committee that Councillor Clive Smitheram had sadly died recently and paid tribute to his many achievements as a Councillor. The Committee stood in a minute’s silence in remembrance of Councillor Smitheram.

This report seeks approval to award the Tree Maintenance and Inspection Programme contract to Advanced Tree Services Ltd (ATS).

Following consideration, the Committee resolved with 8 votes for and 1 vote against to:

(1)       Agree to award a 3-year contract, with the option to extend for a further two periods of 3-years, to Advanced Tree Services Ltd (ATS) based on the commercially sensitive financial breakdown set out in Appendix 1 to the report.

(2)       Authorise the Head of Place Development, in consultation with the Director of Environment, Housing and Regeneration and Chief Finance Officer, to progress and complete the legal documentation.

(3)       Agree that the Director of Environment, Housing and Regeneration in consultation with the Chief Finance Officer and the relevant Committee Chair is tasked with identifying the £39,500 of savings from within existing budgets required to meet the budget shortfall.

The Committee received a report seeking approval to award the Tree Maintenance and Inspection Programme contract to Advanced Tree Services Ltd (ATS).

The following matters were considered:

a)            Ash Dieback. Following a question from a Member, the Director of Environment, Housing and Regeneration informed the Committee that the proposed contract sought to re-procure the current existing provisions of the Council’s tree contract, and as such it did not include the management of Ash Dieback. Ash Dieback had been identified as a challenge for the wider Surrey area, but it’s implications for the Borough had not yet been defined in detail. Officers informed the Committee that if additional inspections or works in relation to Ash Dieback are required, these would have to be met within the contract, or further support procured.

b)            Cost of contract and funding. The Committee was informed that the cost of the contract was based on an estimated level of works, which could fluctuate up or down.

The Committee noted that the cost of the contract included an element of £39,500 attributable to growth items and service enhancements which was not included within the current budget. The Committee was informed that officers would seek to manage this cost through the contract where possible and also noted that recommendation 3 of the report requested  approval for Officers to seek savings from within existing budgets to meet the budget shortfall if necessary.

Following consideration, the Committee resolved with 8 votes for and 1 vote against to:

(1)       Agree to award a 3-year contract, with the option to extend for a further two periods of 3-years, to Advanced Tree Services Ltd (ATS) based on the commercially sensitive financial breakdown set out in Appendix 1 to the report.

(2)       Authorise the Head of Place Development, in consultation with the Director of Environment, Housing and Regeneration and Chief Finance Officer, to progress and complete the legal documentation.

(3)       Agree that the Director of Environment, Housing and Regeneration in consultation with the Chief Finance Officer and the relevant Committee Chair is tasked with identifying the £39,500 of savings from within existing budgets required to meet the budget shortfall.

The Committee is asked to consider whether it wishes to pass a resolution to exclude the Press and Public from the meeting in accordance with Section 100A (4) of the Local Government Act 1972 on the grounds that the business involves the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraphs  3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A to the Act (as amended) and that pursuant to paragraph 10 of Part 2 of the said Schedule 12A the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information.

Under Section 100(A)(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the Committee passed a resolution to exclude the public from the meeting for Part Two of the Agenda on the grounds that the business involved the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A to the Act (as amended) and that pursuant to paragraph 10 of Part 2 of the said Schedule 12A the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighed the public interest in disclosing the information.

This report has not been published because the meeting is likely to be closed to the press and public in view of the nature of the business to be transacted/nature of the proceedings.  The report deals with information relating to the financial or business affairs of the Committee and third parties and the public interest in maintaining the exemption currently outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information.

The decision on this item is recorded in a separate (not for publication) restricted Decision Notice.

The decision on this item is recorded in a separate (not for publication) restricted Minute.