Agenda and minutes

27.1     The Committee RESOLVED to agree the minutes of the meeting held on 28 November 2024 as a correct record.

28.1     Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Chris Collier, Julia Hilton (Councillor Wendy Maples substituted) and David Tutt.

Disclosures by all members present of personal interests in matters on the agenda, the nature of any interest and whether the member regards the interest as prejudicial under the terms of the Code of Conduct.

29.1     Councillor Maples declared a personal, non-prejudicial interest in agenda item 5 as she is a member of Lewes District Council and the East Sussex Fire Authority. Councillor Stephen Shing declared a personal, non-prejudicial interest in agenda item 5 as he is a member of Wealden District Council and the East Sussex Fire Authority. Councillor Redstone declared a personal, non-prejudicial interest in agenda item 5 as he is a member the East Sussex Fire Authority.

Notification of items which the Chair considers to be urgent and proposes to take at the appropriate part of the agenda. Any members who wish to raise urgent items are asked, wherever possible, to notify the Chair before the start of the meeting. In so doing, they must state the special circumstances which they consider justify the matter being considered urgent.

30.1     There were no urgent items.

Report by the Deputy Chief Executive.

31.1     The Chair introduced the report and outlined that its purpose was to allow the Committee to consider the call-in in relation to the decision by the Lead Member for Transport and Environment regarding the Proposed Implementation of a booking system at Household Waste Recycling Sites (HWRS).

31.2     The Committee considered the call-in and the information contained in the report. A summary of the questions raised, and comments made is given below.

Process for using HWRS sites under the new booking system

31.3     The Committee asked how a site user’s experience of using a HWRS site would change with the introduction of a booking system.

31.4     The Waste Team Manager outlined that the reason a booking system had been proposed was not just to address congestion and queuing at some sites, but also to improve operational efficiency and customer experience, as well as contributing to the financial savings the Council had to make. The change in site users’ experience would be that before going to a HWRS site, a person would have to book a 30 minute slot online. Slots can be booked up to 2 weeks in advance and could also be booked on the day. This would ensure residents would have a good experience of using a HWRS as they would be less congested and site staff would be more available to provide assistance if needed.

31.5     The Committee asked if the online booking system would be an app or another type of software and whether there would be telephone access to the booking system. The Waste Team Manager responded that there will be a link to a website for people to book slots. People will also be able to book by telephone through a call centre if they are not able to access the website. It will also be possible for people to book a slot on behalf of a resident.

Public consultation responses

31.6     Committee members observed that the public consultation on the introduction of a booking system had a 92% feedback that residents did not want a booking system and asked why the proposals were going ahead.

31.7     The Waste Team Manager acknowledged the high response rate to the consultation and the negative feedback. This was taken into account, but on balance it was considered that the proposal should go ahead on the basis of the multiple benefits in terms of customer experience and operational efficiency, and the need to make savings. The Waste Team Manager added that many of the HWRS sites were seeing an increase in the number of visits and, although site staff did their best to check and assist anyone using the site, the new booking system will help site staff support site visitors. He outlined that it was not possible to have a partial booking system that only covered some sites for the reasons set out in the Lead Member report, and it was better to have a consistent policy for all sites across the county.

Planned savings from introducing  ...  view the full minutes text for item 31.