Agenda item

Reports of the City Surveyor.

The Committee received two separate reports of the City Surveyor containing details of the five public escalators/lifts that were in service for less than 95% of the time (report created on 25 March 2019) and of the three public escalators/lifts that were in service for less than 95% of the time (report created on 11 April 2019).

The City Surveyor reported that all of the public escalators/lifts had now been returned to service with the exception of Speed House. She added that the Millennium Inclinator was now being inspected on a daily basis with Officers considering alternative means of repair which would be detailed in a report to the next meeting of this Committee.

A Member commented that the Millennium Inclinator had recently experienced a record 26 days outage. He stated that this was unacceptable in terms of those needing to use the inclinator to get around the City and that a lasting, long-term solution to this matter was needed as soon as possible.

The Chairman reported that he had personally proposed one idea around a solution to Officers informally and stated that he would be happy to meet with the Member to discuss this and other potential ways forward in more detail.

Another Member went on to question if the City Corporation had adequate personal liability insurance to cover eventualities such as members of the public struggling and falling/harming themselves due to the Inclinator being out of service. The City Surveyor stated that she would need to look in to this matter and report back to the Member.

A Member questioned whether there were cameras monitoring the operation of the Millennium Inclinator to save the need for daily inspections. The City Surveyor confirmed that each lift was fitted with electronic monitoring devices but that daily visual checks were also being carried out on the Inclinator at the moment to provide further assurances.

A Member questioned the delay to the repair of the Pilgrim Street lift which had been caused by the presence of a rough sleeper in the motor room doorway. He stated that he felt that this was an unacceptable reason for delay and that engineers should be advised to contact the relevant authorities to assist with such matters in the future. The City Surveyor reported that engineers had been instructed to liaise with the City Corporation’s rough sleepers team when faced with such situations in future.

The City Surveyor concluded by stating that Officers had identified a similar inclinator in operation at Greenford Station and had recently visited the site which had proved to be a useful learning experience.

RECEIVED.