Agenda item

The following questions were raised by Members of the Committee:

Noise Levels

A Member reported concerns had been raised by residents in relation to a nearby nursery and the level of noise from the children. The Member asked whether there were provisions to enforce acceptable noise levels from nurseries?

The Port Health and Public Protection Director explained that such cases were reviewed and the action taken would depend on the circumstances of each case and its impact on residents, however, officers had been made aware of this specific complaint and it was being investigated.

Fixed Penalty Notices and Commercial Waste

A Member asked  how many Fixed Penalty Notices (FPNs) had been issued in the last 12 months to businesses leaving bags of rubbish on the street, during the hours 8am to 6pm, when they are not permitted to do so?

Allied to this, the Member asked if and how the City engages with the commercial waste removal companies used by businesses to remove their rubbish?

The Assistant Director of Cleansing explained that outside the time banding hours, Fixed Penalty Notices (FPNs) are issued under the Environmental Protection Act 1990 for depositing litter. The number of FPNs issued to businesses in the Financial Year 2016/17 was 197.

In relation to the second part of the question, the Assistant Director of Cleansing explained that initial contact had been made with Commercial Waste Carriers during the launch and ‘bedding in’ of the time banding initiative in the Square Mile in 2012. The operators were invited to sign up to a ‘Commitment’ to comply with the Time Banding Scheme. Businesses may choose which Waste Carrier they wish to use, of which there are a high number with the number increasing all the time; therefore it is not practical to maintain contact with all of them.

However throughout June, July and August 2015, the City of London Cleansing Department conducted an audit of uncollected bagged waste in the Square Mile prompted by the level of complaints related to rubbish left on the public highways. The results of the audit indicated that the majority of the waste bags were identified as being the responsibility of third party waste carriers. A high proportion of these were the responsibility of four main carriers. Meetings were held with each of the four waste carriers in turn in an effort to drive down the level of waste left on the streets. The Cleansing Department continue to maintain close contact with these four companies.