Super depot delayed again
YET more delays have hit Nuneaton and Bedworth’s new super depot as the Town Hall leader admits: “We are not perfect”.
It is understood that the borough council’s new depot in Gresham Road will not be fully operational until the New Year, despite repeated assurances that it would be fully up-and-running by the autumn.
The council still has not got a waste licence to operate from the new depot, which means that staff cannot store , treat or dispose of the small proportion of waste collected such as street cleaning and fly tipping.
Councillor Kris Wilson, leader of the opposing Conservatives raised concerns that the council only had the issues down as an ‘amber’ risk.
“I am concerned it is down as an amber, when we were told at full council that we should be there in June, now we are being told it won’t operational fully be until sometime in the New Year,” he said.
“It is a significant amount of slippage in the programme and to me that is unacceptable given the amount of money, and the additional money, that we have ploughed, in. I have to ask the question going forward, should any significant project be put forward, why should I as a councillor, let alone the public, have confidence in this council’s ability to deliver that if over, a relatively small scale comparatively, if we have larger issues, this council does not have the experience or competence in those specialised area to do these types of work.
“I am glad that the portfolio holder agreed to a lessons learned report. I think that before we take on any more major projects, that lessons learned report must be addressed first, because there is a significant gap in our experience.”
Cllr Keith Kondakor simply said that the Gresham Road saga is becoming a ‘bigger and bigger mess.’
But Cllr Dennis Harvey said that, due to cuts, staff were having to take on more and more roles and that they continued to be ‘proud’ of the new facility.
“I have to say that, we have never claimed to be perfect, it is extremely difficult going forward and people doing several jobs with the cuts that have been forced upon us to get everything just right,” Cllr Harvey.
“We are very proud of Gresham Road, the situation that has occurred we will be saving millions in terms of where the depot is located, in the more modern facilities. The state-of-the-art depot we now have is built for the future.
“It has also enabled the people of Abbey Green to have a decent life without dustbin lorries and goodness knows what passing their doors every few minutes.”
He went on to add that the Town Hall will be having talks about the road around the depot,
“The road markings are such that they road cannot operate properly, the county have, with good intentions, provided a cycle way on both sides, but it means that two vehicles cannot pass each other,” he explained.
“You either have to go into the cycle lane or you have to do a very dangerous manoeuvre, so it is something that we need to have a serious discussion with the county about.”
The move of the depot and its more than 150 strong team of refuse collectors and maintenance staff has been shrouded in controversy. Firstly, the council initially under-estimated its cost. The original estimate was £600,000, but the costs rose to a whopping £2million.
Then, there was a delay to the staff being able to move in, and then it was revealed that the council did not have a waste licence.