All the leaves are brown, and the work is delayed...
Maidenhead: Councillor explains slow progress on clearing paths
Concerns have been raised over the number of leaves collecting on paths in the borough and the potential safety hazard this poses.
Residents noted that they are seeing fewer road cleanings in a number of areas, including central Maidenhead, Larchfield, Belmont, and around the Kidwell and Desborough Park areas.
Others have been dissatisfied with the timings of road sweepers – citing occasions when contractors came around early in the morning (6am) while commuting cars were still on the roads.
Sweeping leaves from the roads and trimming back grass and hedges is the role of Royal Borough contractors Tivoli – which have been the subject of other concerns, including the overgrowth of grass on verges, parks and cemeteries.
Meanwhile, fallen
leaves present new problems. One resident living near Desborough Park has taken to sweeping up the leaves on public paths herself.
“My neighbour and I are sweeping up the leaves in our street to prevent the drains (from) becoming blocked and the road flooding,” said resident Caroline Ki.
A central Maidenhead resident, Jenny Cottle, said: “The subway steps at Kidwells Park could prove particularly hazardous to older residents.
“Just one person slipping on wet leaves, injuring themselves, and suing RBWM for compensation is all it will take for them to realise exactly how much of a false economy this is.”
Despite worries that changes might be due to Royal Borough budget cuts, Cllr David Coppinger (Con, Bray), lead member for environmental services, said there have been none.
Instead he put the delay down to the unpredictable seasonal changes.
“This year, we have had totally different seasons. I’ve never seen anything quite like it – nothing has happened when it should,” he said.
“We have had half the year with nothing (for Tivoli) to do, then twice as much to do for the other half of the year.”
He added that the labour supply shortage has ‘affected virtually everything’.
“But I’m not making excuses for it – we have let down residents,” he said.
Tivoli has been called to a communities overview and scrutiny tonight (Thursday). This will discuss several concerns and progress addressing these so far.
‘Initial concerns’ were raised about the contractor’s performance in June – then in September, Tivoli produced an updated recovery programme, which detailed a timeline of when the standards would be ‘returned to contractual requirements.’
There are now weekly meetings in place between the council and Tivoli to resolve the areas of dispute ‘in good faith.’
Tivoli experienced several breakdowns with vehicles and has employed an additional mechanic to mitigate the delays caused by machinery failures.
There have been problems with the supply of parts caused by ‘ongoing supply chain issues’ with European factories not producing the required parts – or the parts being delayed by transport issues.
There have also been problems caused by the pandemic and labour shortages, the report says. This and a ‘higher number of burials than usual’ this year has caused delays in work.